572 replies to this topic

[actorlife]

looking great! lovin' it! slow load up at times though :ohmy:

[Daijoubu]

I don't quite get why do your guys make a new forum for every month of news?
Just put them all togheter...

I can make a little script to pull the news off the forum if you wish

[Christopher]

We may eventually digress from the current News formatting, but for now it works. With the subforum feature it's catagorized quite nicely and isn't too terribly obtrusive, eh? I think if this place ever takes off then I'll look into something different.

[Daijoubu]

I don't know, never seen such setup in my whole 18 years of existence

[Christopher]

Oh, it's not that bad for phpbb. Did you see the place before I came here? I think I've done quite a good job, thank you very much. :rasp:

[Daijoubu]

Oh, it's not that bad for phpbb. Did you see the place before I came here? I think I've done quite a good job, thank you very much.  :rasp:

Nop, where's this? :laugh: Not MD-T, I hope :rasp:

[Christopher]

Apparently when I installed the custom ranks MOD it didn't process all the way through. That has finally been corrected and is 100% functional now. There was a similar issue with the online/offline MOD as well [specifically in topic viewing] that was also fixed.

p.s. Fixed a good bit of phpbb vulnerabilities so the baddies don't blow this place to smithereens.

[Christopher]

Whatever error that was with the login has been fixed. Phpbb is a real pain in the arse sometimes..[spare me the IPB advertisement, D. :rasp:]. Also, I would offically like to welcome BJ to the moderator team. This is definitely the last person I am hiring for the forums, unless some of the old moderators come back and are interested in rejoining the team. Hopefully Roland [MDX400] will be active soon and help you guys out with the difficult technical topics.

[PaulBennett]

Decreased the font size for the main index by one

When the board is barely readable now you make changes to elliminate forum readers with older eyes.

Some forums go out of their way to use software which follows the MSWindows mandate of enabling View>TextSize>Larger because they know not everyone has youthful 20/20 vision. Not an insignificant number of us must use a magnifying glass, 19" monitors and 600x800 resolution and squint.

My world changed after losing my good retina leaving a damaged one. I've been on (arpa) internet since 1978 when there was only one font...yet only in the last two years a crop of youngsters suddenly insist on doing the 'Bible on a pinhead' thing for each webpage. Since the ink is free and the tools are bountiful, why not focus on enhancing communication rather than adding barriers.

Thank God (big G for the big Guy) that the trend of black backgrounds has reversed. Try reading dark blue font on black regardless of size. Just hope that war stays won.

If you've read this far, the is rant over...turn the music back up.

Traveling to Japan regularly, I used to get my Sony product info at the Sony building on the Ginza in Tokyo where a dedicated group would gather with their favorite vinyls on the 3rd floor where Sony's latest was on working display. Anyone else BTDT? Incidently, there was an area of Tokyo called Sonyville with combined living/work buildings where Americans/Aussies worked at less than minimum wage (foreigners were exempted from Japan's min wage) doing translations for Sony's instruction manuals because Sony wanted manuals which were correct technically and grammatically. Now American companies contract foreigners to write instruction manuals in broken English. Duh Does anything ever improve? You think I'm done? Well my doctor does...to be continued later in next life.

[Christopher]

Okay, so what would you like me to do? On my browser, I "increased text size" and it worked quite well. Please follow suit and you should be fine. If this does not work on Microsoft Internet Explorer, then I suggest you download the latest version of Mozilla FireFox, which seems to correct this issue. Mozilla Firefox is a much more advanced browser and carries features that will compliment your internet usage, espesically for someone who has used it as long as you, and it's free.

http://www.mozilla.org

[Christopher]

Decreased the signature size to 25 until I fix the formatting.

Also added a little animation to the private message icon.

I don't think I ever mentioned this, but a while back I implemented a more advanced new reply/topic system; "View posts since last visit" will cache all posts you haven't read that are new until you read them.

[jadeclaw]

When the board is barely readable now you make changes to elliminate forum readers with older eyes.

Not to step on your toes, but how about using a different Browser?
Try Opera and you will be amazed, how you can adjust the display to fit your eyes. Including magnification up to 1000%. And that includes graphics and Flash-thingies as well.
Just wibble over here:
http://www.opera.com/
Available for : Windows, Linux, Mac, OS/2, Solaris, FreeBSD, QNX and Smartphone/PDA.

