In reply to Duke :
I requested our developers to take signatures out of quotes and add citations. Should be coming soon.
And just so everyone knows, we are reading your comments and trying to make changes that will work well for everyone.
We appreciate the feedback.
I'm sure it'll get sorted but I agree with this. I usually browse on my 27" monitor at 90% zoom. I have four inches of margin on either side of the screen with the right info pane and somethink like 7 inches when it runs out. Unfortunately I can also only see one or two posts at a time which decreases the readability.
The white space is disconcertingly distracting. That might be an issue with the way I function though.
Edit: I also don't think spell check works in text the box (at least not in edit mode) this is going to make me look like an even larger doofus than I already do.
If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now. -Zaphod-Beeblebrox
Also, I don't know if this is intentional or not, but user sigs show up in the quoted post as part of the body text.
Heh, now the sigs seem to show up as body text in the original post, but not in quotes. I can only assume we're getting realtime adjustments. Awesome, thanks, gang!
[edit] And now sigs appear to be back where they belong. 
In reply to Ed Higginbotham :
This may be a dumb question- what problems were you solving by changing to this new format? Especially the massive open spaces- I have a good 1.5in gap between the forum text and the pictures on the right- with no border or anything like that.
And the headings, quotes, and buttons take up so much space that isn't needed- it's funny that the avetar pictures look a lot smaller than before.
Anyway- it's a good question to ask what is trying to be solved before a change.
Picture hosting- great. Format that increases the line spacing, makes fonts huge- increases the scrolling needs, not so good.
In reply to Duke :
I actually forgot that's what my signiture was since I have them turned off...
In reply to Ed Higginbotham :
Tell your developers to do this:
awk '$1=="font-size:"{$2=$2/2;}1' grassrootsmotorsports.css > f && mv f grassrootsmotorsports.css
In reply to alfadriver :
The forum refresh is the last stage on a yearlong project we've been working on to update the site to a more modern layout. You may notice that posts on the forum now match the styles from article pages Like this
And we did some side-by-side comparison on the space between the forum body and the items in the sidebar. Believe it or not, cutting down on the white space there actually made the threads longer.
Also, it looks like you are hitting return twice between paragraphs. Hitting it once in the new editor is sufficient.
The0retical said:In reply to Duke :
I actually forgot that's what my signiture was since I have them turned off...
Quotes now do not include signatures and do include citations.
The whole site should better use available width. I've got inches of whitespace to the left of the posts and the right of the "latest" column. It should stretch to fit, ideally. The gap between columns is fine, however (IMO). Space above / below each post could be a hair less, but nothing major.
The formatting reminds me a bit of "Bring-A-Trailer" and the auction listing / comments area. Here, once you drop away from the right-side items like Latest, Featured Reader's Rides and such, the white space becomes more like a white 3-lane with no markers.
The "Clear Your Cache" admonition might have overlapped with code changes; I did clear cache, closed and reopened tabs, but nothing fixed the 'looping link' behavior. I came back maybe ten minutes later, the right-side links now work. Extra cookies for the hard-working code gnomes, please!
Get rid of all the crap on the right hand side. I don't need to see brithdays, pics of other threads, etc.
Try to copy the functionality of look of AdvRider. Going automatically to the first unread post on the thread is awesome.
The spacing you have here now is a huge problem, it's making the forum nigh unusable. That was one of the few good things about your old format and you didn't retain it.
Gotta agree with the above post re: beta testers. Whoever thought this was a good idea and an upgrade from the last format must've been on something....
Figure I'm basically just another data point for what's already being covered:
It's not unusable, just unpleasant. I trust it'll improve with feedback. I'm excited about some of the new features being rolled out. I'm guessing looking at your metrics told you to optimize for mobile, but I'd ask that you not "pessimize" so heavily for desktop, and/or that the devs need to test across a broader range of browsers/resolutions, but now I'm getting prescriptive.
I'm sitting here giggling over everyone talking about how huge it is.
