Site/Server Suggestions, Maintenance, & Discussion

[Bazaro]

7 hours ago, DreamblitzX said:

Have the "All Content" (default) option for the search bar include members (and maybe just change it to all). It includes every category except members.

 

Once you start a search, there's a second tab in the new window called "Member Search." It would be much easier if the search categories were unified though, I agree.

[Daniel Blackworth]

Note: I'm using mobile so I'm not sure if this applies to PC

 

Can it be made that if you view the notifications from the bottom part of the screen or if you viewed the page where you are notified of, you won't need to have to view the notification bar to reduce the number of notifications you have to zero?

 

I find it as something that should be improved because it's tiring to have to check the notifications bar just to have it reduced to zero so as to not be confused if there is something new or not.

[Ice Cream Sand Witch]

The layout of topics in the "On the Hunt" subforum and a few others is extremely confusing. Posts seem not to be ordered by when they were posted, resulting in this happening:

 

 

Because I didn't see the timestamp on laggless's post at first, I ended up replying to a post from four months ago that I thought was new (and that I already replied to before). 

 

I don't really know the reason topics are like this in some subforums, but at least for me, it does more harm than good. It also refers to all submitted topics as "Questions", which when I was originally making the relationship variable guide made me question if I was posting in the right place because I wasn't asking a question. 

 

Is there a way for individual users to change this layout, and if not, can one be considered (assuming it's possible)?

[Daniel Blackworth]

16 minutes ago, Ice Cream Sand Witch said:

The layout of topics in the "On the Hunt" subforum and a few others is extremely confusing. Posts seem not to be ordered by when they were posted, resulting in this happening:

 

 

Because I didn't see the timestamp on laggless's post at first, I ended up replying to a post from four months ago that I thought was new (and that I already replied to before). 

 

I don't really know the reason topics are like this in some subforums, but at least for me, it does more harm than good. It also refers to all submitted topics as "Questions", which when I was originally making the relationship variable guide made me question if I was posting in the right place because I wasn't asking a question. 

 

Is there a way for individual users to change this layout, and if not, can one be considered (assuming it's possible)?

I agree. I almost replied to that post since I thought it was a new one; luckily, I checked the date it was posted.

 

It would be more preferable to add an option wherein you can select if you would want to post it as a question or as a topic since 'On the Hunt' does not only feature questions of people asking where to find x item but there are also guides in there.

[Arkhi]

On 3/21/2017 at 10:14 PM, DreamblitzX said:

Have the "All Content" (default) option for the search bar include members (and maybe just change it to all). It includes every category except members.

I believe that the IPS Board formatting we use for the forums is what manages the use of the Search Bar in that manner. Unfortunately, without someone who knows very well what they're doing reprogramming it, it may be impossible at this time to change the default search settings. In the meantime, the best option is to change the search option from "All Content" to "Members" when searching for users:

 

Alternatively, Bazaro's solution works, too. Searching without any text will bring up an advanced search, where you may switch to a Member Search tab and proceed from there. I will add this to the Advanced Suggestions spoiler in the OP.

 

 

 

On 3/24/2017 at 5:26 AM, Mr. Divergent said:

Note: I'm using mobile so I'm not sure if this applies to PC

 

Can it be made that if you view the notifications from the bottom part of the screen or if you viewed the page where you are notified of, you won't need to have to view the notification bar to reduce the number of notifications you have to zero?

 

I find it as something that should be improved because it's tiring to have to check the notifications bar just to have it reduced to zero so as to not be confused if there is something new or not.

I think I know what you're referring to and I share that sentiment with the frustration. Seemingly, the only way to remove the red notification counter from your notifications tab is by viewing all recent notifications, regardless of if you close the pop-up notification at the bottom of the screen when a new notification occurs. I believe this cannot fixed as of now, though I will add it to Advanced Suggestions in the OP.

 

 

On 3/26/2017 at 5:43 AM, Ice Cream Sand Witch said:

The layout of topics in the "On the Hunt" subforum and a few others is extremely confusing. Posts seem not to be ordered by when they were posted.

