New Facelift for CareCure Forums

[Wise Young]

I am giving the CareCure community a little warning of what will happen tomorrow. You will come to the site tomorrow and find that it has had a facelift. The new appearance of the site may require a little tweaking of your font sizes, etc. but it includes several new features that should improve navigation and use of the site.

1. Tabs. When you are viewing the forums, all the familiar tasks of the site will be available in a set of tabs on the top. These include posting new topic (New), searching keywords (Find), changing your preferences and personal special tasks(My Space), notifying you when a response has occurred (Notify), emailing or printing a topic (Tools), replaying to a topic (Reply), or a quick reply to the topic is now possible just by clicking a tab when you are viewing a topic.

2. Post a topic to any forum from any place in the site. When you press the [New] tab, it will allow you to post to any forum that you select.

3. My Space. Many of you may have been confused by the Popit! functions. The MyPop functions have now been consolidated under the tab called "My Space". With a single dropdown menu when you press the [My Space] tab, you can select options that will show you all the topics that you have chosen to be notified by email or on your Popit page, as well as private topics, etc.

Most of the other features of the site are more or less similar. For example, there is still Private Topics, Contacts, Profile, Polls, etc. However, there is a new addition called private poll in which you can ask a limited number of people what they think... and have them vote.

I will be turning on these features late tonight when traffic slackens a little.

Wise.

[Jim]

Sounds Cool

Thanks Dr Young

... http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif...

[duramater]

Sounds good!!!

Mary

...and she lived happily ever after...

[Wise Young]

Please let us know if the new interface is working and whether you prefer it. I have set up the options such that if your browser cannot handle the new styles, it will default back to the old style.

[duramater]

This is fabulous. I think it is much more user friendly and presents very well. It seems to be working fine for me.

Mary http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

...and she lived happily ever after...

[guenther]

wow, looks really good !

[Wise Young]

I would be particularly interested to get opinions on the whether people who have limited hand mobility find the new tabs easier to work and whether the site works for people using voice command. Thanks.

In my perusals of the site, it does significantly reduce the number of mouse clicks necessary to get around, once you get use to it. I particularly like the fact that it pops up a new window instead of rewriting the entire topic in an old window. This saves quite a bit of download time.

The design of the new topic tab also reduces the opportunity for people to create new polls when they intend to create new topics. Having that choice instead of a button is very helpful. Likewise, I like the way My Space is now organized. Finally, it is easier to create notifications of responses on the site, either by email or to your My Space.

The site looks much less cluttered now. On the other hand, the increased spacing between the lines really makes the site much longer (at least the front page) so that people have to scroll down a long ways to get to the forums on the bottom. Incidentally, I deliberately chose to use large fonts so that the targets for mousing would be larger.

Wise.

[SCI-Nurse]

Big font is too big for me...off the screen. It is not very convenient to have to change my browser font size just for this site, when I need it larger for most other sites.

I also find it inconvenient to have the only "next/previous" tab all the way at the bottom of the page.

Otherwise, it seems better, esp. the speed and ease of writing responses. Will have to play with it a little more.

(KLD)

[Wise Young]

I can, for the time being, reduce the font size... I too don't like the sprawling size of the site. I can set the font by percentage as well (of the percentage that you set on the browser) but, for some reason, that resulted in tiny fonts that I could not increase. I will try it for a few hours. Wise.

[Wise Young]

For some reason, when I set the small font size to 70% and the large font size to 90% of the preferred size set by the browser, the Forum name fonts are tiny (at least on my browser). Let me play around with that some more and see if we can get right. Wise.

Wise,
I need to do a well structured trial before I can fully determine the effectiveness of the improved functionality of this site. I'll let you know in 5 to 7 years if you should keep the facelift http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif. (Please note the sarcasm)

When I first logged in today, I logged back out because I hate menus that pop-up because of the onMouseOver event(edit: I noticed this is only after the initial onClick event in the tabs at the top of the page) I logged back in and checked the option to have the old interface. But, I have no use of my hands and avoid using the mouse at all costs(I use the MouseKeys accessibility option). I always click the "New Since Your Last Visit" search function, and it's a lot easier to hit than the little globe you discussed in another topic(if I'm remembering my short visit correctly). I did like the new interface and my only complaints shouldn't be a problem in a few short years when I regain functionality. (Please note the lack of sarcasm)

[Wise Young]

cjo,

It is a good idea to increase the size of that globe. It is too small anyway. Unfortunately, it is one of their default images (breadcrumb) in the template and I would have to download, change, and upload the entire stylesheet of the site to change it. I will ask if Jeff can do this.

