Redesigned site

[Sunny Rio]

What happened to this website? It's gone all plain white. I actually thought I'd gone to the wrong place and spent ages hunting down which forum I usually use!

 

[mikedt]

Oo er!

Actually I've turned the living room light off for a bit to shut that noisy parrot up. But my eyes aren't bothered by a white web page.



I like wasting power. Just get more battery.

Good luck with that, phone battery is sealed.

Maybe you should see an optician? Paper is white. Have you ever bought a book with black paper and white ink?

My eyes are fine, thank you very much! I seldom look at paper books these days, I have all e-books now, however as a teacher I'm often writing on a blackboard with white chalk.

 

[Sunny Rio]

Good luck with that, phone battery is sealed.

If you have an Iphone perhaps.

I was thinking more of a battery pack. You can even get them to clamp on the back of the phone.

I'm also not enough of a geek to use a phone for that long. A 1 hour phonecall or a 3 hour drive with satnav is about it. Both of those I can just have it plugged in anyway.

I'm playing Android games just now, but in Windows, on the 40" monitor.

My eyes are fine, thank you very much! I seldom look at paper books these days, I have all e-books now, however as a teacher I'm often writing on a blackboard with white chalk.

Surely you used to read books no problem?

And I don't believe you still have blackboards. I think those have antique value nowadays. I ripped all 100 of them out of the local school in 2005, got me a lot of overtime that did.

P.S. your username sounds like a differential equation.

 

[mikedt]

If you have an Iphone perhaps.

I was thinking more of a battery pack. You can even get them to clamp on the back of the phone.

I'm also not enough of a geek to use a phone for that long. A 1 hour phonecall or a 3 hour drive with satnav is about it. Both of those I can just have it plugged in anyway.

I'm playing Android games just now, but in Windows, on the 40" monitor.

Actually I have a Samsung GalaxyNote20 Ultra.

I do travel a lot, and I do have a battlery pack, but I still like to get th longest life out of my mobile devices,. I can be using a phone for extended periods, especially when travelling by plane or train, as I often do.

Surely you used to read books no problem?

And I don't believe you still have blackboards. I think those have antique value nowadays. I ripped all 100 of them out of the local school in 2005, got me a lot of overtime that did.

P.S. your username sounds like a differential equation.

Yes, we use blackboards in all our state schools. I've been in some private training schools that do use whiteboards, but I've never found them satisfactory and the special marker pens keep on drying up.

I'm got against white, what I don't care much for is when everything on a screen is white, white buttons, white tables, white menus, white tabs, white frames. etc. What happened to the idea of having some contrast and colour on our screens? One of my favourite UI designs was actually Windows 7. Am I starting to sound like @nickdalzell

 

[Sunny Rio]

Actually I have a Samsung GalaxyNote20 Ultra.

I do travel a lot, and I do have a battlery pack, but I still like to get th longest life out of my mobile devices,. I can be using a phone for extended periods, especially when travelling by plane or train, as I often do.

Surely the ones which clamp in the back let you use them as a phone without speaker, it's just a thicker phone. Anyway I'm sure you use an earpiece.

Yes, we use blackboards in all our state schools. I've been in some private training schools that do use whiteboards, but I've never found them satisfactory and the special marker pens keep on drying up.

I can't believe what I'm reading. Marker pens?! I thought China was tech advanced? As far back as 2005 I replaced all the blackboards with smartboards. 80" diagonal touch sensitive screens projected onto by a ceiling mounted projector, all fitted by me. Write on them with your finger, or use your finger as a mouse (or use the supplied non-inked "marker pens"). And you can save the lesson on the computer to use with the next class. Incorporate video clips into your presentation etc.

I'm got against white, what I don't care much for is when everything on a screen is white, white buttons, white tables, white menus, white tabs, white frames. etc. What happened to the idea of having some contrast and colour on our screens? One of my favourite UI designs was actually Windows 7.

Not Macs then, they went for white at some point, the cases anyway.

