What Have You Done To The Forum Today?

[Gary Lewis]

This is intended as a place where we can highlight the things that have been done to the forum.  I think that's important as I'm making changes daily, if not hourly.  And because there are several points on which I need opinions, but none seem to be coming.  So, here goes:

I need guidance on the FAQ's forum.  I've said I think that should be a list of links, but no one has responded, and I don't want to put in a lot of work to then throw it away.  And, if you agree with me we then need to agree on which of the two approaches I've created - the one right below the words FAQ's, Links, & How-To's, which I prefer, or the one in a post in that forum.  I think the one right below the header is much cleaner than having a post/thread.

I've also created a Projects forum and have created sub-forums for several of us.  But, there's been very little, if any, discussion of whether that is the best approach or if we should use threads, like done on FTE.  I like the project forum approach because I have trouble finding my own threads for Dad's truck and Big Blue, and this would solve that.  But, please tell me what you think.  And, tell me if you want a project forum for yourself.

At Chris' suggestion I created the New Members Start Here - Read The Guidelines & Post A Blurb About Yourself forum.  And I wrote something about us below those words.  Please take a look and see if you agree with the approach and with the words.  And, I'd like each of you to tell us about yourself.

Oh, and these bullets are due to a nice guy on the Nabble support forum!  Just highlight the words you want bulleted, click the H2 button, and then select H6.  Or, if you want indentation select H5.  He created some CSS code that I placed in our forum's application, and now it works.

We need to decide what to do with the Garage/Shop & Tools forum.  Should it be just Tools and the Garage/Shop part be folded into Projects - if we keep Projects?

So, folks, help me.  Please!

[Ford F834]

Gary, I agree that the FAQ should really be a list of useful links. But links to what? FTE has a huge pool of past threads to draw from, which we don't have yet. That's not to say that we should exclude links to FTE or other forums if the content is stellar, but I believe it should be the exception not the rule. I would much prefer to see the content build slowly over time and be links to our own threads and discussions that are worth linking for quick reference. Maybe the name “FAQ” is not appropriate? People open such a link with the idea of finding something like Top Ten Bullnose Questions with expert answers…. So maybe call it something like Resource Threads and Useful Links?

How to go about posting the links is another question. Do we make it a closed thread and ask an administrator to add links to the list when we think one is worthy? Or do we leave the thread open for anyone to add to? The diesel board has a sticky thread that is open to anyone. It worked okay, except occasionally a nubie would go to the FAQ looking for an answer, and proceed to ask his newbie question right in the FAQ link thread and clutter it up. It would then need to be cleaned up. On the plus side, more guys would post useful stuff because it was casual and open to anyone to post helpful links.

As far as the projects category, I suppose it does not hurt to have a category for ongoing build threads, but in my opinion it really should have only one level. The way it is currently structured (like sub folders on a computer) it works great for organizing and finding things, but is terrible for browsing. It seems better suited for archiving, but is a pain to navigate down each individual fork just to see ‘what's new today…’ I guess I would rather open up “Projects” and see everyone’s build threads there with the most recently updated on top rather than Projects > F834 > 4 door diesel build > topic/thread. The more members we have, and the more projects they start is the more individual rabbit holes we will have to go down to reach the thread links with new activity. I know I don't have nearly as many posts or threads as you have Gary, but when I haven't updated my build threads in a while I just click on my user profile and click on threads that I've started. This forum seems to have a similar filter. I'm fairly neutral about separating projects from the general discussions, but I do think we should stop at the one level. Tools/garage talk could be included in Projects, or their own entity, but again I think just the one level of categorization would be the best.

I have not added to the new member/into section, but I will. That is a very nice idea that adds to the neighborly community feel.

[Gary Lewis]

Jonathan - Good info. Thanks!  That's the kind of feedback I've been looking for.

Yes, FTE has a lot of threads that we don't have - yet. But if we work on documenting things, which we can do very effectively on the website portion of the Garagemahal, then we can have not only a better set of how-to's than FTE. And, in my estimation, we can make them easier to find. Also, I like the Resource Threads idea.

But that brings into question how best to do it - the bulleted list at the top, which has to be maintained by an admin, or through posts by users. So, why not have both? Users can post links in threads/topics, and as I figure out a good way to manage and format the list at the top I'll move them up and edit/delete the user's post.  Will that work?

On the projects, I'll make that a single level. Individuals can have multiple projects, but they won't be nested under the user's name. But we can always change at a later date.

Thanks!

[Gary Lewis]

Ok, at Jonathan's suggestion I moved the two threads that were in the Projects forum out from under the user's sub-forum and into the main forum.  And I then deleted all the user sub-forums.  Looks much cleaner.

Then I changed the name of the FAQ, etc forum to Resource Links.

And, I'm thinking of eliminating the sub-forum for Garage/Shop & Tools in favor of a thread - maybe called Tools & Tool Reviews.  What do y'all think?

[Ford F834]

Gary, I like the navigation changes, but of course I would since those were my suggestions! It would be nice to hear others' input, so if anyone else is reading this please chime in since you will be the ones using it. As far as the Resource Links page, I really like the idea of having the clean, organized bulleted list on top followed by an open thread below where members can add suggestions. Best of both worlds like an index followed by foot notes and references. And thinking about it some more, I think keeping the tools and shop discussions in its own category is a good move. I like how this whole thing is shaping up!

[Gary Lewis]

Jonathan - In my early days of working I wanted teams made up of people just like me. Later I learned that such teams make poor choices. You need a well-rounded team to make well-rounded decisions. And I think that's what we've put together to create this forum.