 

I don't really know the reason topics are like this in some subforums, but at least for me, it does more harm than good. It also refers to all submitted topics as "Questions", which when I was originally making the relationship variable guide made me question if I was posting in the right place because I wasn't asking a question. 

 

Is there a way for individual users to change this layout, and if not, can one be considered (assuming it's possible)?

This is something that bothers me in the Site Inquiries sub-forum too, though since most of the threads here concern questions, I suppose it's more applicable. I will talk with Ame to determine if the ability to create normal threads vs. question threads is possible, though I imagine if it were, we would already have that power. If this ability to change thread types is not possible, then I think it would be worthwhile opening discussion with frequent On The Hunt users to hear the average opinion of users. Should we prefer normal threads to question threads, then that can be changed.

[Felicity]

So its no secret that the recent topic board is a fast moving thing with the volume of topics being made on the forum. Sadly enough this is largely LF/Online play or reborn questions, though the latter is nothing new.

 

I'm wondering if it would be possible to allow personal curation for the user by toggling what forum sections to show topics from on the new topic board. This lets people see more of the content they might miss in the wake of the other topics they may not be interested in.

 

EDIT: Also, a followup to my previous suggestion to create a subforum for celebrations, there is a demonstrable amount of visible traffic seen with the current "happy birthdayx/anniversary" threads, pointedly more than several other subforums like gaming general or CW. Just count the topics, it would also be ahelpful dumping ground for AMAs

[Arkhi]

On 3/26/2017 at 5:43 AM, Ice Cream Sand Witch said:

The layout of topics in the "On the Hunt" subforum and a few others is extremely confusing. Posts seem not to be ordered by when they were posted, resulting in this happening:

 

 

Because I didn't see the timestamp on laggless's post at first, I ended up replying to a post from four months ago that I thought was new (and that I already replied to before). 

 

I don't really know the reason topics are like this in some subforums, but at least for me, it does more harm than good. It also refers to all submitted topics as "Questions", which when I was originally making the relationship variable guide made me question if I was posting in the right place because I wasn't asking a question. 

 

Is there a way for individual users to change this layout, and if not, can one be considered (assuming it's possible)?

@Ice Cream Sand Witch

At the last meeting, we looked at this issue. Ultimately, it was decided to maintain the forum as it is now for several reasons. All threads in a forum must either be in question format or normal format, so it would have to be one or the other, I'm afraid. In order to highlight excellent upvoted answers, the question format for threads is preferable. This also makes it easier for users googling for results pertaining to Reborn not covered in the Reborn Wiki.

 

However, these are the justifications we had in mind in making this decision. If the format is especially troubling despite this all, we can change this to suit the users' needs. All that we'd need to change it to the normal feedback is support for changing to the default thread format.

 

 

 

On 3/30/2017 at 10:06 AM, Felix- said:

So its no secret that the recent topic board is a fast moving thing with the volume of topics being made on the forum. Sadly enough this is largely LF/Online play or reborn questions, though the latter is nothing new.

 

I'm wondering if it would be possible to allow personal curation for the user by toggling what forum sections to show topics from on the new topic board. This lets people see more of the content they might miss in the wake of the other topics they may not be interested in.

 

EDIT: Also, a followup to my previous suggestion to create a subforum for celebrations, there is a demonstrable amount of visible traffic seen with the current "happy birthdayx/anniversary" threads, pointedly more than several other subforums like gaming general or CW. Just count the topics, it would also be ahelpful dumping ground for AMAs

@Felix-

Unfortunately, the following/notification system (the one responsible for giving you notifications) does not blend with the Recent Topics feed. Effectively, that means the Recent Topics feed cannot be feasibly changed.

 

A milestone-themed sub-forum is something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it allows us to conglomerate all birthday, AMA, and milestone threads and keep General Discussion much more general. On the other, we're worried about it seeing little use in the downtime between the AMA waves and little use due to the content not being geared towards readers, but rather other users. If there is enough interest generated (maybe through a petition?), then this idea can get implemented. I suppose that is true of any change in Reborn; if users band together and demand a reasonable change, then it may very well occur.