Am I starting to sound like @nickdalzell

Yes I like colour. But I feel no need for the main colour to be black instead of white.

 

[nickdalzell]

they removed the link to the main forums page. Now i have to type 'androidforums.com' back into my URL bar to see the actual forum list instead of 'what's new' which is where the 'new' 'forums' link goes to.

Does nobody remember 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' and what the fiasco known as 'New Coke' almost did?

MikeDT, the dark theme is still working on my end, and I also loved the 'frutiger aero' UI design. I try hardest to cling to it, whether it be using a Linux Distro that uses it like Q4OS + TDE, or replacing all the 'modern' apps built into my Z Flip 4 with Android 2.3 counterparts, or buying up all the used 2010-era Blu-Ray disc players and TVs.

I often say that it's quite ironic that we have all this fancy display tech capable of 4K and higher, yet we are still clinging to a UI design more befitting to a Tandy 1000 or a Commodore Amiga. Worse yet it shows no sign of letting up. Before much longer, the Lynx web browser will become relevant again.

 

[Rob]

Now i have to type 'androidforums.com' back into my URL bar

Seems like that's how it SHOULD work... amirite?

• If you want to see the most recent, relevant content no the website, type in the URL
• If you want to see a full directory listing, hover "Forums" and click "Forum List"

The "Best Tech" and "Calendar" links are (likely) permanent but the smaller decisions about exactly how the Forum links work and what displays desktop vs mobile etc... still up in the air. Channels still aren't back and that could very possibly govern how much we change going forward.

It's broke so I'm fixin' it!

 

[nickdalzell]

Why not keep it a one click option instead of making it take an extra step? this is just more change for sake of change. It serves no purpose at all. Some of us like what we'r'e used to and don't need the cheese moved. In fact, if someone moves my tools around to mess with me at work I get quite angry. just leave things alone. you got your 'daily net' or whatever you wanted to rebrand to

I mean, buggiesgonewild.com has been unchanged since 2011 when I joined and is doing just fine. trying to 'appeal' to the 'masses' only alienates your loyal users and always degrades things to cheap and sadly 'made in china' standards. Just look at the MCU these days to get a good example..

New Coke is always a great history lesson to teach why tried and true formulas should be left alone, and they used to say 'those who learn nothing from history are doomed to repeat it'.


For any extension devs reading this, any chance for a 'retro Android Forums' extension that does the same thing to restore the classic site and layout like the 'YouTube Redux' does?

 

[Rob]

this is just more change for sake of change. It serves no purpose at all.

Couldn't disagree more.

What specific forums are you visiting repeatedly over and over that makes the extra click so painful?

 

[nickdalzell]

well, the main listing is also gone. for example, i used to browse the main list where everything, from 'off topic' to 'android lounge' to other categories were on the front and center. now it's all just recent posts. some of us are old and like what we are used to. There's nothing wrong with that. now the only workaround is using Pale Moon's bookmarks bar which is ugly to begin with to be the permenant place for the categories. I hate it but it's the only consistent thing left that cannot be changed by all of y'all. I mean, you ask for feedback but like any corporation you go and change things anyway no matter who hates it.

I'd just love to have Android forums back to the way it was pre-xenforo. That did its job fine, and changing the site then pushed me away and now it's like everyone wants to push people like me away to appeal to noobs out there who already have forums like MacRumors. This was supposed to be our community and now it's becoming worse and worse. I hate constanly relearning sites. there's a great reason why i use extensions suh as YouTube Redux, Old Google Search, and The Old Net. Now is a perfect time to find some method to restore the 2010 internet and redraw all modern sites in that vain so everyone can be happy. Like constant 'modern' change? you got it. Like the old way? install '2010 internet' extension. oh well, in my dreams I suppose.

 

[Rob]

I ask for feedback and try my best to take everything into consideration when making important decisions, but you're right: I can't implement every change and sometimes I disagree. At this juncture, especially since you prefer status quo, we will likely disagree more than usual, because I'm of the opinion that drastic changes are needed.

