New forum format

Mar 31st, 2001, 05:43 AM

#21

Guest

Posts: n/a

Hey, Rex, re Saturday morning ... time for you to get a sense of humor? And when I wrote that it was already Saturday night on some of the other fora! And for heaven's sake ... Sunday is already more than a third over in much of the world ... civilized or not.

Mar 31st, 2001, 06:46 AM

#22

Ann

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Well we have only a two or so hours of day light left here - if that. I thought something was hppening two minutes ago when it seemed to hang up. But no, still nothing and morning in New York is nearly over.

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:07 AM

#23

Rex

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Gee, Ed - - I said it was "cute". Perhaps I should have paid you greater homage and said ROFLMAO!! But one thing I clearly do not have is a crystal ball, when it comes to predicting what our hosts plan to do!!

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:12 AM

#24

Rex

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Wow! Here it is. So my time frame was not really off.

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:13 AM

#25

Guest

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Rex: ROFLMAO!!

How do you like the new look, function? Pretty nifty on first glance. Sorry they didn't incorporate the ability to directly address a thread. My days as a technician are so far in the past I can barely remember them, but they really can't be more than a few lines of code away from being able to implement a "Thread URL". Let me know when you want to begin another campaign ... I'll provide company if you'd like.

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:14 AM

#26

Jim Rosenberg

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I think it's good.

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:17 AM

#27

wondering

Guest

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Okay, guys. So what does ROFLMAO mean?

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:18 AM

#28

Triple-O

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fyi ... just noticed an "official" (i guess) grab bag thread about this.

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:22 AM

#29

Rex

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[R]olling [O]n [F]loor, [L]aughing [M]y [A]** [O]ff

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:28 AM

#30

Rex

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Posts: n/a

Next observation: if you didn't know there is/was a search function - - that little "Search tips" sure wouldn't tip you off very much to try a search! I predict that newbies are just as likely as ever to re-post their same question 48 hours after the first time they ask because they will conclude that their original question has disappeared (sunk further down than they might have anticipated).

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:31 AM

#31

Ann

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I like it!

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:44 AM

#32

Rex

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Okay - - here it is - - my first serious "BRAVO" (even if only partial) - - for changes in the new format - - when you do "next 50" - - the numbers go 51 to 100, then 101 to 150, and so forth - - so you need how deep you are - - moreover, in one click you can go back to the first - - instead of having to resort to any other method (I usually go back to "travel talk home" and "re-enter" europe to do this before). Nice job, Danny, David, staff...

Mar 31st, 2001, 08:01 AM

#33

Rex

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Posts: n/a

Hmmm - - some interesting corollaries... Although tedious, a person could now find out how many total therads in the database... but... Has some culling occurred? when I search Rex, there are big "skip" areas, starting at 1/13/2001 - - can it really be that they cannot be found because they have been "topped" forward? I don't think so. I can't find a single post of mine between 4/13/2000 and 11/21/1999. Very interesting. Some additional searching may provide more insight.

Mar 31st, 2001, 08:06 AM

#34

Guest

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Just discovered the drop down menu for forum change ... excellent. Also appreciate the "autocomplete" for name/email when posting/replying.

Mar 31st, 2001, 08:20 AM

#35

Rex

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Posts: n/a

Already there are two threads going about changes/improvements/problems with the search function (the other has to do with searching on a specific country - - and not finding a single message on "scotland"? - - how weird!) I will raise a concern that it seems rather strange that you initiate a search simply with "enter" (carriage return). More "obsctalce(s) to use, especially by those who are relativelt new here. Seems like there should be a "Start search" button or something. And I am astonished to read "that (Boolean) "or" is automatically assumed when a phrase is typed in like [Dublin hotels] (my brackets - - to signify withOUT quotes around it). No wonder search results seem irrelevant if every "hotels" mention comes back for [place hotels]! I am not ranting - - but it seems clear that search "performance" has been put on the agenda for some "next" round of changes.

