A change for the worse

I understand and appreciate your opinion.  This new facility for uploading photographs needs to be used with care. The forum rules state.  

"This Community forum is public, so do not post personal or identifying details on it. This includes, but is not limited to, full names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers.  "

This, of course applies to any photographs which can be used to  identify the forum users and their families.

My reason for posting photos is that photography is for me an enjoyable hobby and it relieves the stress of loneliness.

Like other replies, I find the new format confusing and difficult.   I know the previous format left a lot to be desired but at least it was quite intuitive.  I am not of the Facepack generation and can't really get round the real question of Facepack - why?  I know some things go fungal, once again I don't know why.  And I don't really understand the 'language' of facepack - or why we want to know.  Hopefully this forum will at least sty with its original purposes, I am not interested in what people have had for lunch, except in an autistic way - such as why some find certain foods and smells objectionable.

I do welcome the opportunity to put pictures on - or should it be 'inflict' my pictures.  As a test, I wlll post this picture, for no reason other than I like it and I can and it is one of mine!

Hoping it will show up as it is not showing on my pre-post so don't know what will happen when it is posted. On the preview it looks as if the orighinal picture has been cropped a bit, but that might be because I have to adjust the settings or something.

A major part of any software implementation is testing and getting the opinions of users as one of the first steps.  What shouldn't be done is to not think of the target users and inflict something on them.  However good the intentions, this has the look of something that the developers thought was good but did not consider the target audience.

When I used to go fishing, many years ago, I read a book called 'Still Water Angling' by Richard (***) Walker, at that time the holder of the Carp Record.  In it he said something that has stuck with me ever since.  He said 'Give the fish what they want, not what you think they should have'.  And this resonates in so many ways in so many different spheres.

Your private messaging options are in your settings (via your avatar at top right of the page). The default is to allow private messages only from friends, but you can disallow them totally if you wish. We do not recommend the third option, of allowing them from all users.

To become "friends" with someone, look at that person's profile, and use the Connect button. Obviously the other party has to agree before the friendship is confirmed, as on other systems.

Any remaining bugs on the previous system should not have been carried across, because this is a completely different platform. We transferred the messages and user details, including avatars, but nothing else.

Beyond private messaging and photos, other new features include, in no particular order:

• upload your own avatar (as previously requested on various occasions)
• the leader board on the home page, and scoring systems
• notifications at the top of the page as well as by email
• better message editing, as noted by some users since the change
• highlighting of related threads in the right column

There are also a range of future possibilities for expansion, but we want to see how useful this initial version of the platform proves first.

Hope this helps.

Just to remark that, some time ago, sites would provide tools to adjust colour, font size and so on. Now, the tendency is for sites to follow standards, thus allowing browsers to provide those tools in ways that work for all or many sites. So, for example, those who prefer a larger/smaller display can use Ctrl+ or Ctrl- on any site, and Ctrl0 to return to normal (i.e. hold down Control and press + or - or 0). Obviously zoom as normal on mobile.

For colours and the like, browsers provide accessibility tools. For example, on Chrome. the Colour Enhancer and the High Contrast extensions give ways of adjusting colour and contrast on all sites (that can be switched on and off at will). Internet Explorer has Accessibility settings on the General tab (of Internet Options).

Chrome extensions are managed under Settings - More Tools.

I agree that web software packages should contain decent customisation options, but I don't know what package (if any) was used so I was only guessing.

My specialty is data validation, enhancement & analysis rather than web software anyway. I'm just an old school programmer who started work before the Internet or even Windows was invented!

Well this new interface is certainly different from the old one and I am still struggling to get used to it.

So far I have only accessed it from my smartphone.

The real questions are, is it any better, have they fixed the multiple post issue, what new features are included.  Yesterday I thought I came across a Private Message (PM) feature.  Now I can't find it!!!

I think we can embed images. One of my few regular visitors.

Northern Geek said:

Being a programmer myself, I get the impression that one possible reason for the strange layouts & random changes in font size is that the new forums might have been built using 'off the peg' software interface with limited options.

Hi Northern Geek,

Amongst other things, I am a hard-copy graphic designer and artist who uses pencil crayons, inks and acrylics as mediums; more usually on paper . . . once in every while or so.

I basically though have difficulty understanding and comprehending computer terms, and I find that coding completely and utterly baffles me. As such  ~ someone informed me that the option of, 'Wallpapers', or in Java, 'Screens' ~ should be available in 'off the peg' limited version software interfaces.

Have I above recounted relevant and correct information for resolving the problems of limited colour balance and hence the excessive white glare?

I'm afraid that I have to add my voice to the chorus of disapproval, since I find this new version of the forums so unpleasant that it actually hurts my eyes trying to read it.

