Forum Upgrade

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Mike Farley
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Re: Forum Upgrade

Postby Mike Farley » Fri 10 Jul 2015, 07:25

Yet another question about stickies, I am afraid. The previous version of the software had a facility to specify the number of days a thread should remain as a sticky. I found this very useful for topics with a limited currency as they would automatically revert to their natural position in a forum once they were no longer relevant. This does not seem to be possible with the new software and it is only possible to set the sticky mode on or off. Is this a feature which can be added?
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Mike Farley
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Peter Boughton
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Re: Forum Upgrade

Postby Peter Boughton » Sat 11 Jul 2015, 13:02

Ok, so external links in new windows is now a preference - logged in users can go to User Control Panel > Board Preferences and toggle "Open External Links in New Window" to enable/disable as they like.

Despite the label it will open in a new tab in most browsers, unless the browser preferences have been changed from default.


I have just seen that a number of sticky posts which are intended to help people use the forum appear to have become unstuck in the upgrade. Is there an easy way to find and restick them?

I did it manually - it was a bit of a sticky mess - though I only got part way through what I was intending to do, and will be completing it in a moment later tonight/tomorrow.

A couple were old and no longer needed stickying, and the others are now linked to via the Welcome thread.

The idea is to maintain a single announcement to each section (explaining what it's for, repeating the relevant part of the rules (if any), and linking to all relevant help/tutorial information), so there's a single clear topic to read upon entering each section which explains everything needed there, with regular stickies used for time-limited stuff - speaking of which...


The previous version of the software had a facility to specify the number of days a thread should remain as a sticky ... This does not seem to be possible with the new software and it is only possible to set the sticky mode on or off

It's still there when you create a topic / edit the first post.

I'm guessing you were going via the mod tools hammer, which doesn't have the number of days option.

I did a quick search for whether it could be added to the latter, but found nothing relevant - though just as likely to be due to useless search engines giving me what I'm not asking for. In theory it's just entering/storing a number which should be a trivial extension, so I might take a look at doing it myself (as well as being able to specify a date instead of needing to calculate number of days manually, again no search results for that but shouldn't be too hard to plug in a calendar widget), but I'll not have the time for at least the next fortnight.

Hmmm... I just tested setting number of days on your Lightroom sticky, and it didn't work there (the post became un-pinned), but it did work for the mountboard one. Not sure what the difference is. :/
Mike Farley
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Re: Forum Upgrade

Postby Mike Farley » Sat 11 Jul 2015, 15:05

Thanks for your efforts, Peter. It's all looking good. :D

I do not know if it has changed in the new version of the forum software, but I do not recall that the sticky settings were confined to the first post. As you surmised, I did not locate them and was using the Mod tool which was all I could find. I have solved the problem with my Lightroom post not sticking. You had entered the value of 3, but it looks as though the software calculates the sticky period from the date of the post, not the date when the value is applied. As more than 3 days have elapsed, it defaulted to being a normal post which seems logical functioning to me and might be another change from the previous software. It stuck once I changed the value to 8. A date option would be useful, but I have managed so far by counting days on my fingers and thumbs. ;)
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Mike Farley
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Peter Boughton
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Re: Forum Upgrade

Postby Peter Boughton » Sun 19 Jul 2015, 21:49

Finally got around to doing the announcements for Photo Sharing and Image Critique sections.

I do feel like there's something else I was going to add, but I can't think what it might be at the moment - if anyone has ideas on what else the messages should contain please let me know.
Mike Farley
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Re: Forum Upgrade

Postby Mike Farley » Mon 20 Jul 2015, 00:00

Thanks, Peter. A minor suggestion for the Image Critique is that it would be helpful to provide pertinent EXIF data whenever possible, whether for technical or aesthetic feedback. The more the reviewer understands how the photo was taken, the more relevant the critique can be made. For example, an image might be improved aesthetically through the use of a different lens or shutter speed, but if this information is not provided it becomes a matter of guesswork.
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Mike Farley
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Peter Boughton
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Re: Forum Upgrade

Postby Peter Boughton » Mon 20 Jul 2015, 20:52

Not sure I agree - if someone feels an image would benefit from (for example) the shutter speed being faster or slower they should say so - seeing the current values shouldn't affect that opinion.

But anyway I've updated it to this:
Providing relevant EXIF metadata is recommended - this can help a reviewer understand how the photo was taken and hone their advice accordingly.

Ok, or needs further rewording?


(When I get around to the image upload/processing stuff, I'll look into how easy it is to do a Flickr-style info box - might be able to make it automatically extract the metadata and have it a user preference or single click option to display it.)
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davidb
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Re: Forum Upgrade

Postby davidb » Mon 20 Jul 2015, 23:59

Peter Boughton wrote:
(When I get around to the image upload/processing stuff, I'll look into how easy it is to do a Flickr-style info box - might be able to make it automatically extract the metadata and have it a user preference or single click option to display it.)


Sounds like a good idea !!
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David A Beard.
Mike Farley
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Re: Forum Upgrade

Postby Mike Farley » Tue 21 Jul 2015, 08:42

Peter Boughton wrote:Not sure I agree - if someone feels an image would benefit from (for example) the shutter speed being faster or slower they should say so - seeing the current values shouldn't affect that opinion.

EXIF data will not be required for every critique, but in some instances it might help a reviewer give feedback which will better help the author. Your wording reflects this perfectly.

Peter Boughton wrote:(When I get around to the image upload/processing stuff, I'll look into how easy it is to do a Flickr-style info box - might be able to make it automatically extract the metadata and have it a user preference or single click option to display it.)

That sounds like a useful option for those who include EXIF data in their images.
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Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)

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