 Ariel Lepor |
Feel like I do? Make BP Forums More User Friendly. I've been using this site for over a year, and there have been things about it that bother me. Yes, I know that BP is always improving and changing things take time and effort, but can't the forum be more user-friendly like wilderssecurity.com and similar online forums? There have been times where I made a mistake and wanted to delete a comment (for example, if it was double-posted). Other times, I've wanted to edit a comment with bad HTML or a stupid grammar mistake. If it's known that people can change their comments or questions, I don't think that people will use that feature to mess up things - especially since others could do the same thing right back! An E or a D next to an edited or deleted comment would let people know that a change has been made. Another thing is that BP has email sign-ins for comments. This is bad for a number of reasons, including the facts that people won't be able to upload a picture when they think they could and that it is easy to impersonate others. BP should have complete sign-ins for comments, and the sign-in page should re-direct to the place where the person wanted to go/comment. And there should be a respond button at the top and bottom of each discussion page, maybe even after each comment, so you don't have to do so much scrolling. When you do hit respond, comment order should reverse so you comment at the top of the page and the old comments are at the bottom. This also eliminates tons of scrolling. Finally, when you are done commenting, there should be a button and automatic re-direct to the discussion or gallery you were viewing. Another side idea I had is that discussions of more than 50 or 100 should have more than one page, but that's not really so big a deal. So, how's that for more user friendly? Ariel
|
|
|
|
||
|
Mike Rubin |
All goog suggestions, I'm a member at http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ and they use many of the things you suggest, They do make the forum more user friendly, they even have spell check!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Samuel Smith |
goog??spell check??:)) we all make mistakes.confronting those mistakes may be a better lesson than deleting them. the rest?i don't know. sam
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
Yes a spll chacher woud be teerrrriiffiicccc. :)
|
|
|
|
||
|
Samuel Smith |
thank you ariel.i saw where you were celebrating your 1 year anniversary? it seems you have been here longer to me?? =)) ooo k.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
No, but does that mean you don't need one?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Samuel Smith |
absolutely not!i make mistakes.at times I have no tact.i blurt out my opinion and get some hate mail.shall I take a different road?naa. people don't seem to want to buy my photos??i'm fine with that.i don't take photos with that intention,but I feel I will eventually write a piece and use my photos to augment the story. right now my passion screws me.it's just a work in progress.if I can get a handle on it I will do better. friends accept the flaws,and are still friends.quaint.or admirable.. i guess my bad,sam
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica A. Eiss |
Oh Ariel, I have thought some these same things many times! I can't stand that you can't stay within one forum, without being taken all of the way out to the main menu. If I'm in Digital, and post something, I want to stay in digital until I want to leave! also, there are times that I'll read posts before signing in, and then decide to post a response, and then the sign in takes me all the way back to my member center, then I have to go to forums again...... Glad someone else brought this up....thanks! Jess
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
Yeah, well, now if BP will only make the changes...
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
BP doesn't even have to really switch the comment order - automatic scroll-down for the comment screen would also work.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
I hope BP sees this tread. Anybody ELSE feel like I do?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Raymond H. Kemp |
I too would like an edit feature. I can get pretty sloppy when I'm responding or adding a new thread and with BP I need to recheck my work several times before posting. Ray
|
|
|
|
||
|
Mike Rubin |
Download the Google tool bar. It has a spell checker that works here. The tool bar is small enough that you can place it on the top line of you browser and it does not take up any additional screen space. It has an Auto Fix feature which highlights what is wrong and the fix
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
Sure, everybody that wants to can get spell checkers for their browsers, but why not just have a spell checker in the forums? And I think Ray was also talking about the edit feature so if you mess up and later notice, you can fix it. Spell checkers themselves aren't perfect.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Raymond H. Kemp |
Yeah, sometimes I want to go back and add something to post or edit it afterwords. I ususally compose most of my posts in Word first so it is spell checked there. Ray
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
With Firefox 2.0, the forums are pretty O.K. to use. Tabbed browsing really helps, and the spell checker is very good, too. I'm glad that BP made it so you have to sign in fully before posting. That helps, too.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Samuel Smith |
let's just hope no one else sees this tread. take a 3rd and 4th grade girls basketball team that wins one game in an 8 game season and then makes it to the final game in the tournament. I made a lot of mistakes ariel,they could have won that game,or not. the game before the final game they won,the other coach pitched a bitch and thought he was cheated because of the referees.my team 7 fouls,his team 1 foul.what? don't blame the blind for not seeing,only yourself for not having a vision,sam
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
I have no idea what you just said.