[Ice Cream Sand Witch]

16 minutes ago, Arkhi said:

@Ice Cream Sand Witch

At the last meeting, we looked at this issue. Ultimately, it was decided to maintain the forum as it is now for several reasons. All threads in a forum must either be in question format or normal format, so it would have to be one or the other, I'm afraid. In order to highlight excellent upvoted answers, the question format for threads is preferable. This also makes it easier for users googling for results pertaining to Reborn not covered in the Reborn Wiki.

 

However, these are the justifications we had in mind in making this decision. If the format is especially troubling despite this all, we can change this to suit the users' needs. All that we'd need to change it to the normal feedback is support for changing to the default thread format.

Oh, okay. If it's only possible for it to be one or the other, I can see why you guys decided to keep the format the way it is. 

 

I still prefer the default format, not only to avoid whatever happened in that screenshot where a post from months ago was shown below a post from an hour ago, but because when I was first making the relationship variable guide and the format was still new I had difficulty navigating it myself. Since I didn't understand the format, I kept thinking the forums were bugged and posts were disappearing or not showing up. 

But this is just one user's opinion and experience, and if the current format is more helpful to people then it'd probably be better to stay.

[Hycrox]

I'd suggest giving EXP for rep creating engaging activities in the forum, such as tournaments, roleplaying, even the Arcade games. That, and maybe reporting bugs in other fangames, and answering questions about them (such as where to find the "golden banana", for example). Oh, and maybe for stimulating conversation and/or creating engaging activities in the Showdown/Discord servers.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Hycrox

[mde2001]

1 hour ago, Hycrox said:

I'd suggest giving EXP for rep creating engaging activities in the forum, such as tournaments, roleplaying, even the Arcade games. That, and maybe reporting bugs in other fangames, and answering questions about them (such as where to find the "golden banana", for example). Oh, and maybe for stimulating conversation and/or creating engaging activities in the Showdown/Discord servers.

These are all things we award EXP for if we come across it. If anyone finds anything like this that they think deserves EXP, we encourage them to make a thread in the Samaritan's Speakeasy, and the appropriate EXP will be awarded. 

[Hycrox]

3 hours ago, mde2001 said:

These are all things we award EXP for if we come across it. If anyone finds anything like this that they think deserves EXP, we encourage them to make a thread in the Samaritan's Speakeasy, and the appropriate EXP will be awarded. 

oh nice

[HongaarseBeer]

Would it be possible to implement a 'back to top' button to enhance user experience? That could make it easier to get back to the top (kind of in the name), especially if it's quite a long thread.

 

If it's not possible it won't be the end of the world but it would be a nice feature.

[Arkhi]

9 hours ago, HongaarseBeer said:

Would it be possible to implement a 'back to top' button to enhance user experience? That could make it easier to get back to the top (kind of in the name), especially if it's quite a long thread.

That feels like something I swear I've seen somewhere before on the forums. It would be built into the IPS forum theme that we're using, maybe in a newer update, if one exists. I can look into this, but I don't know that we'll get one anytime soon.

[HongaarseBeer]

5 hours ago, Arkhi said:

That feels like something I swear I've seen somewhere before on the forums. It would be built into the IPS forum theme that we're using, maybe in a newer update, if one exists. I can look into this, but I don't know that we'll get one anytime soon.

Thanks for even considering it  

[Daniel Blackworth]

Two inquiries:

- Add a Pokemon Rejuvenation Channel to the Discord Server. It would help for easy discussion, quick reply to questions, and would overall be more convenient.

- Is it possible to have the ability to easily change colors in mobile? It would be a great help as it is quite inconvenient to use the code for it.

[Arkhi]

2 hours ago, Mr. Divergent said:

- Add a Pokemon Rejuvenation Channel to the Discord Server. It would help for easy discussion, quick reply to questions, and would overall be more convenient.

I like this idea, the game is certainly popular enough that it's earned a Showdown backchannel before.

 

2 hours ago, Mr. Divergent said:

- Is it possible to have the ability to easily change colors in mobile? It would be a great help as it is quite inconvenient to use the code for it.

What do you mean by this? Are you referring to changing name colors on the Discord server? The Showdown server? Or maybe someplace else? 

