The New Site

[Dabney Grinnan]

#11957

We want to hear from you! Please submit any queries, complaints, raves, or other. Our site is constantly evolving, and as you’ll notice, like life itself, not everything is perfect. The hope is to get as close to perfect as possible and we cannot do that without your help.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#38250

This is great! I’m loving the new functionalities & how updated everything seems.

[Sarah Johnson]

#38277

I agree! The site looks great, I love how easy it is to search for new reviews :)

[Carol Morava]

#38288

Seriously. This has been such a great change.

[Jocelyn]

#38693

I’ve been a daily visitor to AAR since 2002. It just keeps getting better. Thanks to the AAR team for providing this great website, resource, and community!!

[NoirFemme]

#38713

Can you please preserve the old forums for posterity? One of the most lamented changes to AAR was when the site switched to the phpBB, and erased the years and years of posts on the pre-2007 message board.

[Blackjack1]

#38714

Yes! I second that!

[Dabney Grinnan]

#39086

We were unable to do that. The cost of doing so was prohibitive. We had to pick and choose. I’m sorry.

[NoirFemme]

#39214

;___;

Is there some way for us to save our posts?

[Dabney Grinnan]

#39240

What do you mean?

Save your posts?

[Caz Owens]

#39302

Responding to NoirFemme:

I suspect you’ll have to find them and then manually cut and paste the ones you want to keep to a word document or whatever format suits you, if you’re taking about saving your posts and comments for your personal use.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#39149

And we actually have a form for you to give us feedback with!

Here it is: We Want to Hear from You.

[Kayne]

#39272

How do I login? I clicked the login tab but my old password doesn’t work and I don’t see a way to create a new password?
How do I add an image to my name (profile image)?
What is the best way to post about books we are currently reading? At the old AAR board there was the Recently Read post. Is it better to post individually or lump them all in a Recently Read Post?
Is there a way to edit or delete posts?
Thanks so much!

[Janie]

#39305

I tried to log-in but neither my name nor password are recognized.

–Janie

[Janie]

#39308

But since that posted just now with my name and address, I guess logging-in isn’t necessary anymore?

–Janie

[dallase]

#39322

Testing….

[Mark]

#39327

Can the old message boards be kept available in a locked/read-only form?
Is there a FAQ for the new site & new message boards, or the equivalent of the sticky posts used on the old boards?

[Audrey]

#39344

I don’t see the Romances On Sale – I will be sad if this is discontinued as AAR’s list seemed to be the most comprehensive, without being full of stuff I don’t read.

[Caz Owens]

#39447

Audrey – Romances on Sale will be continuing here – the next will be for August releases, which I hope will be ready within the next week or so.

[tinabelle]

#39591

Glad to hear that the Romances on Sale feature will still be a part of AAR. Love the look of the new site – very professional and visually much more appealing than the old site. Learning the ins and outs but it seems easy to use.

[Mark]

#39394

I still haven’t spotted an obvious way to sign in for these boards.
Also, I haven’t spotted a visual cue about which messages I’ve already seen on previous visits like the old message boards had. I assume such cues require sign-ins.

[Karat]

#39416

I have the same question as Kayne: how to add an image to my name (profile image)?

[Manda]

#39434

Really love the new look!,It’s very modern and easy to navigate. Well done!

[Dabney Grinnan]

#39435

Right now that’s all you have to do.

[library addict]

#39444

I have the same question as Kayne: how to add an image to my name (profile image)?

Register at Gravatar. I was already registered there (sites like Dear Author and many,many other blogs use it as well) and my avatar posted with no issues. You just have to use the same user name and email.

[Karat]

#39504

Thanks!

[library addict]

#39515

I have some questions about the main part of the site (not the forum)

1) Will the results of the 2016 Favorites poll be added for 2015’s books (currently it just goes up to 2015’s poll)

2) No rush, but will the special titles lists which were opened for submissions last year be updated (Beta Heroes, Marms, Teachers, and Governesses, Favorite Funnies, and Villains)?

I know you all have been busy getting the new site going, so there’s no rush. I’m just curious.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#39602

The Reader Poll for 2015 has been added.

[LinnieGayl Kimmel]

#39603

Oh yay! Thanks for getting the poll up for best of 2015 romances! Now to get thinking about the poll for best of 2016 romances :)

[dick]

#39543

I cannot open a particular poster’s comments as we were able to do on the old site? Will we always have to click on connections to move between forums?

[Dabney Grinnan]

#39558

The site is still in beta. Many of these problems will be fixed within the next week or so we hope!

[Lisa F]

#39592

Re-read some old reviews in the new format and everything looks lovely so far!

[msaggie]

#39594

The new site is lovely. I spent most of the weekend archiving my old posts at the old site – I just copied and pasted onto Word documents and saved them – don’t know of a better way to do it. I did this last time during the last AAR website messageboard change early 2007. How do we quote other posters’ comments so we could answer them?

[LinnieGayl Kimmel]

#39595

Can’t figure out if it is possible to quote either. Tried a few things with disastrous results.

[msaggie]

#39598

Linnie Gayl, I clicked “reply” on your post to see if that will quote your post – will it work? We will soon find out

[Dabney Grinnan]

#39600

The reply feature will work soon.

[erika]

#39741

almost missed the alert the site was changing! the new site is classy.
Once I determined I didn’t have to register yet…easy peasy!!

oh and I hope the books on sale stay. I use that for my monthly buying lists…

[HeatherB]

#39821

Love it! So far it seems so much easier than the old and I really like how it is organized. I also like how the message boards are much easier to navigate.

[Clutterconqueror]

#39900

I was just on a board where I wanted to agree with someone without having to make a post. It might have been lovely to have agree or disagree buttons.

[HBO]

#39919

NB: I am using the block quote tab for the first time; so, I hope it works the way the old site did. If not, then I look like the tech-challenged person I am at times. :(

I was just on a board where I wanted to agree with someone without having to make a post. It might have been lovely to have agree or disagree buttons

While I can see the ease of such a feature, wouldn’t the discussion forums then run the risk of becoming more like FB? Stagnant? An unintentional, yet unsubstantiated poll?

I like to know why a person agrees/or disagrees with another’s opinion. We all have something to say that adds to any conversation, and in this case I believe “more is better.”

[Clutterconqueror]

#39942

While I can see the ease of such a feature, wouldn’t the discussion forums then run the risk of becoming more like FB? Stagnant? An unintentional, yet unsubstantiated poll?

I like to know why a person agrees/or disagrees with another’s opinion. We all have something to say that adds to any conversation, and in this case I believe “more is better.”

I see your point, and I agree. I rescind my suggestion.

