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I am quite surprised at some of the "youngsters" on here saying that the new software will be the death of CWDF. Come on guys, if I, at three quarters of a century can master it (by reading helpful posts like Nicks) then you young things should all manage too. There's a challenge for you :-) . Instead of posting saying how awful things are, spend the time customising it so that it works as you want it to. It will be worth it! haggis

Bloody hell, what an unbelievable mess this new site is. Looks like I'm gonna have to spend precious time learning the new format. I do wish the children who force this shite upon us would grow up ans stop pishing about with a perfectly good working format.

Anyway, whilst no-one like change especially old codgers, I can understand why it had to be done. So give Rich a break - he's spent a lot of time on it for free, and would probably quite like some appreciation rather than griping! I bet that, if members spend a few minutes setting their "view new content" and condensed listing, within a week they'll have forgotten that there used to be a different system and will relish never losing a half-typed post again. Improved security, a supported system, automatic storage of half typed posts so you can't lose them, better customisation of appearance to suit individuals. Probably lots else that I've not found yet. Anyway it's progress which is a good thing by definition!

agree. The most useful screen used to be View New Content - a tabulated list with about 40 topics per page that had been updated recently, clearly marking those I had been involved in. Now I have to scroll down to look at lots of titles in some new fangled layout that looks like a list of bullet points in a company training day presentation, most of which are of no interest to me whatsoever. IT IS NOT CONVENIENT OR USER FRIENDLY. it is a garbled mess. and to add insult to injury, every time I press the enter key it drops down 2 lines. overall there is too little information displayed on the screen at one time - and that's on a full size PC screen. I hate to think what it looks like on an i-phone; peeps must be scrolling forever to try to glean a bit of new information. this new software could just sound the death-knell of CWDF.

Yes I noticed that, thanks. The only slight problem is that there now seems no way to see one's total of green things. On the one hand, one of course doesn't help other people in order to bask in a large green thing total, on the other hand there doesn't seem too much point in having green things if they disappear into the ether shortly after they have been awarded. My feeling is that there should either be no green things, or it should be possible to see one's total accumulation. I appreciate that space in a VNC-type listing doesn't want to be taken up with such clutter, but does turning that off inevitably mean that green thing totals are not available anywhere else?

Would it not have been possible (and still may be) to avoid this major problem of having to create VNC for the administrator(s) to make this the default for everyone, as it was in the old version? I guess about 99% of members viewed the forums in this way, and had VNC bookmarked or even on their desktop or whatever is the front page of their device. Then people could explore other tweaks once they had got used to the new look. The DIY approach is clearly giving people problems. You can have too many choices, and I for one would have been happier to meet something approximating to what I was used to when the new look came online.

Back to the new forum software, I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the suggestions that if members spend a few minutes setting their "view new content" and condensed listing, everything will be ok. Most of these comments seem to come from people who are familiar with computers and the problem is that so far, no one has suceeded in giving clear instructions on how to achieve any changes. and where people have attempted to do so, the descriptions of where and what needs to be changed bear no resemblence to anything that appears on my home page. I cannot understand why the default cannot deliver the same facilities as the previous site, and leave the reconfiguring to those who want something different to find out how to personalize their site appearance. Couls i please ask someone who managed to fix it all in a few minutes to spend a few more minutes comiling some somple instructions to help people like myself who are getting to the stage of dumping the whole Canal World site for good.

If a discussion forum forces existing users to waste time and effort confirguring it into a useable format then it IS going to drive away traffic. It should work 'out of the box' just like all other discussion forums. Any potential new members are also pretty unlikely to make the effort either. I can imagine traffic here dropping off a cliff if it's anything like as user-hostile to new users as it is to me. Yes I can probably configure it to my taste if I spend an hour fiddling with it and Nick is right I probably will, but equally I know a LOT of forum members who sure as hell won't bother.

I'm 59 years old. I've been working as a packer in a warehouse for the past three years, where my only use of a computer is to scan a barcode, key in three numbers and hit return twice. I also had no dealings with the Internet or mobile phones till I was in my thirties. I joined Facebook last October, reluctantly, but after Dave had a stroke I realised it was the only way I was going to be able to contact some of his friends. Now I use it daily, have never encountered any twelve year olds on there, but do enjoy taking the mickey out of the people I work with. Things in life change. Adapt or stay in your cave.

It's bloody awful, that's what it is. How do I go back to the old skin please?

Apologies if this is in the wrong section, I've been pulling my hair out this morning trying to find my way around the forum now and work out what button does what. I've spent all morning trying to find the 'View New Content' button. Now I've found it, it is scroll-a-rama. Is there any way of reducing the information on the screen? All i want to see is the thread titles on the screen. Now there is too much informationand you have to scroll like made. This is actually just one of many annoying things that are wrong with this new skin. I'd like to go on record as saying that i think it is bloody awful and needs simplifyingbig time.

Thanks. Just something else I will be missing with the new software. Being able to see somebody's reputation did IMO help you to decide on how much credence to give to a post you might be unsure about. That may just have been the funny way my mind works,

Following the link I can't find anyway of showing them in my profile. What am I missing?

Same as Nick here, the Show me and Content Type are the settings to check.

Yes definitely. It is possible. I've posted images of my "VNC" setting earlier in the "new software" thread. Here it is again.

If you hover over '3 minutes ago' it gives you the date and time.

The menu changes to the three bars, as I mentioned last night in the New Content thread, when the screen resolution is not wide enough to show the full menus. This is standard modern day interface for web sites using a responsive design allowing the same content to be displayed independent of the device. I used a Bootstrap CSS on my web sites which handles this without me having to produce any device specific code.