I really like the new format a lot ! Clean, roomy, and easy to read. I have an eye sight impairment and greatly appreciate any move to make things larger and more legible, this change is wonderful.
Quote still not working for me
BTW, I measured 6" of empty white space on one side, 10" on the other
Ransom said:Figure I'm basically just another data point for what's already being covered:
- So much whitespace/wasted space/scrolling. Between lines, between elements, between columns...
- Cache cleared, same issue on Chrome/Windows and Firefox/Linux
- A bit less bonkers on Chrome/Android. Note that I only read it on my phone when I'm stuck somewhere waiting for something. 90% of the time, I'm reading it on a desktop. Few topics here are best served via Swype input...
It's not unusable, just unpleasant. I trust it'll improve with feedback. I'm excited about some of the new features being rolled out. I'm guessing looking at your metrics told you to optimize for mobile, but I'd ask that you not "pessimize" so heavily for desktop, and/or that the devs need to test across a broader range of browsers/resolutions, but now I'm getting prescriptive.
OK, the change in typeface between body text and callout text (lists, bullets, indents) is going to drive my OCD bugberk.
In reply to Stampie :
I've got at least 9" of "white space".......
In reply to docwyte :
With all due respect, our mission as a company is "providing genuine expertise and entertainment for the automotive enthusiast community." Those items in the sidebar are the stories that we deliver to you on an hourly basis to bring you news and entertainment, like our magazine.
Going to the first unread post is a request that is still being worked on. However, we're working out a few of the existing kinks first.
I'm glad GRM is taking constructive feedback and making bug fixes in a timely manner. I am looking forward to a couple weeks from now when everyone is used to the new format and we can get back to talking about other things.
In reply to Ed Higginbotham :
Ok, it's great that you want it to look like that.
But does it really fix something that was broken? Does it really make a message board better to converse?
I'd suggest not.
Is "more modern" actually better, or just different? Being honest- the fact that there's so much more scrolling to see the same info is not better.
BTW, the double return goes back to my typerwriter days. When I want to separate paragraphs, to make a white space inbetween, you have to hit it twice. So it's hard to not do that. And some habits from the old board.
rslifkin said:The whole site should better use available width. I've got inches of whitespace to the left of the posts and the right of the "latest" column. It should stretch to fit, ideally. The gap between columns is fine, however (IMO). Space above / below each post could be a hair less, but nothing major.
That doesn't fix much, honestly. Open your developer window in chrome and turn off some of the CSS controls. Its pretty easy to make it go full-wide and retain other formatting. It fills in a little bit more of the whitespace, but honestly there is still so much vertical whitespace due to margins, padding, text size, etc. that you still only end up with 2 posts on your screen.
I don't mind reading a half-width page at all. Actually, its easier. Take text all the way across a 16:9 24" monitor and you have to move your eyes really far left/right or even turn your head. Use a 21:9 and you will hate it.
That said, what I've see now is like 1/3 width, so I wouldn't mind it going a bit wider.
My post/alfa's above, but full width.
T.J. said:In reply to Stampie :
I've got at least 9" of "white space".......
I don't believe you because everyone knows that much white space doesn't exist.
Also - the page navigation buttons in the main list... is there a reason they are the same height as the GRM logo in the menu? They take up a very large amount of space in every line... if they need to be there - put them in a column even with the title and every post will get 1/2 an inch shorter.
Or, just make them very small next to the arrow to go to the last post - which is what everyone uses anyway. Then, if they want to go to page 7 of 22 they can do it from inside the topic where giant nav buttons can just be at the bottom of the screen.
Stampie said:T.J. said:In reply to Stampie :
I've got at least 9" of "white space".......
I don't believe you because everyone knows that much white space doesn't exist.
My "whitespace" looks like a baby's arm.
In reply to Stampie :
I guess the lesson here, is that the size of one's white space doesn't really matter. It's how you make use of the white space you have.
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