[msaggie]

#40173

I am trying to post about a new book I just read but it says “Forbidden” and that I don’t have permission (but I have posted before). What’s the problem? My post is not overly long

[leather hi top sneakers]

#40207

dear sir , i have paased my f.y.b.com and i m working in shipping company from 3 years as documentation executive. i would like to add my qualification shipping degree, so please send me information about graduate and undergratues.
leather hi top sneakers http://www.marantsneaker.com/

[Ellen Schwartz]

#40278

You need a “return to the list of posts” navigation link. It is not enough to just have page navigation within a post topic. When I get to the end of page 3 or 4 (or higher for popular posts), I want to be able to get back to the forum main page with the lists of posts in one click and not have to click “back” multiple times or go out to the main menu again.

[test]

#40306

test replay to topic

[Lynda X]

#40411

Although I love the new site, especially the sales on e-books, what is terrible is how LONG it takes to download the blog or article. In the past, AAR had significant problems–at least on my computer–and these seem to have stayed. Isn’t there anything you can do?

[Lil]

#40420

The site looks very attractive but while I understand the number of comments, what does “Voices” mean?

[RichMissTallant]

#40438

I think the site looks great but for the message boards, there’s clearly a word limit and there’s no way of knowing if your post is too long (from what I can see)..

[msaggie]

#40468

Now that I think about it. I liked the old messageboards where you could find out how many times a particular topic/thread was read. Currently we only get how long ago someone commented on a particular post. I used to click on the popular posts to see what it was all about. Could we have that feature again (i.e. telling us how many times the particular thread/topic was read)

[dick]

#40479

The new site simply doesn’t work well when one is using IE as browser. None of the buttons work; loading takes forever. Chrome works, but it too is slow on the site.

[Anne Gresley]

#40486

I use chrome and haven’t noticed any problems.

[Eliza]

#40497

Two new links posted on the home range aren’t even showing up on the threads now. It’s been about 2o minutes.

[HBO]

#40522

The site is out of synch on the discussion boards. Timing is off. Or posts not showing up if one uses IE as a browser.

Also, not sure if the new beta site is getting overloaded with traffic, but commenting on blog or on books featured on the front page has been problematic today.

[Blackjack]

#40564

Only Google Chrome allows me to view new posts and submit too but it looks like the timing is still off and posts appear and then vanish.

[gracec]

#40588

I love the new site, it’s beautiful and well organized. I just wish it would be faster. I use IE primarily so that’s probably why. WIll try Chrome next time and see it that makes a difference. As of now, just moving from page 1 to page 2 takes a long time.

[Blackjack]

#40592

I have to hit the Refresh button every time on every thread I click on to view any new posts. I can only view the site on Google Chrome. I have a Mac and so can’t use IE. On my Mac though Firefox and Safari are not displaying this site.

[stl_reader]

#40680

Hi, there, what does “Freshness” mean? I assumed it meant how long ago someone posted to the particular thread that I’m thinking of clicking on; now I don’t think so. What does it indicate? Thanks.

[Eliza]

#40685

“Refresh is a command that reloads the contents of a window or Web page with the most current data. For example, a window may list files stored within a folder, but may not track their location in real-time. If the files have been moved or deleted since the window was first opened, the folder contents displayed will be inaccurate. By refreshing the window, a current list of files is displayed.”

“Web browsers include a Refresh command, which reloads the contents of a Web page. This is especially useful for dynamic Web pages, which contain content that changes often.”

FYI: The refresh button is usually upper lefthand on your monitor,–a partial circle with an arrow generally–next to the arrows that take you back a page or forward a page. It doesn’t reprogram your computer or anything like it. It just gives you the latest info (that the new AAR program is currently NOT doing).

Refresh just brings the most recent data to your unit, The program should be doing it for you, but since it is not, you have to hit REFRESH on the new AAR often to keep up with what anyone is doing

[tigz]

#40739

In most browsers on Windows PCs you can also press F5 to refresh your browser page. You can also press CTRL + F5 simultaneously for a hard refresh which is is a way of clearing the browser’s cache for a specific page, to force it to load the most recent version of a page. Sometimes, when changes are made to the website, they don’t register immediately due to caching.

[Eliza]

#40741

Sometimes, when changes are made to the website, they don’t register immediately due to caching.

True, but it usually doesn’t take three or four days or a personal refresh for an online site to update. I’ m still having to refresh most of the time, unlike the former site which did not have this problem at all.. Still a bug as far as I can see,

[Lynda X]

#40913

You know, I was impressed with this new site when it opened, but there’s hardly anything new in it for DAYS! We need more book reviews, more articles, more interviews, etc. I love this site, but it’s becoming irrelevant because it doesn’t have much to it. I don’t think the home page has change for five days–or more!

[Mark]

#40978

I noticed a couple days ago that the home page now needs the same kind of refresh as the message boards. There have been new reviews every day.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#40979

My dev team says there are some bugs with IE users. If you are using IE, the site will work better if you have the latest version.

[Eliza]

#40984

Like Mark said, I have to refresh the home page too each time I want to see updates. I have the latest Google Chrome.

[Blackjack]

#40989

I’m using the most current version of Google Chrome and no longer need to refresh the site in the past couple of days. But it’s all very slow to load on each new thread. I also have to sign in with a debugging plug-in every time I post. This site is not working well with Firefox.

[Eliza]

#40990

I wonder what the difference is. I had to refresh just today, both the home site and the “connections.”

[HBO]

#41021

DIKs aside, books that were reviewed more than a week ago are not showing up on the new Review page. Is this going to be a permanent feature to AAR, to have new reviews last only a week, or is the site still having technical issues?

[dick]

#41022

I find the site awkward to use, mainly because one must first go to a specific forum, then to a topic, and then scroll down to the last post to see what’s going on. As with other commenters, I use google chrome to access the site. The responses from the site are very slow, regardless which browser I use.

[Eliza]

#41029

I agree, dick, about the extra steps one must take, and that the site’s slow. Maybe slower than the old site? And with some missing functions?
A BF who is web designer told me some chose design and appearance over speed and functionality when most people just “want to get to the info.”

[Kristie(J)]

#41077

I like the new site quite a bit except, like others, find it painfully long to bring up and then reload

[HBO]

#41084

I am not sure why AAR set up multiple “what do you think about our new site” pages across its forums, if AAR wasn’t prepared to answer queries or address concerns that its readership have posted.

A “refresh” or “change browsers” isn’t a solution to what plagues this beta site.

And yes, I, too want to know what “voices” mean in the forums. Are they ghosts?

[Anne Gresley]

#41123

Doesn’t ‘voices’ just mean the number of people taking part in a thread?

Loving the new site, by the way, despite the niggles.

[Lil]

#41138

i don’t think Voices means the number of participants. A lot more than 6 people have commented here.

[Kathleen]

#41134

This site is so slow it is painful to use. Sorry to be negative but I gave it a week and today it is no better.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#41143

We hope to have the speed issues resolved soon. We have struggled with a huge onslaught of spammers and are working to contain that problem.

