Thanks hdh I feel the same way, re the tech aspect. Hope someone will feel confident enough to volunteer for us. As I say, I (and probably others too) would certainly support anyone kind enough to do this. I guess it means someone who feels they could come up with a list of what the major issues are here now, and would feel comfortable in 'mediating' between us and MSE about them?
It might work best to have one dedicated thread for this in CCC, so our volunteer, the MSE team and any of us who wanted, could post about things. In this way MSE could keep us informed while the volunteer kept MSE posted about our major issues.
1. Can't hover over the thread title to see the post contents, so having to click on every post that looks vaguely interesting. 2. I find the search facility too complicated or it's not intuitive enough. I never really seem to get the search results I'm expecting.
1. Can't hover over the thread title to see the post contents, so having to click on every post that looks vaguely interesting. 2. I find the search facility too complicated or it's not intuitive enough. I never really seem to get the search results I'm expecting.
Definitely. I'd add: 3. The inability to uncheck 'Entered' or 'Skipped' if clicked by accident 4. The white blocks issue in Chrome (though this affects the entire forum, not just comps). MSE have said they are aware of it and are working with the platform team to resolve. Posted about here and here. *Also looks like this might now be fixed!" 5. The regular failure of the search facility (recent episodes have meant entire days worth of comps not appearing in search results) 6. Unable to mark a comp expiring same day as 'Entered' or 'Skipped'. Or is that fixed now? thingamaBob for making me aware
I've been unable to order search results e.g. by most recently posted, so I've had real trouble with that but I don't know if it's just me and I'm missing something?
I could potentially take this on if people were happy for me to (I do some similar stuff in my work), and no-one else more suitable comes forward. I'd need a full list of the issues though because I don't think I know about all of them.
I've emailed the forum team but made it clear that I don't believe I know all of the issues yet and that if someone else more knowledgeable/suitable comes forward, to go with them to avoid the prep work that will otherwise be involved.
If someone more suitable doesn't come forward, I'm sure we can work it out between us Thanks for your tenacity Blu
Thank you Blulu for starting this discussion/petition, I have tried to stick with MSE but I find things so frustrating at times and I miss so many comps, the old site was so friendly and easy to navigate but I feel that perhaps someone tried to fix something that wasn't really broken.
1. Can't hover over the thread title to see the post contents, so having to click on every post that looks vaguely interesting. 2. I find the search facility too complicated or it's not intuitive enough. I never really seem to get the search results I'm expecting.
Definitely. I'd add: 3. The inability to uncheck 'Entered' or 'Skipped' if clicked by accident 4. The white blocks issue in Chrome (though this affects the entire forum, not just comps). MSE have said they are aware of it and are working with the platform team to resolve. Posted about here and here. 5. The regular failure of the search facility (recent episodes have meant entire days worth of comps not appearing in search results) 6. Unable to mark a comp expiring same day as 'Entered' or 'Skipped'. Or is that fixed now?
I've been unable to order search results e.g. by most recently posted, so I've had real trouble with that but I don't know if it's just me and I'm missing something?
I could potentially take this on if people were happy for me to (I do some similar stuff in my work), and no-one else more suitable comes forward. I'd need a full list of the issues though because I don't think I know about all of them.
@Rahven Re number 6, this was fixed some time ago, a day or 2 after it was first reported. See the last post on https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6163706/problem-with-end-date-upgrade-on-competitions-time-only-partially-solved/p2. This new end date is now being used to a) set the thread to closed (but not until 23:59 on it's last day) and then b) All the closed threads are sorted together for the BG's to remove them to GO. It would now be ideal if the further 2 items listed by One-Eye could be implemented but we don't know if this is even being considered by MSE. The one problem that has arisen out of this is where some posters were (and may still be) setting the Mandatory Closing Date to one day later than the actual Closing Date. This was no longer needed once the thread closing was moved to 23:59 and it is now causing those threads to be listed one day out when using the Sort function. This could lead to End Date compers not seeing these comps until the day after they have ended.
Anti-Spam restrictions – Please, Please, Please can a way be found to exclude posters with years of experience and tens of thousands of posts from this heavy handed algorithm. IMPACT - VERY HIGH
This is a list of
problems/niggles/enhancements in no particular order. Items marked with * at the top apply to
Competitions Time only, the others apply to the whole forum.
What is disappointing is how many of them
come directly from this post of 14/02/2020 when the forum was new.
ETA 22/10 - I have added my subjective "IMPACT" ratings.
* Skipped/Entered - the ability to do both for the same thread and to
"unskip" and "unenter".
IMPACT - MEDIUM
* Filter/Sort – ability to filter using skipped/entered markers.
IMPACT - MEDIUM
* Expired - facility
to mark a thread as expired (and send it to Game Over subject to algorithm) -particularly
useful when a comp closes early.
