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Mike

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    Forum upgrades coming in 2024

    in Bulletin Board

    Posted

    Thanks @jessemoore97. I love having you here and appreciate everything you bring to the community. I think most members will be on board with the changes and I don't expect too much of a learning curve this time. If there is anything that isn't working for you, please share and I'll see what I can do.

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    Thank you, @jimbo! I've been preparing for these changes since April or May, so I have enough where I can give a what to expect at this point. Plus, there really isn't anything to gain by surprising everyone out of the blue. I'd much rather give everyone a chance to process it for a bit and share feedback if they have any. That only makes for a better end result for everyone.

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    @IrishGuy - I gotta keep you on your toes 😆.

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    @irishwavend - Streamlining access to the most popular forums is very much a part of the plan and probably the #1 focus from a structural standpoint with the upcoming changes. As for the ads, they are impression-based, but I am always experimenting with trying to find the right balance. I'm doing my best to keep them as unintrusive as possible for members (sorry guests!), but it's been tough to find that right balance.

    To be fully transparent, even with the ads in place, the site is still slightly below breaking even when you factor in the costs associated with the site. I have a lot of ideas I'd love to pursue such as more relevant sponsorships, but the biggest roadblock is here definitely a lack of time. I spend a lot of time working on the site, but it's very much a passion project of mine while my full-time gig can be very demanding. One day though.... 🤔💭

    Oh, and definitely feel free to send me a message! I'd love to coordinate and see what else we can try. Thanks for your willingness to lend a hand.

    P.S. For a more forum traditional layout, you can use this toggle to change the default way forums display for now:

    image.png

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    Forum upgrades coming in 2024

    in Bulletin Board

    Posted

    Hey everyone, I know there's still football to be played and games to be won, but since some members step away for the offseason, I want to kick off a thread on what to expect in the coming months and allow everyone a chance to share feedback if they have any.

    An Upgraded Community Experience (TBD 2024)

    Sometime in the offseason, the board will see its first major facelift since the initial transition in 2021. This is in large part due to the community software I'm using receiving its first major version upgrade since 2015, making it 9 years old by the time we're ready to upgrade. By now I have seen quite a few previews of what will be offered, and with each preview, I've been planning on how to best develop the site around what's available and what makes sense for Domer Domain. I am excited about what's in store and I think it'll provide a better experience to everyone.

    Some of the anticipated changes are below:

    Site Navigation Changes - This is likely going to be the first change most of you notice. On desktop, expect site navigation to move from the top of the site to the left of the content. This will make navigating between different pages and forums easier, as well as require less scrolling to access the content. This leads me to....

    Forum Homepage Layout - I expect to roll out a new forum homepage layout, likely putting an end to the Combined/Fluid mode as the default. I do plan on keeping it as an option for those who want to enable it. For everyone else, the Forums page will likely show the different forums with an at-a-glance view of the last 4 threads with activity, including a snippet of the most recent post in those threads. The changes to navigation I have planned should make accessing the different forums easier.

    Mobile Experience Upgrades - Navigation will be moved to the bottom of the screen on mobile, providing quick access to sign-in or sign-up to logged-out users. If already logged in, you'll have access to the forums page, notifications, messages, and a menu button to access the full navigation. Actual navigation items aren't 100% in stone yet..

    Site Branding Reset - When we update, I'm going to have to re-theme the site, so it might be a bit barebones in style for a little bit. I'll get it up to snuff ASAP.

    Helpful Content (New Feature) - We're going to be adding a 'Helpful' button to posts in lieu of the current 'Mark as Solution' button. The most helpful content will display at the start of a thread and readers will have the option to toggle a thread to only look at content labeled as helpful if they choose.

    Community Experts (New Feature) - Members who consistently receive Helpful Content votes will receive a community expert badge in the specific forums where they reach the required number of votes. Members will also have the option to accept or decline being recognized as a community expert. 

    Forums - Simplification of the Topic View - Expect to see a fair bit of simplification within forums. The view counter might be removed and avatars for members with the most recent post in a thread are likely to return. Thumbnails are still an unknown right now, but I hope to keep them and limit them to the Recruiting forum. That isn't an option with the current layout, but I'm hoping I can make that a reality with the new software.

    • Staff Note - I expect views and analytics to continue to be available within the thread itself

    Posts - Utilizing space better - There will be a new dropdown at the top of each post that members can toggle to show total reputation, solutions to topics, join date, number of posts, and other non-essential information. I also expect avatars to be slightly smaller and moved to the top of each post, allowing the white space to the left side of a post (currently under the avatar) to be usable.

    Miscellaneous Changes - Legacy code being cleaned up, a smoother experience, lots of behind the scenes stuff that probably doesn't impact the front-facing side of the board.

    Expected Rollout - TBD 2024. I don't have a date yet, but I'll be sure to keep everyone updated so there are no sudden changes.

    Share any feedback or questions below

    I know some of this is probably hard to picture without visuals, but I'm hoping everyone is a fan of the changes once they roll out. I know that's not always going to be the case, but it's always going to be my goal. If you have any questions or concerns, we have a lot of time before these changes are made, so let's get a discussion going.

    Thanks for reading!

    • Heart 4
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    Game Thread - #10 Notre Dame at #25 Louisville (10/7/23)

    in Notre Dame Football

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, TexasDomer said:

    Nothing.  No pain. Just nothing.  My passion is gone.  Also, @MikeIMG_6699.thumb.png.4acb5c6b1be7eec2548ae3d5c62cb8cc.png the pop ups are interfering again.  Over shat I was typing 

    That footer ad is one that I honestly can't afford to disable. When you dismiss it, it shouldn't show up until you have a new page load. If that's not the case, then something is off with that too.

    Unfortunately, it conflicts with the live thread format when it auto loads a new page. The only way to fix that is to remove the live thread option 😕

    Game Thread - #10 Notre Dame at #25 Louisville (10/7/23)

    in Notre Dame Football

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, Hickory23 said:

    Is there a pay version to get rid of ads?

    Hey @Hickory23, there's an option to be a VIP Supporter for $40 per year to remove ads, among some other perks. That can be found here.

    @TexasDomer,I also got your message about the ads. Can you both share if you're on Desktop or Mobile and if anyone can send me a screenshot of any intrusive ads, I'll take a look. 

    I do go out of my way to make sure ads aren't overwhelming and want the subscription to feel like a way to help support the site, but not feel like a requirement.

    Sorry for any issues anyone is having.

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