Forum Bug Reports and Feature Requests

[Arhu]

Greetings.

The forum layout is still work in progress, but if you found something annoying, a bug you'd like to see fixed or a feature you'd like to see added or changed, feel free to post here. :)


Bug Reports

User CP page unfinished (Arhu)
styles should have the logo of the "site" the user is currently on, regardless of color
Forum popup menus unfinished
Zoom feature not working on the forums (plus not saving on the main site)


Feature Requests

More and different smilies (Arhu)
Different forum icons and smilies, as the current ones don't look good in dark styles (Arhu / Moriendor)
The big RPGWatch Forums name in the main index should be a link to refresh the page (Gorath)
Brighter blue for user names in the Lapis Watch theme (Moriendor)
Quick reply box for unregistered users on the comment pages (Arhu)
Show newsbit above the first comment. (r3dshift)
Comments should open in a new window. (Gorath)
add a line before the the "path" ...


Solved Issues

PMs are stretched strangely and the reply button is called "quote" (Dhruin)

[Gorath]

Comments should open in a new window.

[r3dshift]

Hi,

I've already posted twice, yet my post count has remained zero :)
EDIT: According to the counter, I've got a single post now that I've posted thrice. Does this mean that the first two posts are like warm-up posts only? :D

EDIT2: Thanks for enabling Avatars ;)

[Moriendor]

User names are a little hard to read with the dark "skin" unless you mouse-over them. Maybe they should be a little brighter blue by default(?) :)

[Moriendor]

Oh, and smilies are obviously not optimized. If you use the dark skin, they have a pretty visible, ugly border around them. Looks like they aren't transparent GIFs.

[r3dshift]

Okay, more woes from me, sorry :)

Would it be possible to have the colour scheme selected and set for the forums (i.e. amber/dark in my case) on the main news page as well? Because I still get the blue/dark combo there unless I click on "Comments".

Also, it seems to me that whenever I switch to User CP or Forums, the icon and text on the top left change to MMORPG watch, even though I start out from RPG watch.

[Corwin]

r3d, your post count reads 3 to me!! We will attempt to fix all reported bugs as quickly as possible, so please be patient, there's only 2 people working on the technical issues.

[Arhu]

Comments should open in a new window.
Hm, I'm not sure about that. I actually prefer it the way it is. Only links to external sites should open in a new window, in my opinion. But I've added it to the List anyway. By the way, middle-click opens a new window in Opera or Firefox I believe.

I've already posted twice, yet my post count has remained zero :)
EDIT: According to the counter, I've got a single post now that I've posted thrice. Does this mean that the first two posts are like warm-up posts only? :D
Yep.
Heh, no, the counter was disabled for news comments. Is back up again.

And another snag: I can't select/upload an avatar. The only option I have is not to use an avatar, which is permanently checked :)
Fixed. Avatars can be uploaded or linked to, not animated, 80x80.

User names are a little hard to read with the dark "skin" unless you mouse-over them. Maybe they should be a little brighter blue by default(?) :)
Mm.. yea, maybe. It's the default link color. I'll put it on the list.

Oh, and smilies are obviously not optimized. If you use the dark skin, they have a pretty visible, ugly border around them. Looks like they aren't transparent GIFs.
Aye, they are still the default smilies shipped with vBulletin. I plan on changing all of them in the future, especially the forum icons.

Comments should open in a new window.
Hm, I'm not sure about that. I actually prefer it the way it is. Only links to external sites should open in a new window, in my opinion. But I've added it to the List anyway. By the way, middle-click opens a new window in Opera or Firefox I believe.

I've already posted twice, yet my post count has remained zero :)
EDIT: According to the counter, I've got a single post now that I've posted thrice. Does this mean that the first two posts are like warm-up posts only? :D
Yep.
Heh, no, the counter was disabled for news comments. Is back up again.

And another snag: I can't select/upload an avatar. The only option I have is not to use an avatar, which is permanently checked :)
Fixed. Avatars can be uploaded or linked to, not animated, 80x80.

User names are a little hard to read with the dark "skin" unless you mouse-over them. Maybe they should be a little brighter blue by default(?) :)
Mm.. yea, maybe. It's the default link color. I'll put it on the list.

Oh, and smilies are obviously not optimized. If you use the dark skin, they have a pretty visible, ugly border around them. Looks like they aren't transparent GIFs.
Aye, they are still the default smilies shipped with vBulletin. I plan on changing all of them in the future, especially the forum icons.

Okay, more woes from me, sorry
Woes are welcome, woes can be healed. :)
Would it be possible to have the colour scheme selected and set for the forums (i.e. amber/dark in my case) on the main news page as well?
Unfortunately, no. The blue theme is standard for "RPGWatch", the amber theme is standard for "MMOWatch". Being able to select them on the forums is a special feature, so to speak, because the forums aren't integrated into the main site.

Also, it seems to me that whenever I switch to User CP or Forums, the icon and text on the top left change to MMORPG watch, even though I start out from RPG watch.
Yes, that's due to the color being linked to the site, except for the forums. Although what you describe could be taken as a bug.. I'll add it to the list, low priority. ;)

[r3dshift]

Thanks for all your work, mates. Don't get me wrong, I'm not being impatient here, so just take your time fixing stuff ;)

@ Corwin: of course it reads 3 now, 'cause I've been busy posting :)

Also, having re-read Arhu's welcome post, I've realised that currently I can't have the same colour scheme/combo for the news page and the forums. No worries.

Yet another enquiry: when commenting on news, would it be possible to have the news itself appear in a separate field above the comment filed? Just like the way it was on RPGdot.

[Cormac]

Enabling avatars doesn't work for me.

[Corwin]

Cormac, check the size of your Avatar; it's limited to 80x80!!

[Cm]

I am sent to mmowatch when I log in, is there something I need to set or reset so I go to rpgwatch?