I don't understand why there have to be so many distracting & unnecessary changes in font size on screen at the same time. The old forums were cleanly laid out & easy to use, whereas the new format is messy, illogical & last but definitely not least, ugly!

The thread indenttion format seems to have been copied from that used on many online news sites, which is fine for clickbait flaming wars, but not for serious discussion.

I understand that the code needed to be updated, but if people on the Autistic spectrum typically prefer consistency to unnecessary change, then why didn't you just try to recreate the previous format as closely as possible?

Being a programmer myself, I get the impression that one possible reason for the strange layouts & random changes in font size is that the new forums might have been built using 'off the peg' software interface with limited options.

Hi KillerQueen1971,

As was explained to me the other day, following a thread in sequence is not available on this new website format:

WebPM said:

I commented on the threading previously in response to James2015. I know that the two approaches to threading have been a matter of debate in forums in general over many years. There does not seem to be much agreement, although the nesting here will be familiar to those who have used Facebook.

With the previous response on threading being:

WebPM said:

One thing to note is that this forum uses what is often called "nested" threading or just "threading", whereas the old one used a flat view ("flat threading"). In other words, within the general context of BIMOG's original topic, you and I are talking about the specific issue of finding unread threads. The fact that we are replying to each other is being shown by indentation. A side-effect, though, is that the latest message in the thread no longer appears at the bottom.

So until otherwise is the case, sequential confusion is the way of things here now it appears ~ which is rather a major non-plus really.

I was hoping I could maybe follow a thread, in sequence , like page 1 then page 2, 3,4 ,5 . I can't seem to add a reply so it follows in sequence, I'm a member of queenonline, and their threads start with page 1 being the oldest. I can reply to an individual's thread or at the end to everyones points. There's an option to change colour schemes, maybe I haven't navigated the site here, but it does seem to be rather confused. This is the Queen site, I love the layout      discuss.queenonline.com/

Just a few comments, because obviously we want to consider changes carefully, rather than rush them in and affect other users adversely. This is especially true for what you have said about colour.

I commented on the threading previously in response to James2015. I know that the two approaches to threading have been a matter of debate in forums in general over many years. There does not seem to be much agreement, although the nesting here will be familar to those who have used Facebook.

I take your points about voting. The main expectation is for comments to be voted up. Perhaps, should someone make a comment that is genuinely unhelpful or unsympathetic, voting down might provide a means for the community to show that this does not meet with general support? I rather agree about voting up your own comments; I'm not sure whether we can reset that but, overall, one vote on one comment will not have a huge effect. It is the comments that receive lots of support from many users that will stand out.

We have flagged to the providers of the software some places where the "NAS number" appears in place of a forum name, and we would not expect that. We're hoping for a fix in a future release. Of course, if someone has not chosen a forum name (via Profile and then editing), then the "NAS number" appears as a placeholder. It is not in itself of any particular significance - just a string assigned to identify the participant in the absence of a forum name.

I have managed to overcome the high glare-factor and visual miss-tracking problem by sticky-taping a piece of pink transparent plastic (a chapter divider for an A4 folder) to the top of my computer screen. When I go to other sites I can just lift it over behind the screen. I am though going to get some blue transparent plastic if I get the opportunity to do so.

One of the problems with the new-look, is that it appears the N.A.S. have not considered what the affect and effect on those on the spectrum who have hyper-sensitivity to light and colour issues, nor that with intense whiteness - the red of magenta gains more emphasis while the blue more loses it.

Blue for instance physically relaxes the body and mentally stimulates the ability to communicate, whilst red does the opposite in not being mentally relaxing but physically stimulating instead. Getting tired and agitated becomes as such more of problem then if one is sat still.

From The Book Of COLOUR HEALING, by Theo Gimbel (who is or was the President of the International Association for Colour Therapy in 1994), here follows a few basic rules that are useful:

Colour in the home and at work

Hospital colour schemes can help the process. Specifically chosen colours in hospitals for the mentally ill have had dramatic effects. The following key words offer a useful guidance. They apply to all colour schemes (in buildings etc), but have particular relevance for the healing needs of hospitals. Use red to increase energy; orange for joy; yellow for detachment; green to create balance; turquoise for immunity; blue for calmness; violet for dignity, magenta to help bring about change.

Using these guidelines, blue may well predominate in a hospital for disturbed patients. Use violet at the patients' entrance to give a sense of dignity; orange at the staff entrance to begin the day in a cheerful way. Individual bedrooms can reflect a patient's needs: a lethargic patient, for example, would benefit from a rose-coloured room; use turquoise for those of a nervous disposition, and blue for a restless patient.

In offices, factories, and other work-places the management of colour is used to improve the working environment in order to increase productivity and efficiency. More companies and organizations are making colour an integral part of a building's structure.

