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Architecht

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  1. Architecht's post in Size Matters was marked as the answer   
    It's just a a setting that allows us to reduce the icons on a mobile device so we don't take up too much of the screen real-estate with controls.
    I just added font size for the mobile view. We'll see if that generates some feedback that it's too much, but for now it's there.
     
  2. Architecht's post in Advanced Search sub-forum delay was marked as the answer   
    UPDATE:
    I see what you mean. It's not just search results, but the ability to even see a sub-forum as an options. I've duplicated this on two other instances of the boards, and filed it as a ticket with the software maker.
     
     
    -- SNIP --
    THE BELOW IS TRUE, it just isn't directly applicable to the above question. Leaving it here for informational purposes, but the actual answer to this specific issue is above.
     
    We've been watching this as well. Usage on the boards has been going up since we first migrated, and it's putting load on the system. At the same time, we have the search history window set to 4 years. That's greater than the 1 year recommended by the boards software makers, and they warn of performance problems for large search windows on big boards -- which the CGC board is.
    However, 4 years is still far short of complete searchability, which is an important value of the boards given how many great conversations have occurred over many years on these boards. So, we have a few choices we are evaluating for dealing with this:
    Shorten the search window to 1 year as recommended to us, and just live with the limitation. Implement a plugin that replaces the Search All function with Google results This would allow searching of the complete history It only works for "search all", not for specific searches by author name, in a certain forum, etc. Leave the search window large and just live with the fact that we may not be able to improve performance Wait for some vaguely promised "Search Enhancements" that the software maker has hinted at several times Spend more money on the boards hardware and hope that improves the issue (note: more hardware does not always directly improve specific performance issues) Right now we're considering a combination - i.e.:
    Cut the search window to one year Implement the google search replacement for "search all" Upgrade the hardware / hosting for better performance This isn't ideal, as it would still mean that specific searches via advanced search would only go back a year. I think it also means that the list of posts by a board member on their profile page would also be limited to 1 year.  It MAY also mean that searches of your private message inbox are limited to one year - I'm not sure on that one.
    It would be great if the software maker suddenly improved search so we wouldn't have to make compromises, but they have given no timeline or specifics on that, so I'm not holding my breath.
    P.S. we are testing the google search replacement on the PMG boards right now if anyone would like to see what that looks like:
    https://www.pmgnotes.com/boards/
     
  3. Architecht's post in How far back can we search for our old posts was marked as the answer   
    You can go back four years. The new boards suggests that we limit it to one year to prevent big performance hits from deep searches, but knowing how important the search function is to our content, we set it for four years.
    I'd really prefer it to be ALL of the content, but that apparently can be a problem.
    However, there is this work around. You can use google to search the site content this way:
    https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&q=site%3Acgccomics.com%2Fboards+SEARCH_TEXT_GOES_HERE&oq=site%3Acgccomics.com%2Fboards+SEARCH_TEXT_GOES_HERE&gs_l=psy-ab.3...9881.27853.0.28930.64.43.21.0.0.0.127.2086.41j1.42.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..1.0.0.e7qJ7L1ruJo
  4. Architecht's post in How do I un-ignore signature on a specific memeber's posts was marked as the answer   
    Yes, go to Settings --> Ignored Users. This list is not just a list of users who you have entirely ignored, but also any part of a user you have ignored (like a signature). Next to each ignore entry is a little "gear" icon that contains some options, including removing that ignore.
  5. Architecht's post in How do I use this forum? was marked as the answer   
    Hello,
    This forum is a good place for new members to ask any kind of newbie questions you'd like, but there are a few simple things to know to get the best value out of this area.
     
    People with Questions
    If you have a question, you should do a few things:
    Review the popular questions, and search this forum before posting a question. Many of the basic questions may already have been answered, so it is ALWAYS good forum etiquette to try to find existing answers first. People do get tired of answering the same questions over and over again, so a new question that's already been answered may not get much of a response.
      Highlight the EXISTING QUESTIONS that were helpful to you. If you find an interesting question with a great answer that taught you something important, then GO TO THE TOP of the post, look to the LEFT of the thread title, find the up-carrot icon and click it to up-vote the whole question. If you found it helpful, then there's a GREAT chance that other people will as well. This will help them find it.
      State your question briefly and clearly in the title. It's very helpful to those answering questions AND to other newbies with the same question to be able to read the actual question you have right there in the title. This helps generate better answers, and helps future newbies to find that same information without have to ask again.
      Try to ask GENERAL questions that would be helpful to many people. The general idea is to ask how-to kinds of questions that could be helpful to anyone and that will teach you to "fish" for yourself instead of just handing you a fish. i.e. "How do I find the value of a comic book?" is better than "How much money is an Action Comics #1 worth?"
      Highlight the answers that helped you the most by up-voting and marking the best answers. When you get answers, you can do two things to help highlight the helpful answers. Any answer that was helpful, you can click the up-arrow to the left of the post to add an "up-vote" to the answer. This helps push that answer to the top so it can be quickly discovered by anyone reading the thread in the future. It's also a "thank you" to helpful responders.