[Anne Gresley]

#41162

i don’t think Voices means the number of participants. A lot more than 6 people have commented here.

Really good point. I’m embarrassed now. (#^_^#)

[Karen A]

#41195

This is a test post to see if I can actually post! When I try to log in on the website, my email is not recognized. If this posts, I just want to say the new site is SO MUCH BETTER! Best improvement of a website I’ve seen! Great job!

[Susan/DC]

#41229

Question: in the old site there was a way to go the most recent post since you last logged in. How do I do that here without having to scroll down all of the posts?

[Dabney Grinnan]

#41230

We are still working on improving the message boards. We are paying attention to all this feedback.

[Jillian]

#41321

I am among those who are curious about the term “voices”. Would someone please explain? Thanks.
I really like the sharp new look of the site & the Home page with the new reviews is a very nice start to my browsing.
My only complaint, aside from my confusion over “voices”, is that I find the boards a little clunky to navigate between.
The site is a refreshing update :-)

[TerryS]

#41232

I was looking for a specific review of a book written by Karen Templeton when I noticed that another book she had written was not listed in the results when I queried for books by “Karen Templeton.” I knew that a review of this book had been done at AAR because it was the reason I first started reading Ms. Templeton’s books. So, I looked up the book by its title, Swept Away. To my relief, the review was still available. However, no author was listed in the “Author” column.

In doing a little more research, I found that 122 of the reviews published in 2010 did not have a name listed in the Author column, 576 of the reviews published in 2011 were missing an author’s name while similarly, 284 of the reviews published in 2012 were also lacking a listed author.

So, be aware, if you are looking for books by Courtney Milan, you will not find Dabney’s review of The Governess Affair listed in the results. Nor will you find Deanna Raybourn’s Dark Road to Darjeeling if you look it up by author and not title. If you look up Nalini Singh’s works by her name you will find Lea Hensley’s review of the audiobook version of Archangel’s Blade, but not Wendy Clyde’s review of the actual book.

The results from using power search are very user friendly in that you can sort the results by any one of the column headings. I really like that feature.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#41695

We are slowly fixing this. Unfortunately, all the missing data must be entered by hand!

[Kristie(J)]

#41322

Ugghh – I feel awful complaining but since there aren’t pages any longer, all replies are on the same page now, it takes FORE EVER to get to the last few if there are a number of posts such as in the Wild West Forum. I really like that you can respond directly to a previous post if you want, just wish it didn’t take so long to get to the bottom.

[Marilyn.K]

#41370

Wow! This is some makeover! Nice.

[Tinabelle]

#41518

One of the features I am really enjoying about the new site is the posting of classic DIK reviews. I know we could always search for
DIK’s but this feature brings them out on the main page which is great. I just read the review of Marsha Canham’s The Iron Rose. I absolutely loved that series and this review reminded me of that. I will definitely be rereading this wonderful historical series. Hope this feature stays.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#41694

Thanks! They are killing my wallet!

[Mark]

#41692

I can’t find the monthly lists of romances on sale under your new menus. Where do you now post & record the lists?

[Dabney Grinnan]

#41693

The next month’s releases are on the blog. Here’s the one for August.

[Eliza]

#41775

What is still buggy is the connection between the topic board that lists the threads and the actual threads themselves, For instance, on the Wild Wild West board, it says Blackjack last post was an hour and some minutes ago, but once inside the actual thread itself, the last post is by erika. The was the Trump thread. I refreshed both locations but it remains saying that the last post was by Blackjack but erika’s post from last night is the last post showing up. Sorry if that is as connfusing to you as it is to me,

[Eliza]

#41776

More weird stuff:
1. My post above appeared immediately with something like “34 seconds” and the thread title “new site” did move to to the top correctly, BUT
2. Back at WWW, th Trump thread now says Balckjack 3 hour, and some minutes ago (instead of the one hour+) that it was minutes ago, AND
3. Erika’s post is still the last, BUT
4. Above her post a NEW Black jack post appeared that wasn’t there the last time!

I guess bugs are to be expected, but I see this one here fairly regularly. And in good conscience to the old board, I have to say it was slow sometimes but
it was far more accurate in the timing of posts and accuracy of who posted what and when.

[Eliza]

#41777

Maybe this will be clearer:

I am typing this post at 7:16 AM (ET) on Aug. 1

The Topic for Trum on WWW says Blackjack 3 hours, 43 minutes ago

Inside the topic on Trump, Blackjack;s post says posted July 31 at 10:08 PM

AFTER her post, erika’s post is July 31 at 10:11 PM.

Yet on the site I’m on now, my first and second posts immediately updated in both places.

—————————————————————

Here’s a more minor bug:

When I hit “reply” the board moves all the way to the top of the thread, and then I have to scroll down a second time in order to post. This has been consistent all along, as far as I can tell. Odd.

[Eliza]

#41867

One time when I was posting it wouldn’t allow me to put more than one link per message, Just a minute ago, it allows multiple links but change one of them into a photo. So I tried posting that individual link separately and the photo appeared again, Next I tried posting without the link-next page option and the photo still appeared. I finally just posted in English (instead of a link) where to find the article. This is under Clinton in the WWW board. Not the first time a link has resulted in a photo for me.

[Kristie(J)]

#41900

I love AAR, have since I found it probably over 15 year ago now but due to the new site’ I’m going to have to take a hiatus for a while. There are too many issues for me to deal with:

Slowness. I have an IPad 1 and the length of time it takes to do anything is driving me mad.

Refreshing. Now I’m having to refresh every single page I go and it’s driving me mad.

There is only one page for each topic whereas before there were pages. To read the latest post, after I refresh each and evert drill Dow page, I have to go through ALL posts again until getting to most recent post and it takes ages and drives me mad. I want to just skip however many pages there are.

Having to sign in again every single time I post something.

I just wanted to see the latest posts on The Wild West forums. Forget it!! As it was taking well over 5 minutes to get where I was trying to go, I gave up in frustration. In that time – totally wasted, I could have read at least one chapter in a book.

So, for now anyway, I won’t be coming here”. And that makes me so, so sad.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#41932

We are working to improve message board functionality. We have found that clearing your cache helps hugely with speed. Also, older browsers are slower.

[Eliza]

#41938

This is putting the onus of what is happening on the user instead of the provider. Having worked with pc programming as part of my life-long career, that was a non answer. I can say for myself that it’s neither my cache nor my browser. It is this new site. How do I know besides my past experience in programming? Because other complex sites I visit have the speed and good functionality one expects on a regular basis, unlike this new one.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#41939

Eliza,

Given how unhappy you are with us–with a site, mind you, we work hours on a day and pay for (the internet isn’t free)–I think it would be best if you gave up posting here.

