comparison wioth other forums

[V17L]

Hi
Just cruising the net and looked another bike forum and found its software extremely annoying with flashing "new" posts in the indexes and flashing adverts everywhere.

I'm not genX or genY and really hate flashing screens. I can actually read things and don't need someone's version of a sideshow alley screen to entice me.

I change station of the TV if the program starts flicking between shots to quickly.

Anyway the point is, we are very spoilt with this forum. It's a credit to BNA and the mods. Keep up the good work.
cheers
steve

[ni78ck]

i have never been on any other forum, but i agree we have a great one here!

[stubbie]

The Bicycle Victoria forum http://www.bv.com.au/forums/index.php?s ... cb8593a0eb is pretty good although fairly Melbourne centric. I've managed to meet quite a few of the members and participate in a number of organised rides, workshops and social events.
Good friendly crowd.

[gorilla monsoon]

i have never been on any other forum, but i agree we have a great one here!

+1

[sogood]

Flashing web ads can be easily dealt with using an ad blocker plugin.

[JV911]

I change station of the TV if the program starts flicking between shots to quickly.

i hate watching american news because of all the flashing and scrolling text. the morning business news has gotten so ridiculous that 2/3rds of the screen is covered with tickers

[Hebden]

One thing they really need to fix here is the fact that links added to posts will take you away from the forum! It’s so annoying you have to remember to right click open in new tab/window!

I am not sure why it is not fixed yet, one line of code that needs "target=blank" added to it!
This would be a top propriety to get fixed if it were my site. Ask your developer or resident web geek about “target=blank” for all links in posts. Maybe there is some global default in the forum software you need to set. It is bad for business to keep sending all your users away from you site.

Apart from that it is a very nice forum. Well done!

[rustguard]

One thing they really need to fix here is the fact that links added to posts will take you away from the forum! It’s so annoying you have to remember to right click open in new tab/window!

try your browser settings.
imo use anything but IE
Is this just a software comparision. most bike forums I have been on are pretty good. its the computer/game tech forums that always seem to be poor fonts and background colors. some forums I have to changr resolution to 640 by 480 just so as I can read them.
If you mean a content comparision then - I came to this forum because it has local content, the only thing for me that is missing is a workhorse section ie. everyday load carrying. It dosent fit into the touring section nor the commuting. maybe one day I will post in the cafe about it!!

[silkishuge]

The Bicycle Victoria forum http://www.bv.com.au/forums/index.php?s ... cb8593a0eb is pretty good although fairly Melbourne centric. I've managed to meet quite a few of the members and participate in a number of organised rides, workshops and social events.
Good friendly crowd.

Yup, we are a friendly group, but so are the people on BNA.

J

[Alycat]

One thing they really need to fix here is the fact that links added to posts will take you away from the forum! It’s so annoying you have to remember to right click open in new tab/window!

Yep, same here, almost all forums will open a new browser copy, or a new tab, for any external links.

and a spell checker... give me patients

[im_no_pro]

If you mean a content comparision then - I came to this forum because it has local content, the only thing for me that is missing is a workhorse section ie. everyday load carrying. It dosent fit into the touring section nor the commuting. maybe one day I will post in the cafe about it!!

Put it in commuting - commuting isnt necessarily to and from work. Commuting is using your bike to get somewhere instead of a car/pt. Could be work, could be the shops, could be school/uni. It's all commuting.

Put me down for a +1 on the opening links in new tab. Irritating, but not significantly so. Has been like that since the software upgrade earlier this year.

[heavymetal]

Anyway the point is, we are very spoilt with this forum. It's a credit to BNA and the mods. Keep up the good work.

It's a credit to Christopher (and the mods, previous and current), that these forums are great. To think at one stage they were closed and Christopher brought them back in 2005.

Kev.

[FXST01]

Yup, we are a friendly group, but so are the people on BNA.

J

Not that friendly, I wrote a quick intro in the member's profile section 10 days ago, 15 people have viewed but not one has bothered to say hello. Then again I noticed there are few profiles with zero comments.

[master6]

This is a good forum, however the Tasmanian section is a bit slow. I guess the population numbers have a bearing here. On my arrival in Tasmania I remarked to a new found cycling colleage that "Tasmanians are more courteous than mainlanders". His response was "That is because we are all related". I wonder whether this is a reason why they might be a tad more reticent about speaking out in forums; the fear of offending, and perhaps being known.
They even seem reluctant to comment on the performance of Cycling Tasmania.
Have a look at the "Roadgrime" site if you want to see another good, and very active, forum

[biftek]

One thing they really need to fix here is the fact that links added to posts will take you away from the forum! It’s so annoying you have to remember to right click open in new tab/window!

try your browser settings.
imo use anything but IE
Is this just a software comparision. most bike forums I have been on are pretty good. its the computer/game tech forums that always seem to be poor fonts and background colors. some forums I have to changr resolution to 640 by 480 just so as I can read them.
If you mean a content comparision then - I came to this forum because it has local content, the only thing for me that is missing is a workhorse section ie. everyday load carrying. It dosent fit into the touring section nor the commuting. maybe one day I will post in the cafe about it!!

i don't know what computer/game tech forums you venture to but most of the ones that i frequent the fonts are rather user friendly , but i have been to some game forums that have crappy color schemes but most of those forums are ran by kids who want dark background and crappy font because it is cool

personally i hate the default scheme of phpbb3 it is rather poor quality the scheme from version 2 was much better

for advertising , while some do go overboard with flashing banners , what you need to remember is that bandwidth and hosting does not come cheap somehow the bills need to paid

[Mulger bill]

One thing they really need to fix here is the fact that links added to posts will take you away from the forum! It’s so annoying you have to remember to right click open in new tab/window!