    A STRONGER form of this is to click that check-mark icon on the left of the post. If you are the person who asked the question originally, you can set a particular answer as the BEST answer to your question. And that really makes it easy for future readers to get a great answer right away. It also moves that answer to the top of the responses so it's read first. Please do this. It helps other people know if a question received an answer that solved the issue. This allows the experienced collectors to move on and focus time on the questions WITHOUT a best answer
      People Reading / Answering Questions
    If you are either reading or answering questions, you can also help highlight the best questions and answers to make the board more valuable and cut down on repeat questions and answers.
    Answer questions with good context / general information. Often people with newbie questions won't know quite what to ask or where to begin. So it's super-helpful to offer a bit more background rather than just answer their specific question.
      Highlight the questions that seem the most helpful to many users by up-voting. When you find a question that seems general enough to be of good use to many people, or uncovers an important area of collecting that people just plain should know about, then at the TOP on the LEFT of the thread, you can find an up-carrot looking icon that allows you to up-vote the whole question. This will help highlight the great questions for other people.
      Highlight the most informative answers by up-voting. On any answer that was helpful, you can click the up-arrow to the left of the post to add an "up-vote" to the answer. This helps push that answer to the top so it can be quickly discovered by anyone reading the thread in the future. It's also a "thank you" to helpful responders.
  6. Architecht's post in Cannot reply to PMs or Posts was marked as the answer   
    Please see this announcement for information and a fix:
    https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/announcement/17-fix-for-posting-problems/
  7. Architecht's post in Attachment Issue was marked as the answer   
    When you attach an image to a post and DO NOT insert it (using the plus sign) into the body of the post somewhere, then they just appear at the bottom on the post.
    If you insert them up above, then they appear where you insert them, and stop showing at the bottom.
    If you later delete the insertion at the top but leave them at the bottom, then they start showing up at the bottom again.
    If you just delete them at the bottom, then they are removed entirely - anything inserted in the post is taken out, and the image itself is removed.
  8. Architecht's post in Resizing Signature Image was marked as the answer   
    After you insert the image in your signature, if you hover over the image you'll see some help text that says to hold control on the keyboard while right clicking. You'll get a context menu that includes "Edit Image" as a choice. Go ahead and pick that one. You can choose new pixel dimensions there.
  9. Architecht's post in Username assistance (remove the 1) was marked as the answer   
    Please follow the instructions in this post:
     
  10. Architecht's post in Post Removed by Moderators was marked as the answer   
    This kind of question is best addressed here:
    https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/forum/92-moderation-review-request/
     
     
  11. Architecht's post in Searching in the Threads was marked as the answer   
    It sounds like you mean can you search in a specific FORUM for certain text in a thread. The answer is yes. You just click on the magnifying glass in the upper right. The results page would look like this:
    https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/search/?&q="iron fist 14"&type=forums_topic&nodes=61
    The screenshot below shows you what it looks like to make the search.

