I also posed this on my blog, which is hosted here. I'm not sure whether I'm going to continuously update the blog or not, but I thought I should also post this here where it will at least get some exposure :).

Since my last posting, a number of the issues I was worried about have been resolved. Many thanks to Matt for his excellent response - instead of taking on a defensive posture, he and the IPB staff all responded positively and made some of the requested changes. The "insert special item" menu is gone, replaced with a number of icons. The "quick links" menu is also gone, which, while I never really had a problem with it, is probably for the best. The profile security issue involving the invisible mode has been resolved; apparently it was a bug. Avatars now link to profiles, and all of the tabs in profiles are the same color.

These changes are excellent, and I applaud Matt and the IPB staff on making them. Yesterday's update, however, also included some less favorable changes. With the "quick links" section gone, the area underneath the smilies box is now rather bare. This, coupled with the lack of proper padding at the top and bottom of the smilies window doesn't look particularly aesthetically pleasing. This is easy to resolve, of course: either replace the quick links section with something else or extend the smilies box down to the bottom of the column. Increasing the padding at the top and bottom of the smilies box is also in order. If nothing else is added, it should be noted, the "side panel" should probably be renamed to "smilies panel" or "smilies" to avoid confusion.

With the "insert special links" dropdown gone, a slew of new icons have popped up. The images on most of these are fairly self-explanatory, with the notable exception of two. The "insert link" icon is rather unclear, and I had no idea what it was until I hovered my mouse over it to see the tooltip. I'm not quite sure what a better image would be, but the current one is very ambiguous. The code button seems a little unclear too, although that one is somewhat better. I have also noticed a strange bug concerning when the tooltips are displayed, but I'm willing to bet that's an error with the version of Firefox that I'm running.

Another questionable change yesterday was the quick reply box. As originally implemented, the new fast reply was obscenely tall. Combined with a width extension and a bug that caused the browser to automatically scroll to the fast reply once a thread was opened, the new fast reply was not a positive change, at first. With the height increase and the scrolling bug both fixed, however, the new, wider fast reply is something that most people should be able to live with.

Finally, one of the newer features in IPB 2.2 is the ability to leave a message when editing a post. This feature is probably one of the most controversial in the new release, because of the fact that it can only be employed by moderators. While I doubt I would use it in many of my posts, I have a feeling that quite a few members of quite a few forums would scream bloody murder if moderators had this option and they didn't. Understandably, there are reasons why the administrator may not want them to be able to access this - such as not being able to edit out moderator comments on their post - but those who want to give members this ability should be able to. This should be a per-usergroup feature.

Despite these minor issues, there was more good news this morning. The confusing switch of the "add reply" and "cancel edit" buttons in the AJAX quick edit was reversed, making life much easier for those of us who like to use this time saving edit feature.

Finally, a comment about the blogging software. While I have so far found it to be excellent, one of the "features" in it is totally useless and creates extra work for the user. The "show entry options" button is pointless - its sole purpose is to replace three buttons with one. Since these buttons need to be clicked to do ANY action involving the post, and that the actions button doesn't really remove much clutter, I don't honestly see a need or a reason to have it.

Good post. That's all I have to say! You completely nailed it! :D

Would also like to see the forward thing addressed like you had mentioned in your previous post :)

Would also like to see the forward thing addressed like you had mentioned in your previous post :)

Indeed, I probably should have noted that this remains unresolved.

You pretty much nailed it, the Forward button should be back in its place :)

I would like to see a "Advanced Edit" button quick reply screen in case you want to use the standard editor. :thumbsup:

Finally, a comment about the blogging software. While I have so far found it to be excellent, one of the "features" in it is totally useless and creates extra work for the user. The "show entry options" button is pointless - its sole purpose is to replace three buttons with one. Since these buttons need to be clicked to do ANY action involving the post, and that the actions button doesn't really remove much clutter, I don't honestly see a need or a reason to have it.

There is a reason for this; as it would clutter up the space when a lot of buttons are there. It has been like this since version 1.0 I think. But I understand not everyone wants this button. Therefor I made it an option in 'My Blog Settings'. You can enable/disable this button.

There is a reason for this; as it would clutter up the space when a lot of buttons are there. It has been like this since version 1.0 I think. But I understand not everyone wants this button. Therefor I made it an option in 'My Blog Settings'. You can enable/disable this button.

Oh, I can turn it off? Great!

I can't find where the option is though. Could you please direct me to it? :)

Oh, I can turn it off? Great!

I can't find where the option is though. Could you please direct me to it? :)

What button are you referring to? The "Entries" one?

Yes, in 'My Blog Settings' in the Look tab..."Entry options" set this to 'Show allways'.

Ah, I was wondering what that did.

Love the new Blog Features :) Good work :) Hope less hardcodes.. :P

Can we now have the '+QUOTE' and '-QUOTE' buttons changed to 'MULTI+' and 'MULTI-' and the 'REPLY' button changed to 'QUOTE' ? Pretty please?

;)

Can we now have the '+QUOTE' and '-QUOTE' buttons changed to 'MULTI+' and 'MULTI-' and the 'REPLY' button changed to 'QUOTE' ? Pretty please?

;)

That would make mor sense :thumbsup:

Can we now have the '+QUOTE' and '-QUOTE' buttons changed to 'MULTI+' and 'MULTI-' and the 'REPLY' button changed to 'QUOTE' ? Pretty please?

;)

I want IPB like this for a long time.

@ Gogf: again a great post!

Can we now have the '+QUOTE' and '-QUOTE' buttons changed to 'MULTI+' and 'MULTI-' and the 'REPLY' button changed to 'QUOTE' ? Pretty please?

;)

I agree these buttons should get some attention..