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IPB Update July 2013 (to version 3.4.5)


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Lots of changes noticed so far. I'll try to make a list here of what has been noticed and also hopefully any workarounds and solutions to problems.

  • Subtitle: Forum topics no longer have a subtitle, all the previous ones got wiped?
  • Posts per Page: The forum now only shows 20 comments per page and no settings to change it. This is my #1 problem at the moment. I also hope this change didn't mess up all the URLs in links somehow. UPDATE: It is now 25 comments per page. Can we have a selection? Previously we could set it to the maximum of 150,
  • User Settings: Getting to "My Control Panel" is not easy. I can get there sometimes and then wind up outside it looking at my profile like any other member with no way back in. Clicking on your picture got you into your profile, but from in there you were locked out of getting to User Settings. UPDATE: this appears to be FIXED.
  • Member Avatar In the forum threads I see a lot of generic user Icon / Avatars. Maybe I'm misremembering but I thought more people used something. UPDATE: yes I was mistaken. I just looked at a saved page from yesterday and the members had a generic thing and it just looks different now. Their badges and things like "sponsor" and "developer" have changed a lot so that also contributes to it. UPDATE: this appears to be FIXED.
  • Member Joined: One piece of information that was left out of the display below the avatar is the "Joined" date. Not a critically important thing perhaps but it was useful at a glance for spotting new spammers.
  • Theme Selection There appear to be only 2 selectable themes and they both suck IMHO. Is IPB also on a suicide watch? Look at SevenForums ( yes it's different boardware ) and see all the themes they provide.
  • Theme Appearance The theme appearance, while admittedly subjective, is IMHO pretty lame. What is it with the blaring white? Are we expected to wear sunglasses? The quote style is icky rotten gray, retro 1993, and is frankly rather unprofessional. The classy, big superimposed double quote marks are now gone, replaced with a cute little word Quote. Someone over at IPB is apparently a MetroTard.
  • CSS :: Fonts From glancing at previous posts, user specified comment formatting has been butchered by the conversion. Items such as Font and Size were lost in the conversion and changed to something different. There is a difference between how large font SIZE=5 renders today and how it did previously. More details later.
  • CSS :: Lists The Style Sheet they supplied needs tweaking. Look at this bullet list just for starters, it is packed too tightly which turns it into an impenetrable wall of text which defeats the entire purpose of a bullet list! There seems to be no line height or spacing control and if you add a CRLF then you get a blank line with a bullet! Even ancient HTML 3 before style sheets had sufficient spacing for legibility in UL and OL. CSS added "padding" for fine tuning. UPDATE: I accidentally found a work around and used it to add space in this very list. See below for more details.
  • CSS :: Quotations Although quotes indeed have the metadata right in the BBcode ( name= timestamp= etc ) it is not showing in the preview or when posted. Consequently quotes will not contain any attribution unless the quoter adds it in separately. UPDATE: this appears to be FIXED.
  • CSS :: Quotations Some space should be added to the padding-bottom for quotes. Notice that the comment appearing immediately after a quote now butts up against the quote box. It existed in the previous style sheet and can probably just copied from there.
  • Editor: A new bug or "feature" of the editor is that it substitutes URL encoding sometimes. For example if you use square brackets ( which are part of the BBcode syntax ) to surround a word it will often be posted without change. But if there is some yet to be determined combination of BBcodes surrounding it, they get swapped out. I have seen this happen with a link that had the word [uPDATE] in the title. Then after adding URL, and Font through the editor, it changed the text literally to %5BUpdate%5D. This probably has no consequence to the enduser, but is notable because actual data is altered.
  • Editor: There seems to be no option in the comment editor for BBcode view rather than WYSIWYG output view. UPDATE: this appears to be no problem because there actually is an icon at the top left of the editor. Currently however, the icon has no hover help so that it will be of unknown purpose to some users as it was to me. NO PROBLEM
  • Editor: The editor has bugs. Start typing a sentence, click bold and type a word, now click bold off and continue typing, click bold again and type some more. Where are you now? You should wind up somewhere near the top left corner.
  • Editor: The editor appears to take liberties with CRLF blank lines near the end of the post ( some kind of blank line management ). I can't fully describe it yet but it appears you have to keep a careful eye on the bottom of the comment being edited. UPDATE: there appears to be some bugs in that it doesn't display all CRLF in the editor and then they surprise you in by showing up in the preview.
Anyway, these are just a few quick observations, probably a lot more to come. :thumbdown I'm also keeping my eyes out for positive changes from the IPB programmers. Is anyone aware of any? Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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Appearance of a bullet list.

  • This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test.
  • This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test.
  • This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test.

Note the lack of space between each bullet item.

Here's a workaround to add some spacing between the bullets ... In WYSIWYG mode: Go to the END of any line within that list, Hit ENTER and you get a blank bulleted line. Hit ENTER again and that bullet and indent disappears ( and the line height is increased ). Finally: hold down SHIFT and press LEFT arrow once and now press DELETE once and a proper space gets inserted between bullets. That is what I did to the above list. The same list ...