[PaulBennett]

I tried using Mozilla for almost a year but it presented lots of problems where web designers have used advanced features and optimized pages to IE. I soon started switching back and forth but keeping the 'favorites' updated was a real hassle as well as the damn fight between them as to which is the primary browser. Then I went to using 2 pc's (I already have 2 monitors) with a keyboard/video/mouse switch. There just is not one best way. Thanks for the suggestion though.

The real solution lies in the (forum) software writers awareness. By using the H1 H2 etc, rather than specifying a font size, things work great. Many forums and web pages do this but strangely Microsoft Front Page does not follow Microsoft guidelines in this regard. Such is life. But do this, measure the screen area, then measure the area set aside for communicating the message, and calculate the pctg. As I sit here, I have 260 sq inches of display area and 25 sq inches of text box to work/read. That's why I love dos and I used qemm for multitasking and multiple program display. I'm a nut about enhancing communication, not glitz.

And this is all fleeting anyway. Ten years from now half of us won't have pc's. Internet communication will all be built into your satelite cell phone which is part of your wrist watch with a probe into the nerves of your wrist. Seems other half or us will be living in caves as leaders are taking to doing, or perhaps avoiding the advancing glaciers and the greys from Pluto or just to avoid the taxes.

[iceeedtea]

I tried using Mozilla for almost a year but it presented lots of problems where web designers have used advanced features and optimized pages to IE.

'Optimized for IE' == breaking W3C compliance == bad.

Luckily, more web developers have started to realize this, to the relief to us who contribute to OSS.

[shameless pimpage]
Mozilla FireFox 0.8. Faster than the Mozilla suite, since it's a standalone browser. Conforms to W3C standards. Renders pages quickly. Light and zippy. Best of all, free and no security holes. And there are ways to get around 'this page cannot be viewed because you don't use the crappiest browser ever, Internet Explorer'. Like this, which fakes the useragent string.
[/shameless pimage]

Web designers who break compliance should be stabbed. Repeatedly. Until they bleed out.

[jadeclaw]

The real solution lies in the (forum) software writers awareness.  By using the H1 H2 etc, rather than specifying a font size, things work great.

You DO know, that these tags are deprecated and that the W3C discourages their use?
And the future is XHTML and CSS, that includes fixed fontsizes, etc. By separating text and styling, the webpage becomes screenreader and braille-compatible as well. And that's the area, where the Internet Explorer has the biggest deficiences.
Second, the Internet Explorer is broken. By design, I have to add. Think vendor lock-in. And it's old. A big gaping security hole as well...
Third, Frontpage always delivers broken HTML. You can't use that as a reference. If you run a Frontpage-generated page through a validator, you're getting atleast a screen full of errors, no matter how simple the webpage is...
I don't know, what Sites you visit, but 99% work well in Opera AND Mozilla(Firefox). A few more work by switching the Browser ID, just press F12 in Opera and click the one you want.
My experience is that those pages, which don't work in Opera are usually not worth visiting. But that's a personal opinion...
So I suggest instead of going against the forum admin, you'd use better tools, tools that fit your needs.
But finally, it is your decision, I cannot prescribe what you do, I can only give advice.

[Christopher]

Here are some crappy ranks and the images associated with them:

0 posts - Beginner
25 posts - Novice
50 posts - Amateur
75 posts - Competent
100 posts - Experienced
150 posts - Versed
200 posts - Well-Versed
250 posts - Specialist
400 posts - Adept
500 posts - Professional
600 posts - Virtuoso
750 posts - True Minidisc Connoisseur
900 posts - Swami
1000 posts - Maharishi

Better than nothing, and I know they're not that great. I'll probably replace them later on in the year.

[jadeclaw]

Here are some crappy ranks and the images associated with them:
[Schnipp!]
Better than nothing, and I know they're not that great. I'll probably replace them later on in the year.

I think, I have an idea...
What is the maximum width allowed for these images?
150 pixels, like the Avatar-Icons or less?
And state the maximum height as well.

[Christopher]

The width of the current images I'm employing for ranks is probably the most appropriate. I don't want big ranks.

[11210]

Hi All,

I just wanted to drop you guys a note telling you how much I enjoy this site. I'm sure you don't get enough thanks for what you do here. I'm new to the Minidisc world. I bought my first one about a month ago and a second one yesterday. I use them primarily for recording speaking sessions at various tradeshows and conferences. I've gotten great, accurate, and worthwhile advice here. Keep up the good work! :grin:

[Christopher]

Thank you, it really means alot. I'm glad you enjoy the new MDCF. :happy: