Mod6 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Unfortunately, one chap who builds a layout with a theme I like uses a blog. But I can't reply to any of his contributions as I can't see the anti-spam numbers I'd need to type in to get my reply posted. I sincerely hope RMweb doesn't use the same crappy blog-engine... You can of course reply to blogs on here via the comments process. What you can't do is post directly to someone else's blog unless the blog owner has specifically given you posting rights (this is handy for joint club layouts etc). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod6 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 should the "blogs" be restricted to layouts and workbench matters. Yes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod6 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I wouldn't say it's a site that you can get the grasp of very easily, and alot of it seems too gimmicky for my liking. It's just different (and better in the opinion of most so far). We have always said it might take a few days to get used to. The idea of the blogs is a good idea, yet I've no idea how to find either the layouts or workbenches I used to look for, Unless they have been started anew or copied from the old site, you won't. The old site will still be there as an archive. nor am I sure how I'm gonna come across anything new and fresh. Hit 'view new content' and if there is anything new and fresh it will be there. Plus, I'm rather baffled by the ratings system, as it feels very much like going back to school. Read the relevant topics in the how-to guides and forum help sections. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigwelsh Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 The idea of the blogs is a good idea, yet I've no idea how to find either the layouts or workbenches I used to look for, nor am I sure how I'm gonna come across anything new and fresh. Personally i've changed the way I view the blog list using these buttons: and as I knew who wrote stuff I liked before I just browse the list of usernames. If I have a bit more time i'll look at the other stuff for something new. It may be worth keeping an eye on the rating system for something juicy that pops up with a high 5-star rating.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium steam-driven boy Posted October 10, 2009 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 10, 2009 Hi all, Also one of the 'elite' so while re-registering have brought my identity into line with other forums. Happy to explore and learn this upgrade and embrace the future, everyone involved has done a grand job and are to be congratulated. Regards, Gerry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLD Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Having played around with the new forum (though without actually posting yet) since being given the link at Manchester, I've mixed feelings so selected "Not sure yet at all" in the poll... Performance: For me it has been chronically slow at times??¦ Talking 2-3 minutes plus sometimes to open threads (blogs are particularly bad), whereas the old forum (at the same time on same PC) responded in seconds.. Also various display issues: Always seem to have horizontal scroll bar regardless of screen settings, window size etc.. again, Blogs seem worst afflicted??¦ New Features/Functions: Galleries:Brilliant ??“ only thing I'd like extra is the ability for multiple users to contribute to the same gallery. It shouldn't be a free-for-all, but by request to, or invitation by the originator of the gallery. It would be better for example having one ???Manchester Show gallery' than ???Andy??™s Manchester Gallery??™, ???Paul??™s Manchester Gallery??™ and so on... Layout/Workbench Blogs: Really not convinced as it stands. Yes it is tidier than the old forum, but for reading, I much prefer to have the posts in earliest to latest order. Is there no option for the viewer to decide which way round to display postings? Also is there an option to go to 'first unread post'? if so I haven't found it yet... I know the newest post is at the top, but there could be any number of new posts I haven't read so no idea how far down to go to get to where I need to start from. I'm afraid that as it is this format is likely to make me look at these thread less rather than more as intended... To me it does seem disjointed. The workbench/layouts blogs and galleries feel like after-thoughts or add-ons and not part of the main forum site because they act differently, have to be searched seperately and don't appear in the same list of new content etc. On the whole I think I'd rather continue to have my layout/workbench topics as 'normal' forum threads if this would be permitted... ???Status Updates??™ box on RHS of page: If this isn??™t ???Chaff??™ crying out to be eliminated I don??™t know what is??¦ Thankfully I quickly spotted the means to hide it!!! Ratings: I have reservations about the whole principle of rating members. As someone else suggested on the old forum, if the option was available for a user to exclude themselves from the rating process I would be taking it??¦ Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Oh no -- everywhere I go I get a Driver Error. God, I hope I haven't broken it. Although I was one of the 15%, so maybe the system is telling me I'm not really wanted?! Despite that, the site looks fresh and clean: in fact, even the Driver Error message looked fresh and clean. I'm very used to blogs elsewhere, so that structure doesn't look strange. But the rest of the site still feels a bit clunky to me -- I wonder if that's just a "new house" feel, before the furniture and the pictures have gone in. The space is right, but it isn't home yet. I guess the acid test is when it's been populated with content. Hopefully that will be much more interesting than this post. Anyway, thanks for all your hard work, and congratulations on the birth of your new baby. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neil Posted October 10, 2009 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 10, 2009 Lots more gadgets than the old version; Luddite that I am I prefer the old one. When all's said and done a forum is only as good as its content and though I'm sure that the content will carry over I find the new toys and layout harder to navigate and therefore the content harder to get at. