RAF Forum updated!

[Estelore]

To those freaked out about the new appearance: I know very few of you were around for Classic RAF; you've only ever known what I still call "New RAF."  When Classic died, a significant number of us were majorly bothered by the new look, even though it was (to be fair) quite a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the Classic look.

The main reasons for the freakout, as far as I could tell, were lack of familiarity and therefore loss of comfort... and difficulty finding buttons and links that we were used to spotting reflexively. The icons for new and old threads looked different, for instance, so that was something to re-learn.

Now, I don't know if the updated forum will ever have the option of a 'skin' like original NewRAF, but from where I'm standing, this IS aesthetically more pleasing, and the introduction of a little orange does give nice contrast. The blue is still soothing and relatively familiar, and the only new things needing acclimation are the placements of links and the icons used to identify old and new threads, etc.

I totally understand being uncomfortable with unfamiliar things, and I'm not trying to sound like I'm scolding anybody, nor telling anybody how to feel. I'm simply suggesting, "don't knock it 'til you've tried it awhile."  The new skin might grow on you (wow, that sounds nasty XD).

Regardless, cheers! Thanks, Richard; I love the look of the place.

[wildweathel]

Whew, I was worried a bit; like another RAFRift was happening or something.  Glad to see that everything is okay.

[RAFrukh]

You're good at graphics, so I think I will be calling on you

Thank you, but keep in mind that I work best with small designs and such, not so much with larger logos and patterns.  So I don't really know how much help I'll actually be in this case.

...well...I'm not bragging, but I can do a ghetto job on banners and stuff like that if need be...

And I completely agree with Estelore. ^^

[Stephquiem]

Erm... is anyone actually freaking out? O.o Doesn't really seem like it... OOH! What's this button do?
...Absolutely nothing at the moment, nevermind.


Eh hem. New stuff is cool. Or it probably is anyway. *runs off to look at... everything*

[Richard]

Ok guys, I apologize for the excessive downtime today. Hopefully I'll get to the bottom of the issues today.

And in case you all forgot, the RAF Chat should be moving smoothly now.

[Toc']

You're good at graphics, so I think I will be calling on you

Thank you, but keep in mind that I work best with small designs and such, not so much with larger logos and patterns.  So I don't really know how much help I'll actually be in this case.

...well...I'm not bragging, but I can do a ghetto job on banners and stuff like that if need be...

And I completely agree with Estelore. ^^

Ha. I like the change of colors in the quotations ^^
That's very neat and practical.


Although I am not fond of the general "roundness" of the new layout. I liked the well defined rectangles we used to have.

[Toc']

I forgot to add that the top link to the RAFblog is not there anymore.

[Toc']

And obviously that the posts are not automatically merged anymore ><

[Richard]

Yep, the RAF Links are gone (will be added later).

As for double posting? Yeah; I realised! :-/

[Tyler]

To those freaked out about the new appearance: I know very few of you were around for Classic RAF; you've only ever known what I still call "New RAF."  When Classic died, a significant number of us were majorly bothered by the new look, even though it was (to be fair) quite a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the Classic look.

The main reasons for the freakout, as far as I could tell, were lack of familiarity and therefore loss of comfort... and difficulty finding buttons and links that we were used to spotting reflexively. The icons for new and old threads looked different, for instance, so that was something to re-learn.

Now, I don't know if the updated forum will ever have the option of a 'skin' like original NewRAF, but from where I'm standing, this IS aesthetically more pleasing, and the introduction of a little orange does give nice contrast. The blue is still soothing and relatively familiar, and the only new things needing acclimation are the placements of links and the icons used to identify old and new threads, etc.

I totally understand being uncomfortable with unfamiliar things, and I'm not trying to sound like I'm scolding anybody, nor telling anybody how to feel. I'm simply suggesting, "don't knock it 'til you've tried it awhile."  The new skin might grow on you (wow, that sounds nasty XD).

this.

I'm not a huge fan of the new look either, but yeah, I've already been through "classic" and "new" RAF. You get used to aesthetic changes. As long as it's light blue, it's good enough for me.


...although where are my smileys?...

[Toc']

A member of the year category has been included, nice.
But we cannot see who got online during the last 24hours Which is sad for my stalking nature.

[DinosaurNothlit]

I just noticed that some of the spoiler tags got broken, so that now whatever had previously been in a spoiler is there for everyone to see.  Thought I should probably mention that, since that could potentially become an issue for those who are allergic to spoilers (like me).

As far as the double-posting thing, actually, I never really liked being completely denied the ability to double-post.  I know, I know, it opens up the door for spammers who make three posts when one is plenty, but there are (at least occasionally) legitimate reasons to post twice in one topic, such as when nobody has posted in a long time and you have something important to say despite having been the last one to post in the topic before.

Then again, I'm sure it makes the mods' jobs a lot easier not to have to clean up random forum spam from double-posting, so perhaps the convenience to the mods trumps the inconvenience on our end.  Having never been a mod, I don't know.  I'm just putting in my two cents.

[Stephquiem]

The lack of double posting was always kind of annoying for moderating on the Animafia board. And what DN said about being the last one to post, a long time ago. XD

[Richard]

I just noticed that some of the spoiler tags got broken, so that now whatever had previously been in a spoiler is there for everyone to see.  Thought I should probably mention that, since that could potentially become an issue for those who are allergic to spoilers (like me).

Is it working now?

[Toc']

The spoilers seem to work for me.

there are (at least occasionally) legitimate reasons to post twice in one topic, such as when nobody has posted in a long time and you have something important to say despite having been the last one to post in the topic before.

True. But every time someone added something to their old previous post, the thread went back up on the top of the list of threads, so the merging system was not really penalizing.




EDIT:

Actually it was really convenient for a lazy bum like me since whenever I wanted to add something to my post, I could just write it in the quick reply and it would merge. Thus I would be spared both the inconvenience of editing and the stigma of being a double poster (if my laziness won over me :p)