OFFICIAL Latest Posts - POLL

Where Should The Latest Posts Section Go?

  • Middle - Beneath the Community section, but above GameMaker

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    107
  • Poll closed .
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Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
So, I'm unhappy with the position of the "Latest Posts" section of the forum, but I'm not sure where exactly to put it. So, I thought I'd put it to a vote!!! The vote will run for 1 week and at the end I'll modify the position of the latest posts section to suit the will of the good people of this forum. :)

Feel free to comment your own thoughts on the this below too...
 

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
How about above the "Latest Profile Posts" ("status updates" to use the old terminology) sidebar, made more narrow so it fits? Feels like there's no real drawbacks to encouraging people to make proper posts (and participate in active discussions) over spamming profile posts. We had numerous occasions of profile post activity getting chaotically spammy and people asking questions in profile posts that should've gone into a proper topic (or PM!) on the old forum.
 
S

SSJCoder

Guest
is there no way for people to choose from a list of layouts? (like the theme?)
if I could have a hack or something to keep it this way for me (if it changes) that'd be dope
 

Coded Games

Member
I personally really like the profile post sidebar so I donā€™t really want to make that smaller. Overall I thought the top area was a pretty good choice, I feel like the recent posts section has to exist as that is the way I find a lot of new topics without digging into specific sections.
 
S

SSJCoder

Guest
Not without making a bunch of themes, each one with a custom layout, and that - sorry! - is just too much work I think....
How about copying/pasting this theme+layout as "Cheap Vaporware" instead of "VaporWave", and keeping that, if that's ok? (so VaporWave+this layout)
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
How about copying/pasting this theme+layout as "Cheap Vaporware" instead of "VaporWave", and keeping that, if that's ok? (so VaporWave+this layout)
Nope, sorry! The Cheap VaporWare theme is a bit of a joke that I made while experimenting with the forum theme options, and I honestly have a hard enough time maintaining and tweaking the themes we have without making and maintaining more.
 
S

SSJCoder

Guest
Alright that's fine, it is what it is, do what you have to do then xD
 
I honestly think getting rid of it would be fine... the latest post in each forum is already shown to the right of each forum anyway, for people who for whatever reason are wondering what's been posted last in each forum or whatever.
I agree that where it is now is pretty bad...especially on phones, I'm like "what the heck is all this random crap I'm scrolling through?!", hahah.

Overall, I like the new theme, though. The only other change I'd try is messing with the two gray colors at the very top of the forum, where the profile buttons and stuff are. Having the dark gray be the "overlaid" part feels weird. I understand that "dark gray = clickable space" matches the logic of the rest of the theme, but the top GAME MAKER part looks so weird in light gray to me. My two suggestions would be either:




Just use the background dark gray for the top. Or:


...Give the top its own shade of dark gray, just slightly lighter than the background gray to make it look like a separate element.^
Please take them into consideration. That light gray is weirding me out every time I see it, heheh. The rest of the theme looks so pretty to me, too!

Edit: WHOA FAST. X'D
Thanks for trying them out!

Edit edit: Yes, this is gorgeous. Lightening the bottom portion was a great idea. Makes the bottom look more cohesive now, too! Thanks, Nocturne. Now my twelve hour programming days interrupted by looking at the GMC every ten minutes will be 20% more pleasant, hahah. =D
 
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SnoutUp

Member
It's good where it is now, forum looks a bit more alive at a glance. Could get rid of that duplicate "GameMaker Community" title by moving "new thread" button elsewhere (as a tab next to profile?).
 

Coded Games

Member
Is there a way to apply a sort of ā€œcompactā€ theme to the recent posts section. For example hide the line showing the number of replies and time since last replay so that each post only takes 2 lines instead of 3? Also possibly reducing the number of posts shown from 5 to like 3-4 would also make it take up less space.
@SnoutUp does make a really good point that I like, the current layout really does highlight new content and I think thatā€™s a really good thing.
 

O.Stogden

Member
Well this is a somewhat divided poll.

My vote was to put it at the side, if just to make the profile posts less prominent so we get less spam. :D

That and I don't like change. :|
 
S

SSJCoder

Guest
Well this is a somewhat divided poll.
yes, unfortunately despite living on 2020 it seems we are using forum software from the 80's... doesn't even let people choose their own layout ??? ĀÆ\_(惄)_/ĀÆ
what kind of apeman technology is this????

(I say this because I know damn well this could be programmed into the system, and it would reflect an advanced system, rather than what it currently seems to be)
 

O.Stogden

Member
Well as they've just updated, they probably won't be doing it again anytime soon, so best get used to what we've got.

Pretty certain I've never changed the layout of any forum I've been on, so I'm sure we'll just get used to whatever is decided in time.
 
I chose the sidebar option because "less profile posts shown" sounds like a pro to me...

I'd honestly be fine with how it is currently (on top) if it wasn't so massive.
 