  • This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test.
  • This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test.
  • This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test. This is a test.
Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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Patience. xper has just upgraded the software. Tweaks begin now.

Up to this point it was a question of how long it'd be till the forums were up again.

IMO, that's been a success, simply because the forums are back. So give xper a break to catch his breath.

We're back, and that's great. You rock, xper! :thumbup

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I agree that the most important thing is to fix the database problems and have the forums online all the time but I also hope that the old theme (or at least something similar to it) will be reimplemented :( I found it rather easy for eyes and very easy to read. It was also characteristic for the MSFN board. At the moment everything looks very similar to what you can see at many other forums.

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When the update was carried on reboot.pro each and every possible issue happened (and one more), besides the senseless new editor/parser (that still, after months completely fails to wrk properly) all codeboxes, and most of the code ones (in previous posts) were corrupted, some in a way that cannot be repaired if not by manual editing.

Let's hope that this happened because of a lack of competence :w00t::ph34r: in the upgrade over there and not because of defects in the new Board Software (though I believe that the greatest part is in this latter) or that those problems (at least) have been solved in this update.

Go Xper,.GO! cheerleader.gif

jaclaz

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Patience. xper has just upgraded the software. Tweaks begin now.

Up to this point it was a question of how long it'd be till the forums were up again.

IMO, that's been a success, simply because the forums are back. So give xper a break to catch his breath.

We're back, and that's great. You rock, xper! :thumbup

I just want to make clear that none of my ranting was aimed at MSFN or Xper. It is about IPB and their product. No-one involved with MSFN should even vaguely think I or anyone else is blaming them for these problems and nuisances. I hope that's clear!

Obviously I agree that database thing has to be resolved. It would be really great at the end of the day when it is all fixed for someone in-the-know to summarize exactly what it was all about. The inside baseball. For example, did it originate upstream at their servers and trickle down because so many IPB forums were updating to a new version that it might have caused issues for those boards still using an older version?

Anyway, this thread will hopefully address many of the enduser issues, those presumably fixable things that cause so much misery. Even if the database is perfect, what good is it if the interface is useless. It leads to this ...

v9ii.gif

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Well I can't quote apparently... And my editor bar is unusable.

Let's hope that this happened because of a lack of competence :w00t::ph34r: in the upgrade over there and not because of defects in the new Board Software (though I believe that the greatest part is in this latter) or that those problems (at least) have been solved in this update.

I am fairly certain (cannot be proved, opinion) that the "new" forum version is tested against their previous version in upgrading. And NOT tested on forums that have been through multiple upgrades, or in some cases, forums that migrated between board softwares. I think that is where some of the problem comes from when board upgrades are done and not everything works out, especially codeboxes.

Also: It appears you can paste pictures into your post, I did by accident.

This picture here, is NOT pasted (its on Photobucket) to show you how the Quick Reply toolbar is, well, empty.

msfnquickreply_zps9a93ddd9.jpg

@Charlotte: I always expected many users would be "shocked" by what this IPB version looks like. It is a lot different. But believe it or not, MSFN is way behind on getting this version and I have been using it on other boards for quite some time. Reboot is an exception as they do it "strangely" compared to the other sites. BUT I do know that it is possible to use the old skin with the new board... I know a site that did it although they said it wasn't easy and ended up not being 100% functional (I think they got lazy actually). :P

EDIT: Quick Reply looks normal now (but ugly) so I think sometimes it just doesn't load all the way?

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My biggest issue so far is with the mobile version (android), when you choose a Topic it lets you know how many pages there are, but I can find no way of getting to page seventeen without going from page one through every other page in order first!

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I notice that near my avatar on the left, there is a line that says "0 warning points." What the heck is that about -- I haven't seen it on anybody else. Warnings for what?? And if it's zero, why list it at all?

Also, between my "Supreme Sponsor" line (in light of the previous paragraph, please do keep in mind what that line says :) ) and the post count, there is a blank square box with a red X inside.

Finally, when I went to insert the smiley, I noticed a little blue triangle at the right end of the blue strip. When I clicked on it, the emoticons disappeared and a new blue triangle appeared at the left end. Clicking on that doesn't do anything. I clicked on "Show All" and more emoticons appeared in their own window, but now that I closed it, the "Show All" option is gone and clicking on the triangle still doesn't do anything, so I can't insert any more emoticons. :(

Just reporting...

When using the reply box (as opposed to the advanced editor), clicking on the "Options" button with the gear and screwdriver yielded a short green rectangle with alternatedly colored squares, at the top of the screen. Nothing else.

When clicking on the same button in the advanced editor, it worked properly.

:huh: Now I can get the emoticons window at will ("Show All" isn't disappearing), so at least I don't have to try to recall what to type for a WOOT. But it's still the case that when I click on the blue triangle the emoticons strip disappears and clicking on the new blue triangle at the left end doesn't do anything.

When using the reply box and clicking Post, the new post doesn't show up until I go to a different page and then come back.

