Forum Update

MothballsWallet

For the record, I do like the new design - it seems to be crisper and cleaner.

I'm running Windows XP Pro + Firefox 9.0.1 on a 17" CRT monitor and using the stretchy option (for now) because the fixed width option just has "white" margins that are too large for my tastes.

Perhaps I'll try enabling it and then zooming into the page through Firefox to see what happens with that.

wnoktnwbr

Martin,

I think the biggest problem with the forum being hard to use is not one that you can solve with layout changes. Learning how a forum works and the principles of a forum are the most important part, these can't be taught to those who find new technology daunting just through layout changes. You can make the layout as "friendly" as humanly possible, but people will still be confused. What is a thread? How do I make a thread? Where do people make posts? Who can see my thread? What does quote mean? How do I know when someone replies? If a user understand the principles of a forum, no matter how complex the layout is they can still use it. If you visit a forum now, no matter how complex it is I bet you'd be able to use it. Just like car engines!

The solution to this problem is (in my opinion at least) to provide information that explains it all to new users and helps them work the forum. I'm sure everyone is familiar with software wizards, the step by step options that are presented when installing software, the sort of thing that anyone can understand and operate. A "forum wizard" would be fantastic and solve the bounces from people that are confused. There's a reason there are courses for operating Microsoft Word and these courses are popular, although when we (people experienced with "technology") approach a new website we understand what we should expect (to create an account and authorise via email for example) people new to the internet do not, these sort of principles are important.

I think the simplest way to implement this sort of thing would be a big red help! button (but more descriptive than just help, maybe a box that says "This is your first visit to MSE, if you're not sure how a forum works click here to watch some informative videos!") that takes new users to a page that includes videos that explain how to do things or what things are. What is a thread? I'll just watch this video! I think the absolute best solution would be an "interactive" wizard, where the user opens up a page that is empty of anything but the information they need, the first page would explain in brief what a forum is (a collection of topics that people can reply to) how to create an account and they could create an account from this page, the next page would allow them to select where they wanted to post and so on and so forth.

Maybe some form of focus group, get some of the members here to find their friends that don't use MSE or the internet on a regular basis to provide information on what they find wrong with MSE, assuming you haven't done that before. Have them sit down in front of MSE, monitor what they try to do and how they think. I think I saw a company that offered a service like this a while ago, they had special "eye tracking" technology that would monitor what the user was seeing and then from that it could be deduced where the problem points were. Then with this information you could teach new people about the solutions to the problems these people had.

Anyway this was a rambling mess but my overall point is educating people about how a forum works is much better than trying to make it simple and hoping they understand. To understand a forum online you need a basic understanding of how the internet works, something a lot of older people don't have, my mother would struggle to use MSE without my help, not because she's stupid or the layout is too complex, but because she has no idea what's going on, just like if I was shown a car engine, but if I was taught the basics behind how engines work I'd have no problem.

A forum has to assume that a user does understand what is going on to for that forum to be efficient when being used by regular users, so matter how simple you make the forum you won't solve the new user problem and all you'll do is frustrate current users who do know how to use a forum!

MothballsWallet

jem16 wrote: »

Perhaps Martin is referring to a different fourth bridge than the one over the River Forth?

One that's in the fourth dimension

MSE_Martin

Two quickies

1. Yes we havea provisional video made to help new users - but where to put it is all part of the redesign planned
2. And as for the fourth bridge, its actually in gallifrey

mattytun

comping_cat wrote: »

Sorry, cant last a week with all the posts squished into the middle with loads of white around the outside - hope i can work out how to revert it (im not very techie!)

Did you get the forum back to old style..?

arcon5

Just to add, I do think the main site (excluding the forum) looks very good in the fixed width.

meher

May be if the green panel featuring our titles, names, medals, pictures and other vital statistics is reduced, we'll have more space to talk?

ICHAPMAN

Sorry, switched my forums settings to Stretchy.

Having tried the fixed-width on both my Netbook and 19" monitor, just don't feel comfortable with the narrow view. It would perhaps feel a little better if the right-hand panel with the latest news, blog etc wasn't there and the forum could expand into this space.

mattytun

Im just going with the new look ........:D...im sort of getting used to it now..;)

JDPower

Martin, seriously, bow out of this thread. It's for the most part just a whinge fest with very little constructive comment. You've explained your reasoning, you'll just give yourself a headache repeating it over and over again.

Oh and do people really think just posting "I hate it" type comments when the thread is 17 pages long is serving any purpose (other than clogging it up with what's been said a hundred times already)?