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I understand Stan... but can you hang around a few more days and give it a chance? Please?
Dear Stan,
I hope you'll reconsider. I've been through one of these traumatic forum changes before. Trust me, it will look differently when you login again.
Nobody's happy about this, but it will get better.
Looking forward to knowing you better, Fred
Stan...you're not whining. You said it well..."I cant say I enjoy this anymore"
That says a lot. Hopefully someone at Taunton will listen!
I expected a bunch of whining about the new format.
But most of what I am seeing isn't whining. Stan hit it on the head. I just hate to see him go. (Assuming I even stay!)
I really truly think this was a BIG TIME BLOOPER!
Is it too late to change?
Me too Stan. I'm not leaving completely......but I won't be around as often as before. This set-up just plain hurts my eyes and gives me a headache! The old site was different from the rest....kinda relaxing....and it isn't just because this is new.
I like new things.......when they are improved. This has a cold/non-welcoming feel to it. People keep saying give it a chance....wait till ya get used to it........I'm a trim carp....I get a feel for comfy and nice proportions the instant I see them......it's a side effect of the job! I don't like the look and/or feel. The site in general will suffer. Jeff * Jeff J. Buck/ Buck Construction/ Pittsburgh, PA *
Stan- I hate to say it, but I'm with you all the way. This forum reminds me of a chat room and is far more difficult to navigate and follow along than the good old breaktime board.
I don't enjoy it nearly as much as before.
It is not new user friendly, nor is it easy to browse.
I'll keep in touch with you however, your work is an inspiration to all.
take care,
Bob Simonson
Edited 3/21/2002 12:01:46 AM ET by PRODEK
Pro/Bob, ITA. The forum no longer has a "round table" feel.
If I were new to the site, perhaps the registration nightmare wouldn't have happened, but the other nightmares remain. Do you know you can change your "nickname" to anyones (say, MEANCHEF), and post as him?
Talk about fixing only what is broken (spellcheck, search) and breaking everything else. I can't even keep track of where I am posting, or who posted what thread.
Over at CT, I have taken to just rambling on abt anything in any post, mostly because they take up to 10 min to post (at least in NS), for I KNOW I will never be able to find out what I read or who posted it and want to respond to later.
I'll still come here for building questions, but, boy, now I'll finally have some time for TV.
:-/
Well,
I've been making some flippant remarks all night hoping someone at FHB takes notice. I think its fun that you can personalize your post so easily by altering colors and font styles and such.
If FHB could have added only that one change to their old system, AND LEFT EVERYTHING ELSE THE SAME....THEN
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE BEST DARN FORUM ON THE INTERENET, PERIOD!...BUT unfortunately, too much has changed here... Please FHB...change it back....this is not fun anymore!
Yeah, and check this out--I am you.
Suc-k-s.
What the hell, I need a friggin' road map to look at the posts. What a pain. Can't some computer savvy carp make a new msg board somewhere else where it's simple. Where's Luka when you need him?
Can't I go 1 day without spilling my coffee?
Go to http://www.JosephFusco.com joe has a webx disscusion board pretty much like the former Breaktime.Vince Carbone
stan.. good on you.. i won't even call you brother, brother...
now if we can figger a way to bump the photo limitations, we'll be back in business
Mike Smith
Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
sysops is looking into thesize limitationboblVolo Non Voleo <2 weeks
Stan, I wish we would all join you in protest but it probably wouldn't do any good, thanks for all the good input. I tried your tread return system, works great.
best of luck,
allen
Kai,
I still love you. I think I don't like this new environment; it just doesn't feel like home. I'll give it a few days, though, because I trust Andy.
Tom
I just want to post one to test this out. Boy, it sure feels funny in here. I suppose I will get used to it.
I looked at a picture and i didn't like the amount of space given over to it in this format. I liked it better when you got a new window for your picture. Is that still possible.
Change not always bad, but often uncomfortable.
