Thoughts on forum changes

[otseng]

Here's a PM exchange I've had with Zzyzx that I want to share. I think many on the forum might also be interested...

Have you received indication that members and moderators dislike the new format? I am trying to withhold judgment, but am leaning negative after a week of use. It is not a matter of resistance to change (which typically troubles me very little).

No, nobody has complained to me yet, but I can understand the sentiment. I've spent years customizing the former forum to what I wanted and now I have to start all over. I don't think anyone is more frustrated and disappointed than me that we're losing a lot of the former functionality.

The problem is the forum software and the OS is obsolete. It's been running on the same software for over 16 years, which in itself is pretty amazing. But, now I'm not able to run the latest software. I was using an older version of PHP and the latest version of PHP doesn't support the old forum.

There's pretty much no choice but to upgrade. By the end of the year, the old OS (CentOS 6) won't be supported anyways. Over the next several years, I'll be modifying the forum, but it will take patience as I do this. And just when I get it to how I would like it, I'll probably have to start all over again.

[brunumb]

Having used the new forum for a little while now I just have to say that it is working like a charm. Many thanks and congratulations to otseng for the continuing good work.

P.S. One of the things I really enjoyed in the past was reading the posts from marco. Whether you agreed or not, they were remarkably well written and so entertaining. I hope he will reconsider and return to the fold.

[DrNoGods]

I'm still getting used to things but will second all of the comments on appreciating the hard work by Otseng and the moderators to keep this place civil, and the work required by the forced upgrade.

I read through the posts in this one thread and didn't see any questions on the spellcheck function. Is this present and I just can't find it, or has it vanished?

Also, is the only way to reply to a post to click the quotation symbol at the upper right and quote the entire post, or can just a particular subsection be cut/pasted? I've been selecting the quotation symbol to quote the entire thing, then deleting everything but the top line, then pasting in the section of interest from the post I am responding to. It would be nice to have an option to reply that produces just the top section identifying the post that is being replied to, with the rest left blank (as before). Sorry if this is already an option and I just don't see it.

[otseng]

I read through the posts in this one thread and didn't see any questions on the spellcheck function. Is this present and I just can't find it, or has it vanished?

phpBB doesn't have a spellcheck built-in. However, I did find one that costs $299.

https://www.phpspellcheck.com/Purchase

Also, is the only way to reply to a post to click the quotation symbol at the upper right and quote the entire post, or can just a particular subsection be cut/pasted? I've been selecting the quotation symbol to quote the entire thing, then deleting everything but the top line, then pasting in the section of interest from the post I am responding to. It would be nice to have an option to reply that produces just the top section identifying the post that is being replied to, with the rest left blank (as before). Sorry if this is already an option and I just don't see it.

Yeah, for now, you'll need to do that. I'll see if I create a faster way to respond.

[Tcg]

I read through the posts in this one thread and didn't see any questions on the spellcheck function. Is this present and I just can't find it, or has it vanished?

phpBB doesn't have a spellcheck built-in. However, I did find one that costs $299.

https://www.phpspellcheck.com/Purchase

Spellcheck works for me. Could it be a built in function of MS Edge?


Tcg

[otseng]

Spellcheck works for me. Could it be a built in function of MS Edge?

Yes, most browsers have a built-in spellcheck. Probably why phpBB doesn't have one built-in.

[otseng]

[Replying to DrNoGods in post #52]

OK, I've added a reply button fa-mail-reply that will now just provide a reply link.

[DrNoGods]

[Replying to otseng in post #56]

Great ... thanks! Just tried it for this post. I usually type my posts on the fly directly into the text window and not in a separate editor, and got used to the handy spellcheck button. But I can switch over to another editor and paste them in, or see if Firefox has this function. Appreciate the new reply button!

[Wootah]

Spellcheck works for me. Could it be a built in function of MS Edge?

Yes, most browsers have a built-in spellcheck. Probably why phpBB doesn't have one built-in.

Highly recommend the Grammarly add in for chrome or whatever browser people use.

[Zzyzx]

.
I find it most effective to compose all my posts in a word processor then past into the Forum text box -- and also use www.Grammarly.com as Wootah mentioned (it is a very helpful and user-friendly free add-on that works in Windows, browsers, and word processors).

Composing in a word processor has the additional advantage of being relatively immune to internet or transmission glitches.

[Difflugia]

If you find yourself with some spare time, I'd appreciate the addition of superscript and subscript to BBCODE.