[Arhu]

Mm.. are you using the Amber Watch style? If so, you're still on the forums and the logo is called MMOWatch because it's linked to the color theme. Will change that eventually. Otherwise, click on the blue RPGs tab at the very top.

[Gorath]

The seem to be missing account activation mails.

- HiddenX

Maybe others too.

[Cormac]

Cormac, check the size of your Avatar; it's limited to 80x80!!

Thank you Corwin !

[Arhu]

The seem to be missing account activation mails.
- HiddenX
Maybe others too.
Are you sure it's the activation mails? I made a test account and got an activation mail (with an empty sender), but after activation I got no welcome mail. Maybe it's just the welcome mail that's not sent out for some reason?

[Gorath]

He said he didn´t receive a confirmation mail.

[Moriendor]

My confirmation/activation mail (both) got eaten by my spam filter. Internet provider is 1&1. Maybe HiddenX (since he's in Germany, too, and might have 1&1 as well) should check his webmail online and have a look into his spam folder(?)

[Arhu]

I got my welcome message now, with some delay.

Anyway, I see you've already replied over at the 'dot. Yes, the mail was probably spam filtered by hotmail. I found a post on some other forum:
I've found that, for some reason, the final Account Activation email is considered spam by hotmail's junk mail filter.
The empty sender might indeed be the reason for that. We'll have to wait for Myrthos to come up with a mail address to use there.

[Corwin]

Yep, I tried a similar 'test' and mine went to my spam box at hotmail too, so I'm sure that's the reason!!

[titus]

mmmm the word "views" is quiet strange, is it the amount of topics or the times that forum has been watched? because the word points at my second options while it seems to be more liek the first one.
just find it a bit confusing at times

[txa1265]

The 80 x 80 and <10kB stopped me for a bit - but most image progs should be able to strip colors and/or compress further ... I ended up at 1kB, which told me that the limit was a good idea.

[wiretripped]

*grunt*

I keep having to log in. Is this normal?
I log in, click on "User CP" and have to log in again. So I log in again, go to "Options", customize those, press "save", and I have to log in once more!

Rather frustrating. And no, I have not checked "remember me".

[Briosafreak]

By not checking the "remember me" thing you are not receiveing a cooky for the session, that should be easy to fix. If you check it you won't have to log in again, that would make things easier.

[Arhu]

Yet another enquiry: when commenting on news, would it be possible to have the news itself appear in a separate field above the comment filed? Just like the way it was on RPGdot.
You mean, when a first comment is created? Yep, that would be nice, as would be a quick reply box for unregistered users.

mmmm the word "views" is quiet strange, is it the amount of topics or the times that forum has been watched? because the word points at my second options while it seems to be more liek the first one.
Views seems to be vBulletin's way of counting the amount of times a forum has been "viewed" = "watched". You'll just have to get used to it. :)

I keep having to log in. Is this normal?
I log in, click on "User CP" and have to log in again. So I log in again, go to "Options", customize those, press "save", and I have to log in once more!
No, that's not normal. Which browser are you using?

Using "remember me" or not shouldn't matter, because you'll receive a cookie anyway. So, first thing to do is make sure cookies are allowed for rpgwatch.com. Next thing you could try is checking if there are cookies for rpgwatch.com stored in your browser and delete them.

[wiretripped]

Using "remember me" or not shouldn't matter, because you'll receive a cookie anyway. So, first thing to do is make sure cookies are allowed for rpgwatch.com. Next thing you could try is checking if there are cookies for rpgwatch.com stored in your browser and delete them.

I had the problem with both IE and Mozilla Firefox, though only when I try to access the website from work. Here at home I have no problem. Could it be the firewall that somehow blocks the cookies?

[garvity]

Light style "bug": When you click on a forum poster's name to get the popup menu "View Public Profile..." the hover text color and background are the same color (white on white), so you can't read the selected text. That's when you hover over the text. When you only hover over the cell and not the text, it's okay (gray background and white text).

[Arhu]

I had the problem with both IE and Mozilla Firefox, though only when I try to access the website from work. Here at home I have no problem. Could it be the firewall that somehow blocks the cookies?
Probably. It sounds a lot like overzealous security settings. If you can't change those on your own, I'm not sure how to make it work...

Light style "bug": When you click on a forum poster's name to get the popup menu "View Public Profile..." the hover text color and background are the same color (white on white)
Putting that on the list. Those popup menus haven't been adjusted yet to the custom styles.

[garvity]

On the main site, The News Drop Down menu link for "All MMO News" has the wrong link. It goes to the RPG News page: ?rwsiteid=1 instead of ?rwsiteid=2.

(The same menu link is working correctly on the forum pages.)

[Arhu]

Fixed. It's amazing how many details can go wrong when you're copying and pasting all the time.

Dark Lapis Style update: I've changed a few things, still not 100% happy with it, but it should be more legible than before. You might have to shift-reload the site for the changes to take effect.

[dteowner]

My gripe is fixed. Well done as always, Arhu!

[Cm]

I agree, numbers, names ect are all much easier to read now. You are the best as Dte said. :)

[Sem]

When a thread has multiple pages (I know you can set the number of post per page, but I noticed it when I was still logged out), there are no "go to last page" and "go to first page" buttons.

[Arhu]

They will be there once there are 5 pages or more I believe.

[Sem]

Alright, thanks.
Although lazy people like me would already use such a button when there are three pages.

[dteowner]

Don't know if it would be considered a bug, but when you put up a post, your post sets the flag for "new posts in thread" even if you view it after typing it in. I keep checking to see if there's been a "simul-post" only to find it's mine.

[txa1265]

Don't know if it would be considered a bug, but when you put up a post, your post sets the flag for "new posts in thread" even if you view it after typing it in. I keep checking to see if there's been a "simul-post" only to find it's mine.

I think that is currently a 'feature' ;) I see it as well.