Ya Jim, right click on "anything" you want to open, and choose open in new window. Well, sorry for the Netscape folks, you are hung out to dry.
Stan>>>why are you deleting everything you posted? Come on guy, take a breath and try later. Folks like you make this place what it is, this site has a depth, it is worth it.
Stan
Please stay and help straighten out this site!!!
We need you ,bud...
This has nothing to do with "being a simple person" Stan - I've been a computer geek since I started writing Fortran programs in the mid-60's at engineering school and most of the rest of the world knew less about computers than they did about nuclear physics right through to 30 years at the Itsy Bitsy Machine company, and my feelings echo yours.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Stan,
Try reading the page I've posted. It might help you with the transition and maybe some others too.
Now what to do with the 600 bf of mahogony in my driveway. . .
Let's hope so. . .
Stan,
Sorry to hear you are leaving. I have tried to navigate around the site(s) yesterday and today, and I feel as comfortable as a person asked to dance with snow shoes on!. I am leaving at the end opf the day too. I will miss the information exchanged here, as well as the personalities. The payoff/aggrivation ratio for this new board is just not worth it to me personally. To all the contributors, Thanks. I've learned quite a bit here, Good Fortunes.
Stan Mijal
Stan,
I'd be a pity if you didn't give the sysops a chance to iron out a few of the wrinkles. The question is do they have an iron that's big enough? I don't know...
I've piddled around on the new forum a few times, and the shock has worn off regarding a few things:
I'm somewhat used to the listing of folders and discussions in the window on the left side of the screen. Yes, I still think the "old way" was better...and I do wish it showed who's discussion it was (the originator of the thread)...but it's navigable. More difficult, but useable. That said, I'm still having trouble finding threads that I know are there...somewhere in the ether.
All the font syles and colors. There are times when eye candy is useful, but I fear this will now be used to distraction. Whoop-de-do. Pretty, but not an enhancement to the FUNCTIONALITY of this forum.
Too little function vs fluff regarding frame/window sizes. When I come on board, I accept being assaulted with logos and windows offering to take me elsewhere. Once I'm on the forum and into a folder, I'd like to see the peripheral junk taken away so more of my screen is dedicated to reading the postings. Again, I'm sure I'll get used to this. Not great, but useable.
Now, for the items that may make me walk away:
The threaded discussion display. ALL postings in a thread are shown in chronological order, which is okay if they are simply piling on to the discussion. However, REPLY's to a specific posting HAVE to appear immediately below the post that is being replied to. Otherwise the entire thread becomes nonsensical to read. Yes, there is the "TO/FROM" as well as the little link showing which item is being replied to...that simp[ly forces me to scroll up and down, trying to read. That ain't gonna happen...not willingly, and not happily...for me, at least.
Those same postings are time stamped, but not date stamped. Again, it makes it slightly more difficult to follow the discussion. Not terribly important...but I'll gripe anyway.
See #1 above.
See #1 above.
etc, etc, etc...
Hopefully these things can be improved upon, or I can improve my knowledge to get this to work how I want it to work. For me, the WebX forum was easy to navigate and read. It was, without a doubt, the best layout in all of cyberland.
I'm sure there are more tricks to this forum...I just haven't found them yet. If anyone can show me a way to get this forum to display threads in "conversational" order, do tell.
The "IGNORE THIS PERSON" and "REPORT A VIOLATOR" options? Just toooo darn cute!
Mongo
Some guy named Fusco is putting together a help page
today's posts have the time of the post, older posts have the date too
sometimes if you put the curser over the thread title it will tell you at the bottem who the original author is (at least in my version of IE)
when you read a reply if you want to go to the post being replyied to in the upper corner it say x in reply to y click on y.
if you right click you can open a thread in a new window so only the posts are shown. But if you do something from there it goes back to frames and then you have two windows open with frames
bobl
Volo Non Voleo
<2 weeks
Edited 3/21/2002 2:13:38 PM ET by bobl
Stan..... I see you deleted your first post....hope it is because you had a change of mind and are going to find a way to post all those great photo's. You are a true insparation on this board!
bake
Bake:
Thanks: I am kind of in an embarrasing predicament....I was so frustrated with the new website...that I wore my skin unusually thin. I kind of gave myself no way out but to just leave....now if I post I will be having crow feathers to spit out.
