Do you use the new software differently?

[Guest bottomboykk]

The way I have always viewed the software is by bookmarking the "Read New" page (thankfully this version has restored the ability, lost in the last one, to directly bookmark the actual Read New page). I immediately see the threads that have new posts, and if I'm interested in the topic, I click on the title and see the posts that are new with the yellow icon. When I'm done with the thread, I use the back button and repeat the process on other new threads. When I'm done, I mark them as read, and I'm done. Very easy.

 

Besides the ability to bookmark the proper page as mentioned above, the new software also doesn't stop showing the entire thread when it gets more than 20 posts. In the last version, I had to click on the thread I wanted, then click on View All, then I could see the entire thread. In this version, I click on the thread, and the entire thread appears.

 

So, all in all, I'm pleased with the new software. It works much better than the old for the way I've always used it.

 

I do think some more work is needed on the font size/color.

[Justice]

I too sympathise with Daddy and HooBoo, new software intallations are never easy.

 

I have a cable modem and the Board also loads very slowly for me. The bad news is that I'm having a similar problem with one other site and that problem predates the problems here, so I'm not sure where the problem lies. (All my other favorites load normally.) When I come here, I automatically click on "collapse threads" that speeds things up a little. Am I missing anything? That's hard to tell. Its still far too early for me to decide. The slowness of the Board is not preventing me from participating. I've decided to learn to live with it.

 

I am having another problem which unfortunately is preventing me from participating as actively as I would like. Logging in has become a nightmare. I had to log in multiple times just to reply to this post. I kept getting a "cookie problem" error message. I see that message several times whenever I try to post anything. I've tried all the usual remedies, i.e., I've deleted the m4m cookie (several times), I hit refresh, I go "home" and come back again, I clear my history, and just about everything else that I can think of. Sometimes I can get in -- after several attempts -- and sometimes I just give up and move on. ;( Hopefully this is just a temporary problem that will go away whenever the rest of the bugs are corrected.

[+ deej]

I'm seeing some of what you're reporting as well.

 

For me, the timeout on a login is set WAY too short. I'm willing to bet it'll timeout before I can post this. :-(

 

Just out of curiosity, what are your security settings for this site?

[Guy Fawkes]

I've expanded the timeout from 30 minutes to 180 minutes, so you get 3 hours of inactivity before you are logged out. I'm reluctant to raise it any higher without Hoo's input, there's a security issue that comes into play.

 

One of the things that I noticed was that when I used the "Listing topics..." menu item on the main page to set it to the "last month" instead of "all", that there was a dramatic increase in speed.

 

I never did run with the treads fully expanded, I track the threads I'm interested in, and punch in with "View All". When I'm in a hurry, I use "Read New" menu item, but I don't like that interface nearly as well.

 

The author is working the issues. Just be patient, He's putting in longer hours than Daddy is!

 

BTW: I'll be moving this thread to "Daddy's Place" so that I can keep track of it. I don't have a lot time to interact, but I am monitoring the comments for the TODO list. You don't want to know how long the list is!

 

Regards, :+

[Boston Guy]

Guys,

 

Since the beginning of the Message Center (well, since the beginning of the DC Scripts software, which replaced the original software several months after M4M begain...), I've gotten used to viewing M4M in a particular way:

 

* Log into M4M at some point during the day

* Scan the threads (with the threads expanded) to see what's new

* Read most new comments on most threads

* Minimize the Explorer window, rather than closing it

* Go back periodically during the day to see if there were new interesting posts. All I had to do was click on the bookmarked link in the same Explorer window, since I was still logged n.

 

This was usually quite fast, unless there were lots of new posts. And, since I was looking at all of the threads in expanded mode, not just the titles of threads that might have a new message,I was able to fairly easily keep track of the various conversations that were ongoing.

 

Today, on a fast Internet connection, I can no longer do this. The new software is just too slow, even with the new server -- which is certainly an improvement. For me, viewing any of the longer forums (Lounge, Deli, Ask an Escort, Escorts South of the US) in expanded mode is just too slow. It can easily take a half minute or more just to load one page. If you then click on a new or old message and then press Back, it takes the same 30 seconds or more to load the page again.

 

So I've reluctantly given up viewing threads in expanded mode. I feel like I'm seeing the "minimal" version of M4M now. Further, I find that I'm now picking and choosing, sort of ruthlessly, which theads I'll even open up to look at. I'm definitely skipping lots of messages that I would have read previously.

 

I also no longer maintain an open Explorer window for M4M, since you're logged off pretty quickly and there's no advantage to keeping M4M active.

 

It's not my connection -- that's fast and I've experienced no slowdowns with the other sites I routinely visit.

 

I sympathise with Daddy and HB; clearly they've tried to address the problems with the new software. However, if I'm seeing these problems and am already minimizing how I use and view M4M, I would imagine that lots of others out there must also be doing the same.

 

Have you guys changed the way you use this site since the new software was introduced? Do you only use Read New? Do you notice any other differences?

 

Thanks,

BG

[+ deej]

Daddy,

 

Can we make the default thread view NOT expanded?

 

I had to toss my cookies last nite (for unrelated reasons) so I was reverted to the default expanded view. It's so slow I thought the software was hung up.

 

Making this user-selectable is a noble idea, but if people give up on trying to get in they'll never know it's selectable. :-)

[Boston Guy]

>Daddy,

>

>Can we make the default thread view NOT expanded?

>

>I had to toss my cookies last nite (for unrelated reasons) so

>I was reverted to the default expanded view. It's so slow I

>thought the software was hung up.

>

>Making this user-selectable is a noble idea, but if people

>give up on trying to get in they'll never know it's

>selectable. :-)

 

 

It's too bad, too, because the expanded view is the one I've grown to like so much. :-( Oh, well...

 

On a more positive note, the longer login time limit has proven to be helpful. Thanks.

 

BG

[Guy Fawkes]

Done! The setup option was worded strangely. It now defaults to the faster method (i.e. Collapsed).

[+ deej]

>It's too bad, too, because the expanded view is the one I've

>grown to like so much. :-( Oh, well...

 

Same here. Perhaps it would be useful in "Read New" mode?

 

>On a more positive note, the longer login time limit has

>proven to be helpful.

 

Agree. Although when I came here this evening I was whisked away to a page telling me LOGIN EXPIRED, and had to click a link to go to the login page. I doubt they meant it to behave that way. :o

[Huey]

>Done! The setup option was worded strangely. It now

>defaults to the faster method (i.e. Collapsed).

 

Daddy back to what I posted a few days ago .. your post in this thread is a great example. In reading your post it says in reply to message #4. Well, who is #4???

 

The previous version had the message number (in this case #4)within the header of the person's post. This version doesn't

 

Obviously in such a small thread I know who you were replying to. Think about larger threads please.

[+ deej]

>The previous version had the message number (in this case

>#4)within the header of the person's post. This version

>doesn't

 

True enough, but this version has a link to the reply so you can jump there and *see* what it's a reply to.

 

It's a tradeoff.

[Guy Fawkes]

The missing message number was a oversight by the author....I believe that it is fixed in the next point release which is due out at any moment.

[Huey]

Deej I didn't even try the link, actually that is a nice added feature

 

Daddy, thanks for the update regarding the missing number. I tend to use that # within larger threads Though now that I have learned about the link feature that might be a quicker reference for the huge threads.

[Justice]

As I mentioned post # 2 logging on and replying to messages has been a bit of adventure for me lately. There's a thread about cell phone service in the lounge. My attempt at participating in that thread resulted in the same post being posted three times. That's a new one. I've seen it happen on other boards, but that's the first time that I've seen it happen here.