Yes, next to the title of the stream are three icons. 1 Edit title 2 Delete stream 3 Make this stream the default - it looks like a tick

In a word 'Agreed!'

Were you on a phone? That would explain why your screen looked different.

Nor did the old one. If you weren't signed in everything was New Content.

The reference to three horizontal bars suggests that he was using a phone................. Once past that stage the instructions work OK.

Not at all - they are just buckets full of sawdust. A Porta-Potty is a huge technological step forward

We need to write another set of instructions for people using their phone! My instructions are based on a laptop running Windows 11 and Chrome.

Here are some step by step instructions for those who prefer this format. Also attached so that you can print them. This saves going back and forth between screens or between phone and computer. On the home page go to 'MyActivity Streams' Select 'Create New Stream' Where it says 'Stream Title write VNC or whatever you prefer - I added my initials so that I know this 'stream' is something I created and can edit Under 'Show me' select 'Content items, Comments and Reviews' Under 'Read Status' select 'Content I haven't read' Under 'Following' select 'Everything' Under 'Content Types' select 'Topics' Under 'Ownership'select 'Everything' Under 'Time Period' select 'Any time' Then click on 'Save Changes' Go back to 'My Activity Streams' and select the stream you have just created To the right of your new streams title are three, greyed out icons. Click on the 'tick' to make this stream your default. View New Content.txt

With the Browse tab selected, click on My Activity Streams and select Create New Stream

No. If you read through the thread you will find out how to have a button at the top that gives "view new content" function with one click. I'd agree that a "how to" guide would be useful. This forum is run by volunteers. Are you volunteering to produce it?

But that is the software's fault, not Dan's.

I do think you need to try a little harder! There has been plenty of help posted on the forum if you look. Sorry if this seems rude. The old software was probably a challenge when it was first introduced. Remember also that the software is new to the Admins and Mods too - all of whom are volunteers.

Because may people who think they know about these things do not RTFM, do not make allowances for its acknowledged weak areas. In mikes case I am sure he has a fault/out of calibration unit while others have invested in what appears to be a more capable unit and would rather bury their heads in the sand re the units they bought and are intent on rubbishing others. Yet more who understand these thing have set their non-Smartgauges up properly and use them properly, fully understanding their shortcomings. Others who understand use an ammeter to do what the Smartgauge is most inaccurate at and a voltmeter and their heads to do what the Smartgauage is very good at. That is saying when the batteries are "fully charged" and needs charging respectively. The Smartguage is not aimed at the latter groups and remains the easiest/ most easily understood method of telling the boater when their battery requires recharging but the above groups refuse to accept this. Personally I use an ammeter and voltmeter but can not condemn the Smartgauge just because I do not use one. Read back through the topics and you will see far more boaters get into trouble with destroying batteries by consistently undercharging and the Smartgauge will go about 99% of the way to stopping that. Alternative gauges are likely to make matters worse in the hands of the "average" boater.

Not first hand like you want, but I had an op in 2008 which often results in the patient having to be fed by PEG long term, (removal of oesophagus and large part of stomach). From what I read prior to my op, it didn't cross my mind that I wouldn't be able to go sailing offshore for a few days at a time, although I don't recall the detail. The chances of someone here having a PEG are slim, (not nil), but the chances of someone on a support forum having dealt with a similar issue are probably high? i was lucky and didn't need a PEG

Clearly we can all make an effort, and get back to something that is more familiar, and hence usable. However, it is something of a disappointment to find that we have to do that. If you want users to like your shiny new system, you need to make it easier for them to see it as just like the old system but with more possibilities.

Well said, This twelve year old Facebook user has just submitted his state pension application, (using the new-fangled Internet, amazingly). Stereotypes are dangerous things!

He's just having a tantrum. Withdrawal symptoms will set in soon and he will collect his toys and be back. Anyway, it means we can say rude things about him behind his back and he'll never know! Oh and by the way, the + symbol left of the quote button is for multi-quote if anyone hasn't realised.

I think its a dreadful mess, I'm orf for now. Be back when I've got time to mess with it.

I have just found people following me. That's a bit creepy. I used to think they were my friends...

Thanks Nick that seems to do the trick. So I now have a "View New Content" that I think is as close to what was there before as you will get. For anyone else, I would recommend if you can to set this up on a PC, last night I was using an iPad and a lot of the stuff is very small on the screen and it is hard to work out, on PC it is much better when you are finding you way around. This is what I now have with the key areas highlighted. Go to "My Activity Streams" and then "Create New Stream". I called my new stream "View New Content", for the setting the key is to use as indicated Show Me as "Items Only" and Content Types as "Topics", other settings to taste. Take note that when you have created the stream and are displaying it, editing the values does not stick, so if you want to change it delete the stream and create it again. When you have the stream displayed, then to the right of the name is the little (very little on iPad) check box icon, click that and it will make the stream be the default and it will appear as a link to the top right next to the "Mark site read" action. You can use the expanded/condensed, but that does not seem to stick between session for me. and if you want a line feed it is shift+return as you would do in Word etc.

Reservoir has been overflowing at Derwent. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155215806838081&substory_index=53&id=809933080 Othere then a few downed trees it wasn't that bad in Sheffield.

You can't. The forum software has been updated! Give it a few days and you'll get the hang of it.

Yes I'm expecting to see a few empty crisp packets being blown along the village street here too. These warnings seem to come tediously often, and most turn out to be a damp squib. Maybe this is gonna be the first of many that was actually right.

I read the diesel Dave article. What an interesting life. I like reading Tims stories. I have to admit though that the 'service' in the shop needed some improvement last time I was there. I must have stood waiting to even be acknowledged that I was there for fifteen minutes. I exited stage left. We drydocked there a number of years ago and whole experience was pleasurable. Thanks for posting the link. Martyn