S

SSJCoder

Guest
Well as they've just updated, they probably won't be doing it again anytime soon, so best get used to what we've got.
Well Nocturne has been changing the layout since the introduction so there's reason to believe this could be coming today or within the next few days - but then it could change again.
 

O.Stogden

Member
Well Nocturne has been changing the layout since the introduction so there's reason to believe this could be coming today or within the next few days - but then it could change again.
I more meant adding the ability for us all to have our own forum layouts. I think that'd probably need a change of forum software, which they probably won't touch again for a few years.
 
S

SSJCoder

Guest
I more meant adding the ability for us all to have our own forum layouts. I think that'd probably need a change of forum software, which they probably won't touch again for a few years.
yea true, this is more of a "wtf" moment for me than anything xD
forums are forums, there's plenty of them, there's plenty places to be - and you can create your own, if they end up changing these some people will like it more, others will not, it is what it is :)
 

Coded Games

Member
I think with the new Profile Posts features it could be something really cool. Like the GMC could have it's own Screenshot Saturday where people post gifs and screenshots to it. Then the form has a bunch of cool screenshots sort of like how Twitter is.

I think it could be really cool but with most things, people will probably spam it occasionally.
 

SnoutUp

Member
If there's a strong case that profile posts are too important now, then I'd rather remove THEM and put more latest active threads in their place :rolleyes:

As a more serious suggestion, having a separate block for threads from project boards could revitalize those as people might choose to post in their game topic rather than profile.
 
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I just realized I forgot to showcase exactly what I was talking about earlier. My setup is single-monitor but sometimes like to have my browser on one half of the screen and GM/Paint.NET on the other. The "Latest Posts" section doesn't format properly in that case. I'd imagine it looks similar on certain mobile setups and why @Cpaz was also complaining about it.

1582760036600.png
 
Z

zendraw

Guest
put it at the bottom, or on the side, or just remove it. but not at the top.
 

Bluetail7

Member
Make a "Toggle Hide and Show" button Next to the right panel buttons. Then display the New post section on the left.
Perhaps its not needed since we have the "new posts" in the navigation bar.
 

chirpy

Member
I never knew it existed. Now I noticed it and cannot get rid of the idea of spamming to the top of the forum! :oops:
There are so many forums and so little space on the top to display the posts; that's why I voted for removal.

Nice new layout though! I'd love if there's a "compact" option like Gmail layout experiments often do.
However as a mobile gamedev I know that's often too much to ask. :bash:Being responsively scalable is already super hard.
 
R

Red Phantom

Guest
Bottom, sidebar and remove are all good options. Please do no keep it at the top. Many of us users including myself navigate to a specific section on these forums: e.g.
Made with Gamemaker
Game Design, Development & Publishing
GMC Jam

Having the "Latest Polls" at the top means it takes more time to scroll down to the section users actually want to go to. Does anyone else agree with me?
 

Coded Games

Member
Bottom, sidebar and remove are all good options. Please do no keep it at the top. Many of us users including myself navigate to a specific section on these forums: e.g.
Made with Gamemaker
Game Design, Development & Publishing
GMC Jam

Having the "Latest Polls" at the top means it takes more time to scroll down to the section users actually want to go to. Does anyone else agree with me?
I still have a lone tab open of the previous forum and you have to scroll basically the exact same distance, if not shorter, because the topic links are actually more compact than the old version.

The page is longer but that's just because there is more space at the bottom now and the sidebar is longer.

#top but that is just my opinion because I use the Latest Posts as my main way of finding topics and seeing what people are talking about. That and profile posts are great too. I really like that the forum is putting more focus onto them. These two parts are what shows the activity of this community. I think removing the Latest Posts section altogether would make the forum basically unusable for me because I never go into specific sections. If not the top I think putting it below the community section would also be a good alternative. That would keep things like Announcements at the very top. And finally, my last resort would be sidebar.

The resizing bug should 100% be fixed though.
 
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Xer0botXer0

Senpai
I vote on the left side. of the screen.

or

create two tabs on the right hand side, if you select the first tab then it shows recent posts, if you select the other it shows profile posts.
 
Z

zendraw

Guest
i think what Bluetail suggested is the right direction, keep it on top as is currently, but make a button to show/hide it, also that option being saved so we dont show/hide them every time we enter.

this way everyone is satisfied and you dont squeeze things and sacrifice beuty for functionality or prefrence.
 

TsukaYuriko

ā˜„ļø
Forum Staff
Moderator
Voted other.

Is there any chance to have a side bar on the left side as well? Recent posts on the left, profile feed on the right, forums in the middle. Quick mockup.

Failing that, back to the old position in the side bar. There's a New Content link right at the top if people want to see new stuff, so there's no need to turn the main page into a miniature version of it. Or make the text smaller so it doesn't take up as much vertical space.
 
Z

zendraw

Guest
Voted other.

