Our current website was designed roughly 6 years ago and is in need of an update.  We've always asked for suggestions when it comes to content and designs, so let's hear it.  What would everyone like to see?  The new website will be:

 

Responsive (HTML5, styled with CSS3)

Heavily integrated with forum

Heavily integrated with photo gallery

SMF 2.0 (2.1 is not yet finished)

Updated SMF Mobile theme

 

We are open to any and all suggestions.  Thank you for helping us keep this site going.

Maybe seperate the forum newsfeed into several newsfeeds by region?  I notice that sometimes the site gets "Cleveland bombed" (as I call it in my head) when all topics in the feed are Cleveland related.  I would understand if this is against the spirit of what you're trying to do though (unite urbanists across Ohio.)

How about an events calendar?

This thread is almost a year old and we haven't had much input.  I would like to begin the planning phase of the new design and have it live by the end of the year.  Input is very important, due to my lack of vision and creativity!

I don't need much. Maybe a setting that forces all embedded images to show as links (instead of the embedded image). Sometimes threads get bogged down by dozens of pics.

^I'd second that. If I'm on a slow connection and go into one of those threads I can't scroll to the bottom to read the most recent posts because for several minutes the pictures are loading and pushing everything down. Obviously I can just force the page to stop loading but it would be nice if we could have the option whether or not to view images.

I like the site just the way it is.  No need for any major transformation.  I agree that the loading pictures delay can be a bit annoying.  Other than that, I have no complaints.

I know zippo about design but I think the overall graphic design of the main page could be a lot more interesting. I know this is mainly a bulletin board type format but I think the all blue/gray thing is kind of boring and doesn't entice people to join.

 

I think there should be something at the top of the forums page as well like  TOS or link to a page to look at before joining/posting, including how to post links to news stories, FAQ, etc. But it should start with a "welcome" post that engages people and invites them to post. I'd be happy to help create or shape that text, if desired.

See "Read this First" on the Cleveland forum on TA, for example.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g50207-i345-Cleveland_Ohio.html

Can you consider a 'night mode' if possible. There are apps and ext. but most seem buggy and are battery users. It would be easier on the eyes and doesn't light up the room. Is there one that can maybe reverse the text and background while leaving the images alone?

Keep the "Recent Forum Topics" and maybe add 5 more links. (that's how I found this thread)

I like the forum and really appreciate the ability to access it with Tapatalk on my iPhone.  That's huge!

Website is simple, easy to traverse. no major changes needed.

I'd second having a handful more "recent threads" on the front page. I usually use that section to judge what I've missed and sometimes active topics seem to disappear the second they're off that list and I suspect it's because many others use that home page as well to see what's new instead of the other methods available.

I would like a button at the bottom of a thread to go straight to the page with "new replies to your posts."  It would safe a step from clicking on the main forum page, then clicking again on "new replies to your posts." 

 

Other than that no issues with the site--everything works well, so no need to fix! :)

(1) I'll add a dissenting voice on the images-as-links.  It would be very cumbersome to have to click a ton of links to see some of these threads; they're much more elegant and accessible when the images are embedded.  It's much more user-friendly to just scroll through rather than have to use the mouse (or touchscreen) a lot.

 

Slow connections are less and less common.

 

(2) Events calendar could be nice if it can be spam-filtered with the same commendable success rate as the forums.  It's not essential, though, because this is a statewide site and most events calendars are of more interest to only a particular locality.  I have Akron-specific events calendars elsewhere, for example.

This is a low priority, but it would be cool if images could be optimized for retina/high-DPI screens. I've been using retina screens for 3+ years now (MacBook Pro and iMac 5K) and lower resolution images do not look good on these screens. Technically speaking, the way you do this is by loading an image at 2x resolution and displaying it at half size... for example loading a 1200x800 image and displaying it as 600x400. There are various techniques you can use that make sure the higher-resolution images aren't loaded for people who don't have higher-res screens.

(1) I'll add a dissenting voice on the images-as-links.  It would be very cumbersome to have to click a ton of links to see some of these threads; they're much more elegant and accessible when the images are embedded.  It's much more user-friendly to just scroll through rather than have to use the mouse (or touchscreen) a lot.

 

Slow connections are less and less common.

 

I assume it would be a user setting. Several other forums I've seen allow the user to enable/disable embedded images for themselves. Mobile browsing on a cell connection is sometimes a crapshoot.

