RMweb global announcement. Updated forum test ground.

[RichardS]

The only thing that's constant in life is change.

 

Planning to build an N gauge layout one day,

when life stops getting in the way!

 

Had to laugh at this in context of thread as by that time you'll be too old to see N gauge and have to change to something bigger. Suggest start planning change now! 

[Reorte]

How do you define better? Who for, what for, why? 

 

How do you measure improvement? How do you know that the old ways would have continued to be better than the new ways? 

 

But change doesn't mean improvement - it means different behaviours to accommodate different circumstances. Change is evolutionary as it always occurs as a result of another change elsewhere. Nothing is entirely new (unless you subscribe to the big bang theory - but even then that was a chnage to the singularity etc etc)

 

Change is inevitable due to the actions of others impacting upon our own activities. 

You can equally apply those questions about improvement and new vs old in reverse. There aren't definitive answers to them and they're very subjective, and it's very easy for something one person likes to be something someone else hates. So all you can do is embrace it if when you believe it'll lead to improvement, resist it when you believe it does the opposite. No-one can reliably tell you just which they are, you need to decide that for yourself based on the sort of world you want to live in. Ultimately does it lead to people being happier or not? Shrugging and accepting every change isn't any better than resisting them all. There are presumably aspects of life that you think make it worth living - no point in throwing them away for the sake of change.

 

Yes, some of it's inevitable. Yet also a lot of effort goes into trying to keep things stable too - avoiding change, because without that life would be too uncertain to do more than scrape by instant to instant.

Edited September 7, 2018 by Reorte

[caradoc]

The most important feature for me will be the ability to hide or collapse sections that I am not interested in - such as the "our picks" prominently above the top of the page.  They might be your picks but there's a good chance that they may not be mine.  

 

On first glance I read this wrong and somehow inserted an 'r' into the word picks; The ability to hide or collapse such a section is definitely worth considering for the new improved RMWeb !

[Andy Y]

somehow inserted an 'r' into the word picks; The ability to hide or collapse such a section is definitely worth considering 

 

That would be too large a section to display on the homepage.

[Fenman]

How do you define better? Who for, what for, why?

 

...

One of the most chilling lines from last year’s brilliant* telly adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale was the commander’s casual observation that, in politics, “better is always worse for someone”.

 

I’m looking forward to our, er, Brave New World.

 

Paul

 

* I thought it was the Top Telly of last year. I’m certain some others will have hated it.

[Captain Kernow]

so please not too many changes for the likes of me. 

Clive, I'll stay just the same, for you.

[Captain Kernow]

Some will even pop up and say they don't like it even though they have no alternative viewpoint to offer and do not even tell you what they don't like and why they don't like it (how do you wrap a comforting arm around someone like that?).

Hello!

 

I've just popped up to say that I don't like it but I don't know why.

[Captain Kernow]

One of the most chilling lines from last year’s brilliant* telly adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale was the commander’s casual observation that, in politics, “better is always worse for someone”.

 

I’m looking forward to our, er, Brave New World.

 

Paul

 

* I thought it was the Top Telly of last year. I’m certain some others will have hated it.

We watched the first series, having read the book a few years earlier and got progressively more and more depressed as the series progressed.

 

We decided not to watch the second series, on the grounds that we don't want to get further depressed.

[toboldlygo]

I'd better not go telling anyone what the additional features that will be added, step by step, after the changes are implemented.

 

I remember the belly-aching when I brought in the different post rating icons; three years later Facebook decided to bring in something similar. Talking of Facebook there's something that works quite well on there (groups) which will become an option on here with the capability to have micro-sites within the wider community - a development of the special interest concept so the site can become more about the specific interests of individuals. No? It'll never catch on so I may as well bin it before making it so. 

 

Will we as current users, have our username migrated over or will (unlike the special few last time) we have to sign up again?

[Andy Y]

Will we as current users, have our username migrated over or will (unlike the special few last time) we have to sign up again?

 

No, it should all be continuous.

[APOLLO]

Hi Andy, A couple of questions.

 

Will there be the ability (as current) to go straight to the forum "New content" page ?. I always go here first, to me a bit like the front page of a newspaper, indeed it's a bookmark page for me, I have a quick look there at whats new before navigating around the site.

 

I see a lot more ads - no problem to me as they help pay your bills and (hopefully) keep this site free of charge. I hope though you don't introduce the "jump at you" type of adverts that take over your browsing (like some newspaper sites).

 

Though I never used the old classifieds it would be nice to see it return in some form in the future - any chance ?

 

Good luck with the new site Andy - looking forward to some aspects of it, probably all of it as I get used to it.

 

Brit15

[toboldlygo]

No, it should all be continuous.

 

I hope you'll make the appropriate offerings to the Internet Gods when it goes live - especially the God of Slow Rural Internet Connections   

[Fenman]

I hope you'll make the appropriate offerings to the Internet Gods when it goes live - especially the God of Slow Rural Internet Connections

You should try lobbying your county council; Norfolk has been brilliant at getting hold of government grants to pay for super-fast* rural broadband. That to my house in the middle of nowhere provides faster speeds than that provided to my office off London’s Old Street, which is supposed to be the UK’s future tech centre.