Post numbering - Each post in a longer thread needs to be numbered. Posters like to
refer to other posts by number (eg. answers in post #124)
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Thanks/Comp-liments - Make it more obvious when
you have thanked/Comp-limented a post – suggestions made have been to change
colour/orientation of the icon or colour of the font (I understand BG's have a
tickbox on the teal bar of every post which would also be extremely useful to
all users)
IMPACT - HIGH
Thanks/Compliments - Ability to see who has thanked a post - even if 130 people have
thanked a post you can only see names of 10 of them.
IMPACT - MEDIUM
“I've commented on this thread” marker - In Forum View the ability to see an "I've commented on this
thread" icon or marker (The cog wheel shows if you were the OP, but the
old forum also showed if you had commented on someone else’s thread and this is
greatly missed).
IMPACT - HIGH
Hover - The
display of a preview/portion of the post when you "Hover" on the
thread title in Forum View is greatly missed
IMPACT - VERY HIGH
PM preview –
There is no "preview" when writing a PM
IMPACT - LOW
Search Results 1 – Search Results now display in a totally illogical order. They should
display in a logical order – such as by thread creation time (most recent
first) or by last post (most recent first) if the “replies” button is selected.
IMPACT - VERY HIGH
Search Results 2 - Search Results should display like the full forum list view with
all the same data and functionality including entered/skipped markers. (This
should also extend to “my threads” in “my profile”)
IMPACT - HIGH
email address - Ability to easily post a functioning email address link, either
automatically or by using a button, ie. without resorting to using HTML coding
IMPACT - HIGH
Editing –
The interface is far from WYSIWYG
IMPACT - VMEDIUM
Editing - Loss
of HTML coding previously inserted whenever you subsequently edit your post.
IMPACT - HIGH
Editing - Expansion
of post formatting options, especially colours and font size, extended to
underlining and maybe an expanded selection of emojis.
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Notifications - A method is needed for a user to delete/clear Notifications
IMPACT - LOW
User Online
- An indication of whether a user is online would be useful (especially in
thread view, but also in forum view for the OP).
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Number per page - Number of threads (Forum View) and replies (Thread View) per page
- people would like more, or the option to select more. Also applies to Search
Results.
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Browser Form Filler - In Search boxes especially, the Browser Form Filler drop down
function is suppressed (This means you have to type the search term in full
every time - no fun searching for
"countrywideveganlivingmagazine"
several times when previously I only had to type "cou" and
select it from a drop down menu)
IMPACT - HIGH
Minimum Characters in a post – This needs to be reduced a bit
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Page Number –
Ability to type in and go to a page number without having to edit the URL
IMPACT - HIGH
Other items that have been mentioned but I
am not familiar with these problems:
Replies
It might work best to have one dedicated thread for this in CCC, so our volunteer, the MSE team and any of us who wanted, could post about things. In this way MSE could keep us informed while the volunteer kept MSE posted about our major issues.
Blu XXX
1. Can't hover over the thread title to see the post contents, so having to click on every post that looks vaguely interesting.
2. I find the search facility too complicated or it's not intuitive enough. I never really seem to get the search results I'm expecting.
3. The inability to uncheck 'Entered' or 'Skipped' if clicked by accident
4. The white blocks issue in Chrome (though this affects the entire forum, not just comps). MSE have said they are aware of it and are working with the platform team to resolve. Posted about here and here. *Also looks like this might now be fixed!"
5. The regular failure of the search facility (recent episodes have meant entire days worth of comps not appearing in search results)
6. Unable to mark a comp expiring same day as 'Entered' or 'Skipped'. Or is that fixed now?
thingamaBob for making me aware
I've been unable to order search results e.g. by most recently posted, so I've had real trouble with that but I don't know if it's just me and I'm missing something?
I could potentially take this on if people were happy for me to (I do some similar stuff in my work), and no-one else more suitable comes forward. I'd need a full list of the issues though because I don't think I know about all of them.
If it helps, sleepyjones put together a list of our gripes on page 1 of this thread:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6100079/new-forum-layout-problems-bugs-how-do-i/p1
Then others added their suggestions to the same thread.
I am sure that I would not be alone in offering you any support/help if you were to take this on.
You can email the MSE team to offer your help at: [email protected]
Bless ya
Blu XXX
I've emailed the forum team but made it clear that I don't believe I know all of the issues yet and that if someone else more knowledgeable/suitable comes forward, to go with them to avoid the prep work that will otherwise be involved.
If someone more suitable doesn't come forward, I'm sure we can work it out between us
This new end date is now being used to a) set the thread to closed (but not until 23:59 on it's last day) and then b) All the closed threads are sorted together for the BG's to remove them to GO.
It would now be ideal if the further 2 items listed by One-Eye could be implemented but we don't know if this is even being considered by MSE.