Sorry about my being such a computer doofus...
Going to sit and lurk for awhile and let my skin thicken up.
Don't worry about the thickness of your skin, Stan. Just come out a play and it'll all pass with a little bran.
Gabe
Stan, you really should come back. We all say things in the heat of battle once in while that we'd like to take back. But no one wants to divorce you over it. You clearly have a mandate from the people!
Best regards,
Roger
No longer aka Nostra Dumbass...
Stan, ........Relax, everybody eats crow once in a while........and you DID figure out how to build all those fancy stairs didn't you?........This is a piece of cake.....not as good as before, but I went over to JLC and that ain't so hot either.....Joe's got the best setup, but most of the people needing help will be hanging in here..............so do your duty as a highly evolved craftsman .............and teach them so they can make a living and feed their kids. :-)
Hi Stan
The site was all screwed-up. Things were new, weird, away too fancy, and none of the links or buttons worked. I was hitting the keys so hard that things came out "BOLD".
Wecome back, your work is one of a kind. The site is a much better place now...
...Keep the faith...Newf ...Confused, wild, & lucid...
Newf: Thanks. I do not like this site as well, but I just will have to deal with it.
Maybe as I get more familiar with it, it will become more user friendly.
Stan,
Don't sweat it. This forum is a step back in "reader friendliness" and a step forward in "cute ways to post pretty words."
We'll all adjust.
It simply takes a half-hour here, 45-minutes there, and before you know it you'll get the hang of where things are. For the most part.
Don't sweat the "thin skin" and "doofus." Most of us already know that about you from that email that was going around last fall.<g>
It'd be "dumb" of you to walk away and not come back, especially since you wanted to come back. You're obviously smart enough to step back on into the fray.
Welcome back, even if it was a short break. This forum needs talented FHb-types like you.
Edited 3/22/2002 11:18:49 PM ET by Mongo
Stan, people were up in arms in CT as well. We can adjust once they fix the bugs (and get us able to view threaded conversations).
Hey, even Andy is getting to like Joe!
Come back--no crow-eating required!
Kai:
I am getting used to this forum. Wait a second......phoofffffffff......excuse me...had to spit out a feather. ha
My feelings were that the old site was perfect for what I needed....but I am dealing with it. I do like the idea of multilple pictures in the same post. Now as soon as I get more megabytes, I can unload some pictures.
I'm glad you're coming back Stan. You can have my mb, I still can't decide what kind of digital camera to get. I enjoy lurking on your photo gallery threads. Awsome work.
So, does crow taste like chicken? (ducking and running ... fast!) ;-)Mary
Gardening and remodeling in Zone 6, MD
Stan as ya know I really really like this new forum software that they've
got here and I am laughing it up watching you eat crow. Thanks, your humility
is actually very admirable and is something we can all learn from (in addition
to stair building). So what are yo thinking now? Getting used to it yet?
Just wondering though,... the one REAL complaint I have about the new
forum system actually effects reading the kinds photo essays that you do so
well.
I hate it when the pictures that you (and anyone for that matter) post
as attachments open in the same browser window that the actual discussion was
in. When you click on a picture icon it should open in it's own new window
For instance I think it would be better if it worked like this: Click
here. Otherwise you either have to Command Click the attachment button or
use you back button to get back to the text of the discussion you were reading.
See I can complain and gripe with the rest of them too. What do you think?
Do you know what they (Taunton) think about that idea too? have you heard anyone
else complain about that yet?