PS: Not gonna be Daily.net anymore.

 

[ozonetrooper]

Reminds me of song lyrics performed by RUSH .


I, on the other hand, am happy to see changes.

I do not care as much for the current one, as opposed to the last one, but I am sure more changes are to come.

 

[nickdalzell]

where is the android lounge now? I'm going through the painful process of recreating the list via my bookmarks toolbar but that listing is nowhere in sight. there is no 'recent' post to use to link to it. Search is horridly slow. Javascript needs to go where Adobe Flash went.

I remember when Oldsmobile thought they needed to appeal to the younger folks and look what happened to them, they ceased to exist. It literally backfired. Nobody wanted or loved the cheap plasticy Olds Alero or Achieva, since Honda and Toyota already captured that market with better quality. The young weren't buying, the old felt betrayed, and no more Oldsmobile. Pontiac also soon followed.

y'all need to learn from history.

 

[Rob]

where is the android lounge now?

I realized yesterday that the Android Lounge has been buried for months. I'm debating how to tastefully make it more obvious, probably by putting it next to an "Apple" or "iOS" counterpart. I'll dig it out from the forum hierarchy when I find a way to organize it.

Keep in mind that ALL of this is just testing and playing around and subject to change. May seem like 2 steps forward, one step back, but trying my best!

 

[ozonetrooper]

well, the main listing is also gone.

Well no, just under a click :

 

[ozonetrooper]

And this should guide you to wherever you need to go :

 

[nickdalzell]

yeah no. Javascript is hell. I keep it off to speed up the site, so that no longer does anything.

thankfully someone posted to the lounge and i bookmarked it. but it was still better to browse the entire categories with the posts that were last made along side, to know if anything was new. but now you have to check them all one by one and waste a ton of time. i also don't get a 'forum list' button as i prefer dark mode where it seems non-functional. I would love to just be able to at least bookmark the category listing but I have to settle for a full bookmarks toolbar of all the individual forums I frequent, and still it's a time waster as you can't see the last known post and oftentimes there is nothing new but it takes 5 more minutes to find that out. I prefer perusing the entire list as before. not taking extra steps. these days it's like everything new seems to be doing the same function as the old but in a far more frustrating way, instead of actually solving a problem.

the more people try to force me into a future I want no part in the more I will retreat to the vintage way. Even Reddit has an old theme.

 

[Rob]

I prefer perusing the entire list as before. not taking extra steps.

There will always be a "What's New" and "Forum List" within a click or two, so no matter how much things change, it seems like those will be your go to links. In addition to that "Bookmarks" feature you can also "Watch" Forums, Threads, and Tags:

https://androidforums.com/watched/forums

https://androidforums.com/watched/threads

https://androidforums.com/watched/tags

Hopefully we can make everything feel much more natural as we continue making updates. Trying to put the pieces together one step at a time.

Not everyone is going to like or use every single feature of the site. Different strokes for different folks. Hopefully you can at least find some upsides of the changes.

BTW, I swapped the functionality back so now the main homepage is the forum list again. Working on the sub-nav and mobile breakpoints cause browsing from a phone is a pretty poor experience.

 

[AugieTN]

You're doing a great job Rob! Keep the changes coming!

 

[ozonetrooper]

Javascript is hell. I keep it off to speed up the site, so that no longer does anything.

Reminds me of the RUSH song again ....

 

[nickdalzell]

Which Rush song?

 

[ozonetrooper]

Subdivisions.

 

[joe71]

What's with the forum name change? I haven't been on the site in months, kept getting a 401 error message, then got busy with work and kind of forgot about the site

 

[Sunny Rio]

What's with the forum name change? I haven't been on the site in months, kept getting a 401 error message, then got busy with work and kind of forgot about the site

You're lucky it works, a lot of things are blocking it due to "phishing".
this happened when the URL changed