The New 5MV Forums
 

Well, here we are -- we've moved from ikonBoard to phpBB. You'll definitely notice some differences. First off, obviously, is the skin difference, but I'll be able to bring over most of the graphics and get this place looking like the old forums soon enough. The bigger issue is features.

phpBB is, I admit, slightly less featureful than ikonBoard. That's okay -- we've got everything we need, and lots of extras. But if there's something you really miss, talk to me. phpBB is open-source, so there's a good chance someone has a mod to provide what you're looking for.

So poke around, learn the new system, and have fun! PM me if you have any questions and I will laugh at you.

Kicking the gift horse in the mouth
 

Okay, here goes. I know this was a lot of work, but stay back! I have the Giant Stick of Poking! Some of this may be on the way, some of it may be gone for good, but here's what I miss on first glance:

-The "new post" icons don't stand out very well (totally missed them at first) though I assume this will be changed to our good ol' clocks eventually, and they seem to disappear a lot easier than our previous ones.

-You can see when the latest post in a forum was made and by whom, but the link to the actual thread with the new post is really obscure and I barely noticed it. That's kind of annoying and probably my biggest beef to date with the new boards.

-5MV look I assume is incoming. Check.

-Member titles? Does everyone still have one? It didn't look like it, but I'm admittedly very sleep deprived this month.

That's all I can grab for now. Other than that, lookin' good. I haven't had time to try out any of the new features yet, so I'll be back.

I love the new forums. The only thing I miss are the member titles. Any chance we get to write our own member titles? ;)

Oh, and as I`ve said already in the News, the Twisted Smiley :twisted: rules!

*puppy dog eyes* Yes... we want that. Please? *more puppy dog eyes*

Have poked around a bit, and can't say there's much I have a problem with. Lack of member title is a sorrow but one I can live with. I am unable to post in HTML, though, which peturbs me since it's supposedly allowed.

Also, I miss the QuickPost feature. Guess I was getting too spoilt with that, huh?

Other than that.... it's a great new place. I actually like the smaller Last Post icons, actually. Adorable.

I see almost everything has been saved. :D Great job! And you can allow HTML tags, but this time you can specify which tags are allowed and which aren't. A lot safer. :)

Meh, I'm on 2 other forums with phpBB, so I'm used to it, meaning I really have no issues with it.

But... CUSTOMS... want to be able... to choose my own custom... @_@

One thing I notice right off the bat is that I can't be half-visible/half-hidden like I was on the old boards. I would set up my work computer to be logged in hidden, and my home comptuer to be logged in visible, so when I was at work, I wouldn't feel like I was slacking off by reading the message board.

Now I either have to change my profile each time I want to cloak/decloak or I have to come to terms with my own slackness. Obviously neither is preferable.

But come on! Choosing your own member titles isn't half as fun as letting Zeke do it! :wink:

However I do agree that they have to come back. I like member titles.

Woo-ness. It's all very shiny (in the Firefly sense of the word). And we still have postcount! WOO!

I suspect that once Zeke has sorted out the skin he's going to go on a new-title spree...

Re: Kicking the gift horse in the mouth
 

I actually thought there wasnt one...i have accepted and moved on. Then when i looked again i was like, err...where? Then i look real REAL close...and AHA! Yeah...that could do with being a little more obvious if possible! :lol:

(Oh and the lol guy ^...what's with the quivering lip? He looks like a laughing really posh english bloke with possible french ancestory; pehaps named Anton)

I like the idea of writing your own member title, but how about this. Let the other forum members write member titles for others, then have a vote.

I've noticed that the clock doesn't adjust for daylight savings time - plus it was initially set to Alaska for some reason (GMT -9).

Normally I rail and rant about anything new, but there's not a lot here that annoys me (this is high praise coming from me). I look forward to the 5MV skin.

I agree! ;)


Indeed, one of the worst laughing smilies I've ever seen (no reflection on Zeke, he has to work with what he's dealt). So bad I much prefer to use the :D in place of it whenever I can. Which looks like it'll work since we've got the :mrgreen: smiley too :mrgreen:


Let's see. --Bah! I just knew it. :roll: Whoever decided HTML should ignore "extra" spaces should be imprisoned for life. :evil:

Ooo, post subtitles... I like
 

First off, the one everyone's asking about: member titles. Yes, you will get them. No, you will not get to pick your own. The operation is a bit more involved in phpBB because member titles aren't a built-in feature; instead we have "ranks." That means each member title has to be created as a rank and then assigned to the one person getting it. So it's a bit more work, but I can live with it. You'll get member titles as soon as I've got a good start on the 5MV skin.

Speaking of which, you'll notice "Five-Minute Voyager" is now selectable under skins. If you want to watch the skin develop, you can select it now, because I'm currently working on it. If not, you can just wait till I announce it's ready, and switch then.

Kira: Good point about the new thread links. I didn't realize we did have them until you said so, in fact. Perhaps what's called for is a clearer image for that link -- I'll try making a little "Go To Topic" box or something.

17: HTML is allowed, but "Disable HTML" is checked by default, so you have to uncheck it below your post. Also, as Michiel says, only certain tags are allowed -- if you can't get one to work, tell me and I'll add it to the list.

Derek: I'll see if there's a mod to make that option available, but really... if I can't fool myself about slacking off, why should you? :)

PHJ: Oops. I guess you did keep your postcounts. Well, maybe it's for the best -- no gratuitous posting threads. Why would this thing keep postcounts and not PMs, though? (Speaking of which, if any of you have PM business at the old board you want to save, I'm going to get it operational soon at /forums2 for a couple of days.)

Neo: No.

Sa'ar: I thought I did set it to -- oh, right, the board's supposed to be set to GMT. It's ME who lives at -5 GMT. I'll fix that.

NAH and Alexia: Right, the smileys. Do you guys like the old ones better? If so, I'll put 'em back.

You might be interested in this mod, although you probably don't want to install it manually (thank you, EasyMOD).

ABSOLUTELY get the old smileys back! :mrgreen: I really do like the :shock: one quite a bit, but the rest--pfft.

You might want to keep one of the devil smileys though, Nic Corelli seems to have gotten rather attached to it ;)

I second everything he said. :mrgreen:

I like the evil smilies.

I am pro-evil smilies.

Re: Ooo, post subtitles... I like
 

It was also really nice to see the topic title, so you knew what thread the comment was in.