Forums Software Upgraded

[Chris Hennes]

On Sunday, Feb. 17 we upgraded our forums to the latest release of the software they are running on. Most changes are probably not noticeable, and are just under-the-hood stability improvements. I think the only new feature that you might notice is the new "settings" button in the post editor (the gear icon in the upper right corner) which allows you to set the editor's default paste mode.

That said, if you notice any bugs when using the software, please either PM or e-mail me, including any details you can (and screenshots if it is a problem with the formatting). Thanks!

NOTE: If you are having trouble posting, please first clear your cookies from egullet.org (you will have to log in again once you've done so). For instructions on clearing your cookies, please see:

• Internet Explorer
• Chrome
• Firefox
• Safari

If the problem persists please contact me.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Chris Hennes
Added note about clearing your cookies. (log)

[Chris Hennes]

Update for Chrome (and possibly other browser) users: I have received reports that some Chrome users are needing to clear both their cookies and their browser cache in order for posting to work. If you are experiencing difficulty, in particular with the software telling you there isn't anything in your post, please try clearing your browser's cache and see if that clears things up.

[Joe Blowe]

Having a problem posting with Firefox -- have cleared cache, cookies, and even opened in Safe Mode. Getting the "Your post is empty" popup...

This message was posted using SRWare Iron

[huiray]

In fact, what I did when I first discovered that just previewing my message gave an empty message (except for images, which "took") was to both delete my cookies and throw out (not merely empty) the entire Firefox and Google/Chrome cache folders and force the browsers to rebuild them. On a Mac the path is: Users --> [Your Account] --> Library --> Caches; and within the Caches folder the Firefox and Google folders are deleted.

[Chris Hennes]

Thanks for the suggestion, huiray: it appears that some browsers are being particularly tenacious in their caching of our old Javascript (which was updated in this release). Joe Blowe, if clearing the cache and cookies did not do the trick, you could try toggling the formatting off and back on using the lightswitch icon in the upper left corner of any post editor, that has resolved the issue for some people. If not, send me a PM and I'll see if we can dig a little deeper.

[Kerry Beal]

I don't know if this is a good place to ask - but with the new format - while in View New Content - after I look at each topic and return to the main screen - the area to the left of the topic no longer reflects that I've already seen it. Any way to make that happen without refreshing?

[Chris Hennes]

If by "area to the left" you mean the little blue and gray icons (circles and stars) next to each topic title, then if you are returning to the active topics listing by using your browser's back button, the answer is no, your browser is caching those icons. If you are using the "View New Content" button, however, then it ought to be showing the correct icon, so let me know if that's wrong.

[Kerry Beal]

Yup - that's the one. Hate to have to hit "View New Content" every time - cause it takes you back to page one.

[huiray]

Yup - that's the one. Hate to have to hit "View New Content" every time - cause it takes you back to page one.

But you don't have to. If you are viewing/have viewed one of the threads/topics with new content *and* have viewed the last new post, then wish to return to the sub-forum (say, "Cooking") where the thread/topic is, you just have to click on the "Back to Cooking" hyperlink just underneath the last post in the thread/topic; or click on the "Cooking" hyperlink at either the top or bottom of the page within the file directory designation (e.g. eGullet Forums --> The Kitchen --> Cooking). Or click on "The Kitchen" hyperlink if you wish. Or click on the "Forums" tab at the top or the "eGForums" design/symbol in the banner at the very top of the page to get to the listings of all the sub-forums. Is that what you were getting at? If so, then you should have the "new"/refreshed page with the just-read topic no longer marked as having new content, with the way most (if not all) browsers are usually set up.

Edited February 19, 2013 by huiray (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Ah yes - but then my CDO kicks in (cause OCD isn't in alphabetical order). You see I like to read them oldest to newest in 'View New Content' - I don't want to read all the cooking one, then all the confectionary ones! I know, I know - I'm SOL. Strangely it used to work - sometimes up north on my other computer it wouldn't work so I'm not sure where in cyberspace the difference happens.

[huiray]

Suppose you went to the "Custom" tab in the blue menu bar just above the list of topics in a sub-forum (say, "Cooking" as an example again), click on it once to get the drop-down sub-menu, then set the 'Sort Direction' filter to "Ascending (A-Z)" and the 'Time Frame' filter to "Last 5 days" (or whatever period you want) then click on "Update Filter". Would that work for you?

