Personal Message
Whatever next,the invention of a camera with no film,LOL,have a nice weekend.
Andy
Andy
Carabosse, We have heard your opinions, and I'm sure Pete has noted your requests, but please drop the condescending tones when others offer their thoughts.
Be constructive, not destructive.
To all,
Personally I prefer this style of forum than other sites, I find it far easier and quicker to navigate.
Everybody takes different things from the site, without an option to stop PM, would be like telling members you must post a picture to the gallery before you can contribute to the forums.
Before anybody posts a response, they should take the time to read through it, and think about how it could be taken by other members.
At the end of the day, it's not easy to please everyone here, and the Team do a great job when you consider the size of the site, and the (wo)man power they have.
If you can do it better then go ahead, I know I can't.
Matt
Be constructive, not destructive.
To all,
Personally I prefer this style of forum than other sites, I find it far easier and quicker to navigate.
Everybody takes different things from the site, without an option to stop PM, would be like telling members you must post a picture to the gallery before you can contribute to the forums.
Before anybody posts a response, they should take the time to read through it, and think about how it could be taken by other members.
At the end of the day, it's not easy to please everyone here, and the Team do a great job when you consider the size of the site, and the (wo)man power they have.
If you can do it better then go ahead, I know I can't.
Matt
Oooh-oo-ooooh. What's btw, please? AAh, just worked it out. Doh.
No worries Dan, the benefit of the 'edit' function to correct a spelling mistake. I haven't downloaded IE Spell yet after a recent upgrade.
That'll teach me...
Jim, there was a useful link posted here by Carabosse about the commonly used internet abbreviations.
That'll teach me...
Jim, there was a useful link posted here by Carabosse about the commonly used internet abbreviations.
Oh I think Matt is definitely being very condescending!!
Nobody is saying anyone isn't doing a good job, Matty mate! Perhaps people should stop reading things which aren't there, eh?
Hey, guess what - I didn't start this thread!!
My comments, and those of several others, have been support of Stompie.
Now let's see some constructive suggestions from you Mr Wag.
(PS: The use of bold is also satire!)
Nobody is saying anyone isn't doing a good job, Matty mate! Perhaps people should stop reading things which aren't there, eh?
Hey, guess what - I didn't start this thread!!
My comments, and those of several others, have been support of Stompie.
Now let's see some constructive suggestions from you Mr Wag.
(PS: The use of bold is also satire!)
can i be cheeky and go against carabosse's theory?..i don't like the idea of a pm system either but haven't said until now because i hadn't read the forum!...like the open forum idea, it gives everyone the chance to see others opinions without being directly involved if they prefer not to be....and carabosse you are a little rude babe sometimes...be nice! 
whoops a smiley crept in! lol
whoops a smiley crept in! lol
"Oh and Abwhitt, if I had a fiver for everytime someone on ePz said "I agree with Carabosse" (shock/horror) I'd be eyeing up that Hasselblad. Lol!! 
"
But if you gave a pound for everytime people disagreed with you, you could forget that Hasselblad, you've have to sell your house!
PS. I'll try not to make a habit of it!
Frank
"But if you gave a pound for everytime people disagreed with you, you could forget that Hasselblad, you've have to sell your house!
PS. I'll try not to make a habit of it!
Frank
Caraboose, I'll refer you to my comments early in this thread, "You'll be fighting an uphill battle here!" It's evident you have a hardcore here who know very little of how other forums work, who imagine problems, which in my experience have never raised their ugly heads. I think they all imagine they are going to be inundated with private messages. They must be a lot more popular than most, it's certainly never happened to me. :-( Neither is it compulsory, the choice is yours.
"Personally I prefer this style of forum than other sites, I find it far easier and quicker to navigate."
That's purely because you are familiar with it. It's that simple! (I was much more familiar with my Fuji 602 than my Canon when I first got it, didn't know where to start. No prizes for guessing which one I prefer now!) I find the opposite, because I'm more used to the other forums.To quote your line above, for example, I have to cut and paste it, in other forums, it's a simple click, "Quote", job done. All these people meeting up for a day out together, to hear them talking about swapping phone numbers, addresses etc, so easy with private messaging.