Thanks,

Dabney

[Rike Horstmann]

#41933

Kristie(J), I will be very sorry to see you gone! I’ve enjoyed your comments very much during all those years. I can understand your frustration at the slowness of the site loading, but perhaps clearing your cache would help, as Dabney suggested (it helped me a lot).

Perhaps the uploading will also be quicker as soon as some quirks of the new site have been dealt with.

Anyway, I hope to be seeing you again here in the future!

[JaneA]

#42037

Up until the last week or so the pages were loading very slowly, but most recently it’s been as fast as any other site I get on. I also find I don’t need to refresh like I did to get the latest posts to show up. I’m not sure why this is true for me and not for others who are participating here?
Anyway, just some more feedback for those working on getting the new site up to snuff.

[Kristie(J)]

#42083

I’m on my other tablet and it’s much quicker. Only trouble is I forget my password for WiFi at home. iPad automatically remembers it so if I use this instead I will keep visiting. It will just mean more trips to MacDonald’s *chuckle*

[dick]

#42247

It’s puzzling, but the connections button doesn’t work unless I’m on the reviews page. ?????

[chris booklover]

#42406

Recent blog entries no longer appear on the site. The most recent posting currently showing is dated July 27th.

[JaneA]

#42424

I find if I want to read the most recent blog entries I have to go to the latest one displayed (which is from July 10) and scroll through using the “next” button. Unfortunately, using the refresh button doesn’t help.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#42487

Refresh your cache. That solves the problem!

[JaneA]

#42508

It doesn’t refresh it for me. Sometimes it changes it to a different post, but not the latest. But each time it starts with the post of 7/10. It’s not so bad and I imagine it will eventually work itself out. The nicest thing for me is that the pages load very quickly now.

[Caz Owens]

#42509

Jane, is that the August On Sale list post? If so, that’s deliberate – it’s a sticky post so people can come back throughout the month and refer to it.

[JaneA]

#42512

Yes! Okay, now my face is red, I tend to skim through my sites with my morning tea and sometimes I’m not very observant. Thanks, Caz. :)

[Caz Owens]

#42523

Oh, I think we’ve all been there, Jane… ;)

[Caz Owens]

#42524

See my reply to Jane A., Chris. The blog post at the top of the page is a deliberate “sticky post” as it’s the list of books on sale in August.

[Mark]

#42663

I just ran into another quirk in the posts & times the boards show. I’ve been scrolling to the bottom of each topic I open to see the most recent posts, but yesterday I kept seeing an older post despite the more recent time listed before I opened the topic. I finally found a few more recent posts higher on the topic page. Apparently some posts are now going in under other posts (as replies) rather than appearing at the end. Without visual clues like the old message boards used, these can be hard to spot.

[Sandlynn]

#42739

I wanted to be supportive, but I really really hate these new message boards.

No ability to edit, which is devastating for writers.

I have to keep dividing my posts into two because I get a message error because — I GUESS — my messages are too long on this board

The threads go on forever because there is no ability to go on to second, third, or other pages….

I haven’t even tried to incorporate a picture/photo.

This is just unfriendly. I have been silent on this, but I hate these new message boards. There it is. No longer silent.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#42740

We agree and are working with our development team to improve them.

[Eliza]

#42783

This response displays a lack of equal treatment among posters IMO. When I compared functionality of this board to others and expressed my frustration, I was asked to leave, Why is it free speech for some and not others?

[Lynda X]

#42823

Not only can you not edit something that you’ve already written, but I can’t find new entries on the forums. “If You Had to Pick 5 Romances,” on this site doesn’t show the latest that was posted a couple of hours ago ANYWHERE. Half the time, when I click on the Potpourri Forum, what shows up is that it cannot find this site. I hope you get these problems ironed out because I do LOVE the more reviews here, especially the DIKs.

[Mark]

#42839

Linda: the missing pick 5 post is the same thing I noticed a few days ago on another thread. It isn’t at the end! You have to scroll quite a few posts back from the end to spot a post with today’s date.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#42840

Hmmm…. that’s not happening for me. All the last posts are at the end. I’ll investigate.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#42841

This is true for replies. So you would like replies to be at the bottom–I get it now.

[Mark]

#42848

What I would LIKE is boards that work more like the old boards.
But given the current behavior of one long mess of posts with no color clues to what is new or old, having replies appear below what they are replying to, which would be good with a different layout, is a problem.

[dick]

#42871

I agree completely with Mark. The boards on the new site are difficult to maneuver on. One cannot really tell what a string is about without reading the whole thing, nor really know what a recent reply is replying to without going backward in the string. Comments and subjects seem to drop onto the boards with no or little relationship to them.

[Lynda X]

#42875

I tried to start a new topic on this forum, but couldn’t, even though I had filled in all the info. Instead, I got: “You don’t have permission to access /forums/forum/lets-talk-romance/ on this server.” What did I do wrong?

Also, I did scroll down to the bottom of all the entries in “If You Had to Pick 5 Romances,” and the new entry, even this morning, does not show up.

[Blackjack]

#42884

I like the threaded conversations here and it makes sense to me to have replies appear directly under an initial post on a subject. The main problem I’ve had though is that new (unread) posts are difficult to find and it would be helpful to have an indication to readers of which posts are new. I find that I’m not following conversations very closely anymore. I wonder if there is a way to highlight in bold text when new posts appear?

[Mark]

#42893

Lynda (sorry about the spelling yesterday): what I’m saying is that SOME posts are NOT showing up at the end, they are showing up with barely visible indents higher up (positioned as replies to earlier posts). So if you scroll to the end & don’t see a recent post, scroll BACK UP until you spot the recent entry.

[library addict]

#42894

Threaded posts are fine in theory, in reality…not so much. YMMV.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#42969

Let’s try the forums without them.

[Lynda X]

#42915

Thanks for the advice, Mark. I had scrolled up (which makes no sense that a new entry is put among the old ones), but didn’t see it. Upon your advice, I checked again and did find it. Very frustrating . . . and after all this, the new one said almost nothing!

[JulieR]

#42980

Yay, posts for long topics are now separated into multiple pages!! So you can go directly to the last page to see anything new.

I scrolled back a couple of pages on this topic and didn’t see the threaded replies, so perhaps threading is gone too? (Fingers crossed…)

Now if they can only get it so the site remembers the last time I logged in, I’ll be very happy.

[Janie]

#43058

Hi,

I was wanting to read the A- review that Linniegayl wrote on
Magic in a Jelly Jar by Sally Tyler Hayes (SSE 1390 – 4/01), but
the site can’t find it. Hope it can be recovered.

Makes me wonder how many other reviews are missing since
the move.

–Janie

[Caz Owens]

#43059

It’s here – https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/magic-in-a-jelly-jar/

The reviews have been imported but some are missing author names and reviewer names. We don’t know how this has happened, and are fixing it manually as and when we find them. If you find any more, please don’t hesitate to let us know :)

(For future reference, I found it by putting the word “jelly” in the title field!)