Mar 31st, 2001, 08:39 AM

#36

Rex

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Posts: n/a

Continuing to dissect this new "critter" (I always thought of myself as a chemist, but maybe there is some "biologist" in me). I didn't think that the "auto-complete" eally was working - - it seems to have to do with identifying you once you have made one new post in a given "session" - - this code is evident on "View Page source"  Next observation - - except for Grab bag, no other forum has a thread like this going, here in the first hour (roughly) of the new format - - we really ARE a crazy "community" - - far more ga-ga than travel-o-philes to other parts of the world! and third - - and this COULD be huge - - on the Grab bag forum thread about the new format, there is a suggestion - - and one thread which (inadvertently?) illustrates it - - that a message can contain clickable URLs. Long awaited - - if it's true - - but I don't see how one is supposed to do it - - simply typing www.fodors.com/forums or www.fodors.com or http://www.fodors.com (I actually haven't tried this one before) doesn't seem to do it. But if it can be done, even if it requires handcoding, this will be the logical next step to the pursuit of timestamp searching.

Mar 31st, 2001, 08:47 AM

#37

Rex

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Posts: n/a

Holy cow! Lookie there! and look at this: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.cfm?fid=326&tid=1286312&

Mar 31st, 2001, 09:18 AM

#38

Nor

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I really like the html links enabled. I really really hate those d*** cookies. I would prefer that the first topic not load when you goto the next 50.

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:41 PM

#39

Kay

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I was hoping that this change would be for the best but I am so disappointed. Fortunately, I have already planned two trips to Italy using this forum. I really enjoyed being able to pull up the information in the previous format. Guess this is goodbye for me. There was room for improvement but this was not done in a "user friendly" format. I try to always look at change in a positive manner but it is not easy in this new format. I will go back to reading my travel information from books and magazines, exclusively.

