crabpaws

I would like to add a link or linked image to the nav bar or somewhere on the top of the site above the Forums area, such as the DONATE message shown below.

How do I do this? Thanks for the help!

Search by tags is not returning tagged items in results all at, not even in "advanced search", ONLY if the keyword appears in the text.

I now have to supply a support PIN to get IPB support? When was this implemented, and why weren't customers notified?

What format is this code? The form does not specify.

I'm going to have to give this PIN to my co-admins?

5 minutes ago, liquidfractal said:

I think my Members list is simpler:

https://www.yourwebsite.org/search/?/search/=&type=core_members

 

Didn't work for my site. Wouldn't you still have to hunt around for the member before you could see that person's content?

Why not just reinstate Search for Author?

Search by author alone was present in 3.x, I used it frequently.

Member content requires finding the member first. Here is the procedure advised June 23 by IPS support staff Jim Morrissey:

Quote

 

Hello,

Sorry, in IPS4 there is no more real defined "members list." However, a way around this in the default software that many of our clients have done is utilize the search as a way to list all members. For example, here is a blank member search on our community: https://invisioncommunity.com/search/?&type=core_members&joinedDate=any&group[45]=1&group[36]=1&group[44]=1&group[4]=1&group[5]=1&group[43]=1&group[47]=1&group[48]=1&group[3]=1

To find a member's activity you would want to go to their profile -> See My Activity -> redefine what you want to see using the column on the left.

 

Once you do this Search the Community, you are presented with a low-utility view of large, rectangular avatars. You then need to search for the member's name to find the member, then click on the member's Find Content and sort that out.

As you can see, a simple search by author has been replaced by a time-consuming multi-step process. Might one ask why the simpler, more user-friendly functionality was deleted?

Members' histories are very important for my site, too. Here's something else you should consider: 4.x does not permit download of personal message threads. No way to preserve that content offline at all.

Reinstate download of personal message threads

Related topic here blanketsearch for Member content without tags/terms?

I did save my defaults as a stream, naming it Unread Content, and it did not save my preferences.

According to usability principles, default views should be set according to the most often used view or view of highest utility to the most users.

Surely, when looking for new content, one would rather be taken to the first unread content in a topic rather than the top of the thread. If the first post is unread, "first unread content" would embrace that use case as well.

As it is set now, the default view may be logical but not of high utility. This thinking occurs elsewhere in 4.x, such as in Reports, where the default view shows ALL reports, where most likely the mods would want to see open reports only. (In the case of Reports, there is no way at all to set preferences so they are persistent; every time a  mod views that list, the preference must be set anew. See  Reports need more streamlining

Don't show completed reports in main overview

Manage Followed Content is another example, with a default on invisioncommunity.com to Downloads. How many users are following Downloads? Wouldn't most be following topics in Forums?

Like Activity Streams, Managed Followed Content (and Reports) surfaces the database structure with an overwhelming amount of information, with tools of varying quality allowing the user to customize his or her own view. This requires extra steps from the user, who most likely wants one particular view (commonly an 80% preference) and may not have the patience or sophistication to fine-tune a view. I call this "designing from the database" instead of "designing for the user."

On one hand, there is design consistency in 4.x -- "designing from the database." Design consistency is desirable to some extent in UX. But when it comes to default views, usability design holds they should be governed by ease of use and utility to the user rather than logical consistency.

19 hours ago, Ocean West said:

Still want a way to show all content that hasn't had a reply to - as a way for moderators to make sure they have first opportunity to greet newbies. 

My moderators would like this, too.

19 hours ago, Joel R said:

1. You can name the stream to anything you want.  

2. If unread is not taking you to the first unread item, then you need to report a bug.  

Funny, "what is the point of this?" was my first reaction to Activity Streams, having just updated from 3.x to 4.x.

Initially, I found the interface design overly complex and visually unappealing, so I avoided looking at it at all.

After reading this topic and spending (too much) time with Activity Streams, I'm still not getting their main utility. Looks like a lot of work went into it, but it has usability issues that make me doubt I will use it at all. (Usability flaws below in orange.)

I get it that now Activity Streams incorporates every idea having to do with compiling an overview of every bit of content on the site. I'm not seeing much utility in any of it, except Unread Content (as a replacement for View New Content) and [Advanced] Search (which is named ambiguously as plain old Search and very much hampered in utility by not being able to search by author).

The ever-popular View New Content has been translated to Unread Content (a term that seems much less attractive to me), with the difference that Read Status appears to be set to Take Me to the Top of the Page -- another odd default choice contrary to what must be the priority for most users.

Changing the preference to Take Me To the First Unread Content does NOT seem to be persistent even after saving it as an Activity Stream called Unread Content (which I did with some trepidation, not having a clue what this means).

Is there a preference setting somewhere? If not, the lack of persistence in preferences is a serious flaw.

I agree with a poster up above who observed having EVERY new post in a topic in this Unread Content stream adversely affects its usability. Find something specific requires excessive scrolling and is very confusing, as you lose your place.

(Ironically, I had proposed the filters in 2011, beware of what you wish for.)

This function was present, and useful, in IPB 3.x. It has been removed in 4.x.