[Daniel Blackworth]

6 minutes ago, Arkhi said:

What do you mean by this? Are you referring to changing name colors on the Discord server? The Showdown server? Or maybe someplace else? 

I refer to the Reborn Forums for this one. In PC, I do believe you can easily change the color of what you will post in the Forums through the Complete Editor. However, in Mobile, the Editor seems to be incomplete as I've got only the options to bold, italicize, underline, and a few others. Changing the color of text is possible with the use of the [color=] code, but is there a way to make the Editor have the option to easily change the text color without having to use code?

[Arkhi]

Yeah, it seems the only way to change text color on the forums on mobile is with the HTML. I haven't seen any way to access the more advanced text operations on mobile and it seems like what we've currently got is the extent of IPS' mobile capabilities.

[Daniel Blackworth]

I see. It's a bit sad, but I guess I'll have to make do with code. 

[PESH1]

Apologies if this has been asked before;

 

I am from India. My internet service provider has been injecting some sort of a Javascript code/Tracker which was messing around with the pokemon reborn website and I was unable to open the spoiler tags. I have found that most of the webpages which do not have HTTPS were being injected with this code. Currently I am using a VPN while accessing Pokemon Reborn forums and I am facing no issues.

 

My question is can the website be moved to a https communication protocol? I do not know how difficult is this to implement. 

[Arkhi]

I think you're the first to mention this, so no problen. That does seem like a rather unique issue with the site. I do not know that the entire site domain may be switched to a secure protocol, even if we request that from IPS. That may be outside the scope of our control over the site.

[Daniel Blackworth]

Is there a prospect of conducting different and varied contests on the forums aside from the occasional battling tournament? This would encourage more activity from certain subforums such as how holding a Writing Contest can benefit Creative Works or simply provide more fun to people who aren't that interested in battles or the what not. 

[Arkhi]

Battling tournaments are seemingly decreasing in number as users seem to be shifting to Discord. So many large tournaments do require attentive planning, maintenance, and most of all, participation. The most certainty we have with recurring tournaments is seasonal party's tournaments. It's a viable idea, but many details would be needed.

[Daniel Blackworth]

6 hours ago, Arkhi said:

Battling tournaments are seemingly decreasing in number as users seem to be shifting to Discord. So many large tournaments do require attentive planning, maintenance, and most of all, participation. The most certainty we have with recurring tournaments is seasonal party's tournaments. It's a viable idea, but many details would be needed.

Oh. By my post, I didn't mean tournaments/contests that need much active participation or last for a long time. What I mean by those contests are contests that are one time based or do not take a long duration. Here are some of my ideas:

• Pokemon Reborn Fan art Contest
• Pokemon Reborn One-shot Fanfiction Contest
• Reborn Forums Debate Round
• Reborn Forums Essay Writing Contest
• Reborn Forums Fanfiction Contest

These kinds of contests require little preparation and can easily be hosted by anyone capable. Participation is only one time based and judging can be done with a combination of Rebornian votes and selected judges votes. The only problem with this is that if people will be interested, but I believe that certain suggestions here can catch interest especially those related to Pokemon Reborn.

This can be a way to provide fun and interest to people who are in the forums and it can give recognition to the talents of members of the forums. This may also be a way to give out EXP.

 

[Note: If this kind of idea is accepted, I can volunteer to host.]

[Bazaro]

I don't know if this was brought up anywhere and I haven't seen anything here but spoiler tags are kinda ugly:

• Spoiler tags have a bad tendency to doublespace the whole comment for no apparent reason when posted. Only happens during the first post, editing a spoiler doesn't cause this.
• If you put a spoiler inside a spoiler, and then continue typing after the second spoiler (but still inside the first spoiler) it'll post fine. When you go back to edit the message, you cannot edit anything past the second spoiler. I couldn't even select text to Ctrl+X, but I could Ctrl+X the entire spoiler. Basically get your spoiler tags right the first time or else. And given the above bullet, that's rarely the case.
• Probably some more stuff, I haven't looked into spoiler tags much myself, but these are some things I've ran into. I know I'm not the only people who've ran into these either.