[Janie]

#43062

Thanks, Caz. I did several searches, some with the author
name only, but when I was using the title field along with
the author name,, I was using the entire title. Never occurred
to me to just go with one word in the title.

Glad you found it. :)

–Janie

[Eliza]

#43074

I’m in total agreement with Julie R. I love that long topics are now separated into several pages, and that the latest post is always at the end (without the indentations). Thank you so much,

[Tamera]

#43182

I just want to thank AAR for this great new site. I check in every day. I really LOVE Steals and Deals and have bought about a dozen – some old favorites that I had in paperback and some new treasures at a great price. THANKS!!

[Mark]

#43260

I can’t find the list of romances on sale in September, just the eagerly awaited blog.
Can you put the romances on sale archives back on the site menu?

[Caz Owens]

#43261

I’m afraid there has been a delay with the September list, Mark, and I’m not sure at the moment when it’ll be ready.

[Sonya Heaney]

#43529

It might be just me. I have a new computer, but so many sites seem to be screwing up at the moment (Harlequin, I am directing a dirty look at your new site!).

However… I went to read a couple of your reviewers’ biographies, and I kept getting error messages, and couldn’t open any of the links.

But then I Googled your names, and the Google links worked! So, I can get to those pages via an outside source, but not through the links on the site.

[Eggletina]

#43531

Re software in general: I think the industry is undergoing huge changes as technology and apps are rapidly evolving and so many things that worked very well are being obsoleted by the next new thing with selling rather than functionality in mind. In my work (not related to publishing or marketing), I’m discovering for every advance made with an upgrade that has been pushed out to us, the revised software has ruined other things that worked perfectly fine, and it isn’t simply a matter of readjusting and learning to think about it in a ‘new’ way. I also think a lot of software is now being coded by a younger generation of programmers who influence how interfaces are designed.

As for issues here: I often have to refresh to see the latest comments, but it’s not a big deal. I have discovered that if I go to the main menu with the list of forums where it shows latest time of last post and the name of the poster, clicking on the time will take me to that post. However, I can’t know until I get there what thread that latest post is associated with.

I do miss the old boards and the wealth of information that could be obtained from comments in the threads there, but understand why it was cost-prohibitive to maintain.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#43560

Sonya,

Are you still having this happen? I don’t have that problem.

[Eggletina]

#43532

I forgot to add: I’m grateful the Special Titles Listing was preserved as well as old reviews (even though some of the reviewer names didn’t come across). I refer to them quite a bit.

[Caz Owens]

#43534

Thanks for the positive comments, Eggletina – I completely agree with what you’ve said about the way that certain software updates cause havoc! If seems these days that things are obsolete the minute they’re released!

If you ever come across reviews that are wrongly attributed or have information missing, feel free to let me know and I’ll fix it if I can :)

[Lynda X]

#44257

The home page has not changed for about 10-14 days. No new reviews. No change . Has something happened? When do you anticipate new reviews, etc.?

[Caz Owens]

#44259

That’s so weird, Lynda, We’ve been really busy with new reviews and blogs this week and I’ve had absolutely no problems with the new content showing up. Have you tried the old trick of clearing your cache?

[LeeB.]

#44264

Lynda: You might also try clicking on the little round arrow on the website address to refresh your page.

[Lynda X]

#44276

Wait! I’ve been clicking on AAR for the past couple of weeks, and the home page has not changed. It begins with the picture and review of “Destined for a King.” From your responses, it indicates that there HAS been a home page change in the past couple of weeks, right? I went to Google and clicked on their AAR page and got the same thing, so it is apparently not that I’m clicking on an old page, but it should have updated when I clicked on Google, right? Can you please give me the site that I should use to have changes–as has happened with this site I’ve used since the new site opened. I’m confused.

[Caz Owens]

#44278

Yep, we’ve definitely been posting new reviews -2 or 3 a day – and new blogs over the past few weeks. And we’re still at http://www.allaboutromance.com – that hasn’t changed. I suspect that the page is stored by Google and isn’t updated for some reason, which is why I suggested clearing out your cache memory. Which browser do you use? I use both Chrome and Microsoft Edge and the site shows up there just fine, and it’s also updated when I look at it on my phone.

Clear the cache, or, as Lee suggested, hit the “refresh” icon on the address bar in your browser.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44389

Are you still having this problem?

[Lil]

#44294

Like Lynda X, I’ve been seeing an unchanged opening page too. If I click the refresh arrow, I get the new version, but should this be happening?

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44295

I don’t know why this is happening. I think it’s an operating systems problem that some people have and others don’t so it’s hard for me to track it down. We are moving within the next day to a new server and we have hired a new tech person so I am hopeful that over the next week we will finally be able to iron out some of these problems.

[Pam]

#44359

I love the site and it finally seems a bit faster. Thanks!

[Lil]

#44374

I still have to refresh the page every time to see what’s new—the comments as well as the opening page. Is that a problem just for Safari users?

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44387

We are working on that but it is a caching problem for some users still. Thanks!

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44388

We have also repaired the comment spam problem.

[library addict]

#44458

I’m using Firefox and the site still isn’t showing updated threads even when I refresh.

I take it the threaded comments are back as well. This makes it difficult to see what’s new, but I understand why some people like them,

Is it possible to move all of the TV threads to the After Hours forum? They are some (Poldark, Outlander, not sure if there’s more) in the Romance Potpourri Forum.

The site does load much faster now, so that’s a plus.

[Sara]

#44509

Hi All,
Love the new site but do have an issue.
Only one mind you.
If I do a power search for books with a B grade – the results appear. I then click on a book to see its review, but when i click on ‘back’ to go back to my place in the list I was viewing – well the whole search disappears.
So I then I have to enter in all details for a search again. I have to remember what page I was on….if it was after page 5 then I have to click through each page in turn…..some of the searches have a hundred pages!!!

Please could you solve my problem or let me know what I am doing wrong.
Thanks.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44512

We are aware of that problem and it’s on our list. In the meantime, if you open the reviews in a new tab, your search page doesn’t go anywhere.

[Lynda X]

#44537

Well, once again, I tried to start a whole new discussion topic, and once again, nothing showed up and I’ve lost what I spent a while writing. What am I doing wrong? And oh, yeah, I’m still having to refresh this site, otherwise, I get yesterday’s.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44545

I don’t know! Others appear to be able to start new topics. What topic did you want to start?

[chris booklover]

#44585

I also have to refresh individual pages to see the latest postings. I normally use Firefox.

[stl_reader]

#44587

I can create topics and post now, so I’m happy!

I do have the issue that others have with pages not refreshing automatically. What I routinely do is:

1. I go to the page I want (usually the home page or the posts for a specific topic inside the Let’s Talk Romance or Romance Potpourri forum.