[Gorath]

News comments are shown in the wrong order. I activated "latest on top" in the options.

- bottom: first reader comment
- 2nd: the newsbit
- 3rd, etc.: more comments.

[Gorath]

After I posted an answer the thread is reloaded to include my new post. It´s not marked as "read" though, so when I reload the thread list it´s still "unread".

[Arhu]

Wrong order for "newest first" and the "quick reply not marked as read" things are most likely vBulletin bugs I have no idea how to fix. We'll have to wait for updates.

[Acleacius]

I have to click Dark on every page I open or comment on.
My wish is that it stays set to Dark for the whole site if I choose to use Dark (which I perfer).
Now I might have missed this in the UserCP but I have looked twice.

Great site and thanks. :)

[Arhu]

The Dark/Light status is stored in a cookie for www.rpgwatch.com. Please make sure cookies are allowed for this site. If it still doesn't work, try to clear your rpgwatch cookies.. Which browser are you using?

[Acleacius]

I have Medium settings in General with ZoneAlarm additionaly blocking "Remove Private Header Info" and currently using Firefox.1713.

Eidt
Thanks for the tip "allowed Private Header Info" temporarly and it works now. :)

[Arhu]

So it works now? If not, it's most definately related to some setting in ZoneAlarm Pro you seem to be using. I don't have that program, but you probably need to add rpgwatch.com as a private site and maybe allow those private headers you mentioned (or 3rd party cookies?). No idea what those are, but I can assure you that we don't do weird stuff at the 'Watch. ^^

I got these hints from a page I found with more information and a manual for adding a site to make it work: Zone Alarm Pro Blocking Private Header Information (http://bushsupporter.org/zap/zap.htm). Good luck.

[Acleacius]

Thanks for the link and yes it is working.

One addtional request. :)
Could you please allow editing for longer or even till the next post before making notations in the post it was edited?
I understand not wanting people to edit without notation after another post has been made, though I would say for those of us whom are late nigth posters, non typist/programmers, bad spellers, poor grammerist and oh yeah guys being able to edit is a valuable resource. ;)

Though if not maybe I could learn to use Preview first. :D
Even though I am using this Quick post [no preview] , now here since it is neat and was not avaiable at RPGDot.

[Myrthos]

I think you can edit it without notification as long as there is nobody, besides you, who viewed that post.

[Arhu]

I've changed an option in the vBulletin settings. Before now, threads were marked read using cookies (default), which didn't work out so well. They are now marked read automatically by the database, whatever that means.

As a side effect, all posts are marked unread now - just click on the "Mark Forums Read" button at the bottom of the Index Page (http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/index.php) forums listing.

I hope it's better now..

[Corwin]

Ah, I was wondering why when I logged in today all the threads were unread!! It confuses an old man!! :D

[txa1265]

Thanks for that - I was seeing the same thing and wondering about

[Gorath]

The smilies are unattractive. Only yellow stuff. I want Mr Green back.

[Corwin]

I agree, I HATE that yellow one too. Bring back the Oldies!! :D

[Remus]

Can user use bigger than 80x80 avatar as long as it's below 8.0 KB?

[Arhu]

Remus: nope, bigger avatars are reserved for team members and moderators, sorry.

Gorath and Corwin: If you want to grin, use : biggrin : - like so: :biggrin:
: D is a real happy face now, as it should be. ;)

Other colors later, 'mkay?

[Corwin]

There are no smilies on the Quick Reply bar, so I do it from memory, and at my age, that's not much!! :)

[Arhu]

Even so, it can't be shorter than my own, so... just remember : biggrin :
^^

[Cm]

Corwin needs to print out the keycodes and tape them to his monitor. Poor old guy will have to use a magnifying glass to read them though. ;)

[Ubbax]

This may not be a bug per say, perhaps more of a question.

I noticed that when typing out replies, whether using the quick reply or advanced, there doesn't seem to be a snip (cut) function available to allow for re-arrangement of text in the reply box. Can this be turned on?

Normally this wouldn't be a bother because I can drag highlite the text I want to move and then right click on it select copy, place the cursor where I would like the text, right click and then paste. Oddly under this forum when I select text in the reply box and right click on it the choice to copy is not available. I'm using IE v6.0.2900.2180 on XP with sp2.

-- Ubbax

[Gorath]

Use the normal keyboards commands. Way faster than the mouse.

[Arhu]

I noticed that when typing out replies, whether using the quick reply or advanced, there doesn't seem to be a snip (cut) function available to allow for re-arrangement of text in the reply box. Can this be turned on?
Odd. I'm inclined to think this is an IE problem, as it's working fine in Firefox. Are you using the WYSIWYG editor? At the top right of the editor window there's a button "A/A" that lets you switch the editor mode. When using the normal editor, IE shows cut/copy/paste as it should, but not in wysiwyg mode.

So, it's either a bug in IE or a bug in vBulletin.

Workaround: don't use WYSIWYG mode or use CTRL-C, CTRL-X or CTRL-V to copy, cut or paste text.

[Ubbax]

Originally Posted by Arhu
Odd. I'm inclined to think this is an IE problem, as it's working fine in Firefox. Are you using the WYSIWYG editor? At the top right of the editor window there's a button "A/A" that lets you switch the editor mode. When using the normal editor, IE shows cut/copy/paste as it should, but not in wysiwyg mode.

So, it's either a bug in IE or a bug in vBulletin.

Workaround: don't use WYSIWYG mode or use CTRL-C, CTRL-X or CTRL-V to copy, cut or paste text.

Yes I was using the WYSIWYG editor and as you described that's the cause of the problem. However if I switch off wysiwyg using the "A/A" button the text I type appears as very light grey against the white background, almost not visible.

Using the Keyboard commands solves the problem.
For shame I should have thought of that; no excuse other than that us older folk, well we sometimes suffer the odd brain-fart.

