Forum changes you'd like to see

As I mentioned in my introduction post I've been nagging Steve with offers of help in running the forum. A big part of that is going to be getting it upgraded as the forum software and the server it's on are both well out of date. This puts it at risk of things going wrong and putting this awesome resource at risk.
I'm keen for everyone's input on changes and improvements you'd like to see on the forum so we can factor those in when the upgrades happen. Anything along the lines of "I wish that ..." or "it's frustrating that/when ...".
A couple from me to get things started:
- A better search function would be a huge help. Especially for it to show individual posts not just the whole thread.
- Image uploads seem prohibitive in terms of how large the image can be. It would be better if larger images were accepted and then resized automatically.

Keen for any thoughts.

Cheers,
Nic

" Psopho ",

Greetings, Yes it would be great to have some better functions, I use the small " Search " function a lot using keywords but it tends to bring up whole threads and then when you open a thread the " Keyword " is highlighted but in black.

Images ; size and also number is restrictive, usually up to 6 at a time, and I know others often only do 4 as it take some time to firstly resize to under 185kb and then to post.

Will be great for the forum to continue, with perhaps a small annual subscription for members, although of course it can be viewed by anyone.
There is a lot of information on TRS that is worth saving. Much of it is on Facebook groups but they are often hard to search as well.

Cheers

Roger.

Attachment 77199

This guy !!

Thanks Roger.
Good point on the search result highlighting. I've changed that now so the search term will be highlighted in red text rather than the black background.
There are some options with image uploading like increasing the limit beyond 6 or enabling automatic resizing but I don't want to change those without a bit more investigation into the implications.

You can count on our support!

Many wouldn't realise just how much information is on here and also how often it leads to private messages requiring additional pics or information.

I can live with having to resize pics before uploading, but I'm sure that initially, you could upload several at a time. Now they have to be uploaded individually, which is very time consuming.

Quite often, pics have been successfully uploaded then disappear again almost immediately.

I reduced my uploads to 4 per post as the issue for some (including myself) is that as the pages get longer, basic personal laptops just can't cope. Increasing the posted size limitations would only make things worse.

Overall, I'm quite happy for the way things are at the moment but every now and again, there is an issue when the site isn't working.

While I no longer contribute as much as I used to, preserving what is already here is paramount.
I too have issues relating to photos per post, thanks especially to ERC for cutting back to 4 per post has meant I see most. At the end of a page even that frequently means I can't see them. The download speed for me is an issue.
I use a PC, near new with high capacity so I don't think it's me, or my fibre connection that is the issue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oldfart

I use a PC, near new with high capacity so I don't think it's me, or my fibre connection that is the issue.

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I'm thinking that there may be too many posts per page, as a thread like mine which is generally all pictures is tougher on systems than one that is all text.

At this stage I think it's just the age of the forum software and it's server. I'm testing out migrating to a more modern server and newer forum software and the performance seems a lot better. I'd be keen to get some help with testing that out but don't want to post a link here for all and sundry to see. If anyone would be willing to give me a hand making sure that it all works ok it would be greatly appreciated, send me a message either here or on Facebook (I'm Nic Hart and on most of the main NZ racing related groups).

Thanks Nic. I'll give it a go when I get back.

One of the positives of the current software is being able to correct typos etc without a time limit. Some other message-boards only give you ten minutes to make corrections.

I now go into Private Messages to respond to Psopho and Microsoft Edge crashes every time.

picture size is my bugbear, i'd post lots if it was more generous simply

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jellywrestler

picture size is my bugbear, i'd post lots if it was more generous simply

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Picture size doesn't worry me too much as I wouldn't want to be posting 10mb pics anyway!

Not being able to post a batch of four at a time is a bigger hassle for me. I don't post originals, only copies and I can batch resize them easily enough with a useful little programme - 'Image Resizer'.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ERC

I now go into Private Messages to respond to Psopho and Microsoft Edge crashes every time.

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That's a bit odd. If it hasn't resolved itself try clearing your cache and cookies.

Have gone into the Test Site and the search function is much better, bringing up actual posts not just the thread they are on - checked it just using the Chassis Number for an Austin Healey [ of course ] " AHS3802 " and it is good.
Have also amended one of my comments on the Test Site but have yet to try and load a photo.

Thanks Nic for the opportunity to check it out.

Will try loading a new comment with photos soon,

Cheers

Roger

On the existing site, one or two pics won't load at all. It doesn't happen very often, but very annoying.

I've just tried on a non-motoring message board and no problem.

I've tried opening the pic in another programme and saving it again, but it won't load on here. Weird.

As it was a Cooper Norton, I wondered if the name 'Norton' upset things, so I've renamed the file without 'Norton', and still nothing.

Another pic taken a minute or so later, same.