The Forum was down for updates today, November 20, 2013.
First thing I noticed is that there are no longer ‘bread crumbs’ above the Forum Heading to permit naviagation to other subject area within the entire family of forum options.
The ‘bread crumbs’ appear when working with a individual post, however when viewing the ‘General Discussion’ menu screen - they are gone!
This is NOT a benefit to forum users.
Take a look at the MR forums…
I can find no way to log-in to the forums without going to the main page… the individual forums no longer have the “Join Us” link.
In addition, the “Log-Out” link is no longer on the individual forum list pages, but still visible on the individual threads pages.
Maybe I should add some instructions here for those that are able to read this thread but have not been able to log-in so they can complain that they cannot figure out how to log-in!
Just below the banner at the top of most of the forum pages is a set of links: “Our Magazine”, “Subscriber Extras”… etc
Toward the right side is an entry, “Forums & Blogs”. Pause your mouse over that link and a drop down menu will appear… click on the “Forum” entry.
The page will update to the home page where there will be a box on the right side labeled “Join Us”. Click the button for logging in. That will get you to the log-in page.
For me, once I enter my User ID and Password and click the submit button I have to wait a few seconds and then click the browsers STOP button (the red “X” next to the URL text box at the top of the window) to stop the browser from just sitting and waiting forever! Then that button changes to the Refresh (green “chasing arrows”) button, click it and the will page refresh with the list of forums and I can navigate to the forums of interest from there.
I am no longer getting new posts to this forum, even though I did get all the new posts to it.
Are you saying that you are no longer getting e-mails informing you of new posts to the forum, whereas you used to? If so, look in the box at the top right of the list of threads, 'Forum Options" and select “Email subscribe to this forum”. Otherwise, I don’t understand your comment.
I had been receiving new posts via email until the forums were reworked even when I asked that my new posts be sent via email.
From the time that we again had access to the forums until this morning, I received no posts via email until this morning when, without my having to do anything I received many posts that were new since the reworking. I did not have to do anything in the Forum Option boxes.
Considering the multiplicity of full function solidly working Forum software products that exist in the market - why does Kalmbach continue to think they have to invent and reinvent their own - and continue to ‘screw up’ various features from update to update. To me, it makes no legitmate business sense.
Supposedly it is an “off the shelf product” that they are using over on the MRR forums, and I HATE THE NEW MRR SOFTWARE. I prefer the software they are using on this forum!!!
I belong to several internet forums and they all use different software and every one of the forums has some thread about how terrible the software is and there are replies that state that the owners should be using some other brand of forum software.
I have yet to see a specific recommendation of what to use (that has not been horribly refuted by others because of problems or lack of features!)
But even though they all have their problems, sometimes it is not the forum software at fault but something within the internet itself… servers go floozy at times and cut off data transfers or otherwise drop the ball. (Just the other day, my son sent me an e-mail and it bounced back with a message saying that “MSN . com” didn’t exist!)
Given the number of different computers of different hardware configurations running different versions of operating systems (running under the whims of the user’s configurations) running different browsers (also configured at the whim of the user) at various revision levels, all mixed with different add-ons and enhancements, it is a wonder that anything even works halfway right (or at all).
The problem I have with the new forum system that the are using on the MRR site and forums is that it seems LESS USER FRIENDLY THAN THIS FORUM SOFTWARE!!! I wish they would change it back.
I would call the new MRR forum software a train wreck, but that would be unfair to the train wreck!
The ‘bread crumbs’ have returned to the top of the sub-forum menus.
Thank You!