My name has changed and I didn't do it.
I am also seeing different names for some of the Mods (oldgoat and BCG specifically).
All my PMs are gone!
And long-time babblers are appearing to me as "recent-rabble-rousers"
Other than that (and of course the lack of the POC/Indigenous-only space that was discussed) the new site looks snappy.
Well, this is certainly a refreshing look. I don't see any options for emoticon use, which is just as well. Personally, I didn't much care for them, especially the 'roll eyes' that accompanied responses to my posts all too frequently. Congrats to all who put in the hard work to get this done.
No roll eyes sorry. (couldn't resist playing)
I am finding the site really slow. Maybe it is just me this morning, but it seems to take a long time to load
I also notice that all opening posts have been purged. Is this a warning shot from the bowdlerizing, tyrannical new rabble?
Why, yes! Yes it is! ;)
But seriously now...I think that all the opening posts from the threads that have been brought over from the old site have that nothing first post attached, not sure why. But if you start a new thread here now, I think your opening post will actually be the opening post.
This is my first time on since the switchover. I've been at the LabourTech conference in Toronto all weekend, and when I got home yesterday, I had no internet access at home! Same with this morning. My service was down for some reason.
Anyhow, so I'm at the day job at the moment so I can't respond right away to everything, but I'm going to spend a few hours tonight looking through everything, getting acquainted, etc.
Yes, unfortunately everyone's private messages are now gone. I had mentioned previously in this thread that this was going to happen, so hopefully everyone saved their messages. If not, I'm sorry, but they're gone.
Why are some of us (pogge, bookish agrarian, me...) recent-rabble-rousers? I had to log in again, but I certainly didn't establish a new identity.
Maybe it is a sign of our eternal youthfulness?
Hey, great site. This is very exciting. Some initial comments,
though: IT'S VERY BRIGHT HERE! In fact, my eyes are hurting. I notice
the alternating grey with white background for the threads is not in
use. This makes the entire page very white, and with lighter font, I
find things harder to read - and I have normal vision.
Yeah, I prefer the white and grey alternating too. I'll mention it.
Also, please note the "feedback" link on the bottom right hand side of every page you're on. This gives direct feedback to the tech people along with a link to the page you're commenting about. That's the best way to ensure that your feedback is heard.
Hey, I Had a four-digit member number too!
Also, please note the "feedback" link on the bottom right hand side of
every page you're on. This gives direct feedback to the tech people
along with a link to the page you're commenting about. That's the best
way to ensure that your feedback is heard.
Ok, will do.
Like the site, lots of of new funky stuff to play with. A couple of technical things coming from the perspective of a dial-up user. On my browser I turn of my images for faster load times, something I do know dial-up users do.
I notice a few functions are set as 'images' and don't have text backups like the other site did. There's no quick quoting function on individual posts have and none of the html quick format buttons show up in this comment reply section with images off.
I have no I idea whether this can be changed, the format functions aren't such a big deal for me because I think I can remember the html but the lack of being able to quick quote posts that I'm responding to I think may get frustrating.
I did a few test with images on or images off to see if the time difference is significant to see if going back to images on is really such a big deal in order to get these functions. The differences between this site and the old one seem to be more, because there's more overall images on the forum pages then before such as the sponser banners at the bottom. It's been 3 minutes on this thread page and it's still hanging and I can't even read it while all the images load in.
Sorry I do hate to complain because I know I'm in a total minority here. I would be on High speed if I could!
Also, please note the "feedback" link on the bottom right hand side of every page you're on. This gives direct feedback to the tech people along with a link to the page you're commenting about. That's the best way to ensure that your feedback is heard.
Assuming it works. I tried to use it a few minutes ago and when I clicked on Send I got to look at the little swirly going round and round for long enough that I gave up. I then tried the Contact link at the top and got to watch paint dry some more. Yes, I'm being cranky but if you're still working out bugs you really need to be sure that you have a reporting mechanism that's reliable or people will give up and go away. I would strongly suggest an email address for bug/problem reports that doesn't rely on the same server that's hosting the site because things are really bogging down at times.
As you'll see above, I got logged in this morning okay and was able to post. Then I went on about my business. When I came back the site treated me as though it had logged me out. My attempts to log back in again were greeted with a message telling me that I'm not allowed to access that page. I finally stumbled on one page that appeared to think I was already logged in 'cos it gave me the My Account menu at the right. So I used that to log out. Then I logged in again and here I am.