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Banger Blue Posted October 10, 2009 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 10, 2009 Right thats me Re-registered, bit of a bummer being put back to scratch there but no point moaning. Bit of a laugh registering in to be told my answer to the manufacturer begining with H (to which a said Heljan) was wrong ... nearly as funny as trying to find my avatar again, but got it now. It will take a week or so to make a balanced judgement on the new site once there is some content to work with. Just one thing.. whats with the drop down at bottom with language English (USA), no other option? I thought I would be a bit diferent and go for Heljan as well, quite surprised it wasn't recognised! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I like the overall look and can see a lot of effort has went into it but I think there's far too many subsections and it's going to be a nightmare to navigate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapford34102 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Hi, My first reaction was one of here we go again more new stuff to get my head around. So far so good finding my way around though I was a bit alarmed to find that according to my profile that I was 20 years younger. Change management in IT is generally a pretty fraught experience and credit to Andy and the team for trying to cover every corner with their How Toguides. But there's always a human aspect to this that's nigh on impossible to manage when you're one step removed from the person who needs help.I think we'll leave a number of members at the wayside and that will be a pity but I have no answer to it short of phone line help and that's undoubtedly a non starter. This is not being negative but rather being realistic from my experience in these matters. I am in two minds about the use of blogs for the layouts/workbenches section but prepared to see how things pan out. With regard to the Ratings bit I'm with some others on this on the grounds of what relevance is it to anything here ???? Cheers Stu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Just one thing.. whats with the drop down at bottom with language English (USA), no other option? I've just spotted the same thing. Bit disconcerting, especially as elsewhere on here Andy Y claims to speak pure Anglo-Saxon. Does that mean we all have to refer to railroads and train stations now?! Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanders Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Spliting up the forums into even further sub-forums strikes me as a mistake: I may model in N but I still enjoy reading about the latest Bachman OO or Heljan O releases. I'm less likely to stumble across something outside my direct sphere of interest with the current layout, which would be a shame. Also Andy I hope you'll find a way to import everything from the previous forums (This is what, RMWeb 4.0 now?) It'd be a major shame to lose track of all the threads I was interested in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod6 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 For me it has been chronically slow at times??¦ Talking 2-3 minutes plus sometimes to open threads (blogs are particularly bad), whereas the old forum (at the same time on same PC) responded in seconds.. It has been very busy tonight for some reason we can't fathom . And the old site has not always been as fast as you quote recently!. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod6 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Spliting up the forums into even further sub-forums strikes me as a mistake: I may model in N but I still enjoy reading about the latest Bachman OO or Heljan O releases. I'm less likely to stumble across something outside my direct sphere of interest with the current layout, which would be a shame. Have you tried using the 'view new content' option? Nothing fundamentally different from before. Also Andy I hope you'll find a way to import everything from the previous forums (This is what, RMWeb 4.0 now?) It'd be a major shame to lose track of all the threads I was interested in. We repeat - the previous RMWeb will remain active for a couple of months at least and will then remain as a permanent archive. You can link to your favourite topics in there and port your own ones over here - see several topics in the Forum Help section. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod6 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Also is there an option to go to 'first unread post'? if so I haven't found it yet... I know the newest post is at the top, but there could be any number of new posts I haven't read so no idea how far down to go to get to where I need to start from. If you are in Active Content or View New Content mode, clicking on the topic title will do just that. Clicking on the time of the latest post to the right of the title will take you to the latest post. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 My first visit here has been very frustrating, with numerous and lengthy 'Driver Error' crashes. Given that the old forum is currently shut out of use, I can think only that our server is at least as bad, and possibly worse, at serving this new software as it is the old software. Sorry, distinctly unimpressed so far, and having read the 'pre-official-opening' threads posted here over the last couple of weeks, much of which was characterised by a very high chaff content btw, I get the impression there are a large number of bugs that have been discovered. In a sense, I quite like this air of ongoing amateur bumbling at making RMweb work, but I can imagine there will be a lot more work involved before most people, and even some of the techy experts, can work out what is going on here and how to get to the places we want to get to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iL Dottore Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Having mucked around