New Message Board Upgrade Up and Running!!!

[Lou Mongello]

Hi!

If you've ever been to the DisneyWorldTrivia.com mesasge boards before, you probably notice something's (actually, a few things) are a little different.

Well, don't be scared, I just did a major upgrade of the forum software! What does that mean for you? Well, first, you may notice the layout is pretty much the same, with a few minor change s here and there. Some things may not be where you're used to seeing them, but I assure you the change is for the better! While many thing shave remained constant, there are some notable modifications:

First, I've modified the colors a bit to make them a little less "harsh" and easier on the eyes, with some nice effects for menus, etc.

Second, you'll notice a new task bar with links to your User CP, FAQs, Members List, Calendar, etc. on it. Take a look at the Quick Links, where you can find new posts, be taken to specifica areas of your Control Panel, open your buddy list, read and compose PMs and more!

You'll also notice that your Buddy List will now popup in its own little window. This way, you can keep that window open while browsing the site to see when your friends come online! It will automatically refresh, move the user to the online or offline area, notify you that they came online, and the blue button will change to green when they are on. You can aslo see whose online as you brose the threads. Just look for the same little green icon in their info box on the left side of the post. Here, you can also see their AIM, MSN Messenger, ICQ or Yahoo! IM icons as well. Click on one to send them an instant message!

When composing a message, you can now choose to have a true WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) interface (select the option in your control panel under options). No more funny-looking code to worry about! See your message as the recipient will see it! Now with more fonts, sizes, colors, etc!

Plus, there are little upgrades here and there...

• Nice new icons
• Better calendar system
• Better PM system, including the ability to download all your PMs right to your computer in a single file
• Better search features
• User Pictures - you can now upload a personal picture which is shown in your user profile
• The ability to view threads in different formats
• Quick reply box
• Better smilie functionality in composing a post
• And more!!

I am still working on implementing more new features into the site and forums, but in the meantime, if you have any comments, suggestions, bug reports, criticism, praise, etc., please IM or PM me or send me an e-mail, and I'll get back to you right away.

I sincerely hope you all enjoy the new forums, and I look forward to our community continuing to grow!!

[Lou Mongello]

Some of the new features and functionality on the site could possibly slow your browsing a little bit. The addition of some features takes a little longer to load on some systems, so I've added a few little tips to help speed things up a bit ONLY if you find a decrease in system performance:

From the "User CP" link at the top left of the header bar, click on "Edit Options."

There are three small changes you can make here which should improve the speed of your forum browsing, posting, etc.:

1. Deselect "Show Signatures" and "Show Images (including attached images and images in [IMG] code)" This will prevent smileys, .sig files and inline images from appearing in the posts you read, which will increase speed.
   
   Note - the multi-color, multi-font, multi-size, smiley-filled posts and signature make for really big files. You can help the overall site performance by sticking with plain black text.
   
2. For "Thread Display Mode", choose "Linear." The new "Threaded" and "Hybrid" options take longer to load, and are part of the memory issue we're dealing with right now.
   
3. For "Message Editor Interface" choose "Basic Editor." The WYSIWYG editor takes longer to load. Since this new system has the "Quick Reply" feature, a message editor box now loads on every thread screen.
   
4. From any thread screen: Close / collapse the "Quick Reply" box by clicking on the blue icon () in the right corner of the Quick Reply section.
   

If you have any comments, please PM me personally.

Thank you, and enjoy the forums!!!

[fastpass]

Congrats on the book going to press and the site update. It has been great and is even better!

[Lou Mongello]

Thanks for the kudos on both!!

I'm really happy you and other are enjoying the site, and hope you enjoy the book as well. They have both been (and continue to be), "labors of love"

Congrats on the book going to press and the site update. It has been great and is even better!

[Xharryb]

could the update be the reason I had trouble logging in? It wasn't recognizing my password and I had to reset it.

oh well, I'm here now and it looks great so far!

[Lou Mongello]

Harry,


It's possible, since I brought the boards back up while I was still doing some work with the code, etc. Sorry for the incovenience!

I'm still working on implementing a bunch of new things, including better integration with the updated photo galleries, etc.

Happy you enjoy the update (it was a long, scary Saturday for me)

could the update be the reason I had trouble logging in? It wasn't recognizing my password and I had to reset it.

oh well, I'm here now and it looks great so far!

[adambreakey]

Ace - on the new site. I like the new features.

Good job!

adamb

[Lou Mongello]

Hey, thanks, Adam!!!

It was a very scary Saturday afternoon for me, but I'm happy with the results so far, and I'm still implementing new features!

Enjoy!!!!!!

Ace - on the new site. I like the new features.

Good job!

adamb

[Lou Mongello]

Oh, and another feature I've added to the boards that I forgot to mention is one you may or may not have already noticed...

When you receive an e-mail informing you that there has been a reply to a thread you have subscribed to, you will notice that the message that was posted can now be read directly in the e-mail itself! (Sorry, no smilies or formatting, though)

This will allow you to preview the message without having to go to the boards (although we'd love to see you here!)