|
|
|
|
||
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
He's saying shouldn't people take it upon themselves to spell correctly. Either that or some of those parents of that 1&8 basketball team are somewhere on this forum so he hopes moving it to the top by adding a post won't draw their attention to it, cause they're looking for him. And they ain't happy. Samisms
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
;) Well, some people have trouble with spelling and want an easy way to post with correct spelling. Now what about everything else? Why don't the forum's flip when people want to respond? Why, when signed in, people edit their comments (at least within a short amount of time)? On a similar note, why isn't there a little button next to each picture letting the photographer edit the description/title(/contest category)?
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Been on forums where you can have them displayed most recent first, or first response first. Those that have the most recent first always rehash a point or keep repeating already made responses. Ones that have the first response at the top follow the flow. They read like a book or transcript. For your buttons, it's so easy to pick a category, type your description that the standard equipment dosen't seem to be such a hardship. It's like a learned helplessness. Lay out simple stuff for people, they end up loosing the capapbility to do easy stuff. Couch potatos, banning tag, needing a drug for "restless leg syndrome". Get up and move your foot's asleep.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Samuel Smith |
a gregism. hmm. but yes. some of the parents thought I was embarrassing their kid by allowing them to make so many mistakes.(i actually think they were embarassed because they thought their kid was a much better player). but if you lay those mistakes and faults right out in front of them now and actually have them take responsibility and learn instead of saying,well i,well she,well they,and make sure they know we all make mistakes,it works. during a timeout when I was explaining what they were doing wrong, one of the girls said,i don't have to even like you.but with a smile I replied,yeah,but your stuck with me as your coach,and we all had a good laugh. she didn't really mean it,her feelings were hurt.maybe I hurt yours? no drive by from the parents yet,sam
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
There is a reason people want to use correct spelling and grammar. It's so that other people will understand the post. Personally, I'm struggling to understand your posts, and generally I can understand posts with poor grammar. It's just that you are throwing thoughts in from left field on top of it. From what I can tell, you really make good points and use good analogies, but it's up to you if you want everyone to benefit from your wisdom.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sharon Day |
Editing your own posts shouldn't be a big deal. Many times I would have gone back and corrected a typo or something worded awkwardly if I could have. I also think a photographer should be able to remove comments on their photo's discussion thread if they so desire and it shouldn't matter why. If you don't want it there get rid of it, but if it's offensive I will say that BP is good about removing it for you. I just don't like bothering the staff with petty stuff like that.