Something strange is happening to UO on my iPhone. The site loads skinny and narrow and is cutting off the date and time of the most recent replies for each thread. I should mention, this is the main site I'm having trouble with. I never use the mobile site because it's unattractive. What's happening?

Same with me. Maybe experimenting with different site layouts.

Same with me. Maybe experimenting with different site layouts.

 

It's awful. I can't see the dates of times of last posts and all of the fonts are bigger so I can't read as much at one time and have to scroll down way too much. Please change back to the way it was. This is really user unfriendly.

Same with me. Maybe experimenting with different site layouts.

 

This was the case. I just removed it though.

Same with me. Maybe experimenting with different site layouts.

 

This was the case. I just removed it tough.

Thank you so much. It's back to normal now! Indescribably better.

I actually liked the new layout, but don't mind this one either

Would love if we could go back to having more options for themes. I prefer my web browsing to be high contrast. Its easier on my eyes.

Any of these would work:

 

 

http://custom.simplemachines.org/area51/themes/index.php?lemma=22

 

 

http://custom.simplemachines.org/area51/themes/index.php?lemma=23

 

 

http://custom.simplemachines.org/area51/themes/index.php?lemma=118

 

 

Or anything similar - that was just a quick look on the http://custom.simplemachines.org/ site

 

 

This is a low priority, but it would be cool if images could be optimized for retina/high-DPI screens. I've been using retina screens for 3+ years now (MacBook Pro and iMac 5K) and lower resolution images do not look good on these screens. Technically speaking, the way you do this is by loading an image at 2x resolution and displaying it at half size... for example loading a 1200x800 image and displaying it as 600x400. There are various techniques you can use that make sure the higher-resolution images aren't loaded for people who don't have higher-res screens.

 

What would that do to the size of the images?  For browsing at home, it doesn't matter, but on a cell phone with a data cap, large images can really start to add up.  I also like the idea of not loading images at all.  It would be great if this was a user setting, so that each of us can choose the image behavior that suits us best.  Also, a "show all/hide all" link on each thread would take care of the problem of clicking many links to in a photo thread. 

This is a low priority, but it would be cool if images could be optimized for retina/high-DPI screens. I've been using retina screens for 3+ years now (MacBook Pro and iMac 5K) and lower resolution images do not look good on these screens. Technically speaking, the way you do this is by loading an image at 2x resolution and displaying it at half size... for example loading a 1200x800 image and displaying it as 600x400. There are various techniques you can use that make sure the higher-resolution images aren't loaded for people who don't have higher-res screens.

 

What would that do to the size of the images?  For browsing at home, it doesn't matter, but on a cell phone with a data cap, large images can really start to add up.  I also like the idea of not loading images at all.  It would be great if this was a user setting, so that each of us can choose the image behavior that suits us best.  Also, a "show all/hide all" link on each thread would take care of the problem of clicking many links to in a photo thread. 

 

 

Yeah, typically with modern web design techniques, it will load the appropriate image size for a particular device. So phones with a 4" screen will download a much smaller file than my desktop with 27" monitor.

^True.  All I know is that in Chrome on a PC, I'm constantly scrolling horizontally because the page didn't scale the images to the appropriate size (in this case, size means length/width, not file size).  The worst is when the "wordwrap" for the text of posts following large images adheres to the width of the previous image.  I'm not sure if that's a Chrome thing, a Windows thing, a SMF thing, or an urbanohio thing, but it would be great if the pictures would scale properly.  There are certain threads that I just avoid until a new page begins and order is restored.

 

 

//EDIT: Actually, I just noticed a thread where the browser DID resize the images, so I'm not sure what the common thread is.  I'll update again the next time I notice a thread where it doesn't resize.  Maybe it was on my iPad after all?

^ I've noticed that as well. I'd say 90% of the time the image is re-sized, but every once in a while, you get some photos that you have to scroll right, and then all of the posts afterward follow suit. I use IE 11 and Firefox, so it's not limited to Chrome.

^Glad you mentioned that.  Thanks.  Since it wasn't "just me", I started poking around looking for a pattern.  The difference seems to be whether the images are linked to via HTML tags ([/img] or [/url]) or attached directly to the post.  If the image is linked, the post resizes them properly.  If the image is attached, the post appears to display them in the image's original dimensions.  It would be great if the forum could resize images regardless of how they are being accessed, since one method may work better than the other for some users and/or under certain circumstances.

