Can we please have our ’Scaper Talk website restored to the user-friendly format of old, or at least a modern approximation of same?

Trying to follow threads, especially the most recently posted ones, is well-nigh impossible these days. Replies sometimes show up further back on the list of most recent postings than does the original posting in the thread! Things are often out of order and scattered to the four winds. The present setup defeats the purpose of having a place to conduct running discussion threads in a logical, time-ordered fashion.

Also, while we’re asking for favors, can we possibly have a way to reply to a specific message in a thread, instead of being forced to the end of the line, where a reply is totally out of context?

Thanks, guys, for the site and for considering these modest improvements.

Clem

I’ll second Clem’s request.

The forum that Interiorscape Magazine provides is a great benefit to all in this industry, and I certainly appreciate Jeff and his gang for providing it. However, this revised board is not without it’s problems. In addition to the issues that Clem raised, it seems there has been less activity since the implementation.

Jeff, you might want to look at Discus forum software (www.discusware.com). It is inexpensive, easy to use and administer.

Tim

I third this request! If nobody responds immediately to postings looking for help, they get buried and are left unanswered. I really liked the old way.

PLEASE MR WEBMASTER HUHN, PLEASE!!!!!

Rolande

Yes, I agree completely. I like the old way. It was logical. Christy

Yes!!! Let’s go ’back to the future’ with this!

Oh please let us return to the old thread way - its been days with no postings - might this mean someone is working on it? Ann

Dear ’Scaper Talkers:

We’ve addressed some of your concerns with our programmer, who has made the following changes to make the board more user-friendly:

- Strings with the most recent activity are now ordered at the top of the list when viewing the full ’Scaper Talk page. For example, if you look at the "Last Post" date for the "TPIE Speakers" message string, it shows a date of 1/22/2006. This date indicates when the most recent message was posted.

- Also when viewing the full ’Scaper Talk page, the number of messages now updates under the "Msgs" column.

We’ve had a lot of positive feedback on the improved, cleaner organization of the new board format (though those comments aren’t reflected in this string). We hope these programming improvements will make your experience more enjoyable.

Jill LoCascio, Editor
INTERIORSCAPE Magazine

I still recieve the Interiorscape mag....but this is the first time in months I have come to this scapertalk. Same thing as before..not many care for new format. I use to look forward to visiting this site.
Well count me in..I dont either. After not using site for so long I cant tell whats up as usual. I will not be back to site anytime soon or until old format is restored. Sorry folks..just the way it is.

Alison’s post is very telling.

For example, look at the list of "Most Active Topics" on the site’s homepage...none are even remotely recent! What does that say?

We need to be able to reply directly to any individual posting in a thread. It’s being done smoothly and efficiently on bulletin boards all over the web...why not here?

Go over to www.interiorlandscapebusiness.com and look at their pathetic excuse for a discussion board...’Scaper Talk has relegated that site to irrelevance and joke status...let’s not lose our mojo here!

Clem

To Jill:

Doesn?t seem that the forum is ordering the posts with the most recent at top!

I have to say that it does seem that participation has dropped way off here since the format change.

Hope at least that the forum Guru can optimize the posts so that the most recent addirions are added to the top. That would at least be a move in the right direction.

Hell ’scaper friends,

When this forum embarked on the new format, I emaied Jeff with the same concerns. I read other different message boards with ease but this one just threw me for a loop.

I am particularly concerned with the size of the font. I am an old lady, you know!! Eyes are not what they used to be.

Jill responded very cordially and said the font could be adjusted from my computer. Never have figured that one out yet.

I seldom come here anymore......matter of fact, I seldom think to come here because of its difficulty - sad to say, but true.

So, if we could go back to the old format and font size, it would be a wonderful treat.

Carol Christian

Ok, ok, ok. See my error....I meant to say "Hello", but if "Hell" will get the job done.........by all means, interpret it as you wish. LOL

If you go into your browser’s pull-down menu under "View", you can scroll down to "Text Size" and it should arrow over to the right to "Largest", "Larger", "Medium", "Smaller" and "Smallest".

If you change the setting to "Largest", some text items on the page will get bigger, but the text of the messages themselves doesn’t.

For example, after selecting "Largest" for my text size, the header "Since August 1, 1999, interiorscapers have made 2996510 hits at INTERIORSCAPE.com!" appears in typeface that is about three times bigger than when it was set at "Medium", but the rest of the text on the pages and in the messages is the same as before.

I’ll gladly resort to a magnifying glass if the intuitive functionality of the site is restored...it’s cheaper than the psychoactive drugs I’ll soon be needing to get around the site as it’s now constructed!

Clem

Clem, I find it a little less confusing to read the threads by clicking on the "and more" from the main page. This at least puts the threads in chronological order with most recent replies first. You still have to scroll through the whole thread to get to the replies, and occasionally they just don’t show up on the main page for a day or so.

Sheila

Clem. thanks for that very useful piece of advice. I have already done that but sure it is useful to others.

If we could just revert back to the other way - period, I would be happy.

Carol

Maybe this will help negotiate the site.

I never go to the Interiorscape.com home page to get to ScaperTalk. I have added the "Yesterday & Today" page to my favorites and I enter ScaperTalk through that page. If I want to see more I click on the "See Complete Listings" button and then I can see all of the topics listed with the last one posted to on the top.
I will agree that many times the posting have been out of order, and have noticed that this had happened to me when I posted to the list when the Eastern time zone was past 12 midnight, but my time zone was before midnight.

I hear all of the comments posted above, however I myself do not find fault with this format ( with the exception of some of the posting being out of order) I am a member of many forums and you always have to go to the bottom to add to the last posting, or read the last comment made.

I agree that Clem’s suggestion of being able to answer directly to an individual posting, anywhere on the list might be nice, however I have never seen that done. A great deal of fault lies in those who do post to a particular thread and change the subject matter. I have seen that a lot recently, and on several occasions was going to begin a new thread,however never did so. Accordingly, if you want to change the subject, begin a a new thread.
Rick W.

Rick,

That’s true about changing the subject, and that makes it even more difficult to find older material via the "search" function.

However, the old format did allow replies to individual postings within a string, and displayed them as such, so that there was a logical flow to the discussion. I visit a few other forums online, and several use this approach to at least the 4th "generation" of postings on a topic...like a bulleted list or outline that goes A., then 1., then a., then i., etc. I like that, because I may come in late on a thread and want to reply to someone early in the string and cannot do that on ’Scaper Talk. That’s my main beef with the current format.

I think we’d all agree that activity has been down quite a bit in the past several months, and I wonder why that is. I don’t let the format glitches stop me from participating, but maybe newbies and casual users can’t fathom the ins and outs of using the site effectively and easily...as Sister Mary Whatever told my parents when I was in second grade, "there’s always room for improvement!"

Clem