Welcome to the new homebrewandbeer.com forum
Posted: Friday Jan 04, 2008 7:51 pm
Hi folks,
Well, it's finally happened. Over the past three days I've been configuring this updated forum.
Here are the main changes:
Private messaging
You can now send messages privately to other users on this board. Private messaging is managed through the User Control Panel, located at the top right when you're logged in. And you can edit a private message right up until the time it's read at the other end. You can also set up two personal folders and call them whatever you like. However, once you hit 50 private messages in your inbox, new messages will be held back until you delete some messages (this is the default), or old messages will automatically be deleted to allow the new message to be delivered. This is configured in your User Control Panel.
Preserve unread topic icon
On the old board if you had unread posts (those marked with a full glass of beer next to the topic or forum) and you logged out, those posts would be marked as read next time you logged in. Now, you can log out whenever you like and any threads with unread posts will still be marked as unread next time you log on. You can still use the "Mark topics read" link to mark all topics/threads in a forum as read.
Saving drafts
If you're halfway through a post and you realise you're late for the pub, you can now save a draft, using the Save button next to Preview and Submit. When the time comes to complete a draft and send it, you can do that from the User Control Panel.
Subscribe to forums and topics, and bookmark topics
If you subscribe to a forum or topic, you'll be notified when there are new posts. Bookmarking works like it does in your web browser, allowing you to return to topics of interest easily. Subscribing and bookmarking is done with the links at the very bottom of forums or posts. They're managed in the User Control Panel.
Report posts
If the content of a post gets you offended, then you can now report the post to moderators. This is done with icons at the top right of each post.
New style
There are similarities and differences with the new forum. One of the main things you may notice is that a user's details now appear on the right of the post, not the left as previously. This means that the post (which, of course, is what you're most interested in!), appears at the far left.
HTML coding
Although only a few people used HTML markup in their posts, it's worth noting that it is no longer possible. BBCode should do pretty much everything you used to do with HTML. If there's anything you can't do with BBCode but would like to, please let me know and I'll consider adding it as custom BBCode, which is now possible.
This is just a taste of what's new. Have a poke around and see what else you discover.
If you'd like to know more there's a user guide at the phpBB site: http://www.phpbb.com/support/documentat ... /index.php
I hope you enjoy.
(You'll probably notice there are a few things that still need tweaking (like some of the logos being a bit skewiff) or fixing (like the Smilies). If you do notice anything, please let me know and I'll fix it as soon as I can.)
Happy posting!
Cheers,
Oliver
EDIT: Online status
If a user is online, that status now shows up on the far right of their posts.
Well, it's finally happened. Over the past three days I've been configuring this updated forum.
Here are the main changes:
Private messaging
You can now send messages privately to other users on this board. Private messaging is managed through the User Control Panel, located at the top right when you're logged in. And you can edit a private message right up until the time it's read at the other end. You can also set up two personal folders and call them whatever you like. However, once you hit 50 private messages in your inbox, new messages will be held back until you delete some messages (this is the default), or old messages will automatically be deleted to allow the new message to be delivered. This is configured in your User Control Panel.
Preserve unread topic icon
On the old board if you had unread posts (those marked with a full glass of beer next to the topic or forum) and you logged out, those posts would be marked as read next time you logged in. Now, you can log out whenever you like and any threads with unread posts will still be marked as unread next time you log on. You can still use the "Mark topics read" link to mark all topics/threads in a forum as read.
Saving drafts
If you're halfway through a post and you realise you're late for the pub, you can now save a draft, using the Save button next to Preview and Submit. When the time comes to complete a draft and send it, you can do that from the User Control Panel.
Subscribe to forums and topics, and bookmark topics
If you subscribe to a forum or topic, you'll be notified when there are new posts. Bookmarking works like it does in your web browser, allowing you to return to topics of interest easily. Subscribing and bookmarking is done with the links at the very bottom of forums or posts. They're managed in the User Control Panel.
Report posts
If the content of a post gets you offended, then you can now report the post to moderators. This is done with icons at the top right of each post.
New style
There are similarities and differences with the new forum. One of the main things you may notice is that a user's details now appear on the right of the post, not the left as previously. This means that the post (which, of course, is what you're most interested in!), appears at the far left.
HTML coding
Although only a few people used HTML markup in their posts, it's worth noting that it is no longer possible. BBCode should do pretty much everything you used to do with HTML. If there's anything you can't do with BBCode but would like to, please let me know and I'll consider adding it as custom BBCode, which is now possible.
This is just a taste of what's new. Have a poke around and see what else you discover.
If you'd like to know more there's a user guide at the phpBB site: http://www.phpbb.com/support/documentat ... /index.php
I hope you enjoy.
(You'll probably notice there are a few things that still need tweaking (like some of the logos being a bit skewiff) or fixing (like the Smilies). If you do notice anything, please let me know and I'll fix it as soon as I can.)
Happy posting!
Cheers,
Oliver
EDIT: Online status
If a user is online, that status now shows up on the far right of their posts.