  12. Architecht's post in "Edited" notice delay...can we have one put in? was marked as the answer   
    Mmmmm, no easy way to do that.
    We can allow people to edit invisibly, but that is turned off so that people don't post unacceptable things, then edit them away to "get away" with posting guideline violations.
  13. Architecht's post in Mod Warning Help was marked as the answer   
    If you visit your profile, you can see a history of warnings you have received on the left. Other people (besides staff) cannot see that history.
    You can click on a warning to see the details, and to access a link to the thread in question. The post SHOULD have been moved to the "your posts removed by moderators" area.
    If you have more questions / issues with the action, you can post a thread in the "request moderator review" area.
  14. Architecht's post in Copper forum blow'd up by spambots was marked as the answer   
    We removed the spam a while back.
  15. Architecht's post in Opening a closed thread? was marked as the answer   
    Yes. You can mark as sold/closed and then open it again - although you may have to edit the thread title to removed the "closed" text - but pushing the button will unlock the thread.
  16. Architecht's post in Alphabetical Board Member List was marked as the answer   
    You would just do a member search with no search terms:
    https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/search/
  17. Architecht's post in D'oh! How do I unhide my sales thread? was marked as the answer   
    You can't unhide a thread. We don't have that option enabled, because it might interfere with a moderator hiding a thread. I might change that at some point, because we've explored other options for moderation, like moving threads into the "your removed posts" area.
    BUT, I unhid your thread for you.
  18. Architecht's post in Unread measseges was marked as the answer   
  19. Architecht's post in Show Posts in the Water Cooler in 'All Activity' When Logged Out was marked as the answer   
    Glitch. Maybe specific to q&a forum type.
    We are leaving the water cooler inaccessible to guests for SEO reasons.
  20. Architecht's post in picture uploads was marked as the answer   
    Nope. No changes.
  21. Architecht's post in How To Disable User Avatars? was marked as the answer   
    Can't do it, I think. You can hide signatures, but not avatars.
     
    Custom titles are not gone, however, on the last upgrade of the boards to a new minor point release, it appears that some custom titles got removed. I think it had something to do with the fact that the custom titles on the old board could be longer than the database field on the new boards, and also sometimes contained html.
     
    We can put them back if yours is missing, but it's fastest if you tell us what it was.
     Maybe I'll make a "fix my custom title" request board.
  22. Architecht's post in Why do you have to be signed in to see the WC and the Moderation areas? was marked as the answer   
    That was true on the old boards too, except for the strike records area.
    The reason is because we don't want to dilute SEO results with content that isn't really relevant to why people should come to join the community. In the case of strike records, that used to be public because when people were suspended, the only way they could access the boards and see what happened was as a guest. In the new boards, we can just restrict their posting, so we don't have that problem. Thus, we restricted that area to logged in users only as well.
  23. Architecht's post in Can't Get CGC Forum on Android Smart Phone was marked as the answer   
    Try clearing your cookies and cache and logging in again.
    https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid&hl=en
     
  24. Architecht's post in Strikes was marked as the answer   
    Yeah, we haven't really been updating it lately. There are a couple of drivers for that:
    Learning curve - Admins and mods have just been trying to get the operational ticks out of working with the new system
      Alternative records - As moderators, we don't need the strike forum anymore to tack the history of violations, because the new system just does it for both the moderators and the member themselves
      Violation notifications handled - the system does a better job when someone gets a strike, of telling them that they got a strike, what it was for, what post it was related too, and how long the record of the penalty will hang around - all without the extra effort of posting. Members now have to acknowledge the moderation action, so it's easier to find out what happened.
      Considering options - I've been using the opportunity created by all of the above to consider changes We could leave it as it is - no more public announcement of penalties. Some people object to those anyway, as they put community focus on their posting choices and they would rather it be private. We could go back to the old system - just go back to also cross posting the strikes to a forum. We could (I think) configure the system to allow everyone to see everyone else's moderation history - but this is an all or nothing kind of thing. Meaning, private notifications, etc., would also be visible. That's something that SOME people have actually asked to have happen. So there are some pros and cons to both more an less visibility, and their are proponents of both approaches. I'm thinking about what results in the best community interactions along the way.
    The point about a suspension causing someone to not respond to buy/sell communications is a good one. I'm not actually sure what happens if you try to message someone who is currently suspended. We actually have more choices here as well. We can continue to allow access, while restricting all posting - and I don't know what that does to PMs. OR we can cut off all access, forcing the user to browse as a guest.
    Right now, for lower level violations, and I think the first strike you get, we just restrict posting. As you go up the points curve, we cut off more access.
  25. Architecht's post in Search Feature - How far back does it go? was marked as the answer   
    I'm trying to nail down the exact behavior of the combination of search functionality and a configurable setting for the depth of the "Search index".
    We currently have the "search index" set at 4 years. However, product support told me that the search index only effected the quick "all content" search. They said that if an advanced search was run with specific dates, then the search would cover the specified date range.
    I did a little testing to verify this, but it doesn't seem to work as it was described. I've got an open support ticket question to them to nail down exactly how this behaves.
    They would like us to constrain the index to 1 year for performance reasons. According to their support, the timeouts we were having were caused by slow queries mostly resulting from searches. They did a bunch of optimizations to make it work better given our 4 year window, but they still recommend 1 year. That doesn't seem very functional if there is then no way to search for older items.
    Of course, google always works to find old stuff, but that's a little less convenient.