So we'll agree to disagree, and stay exactly as we are. We don't want change, simply for change sake.
Frank
"Personally I prefer this style of forum than other sites, I find it far easier and quicker to navigate."
That's purely because you are familiar with it. It's that simple! (I was much more familiar with my Fuji 602 than my Canon when I first got it, didn't know where to start. No prizes for guessing which one I prefer now!
) I find the opposite, because I'm more used to the other forums.To quote your line above, for example, I have to cut and paste it, in other forums, it's a simple click, "Quote", job done. All these people meeting up for a day out together, to hear them talking about swapping phone numbers, addresses etc, so easy with private messaging.So we'll agree to disagree, and stay exactly as we are. We don't want change, simply for change sake.
Frank
I think sometimes, we forget what this site is for? Are we or aren't we photographers, trying to help and exchange information and ideas? Maybe if this site wasn't so addictive, we would go to bed a little earlier, enabling us to enjoy the best part of the day!
I'd always thought the forum was the heart of this site until I saw the latest poll and realised it is the gallery. It is to me a hugely important part and is a big part of it's charm.
I've a long history of online forums. I was part of a team at university that created the first on-line forums. I've also built and maintained forums, the latest went live four months ago. I therefore, totally agree with Will from a support and maintenance perspective. This is an extremely easy to use forum and as a user appears to extremely robust.
It is true that some of the code now available is very robust and easy to maintain through GUI's for those without the skills to write the code themselves. From personal experience, when something does go wrong, it can take days to find the issue and may require a new release from the developers to fix. Just because you might not have experienced it happening doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I'm amazed that a site of this complexity and traffic has an IT staff of one.
I believe that epz is ahead of the game with it's forum design and when I next set-up a forum I will model it on this one.
Edward
PS
PM for Carabosse - Search for "I agree with Carabosse" and you'd have 50 quid. I didn't know Hasselblad's were so cheap?
I'd always thought the forum was the heart of this site until I saw the latest poll and realised it is the gallery. It is to me a hugely important part and is a big part of it's charm.
I've a long history of online forums. I was part of a team at university that created the first on-line forums. I've also built and maintained forums, the latest went live four months ago. I therefore, totally agree with Will from a support and maintenance perspective. This is an extremely easy to use forum and as a user appears to extremely robust.
It is true that some of the code now available is very robust and easy to maintain through GUI's for those without the skills to write the code themselves. From personal experience, when something does go wrong, it can take days to find the issue and may require a new release from the developers to fix. Just because you might not have experienced it happening doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I'm amazed that a site of this complexity and traffic has an IT staff of one.
I believe that epz is ahead of the game with it's forum design and when I next set-up a forum I will model it on this one.
Edward
PS
PM for Carabosse - Search for "I agree with Carabosse" and you'd have 50 quid. I didn't know Hasselblad's were so cheap?
Slightly ignoring the PM aspect for a minute and considering the Forum engine used, Will has created a clean, simple, easy to use forum system that has a unique identity rather being a 'skinned' version of mass-market forum software.
As for it being inflexible, I've never seen site updates happen so quickly. Delays to updates seem to be due to deciding whether a feature should be implemented rather than whether it can be done; this is how I read the Moderator issue, anyway.
The PM idea would have some uses, I think, but we definitely don't need to switch the Forum engine when we have a brilliantly useable, and constantly updated, one here.
Dave
As for it being inflexible, I've never seen site updates happen so quickly. Delays to updates seem to be due to deciding whether a feature should be implemented rather than whether it can be done; this is how I read the Moderator issue, anyway.
The PM idea would have some uses, I think, but we definitely don't need to switch the Forum engine when we have a brilliantly useable, and constantly updated, one here.
Dave
Didn't follow your post there abwhitt! Surely if Carabosse was given a pound for every time people disagreed with him, he'd be buying the camera not selling the house.
