Forum upgrades coming in 2024

[Mike 685]

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!

[jessemoore97 1,271]

I've probably said it before, but I generally don't like change.  However with the transitions this site has undergone over the past few years, I've been able to adjust, and I'm sure I'll be able to do it again.  There will be growing pains, but they can be overcome.

Thanks Mike, and the staff for your efforts.  I do appreciate what you do to keep the lights on so to speak.  This place is home for me, and I check in many times each day in and out of the season to get my ND fix, and discuss with a lot of great members here that I've gotten to "know" over the last dozen or so years.

[irishwavend 565]

Just as long as I can get to recruiting news in a streamlined way…obviously, if I’m commenting about this, I’m fully exercising my Catholicism and have been drinking, but by now, you know I’m going to hit you on my inability to obtain recruiting news easily.  Otherwise, I’m cool with whatever…even the tons of commercials that like, literally nobody clicks on…Hope it‘s not pay per click…. If it is, I’ve been exploring other ways to make revenue for something unrelated, how to get sponsors/fundraise for kids golf, but the same logic could apply here.  We could coordinate.

Anyway, that’s all I got…screw it up too badly and I’ll just make a new site…. Haha.  Jk.  I’m too lazy….

[irishwavend 565]

Followup…something I would personally find useful is a list of ND Camps or Retreats/Experiences.  I know we’re looking to go to golf camp for my 10 year old in the Summer, but they haven’t posted it yet.  I actually don’t know any resource that centralizes Notre Dame camps, so that could be something that attracts folks to the site.  Just a thought….

[jimbo 376]

Mike, I appreciate that you announce the upcoming changes to the site etc in advance and also seek input on it. Most sites make changes and then inform you after the fact. Kudos!

[Baldy 1,225]

Thanks for letting us know, Mike!

Looking forward to all the changes. 😁

[IrishGuy 177]

....right when I finally start to get used to the new site 🙂

[Mike 685]

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:

[Mike 685]

A Quick Update:

The big update isn't coming until 2024, but I need to move some things around in preparation. Since the changes I'm working on now are navigation-related, I can't do them behind the scenes without putting the site into maintenance mode. I'd rather leave the site open, so expect to notice a few changes here and there. 😉

[Mike 685]

Placeholders and band-aids are in place 🩹

[Mike 685]

Notable Changes:

1. Removed the old homepage, making the site default to the forums page.
2. Restructured the forums/new homepage to give an at-a-glance view of everything in one place.
3. I cut down the board to 3 contained forums where subforums are grouped
   • Forums - Notre Dame Football - Additional Athletics - Off Topic
   • Message Board view - Contains everything, similar to the previous layout
4. I updated the navigation to reflect the changes

Relevant Content Shown on the Homepage

• Forums
• Recent Updates
• YouTube Playlist - Curated by @FaithInIrish Forever
• Popular Topics
• Recruiting Updates

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This was a big/necessary step to make sure the transition goes as smoothly as possible once we're ready. Please let me know if you have any feedback.

Thank you!

[Mike 685]

A Brief Update (January 2024)

• Recent forum layout changes are more prep for the update on the way.
• I removed or cut back on a few features since I expect compatibility issues with the update. Certain areas like the homepage may look a bit more bare for a bit.
• Date for the upgrade is still TBD. I expect it to be at least a few more months, but hopefully before the 2024 season starts.
• Please let me know if you run into any issues

Thanks, everyone!

[TexasDomer 1,285]

Just don’t mess up my IGNORE function, please!🙏 

[Mike 685]

1 hour ago, TexasDomer said:

Just don’t mess up my IGNORE function, please!🙏 

I don't expect that to go anywhere or to have any issues. If it does, I'll be on it like white on rice.

All this rice cooker talk on the forums has it bleeding into my analogies now. Damnit.

[Rocketsan 768]

I'd be happy to just stay logged in...

[Mike 685]

19 hours ago, Rocketsan said:

I'd be happy to just stay logged in...

Do you ever delete your browser's history or cookies? You shouldn't be getting logged out and I'm not aware of it happening to anyone else.

Anyone else in the thread, can you let me know if you have issues with getting logged out?

[Rocketsan 768]

1 hour ago, Mike said:

Do you ever delete your browser's history or cookies? You shouldn't be getting logged out and I'm not aware of it happening to anyone else.

Anyone else in the thread, can you let me know if you have issues with getting logged out?

I delete nothing and had to log in again to post this

[Mike 685]

On 2/20/2024 at 6:15 PM, Rocketsan said:

I'd be happy to just stay logged in...

Took a look into the issue you're having and sent a DM.

[Mike 685]

Thanks, @Rocketsan for the new forum graphics on the homepage!

And for anyone wondering, we're still a few months away from the update. I expect to start beta testing sometime in May with a rollout well before the season starts.

[Mike 685]

Alpha Test Update

I have a brief update on the next version of our community software. The release date is still TBD, but the developers invited a few people to alpha test and share feedback and I'm fortunate enough to be a part of of the initial group. The team requested testers don't share photos or video since it's still a WIP, but they gave the okay to talk about it publicly.

With that in mind, please let me know if you have questions or curiosities and I'll do my best to answer.

P.S. Even though there's no definitive ETA, I'm pretty confident that it'll be ready to roll out on DD prior to the season. 🤞