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Those are some of the things that flickr has. The lastest thief deleted one of my comments I made after all the stolen pictures were taken off. Then again, maybe the thief got flickr to take my comment down. But flickr has more of a chat room type motivation to it, BP has more display and showcase feel. But editing power over photo comments is handy. Needing something to correct category selection, how many out there are actually having trouble with that? Out several ten thousands. BP keeping the editing ability can help them keep track of people putting crazy stuff up. Somebody can say something out-there, delete it real quick before BP can find the evidence. But it's probably just because they take the simple approach.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
"evidence" - ? I don't think that's a concern. How about something showing up next to a comment saying it has been edited or deleted? After commenting, also, there really should be a link to return to that thread, picture, and/or category.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
Also instead of just getting an email saying there has been a new comment, shouldn't you get an email which says what that comment is including a link to un-watch that thread? Either that, or BP should only send you one email since your last visit to the thread, and should not email you for your own comments.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Samuel Smith |
no edits. raise your hand and say I said that. the way around that is to say I was wrong or I wish to change my perspective or outlook or answer. or maybe I was wrong. my friend flickr,sam
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
The evidence thing was just a random thought. But needing a notification of a comment to tell what the comment actually is, is going way out there. That's what direct emails are for. And a comment is a comment. There's nothing odd about making an auto notify whenever something is entered in the comment area. I don't know what a link to un-watch a thread means. With the number of people who are signed up, the things you listed as needing are so insignificant there's not much a purpose to add them. How often and how many people pick wrong categories that consistantly. And the back button can return you just like a link. If you comment and want to go back, it works the same.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
I'm sorry I mentioned the category edit thing. It's just that it would make sense that when someone is signed in and see their pictures, there should be an easy way for them to edit the details. For example, often I'm viewing a picture of mine and notice something off with the description, and I have to go through all of my pictures to find the one I want to correct. It shouldn't be so hard. As far as un-watching a thread and only receiving one email per new comment, here it goes. You know when you comment on a picture and leave the box to receive notices of comments, and all of a sudden a million other people comment on the picture and you aren't even really so interested? Well, for one, if you would only receive one email per visit, you mailbox wouldn't get cluttered. And for another, if there would be a link in the email notification which allows you to stop getting comment notifications on a specific thread or picture, you would be able to easily stop receiving those emails instead of finding the thread to stop by going into my discussions in the member center. And finally, if the notification email actually contains the text of the message, it saves you time because you won't have to open the browser, go to the thread, scroll down, and all, just to see the comment. It helps you decide if it's worth it for you to go to the thread and respond or if you don't want to respond without you having to actually go to the thread. OK?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
Oh, another idea. (And just because these suggestions work around only minor problems, it doesn't mean that they can't be fixed.) Next to where it says how many comments there are in a thread, it should say how many commenters there are in the thread. This way you know how large or involved a thread really is, or if a person was just getting advice from one person, or if a person was just commenting on his own question to bring it to top (as opposed to someone thinking that a thread was answered). It seems just as important as the number of comments in a thread.
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Why don't you leave the box to not receive notices at the beginning? Takes care of the bunch of emails. And if you put the comment in the notification, you're changing the notification into an email, and getting rid of the comment part. Turns it into a send this person an email. Which they have, so scrap the comment part? And it does list the number of replies in a thread. I'm not getting what's making you think it dosen't. Unless you're talking about something besides the Q&A. And I didn't say that these things can't be fixed, or changed I should say. The burden is so miniscule to do all the things you need done for you. A couple of clicks with a mouse, maybe even one. Check or uncheck so you don't get any notification emails. I see the convenience in somethings automated, but I also see when not having something automated dosen't create any need for any amount of effort to do the task.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