Also, the Discuss link at the bottom of blog posts takes you back to the front page of the site. I'm thinkin' that might not inspire a lot of discussion. ;-)
I'm also experiencing a few bugs ... the right-hand column doesn't lay out properly in IE 6.x, but drops down to the bottom. Probably someone coded fixed column widths in the CSS, but forgot to do the hack to workaround IE's different interpretation of the box model.
More seriously some pages refuse to load, or at least not on the first try. The main culprit so far is the one on Brian Topp and Les Campbell (non-Afghan discussion). I thought perhaps it was because the page title was too long for IE 6.x, but obtained the same error in Firefox.
A Firefox add-in for developers I use is also reporting an error with the Javascript (tinymce function) on this page. The page took over 26 seconds to load, it reports, the longest-loading offenders being components related to Google-Analytics, and an uncompressed GIF relating to the tinymce thing called statusbar_resize.gif.
I should also point out that typing this comment has been a nightmare because each backspace or keystroke is taking about a half a second to register, so something is going on in the background.
Good luck!
I tried to feedback on the image issues vs functionality issues but it won't go through and just froze the whole screen.
In case the techies are reading this, the 'edit' button on individual posts doesn't appear either which is definitly a more annoying issue. I've been trying to navigate around with 'images' on (I know things are a bit slower in general because of bugs and other start up issues so am taking that into consideration) but for me at least the usuabilty factor in basic posting functions is likely going to be really frustrating.
Durn it dial-up! I hate you! :( :)
It's a mess. Slow to download, too bright, and the page is wider than my monitor screen. I'll come back in a few days and hopefully everything will have been resolved.
Yeah, the feedback buttons are for decoration only. And I had the same log-in problems that pogge reported (and TAT doesn't work, and...). Looks good though, if slow for the time being. I think I'll be following Boom Boom's strategy for the immediate future.
It is terrible at the moment. Way to slow to load, and the it somehow shot me over to rabble, when I was going to post that it was terrible,
The screen resolution won't change to a larger font, which makes it difficult to read.
It has taken me 12 mins to try and post a second post here.
Oh, I bet I know what part of the problem is ... if they migrated tables in MySQL or whatever database is supporting this board, then they may have forgotten to re-analyze the tables so the indexes can work properly.
But that doesn't explain the time delay when typing in this "Post new comment" box, however. I turned off rich-text formatting and now everything is a lot faster, but all the HTML tags are visible, which doesn't bother me, but would bother 99% of the people posting to this board.
There are some really nice features to this you know. Front page looks really cool with a newspaper kinda feel. I think that when Bell or Shaw ever get around to upgrading their networks considering all that money theyve been raking in, this would be really fun to use. Could be the time of day. I switched from DSL to cable, which is noticably speedier but somewhat slower at this time of day and with this test drive of rabble for me. Red text purple text pretty cool stuff
testing edit feature... a-okay so far.
Are we there yet?
And why does it look as though I posted that twice?
If I'm not still 478, I'm gonna ask for another recount.
I don't believe I've logged in to babble since 2003 -- every day, I opened it and it said, "Welcome, Sharon." It took me two guesses today to get the password -- but I seem to have got it. Let's see ...
I don't believe I've logged in to babble since 2003 -- every day, I opened it and it said, "Welcome, Sharon." It took me two guesses today to get the password -- but I seem to have got it. Let's see ...
Well ... it took so long that I got tired of waiting so I clicked on "post" again and suddenly, the post appeared twice. I won't do that again. Promise.
all of our member numbers appear to be at least 1000 out
Hmmm - since I had never truly figured out how to do everything (quote, post picture, quote within a quote, link to...) in the OLD babble, I suppose not knowing how in the new babble is no biggy :)
I like the look tho.
So, what I have found is that only the first post in a thread is grey formatted not every other one, will this be changed?
Still can't get the font size to get bigger.
And I do not like the way the hyper links to an article now shoots you out of babble, instead of opening a new window, this means you have to either open 2 babble windows to the same topic in order to respond to the linked article, to provide a snippet quote.
I'm with remind on the hyper links. It was really handy to have a new page open up rather than have to go back or open another window yourself.
It also is really slow to load. Haven't used most of the stuff but I will try an emote.
I agree about the hyperlinks, but if you just hold down the Shift key while clicking, it will open a new window as before. Still, new technology is supposed to be labour-saving... Also I have the same issue as Boom Boom about the page width (using Firefox).
Growing pains - but overall exciting! Must think positive...
And I do not like the way the hyper links to an article now shoots you out of babble, instead of opening a new window...
If you're in Windows, you can right-click on a link and choose to open it in a new window (or a new tab if tabs are supported in your browser) from the pop-up menu. Once you get used to it, you'll never go back. For that matter, once you get used to tabs instead of new windows you'll probably never go back.
Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
Are we allowed to bring our dogs in here?
I couldn't find a test thread, so I'm using this one.
Sorry, this is to painfully slow to use. I crash far to often. Pages Freeze.
And all these little buttons below this editor, don't appear to have an valid functions.
Let me test again
Ok if I see bold and Italics, and the colour RED and Underline this time, I offer forgiveness and patience.
It takes forever to use this editor and I have no answer why. I don't like counting to three for a keystroke, or hitting the backspace to delete two or three characters... do that ... fun eh..... hittbackspace can take along time to catch up, or it crashes. Either way, I am certain this will all get sorted out.
In the meantime. I won't even lurk, as it takes to long to load a thread.
Okay thanks unionist and pogge, will try those techniques out.
But does anyone else have the problem if you are replying and then you enter a space the font gets smaller?
Still can't get the font to go bigger when reading, and it is painful to read.
Comments on Babble design, using Firefox 3.03 on Windows XP:
- both TAT and individual discussions painfully slow to load, particularly TAT. People aren't going to wait around.
- TAT slow to update
- very bright, too much white space, paragraphs look about 1.5 cm apart, very smal sans-serif font, hard to read
- feedback button froze me
- cluttered screen, too wide for my hp 1702 flat monitor
- red bars stop in mid-air on right side
- respond box is narrow compared to width of discussion frame
- overall: looks ugly, old-fashioned, amateurish
Rabble.ca: Front page looks good but goes down for too many screens
seems to be moving a bit quicker than it was earlier, though part of that is do to page memory. And does the font colour work?
Nope
Testing, 1, 2, 3. The new site looks great! I haven't had much chance to check out babble today, but I will tonight! So far, so good!
I, too, found the site "painfully" slow today, but it seems better now. Unless that's because my first visit "cached" the site, it seems to be getting better.
Looking forward!
I am trying to consider that I can get used to it. That if I had come to rabble.ca, and more to the point, babble, with a format like this I'd probably consider it "home". But right now, it doesn't have that homey feel. You know what I mean. The smells, the texture, the lost grilled cheese sandwich under the couch cussion feel.
*sigh*
Bigger fonts at least, okay? Please? This makes everyone else's words look somehow insubstantial. 
HEY! I previewed the post, and this wierd proper sized font came up at the top. What's with that? Where'd it come from?
I want to go home.
I have to say though, the rabble front page is very good. My tiny font compliments go out to the designers.
me too, I keep wanting to go back to babble yesterday, and when one's types responses, the font is a good size, but the minute you post or enter a space it goes small.
We need alternating colour of posts back, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee, oh ya did I say bigger font size too?
what the hell now we have pages?
I was having problems with the small font as well. Strained my eyes a little. Getting older maybe? Oh noez. :)
Anyways on firefox I increased the font size (view menu) one step and it's a-okay now.
gawd, firefox as a browser for rabble again, eh, dang i downloaded the new edition, took 55 mins, and then the next day had to do a systems restore, and lost it, and did not want to bother with the 55 mins again.
And how do we send PM's to someone?
Look good eveyone. Congrats!
Bigger fonts at least, okay? Please? This makes everyone else's words look somehow insubstantial.
I'm sorry, Tommy, but I can't quite make out your post. I may need to look into Lilleputian gemcutters eyewear, or something. HELlo! In the mean time, can you please type in larger font? It's that key right next to the capsnstrudel blegem where it used to say microsoft an-eyehilator, or close to it.
It looks pretty good, but where's the "edit post" button??
It looks pretty good, but where's the "edit post" button??
Try this:
[url=http://www.rabble.ca/comment/edit/959106][img]http://www.rabble.ca/sites...
REALLY slow for dial-up.
Much more frequently than before- too slow to bother waiting for it... especially knowing it is likely to crash anyway.
I can't always have something up to read while I wait. And forget skipping around to have a quick look at discussions.
Well, I can get the font bigger using firefox now I have spent 2 hours downloading it again. And it does look different between the 2, with exployer there is no line breaks on the tat page for example. However it is slower using firefox.
Hope it is going to get better, as I am finding all the things others are reporting true for myself too, I would imagine there is no going back, but frankly I do not see the improvements as being that, as of yet anyway.
Too many things it does not now do and the new things do not make one bit of difference by way on an improvement, to me at least.
![http://www.rabble.ca/comment/edit/959106][img]http://www.rabble.ca/sites...](http://www.rabble.ca/comment/edit/959106][img]http://www.rabble.ca/sites/live.rabble.ca/themes/dreamyrabble/babble/images/edit.png[/img][/url]){kind=link}