How can we improve GPF?

[Ian]

You may have noticed that GPF has had a little software upgrade over the past few days, with a few little tweaks that should make the site easier to use. This upgrade, along with the donations for a sustainable financial footing, means that we can grow the site with new features if there is anything that can be improved.

What would you like to see on GPF, or what can we improve to make things easier/better?

We've got an amazing community here and I want to do everything possible to support it.

 

[Chucker's 50]

I can understand your feeling the need to add features and make improvements, but sometimes you
just don't fix what ain't broke.
If you think it's needed you could maybe add a site improvement suggestion thread/section.

 

[Lisak1]

If you think it's needed you could maybe add a site improvement suggestion thread/section.

I think that might be what this is...

I'm definitely not a tech person, but I find the site easy to use, easy to read, and easy on the eyes - my top three qualifications! The only issue I see frequently is people having a hard time figuring out how to add photos or videos to a post. If that can be make simpler, I'd say that would be a good change.

For people like me who don't know what the possibilities are, maybe you could tell us what some of the potential upgrades are.

 

[combatwombat]

Agree w/ Lisa. I see lots of people get confused with adding a photo in-line in a post and adding it as an attachment. Something that makes that easier and more intuitive would be good.

My favorite part of GPF are the build threads and regularly going back through other peoples' builds to see how the accomplished certain details or solved problems. This is really hard to do because these threads are social and the signal:noise ratio gets very low once a lot of people are engaged in the thread.

I'd love to see a way to filter a thread so that you only view posts by the person who started the thread and/or posts with photos attached/in-line. That way the thread remains as it is for everyone, but can be filtered so that you can find what you're looking for quickly as well. Could be helpful in more than just build threads.

The other thing that comes to mind is that I'm generally confused about where some content goes/lives. There are build threads in the construction forum, and then there are showcase items which are just for displaying photos, which some people use to document construction, and then there are auto-generated threads attached to those showcase items, which some people use and some people ignore.

It would be great if all of that could be streamlined to reduce confusion and everyone generally uses the features in the same way. I'm not always sure where to go to find the type of content I'm looking for or if I should be posting in one place or another.

Other than that, GPF is probably the best UX of any forum I've ever used. It's a pleasant experience. And if I ever have a gripe, I can just go to Koiphen to remind myself how bad it could be.

 

[HARO]

I'm no computer geek by any means, so I may just be missing it, but is the Member Map still around? That's about the only thing I'd like to see back!
John

"And if I ever have a gripe, I can just go to Koiphen to remind myself how bad it could be." - CW
Fully agree!

 

[Tula]

I think with one of the more recent upgrades, I have to resize my pictures in order for them to post. I would love to not have to take that extra step.

 

[Ian]

I can understand your feeling the need to add features and make improvements, but sometimes you
just don't fix what ain't broke.
If you think it's needed you could maybe add a site improvement suggestion thread/section.

Yep, I agree with that - I don't want to make changes for the sake of it, but thought it was a good time to call for feedback and see what we can do .

I think that might be what this is...

I'm definitely not a tech person, but I find the site easy to use, easy to read, and easy on the eyes - my top three qualifications! The only issue I see frequently is people having a hard time figuring out how to add photos or videos to a post. If that can be make simpler, I'd say that would be a good change.

For people like me who don't know what the possibilities are, maybe you could tell us what some of the potential upgrades are.

I hear you with the photo uploading, it sounds like this is a something that needs improving as it's been mentioned a few times in this thread. I'm on it and will see what I can do . With regards to the possibilities, it's more a case of what you guys would find useful - there are lots of "addons" available, but I don't think there's much point in adding them just for the sake of it. We've got the main ones with the gallery, showcase and articles.

Agree w/ Lisa. I see lots of people get confused with adding a photo in-line in a post and adding it as an attachment. Something that makes that easier and more intuitive would be good.

My favorite part of GPF are the build threads and regularly going back through other peoples' builds to see how the accomplished certain details or solved problems. This is really hard to do because these threads are social and the signal:noise ratio gets very low once a lot of people are engaged in the thread.

I'd love to see a way to filter a thread so that you only view posts by the person who started the thread and/or posts with photos attached/in-line. That way the thread remains as it is for everyone, but can be filtered so that you can find what you're looking for quickly as well. Could be helpful in more than just build threads.