Thanks for the help :)

[Arhu]

However if I switch off wysiwyg using the "A/A" button the text I type appears as very light grey against the white background, almost not visible.

Oops. That was a bug I seem to have introduced yesterday. Solved now.

[dteowner]

Are you perhaps archiving older threads? I did an open search based on my username and only got 49 hits going back to late October. Don't know that it matters, just curious.

[Corwin]

So far as I know, we aren't, but Myrthos would know for sure!!

[Jaz]

The default search result setting is 'display results as threads', meaning that you posted in 49 threads since October. You can search for posts, too - just check the option in the lower left corner when doing a search.

[Wulf]

Whilst on the subject :) do 'wild-cards' also work in the search facility.....eg: (*.) etc'?

[dteowner]

Sorry, misunderstood what "display as threads" meant. Pass that dunce cap this way, please.

[Jaz]

*passes dunce cap to dte ;)*

@Wulf: Yes. The asterisk wildcard does work.

[dteowner]

You're slipping, Jazzy. I figured I'd receive a temporary alteration to my avatar... :)

[Jaz]

I figured your current avatar was punishment enough! :p

[Ozymandias]

Most of Dhruin's newsposts about Space Rangers are messed up on this page:
http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/news?ref=0&id=90#1709

[Myrthos]

But apparentely only in FireFox. Have to check that.

[Myrthos]

Fixed it. There were some 'Funny' characters in some of the posts. This is caused by transfering newsbits in the early stages when RPGWatch was being designed. These 'Funny' characters had to be fixed by hand. Guess we missed a couple.... could be we missed a few other posts as well, but it's too much work to search the database for it. So if anyone spots them let me know.

Thanks for spotting these.

[Cm]

I noticed when I used the "grab" option in the G3 wiki for a few of the tweak posts to print them, I ended up with all the editing text and posting scripts as well. Is that a have to for the wiki or can that be fixed?

[Myrthos]

What do you mean with "grab"?

[Danicek]

I would say there is a Grab button under each 'code' section like on this page:

http://www.rpgwatch.com/wikka/Gothic3IniFiles

[Myrthos]

Oh..... That looks like a useless functionality indeed :)
Have to look into it.

[Lucky Day]

Again, I'd like to request more specific information on the Genre each game is posted as.

The term RPG means a lot of things these days.

For example, Silverfall. I have no idea what kind of game this is. Is it an Action RPG or a Traditional one. Will it be Consolish or Japanese style with the focus on Cutscenes. Is it a hybrid? Is it First Person?

I would suggest at least three categories for RPG Genres: RPG, Action RPG, Console RPG.

With this sites prime focus on RPG's we cover everything under the gambit and a lot of different types of games call themselves RPG's as we all know.

thanks

[Danicek]

@Lucky Day - This sounds pretty reasonably in my opinion but I wonder if it can be really implemented. The problem with this is that the news poster would have to know what type of game he is actually writing about and this may be unknown for fairly large part of all the games we are writing about. Most of them are actually not yet released...

[Lucky Day]

Danicek. I can't argue with that, however the news post or database entry could simply say RPG if they don't know until someone who does know better is able to update it. Most of the developers seem to be making a point up front of saying their games are Action RPG's when they are in order to ward off the perceived RPG stigma to investors.

[Danicek]

Yes, I guess that would work...

[Acleacius]

I realise this isn't an important issue, however in an attempt to get it at least on some list somewhere, could we get more emotes? ;)

If this has been disscussed before, disreguard.

Thanks. :)

[Corwin]

It actually was discussed a long time ago in the staff forum, but Arhu, who does that sort of thing for us, appears to be caught up currently with RL stuff and we've barely seen him here in a couple of months!!

[Jaz]

Yep, unfortunately Arhu hasn't been around in a while :(.

I just uploaded one new smilie just to test the import feature; I have a huge collection of freebies stashed away on my webspace, but unfortunately I have no (working) ftp program installed at the moment (I recently updated my OS). Once I can get at my emoticon collection, expect me to upload some more.

[Acleacius]

Thanks guys and gals. :)

[gaboru93]

i might have found a bug.... whan i change to amber watch.... on top it sais MMOWatch... instead of RPGWatch... but if i put Lapis Watch it's normal... (dunno if it's a bug but maybe you will find a way to cchange that...

[Jaz]

It's not a real bug. The Amber colored setup actually 'belongs' to the MMOWatch pages, so it shows their logo.

[gaboru93]

yes jaz you told me in the other thread too... and i entered MMO ans saw that amber was it's clour setup some time ago...

[dteowner]

Here's a nitpicky thing Arhu might look at if he gets a chance some day--When viewing the forums, the rollover buttons (news, games, forums, help) are very close to the directory links (RPGWatch Forums, General Forums, RPGWatch). When heading for the links, I often get into the rollovers which makes me mouse off far enough to get the rollover to go away before I can return to click on the link. It's a little thing, but adding a line feed to the template would make the problem go away. If it wasn't that easy to fix, I wouldn't even ask.

[Lucky Day]

can the time out limit he increased? or just not be enabled until after the user has left the site if possible.

I've found too many times I written a long post and I've been I've timed out with no simple, quick way to get back in.

Its nice that it posts after you do tho.

[Corwin]

I thought you could set the timeout in your user preferences?!

[Jaz]

No, session timeout is fixed in the board settings. Standard was at 900 seconds, I now raised it to 1200 seconds.

[Lucky Day]

thanks Jaz

[PatrickWeekes]

I'd love to see an "ignore user" function, if it's not difficult to implement.

[Cormac]

I'd love to see an "ignore user" function, if it's not difficult to implement.

There is one. Go to User CP, misc. section.

[PatrickWeekes]

I'd like to see a feature that lets me find things with less than 5 seconds of effort, so that I don't make stupid posts asking for these features when in fact they already exist... if that's not too much trouble. :p

[Corwin]

I think you mean the FAQ, which no-one ever bothers to read!! :)

[Moriendor]

I'd love to see an "ignore user" function, if it's not difficult to implement.