2. When I get to the page containing the posts or reviews I want to see, I place my cursor on the page, right click, and choose Refresh (or Reload, or whatever your browser calls it). For me, that causes the page to refresh, and the topics/posts are then correct. A little annoying, but as long as it works I’m good.

[PatW]

#44588

So I select a topic thread on one of the message boards and finish reading it, then … Is there any way to go from that topic to the full list of topics like we used to be able to do? To get the list again I have to go back to Connections/Message Boards/”name of message board” …. I’ve stopped visiting the message boards with any regularity because the navigation is so cumbersome.

On the other hand, listing the comments about specific books from the home page is terrific!

I too have to refresh the homepage when I start to get he latest.

[JulieB]

#44591

Not to be negative, but has there been any further updates on the refresh problems? I’m using Chrome and I need to refresh every time I come to the website, and refresh again for each separate subheading. This can’t be my browser since it’s not happening anywhere else. Took me a couple of weeks to realize this; I thought that there hadn’t been any new reviews in forever.

I am relatively sure that this wasn’t a problem when the new site was first launched. I don’t remember having to refresh in July or August, although I see others had the problem earlier.

Finally, I’m getting a popup in the forums that state that the site is moving to a new server and comments will not be forwarded. It doesn’t happen every time I open the forums, but it has been occurring on and off for over a week. Are you moving to a new server or is this an old message?

[JaneA]

#44592

The same things are happening with me, and I also use Chrome. The new server message hasn’t shown up for a few days, though.

[Tee]

#44622

Same thing here regarding the refreshing. It must be done daily to each section visited (message boards, reviews and blog). I also use Chrome, but that shouldn’t matter.

[cjay]

#44696

yup same thing happening to me. Have to constantly refresh, both on my laptop and on the mobile. using safari on both devices.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44698

We are working on changing this. It has to do with the sort of links the site uses and they all have to be changed individually.

[Amanda (RichMissTallant)]

#44721

Is there any chance of going back to having the topics not threaded, with newest replies at the bottom, and splitting them into multiple pages? I guess there’s mixed opinions on the forum about having it in this format and perhaps with the switch to the new server it may not be possible.

[chris booklover]

#44733

I don’t know what the technical constraints are, but for what it’s worth I also prefer un-threaded replies and multiple pages for each thread if needed.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44855

I have installed new software that you should let you edit your posts and quote others’ posts. I’m hoping it works!

[Lynda X]

#44958

I still have not been able to start a new topic for discussion. I have to refresh each site I go to AND if I click on a discussion, have to refresh for that individual topic. I’m refreshing A LOT. I wrote to you (Dabney, maybe?) on your “ABOUT AAR”, requesting a reply to make sure you got it. No reply. I suspect you didn’t get my email, just like even though my computer says it’s connecting, my comments mostly to not appear. I’ve tried to start a number of new discussion topics, but no go. From the lack of comments on existing sites, my bet is that I’m not alone. I sure hope that this one goes thru; I’ve about had it with AAR.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44962

I am working on the refreshing problem.

I’ve recently switched programs for the forums. Let me check the new permissions. It may be that the default is only moderators can start new discussions. I’ll see if that can be changed.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44966

I think you should be able to start a new topic now.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#44983

One reason many may be having to refresh is that the site is so image heavy. Here’s what the interweb says:

“When you search the Internet and view websites, your computer must allow the pages to load on your computer screen. That can take some time, especially if the websites you are viewing have a lot of images or graphics. As a convenience, your computer will cache those pages in its memory for a short time, so next time you go to the same page, it doesn’t need to reload everything. However, if something has changed on the website, your computer could show you an old version instead. If this happens, you will need to reload or refresh your page in the Browser window to see the new version.”

This is why older computers are having more problems.

[Suzanne]

#45002

Dabney,

I do not have the same problems with other romance blogs, or any other web pages I frequent, and I use multiple “new” computers (home, business, my aged parents’) to access the internet. So, I hate to tell you, Dabney, but it’s AAR (and whatever programs, software it’s using) that is the problem, and not the many who (used to) frequent AAR.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45089

I am sorry you are having this problem. I am working on it. Unfortunately, it’s an expensive and slow process. But we are working on it.

[Suzanne]

#45007

Another issue for AAR’s Keymaster to consider: stop the “pop-up” ads for its site that appear EVERYTIME a user navigates between forums; this annoyance stalls navigating between forums, which are still not real-time-accurate.

[Lynda X]

#45029

Yay! I was FOR THE FIRST TIME (in about five different attempts at various times) able to post an entirely new topic (about Judith Ivory)! Now, if only I didn’t have to refresh everything repeatedly AND repeatedly delete constant and repetitious notices to let you know how this site is, it would be nice. It would be the cherry on a cake if I also didn’t have to retype information when I want to post a comment of my name and email address repeatedly, but it just automatically filled it in, as it used to. Thanks for your help.

[JulieR]

#45032

I wasn’t having the refresh problem when everyone else started complaining about it, but now I am. I have the problem on both a Mac Mini and a MacBook Air, each no more than 2 years old, and both with the latest version of Safari.

I don’t have this problem with any other site, including those that are graphic-heavy.

[Blackjack]

#45034

I have not yet found a way to edit my posts. Is this something we can do now?

[Tee]

#45046

It would be one thing to refresh the site daily, but it’s necessary to refresh each section (and sometimes even each sub section in the case of the message boards). Very frustrating. I agree with Lynda X that this is the only site I frequent where that is the case. I never have to refresh any other site. Could be a good reason why the message boards are so quiet. Too many steps needed in order to make a reply. Truly, I don’t want to be critical because AAR still has good content that I enjoy perusing, even though I rarely interact anymore.

[Tee]

#45047

It would be one thing to refresh the site daily, but it’s necessary to refresh each section (and sometimes even each sub section in the case of the message boards). Very frustrating. I agree with Lynda X that this is the only site I frequent where that is the case. I never have to refresh any other site. Could be a good reason why the message boards are so quiet. Too many steps needed in order to make a reply. Truly, I don’t want to be critical because AAR still has good content that I enjoy perusing, even though I rarely interact anymore.

[Mark]

#45074

I strongly agree with the request to get rid of the pop-ups.
I also agree that the refresh & other problems are crippling the message boards. I tried to start a new thread on the WWW board yesterday. I didn’t get an error message, but my post was clearly lost. I checked back repeatedly without it showing up. Today, I broke the post into 6 small pieces, and they posted.
I’m writing this about 45 minutes after that posting. The new thread shows on a refreshed WWW board page, but STILL doesn’t show on a refreshed first-level Message Boards page.
A post I did a few days ago took MANY HOURS to show up.

[Lil]

#45083

The refreshing problem is really irritating. I’ve never encountered it on any other site.

[Eliza]

#45110

ProblemS. Not problem, such as…

All of the refreshing on each part of the site.