ETA: while leaving the 'Sort by' filter at "Last post".

ETA2: Also unless you mean only within your "My Content" page when either "Ascending" or "Descending" for your purposes is available in the blue menu bar... :-)

Edited February 19, 2013 by huiray (log)

[Joe Blowe]

<p>Sorry to post and not PM, but I thought this would be a good way to test. So, I was able to post from Firefox, but I'm not able to preview beforehand.  Also, going to preview erases the current text. Toggling format is not 100% at the moment, as you can see...</p>

Edited February 19, 2013 by Joe Blowe (log)

[Porthos]

Yup - that's the one. Hate to have to hit "View New Content" every time - cause it takes you back to page one.

My habit for topics that interest me is to right-click on them (or the star or circle to the left) and open it in a new tab. When I'm done reading I close that tab and then continue down the list of New Content. This may or may not be a technique that interests you but I thought I'd mention it.

[Kerry Beal]

Yup - that's the one. Hate to have to hit "View New Content" every time - cause it takes you back to page one.

My habit for topics that interest me is to right-click on them (or the star or circle to the left) and open it in a new tab. When I'm done reading I close that tab and then continue down the list of New Content. This may or may not be a technique that interests you but I thought I'd mention it.

Sadly the back button from doing that doesn't make the little circle or star go away either.

[&roid]

I love the fact that in safari the back button now makes an instant jump back to what I was viewing, no pointless reloading of the page. Much better.

[MelissaH]

I work my way down the list of topics with unread content, going to the bottom of page 1, then clicking to page 2 and scrolling down that, and if that's still all new content I click to page 3, until I put a page where there's content I've seen. Then I work my way back up, right-clicking on the star or circle to open that topic in a new page. I do that on each topic I want to read, and when I get to the top of the page I hit the back button, which (in Firefox, anyway) takes me back to the bottom of the previous page. I then work my way up that page, again opening each topic in a new tab, and so on and so forth till I get back to the top of page 1.

[Kerry Beal]

I work my way down the list of topics with unread content, going to the bottom of page 1, then clicking to page 2 and scrolling down that, and if that's still all new content I click to page 3, until I put a page where there's content I've seen. Then I work my way back up, right-clicking on the star or circle to open that topic in a new page. I do that on each topic I want to read, and when I get to the top of the page I hit the back button, which (in Firefox, anyway) takes me back to the bottom of the previous page. I then work my way up that page, again opening each topic in a new tab, and so on and so forth till I get back to the top of page 1.

But even if you do that - the little star or circle doesn't go away until you refresh the entire 'View New Content' page. Except sometimes! Sometimes when I return to the 'View New Content' page the star or circle is muted - most often when I haven't actually read it.

[Chris Hennes]

As &roid points out above, there is a significant benefit in terms of speed (and reduced server load) to not forcing the browser to reload the page when you hit "back". That said, if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly I think that our software provider is moving in the direction of fewer and fewer complete page reloads in general. This may result in a system that is capable of ONLY reloading those markers someday, without having to reload the whole page, in which case we can have our cake and eat it too. There is no timeline for the next major release, however, so don't start holding your breath just yet, and I'm just guessing about the feature set.

[Ozcook]

I use Firefox. I have found with the upgrade I can't use any of the formatting tools in a post. They are all greyed out.

[Chris Hennes]

Click the lightswitch in the upper left corner of the toolbar.

[Ozcook]

Okay, that worked. Never seen the lightswitch b4. Formatting clearly working now.

Thanks.

[Keith_W]

I just noticed that each post now has a "Like" button. I tried to press it but it said "You have reached your quota of positive votes for today" even though I haven't clicked on the button ever before! Is this a known bug? There is a gorgeous plate of food in another thread which I want to "like"

[Keith_W]

I just noticed that each post now has a "Like" button. I tried to press it but it said "You have reached your quota of positive votes for today" even though I haven't clicked on the button ever before! Is this a known bug? There is a gorgeous plate of food in another thread which I want to "like"

[Chris Hennes]

I think it was just a mistake in the settings: give it another shot now.

[Keith_W]

OK it worked Thanks Chris!