FerrariChat.com update - Questions

I don't understand how this works, so I guess I'll just drop out.

 

Yes, it's just painful. Click on the button at the bottom of the page at the right and select > FerrariChat "Old" or "New".

 

I kinda like the new 'old style', although about 40% of the page width on the right hand side is just blank,other than at the very top.

Is there a way to widen everything,sorry if this has been covered but i didn't read all the previous posts,yet.

Thanks.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Iphone, old theme, latest thread in forum does not show on right. It does on ipad.

Please have a setting in preferences to disable mobile views.

 

I switched back to old. I always liked the simplicity of forums and their formats.

 

Yes. This is how I uploaded last image above on iPhone.

 

No more "multi quote" ?

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login New view, iPad, does not matter portrait or landscape. Top bar of post. All details vertically stacked causing very large top bar, much wasted space. Using old view, the design is using vertical and horizontal elements combined which just does not work to make the most use of space - lots of wasted space. The old system was all horizontal layout which is why the flow was better.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Here is view on iPad, old view. Due to left vertical area in post, much wasted space.

I'm Posting photo of old too - testing to see if I can post 2 photos via iPad in same post.

 

Well - major positive. Can now post more than 1 photo per post on iPad / iPhone.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Iphone, old view, sponsor banner adds cropped (cut off to right). Edit - same on new view.

 

I would really like to see you work on doing two things in the "watched threads" view ...

1. When clicking on view watched threads, the default view is to show only those treads with new posts. You then have to click on the option to show all watched threads. What about making option stick and not reset each time?
2. In the watched threads view, the last column is titled, "Last Message". But that is misleading. The data in that field is the user who last responded. Clicking on that link brings up that person's info. It would be better to change the link to go immediately to that post itself as the info currently in that field is pretty useless.

Steve

 

Great! Thumbnails for everybody!

 

I agree - except my rhs has new posts / threads and my profile (in case I forget who I am !) - also the compacting for the groups is gone and would be nice to have back - this is viewing on Chrome / W10

 

Silver subscribed member here. How do I send an email directly to a member (mechanicservice6). The new system is not notifying people properly apparently.

thx

 

Why are there ads on the mobile format still? Takes forever to scroll thru a thread...

 

I don`t think that`s possible

you have to hover your mouse over your user name (right upper corner), choose "conversation" and click "start new conversation"
the recipient will receive the pm and will also be sent an email that the pm was received

 

Rob - some unsolicited advise - GET IN FRONT OF THE CHANGE. You are behind it and dealing with little complaints all over the place.

1. Get your message out about the IMPROVEMENTS. Email it. Sticky it. Make it a required read before getting to the forum for a period of time. Do everything to ensure your customer know WHY they are dealing with this change.

2. TEACH US HOW TO USE IT. From your testing (if adequate - heck even if barely adequate) you should have known (or at least you now know after going live) what the questions, concerns and customization your customers will want and need are. Get that teaching information (how to size pics, how to get newest post first, how to minimize white space, how to minimize scrolling, etc, etc) out to us in several ways so we can LEARN and adapt.

3. SHOW US YOU CARE. Track the things that need fixing (and that can't be fixed) and SHOW IT TO US constantly. Show us how you are addressing those things. The sticky on this in this forum is a good example of what I'm talking about. You should look into getting each of these three points on the TOP of each web page so that all users see them prior to going into a forum. Right now there are bits and pieces of user feedback, instruction and more strewn about several sub forums.

Look, its (partially) your business, the above steps are SOP for forcing change onto software customers. You don't seem to have been following that SOP and now you have all this unhappiness in your customer base. You can insult us (as a couple of your posts have), you can instruct us how to get the experience we desire (as you have many times in the various threads) or you can say "meh, tough luck" and just keep doing what you are doing without following those steps. Heck, your site has a great and loyal customer base, so you may just get away with it.

 

What I mean by "get these 3 points at the top of each page" is replace the text box you added to the top

- New Forum software announcement (what's new, what's improved, what's no longer supported, WHY we did this)
- Instructions for getting the most out of the new forum
- Bug list and coming changes/enhancements list

Or something to that effect. Perhaps make those three "locked, only your team can post" and then have a 4th that is the "feedback" thread.

Then get them all out of the other subforums by merging them and monitor the subforums and merge for a while to get us all to stop making a new thread on this topic.

The current text only box isn't working. Make it a sub forum if you have to entited (Software Change or similar). But find a way to communicate what is needed to be understood by customers and also to efficiently capture their feedback.

 

I KNEW that would be your reply. I've seen this (done it and been on the receiving end) too many times. No doubt, you and your team are clearly working hard at making the switch work and gave lots of "warning". And you are reacting to the feedback as it comes and helping folks figure it out. But, warning and reaction are not the same as winning customer goodwill. Its cool if you don't get that distinction. You do have a unique business. In my prior software companies, we could never tell our customers they were bitching or call them trolls or tell them they "can't handle change" or some of the other comments. Couldn't or wouldn't, I guess more accurately. You have clearly won that ability!