The difference between time stamps on the main message home page and the individual pages
themselves, Even the last poster often doesn’t coordinate between main page and the thread.
IOW a disconnect between the two.

Pop-ups in addition to all of all the refreshing is more than annoying–almost a deal breaker.
You’re unlikely to improve your expenses by losing viewers and posters on the forum.

Lack of editing ability.

I’ll add a new one: The message boxes with all of the white space make maneuvering yet another task
taking more time instead of conserving space (like the old board) so the most messages can be viewed
on a single page. I prefer ease of use and faster maneuvering to appearance. I’ve come here purely
for content.

I think Mark’s use of the word “crippling” hits it right on the nose, along with his comment about
it taking hours for a post to show up.

Like others have said, we too have new computers and and don’t have caching problems.
The problem is the new site. This is the first time I’ve been on in weeks and it’s the
same ole same ole. I’ve switched to other sites that are far easier to use and just as
graphic intensive or even more so..

All of the above said, I do send best wishes for getting it straightened out and working well
for everyone even if I have mostly moved on.

[mary]

#45122

I used to visit this site all the time before the new message board. I used to be able to read all the posts and reply. Ever since the new board, everything is
so difficult. I have noticed that not too many people post any more (including myself). Hope you get it figured out.

[dick]

#45177

I’ve been visiting this site pretty regularly since about 2002. I’ve been through several substantive changes in the way the site works. I’m still nostalgic for the site I found when I first visited with step-backs so one could quickly see who was replying to who, with an essay each week to which everyone could respond, with a great number of authors posting and responding. None of those things occur with the site, which is somehow distant in both immediacy and subject. Now one has to search through as many as twelve subject-posts to find a post that one is interested in responding to; now the only indication that a post “might” be new is the time attached to it; now there are so few people posting there’s little to hold one’s interest. I really don’t know what was wrong with either the site of 2002 nor with the site of 2015. But neither change has been good.

[Kate]

#45208

I have to say, I am not having any problems with the pages refreshing. I normally come here every day or so, and the home page is always updated when I open the page. I don’t find any lag in pages opening, or images not displaying. I did find a delay in comments for a bit, but that seems to have been resolved.

I’m sure there’s a lot of hard work in maintaining a site such as this, and working out bugs to keep all of us happy is likely an ongoing deal.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45214

Thanks, Kate. I too don’t have these problems so it’s really hard to figure out what’s going on. I am currently running a staging site where I try and fix things and see what happens. The forums are a real challenge. They take up bandwidth, are easy to spew spam on, and most of the programs that solve your problems for you are expensive. I’m not sure where we will net out but we are aware of the challenge.

[Lil]

#45223

When I opened this page, the only post on it was Mary’s. When I refreshed the page, there were three more—from dick, Kate and Dabney. I have no idea what’s going on, but I hope it gets solved. These boards used to be interesting, but there’s a limit to the amount of time I have to fuss with them.

[Lil]

#45224

When I opened this page, the only post on it was Mary’s. When I refreshed the page, there were three more—from dick, Kate and Dabney. I have no idea what’s going on, but I hope it gets solved. These boards used to be interesting, but there’s a limit to the amount of time I have to fuss with them.

And when I tried to post this just now, after a long wait I got an error message—Bad Doorway 509

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45225

I am curious. Does this refreshing (or caching) problem happen only on the message boards for those that are having a problem? And do people on the message boards visit other parts of the site?

[Amanda (RichMissTallant)]

#45230

It happens on the main page and the message boards for me.

[Lil]

#45231

Dabney, it’s intermittent on the opening page. I confess, I’ve been so frustrated with the boards that I haven’t really visited the other parts of the site.

[Blackjack]

#45236

The refreshing is happening on all the pages for me — blogs, review pages, forums. Also, when I click on a thread, I will need to refresh again once the thread pulls up in order to reveal new posts. So, lots and lots of refreshing to view anything. Yesterday, I tried to post about a recently read book and when I hit submit, the post vanished and did not ever reappear. Luckily, I had saved it and was able to resubmit later that day. But I can certainly understand why many readers are choosing to give up rather than persist in trying to post at AAR now.

[Suzanne (aka HBO on the old boards)]

#45239

I am really sad, and sorry, that AAR is having multiple issues. There was a time when AAR was the “go-to” site for romance. It was a TRUSTED site for many reasons, and one that did not diss its readership, regardless of differences in opinion. That, for some reason, changed early this year.

For me, (here in Canada) there is a time delay (as if I were on dial-up internet connection) before the main page of AAR displays fully, and even then more times than not, I have to refresh the main page to receive fresh subject matter.

As to the forums…I miss the interaction that I had with other readers on the old site–even if opinions differed. Time delays in posts showing up are a huge hindrance, as are unnecessary pop-up and reminder buy-links. As a consumer (of anything) I don’t like “in-your-face” advertisement, regardless that AAR’s buy links don’t work in Canada.

It seems to me, though, that the new AAR is only listening/responding to its patrons who praise them. And Telling ONE other long-time AAR fan to stop posting, is over-the-top censorship. IMHO.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45250

For what it’s worth, I have spent hours researching forums. They’re a challenge which is why there are less and less of them on sites. Many major sites are even getting rid of comments.

And for those who wonder why we redid our site: We didn’t have a choice. The original software was no longer supported and we were in danger of literally having the site die. Redoing the site and importing much of the data from the old site has been both difficult and expensive. But we believe in AAR and we believe it’s worth trying to maintain what we do.

I completely understand if where we are doesn’t work for some. It’s certainly imperfect. It’s our hope that, as we continue to tinker with our new site, we will ultimately have a site that readers love.

[Kay]

#45326

Thanks Dabney, for all you and AAR do to create a romance community where readers can come together. I value the reviews, comments and discussions.

[Tee]

#45265

I think it’s great that there are some who are not experiencing problems here. But I bet they’re few and far between, or else the boards would be more active, at least as active as they were prior to the new installation. That is a major sign that many are experiencing difficulties viewing and posting. Because you asked where the problems are, in my case, I don’t even bother with the home page anymore because it always has to be refreshed and everything else chosen following it. Now I go directly to bookmarked forum pages. Each topic within the two sections I visit (Romance and Potpouri) needs to be refreshed in order to get the latest posts. That’s a lot of refreshing. Then the reviews page always needs refreshing. The blog, you never know because it’s not daily (at least I don’t think it is). So I sort of hit and miss that one every couple of days. It must be frustrating on your end of it if you’re not experiening these problems and everyone is complaining. Good luck in sorting it all out.

[Sarah]

#45346

This is my first visit here since the new site was first unveiled – not because of site issue but because my life got SO busy & complicated that I haven’t had time for anything, including reading or buying new books (it’s been killing me!).