Dude, careful... one of those radical nutters from a certain hardcore Fallout fansite is bound to mail to mainstream gaming media outlets in order to request a "OMG BioWare is blacklisting people!!!" news story :biggrin: .

[Briosafreak]

You would be surprised at how many times you would join such lists Moriendor.

[Moriendor]

Bwahahahaha... that didn't take too long for one of you cuties to pop up. I knew it :biggrin: .
Contrary to you ego-trippers I don't really mind or care about being ignored or blacklisted though so it's all good. Bring it on.

[Jaz]

Play nice.

[Arhu]

Added some new smilies. Current list:

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/images/smilies/smilies.gif

Beware: if you have previously used :embarassed: ... I fixed the typo. It's now :embarrassed:.

[Corwin]

Is it possible to put the smilie list into the quick reply box as well?

[Cormac]

:bigcry:

Finally. Sometimes :'( is simply not enough.

[Arhu]

Cormac: Yeah... I think there's also some new ones that should support the teasing and lovemaking that's going on in these forums. :smug:

Corwin: Added a [Smilies] link right below the text area of the quick reply box.

[Arhu]

We finally have a spoiler tag! :beam:
Be sure to do click Shift-Reload in your browser because the css file changed and needs to be updated on your computer.

Usage: [ spoiler ] This is a spoiler for some game or so. [ /spoiler ]

This one is a bit scary, don't look!

http://www.anonib.com/creepy/images/11/ghostSA.gif

You can see a ghost if you look carefully at the door in the back.

[Cm]

I still need my red devil. You know I need that to deal with Corwin here. :whip:

[txa1265]

We finally have a spoiler tag! :beam:
That is really freakin' sweet!

[Arhu]

I still need my red devil. You know I need that to deal with Corwin here. :whip:
*sighs heavily*

Yes, Mistress.

:devil: : devil :

Probably not the one you want, but it's the one that's part of "the collection".

:devilish: : devilish : wasn't enough to torment poor Corwin, I take it?

Ok, now I feel like a bit like Ragon, the Smiley Mage. ;)

[Jaz]

Fantastic, Arhu! Thank you! http://www.schuhmacher-net.de/~nicole/smilies/flower2.gif

[gaboru93]

omg! i freaked out at arhu's spoiler!x_x ... i was looking so careful when.....

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Ok, now I feel like a bit like Ragon, the Smiley Mage. ;)

He, he, he ! :D

The list looks very good, by the way. :)

[Cm]

Thankyou thankyou Arhu. :)I was busy with rl here a few days. These will work great and I know you will see them often associated with our dear Corwin. Bart might get a few as well. ;) Great job on all of them and the quick post link.

[magerette]

Nice work on everything, Arhu. I can now torment the world even more freely with my smilie-heavy style :leer: :evilgrin: :sneaky: :evil:

Spoiler tag is great, too. :)

[Gorath]

He, he, he ! :D

The list looks very good, by the way. :)

But Mr Green is still missing! A smiley list cannot be "very good" by definition until Mr Green is on the list.

[Jaz]

I uploaded a few more smilies into the 'other' category:

:flower: :harl: :jester: :greengrin: :party: :sing:

[Jaz]

...and finally, these three:
:spam: :gorath: :cm:

@Gorath and Cm: I named them/their shortcuts after you.

[Corwin]

Cm will be pleased, but I'm not sure that I am!! :)

[Cm]

Sweet Jaz, and that will be so quick to add as the need arises. :cm: ;)

[Arhu]

Tiny little update:

- added a spoiler button to the editor: http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/images/editor/spoiler.gif (Or should it be a question mark?)
- spoiler tags can now have titles. Usage: [ spoiler=title ] text [ /spoiler ].

His name is Biggus Dickus.

[Corwin]

YOu're doing wonderful work Arhu and it's much appreciated!!

[Danicek]

Good little enhancements, thanks...

[magerette]

I'm having a problem keeping the forums in the dark format--just started yesterday--every time I switch a screen it reverts to the light background and I have to switch back manually. Is it just me or is anybody else experiencing this?

[Ionstormsucks]

works for me...

[magerette]

Must be my new drivers.

[titus]

cookies enabled?

[Corwin]

Check your ad blockers. I had a similar problem and had to stipulate this was a safe site, since Light is the default setting.

[magerette]

Thanks for the tips--I've tried these and a few other things but I guess I'm going to have to come to terms with the Light Side of the Force. :) I'm going to dump my temporary Internet files tonight and see if that helps.

[Corwin]

Are you running FF with the No Scripts extension?

[magerette]

No just the generic Yahoo browser( IE w/their goodies) By FF I take it you mean Firefox? Is that an alternative browser?

[Corwin]

Firefox, is the ONLY browser!! Opera would be my next alternative, while IE has been deleted from my system as the virus it is!! :)

[Gorath]

Opera is more comfortable out of the box. Firefox needs a couple of add-ons to reach the same level of functionality, which is not really a problem because they only have to be installed one time. FF is a bit more compatible, Opera a bit faster and a bit more elegant.
Both are clearly better than IE and much, much safer.
Just use each of them for a day and make a decision. It´s just a matter of taste.

[Danicek]

I switched from FF to Opera when Opera 9 was released. I was happy user of FF, now I'm happy user of Opera. I haven't tried IE 7 yet, so I cannot speak to it. From what I have heard, it is step towards what FF and Opera currently are but is not really there yet.

[magerette]

There are many things I dislike about my current IE clone--I learned Internet on Netscape Navigator, which I preferred, but as I am lazy, I just use what comes with my system. But this is not the first little pain in the rear I've had with IE.

So, are these browsers(FF and Opera) you buy at the software store, or are they a downloadable thing?

