easier to use.......

[catherine23]

ok this might sound really out of order but just wanted to make a few suggestions...

topics were listed from most recent rather than from first posted and where as the most recent is on a few pages along.

topic message window could be thinner as you have to scroll width ways as well as down to read the whole message. Then back again for the next etc.

will go now, lol
cat x

 

[LauraB]

Hi Cat,

Don't worry, all suggestions (and constructive criticism!) are warmly received - I plan on making Pregnancy Forum the best and most user-friendly forum of them all!

I wasn't actually aware of the scrolling left/right issue - in my browser, I can see the full screen. But I can guess that users with a lower resolution (or a smaller browser window) will be those having to scroll, so I'll be working on getting that fixed over the next few days. Thanks very much for pointing it out.

Regarding the posting order - the topics aren't actually listed in first-post order ... regardless of when the topic was started, if it receives a reply then that topic will move to the top of the list. If it doesn't receive any more replies, it will start to gradually move down the list as replies to existing topics, and new topics themselves, are added. So, the most up-to-date replies are always at the top, keeping active topics easy to find.

I hope this helps - I'll also PM you with this in case you don't come back to this topic.

Ladies - if you have anything else to add, such as technical problems you have experienced, or new items you would like to see on the forum - please do PM me, or reply here, and I'll see what I can do. There are some exciting new features coming to Pregnancy Forum soon, and I'll be sending a newsletter out with more details just as soon as everything is ready.

Best wishes,
Laura B

 

[catherine23]

lol your right!! its probably my computer! hehe sorry!

 

[catherine23]

but still the origianal post stays at the top and replies add up under.

 

[LauraB]

Hi Cat,

Ah, I understand what you mean now - I think we got our wires crossed!

When you said "topics were listed from most recent ..." I thought you were referring to the order in which the topic headings appeared in each forum (like this). I didn't realise that you meant the order in which the messages were posted within each of those topics.

Well, the way the messages appear makes it easy for the conversation to be followed. Members can read the first post, and then if somebody has replied, they only have to scroll downwards to see that reply, and down again, and so on. All the viewer has to do to follow the conversation (and any new replies) is keep scrolling down, and down, and so on. This is pretty much the standard across most forums - all geared towards easier reading.

If we were to reverse the posting order so that the most recent post/message was at the top, then say a member posted a message which spanned more than the viewer's screen allowed - anybody reading that message would have to scroll right down to finish reading that message, and then scroll right back up again (and even further up than the beginning of that post) to view any further replies that it received. If any subsequent replies were also longer than the viewer's screen allowed, then this would make for quite a lot of up-and-down scrolling!

Also, I'm not sure if you already know this but when viewing the topics, you can jump straight to the latest post by clicking the 'View Latest Post' button - I've put a screenshot below which I hope helps:-

I'm still working on the left/right scrolling issue - I've pinpointed the cause as being down to tickers. Now I don't think any of us want to get rid of those! so I'm hoping I can get this fixed some time soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Best wishes,
Laura B

 

[LauraB]

Oh wow, I would just like to give myself a very big pat on the back I'm very happy indeed!

After hours of tweaking, I think I have finally fixed this problem (the one where members had to scroll left and right to read a topic in full)! I'm off to make a large coffee now ......... I need it!

If anybody still experiences this problem, please let me know. And then I will get back to the grindstone forthwith

Best wishes,
Laura B

 

[catherine23]

thanks laura! I didnt realize i could go direct to the latest post!! cat xx