"Why don't you leave the box to not receive notices at the beginning?" Generally, I'm interested in (at least the first couple) responses. But that doesn't mean the mailbox has to become cluttered. I don't know why you're against change. "And if you put the comment in the notification, you're changing the notification into an email, and getting rid of the comment part. Turns it into a send this person an email. Which they have, so scrap the comment part?" And it does list the number of replies in a thread. I'm not getting what's making you think it doesn't. I see the convenience in somethings automated, but I also see when not having something automated doesn't create any need for any amount of effort to do the task. I agree that it is not a huge burden, you know. It's just that, well, it still could be better, and it would probably make many people happy to have this convenience, especially for people who comment on many pictures or threads and often are interested on future comments. Hitting the delete button a BTW: You should get one email per visit to a picture; text in each email from threads (questions). Also, the emails for threads should contain a "reply" link so you don't have to scroll all the way down those long threads even before you get to the comment page.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
*sorry From the second to last paragraph:
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Life is full of minor inconviences, not everything can be done for you. Nor do feel that it should be. I'm not against change, I'm against wimpiness. You talk about my loss, where's that? And what is it that you're losing by not having told there's this number of comments but the number of commenters isn't the same, it's this many? Comments on pictures that are in deluxe sites are sent as an email with a message box. So with all the things you need done, maybe it's time to open up the wallet. Because one thing about needing so many conveniences taken care of for you, when something's free, you get a basic package. More conveniences means extra service, extra money. If I'm not mistaken, are you the one that was asking about photos without descriptions that told how they were done, shouldn't be picked as winners?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
No, I'm not the one that started that discussion. Anyway, I don't think we should fight about it. I know life is full of inconveniences, but it seems to me that wimpiness comes in when you don't want to eliminate them. I'm not afraid of tolerating those inconveniences, I'm just saying that BP could make things better. I understand your viewpoint. You're saying that since BP ain't broke, why fix it? Okay. Fine. We can agree to disagree. Friends?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jane M |
I was the one who suggested that people follow the competition guidelines and enter the technical details of the photo as requested, and that the judges use their own guidelines as a basis for judging... that started off a wee little thread LOL In fact I still stand by that viewpoint in the spirit of this website.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
And I agree that putting information on how you took and edited a picture will help other people learn.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Samuel Smith |
jane again makes a point some still miss.judges,judge.i don't think any info is considered until maybe the final round.how they achieved their goal is mute. I go to galleries and want to make a comment and see that ps was used to.......whatever. my opinion is it's art,and a very nice picture,not a photo. so what,you think i'm waiting on a court ruling? so what will they learn?people don't lie..they won't steal a photo and post it on flickr? so i've been asked to scan some senior photos and send them to a friend to,it ain't gonna happen. I can't lose a friend because a friend would'nt ask.duh. even posted settings are questionable.but are they real? sam
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sharon Day |
You have a very good point, Sam. I have taken a few photos that were probably at least one stop too dark. PS doesn't tell me how many stops I've lightened a photo so the settings can be misleading. Since the infamous post Jane's referring to I do try to post a long shutter speed for a special effect like veiling water. Unless an exposure is right on the money there's really not much point in listing the settings and I don't know about you guys but I'm not likely to admit I missed the exposure ;)!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jane M |
Contestants and judges follow the site rules and guidelines - what a concept eh? :-) I did seem to notice after that thread that a few people began to put technical details, and I'm sure it was appreciated by many. Sharon (thankyou for listing!), as I mentioned on that thread, I don't think people want to know shutter-speed/aperture for exposure reasons (they have no way of knowing what the ambient light was anyway when the photo was taken), but more for the blur/freezing/camera-shake effect of ss and the DOF for the aperture. In the example you gave to expose correctly you would have changed the aperture or ISO, it's the shutter speed that's important for the main purpose of the photo and is all that anyone would be interested in. (In fact thinking about it just listing ss/aperture is useless anyway in terms of exposre without listing ISO as well, plus different cameras have different sensitivity in their sensors).
|
|
|
|
||
|
BetterPhoto Member |
And where are we today, not any further
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ariel Lepor |
-_- Unfortunately. I am a little surprised and annoyed that BetterPhoto has yet to allow anyone to edit their posts (even one second after posting it) and still there are no message previews, and still you can't have a signature, and still the origination of threads and posts leaves improvement to be desired. It really should not be so difficult for BetterPhoto to switch their forums to a modified phpBB forum.
|
|
|
|
||
- Carolyn M. Fletcher  Contact Carolyn M. Fletcher Carolyn M. Fletcher's Gallery |
Wow, this is an old old post! I too, wish they would allow you to amend or delete your comment..I don't know how many times I've wished I hadn't said whatever it was I said, or at least the way I said it. Would be a nice change.
|
|
|
|
||
- Laura E. Swan Contact Laura E. Swan Laura E. Swan's Gallery |
Good suggestions and Carolyn I am with YOU! My problem is my typing. I make many errors and it takes away from what I am trying to say to my fellow photographers! -Laura
|
|
|
|
||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||