forum

[Beaker]

Please don't go on the defensive and listen.

Something is not working we have all given it a good try before posting. I have used it on tablet/smartphone and PC and I just don't find the forum easy to use on any of them. It is slow, clunky and confusing.

I disagree that the old software was not capable of displaying the pages correctly it just needed a more fluid template skin.

[Beaker]

Please don't go on the defensive and listen.

Something is not working we have all given it a good try before posting. I have used it on tablet/smartphone and PC and I just don't find the forum easy to use on any of them. It is slow, clunky and confusing.

I disagree that the old software was not capable of displaying the pages correctly it just needed a more fluid template skin.

[Beaker]

And just as I tried to post I get this

[Russ]

I find this forum seems to behave differently every time I visit.
With the old one I used to read most posts ,this one just seems like hassle.
I know being a membership secretary is a thankless task but there can't be too many members that need to be manually registered.
I'll be honest with you I'm really not sure about renewing my membership, as it doesn't do anything anymore
* Forum is useless
* Monstro is now yearly
* Spares have gone
Can someone let me know what £18 does subsidise a stand at big car show I'm normally too busy to attend

[Sussex Pete]

Please don't go on the defensive and listen.

Something is not working we have all given it a good try before posting. I have used it on tablet/smartphone and PC and I just don't find the forum easy to use on any of them. It is slow, clunky and confusing.

I disagree that the old software was not capable of displaying the pages correctly it just needed a more fluid template skin.

Please don't take my post the wrong way, I was listening (reading!) and just trying to explain why we have taken the steps we have regarding the club web site.

As I don't see anything like the problems you, and the others on this thread, have been describing, I was wondering if there may be something in the way your ISP is handling the web page. If you are using a Windows computer, could you please run the program "cmd.exe" and in the window that is displayed type in the command tracert www.maestro.org.uk. A series of results will show, eventually indicating either a successful connection to the website, or it will timeout with a series of asterixs. Could you then please post a screenshot of the result. It may not help at all, but at least it could rule out one possible cause of your issues.

Also in answer to Russ' point about manually registering members, the issue is that joining the forum has no relationship to the club membership. If the forum database is not updated with club membership details, then that forum member does not have access - indeed does not even see - the club members section. And yes there are quite a few club members who are also on the forum.

[Russ]

It's not just the forum being slow , it's bloody awful Pete.
It's so messy, I'm on a model railway forum rmweb.co.uk which is modern but very easy to use.
Have a look and see if we could have something similar

[Tanya]

Sorry, I am working very long hours this week so don't have time to reply to everything. However, while initially I did have problems with the speed and occasionally do now, for me (a non tech person) it is very simple and straightforward for me to use. I have used it on my PC, table and phone - it's great on my phone and I find it so easy to get round. I've used (and when I have time still do other forums) but for me this is definitely one of the easier ones - it just feel right for me and I can easily find everything. Personally I haven't had any problems with the messenger.

In short, some of this boils down to personal choice etc and we all work in different ways and like different things. You'll never please all the people all of the time exactly because of this.

While how a website/forum looks isn't a significant priority for me, I do really like the look of this one. To me it looks professional but friendly, but we're all different.

[Jez]

While I am getting the hang of the website in general, I also seem to be losing personal messages. It would seem they get sent, but then are deleted, or never to be seen again.
There are also a few links that still do not work.

I know how hard it is doing anything in IT and the website probably needed to be updated to a newer code. A little tweaking here and there and I am sure we will be motoring!

[Russ]

I hardly bother with it now, too difficult to find unread posts etc which is a shame as people who post technical help questions are probably getting missed by a lot of members

[Beaker]

Likewise Russ I hardly bother opening anything as it is just too difficult. Tanya I have used plenty of forums over the years, maintained and installed several as well. The site in its current form has to be the worst site I have ever used.

[Mike Brock]

To me this site is massively improved over the old one - remember the security issues with that? If anything this one however - can be slow initially on entering the site even with a 70mbps connection. My browser is set to clear every session though to be fair. Other than that it's perfect on every functionality I have used from this site so far. Only criticism being there are a lot of broken links on the links page that need to be updated or deleted what ever the case may be? Oh - it would be absolutely fantastic if we could add a banner to our signature like you can with most other forums?

[Tanya]

Beaker and Russ, I respect your views but beg to different and I think we'll just have to agree to disagree. Beaker, as a user of many forums my views are just as valid as yours only different!

Security is the priority and I'm now satisfied that the website and forum is as safe as we can make it, and I find it dead easy to use and great on my phone. Either 'New Topics' or 'Today's Posts' are just there for me to click on - I don't need to look for them.

Thanks for the feedback Mike and we'll try to get the broken links sorted as soon as we can. I'll also ask about the banner and let you know.

You can never please everyone and I knew this would be the case with the website and forum. However, I agree with Jez and hope to be motoring soon and gaining new members even though I know forums do face tough competition from Facebook etc.

[Russ]

Thats fine Tanya, but less and less people will use the forum and I think you may have saved me eighteen quid!
BTW where are the new members going to come from? There isn't many MMs that aren't enthusiast owned these days. Those that are in everyday service are pretty much run into the ground and are not likely to be desirable models

[tony]

i am a none computer person but to me this site is no longer user friendly, i dont know about v4 and v5 and the rest.
what i do know is if we dont change this site people will/are leaving.
soon this will be the best site on the web that nobody uses.
is there no stats showing site trafic? see if just me?

[Russ]

It was getting bad before Tony but now I think you are lucky if there is a handful of posts per day. A far cry from a few years ago