 

Mobile coverage here is still a bit patchy though.

 

Paul

 

* Relative term.

Edited September 7, 2018 by Fenman

[grahame]

I'm happy to vote for a fresh new look to the forum.

 

There are always those who are staid and conservative and don't like change - that's fair enough and not unusual. Unfortunately platitudes like 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' are usually quoted by those who fail to see or understand the benefits that change can bring. Things don't have to be broken to warrant improvement (so long as it happens). And besides the forum has had change in the past and migrated previously IIRC.

 

 

G.

[olivegreen]

I can't promise it'll be perfect but it has better functionality.

Someone may have said this already (if so, my apologies) but I implore you and the design team not to presume that everyone has a smart telephone and design changes to the site (those discussed here, or any others, for that matter) around that presumption. Too many web designers today do that, which makes their sites difficult, if not impossible, to use on a normal computer.

 

Just a little plea!

 

Mike.

Edited September 7, 2018 by olivegreen

[DIW]

Are you trying to destroy my sanity?

 

 (how do you wrap a comforting arm around someone like that?).

 

I found that placing the arm above the shoulders and below the chin can be effective......

 

 

Ned Ludd

Edited September 7, 2018 by DIW

[Andy Y]

Too many web designers today do that, which makes their sites difficult, if not impossible, to use on a normal computer.

I can promise you that won't be the case, it will primarily set up to optimally work on desktop / laptop whilst translating the same functionality onto the smaller screen.

[Dan Griffin]

I have tried to log in with my existing credentials but I says they are not valid?

[Andy Y]

I have tried to log in with my existing credentials but I says they are not valid?

Because what you can see is a separate test site.

[RichardS]

You can equally apply those questions about improvement and new vs old in reverse. There aren't definitive answers to them and they're very subjective, and it's very easy for something one person likes to be something someone else hates. So all you can do is embrace it if when you believe it'll lead to improvement, resist it when you believe it does the opposite. No-one can reliably tell you just which they are, you need to decide that for yourself based on the sort of world you want to live in. Ultimately does it lead to people being happier or not? Shrugging and accepting every change isn't any better than resisting them all. There are presumably aspects of life that you think make it worth living - no point in throwing them away for the sake of change.

 

Yes, some of it's inevitable. Yet also a lot of effort goes into trying to keep things stable too - avoiding change, because without that life would be too uncertain to do more than scrape by instant to instant.

 

I feel there are definitive answers. Change only arises when there is a general benefit in doing so in the short term. Nothing changes to make things worse. When such benefits cease then change will arise again. For a given individual such changes may not be beneficial - but overall the benefit will outweigh the loss - in the short term. Individuals who identify the chnage with loss have a choice: they can adapt to the change or in the worst case scenario they can give up and cease to function. Almost all will adapt and move on.

 

No change is ever final. 

 

All of us will have adopted change today often without realising it. 

 

There is no inherent stability. Stability is only achieved by implementing change. This is because the circumstances we face are not of our making but are the results of the actions of others. For example.  Mark Carney seeks to keep control of inflation and stabilise the economy - he does this by changing interest rates when necessary.  Andy York wants to keep the Rmweb site functioning satisfactorily in a world where the way computers work is constantly evolving. He can only do this by changing the underlying Rmweb site so that it will fit the newer regimes. In doing so some functionality may be lost and new functions gained.

 

If neither changed in the pursuit of the stability you wish for then that which they control would collapse due to factors outside their control.

 

As another correspondent observed - for every change there are winners and losers. That's life.

  

Ho hum.

[Dan Griffin]

Because what you can see is a separate test site.

Thanks Andy. appreciate the fast response.

[bill badger]

In short, I think the new site is excellent!

[Oldddudders]

About a decade ago I was a member of an online community which used a Yahoo Group as its format. The owner knew it was old hat, and did as Andy Y has done, demonstrating alternative approaches to appearance and functionality. A democratic vote was held, and change was rejected. The example of a modern forum that was offered was RMweb. Suffice to say that I jumped ship and have never looked back. Fortunately, the majority of the substantial online resource in the other community remains available to non-members, so I can still benefit from the data there, but membership seemed more trouble than it was worth.

 

Because RMweb is a free but commercial site, we can rely upon the fact that it will be Andy and colleagues deciding our future, and even at almost 70 I would be most surprised if I cannot learn to adapt.

Edited September 8, 2018 by Oldddudders

[torkardlane]

Looks good from what I've seen, will be nice to have a freshen up along with all the latest security updates. Any date on when it'll happen Andy?

[RANGERS]

Looks good, gives it a refresh but doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Maintaining as much of the existing functionality is key though, too many sites have thrown the baby out with the bath water in the name of “improvement”.

 

The appearance of a classified section will be widely welcomed return and will no doubt help refuel the economy of the model railway world!