with computers since the 70s (Fortran anyone?), I don't think that I'm a Luddite by most standards but I'm not sure if I like the new format of RMWeb Technically impressive (and I didn't even have to re-register!) but far too fussy and gimmicky for my taste (one of the the things that I really liked about RMWeb3 was how relatively uncluttered it was). Unfortunately, it would appear that RMWeb3 has been completely shut down (I keep on getting the message "The existing forum is currently offline due to server/database load issues"). Will this be fixed? Like others, I am not sure that a blog is the way to go with the layout/workbench topics - what if you want to post a one-off? Perhaps after we (i.e. members) settle in we could have a poll to see what features we would like to retain and which we would like to bin. One other annoyance is the disappearance of old PMs. I was methodical in cleaning up my in and out box, only keeping what was needed - but now even that is denied to me..... Still, formatting and technical issues aside, RMWeb is still one of the two best fora (in terms of content) for railway modelling. I shall perservere Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted October 11, 2009 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 11, 2009 My first visit here has been very frustrating, with numerous and lengthy 'Driver Error' crashes. Hi MP, The driver crashes are caused because there are more members online at once than the server can cope with. It doesn't much matter which of the two versions of RMweb a member is on, the effect is the same. Andy has explained that RMweb has now expanded to the size where it needs a new bigger server. The said new bigger server has been ordered at great expense and it will be installed in about a week's time. There will need to be a 24-hour closure of RMweb to allow for DNS propagation worldwide. Everything should then work fine. regards, Martin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted October 11, 2009 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 11, 2009 Unfortunately, it would appear that RMWeb3 has been completely shut down (I keep on getting the message "The existing forum is currently offline due to server/database load issues"). Will this be fixed? YES. It's been explained a dozen times over that these problems are temporary until the installation of a new server in about a week's time. Like others, I am not sure that a blog is the way to go with the layout/workbench topics - what if you want to post a one-off? It's entirely up to you. You can post an item as a personal blog, or as a conventional new topic in one of the forums, exactly as before. If you expect substantive contributions or discussion from others, a forum topic is the obvious choice. If you just want to show folks pictures of the latest progress on your layout, a personal blog makes better sense. One other annoyance is the disappearance of old PMs. They haven't disappeared. Just to repeat -- the present access problems are temporary. regards, Martin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart-AU Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 HI.. Just love it, Great software, Once you understand how it all works it easy, simply and fast. Love the blogs, galley. Just hope we do get any problem server full agan. Great work Andy Stuart n OZ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neil Posted October 11, 2009 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 11, 2009 I notice that in the little left hand box under my avatar as well as the usual stuff everyone else has I've got a 'warn status' box; I expect that this is because I'm on moderated status. I haven't noticed this anywhere else; is this because I'm the only loose cannon round here or is it only visible to the miscreant and perhaps the mods? I've no problem with 'visibility', but I'd guess that there are those who would be. Mainly curious. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffles Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I snuck in yesterday afternoon (after the C-word leak on the old forum) and found it all a bit stressful really. Sat back, drew breath and had a play around with the new features (made a gallery, deleted it, made it again) and then went out for the evening. Back this morning and it doesn't seem so bad, in fact, should you consider the amount of work that has gone into this, I'd say the transition has been mostly smooth, which is to be applauded. At work right now we are replacing a major part of our retail systems and for some, (despite the new system making their job easier at times) you'd think the world was going to stop turning so Andy, I know exactly how you've felt at times in the last week or so. For those who don't like the Farcebook-esque status updates at the side of the page, there is a small cross to be found top-left of the list. This will remove the status updates and expand the page to full screen width. How permanent this is I do not know but it worked for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 There seems to be some angst re. the new format of RMweb. I wonder how much of this is due to people trying to run before they can walk. The number of hits on the "how-to guides" is surprisingly low. My recommendation would be either to print the guides or open two browser sessions - one containing the guides and the other pointing to an area of the forum to better understand how the features work. Once you're familiar with a feature/function or two the GUI becomes more inituitive - the trick is not to rush things (a comment that is not meant to be patronising)...dilbert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brisbane King Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Will def. take getting used to, I've grown up using far more conventional forums over the years. ? Still, I think I will give it a shot and it will come into its own with me once I get into the swing of things. ? Suppose you just get into the habit of having something one way and not another. ? The new features seem interesting. ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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