[Cormac]

Download Firefox. (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/)
You'll need plug-ins (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/extensions/). There are many, I use a few: NoScript, Google Toolbar, Free Download Manager, AdBlock Plus, a couple more.

[magerette]

Thanks Cormac. I'll check it out. Appreciate all the attempts on everyone's part to lead me from my clueless state into the light of knowledge. :)

[Wulf]

I've just swapped over from FF to Opera 9.1, it's the best version to date and much faster, smooth as silk. It has it own dedicated emailer embedded etc' ...and it's free....enjoy. ;)

http://www.opera.com/index.dml

[Gorath]

Both are free. Links: Opera (http://www.opera.com/index.dml) and Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/).

Please note that both browsers need to configured once to find a good compromise between safety and comfort. Especially cookies (-> small files for tracking user behaviour) should be set to something like "ask about every single cookie". Your default answer to the question should be "refuse + remember what I decided about this site". Only say yes if you have a user account (like RPGWatch) or want to use an online shop.

[magerette]

Just wanted to thank everybody for the links and advice... I've been alternating between the two for the last few days and it's really hard to pick--they're both a much better browsing environment than IE and I'm sure I'll be able to make up my mind eventually. Thanks again for the help.

BTW, neither browser has any trouble displaying the dark skin, so who knows what was the deal with IE. :)

[Arhu]

Tiny little update. There's a new tag, abbr.

Example:

[ abbr="Neverwinter Nights" ]NWN[ /abbr ]

would become NWN. (Hover the mouse cursor over NWN to see what it stands for.)

I consider myself well versed in RPG terminology but I do sometimes see abbreviations I've never heard of before. So you could use this tag in those situations when you know that not everybody knows what an abbreviation means.

TYVM! ;)

[Gorath]

I think people should STFI if they don´t know what an abbreviation stands for!:gorath:

[txa1265]

STFI

?

See, I just know STFU

[Gorath]

Search the fucking internet!

[Jaz]

YCMU
:biggrin:

[Cm]

I just saw the added list of smilies!:spotlight-left: :mwahaha: :slap:

You did good guys, you did good. :worship:

[Sem]

YCMU= you see my undies?!

:S

[Jaz]

Really? Show me ;).

...just let the mouse hover over the acronym.

[txa1265]

Here is an issue - since last Friday I don't get email notifications anymore, so I have to do a 'new posts' thing and see what is happening. Any other reports of that?

[Arhu]

I didn't do it.

... Must be Jaz' fault because she's evil.

(Seriously though, I don't think I changed anything.)

[Jaz]

Evil or not, I didn't do it, either :-/ . Personally, I have mail notifications deactivated, anyway... but I swear I didn't change anything.

[txa1265]

I didn't do it.

... Must be Jaz' fault because she's evil.

(Seriously though, I don't think I changed anything.)

Thanks - I went into my email config and made sure to re-add RPGWAtch to the 'safe' list. We'll see.

[Corwin]

Mine continue to arrive!! I have a separate email client for the Watch. It's called eprompter!!

[Ubbax]

As it currently stands if you want to check the news archives you need to enter a specific yyyy/mm/dd. I would like to suggest the ability to enter a range of dates when searching the archived news. Even just the ability to pull up the previous weeks News on one page would be great.

Why would anyone want this you might ask. Consider the following scenarios:

1) Your gone from home for a few weeks, as I was recently, and upon your return home attempt to get caught up with the news here at the watch. Searching day by day can be a tedious process. If you're like me you will probably enter the same day more than once... several times :blush:

2) You vaguely recall a News posting that contained something of interest with a specific link. You remember it was during the last few weeks but you cannot recall the exact day.

I know one could simply look through the News Comment section of the forum however these are not always in order due to people posting in the threads. Hmm now that I think of it you could probably search a range of dates in that forum but you would still need to click each topic to see what it had to say.

Opinions anyone?

Ubbax
"it's easier to beg for forgiveness sometimes than ask the wife for permission." - a friend

[Cormac]

As it currently stands if you want to check the news archives you need to enter a specific yyyy/mm/dd. I would like to suggest the ability to enter a range of dates when searching the archived news. Even just the ability to pull up the previous weeks News on one page would be great.

Why would anyone want this you might ask. Consider the following scenarios:

1) Your gone from home for a few weeks, as I was recently, and upon your return home attempt to get caught up with the news here at the watch. Searching day by day can be a tedious process. If you're like me you will probably enter the same day more than once... several times :blush:

2) You vaguely recall a News posting that contained something of interest with a specific link. You remember it was during the last few weeks but you cannot recall the exact day.

I know one could simply look through the News Comment section of the forum however these are not always in order due to people posting in the threads. Hmm now that I think of it you could probably search a range of dates in that forum but you would still need to click each topic to see what it had to say.

Opinions anyone?

Ubbax
"it's easier to beg for forgiveness sometimes than ask the wife for permission." - a friend

Excellent suggestion, Ubbax.

[Acleacius]

Appoligies if this has already been listed.
I can't seem to Search for the word "mafia" effectively, about 2 - 4 months ago, in either News or General RPG a thread ended up talking about Mafia 2, someone mentioned they knew an employee or something close.

Now with the new info about Illusion software's new IP, rumors are circulating it's Mafia 2, which isn't possible since that was an existing IP, but I was hoping to reread the post in case there was something I missed.

In Searching both Forums I come up with about 10 post which are clearly not the ones and mafia 2 is not even searchable because of the 2, so either I am doing something wrong (mostly likly :) ) or the Search function isn't working properly.

It must be a massive task to keep up/store/search databases like popular fourms and is proabably why it's always so hard to find that info you remember months or years ago.

Thanks for any tips. :)

[YellowWing]

(I put this in the wrong tread) :spam: <--LOL

Okay i think i found something here that might be a problem"
When i log off and relog the Padparadscha Watch i Chose disaapears and i have to reset it all over again is that normale here??