In the meantime, I will put text links to "posts since your last visit" and "today's active topics" in the text at the top. I hope that this is easier.

Regarding the menus, you are right that there is no easy way to utilize most of the tabs without a mouse. I will keep working on figuring out a way around that.

Wise.

[Wise Young]

KLD,

When you found the font size to be too big, I had them set to an absolute size. I have now set both the small and big font sizes of the site to 100% of whatever you have set them for on your browser. I hope that this reduces the size of the fonts on your browser. It should not be going off the page, for most of the pages. Let me know if I should reduce the size. I would also like to hear from others on the font size issue. Because I use a Mac, the font displays are different. Thanks.

Wise.

[Wise Young]

I reduced the font size to 80%.

Incidentally, for those of you who would prefer the old style, you can do so by logging out and then logging back in. When you log back in, there is a little box that asks whether you want to disable to new features. If you say so, it will show you the old interface.

Wise.

[Polett]

Dr. Young, it looks great!

As for the length of the site, why don't you put the online members to the right of the CareCure logo, that way you reduce some space?


...and the soul afraid of dyin'... That never learns to live...

[Wise Young]

Polett, I am very glad that you like it. Most of the comments have been positive and I think that we will continue to tweak the site. We are currently using the default template that infopop provides and will need to spend some time and work tweaking it. It is a very complex interface that is actually customized to every user that logs in. So for example, as an administrator (and the moderators as well) see additional tabs and information. So, it will take some time to understand and to change this interface.

Wise.

[SCI-Nurse]

Well, I am not rich enough to buy a new Mac yet with any version of OS X, so using both the older Mac and older OS that I have access two (one is running 8.6, the other 9.0) and IE I cannot see the new features. It also is VERY slow to load every page...perhaps because it has to convert each page from the newer format to the older one????

(KLD)

[Wise Young]

KLD, it may simply be that the site is a little slower these days and that it is not your system or browser. Perhaps I can liberate a computer for you. They are not so expensive these days. For example, you can now get an iMac with G4 processor that can run OSX for about $1600 these days. This should be more than fast enough to render this site. The limitation is not computer but internet transfer speed. I recommend that you upgrade to OS 9.2 at least and download the latest version of internet explorer. OSX can also be installed on most Macs (unless your computers are 10 years older or more). I have been monitoring the site using both the new and old interface and find that it is not that much slower or faster. Wise.

[KLD]

Am I the only one who really misses the "next" and "previous" links at the TOP of the page? When scrolling up (in order to read replies in order) this is where you naturally end. It is irritating to then have to scroll back to the bottom of the bag to get to the only "next" and "previous" links. Is this fixable?

[dogger]

KLD, i use my keyboard to scroll etc ., using the arrows to go up and down and under the old site i used ''home'' to go to top of the page to hit ''next/previous topic '' . now i hit ''end'' to take me to the bottom of the page .

thank you
dogger

every day i wake up is a good one .

[Wise Young]

There are many navigational options on this site that probably most people don't use. In addition, every browser has many shortcuts. Let me summarize some of them, at least for the Mac.

1. Space bar. If you hit the space bar on both Internet Explorer and Netscape, the window will jump downward by a page. This is very convenient if you are just scrolling down to read.

2. Arrow keys. On Internet Explorer 5x, Netscape 7x, or Safari, if you hit the down or up keys, it jumps the page up or down by about 5 lines. If you hold the Apple key while pressing the up or down key, it goes to the top or bottom of the page. If you hold the Apple key while pressing the left or right key, it goes to the previous or next page that you had looked at in the browser.

3. Tab key. If you press the tab key, it will go to the next active link on the page.

Generic to all versions of the site

4. CareCure Logo. If you press the CareCure Community Logo on the top, it should return you to the front page of the foums.

5. Links in the intro text. I have put a number of useful links in the introductory text on the front page. These include "New Posts since your Last Visit" and "Today's Active Topics".

6. Category name. If you click the category name, i.e. SCI Community Forums, it will show you a page that contains only that category.

In the new Infopop III interface (the one with the tabs), several of the icons allow you to navigate from forum to forum.

