DEMU Members Feedback on Discourse

[lyneux]

Time to set up a proper account in my name to test permissions…

[huw_griffiths]

I said I’d try logging in using my Android tablet - now I have.

Login seems much easier than the old (SMF) forum - none of the irritating “you need to login twice if you’re using an Android tablet” malarkey - so that’s a definite “thumbs up” from me!

Like some other people, I’ve noticed that one or two posts appear twice - perhaps as replies to each other here - perhaps completely separate (and the order swapped) there - but this is almost certainly the sort of “snagging” you’d like to catch as early as possible.

I’ll go back to the laptop PC (Windows 10 / Firefox) later - and see if the “double posts” stuff also appears there. Of course, it might already have been dealt with by then … .

So far, though, this setup seems a lot better than the old one.

Time will tell … .

[the_fatadder]

@website_manager

By the way, quoting is really cool and by far the simplest way I’ve ever seen to do it: a

Works on mobile as well which is nice, I think RMWeb has a similar quote functionality that only works on desktop.

[website_manager]

@the_fatadder

I think RMWeb has a similar quote functionality

Didn’t know that… just tested on my phone. Seems good.

[the_fatadder]

One thing I have tried testing is the memory if you part write a response then close the tab. A nice feature on rmweb is that it will save your text and then recover it when you go back to the topic. It seems that this software does something similar, I have managed to shut the tab and reopen and the reply is still there.
I have also tried changing topic, in which case it appears that (on desktop at least) the reply window stays open with the rest of the window showing other parts of the site (eg at the moment I am replying to the feedback topic but have Guy’s layout thread open.

edit: as an aside when you do this the software comes up with a very useful prompt when you hit Reply, asking do you want to post this in the original thread you were replying to or to the thread you currently have open.

[steven_b]

@website_manager

@steven_b

I couldn’t see the post rating buttons yesterday

Hover over the heart at the bottom.

I didn’t have the heart icon yesterday! I may have been looking whilst you were turning features on and off. Either way it’s there now.

I’ll try the new forum on different PC, OS browsers and internet connections. At the moment I do get more “loading” and five coloured dots than I’d expect. I don’t get similar issues with the current forum or RMWeb which made me raise the point.

I’ve also discovered that email alerts to being quoted are turned on by default!

Steven B.

[steven_b]

@the_fatadder

One thing I have tried testing is the memory if you part write a response then close the tab.

This is a great feature but either need refining or using using with care - if you “cancel” a reply the contents (including tags) are remembered meaning if you start a new thread you can carry over the old tags by mistake.

Steven B

[huw_griffiths]

On the laptop PC now. Like when I was on the tablet, replies are shown both separately and via a flag below the posts they’re replying to. Takes a bit of getting used to - not complaining!

As a test, I’ll try starting a new topic (in another section) about the VAG. It isn’t a “nag” - and I don’t have much to say right now - just a way of checking stuff here works!

[the_fatadder]

its one of those where the RMWeb system does have one advantage in that when the content in a reply has been reloaded, it also puts on a “clear text” button at the bottom (which is very handy when it happens on mobile)

[Phil_Eames]

@website_manager

@steven_b

is it worth setting it as read-only with a OldForum tag

Yes, probably a good idea. We will probably give people time (months, a year?) to migrate any of their topics from one place to another and then just lock everything else.

Looks like you can ‘nest’ quotes as well.

I was thinking what you would do with the New Street as its big. But then my thoughts turned to my own Calcutta which to be honest it would be ‘nice’ to bring over, but I wouldn’t want to unlock it and let sleeping dogs lie.

However I like to think the ‘new’ Brook Street layout would be worth migrating over. But do you know how it deals with attached images?

cheers
Phil

[newbryford]

Not had notifications for “likes” on a post - probably in settings.

Also - how do I add tags?

Is there a “standard” FAQ section for using this group software?

Cheers,
Mick

[huw_griffiths]

Whilst I think of it, replies seem to gain a marker, indicating that they are replies (and whose posts they’re replying to). I haven’t looked to see if there’s anything else I can do with this marker … .

[newbryford]

What text formatting is available?
Only bold and italics so far?
Any colour/size options?

[Phil_Eames]

@newbryford

Is there a “standard” FAQ section for using this group software?

I’ve come across this Mick

Discourse New User Tips and Tricks

But I’ve not had time to digest it all

cheers
Phil

[newbryford]

@Phil_Eames

I’ve come across this Mick

Discourse New User Tips and Tricks

But I’ve not had time to digest it all

cheers
Phil

Excellent - may be worth adding to a forum user help section.

[the_fatadder]

It does say that BB code can be used for text entry, so will see what works…
underline
[color=red]Red[/color]
strike
[glow=red,2,300]glow[/glow]
[size=24pt]big[/size]
[font=comic sans ms]stupid font[/font]

[newbryford]

@the_fatadder

It does say that BB code can be used for text entry, so will see what works…

Doesn’t work for me.

[newbryford]

Is there a maximum number of posts per page?
This is up to 38 now…

[website_manager]

@newbryford

Is there a maximum number of posts per page?

Infinite scroll (like Facebook) - it’s the modern way! No pagination.

BBCode - there is something I can switch on I think… needs investigation.

@newbryford

forum user help section

The help section that you describe is a ‘special topic’ that appears at the top for all new users (Welcome to Discourse) and can be pinned. There are quite a few ‘special topics’ with Discourse, for example, every category has it’s own ‘About the XXX category’ topic that is used to help organise content.

[steven_b]

@steven_b

The new forum does feel slower to open threads than the existing forum. Might be because it’s running on a low power AWS, or it’s just my combination of Firefox and WIn 10 on a 32bit PC with only 4GB RAM.

After doing some more testing, it may be my combination of software and hardware - the Arduino forum is also based on Discourse and I get similar slow loading.

@website_manager assuming we do switch to this new platform, any ideas what will happen to the accounts of those of us that are testing it now? Will we be duplicated or are you going to start again from scratch?