Updated forum software

[wkohler]

Our local forum lets you have signatures as big as you want and it just limits the size displayed. I think pee pole are stupid to not have theirs fit the parameters but if someone really gives a crap about what you have down there they can click on your profile and see the whole thing.

[cddallara]

Just wanted to note a slight glitch: when hitting the back button after reading a thread, it says something to the effect of 'that page doesn't exist'.
Not sure if its just a mobile thing or not, but I've never had that problem before, on this or any of those 'crappy vbulletin sites'.

[MicahO]

Can the new software be set so that links open in a new tab or a new window?

[Justin_FL]

Can the new software be set so that links open in a new tab or a new window?

Not really possible to do it just for external links. I always use the middle mouse button when on the computer to accomplish the same thing.

[demetk]

Can the new software be set so that links open in a new tab or a new window?

Not really possible to do it just for external links. I always use the middle mouse button when on the computer to accomplish the same thing.

This option in Firefox that I have set does not work with this new version of MyE28. It did work in the previous version of MyE28. That is what we are asking.

[Jeremy]

Actually, now it works correctly I think. Left clicking a thread or post shouldn't open a new window/tab by default, even with that setting (read what the setting says). Opening a new window requires a R click and "Open in New Window" or middle click to open in a new tab.

If every left click opened a new window or tab your browser would be full of tabs in very short order.

[demetk]

If anyone is using Firefox and wants links to open in new tabs again use this add-on https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefo ... n-new-tab/. Open the add-on's options via tools/add-ons and use the Lv.1 option.

[MicahO]

If every left click opened a new window or tab your browser would be full of tabs in very short order.

That's how it worked on the old forum, and is how it works on on many (most) other forums. Yes, this means you may end up with a proliferation of windows and/or tabs, but it also means you never lose your place in the forum that you are browsing - and that's the one that matters. Why would we want to be led away from this site?

I'll get into a right-click habit soon enough.

[1st 5er]

If anyone is using Firefox and wants links to open in new tabs again use this add-on https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefo ... n-new-tab/. Open the add-on's options via tools/add-ons and use the Lv.1 option.

Thanks for that.
I chose the Lv.2 option.

[demetk]

If anyone is using Firefox and wants links to open in new tabs again use this add-on https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefo ... n-new-tab/. Open the add-on's options via tools/add-ons and use the Lv.1 option.

Thanks for that.
I chose the Lv.2 option.

I chose the LV.2 option initially until I noticed even the topic links at the main page got new tabs. LV.1 will open the topic links in the same tab and external links in a new tab.

[Jeremy]

If every left click opened a new window or tab your browser would be full of tabs in very short order.

That's how it worked on the old forum, and is how it works on on many (most) other forums. Yes, this means you may end up with a proliferation of windows and/or tabs, but it also means you never lose your place in the forum that you are browsing - and that's the one that matters. Why would we want to be led away from this site?

I'll get into a right-click habit soon enough.

Read what the option says it does. "Open new windows in new tab instead". Left clicking a link does not open a new window. Therefore, it should not open a new tab with that option checked.

[MicahO]

Read what the option says it does. "Open new windows in new tab instead". Left clicking a link does not open a new window. Therefore, it should not open a new tab with that option checked.

That's a browser option, while I'm talking about a forum option. There are phpBB mods and functions that allow for what I'm describing, though I do not know what's loaded on the manager for this forum specifically. There are also ways to modify the post templates so that any links will operate in the same way.

The fact is that some people, myself included, do not want to ever be led away from MyE28.com, and therefore would prefer to have links open in a new tab - the way it used to.

Links to phpBB discussions and KB articles:
https://www.phpbb.com/kb/article/links- ... w-windows/
https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/ ... ab-t_99464
https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/ ... ab-t_99464
https://www.phpbb.com/kb/article/making ... w-windows/

Try it in other forums, and in other browsers.
http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16824

New tabs open so you can easily see where you were in the forum you were originally browsing.

And now that I've posted all these links that are worth reading, and you want to come back to this thread/forum/website, how annoying is it to have to go back-back-back to find where you were?

[Justin_FL]

Those are kludges and they tell you why the behavior was changed for v3. Yes, I have investigated but please read the caveat:

Note: The change will not affect existing posts, you must edit them so they can be reprocessed.

Anyone up for editing 1.2 million posts? Injecting this HTML into every post with a link is messy (I could automate and reprocess the whole board if you don't mind 2 days downtime). BUT this may also create future issues with any upgrades of the forum software because we now have non-standard/expected code located in the SQL post text tables. Moving the forum to this version was more of a stop gap because something had to be done with improper character encoding with the latest web browsers (they would decide to auto-detect and use the wrong charset since the v2 HTML was non standards compliant).

I'm looking forward to the next software version, which uses a new architecture for modifications and should make changes like this very easy to implement without modifying base code and the database.

[MicahO]

Anyone up for editing 1.2 million posts?

Eeps!

Understood - thanks for the clarification.

And many thanks for the continuing work on the site. I haven't run a public board since the early 'aughts, but I do understand that it's not a set-it-and-forget-it sort of job. Back then this issue was a simple template change. Creating a site like this has gotten massively easier, though the extra layers do create compatibility issues for sites that have a long (and storied!) history.

[Jeremy]

And now that I've posted all these links that are worth reading, and you want to come back to this thread/forum/website, how annoying is it to have to go back-back-back to find where you were?

When I want to open a link in a new tab, I open a link in a new tab. Sometimes I left click to keep down the clutter, sometimes I middle click or CTRL+click to open a new tab. Personally, I'd rather the decision be up to me than decided for me in advance.

[ahab]

I like that when I replied to a post the software notified me that the thread had been updated while I was composing mine, put the new post at the top of the screen, and then asked me if I wanted to edit it or still post as-is.

[Jeremy]

This just popped to mind for some reason, lol. I think it applies here.


http://xkcd.com/1172/

Ahab - I haven't seen that yet. That IS handy!

One thing I do miss is the "last edited by" part at the bottom for posts that have been changed. There's now no way to know if a post has been changed or when it was last changed. That was useful information in a few situations.

[wkohler]

I like that when I replied to a post the software notified me that the thread had been updated while I was composing mine, put the new post at the top of the screen, and then asked me if I wanted to edit it or still post as-is.

Big fan.

[demetk]

One thing I do miss is the "last edited by" part at the bottom for posts that have been changed. There's now no way to know if a post has been changed or when it was last changed. That was useful information in a few situations.

[Jeremy]

Another new feature I just noticed. Your PM mailboxes can now be exported for safekeeping/backup if you so desire. I remember at least one or two people asking for this feature in the past. Well, now it's here!

[Justin_FL]

External links should be underlined, have an icon, and open in a new window now. I found a fairly elegant mod that doesn't change the SQL tables.

[tig]

External links should ... have an icon ...

Nice work. I like the fact that you can tell external links visibly! I don't mind the underline but the icon is skank. You've ruined the look of my elegantly crafted sig.

[Justin_FL]

Yeah, that's a bit weird looking, thought it applied only to post text. I can disable the icons fairly easily.

[1st 5er]

Now to go back and figure out how to unchoose Lv.2 option.


P.S.
Thanks...

[demetk]

Now to go back and figure out how to unchoose Lv.2 option.


P.S.
Thanks...

LOL. I need to do the same. Just go to tools/add-ons and choose "remove" on that add-on.