7. Globe icon. This is the icon that sits between the CareCure Community and carecure.atinfopop.com links. This will drop down a menu giving the options of "New Since Your Last Visit" or "Today's Active Topics". The first is very useful if you want to see all the topics that have appeared since your last visit. The second gives you a choice of all the topics that have been active during the day. By the way, for people who would like access to the link without having to use the mouse, I put both links on the front page of the site, in the header text.

8. Cityscape icon. This is the icon that sits between the carecure@atinfopop.com and the Category forum listing. This will drop down a menu that allows you to go directly to any of the forums.

9. New Tab. If you press the "New" Tab, it will drop down a menu that allows you to choose New Topic, Poll, etc. If you let your cursor rest on the New Topic line, it will give you a secondary menu that allow you to post your topic to any forum that you choose.

10. My Space. This tab allows you to look for what is new in topics that you have subscribed to, schedule and edit your notifacitons, set up private topics, establish your own contact list amongst members, choose your preferences, and adjust your public and private profiles.

11. Online Now. This bar gives all the members who are currently logged onto the site. If you click on any name, a drop down menu allows you to view that member's profile, add the member to your contact list, invite the person to a private topic, view recent posts by that members, and notify you if that person makes any posting. This use to bring up only the member profile on the older interface.

Wise.

[SCOTTAGENCY]

looks good I like it & its more user friendly
Question I have scanned a letter I received I would like to post it to be viewed by Dr Young.KDL just looking for some interpretations, perhaps a answer to my pain could be explained, how do I do Jeff could I e-mail to you ? you put it where ever it should be? thanks for your help.I just seen a thing that says attach I will try somthing with this.
Debbi http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Wise Young]

Debbi,

I am starting a new topic about how to do attachments. Go to the following topic (http://carecure.org/forum/showpost.php?p=56709).

Wise.

[David Berg]

Am I the only one having trouble with using the back arrow on my browser? Lately whenever I am reading a post (at least in the Pain forum) and I hit that back arrow, I see the source code for the page. If I click the back arrow again, I'm back at the main page to view the various subject forums.

[Carl R]

I'm still having the same problem that David mentioned. Whenever I click on back, I get a page showing the source code. It is happening quite a bit.

[Wise Young]

I am asking the infopop people about this.

Wise

[Carl R]

For whatever reason, the source code problem showing up when you hit the " back " key is happening all over the site for me right now. If you hit refresh, the page will reload fine. It is only happening on " back ".

[Wise Young]

I think that this problem should have gone away or going away. Wise.

[Carl R]

The source code problem also shows up when you use " forward " key. Also, still on back sometimes tonight.

[PN]

Dr. Young:

If I am using a smaller monitor, around l5 inches, I am not always able to minimize or maximize the screen for editing or posting on a thread. On a l7 inch monitor, I have not noticed any problems.

PN

[PN]

Addendum:

I realized that I am able to tweak some setting on my computer but I would prefer to find an easier solution.

PN

[This message was edited by PN on 03-17-03 at 01:15 AM.]

[Wise Young]

For people who are having trouble with the interface, I suggest that you switch back to the previous interface. You can do this by logging out and then logging back on and selecting the old interface option.

For some people who have set up their browsers to automatically log in, you may have to go into your browser and delete cookies that says carecure or infopop in them. This way, you are not automatically logged in.

Infopop is continuing to tweak the interface. For example, I think that they may have fixed the initial page display problem. But, they are also having trouble with their database and recently moved their entire computer system to a new data center. That is one of the reasons for the occasional lapses of connections and slow responses.

I apologize for all the problems but infopop is working hard on getting the new interface up and working as well as possible.

Wise.

[Brad_D]

Hello,
I'm new to this site and I was a little confused at first about the order of the posts in the topics. I was just wondering if there is any reason why the threads on a page go in chronological order from bottom to top rather than from the top down in descending order? Is there a user setting to change that feature? Other than that, I really think this board has some really nice features compared to some other ones I've seen.

http://homepage.mac.com/bradd/Menu9.html

Brad

[Wise Young]

Brad,

I hope that you will get use to it. The first topic is always on top and the subsequent postings are placed with the most recent close to the top. The reason is that many of our topics have dozens of postings and this reduces the amount of scrolling that people have to do in order to see the most recent posting. Many people who use this site are using voice activated systems and I want to minimize the number of mouse clicks and keyboard actions necessary to navigate the site.