"None of
us is as smart as all of us."- Warren
Bennis
Jerrald:
I am getting used to this site and can honestly say I look forward to it again. I will post a bunch of pictures as soon as I get more than I megabyte of space.
I hate change, especially if something isnt broke. I honestly thought I was going to have to find another forum to chew 2x4's on. I still like the other site better, but thats history, so I will keep posting. I never realized how many people there are that never post, but will send myself and others e-mails urging us to stay around. So a good serving of humility goes well with the crow.
Stan- Out here in the Pacific Northwest forests, the loggers say that spotted owl tastes a lot like crow.
What we all need to realize is this (Taunton Press) is a large company trying to use every available avenue for self promotion. This is not change for any other reason. They want us to cross through their other areas so they can sell something along the way.
Have you seen the latest issue of FHB? The cover, a 6 page article, and "Finishing Touches" 2 pages all to promote their "Concrete Countertops" book ($29.95+$4.98 postage & handling) along with the books and videos and the stuff that falls out. Its getting obscene. Pretty soon "Great Moments in Building History" will be "Another shot at Self Promotion"
Thanks for staying Stan, I for one am glad to have "met" and "know" you, and your leaving would have been a loss....we can survive this "improvement" and keep on keepin' on. Cheers, Phil.If it is to be, 'twil be done by me.
Jerrald,
Right click on attachments and open them in their own window! Makes a pleasant difference!
If, instead of talking to your plants, you yelled at them, would they still grow, only to be troubled and insecure?
Thanks Theodora. I just looked at my mouse though and there's no right button on it to click. I'm on a Macintosh so it 's Command-Click but the point and it was not a big one at all was just one of a minor convenience improvement. Geez it seems like everyone is complaining so much I was feeling left out. Trying to imagine the point of view of the programmers at Prospero I can't see any reason why they shouldn't have just a click open the attachment in a new window. I was really just looking for an issue to complain about so Stan wouldn't feel so bad. He eaten more crow in the past few days than most family's have as turkey at Thanksgiving. My feeling is there is really very little to complain about with this new system and a lot of things to praise. I like it.
"None of
us is as smart as all of us."- Warren
Bennis
Stan,
As you know I'm happy you stayed. Ah crow aient so bad. ive eating some (alot) before. it grows on ya. it kinda taste like chicken. :) Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"
I hate the new format..nuff said
Mongo,
I feel the same as you on all counts...........the fun and games are definitely over.
It seems that the question/answer part works alright, but I am already getting an eye ache (after twenty minutes)...........so I will stick around to help with building problems .......and keep my philosophical opinions to myself.
I'm using IE
Starting to get use to this
Right click on the list of discussions and open new window gives you the list of disscussions only in a window
right click on the discussion and open new window gives you only the discussion in a window
I currently have three windows open, have to remember to close windows
On the original page with frames I have the size set to 11 (bottem of page)boblVolo Non Voleo <2 weeks
This ####bigtime! The whole screen is covered with crap, reminds me of a Korean liquor store. Can't find the guy at the cash register because of all the junk piled up on the counter and hanging from the ceiling in front of him.
What was the point of this improvement? I have the top inch of my screen given over to Microsoft and now another 2 inches used for Taunton Press Inspirational buttons to push. I'm not logged in here to shop, to garden, to cook or sew. NONE of that crap is needed permanently mounted on the top of my screen, but there it is.
This used to be my home page, every time I opened IE Breaktime came up. Changed that this morning to a new site. You have taken what was the absolute best site on the web and made it into another annoying experience.
Not to mention that stupid looking broken happyface thing that is in my drop down favorites menu. What the hell is that supposed to be? A dissatisfied customer face?
Are you planning to improve the magazine to match this mess? If so, please send back the $89 I sent in last week to reup my subscription. Did I mention that I think thissucks? Joe H
Many of us lurk Stan, but where do you say thanks for everything?
Glad you are sticking it out, thanks. ;-)