Is there any chance to have a side bar on the left side as well? Recent posts on the left, profile feed on the right, forums in the middle. Quick mockup.

Failing that, back to the old position in the side bar. There's a New Content link right at the top if people want to see new stuff, so there's no need to turn the main page into a miniature version of it. Or make the text smaller so it doesn't take up as much vertical space.
not, everyone, uses, fullscreen, for, browserss, tsuka!
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
i think what Bluetail suggested is the right direction, keep it on top as is currently, but make a button to show/hide it, also that option being saved so we dont show/hide them every time we enter.
Is there any chance to have a side bar on the left side as well? Recent posts on the left, profile feed on the right, forums in the middle. Quick mockup.
Keep in mind that we are limited by what the forum software permits, and so neither of these options is viable. Sure I could go full template-ninja and 100% customise the layout, but I really don't want to even attempt that as A) I'll probably break everything, and B) The next update will probably undo or break the changes anyway. So, I'm stuck with using the available styling options with the minimum amount of editing to the base templates.
 

TsukaYuriko

ā˜„ļø
Forum Staff
Moderator
not, everyone, uses, fullscreen, for, browserss, tsuka!
And this bothers you in a post that represents my personal opinion in a poll topic that asks for people's personal opinions?
The forum theme switches to a vertically stacked one with a sufficiently small browser window, anyway.

Keep in mind that we are limited by what the forum software permits, and so neither of these options is viable. Sure I could go full template-ninja and 100% customise the layout, but I really don't want to even attempt that as A) I'll probably break everything, and B) The next update will probably undo or break the changes anyway. So, I'm stuck with using the available styling options with the minimum amount of editing to the base templates.
No idea what the forum software permits, hence the question. :)
Changed my vote to on the side.
 
S

SSJCoder

Guest
Keep in mind that we are limited by what the forum software permits, and so neither of these options is viable. Sure I could go full template-ninja and 100% customise the layout, but I really don't want to even attempt that as A) I'll probably break everything, and B) The next update will probably undo or break the changes anyway. So, I'm stuck with using the available styling options with the minimum amount of editing to the base templates.
+1 for effort xD
this forum software sounds like an (evil) monster!!
 

O.Stogden

Member
Little bit of a further edit on what Tsuka said

It should actually fit in nicely, and I noticed on the right there's currently wasted space and on the left. And in the middle.
Maybe something like the bottom left recent post..
Yeah, that does look nice, it's a shame that the forum doesn't support that layout by default. :/
 

SnoutUp

Member
Make a "Toggle Hide and Show" button Next to the right panel buttons. Then display the New post section on the left.
Perhaps its not needed since we have the "new posts" in the navigation bar.
This is the best approach, although I still can't believe how many people rush to shut down great incentive of forum activity for a few pixels of scrolling or aesthetic reasons. Dedicating whole front-page to something as static as category list is completely outdated design and all of that could be replaced by a drop-down menu. Discourse does it right.
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
It should actually fit in nicely, and I noticed on the right there's currently wasted space and on the left. And in the middle.
Hmmm... Okay, I may be able to do this with a minimum of template editing actually. Just been investigating and it's not as hard as it first seemed and I do like the idea...

This is the best approach, although I still can't believe how many people rush to shut down great incentive of forum activity for a few pixels of scrolling or aesthetic reasons. Dedicating whole front-page to something as static as category list is completely outdated design and all of that could be replaced by a drop-down menu. Discourse does it right.
Discourse is a completely different beast to a Forum, and as such I'm not sure they can even be compared. Personally, I like the category list on the front page and wouldn't have it any other way.
 

SnoutUp

Member
Discourse is a completely different beast to a Forum, and as such I'm not sure they can even be compared. Personally, I like the category list on the front page and wouldn't have it any other way.
It's a modern discussion platform, it can and should be compared! :) I can understand the sentiment, but I'd also contribute this design choice to why forums are struggling as a platform. After user is initially familiarized with category list, they choose or fixate on a few of them relevant to them and everything else becomes a waste of screen space. And wasting screen space on a front page is quite a luxury. It can be argued that activity feeds are too much noise (and might not be a good fit to technical boards), but there are ways to clean that up by grouping, filtering and pinning.

Either way, I like how spotlit new activity is right now and will die on this hill. And I'm fully focused on the health of the forum rather than looks here.

If forum API allows (Discourse has an API :p) it would be amazing to frontpage things like unanswered technical questions or completed projects rather than keeping everything behind that category list :)
 
S

SSJCoder

Guest
Yes, but I've yet to hear a compelling reason why some random activity should be listed there.
I personally watch the recent activity for any content that interests me & to keep up to date with current posts.

(edit)
This is my setup:
I have a chrome extension which reloads the GMC forums page every 45 seconds, which means I basically get a live view of all the events, that's why I prefer the way it currently is (live), as opposed to having to go to each section, etc. All I really use is: latest posts + latest profile posts, the rest of the forums I basically don't even touch
 
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