Or else I have to manually hit F5 to refresh the page. It's not refreshing automatically.

OK, make a liar out of me -- this time it did show the new post right after hitting the "Post" button without further action required.


  • There appear to be only 2 selectable themes and they both suck. Is IP also on a suicide watch? Look at SevenForums ( yes it's different boardware ) and see all the themes they provide.
  • The theme appearance, while admittedly subjective, is IMHO pretty lame. What is it with the blaring white? Are we expected to wear sunglasses? Also, the quote style is icky rotten gray, retro 1993, and is frankly rather unprofessional. The classy, big superimposed double quote marks are now gone, replaced with a cute little word Quote. Someone over at IPB is apparently a MetroTard.

Where does one go to change the MSFN theme/skin?

--JorgeA
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Lots of changes noticed so far. I'll try to make a list here of what has been noticed and also hopefully any workarounds and solutions to problems.

Forum Topics no longer have a subtitle, all the previous ones got wiped?

The topic description was actually removed years ago. The key reasons were because 1. They were either never used, and 2. They were redundant topic titles when used. As a fellow webmaster who also used this board software, I agree completely with the decision to remove them. Both of their points were very valid.

Only shows 20 comments per page and no settings to change it. This is my #1 problem at the moment. I also hope this change didn't mess up all the URLs in links somehow.

How exactly is this a problem? You've got the default settings.

Getting to My Control Panel is not easy. I can get there sometimes and then wind up outside it looking at my profile like any other member with no way back in.

Yes it is... Click your Username at the top right and then click My Settings.

There appear to be only 2 selectable themes and they both suck. Is IP also on a suicide watch? Look at SevenForums ( yes it's different boardware ) and see all the themes they provide.

xper just made these upgrades. Give him time. If you don't like the theme you could also try to make one and submit it.

The theme appearance, while admittedly subjective, is IMHO pretty lame. What is it with the blaring white? Are we expected to wear sunglasses? Also, the quote style is icky rotten gray, retro 1993, and is frankly rather unprofessional. The classy, big superimposed double quote marks are now gone, replaced with a cute little word Quote. Someone over at IPB is apparently a MetroTard.

Nothing at all wrong with the default theme. It's crisp, clean, and has a nice professional look. It's also much lighter so that it will load faster and perform better.

I really don't understand why you're complaining and nitpicking so excessively much over changes that help the website overall. Less things to load means faster page loadtimes and less stress on the server. Many things are styled with CSS and look better than png/gif images.

In the forum threads I see a lot of generic user Icon / Avatars. Maybe I'm misremembering but I thought more people used something. UPDATE: yes I was mistaken. I just looked at a saved page from yesterday and the members had a generic thing and it just looks different now. Their badges and things like "sponsor" and "developer" have changed a lot so that also contributes to it.

These badges will come back. xper's working on it.

From glancing at previous posts, user specified comment formatting has been butchered by the conversion. Items such as Font and Size were lost in the conversion and changed to something different.

These tags still work. Can you instead name a post where you're seeing this issue so that the staff can try and reproduce it? That would be much more helpful. ;)

The Style Sheet they supplied is in dire need of tweaking by someone who isn't clinically blind. Look at this bullet list just for starters, it is packed too tightly which turns it into an impenetrable wall of text which defeats the entire purpose of a bullet list! There seems to be no line height or spacing control and if you add a CRLF then you get a blank line with a bullet! Even ancient HTML 3 before style sheets had sufficient spacing for legibility in UL and OL. CSS added "padding" for fine tuning. Have these IPB forum software programmers ever heard of it? UPDATE: I accidentally found a work around. See below.

I can't really comment much on this since a custom theme is in use. Try clearing your cache to allow for any fixes to get applied.

There seems to be no option in the comment editor for code view rather than output view.

It's there, it's the < > icon in the editor. Hover it and you'll see it says Code.

The editor has bugs. Start typing a sentence, click bold and type a word, now click bold off and try to continue typing that sentence. You should wind up somewhere near the top left corner.

No issues here. Where the cursor blinks is where you're supposed to stay when you type. It's not supposed to go to the top left...

The editor appears to take liberties with CRLF blank lines near the end of the post ( some kind of blank line management ). I can't fully describe it yet but it appears you have to keep a careful eye on the bottom of the comment being edited. UPDATE: there appears to be some bugs in that it doesn't display all CRLF in the editor and then they surprise you in by showing up in the preview.

I'm having no issues with the editor here at all. Everything is working fine. Perhaps you should tell us what you're running if you're having all these problems.

Anyway, these are just a few quick observations, probably a lot more to come. :thumbdown I'm also keeping my eyes out for positive changes from the IPB programmers. Is anyone aware of any?

Be patient. An upgrade just happened. You have to remember that people run these forums and it takes time to upgrade and resolve any issues that may appear.

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When you've got time please check the board under IE8. There are strange graphical glitches on the left border of the site when scrolling, and also some images aren't displayed at all.

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I love the new editor! Switch between RTF and text mode with one click. I asked for this in site feedback a while ago.

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