Significant Forums Upgrade This Weekend

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Michael Wechsler

Michael Wechsler

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It's finally here. Sunday night I'll be upgrading the forums with an enhancement of this design and adding about 5 new features, including an integrated download area for all the new contracts and forms that I KNOW you'll love.

Coming next week will be a slightly enhanced logo and a couple of new colors. We're getting things redesigned here for the major changes I've promised for the past several weeks and have been sidetracked for one reason or another. You'll see it's really happening by Monday morning. :) I apologize if the forums will be down but I'm looking at probably no more than 1-2 hours of total downtime at off-hours in the US (2-4 AM EST.)

Thanks so much for all your support everyone and your patience.
 
Will the upgrades answer the question of why I am occasionally told that there have been no responses to a post since my last log-on but that there are responses remaining unread, when I was the last one to respond to it?
 
It may. The immediate changes done this weekend will include:

- Upgrade of the forums to a slighty enhanced and faster version
- New users will be forced to read the rules and how to post before posting
- Automatic "Remember Me" will relog you in until you physically choose to logout
- Enhanced spam detection
- New uploads/downloads section which will include the outlines and about 40 legal forms (more to be added during the week)
- Tag cloud
- Improved sticky thread layout
- Mobile style optimized for standard PDAs and the iPhone
- "Thank you" enhancement to show your appreciation for other posters
- Check for similar/already posted threads
- Unsure - slightly new layout to consolidate space for sections or I may add in larger "maximize" and "minimize" buttons for each forum.
- New point system which displays most helpful users
- Improved profiling area

Upcoming improvements over the next 4-6 weeks
- New content management system for "The Law Journal" periodical
- Significantly enhanced profiling system for users, attorneys, legal professionals
- Site design redone (this will take place over 4-6 weeks)
- Enhanced/New logo
- Improved legal directories
- Addition of about 100+ free legal forms, many only available here
- New and larger legal dictionary
- Significant change of navigation and overall site structure
- Several more content libraries

The above is just a partial list. As always, I'd love to hear feedback and requests.
 
Part of the update has been done as you can probably tell. I'm still working on fixing some of the colors to work properly and implement some other new features. I do need help from all of you by reporting what doesn't work! I'll list some of the items already installed:

- Forum Rules: In navigation and also requires all new members to spend at least 20 seconds reading them before they post!!!
- Tagging posts (add in your own keywords)
- Social bookmarking
- New enhanced spam and link checker
- Automatic "remember me" [someone please check this!]
- "Thank You" installed so you don't get single word posts and also get credit where due!
- Added new "Legal Experience" system for forum activity which should add a bit more fun and recognition where it's due, including to those who are thanked for posting! You can see some of these as "bars" in the left hand user info (may make this shorter) and also if you look at a user's profile you'll see a tab called "TLexperience". Let us know how you like it!
- Awards!! You'll start seeing some of these appear.
- Sticky separators: now it will be much easier to see important threads in each forum

You'll see the uploads/downloads section probably tonight or tomorrow morning as well as several more additions. Over the course of June you'll see a great deal of further development. As always, feedback is most welcome!
 
The new look and features are quite nice!

The 'remember box' doesn't show on the forums page for login, and I checked to see if it would remember me anyway if I logged out. It doesn't. However, I can still use the big login box (the one I get when I try to view my profile when I'm not logged in) and the remember box is still there, and it still works.

Another thing I noticed is that the site works fine when I'm using Safari, but it's pretty jumbled up on Firefox.
 
irish223 said:
The new look and features are quite nice!

The 'remember box' doesn't show on the forums page for login, and I checked to see if it would remember me anyway if I logged out. It doesn't. However, I can still use the big login box (the one I get when I try to view my profile when I'm not logged in) and the remember box is still there, and it still works.

Another thing I noticed is that the site works fine when I'm using Safari, but it's pretty jumbled up on Firefox.
Click to expand...
Mucho thanks on the information.

1 - The "remember me" box was supposed to be hidden and work. The other one in the main area DOES work. I'll get the one in the top area working tonight for sure and probably add in a checkbox just to make people happy visually. Sorry for the delay and I'll beat this last bug! LOL :D

2 - Regarding Firefox... very weird. I've just noticed it now. There must be one item that isn't working and I'll have to see what it is that has it offset. Works perfectly in IE. These are the joys of web site programming - you have to do it at least THREE times for IE, Firefox/Mozilla and Safari!
 
Updates:

1) The "Forum Rules" area is fixed which was breaking Firefox. Thanks Irish223!!!

2) The three little badges are awards, some automatically generated others provided by me for experiment purposes and appreciation. :D Just put your mouse over the award and you'll see the title come up in a little mouseover window. Congrats to you jacksgal as you've won the "Community" award which is based upon several items that determine activity within the community. I've appreciated your helping me out moderating and I'll check to make sure you have some moderator controls too. :D

Regarding the "Most Thanked" award... That one comes up for the person with the most "Thank Yous" for assistance. I've only put in this new item on the board and you're the first (and potentially only one) who has been thanked so far. As a result, you're the current leader! :D
 
New posts are not dropping off after being reviewed; I currently have 115 "New Posts", probably 85 of which have been there since yesterday.
 
cbg said:
New posts are not dropping off after being reviewed; I currently have 115 "New Posts", probably 85 of which have been there since yesterday.
Click to expand...

Interesting - I think I noticed the same. Thanks for letting me know and I'm going to look into this. I've also received some duplicate mail notices on occasion that I downloaded before. If you can, let me know if there is a time period where they drop off. I have an idea what the problem may be and will make an adjustment. It may have to due with the time period set for when a person is considered "logged out."
 
I noticed that some of the oldest ones had dropped off yesterday (though I'm not sure exactly when they left); however, posts I answered yesterday are still showing as New.

Now that I've finally got the system to Remember Me, I don't log off; I stay logged on permanently since I'm the only one who uses this computer.
 
I am showing 12 pages of "new" post which I know is not accurate as many of the older posts are posts of my own. In old format I would show 3 pages of new posts at most
 
Today I have only 37 new posts showing which is about average or even on the low side considering that I was off line for almost 24 hours. So at least where I am concerned, it may be fixed. I'll let you know if it happens again.
 
I've reset the cookie information - I think now it should be about close to what you were expecting. The most important thing is that it is consistent going forward. I'll be doing some more work tonight and implementing the file uploading and downloading as well.
 
Hate to say it, but when I logged on tonight, several posts that I'd seen and even answered this morning were still showing as new.
 
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