Tom_K

i don't like it either and I really don't use it. Users from my board also dislike it.
Anyway, you can mimic the VNC by creating a new stream with the following setting:

It will show:

Then you set this stream as the default.
This is the closest you will get of VNC.

I've read a lot of topics criticising the activity stream feature and I find it utterly unuserfriendly as well. What was the logic behind this change? It seems like a case where someone was trying to fix something that already worked and made it worse. Like Microsoft and the whole Windows 8 debacle.
Activity stream may be useful for a low traffic board and works on Facebook where you only get certain "posts" in your stream. But what is the point of having an activity stream on a high traffic board? It's so clumsy at what it should be doing.
Instead of letting you know which topics have new posts so you can get up to date, you face an endless stream of new posts (often from one and the same topic).
Basically what I'm asking si how the h**** should I be using this feature to help me browse the board? It obviously isn't doing its job properly but I'll allow the possibility that I'm just not using it as it was intended.
Can anyone help me understand this thing better? And why we can't simlpy have a choice of both (the old new content list and activity stream)? This way it just seems it was forced onto users.

Hi,
Before I complain, I want to start off with a nice note. Since joining IPB my users have loved the website, commented on how nice it works compared to VB & I have loved your support. When ever I have a bug or problem you guys usually reply pretty fast, sometimes during the night!
But here is where I am confused, angry & very, seriously sad.
I love IPB. I think it is one of the most solid products in the market, I think it is also the most professional both company wise (how you guys release things when it's ready & not before) and also product wise, it's very professional.
For over a year now, I have STRUGGLED to get to grips with pages. I look at the documentation & it's longer than the bible & not very user friendly at all!
For over a year now I have messaged support asking how to do things in pages & they say I have to come to the forums as it requires custom code! For simple things like adding the article image in the listing page!
For over a year now I have Tried pages, given up... Tried again, given up. There is so much potential in pages - I have seen it on professional website (websites with coders & budget!) but people like me CANT use it.
 
Why.... WHY can't IPB make pages easier. Why can't there be a wizard or Pre made templates!
Front page templates... Do you wanna display articles like a blog (photo to the side with description beside), or like a polariod (image with description below), or like a grid. 1 main article & then smaller articles below etc. Joomla asks you things like... Display title, date, time, author. Main article: 0-10, Secondary Articles 0-10. Its so easy!
Listing pages... Do you want to display the first image in the article, do you want to display article rating, do you want to display article sorting bar.
Article pages... Have a page builder, similar to what you do with blocks. Where you can create fields on a preview page & move them around/edit them. Currently if I want an image uploaded in an article and displayed to the right of the content, I have to custom format it, look up HTML guides on Google etc.
 
I just wish IPB could make pages & frontpage more like Joomla. Joomla frontpage is so easy. Then also keep the difficult custom options for people who are more pro & who know what they are doing.
I am so annoyed by the fact I can't easilly create a beautiful looking frontpage & article area, that I am considering going back to another software. Your forum software is so easy to use, but pages is rocket science.
 
Support won't help me, I have seen users here struggle to create things even when working together and helping eachother, and the only other option is to pay someone tons of money... Please consider making pages easier for noobs. PLEASE
Danny