Using Firefox? Click the centre button (wheel) the link will open in a fresh tab.

Shaun

[Aushiker]

Hi

I still play in some specialised cycling forums, e.g., Audax Australia, Perth and the like, but gave up on BV forums. There is a Queensland forum which seem pretty good and local.

Andrew

[AUbicycles]

Hi, Thanks for the comments - I would like to comment and reply

One thing they really need to fix here is the fact that links added to posts will take you away from the forum!

Agree - in the old version of the forum it worked this way. When we updated, the developer removed this - apparently for better HTML compliance. It has been mentioned before - I got used to it and was concentrating on the more pressing tasks. Before I get onto this - the forum software needs to be updated again (to the newest version) and with the Christmas season and holidays, it may need some time - however along with spam blockers, this will be on my list. Unfortunately not quite as easy as adding the tag- (for myself - check the viewtopic.php rewrite function, if that works).

and a spell checker... give me patients

I automatically have incorrectly spelt words displayed with a red underline - unfortunately American English however have never looked closer. Pretty sure it will be in your Member Settings - and is default.

The best spell check is google - simply put a word in google (I have a quick search up the top of my browser) and in a new tab you get the search result and often a message "did you mean …" if spelling was wrong.

the only thing for me that is missing is a workhorse section

If there is enough interest in a certain area - I am usually happy to accommodate. We are still trying to keep an eye on it so there are not too many dead forums - after the software update I will address the sections again and get feedback. A while back we discussed a "Cyclists Health" section and if we should make "Training" for all disciplines rather than road... it wasn't easy, hence died however always worth reviewing every now and then.

Not that friendly, I wrote a quick intro in the member's profile section 10 days ago, 15 people have viewed but not one has bothered to say hello. Then again I noticed there are few profiles with zero comments.

I wouldn't use this as a measure of friendliness - rather by following a number of the discussions you will notice that it is usually very civil and intelligent.. and less spamming and flaming. I will be honest, I rarely look in that section however still think it is good - especially as it clears the "General Forum" of "Hi, I am new here" posts - and when other members are checking up or when a member has new info (eg - showing off new bike) then the profile section is quite good.

This is a good forum, however the Tasmanian section is a bit slow.

Just a numbers game. WA is big because there was a lot of cross-over from an older WA site/forum, Sydney is active, I intially drove it a bit and Melbourne is not too bad considering the popular Bicycling Victoria forums. Tasmania is however ahead of South Australia and the Northern Territory - at least in terms of number of BNA jerseys ordered - you may see a few about Hobart.

personally i hate the default scheme of phpbb3 it is rather poor quality the scheme from version 2 was much better

It has been modified, apart from the header (thanks philip) we have the user profile/avatar on the left.
Plus... don't forget, in your user settings you can choose from prosilver (default) and subsilver2 - which is still phpbb3 however with a look and feel like the old version. Half of the regulars in the Retro section use this style



Cheers
Christopher

[Spiza]

One thing they really need to fix here is the fact that links added to posts will take you away from the forum! It’s so annoying you have to remember to right click open in new tab/window!

Using Firefox? Click the centre button (wheel) the link will open in a fresh tab.

Shaun

When using Explorer press and hold the Shift key when you click on the link. I always do this when Googling so that the search results are always open and don't reload.

[Aushiker]

and a spell checker... give me patients

I automatically have incorrectly spelt words displayed with a red underline - unfortunately American English however have never looked closer. Pretty sure it will be in your Member Settings - and is default.

Hi

I use Firefox as my browser. Has an Australian English dictionary. Has no problem spell checking my forum posts as a I type.

Andrew

[Aushiker]

the only thing for me that is missing is a workhorse section

Hi

What is a "workhorse" section?

Andrew

[AUbicycles]

Thanks for the tip on the language settings - I will have a look.

Workhorse - I wasn't certain either and am guessing 'cargo bikes'.

[Mulger bill]

Hi

I use Firefox as my browser. Has an Australian English dictionary. Has no problem spell checking my forum posts as a I type.

Andrew

Interesting, I've hunted before and could not find it, ended up giving up. Not any more *rolls up sleeves*

"Workhorse"?, Lancelot and Chase would qualify for you, the Kona for me. That bike which does the mundane for you. Commuting, shopping, beer runner, faffing about with the kids. Yer know. Riding to do stuff.

Shaun

[martinjs]

That would be my main bike (at the moment only bike) It's a workhorse all right, didn't think I needed a speacial section to post in.

Martin

[Aushiker]

Interesting, I've hunted before and could not find it, ended up giving up. Not any more *rolls up sleeves*

It is an Add-On called "English (Australian) Dictionary 2.1.1

"Workhorse"?, Lancelot and Chase would qualify for you, the Kona for me. That bike which does the mundane for you. Commuting, shopping, beer runner, faffing about with the kids. Yer know. Riding to do stuff.

Ah okay, so pretty much covered by the existing forums unless we want a specialised cargo bike type forum I guess.

Andrew