The other thing that comes to mind is that I'm generally confused about where some content goes/lives. There are build threads in the construction forum, and then there are showcase items which are just for displaying photos, which some people use to document construction, and then there are auto-generated threads attached to those showcase items, which some people use and some people ignore.

It would be great if all of that could be streamlined to reduce confusion and everyone generally uses the features in the same way. I'm not always sure where to go to find the type of content I'm looking for or if I should be posting in one place or another.

Other than that, GPF is probably the best UX of any forum I've ever used. It's a pleasant experience. And if I ever have a gripe, I can just go to Koiphen to remind myself how bad it could be.

I'm going to work on the photos part . What you're describing with the build threads, was what I was hoping for with the "showcase" section. Maybe I need to re-work it a little bit, so that the purpose is clearer - I see what you mean with the multiple ways of doing the same thing. Really pleased to hear you like the UX .

I'm no computer geek by any means, so I may just be missing it, but is the Member Map still around? That's about the only thing I'd like to see back!
John

"And if I ever have a gripe, I can just go to Koiphen to remind myself how bad it could be." - CW
Fully agree!

It's gone for now, as it wasn't compatible with the new forum software, but I will see if there's something that has replaced it .

I think with one of the more recent upgrades, I have to resize my pictures in order for them to post. I would love to not have to take that extra step.

I'm on it . Pic uploading sounds like the main thing I need to work on. Do you know what dimensions and file size seems to cause a problem, as I'll make a test image with the same settings so that I can make sure it's going to work.

 

[addy1]

I have had no issue with photos but I also load from the lappy seldom from the phone, so maybe when I dl from google or amazon photo it has been resized. My two cameras do lg size photos and they load without issue. From the lappy via the data card.

 

[Tula]

Yep, I agree with that - I don't want to make changes for the sake of it, but thought it was a good time to call for feedback and see what we can do .



I hear you with the photo uploading, it sounds like this is a something that needs improving as it's been mentioned a few times in this thread. I'm on it and will see what I can do . With regards to the possibilities, it's more a case of what you guys would find useful - there are lots of "addons" available, but I don't think there's much point in adding them just for the sake of it. We've got the main ones with the gallery, showcase and articles.



I'm going to work on the photos part . What you're describing with the build threads, was what I was hoping for with the "showcase" section. Maybe I need to re-work it a little bit, so that the purpose is clearer - I see what you mean with the multiple ways of doing the same thing. Really pleased to hear you like the UX .



It's gone for now, as it wasn't compatible with the new forum software, but I will see if there's something that has replaced it .



I'm on it . Pic uploading sounds like the main thing I need to work on. Do you know what dimensions and file size seems to cause a problem, as I'll make a test image with the same settings so that I can make sure it's going to work.

I used to just upload pics straight from my lap top , Mac Book Pro. I now send the pic from my phone and when I hit send, I pick "medium" size, that's the easiest way for me to upload. I used to be able to send pics in "actual size", but now that file is too large.

 

[Ian]

I think I have a way to work around the photos issue, so I'll be working on that next week, if I can get the coding done in time. Either way, it'll be live soon!

 

[GBBUDD]

A sticky or a direct link or both to you tube showing how to create add and then post a video to gpf could help make the site more entertaining and informative.
Dont know if possible but a book mark within the site a favorites sorta speak would be easier to navigate we have a subscribe but i have no idea how to see the threads in a list that i get notified of. So if your reading posts you can save your spot i know the browser can do all this but it would simplify things

 

[Mmathis]

This may have been addressed already, but do the “donations” roll over to the next month? IOW, if a monthly quota has been met?

 

[Ian]

This may have been addressed already, but do the “donations” roll over to the next month? IOW, if a monthly quota has been met?

I don't think that's possible with the plugin (although it can be limited), but at the moment I've only set it up as 50% of the server cost (and excluded software licenses), as a bit of a test to see if this way of funding the forum will work. If this proves sustainable after a few months (esp when winter hits, as advertising dries up almost entirely), then it'll hopefully mean the forum is financially self-sustaining. It's a promising start and I'm already working on sorting out some ways to make image posting/hosting easier .

 

[Ian]

I've made some changes to how the image attachments work, so if you've had problems loading uploading large images, it may now work better! Please do let me know if you still have problems uploading large images, as if you're able to get the image file over to me via e-mail I can test it out from my end and see what the problem is.

 

[brokensword]

testing (typically, I have to halve the pic from my camera, so this one is full size); ((yeppers; much better and didn't have to downsize at all, Ian; thank you!!))