Wise.

[Brad_D]

Thanks Wise,

That certainly makes a lot of sense.

Brad

[martha]

Is it just me? I can't seem to get to the page that has all of the forums listed with the last posting time and poster shown for each. All I can get to is the member forums.

[dogger]

Wise , thank you for taking the time to continue updating this site . i am afraid i find this latest facelift more time consuming than previously . it is ok to use at first , when i go through each subject [ life , cure , care etc . ] but accessing new postings that are posted in the subjects that i have previously viewed is where i am much slower . this is because i have to go back to the front page to check if there have been any new postings then go back into the subjects page . by clicking on the ''house'' the subjects come up but not the latest posts .

thank you
dogger

every day i wake up is a good one .

[Wise Young]

Martha, are you still having trouble? You should be able to get to all the forums from the front page. The main community forums should all still be listed.

Dogger, I am still evaluating the approach taken here. The separation of the forums may be resulting in substantially less viewing of the less popular forums in the Exchange and Research Categories. Note that the site has been very slow lately (because of databasing and server problems).

To tell you the truth, I personally prefer the old interface and I am not sure that the new interface adds all that much to the site.

Wise.

[Chris Chappell]

I agree Wise.

.02$ I prefer the old interface.

Less is more. I wish "they" would stop changing and tweaking the site. It's extremely frustrating, annoying and cumbersome. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/mad.gif

[martha]

Wise, thank you. I did finally read enough to figure out the changes that had been made. But I too like the old interface MUCH better.

[Carl R]

My vote goes for using the old front page as well. It's much tougher with voice software to have to go back to the main page and then navigate back to the other forums. Much easier when it was listed all on one page.

[Wise Young]

Okay, I noodled about it for a while and tried something that might help with the navigation. I put active links for each of the forums in the front page under each category. This allows you to go directly to a forum from the front page. Let me know what you think. Wise.

[Carl R]

I like having the active links under categories on the front page. Makes it much easier when using Voice Software. Only complaint is that when you click on the active link, it opens up another window. If you click on the main category and then move to a forum, it stays in the same window. It would be better if it stayed in one window. Having multiple windows open sometimes confuses voice applications.

Maybe it is just me or my set up, but I am still getting source code every time when I click "back". It is happening all over the site today for me.

[Wise Young]

Carl R, I can change the links so that it does not open into a new window. I have been using the site a lot in recent days and have not gotten code displays. This may be something related to your browser... Let me work on this and come back with some answers. Thanks. Wise.

[rtr]

I still get the code displays too. I use Internet Explorer 6 and I use the Sticky Keys function to issue the keyboard command (Alt + Left Arrow) to go Back rather than the Back button.

[Wise Young]

phebus, carl, and rtr,

Can I suggest that you switch back to the old interface? Anybody can do that by logging off and then logging back and picking the option of disabling the new interface. Once you do that, the old interface will come back on.

I have been testing the site with three different browsers (Safari, Explorer, and Netscape on a Mac). Safari is much faster (2-3x) than the other two and cannot use the new advanced interface; so I use it with the old interface. Explorer is slightly faster than Netscape when downloading but does not always handle the windows properly (and in fact crashes sometimes on me when I have too many windows open while I am trying to post or edit replies).

Wise.

[Wise Young]

OK, I have changed the links on the front page so that they do not produce new windows. Wise.

[Carl R]

Thanks Dr. Young. Having everything in one window is much nicer. I guess I could go back to the old interface, but I like some of the changes in the new one and it does seem cleaner even with a few glitches. Unfortunately, I will have to stick with Internet explorer simply because IBM ViaVoice software is designed for Internet explorer. I use to use Netscape all the time and liked it much better, but the IBM ViaVoice software will not work well with other browsers and has quite a few short cuts for Internet explorer. I know most people use the dragon software for voice because they were ahead of everyone else a few years ago, but after L&H bought out dragon and went bankrupt. . . The ViaVoice software is now ahead of Dragon , has much better recognition and more features but you are limited to Internet explorer. Anyway, thanks for the help.

[PN]

Hi Dr. Young:

I would like to talk with you over the phone at your convenience. I sent you an email with my home phone number.

Cheers, Paul aka PN

email add: SSUUSC@aol.com

[This message was edited by PN on 04-04-03 at 04:02 PM.]