On a more general note: does seem that as soon as this discussion starts anywhere in the forum, there are presumptions made that nobody else has surfed the net / seen other sites / been members of other forums, and that this site is stuck in some kind of timewarp. Odd psychology, that, if you're hoping to persuade. Also shows a lack of any good reasons for change unless it's simply to be like everywhere else and because you don't like the fact that ePz is different.
On a more general note: does seem that as soon as this discussion starts anywhere in the forum, there are presumptions made that nobody else has surfed the net / seen other sites / been members of other forums, and that this site is stuck in some kind of timewarp. Odd psychology, that, if you're hoping to persuade. Also shows a lack of any good reasons for change unless it's simply to be like everywhere else and because you don't like the fact that ePz is different.
"Didn't follow your post there abwhitt! Surely if Carabosse was given a pound for every time people disagreed with him, he'd be buying the camera not selling the house."
You're 100% correct on that assumption, but that's not what I wrote! Reread it,
"But if "you" gave a pound for everytime people disagreed with you" Nowhere have I said anything about anyone giving him a pound, if he gave a pound, is what I wrote.
Frank
You're 100% correct on that assumption, but that's not what I wrote!
Reread it, "But if "you" gave a pound for everytime people disagreed with you" Nowhere have I said anything about anyone giving him a pound, if he gave a pound, is what I wrote.
Frank
If everybody who wanted to take part in person to person chats put their email address in their profile, but the address could only be seen by logged on members, would this not be a good compromise?
Just a thought.
My own view: Often we have 4 or 5 (or more) members taking part in a discussion. The existing system allows each member (and everybody else) to see all comments at the same time. An on-line meeting as it were, with everybody present.
If the above suggestion was embodied those who wanted to converse person to person could do so off site.
jas
Just a thought.
My own view: Often we have 4 or 5 (or more) members taking part in a discussion. The existing system allows each member (and everybody else) to see all comments at the same time. An on-line meeting as it were, with everybody present.
If the above suggestion was embodied those who wanted to converse person to person could do so off site.
jas
"Will: The whole point about things like phpBB and (to a lesser degree) Snitz is that all the features we have talked about come as standard. There are no lines of code to worry about."
I have no problem with you giving suggestions on how we can improve ePHOTOzine Carabosse and welcome feedback. However, on this issue you are severely lacking on an understanding of how:
a) ePHOTOzine works 'behind the scenes'.
b) How the code that drives this website works.
c) The features Pete and I use here that phpBB etc, don't have.
d) That I have already used phpBB, Vbulletin and others and am already aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
e) We looked at integrating with something like phpBB over a year ago, before the last redesign and decided the benefits were far outweighed by drawbacks.
"For example, I think Pete would like - in principle - to have moderators on here. That is absolutely bog-standard for any forum software other than that used here. (As are PM, emoticons and the rest.) But on ePz, it is big hassle... or so you have indicated. So where is the merit in being different just for the sake of it?"
The merit is in the long term we will have a system that is unique and caters to all the needs of our readers (and the admins/moderators). We will also have a lot of features that no other site has, just be patient...
I have no problem with you giving suggestions on how we can improve ePHOTOzine Carabosse and welcome feedback. However, on this issue you are severely lacking on an understanding of how:
a) ePHOTOzine works 'behind the scenes'.
b) How the code that drives this website works.
c) The features Pete and I use here that phpBB etc, don't have.
d) That I have already used phpBB, Vbulletin and others and am already aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
e) We looked at integrating with something like phpBB over a year ago, before the last redesign and decided the benefits were far outweighed by drawbacks.
"For example, I think Pete would like - in principle - to have moderators on here. That is absolutely bog-standard for any forum software other than that used here. (As are PM, emoticons and the rest.) But on ePz, it is big hassle... or so you have indicated. So where is the merit in being different just for the sake of it?"
The merit is in the long term we will have a system that is unique and caters to all the needs of our readers (and the admins/moderators). We will also have a lot of features that no other site has, just be patient...