Green helps staff tolerate a noisy environment, blue is good for cooling down a hot work-place, and occasional architectural features painted red keep people moving. However, too much of a colour can have a different effect from  the one intended ~ excess red brings out aggression, for example, while too much green makes staff over-relaxed. Safety features, likewise, are based on the effects of exposure to particular colours. Firefighting equipment, for example, is coloured red, as are signs indicating "stop", "don't", or "danger". Green is commonly used to denote an "escape route" or emergency exit.

The Aspie Village, Asperger and ASD UK Online Forum (and up until recently the N.A.S.) websites use blue as their basic colour scheme. Perhaps the above information will prove useful.

With the 'voting-up' or 'voting-down' thing, I am not so sure about it personally, especially as I accidentally managed to 'vote-up' my own post from '0' to '1', but could not reset it to '0'. Could a Moderator reset that for me please?

Also, I  do not think that voting for one's own work is all that good a thing really.

Another issue with 'voting-up' or 'voting-down' thing is the issue of people who may not appreciate being 'voted-down', given that low confidence issues for those on the autistic spectrum is an extremely relevant concern. Is it not simpler to have someone write an explanation as to why a post is not befitting - as that at least opens the possibility for discussion and further understanding and comprehension to develop between people?

I mean who would know that I 'voted-up' my own work if I had not stated that that was in fact the case?

It seems that the 'new-look' forum set-up has very much the look and function of internet news 'papers' - with the top panel being where the news-picture or video-clip would be, the opening post the news article, and our replies being the reader's comments with vote-ups and vote-downs.

QuirkyFriend said:

I'm persisting but given I moderate on other forums that would have better mechanics I'm not convinced of this as the best solution

I very much agree with QuirkyFriend here. 

P.S. There is no option but to reply to the last person it seems, or the order of posts gets mucked up, as appears now to have happened,  so again would a moderator sort this one out too, please?

P.P.S. What a disorganised mess I have made of things. I used to like not having to reply to a particular person and everything staying in order - whilst being able to directly write to them at the same time. Ah - the good old simple days. So yet again - would a moderator sort this one out as well please?

PPP.S. Why is it necessary that when we quote people their N.A.S. number appears beside their statement, rather than their user name?

Thankyou in advance for the corrections.

You can "vote up" the good replies, using the up and down arrows next to the reply's current score (usually zero). This gives a way of picking out the messages that are the best responses to the original question. Does that help?

With the More link below a reply, you can also "Suggest it as the answer" if you feel that it stands out as the best answer to the original question.

oh just looked at the first post and it has a like option! No such thing on the replies,some of which I think are good and would like to thank.

Sadly I only recently joined and I was managing just with the old ways,now I keep shouting at my iPad as it keeps giving me loads of related posts which I thought were current,not so.quite often I cannot see the "you are here-community forum-forums,I also the top banner thing seems to ant down over the start of a new post?i push it up but it bounces back down?when I push it up I can see but cannot select"community forum".

I will persevere but can see many who will not.One big big thing I would like to see which I use on a car related forum is a "LIKE" button.it shows I agree or that I have read what has been written.I often want to respondut struggle with giving the right answer! I would be happy to know if my comments were in any way beneficial.

please keep up the work you do I know it can be a tough job trying to please everyone all the time.

I'm fairly new here and I've seen the change.  I think its harder to use.  Also I can only see half a page on my laptop.  I'm having to use the back button all the time, but hopefully  in time I will get used to it.

James2015 - one other point is that there are filters at the top of the forum pages, for example for autistic adults - are these helpful?

Hi James

I don't think so, but I'm looking into it. When you first asked this, I set the first five or ten topics in each forum as read, as part of my testing. As I page through the topic list near the top of the home page now, obviously the top ones are unread for me, because they have been updated overnight, since I last looked (and the most recently updated are shown first).

However, as I continue to page back through the topic list, I begin to see threads that are still not bold (i.e. read) because they haven't been updated.

One thing to note is that this forum uses what is often called "nested" threading or just "threading", whereas the old one used a flat view ("flat threading"). In other words, within the general context of BIMOG's original topic, you and I are talking about the specific issue of finding unread threads. The fact that we are replying to each other is being shown by indentation. A side-effect, though, is that the latest message in the thread no longer appears at the bottom. This makes it more necessary to rely on the last updated information when checking on thread updates.

Do let me know, however, if you find threads that have definitely not been updated, and yet are still marked as unread.

I'm not enjoying the new format, it's not letting me see any replies and I'm having to scroll through whole threads.

I'm persisting but given I moderate o other forums that would have better mechanics I'm not convinced of this as the best solution

Came back today to see what further comments had been made about the updated forums, but all threads appear in bold, as I have not read them, even those whic I know I read and which have no subsequent updates.

Could there be a bug here?