[Rhiow]

Okay i think i found something here that might be a problem"
When i log off and relog the Padparadscha Watch i Chose disaapears and i have to reset it all over again is that normale here??

Mm, yes, that seems to be normal. I think it's because your chosen style is saved in a cookie in your browser, which is then deleted when you log out. Solution: don't log out. ;) (tick the box next to the login name/password to stay logged in)

Otherwise, dunno, is that the normal behavior of vBulletin?

[Asbjoern]

What has happened to the icon beside the forum names showing the online/offline status?
It is a problem if you use the dark colour scheme, as I do. Generally it would be great if you could optimize the forum and rating stars to the dark colour scheme. :)

[txa1265]

What has happened to the icon beside the forum names showing the online/offline status?
It is a problem if you use the dark colour scheme, as I do. Generally it would be great if you could optimize the forum and rating stars to the dark colour scheme. :)

I see the icon in both dark and (my default) light.

[Arhu]

I see the icon in both dark and (my default) light.

Looks ok to me too.

Asbjoern: What exactly is the problem? Are the icons gone? Which browser and forum style are you using? You could try to click shift-reload, maybe there's still some old files left in your browser's cache.

Regarding the forum status icons (http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/index.php) on the index page, I changed them last week or so, they are selected depending on whether you use a dark or light theme. JavaScript needs to be enabled. They don't immediately change when you switch from light to dark or vice versa, but should be fine when you reload the page or visit another one. I'm planning to do the same with all other forum icons that look fuzzy (white borders) using dark styles.

[Asbjoern]

No, the icons are still present but there is a white cube around the either grey or green circle depending on your online status. Try switching the dark colour scheme on while reading this thread (I'm just having a bit of doubt whether or not we are talking about the same thing. Oh, my mistake, I didn't mean forum names. I meant forum user names/avatar).

It didn't change after shift+reload.

EDIT: My browser is IE 6.

[Jaz]

I can switch all styles from dark to light and vice versa in mid-thread, yet I don't see the white cubes. Using Iceweasel (~Firefox). Haven't tried it with the IE.

[Arhu]

No, the icons are still present but there is a white cube around the either grey or green circle depending on your online status.
EDIT: My browser is IE 6.

Ah, those icons.. I see. Best solution for everyone involved would be if you upgraded to a current browser (Opera, Firefox or IE 7 would do). ;)

The problem is due to the fact that IE 6 doesn't understand 24bit PNG's with an alpha channel. I used regular transparent gif's for the forum icons on the index page, but unfortunately couldn't get it to work with those "user online status" icons.
I'll try to make it work later today for IE 6 users. I don't have that version anymore, but there's supposed to be a fix I can implement... Anyway, thanks for the heads up.

[Arhu]

For general information: The bug workaround is active and working, and the code is only active for IE versions < 7.

[Lucky Day]

Can we have a login on the front page with a quick/simpler link to your messages?

--

Also, I was searching through the news forums and came across a recent post on Depth of Peril. Since I don't know much about the game I looked for a quick link to the game but in threads there's no quick way to access the game mentioned.

Is there anyway the game icon and details can be posted on the news pages like they are on the front page? That'd be awfully convenient.

[Myrthos]

Is there anyway the game icon and details can be posted on the news pages like they are on the front page? That'd be awfully convenient.
The first post of a news comments thread contains a link ("More information") to a tabbed overview of everything we have on that game. By default the newsbit is shown, but by selecting the 'News' tab all newsbits about the game are shown.
Or is that not what you want?

[Lucky Day]

oops, I forgot to reply.

Thanks, that helped greatly. I was missing something there.
--

On another issue

I don't know if other people have a problem with this but when you click on a news item your address text box gets "married" to the anchor you clicked on.


So, if you click on a news item for something or comment then hit back you are immediately linked to the original news you first click on.

Is there anyway the anchor address could be changed before going to the new page. Maybe something could be done with javascript to link the new item first before the next page loads?

I hope I'm clear on this. Also, I may be the only one that doesn't like this as this has gone on for a long time. If memory serves me this was the way it was on the Dot as well.

An example

you come to the watch

http://www.rpgwatch.com

you find a nice news item

http://www.rpgwatch.com/#7019

after reading up you check out a new thread

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3118

you hit your back button and lo and behold you are here again

http://www.rpgwatch.com/#7019

instead of

http://www.rpgwatch.com

or even better here

http://www.rpgwatch.com/#7037

does that make sense?

[Prime Junta]

Cosmetic issue: on Firefox 3.0b2, the front page layout is slightly borked. The "Future Watch," "Poll Watch," and "Picture Watch" boxes appear below the "News Watch" and "Forum Watch" boxes, rather than along the right edge of the page.

What with FF3.0b2 being beta and all, this is clearly not a big deal, but might be worth checking out anyway.

[txa1265]

The page layout is having its' character attacked? ;)

[Arhu]

What with FF3.0b2 being beta and all, this is clearly not a big deal, but might be worth checking out anyway.

Thanks. Fixed. I hope...

[Prime Junta]

Indeed. That was quick. :)

@txa: [ http://www.retrologic.com/jargon/B/borken.html ].

[Lucky Day]

any word on not being "married" to an old anchor on the news link?

--

also, I've talked to Corwin about this...

what do you think of the idea of a Tech News subforum in either the Tech News or Off-Topic forums?

[Asbjoern]

But can't the existing tech forum be used? Just modify the forum headline a bit perhaps ("Tech Help and Discussion" or something similar/different).

[Arhu]

any word on not being "married" to an old anchor on the news link?

Whoops, sorry, somehow I missed your post.

*ponders*

I can see how that behavior would be annoying. I never noticed though, because Firefox automatically goes to exactly the position on a site you actually were on, when you click on the back button, regardless of the URL in the address bar.