The one problem that has arisen out of this is where some posters were (and may still be) setting the Mandatory Closing Date to one day later than the actual Closing Date. This was no longer needed once the thread closing was moved to 23:59 and it is now causing those threads to be listed one day out when using the Sort function. This could lead to End Date compers not seeing these comps until the day after they have ended.
Re number 4, recent comments on Site Feedback would suggest that this has been resolved. See https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6188683/unable-to-read-forum-on-google-chrome-browser#latest
As regards Search, the only current problems would seem to be as posted on Site Feedback:-
as urgent https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6194128/urgent-fault-search-not-finding-threads-posted-after-approx-7-30pm#latest
PLUS
the random sorting of results as reported here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6171360/order-of-search-results-no-priority-we-have-to-live-with-it#latest. MSE have said this is not a priority but it does make any search in Game Over rather awkward.
AND
Item 2) from the thread here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6193775/fault-problem-with-search-subcategories-button-number-of-pages#latest
IMPACT - VERY HIGH
IMPACT - VERY HIGH
and a worsening of the situation:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6204075
IMPACT - VERY HIGH
IMPACT - LOW
This is a list of problems/niggles/enhancements in no particular order.
Items marked with * at the top apply to Competitions Time only, the others apply to the whole forum.
What is disappointing is how many of them come directly from this post of 14/02/2020 when the forum was new.
ETA 22/10 - I have added my subjective "IMPACT" ratings.
* Skipped/Entered - the ability to do both for the same thread and to "unskip" and "unenter".
IMPACT - MEDIUM
* Filter/Sort – ability to filter using skipped/entered markers.
IMPACT - MEDIUM
* Expired - facility to mark a thread as expired (and send it to Game Over subject to algorithm) -particularly useful when a comp closes early.
IMPACT - LOW
* Closed Threads – Need to be able to reply to threads in Game Over – currently blocked by the threads being closed. There is no need to ever close threads automatically. see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77422306/#Comment_77422306
IMPACT - HIGH
Post numbering - Each post in a longer thread needs to be numbered. Posters like to refer to other posts by number (eg. answers in post #124)
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Thanks/Comp-liments - Make it more obvious when you have thanked/Comp-limented a post – suggestions made have been to change colour/orientation of the icon or colour of the font (I understand BG's have a tickbox on the teal bar of every post which would also be extremely useful to all users)
IMPACT - HIGH
Thanks/Compliments - Ability to see who has thanked a post - even if 130 people have thanked a post you can only see names of 10 of them.
IMPACT - MEDIUM
“I've commented on this thread” marker - In Forum View the ability to see an "I've commented on this thread" icon or marker (The cog wheel shows if you were the OP, but the old forum also showed if you had commented on someone else’s thread and this is greatly missed).
IMPACT - HIGH
Hover - The display of a preview/portion of the post when you "Hover" on the thread title in Forum View is greatly missed
IMPACT - VERY HIGH
PM preview – There is no "preview" when writing a PM
IMPACT - LOW
Search Results 1 – Search Results now display in a totally illogical order. They should display in a logical order – such as by thread creation time (most recent first) or by last post (most recent first) if the “replies” button is selected.
IMPACT - VERY HIGH
Search Results 2 - Search Results should display like the full forum list view with all the same data and functionality including entered/skipped markers. (This should also extend to “my threads” in “my profile”)
IMPACT - HIGH
email address - Ability to easily post a functioning email address link, either automatically or by using a button, ie. without resorting to using HTML coding
IMPACT - HIGH
Editing – The interface is far from WYSIWYG
IMPACT - VMEDIUM
Editing - Loss of HTML coding previously inserted whenever you subsequently edit your post.
IMPACT - HIGH
Editing - Expansion of post formatting options, especially colours and font size, extended to underlining and maybe an expanded selection of emojis.
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Notifications - A method is needed for a user to delete/clear Notifications
IMPACT - LOW
User Online - An indication of whether a user is online would be useful (especially in thread view, but also in forum view for the OP).
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Number per page - Number of threads (Forum View) and replies (Thread View) per page - people would like more, or the option to select more. Also applies to Search Results.
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Browser Form Filler - In Search boxes especially, the Browser Form Filler drop down function is suppressed (This means you have to type the search term in full every time - no fun searching for "countrywideveganlivingmagazine" several times when previously I only had to type "cou" and select it from a drop down menu)
IMPACT - HIGH
Minimum Characters in a post – This needs to be reduced a bit
IMPACT - MEDIUM
Page Number – Ability to type in and go to a page number without having to edit the URL
IMPACT - HIGH
Other items that have been mentioned but I am not familiar with these problems:
Bookmarking/subscribing when posting.
Daily digest mails.
Emoticons appear huge in search results