But, on the "clean, organized bulleted list" I need to learn how to make that. What I've found so far doesn't quite work, as you can see. And, I've just found a problem. There's a search function and it doesn't seem to find things in the headers.

[Gary Lewis]

I've just cleaned up the pinned folders a bit.  We had one for Forum Suggestions, so I created a topic for that and moved all of the comments/posts into that and then deleted the folder.  And we had one called Forum Startup, and I moved all of those threads onto the main page and deleted the folder.

So, all comments are still there, but the number of pinned folders is down by two.

[CountryBumkin]

I see there is a Forum Gallery now.

How does this work? Is this for anyone to post pictures of their "baby" - or is this just for Gary?

I'm testing this section --
So it appears my Gallery Photos will be on the same page, and mixed in with Gary's. I don't think that will make Gary happy as my truck is prettier

If this is the way the Gallery is supposed to work - if yes, then I think everyone should just create one "album" per vehicle and add all their photos to that single album. Assuming the forum will let you.

Well I did create a new post in the Gallery. But I can't find any way to upload an image. There is no "posting tools".

Now when I go back to look/edit the post, it says CountryBumkin is not a registered User and wants me to log in, but the forum won't accept my login (says either my e-mail or password is wrong). Does the Gallery section require a new login name or password? Maybe Nabble is just acting up at the moment.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, there is a gallery, and it is for all of us.  I thought I'd said something about it, but if not I apologize.  And it is not just for me, so please play with it.  But, it is a separate entity and you have to sign up for it, just like the forum.  (More on that below.)

However, I must warn you that I am not sold on the gallery feature.  Greg, the guy that is a long term Nabbler and is helping me figure things out said "I'd forget about the Gallery feature."  He uses it on one or more of his several forums, but obviously isn't sold on it.

But, he also told me about many other options on Nabble that I'll be trying.  And one of those is to put the gallery "application" inside the forum.  That way once you've signed onto the forum you are also into the gallery.

So, please play with it and see what you think.  I can tell you are, but I can't answer your question at the moment as I'm signed in as an administrator and I see options you don't see - but I don't know what you can see.  But if you don't get it figured out soon I'll log out as admin and back in as Test.

[Gary Lewis]

Not sure what is going on with the log-in.  But I created a sub-forum in the gallery called Mike's Truck.  Go see if you can upload there.  If so I can change the name and description to anything you want.

Maybe by playing we can figure out what we like and don't like about it.

[CountryBumkin]

Gary Lewis wrote

Not sure what is going on with the log-in.  But I created a sub-forum in the gallery called Mike's Truck.  Go see if you can upload there.  If so I can change the name and description to anything you want.

Maybe by playing we can figure out what we like and don't like about it.

 
There a box that can add text to (type in), but no way to upload an image.

The text box doesn't have the "Quote", "Insert Image" "B", "I" "Link" ... "More", tools like show up above the regular posting text box.

This is what I get/see:  


Then I click on "create first post" and get this:
(I don't know how to upload an image on this screen):

[Gary Lewis]

I'm seeing the same thing.   I'm out and about, but will work on it when I get home this evening. Sorry.

[CountryBumkin]

No hurry.
- I'm just a test guinea pig for you right now.
If the Gallery is too much of a pain to setup for others, then delete it.

[Gary Lewis]

With Mike's agreement, because only he and I had pictures in there, I deleted the "Bullnose Gallery" that was on a separate page from the forum itself.  That's because it required a separate registration and log-in from the forum, and that was both a pain and confusing.  So, you should now use the "Picture Gallery" w/in the forum.

And, today I discovered/remembered that we can have a "favicon" for this site, meaning the whole of Garysgaragemahal, not just the forum.  A favicon shows up on the tab you have open in your browser, at least it does on computers, and lets you see at a glance which tab you might want instead of having to read.  Examples are the "G" with a circle around it for Google Search, the "f" set in a square for Facebook, and "P" all by itself for Pandora Radio.

However most of the one's I've tried don't really work as you can't tell what they are.  But, the Ford logo seems to work, the one that is on the '82-'86 grilles, although it is possible that Ford might complain - although I doubt it as we are small potatoes and it really is a way of advertising for them.  Ford uses the script "F" from that logo on their site, so it won't exactly be confused with theirs.  

And then I hit on the Bullnose.  What do you think?????  

[Gary Lewis]

While this change is really for the whole of the website (the forum is only one page of the website), many of you will consider it a forum change.  So I'll cover it here.

Mike/CountryBumkin had pointed out that the menu was hard to read.  So I've made some changes to improve that.  First, I've changed the font that was being used to one that seems to be easier to read.  

But, the most important thing is the significant increase in the size of the font - from 12 point to 16.  However, that took another change in order to be able to increase the size.  And that issue has to do with the amount of "nesting" that I'd done.  The best examples, as shown below, were the pages of the 1986 EVTM.  For example, to get to the first page of it you had to go to Electrical (red)/EVTM (green)/1986 EVTM (yellow)/Introduction & General Information (blue).  And the problem was that if I increased the size of the font to make reading the menu easier the last few pages of the EVTM disappeared off the bottom of the page on mobile devices.

So, I've hidden the individual pages of the two EVTM's from the menu.  To get to them you have to click on "1981 EVTM" or 1986 EVTM" which, as it has always done, takes you to an overview page which has links to each of the other pages as well as descriptions of what is on each of those pages.  Personally, I find going into the EVTM's much better doing it that way as it allows me to back up to the overview and pick another page.  And, it provides me an explanation of what is on each page/section, which the menu doesn't do.

Hopefully that will work for you as well, and I hope you'll like the larger font on the menu.  But please let me know what you think, either way.