That said, I've changed the comments and "link to this page" links to do what you want: When you click on a comments link, that newsbit becomes "active" before you jump to the comments. Hope it helps. :)


As for the tech forum, I'd use it for tech news too, with a title change as suggested. I don't think we have so many discussions there to warrant two separate forums.

[txa1265]

Indeed. That was quick. :)

@txa: [ http://www.retrologic.com/jargon/B/borken.html ].

Cool - I always apply the 'borked' definition from the 80's supreme court nomination.

[Lucky Day]

Whoops, sorry, somehow I missed your post.

*ponders*

I can see how that behavior would be annoying. I never noticed though, because Firefox automatically goes to exactly the position on a site you actually were on, when you click on the back button, regardless of the URL in the address bar.

That said, I've changed the comments and "link to this page" links to do what you want: When you click on a comments link, that newsbit becomes "active" before you jump to the comments. Hope it helps. :)


As for the tech forum, I'd use it for tech news too, with a title change as suggested. I don't think we have so many discussions there to warrant two separate forums.

And there was much rejoicing! :spotlight-left::boogie::spotlight-right:

I've noticed everytime and I use Firefox. I use the back button too and I've always had that problem. Since it wasn't fixed I thought maybe it was too difficult, but now that it is

thank you thank you thank you.

As for renaming the Tech Help forum to add the word news, that sounds perfect.

[Corwin]

Yes, it's not only possible, but very likely!! :) Mine shows 22 minutes slow!!

[Myrthos]

Ok, fixed it.

[Remus]

I use Firefox 2.0.0.12 and when i edit and previewing my signature, the signature and text box overlapping control panel column on the far right.

[Asbjoern]

I use Firefox 2.0.0.12 and when i edit and previewing my signature, the signature and text box overlapping control panel column on the far right.

This is also the case with IE6.

[Arhu]

I use Firefox 2.0.0.12 and when i edit and previewing my signature, the signature and text box overlapping control panel column on the far right.
Yea, it's one of the many pages I haven't updated yet. Might be the next on my list. ;)

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Could someone please update the search function ?

I was just looking for my own thread/blog called "A Thought", and the search function wanted "4 words minimum".

I guess I've got to dig it, then. ;)


Edit: Just found out something strage:

The search term you specified (NWN) is under the minimum word length (4) and therefore will not be found. Please make this term longer.

If this term contains a wildcard, please make this term more specific.

Okay, but as I just used the search with the word "Module", I got a direct hit ...

Could it be, that it shouldn't read "4 words", but instead "4 letters" ?

[Arhu]

The letter "A" in your first search is too short, the serach function needs 4-letter word(s) at least. The term "word length" refers to the amount of letters in a word, not the amount of words in a sentence. ;)

[Alrik Fassbauer]

The term "word length" refers to the amount of letters in a word, not the amount of words in a sentence. ;)

Okay, but this isn't clear. The error message never says it means the word length, not the sentence length.

[Prime Junta]

What's with the IMG tag? I couldn't get this

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png

to work... on a News thread. Works fine here, though.

[Arhu]

The IMG tag is not allowed in the news comments forum. I'm not sure if that's the intended behavior or an oversight, but I'll let Jaz handle the details. ;)

[txa1265]

I remember that being intentional ... I think it goes back to VB or something ...

[Jaz]

Yeees, I believe it was an intentional choice.

[Prime Junta]

Um... why? Just curious...

[Myrthos]

I believe it was because the comment threads are the only threads that can be used by anonymous posters. So limiting the functionality was a spam prevention.
As you can see from my and other staff members posts, we aren't too sure however on the exact reasons :)
But it could be changed to disallow images only for unregistered visitors.

[Arhu]

Ah.. yes, I just read up on it. After several bans VB had started to post questionable images as a guest in news threads, so at the time it was either disable guest posting or disable the IMG tag. Myrthos chose the latter.

But it could be changed to disallow images only for unregistered visitors.

That would be fair enough as far as I'm concerned. :)

[Prime Junta]

I believe it was because the comment threads are the only threads that can be used by anonymous posters. So limiting the functionality was a spam prevention.
As you can see from my and other staff members posts, we aren't too sure however on the exact reasons :)
But it could be changed to disallow images only for unregistered visitors.

That makes sense, and the change makes even more sense. Not that it's a huge deal, of course.

[Arhu]

I implemented Highslide JS, so now there's hopefully more userfriendly thumbnails and oversized images in this forum.

Example from the Dwarf Fortress thread:
http://www.prime-junta.net/dropbox/z02_shot02.png

Highslide is also offering captions for images, you can write a caption by including an option in the img tag, like so: [ img="This is my text" ] ...

Still to do: some color adjustments for the different vb styles

It doesn't work with inline attachments using [ attach ] atachmentid [ /attach].. that would require modifying more.. internal stuff.

[Stanza]

Any way to get a scroll bar when zoomed in to 1:1 scale? Still have to open it in a new window to see the full size version on smaller desktop resolutions.

[Arhu]

There should be an icon on the lower right side of the pic when you hover over the enlarged version with your mouse pointer, which when clicked on expands the image to the actual size.

Don't know about a scrollbar, I'll have to check the documentation.

[Myrthos]

Updated the forums software today. Please note the following:
In this version, users may no longer set their password to be the same as their username. Such passwords make accounts vulnerable to exploitation from automated scripts and programs that can guess the password to access your board under the guise of the affected users. This may be done for the purposes of spam or online identity theft.

Users with these password will be prompted to change them on their next login.

[Cm]

I am embarrassed to say it, but I just did go back into the User CP and saw all the great additions you have made. Very well done indeed. :)

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Could someone please please please please please please please please please please please please please check the layouts of the profile screen, the private message editor screen and related screens with Opera ?

Elements just look horrible out of place in Opera, and I don't know why. And it does so since the beginning of RPGWatch, I fear.