 

Here is are two example threads that illustrate this difference in behavior:

 

Linked:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30314.msg770687.html

 

Attached:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,28799.70.html

I really like the forum in its current state.

 

The home page/image folders could use some updating--not so much for functionality but just to keep things looking fresh.

Is this forum antiquated? I just realized, after seeing that on users' posts, you can click an AOL / yahoo instant messenger icon. People stopped using AIM in like 2004. The site certainly functions well. I like it. It just seems like there's probably a lot of cool features out there, that could be added. I don't visit any other message boards though to compare and I haven't put a lot of thought into how it could be improved. I know the UX on mobile isn't very good though. For a long time, I was really confused as to what to tap to actually get to the main page of the forum. I mostly visit the site from my laptop though.

Pssst... I'm still on the other theme that no one else uses. This site looks totally different for me than you.

Pssst... I'm still on the other theme that no one else uses. This site looks totally different for me than you.

 

(Me too)

Yeah, forums in general are sort of an old concept as social media eats most of the internet. (Lots of publications are even turning off comments on articles and saying "talk about it on Twitter.") So it's not surprising to me that not much new stuff is happening in the world of forum software and these platforms haven't changed much in 15 years.

What is the oldest post on this forum?

Yeah, forums in general are sort of an old concept as social media eats most of the internet. (Lots of publications are even turning off comments on articles and saying "talk about it on Twitter.") So it's not surprising to me that not much new stuff is happening in the world of forum software and these platforms haven't changed much in 15 years.

 

Too much Americans for America and Americans for Freedom on my Facespace from going to a rural high school and going to college with Cincy subrbanites.

I'd like to embed tweets on UO. I see that on various sites. It would be good to keep track of all of Trump's lies.

Yeah, forums in general are sort of an old concept as social media eats most of the internet. (Lots of publications are even turning off comments on articles and saying "talk about it on Twitter.") So it's not surprising to me that not much new stuff is happening in the world of forum software and these platforms haven't changed much in 15 years.

 

Hmm... that makes sense and seems like a great point. I felt sort of stupid not being able to offer much valuable site input regarding UX or throwing out ideas for features, etc. I'm usually attuned to stuff like that but I've always just appreciated the practicality, functionality and simplicity of this site and come here almost every day so I never really think about it but when my page didn't fully load and it showed the HTML saying, "Yahoo messenger" instead of the icon that I never notice, it got me thinking. Pretty much all of the main features this site entails - private messages, sorting for unread topics and new replies, user profiles, uploading and displaying pictures, pagination, down to the nav-bar, cards, etc. etc. are all great but have all pretty much remained the same and have been there since day one. Pretty innovative and cool back in the day but certainly there's new things to be explored with forums, I think.

 

On a positive note, I think the concept of message boards like UO will never be obsolete. If you think about it, there's been less trolls on here since those trolls have a more effective outlet on Facebook and Twitter. This forum serves a purpose that social media could never fulfill. We're basically a large group of people from all over, with no prior connection to each other but with very similar interests and a similar mindset, who managed to find each other and organize to share news, info and discuss issues with other people who actually care to talk about it. Most people we're connected with on social media don't care to talk about the major topics we discuss on here. Forums are still great for niche groups!

 

So this SMF is open source. yeah? is it easy for you guys to go in there and add or delete actions in the source code? Or are you at the mercy of whatever plug-ins they come out with, if you want to update it? I would just get rid of the instant messenger feature and whatever else might be antiquated like that. Especially if you pay hosting fees for all of that data being transferred... even though it's minuscule, every bit adds up over time and if it shows up on the mobile version, people are typically paying for certain amount of gigabytes on their phone plan.

 

I made a message board before, from scratch, but it was very basic and I used the .Net MVC framework so it was a lot different than this. I'm just curious how SMF works and gets integrated with the main site.

 

One cool feature (API) I had on my my web app, was OAuth 2. In my case, I allowed the user to log in, to post, using either their Facebook or Gmail account. Not only does it save the user time by not having to type in a password or even struggle to remember their password, but I figured it would prevent trolling and spamming Google and Facebook are good at verifying the validity of the user by sending text messages or e-mails to those trying to create an account. Spammers and trolls typically aren't going to go through all of that work just to make fake accounts and ignorant posts. I don't know if you guys think that that's something worth looking into but I thought it was a pretty cool feature.