Mar 31st, 2001, 07:48 PM

#40

paster

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Does anyone else not like the new format? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Kathy ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 08:21 pm ET I am very disappointed with the new format. I find it more confusing with options that are, in my opinion, superfluous (sorting by percentage). I also miss choosing the country I would like to see postings for. I'm not a creature of habit, but I also say, don't fix it if it ain't broke. Thoughts? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: abc ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 08:24 pm ET I like being able to jump directly to the most recent postings...instead of scrolling and scrolling and scrolling... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Rex ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 08:28 pm ET I'm sorry, Kathy - - but it was SOOOOO broken, and it is now SOOOOOO fixed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Ed ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 09:12 pm ET Boy am I ever on the side of the new facilities. Like life in general there are one or two losses but they're offset by a passel of gains, some still coming to light as the day wears on. (Just discovered jump to latest 5 minutes ago!) Also like life there are problems here and there, and some things to be improved. And I wish Fodors were a bit more proactive in helping adjustment to the new look. All in all, though, it's SUCH and improvement! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: cmt ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 09:24 pm ET There are a lot of improvements, and it's easy to use and not too distracting. I THOUGHT I liked it until a few minutes ago. Every few weeks I do a search for Basilicata. Just now I was pleasantly surprised to find that someone had left a message for me about two weeks ago with "Basilicata" in it. But the two first threads I ever posted here (in Oct. 200, I think) have vanished. They both definitely had the word "Basilicata" and one or both also had "Lucania" and I think one of them mentioned "Calabria". Neither one showed up under a search of any of those three words. Both threads had some postings under them and one had maybe around ten, so if Fodors was deleting threads with zero replies, these two would not be targeted for deletion on that ground. So, where do old threads go to hide under the new system? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: StCirq ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 09:29 pm ET A little too early to say, IMO. I haven't tried the search function yet, and that will be a big decider for me - I never once completed a search on the old format - just got the eternal hanging hourglass. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Linda ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 09:45 pm ET I do not like it - the old way Forum was not broke - why fix it. Rex, don't you have a life? You are always on this Forum -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: cmt ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 09:46 pm ET HELP! I can't find my all-time favorite thread. The heading includes the words "minorized languages" but I couldn't find it under either word. If you find it, please "top" it or explain where it can be found. Thanks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: cmt ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 10:02 pm ET Why does the sort function give us the option to sort by "most active" but then poduce zero threads when that option is chosen? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Susan ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 10:31 pm ET I agree with Kathy. It's too busy now and much sloppier. FYI, the old way showed the most recent reply as well. I agree that threads are lost. It was better when you could search within a country or area. IMO it was a better search function. Now it's much broader and more difficult to focus in on what you want. I too had a difficult time finding recent postings and was frustrated when I couldn't find MY posting to which there were multiple answers. Grrrr. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: cmt ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 10:50 pm ET Conclusion: I do not like it because threads have floated off to neverneverland. The MOST important thing for me is a reliable search function. The search function is now even worse than it was. The various new features are good ones, but they are merely "frills" and cannot make up for lost threads. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Lynne ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 10:53 pm ET Here's what drives me absolutely crazy - also on the old format: I do a search, say on "Paris" and turn up a few dozen threads. I click on one, post a reply and then get bounced out of my search results back to the primary list of threads. I have lost my place and have to research! This is such a PAIN! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: xxx ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 10:55 pm ET The mail-this-thread function also doesn't work. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Triple-O ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:05 pm ET i think this new format is 10x better than before. i'm not having any trouble doing searches, tho i must admit i'm not trying to find particular posts (more just doing country/city searches). but i like this. maybe people just don't like change (tho i certainly "hear" the thoughtful concerns above). ooo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Rex ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:08 pm ET Carol, I do not believe that the search function is worse. It was unpredictable and maddening before, and it still is. I had a number of suspicions that the database had been culled, but I no longer believe that this is true. I think that I will be posting a new message, starting a thread on "Fodor's Europe forum archaeology" - - I can tell you a few things. There are over 43000 (yes, forty three thousand) threads on this forum. It goes back to July of 1996. I found "my" first one, at about 26000 back. I cannot locate it by searching, no matter what content I use to find it. And it is not necessary to go back 50 at a time to get "way back there". The minorized languages thread has to be there somewhere. Do you know when you last saw it - - I think since Christmas, don't you? It can not be retrieved by Occitan, Gaelic, Welsh, Provencal, Ladino or Romansch, I can tell you that much. But I will find it. And I will figure out tools to use that don't make it TOO time consuming to do so. Hang in there. This really is an improvement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Rex ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:19 pm ET Carol, I told you I would find it. http://www.fodors.com/forums/messages.cfm?fid=2&tid=1017067&numresponse s=67 But please don't top it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Rex ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:20 pm ET Eleven minutes. I'll get faster. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Triple-O ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:21 pm ET xxx -- i just emailed myself posts, using both netscape and ie -- both came in less than 20 seconds. i do think this site operates a little slower in netscape than ie, but the email function works in either. i'm wondering if maybe people have old browsers (ie or netscape) and maybe this new version is geared toward people who have updated their browsers (always a good idea, folks!).... ooo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Triple-O ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:24 pm ET bravo to rex...but what did you do? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: ykias ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:24 pm ET Fodors, Would it have been asking too much to follow up on that campaign I led -- you know, the one to filter-out and block all users within a 50-mile radius of Westerville, Ohio? I'm so disappointed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: cmt ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:27 pm ET Thanks, Rex. (But since it's so hard to find, why shouldn't I "top" it? That's a rhetorical Q.) So HOW did you find it? (A real Q) I'm not a bad researcher, I've read the thread many times, I remember many of the words (Friulan, Ladino, Romansch, Basque, etc.) that appear in the various posts. It should not have been hard to find. If I didn't KNOW that it existed, I would have to reasonably conclude that there's no such thread on minorized languages, right? Can you also find my old, old threads on Basilicata (Lucania)? Thanks again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Rex ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:30 pm ET I found Carol's thread on "minorized languages"... Or did you mean, how did I do it? Well... first, I jumped a tall building in a single bound... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Joyce ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:32 pm ET Do you like the way it fills in the name of the poster?? I have tried to print screens with more than one page, and can only get page 1. Saved to my documents and only got Fodors Heading??????Thankyou Joyce -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: cmt ([email protected]) Date: 03/31/2001, 11:40 pm ET Yes, HOW? While it's nice to have it again, but I (we) need to know HOW to find something next time. The fact that I even need to ASK is sign of a big problem. If it's a word-search system, the procedure should be easy and obvious, especially when I know the content of so many of the posts. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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