One of the things I use every month is the forthcoming list but I couldn’t find it anywhere until I read this entire thread . Would it be possible to include a really obvious link to it on the front page, perhaps in the blog drop down menu (boxed/in bold at the top of the home page might also work)?

Also, since I am months behind in my book buying, I’d really like to go through the lists for August through November to see what I missed but there doesn’t seem to be a tag or link that pulls them all up & I think that is important to do (& while it looks lovely on the blog & seems to work well – on the one month I looked at- I do miss having the list of months all together so anything that could help create that feel again would be most welcome (it could be something as simple better search term or a side bar on the blog with links to each month).

You might also consider adding things that had their own pages/links on the old site but don’t anymore to the site map & FAQ. It was incredibly frustrating trying to find it! Speaking of the FAQ – any of the questions anyone has about where something is or how something works (like my question about eliminating the covers in the new review lists) should be added to the FAQ. An awful lot of the site isn’t as intuitive as the other iterations were (& yes, I know a lot of this is new software design – it’s driving me NUTS) so adding any helpful hints would be most appreciated!!

[Sarah]

#45347

Urg – all sorts of typos & missing words in my comment (sorry!!) & I don’t see a way to edit it. I hope it makes sense.

[Elizabeth Williams]

#45579

I loved the old AAR but I understand the need to update after so many years. I do like the new home page and I love the Steals & Deals feature. The only draw back is the forums . The old forums were much easier to post on and to read and search through the new forums are slow and time consuming . That said I still visit AAR every day keep up the great work.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45591

We are slowly fixing things. The forums are the hardest because we use a program for them. I’ve looked at other programs and they’re not much better. What specifically could you do on the old forums that you can’t do here?

Also, is the refreshing situation better now? I am hopeful I improved that with a coding change this week.

[Mark]

#45593

The old forums had no problems with long posts. Some of my old posts were multi-page essays. The new forums choke on much more than a paragraph.
The old forums were always up-to-date/synchronized across all levels.
The old forums allowed corrections/edits of posts.
Posts in the old forums always showed up promptly.
Failures to post in the old forums always produced error messages.
I don’t know if the refresh situation is better, since I now automatically force a refresh for every AAR page I visit.

[Lil]

#45610

The refreshing problem seems to have been solved so I hope people will come back and start posting again. I am still curious, though. What does “voices” mean?

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45611

Dunno. How many people are reading posts at this moment? Like I said, forum software is prepacked. I’m changing things when I figure them out. That, I haven’t figured out yet.

[HBO]

#45648

What Mark said!

I also have found that not having the site “bookmarked” on any device has helped, somewhat–so basically whenever I visit this site, I Goggle it. Even then it’s still slow to load, regardless of the browser window I’m using.

That said, I have seen an improvement in the last few weeks.

[Eliza]

#45708

I’ve seen some improvements like posts appearing now…..

I had to refresh this very page to make it match the home page to get the latest update, but sometimes it does update on its own

Any links I’ve posted today have turned into pictures instead of the link itself.

It’s still painfully slow.

[Eliza]

#45860

There has been a drastic change in speed for loading the site for me–first getting to the site at all, and then getting to one of the threads. I don’t know if it is a coincidence or because of the names of posters on the side of the page but I mention it in case it’s helpful. Is it a case of less is more? While it looks nice to see those posters, I’d prefer to just check out the threads themselves–quickly. I’d rather have accurate times and names for the last poster, than the time it takes to load all of the last posters—especially since posting is way down. Thank you.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45861

That’s not the problem. I wish it were. The problem is that one of the plugins the site uses isn’t working properly and it’s so deeply coded into the site we can’t get rid of it.

[Blackjack]

#45878

Yes, I am finding over the last few days difficulty accessing the site, very slow uploading of threads and messages loss after submitting.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45883

Is it better now?

[Blackjack]

#45885

Yes, it seems to be :)

[Eliza]

#45887

Dabney — If it’s a key plug-in that causing such excruciating slowness, can you get some money back since it’s unlikely a key function can be changed without starting over?

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45892

I am working with a new programmer now and we are slowly making progress. While it’s true I am very unhappy with the firm that did the site redo, it’s complicated. The way the information on the original site was set up has been a challenge to work with. Our unwillingness to give up our database has made the new site comprised.

[Tee]

#45898

Sadly, I think I’d rather work with the refreshing of each section than go through the very slow loading of the site. I find that I am visiting the site less frequently because of that, skipping when it doesn’t load in a decent amount of time, then forgetting to go back to recheck it. I don’t consider myself an impatient person, so I wonder how many others who have less endurance are just bypassing it completely.

[Dabney]

#45899

It should be much faster now.

And, we haven’t seen a big drop off in traffic for the rest of the site. The boards have been a challenge.

[Dabney]

#45900

It should be much faster now.

And, we haven’t seen a big drop off in traffic for the rest of the site. The boards have been a challenge.

[Tee]

#45905

Good luck to you. There’s a solution(s) out there.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45908

Yes. I just wish they were all free!

[Eliza]

#45914

Dabney said, “I am working with a new programmer now and we are slowly making progress. While it’s true I am very unhappy with the firm that did the site redo, it’s complicated. The way the information on the original site was set up has been a challenge to work with. Our unwillingness to give up our database has made the new site comprised.”

As someone who worked with programming and a much larger, longer used database than this one , something seems very off to me. Put another way, think of the old outdated software on the previous site that was ever so much faster with the very same database! That just blows my mind. And the company I worked for would not have survived with a problem going on this long. We once had a weekend nightmare with our system that meant we might not put out a weekly magazine that week, but we did find a way to make it happen, oh, maybe 20 years ago, Surely technology is better than that now, or perhaps you’re dealing with people not experienced enough with what you need. I can honestly say I’ve never worked with a slower operating system, and we’re talking decades with various systems. The people you have worked with have given you a web site with a database, but not one that works as it should. Surely there’s something in your contracts that should cover that. In any event, having a database is not a valid answer for the slow performance of daily activity on a site, especially since much of daily activity doesn’t involve much of the database. Is the whole entire database being checked for every last post or anything? I think you’re getting a wonky answer. JMO Also, the longer it takes to fix an initially flawed system is unlikely to save you any money. That’s why I asked about your contracts–for your sake.

Finally, if you haven’t seen a drop off in traffic, it’s may be because longtime users of this site are hanging in, no matter how long it takes to load each page. Maybe they’ll continue to hang in but there;s always the risk they won;t someday.

All the above said, I wish you the best in dealing with this.

[Dabney Grinnan]

#45921

Agreed. I’ve never sued anyone in my life, but I am considering suing the firm that designed the redo.

In the mean time, I have begun working with a new provider to redo the site as opposed continuing trying to fix it.

[library addict]

#45922

Still very slow loading for me.

I do like the most recent comments column though. That’s a nice addition.

[Author]

Posts