quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:

I've had incredible difficulty with a functionality that hasn't been mentioned: password change. For whatever reason, I can only access WTF on an "old" computer and an old iPad. No new device works. I have tried to change the password to get around that problem (multiple times!), and I never get the email with the link to change the password. So I limp along.

I think this is the problem we ran into when Big Al couldn't log in a couple of years ago. I think it was Lisa who posted here on his behalf and we were finally able to get it to happen.

When Ax was looking at what was going on, he found that the forum software is broken when it comes to sending emails out. That's probably why you are unable to reset your password; it requires a confirmation from the email address that you're registered under. And the forum software no longer sends those password reset emails.

I suspect that not getting emails regarding new PMs is a related problem. Again, forum software issue rather than a browser or operating system incompatibility that can be worked around.

We're driving the equivalent of a 57 Chevy. It still starts and runs, sort of. But the windows won't roll down, there's a broken windshield, and it's belching blue smoke out the tailpipe because the engine is burning oil...I feel like that some days....

I just posted a new thread in the new place about my new house.

Just sayin'



Come on over!

https://wtf.coffee-room.com/to...4/new-house-round-up

piqué

posted 27 May 2024 01:48 PM

"I feel like this is a solution looking for a problem. My main concern is that longtime members who stop by only very rarely won't be able to find us. Moving will also tend to thin our ranks, not increase them.

I find moving to be a much bigger hassle than just switching to another web browser.

How about our admin contacts Groupee and tells them about the issues and let them upgrade the site for security and compatibility?"

Yes.

A) Moving would tend to thin the number of members. I said this myself. I have no doubt about it.

B) The proposed site isn't solid color blocks. It has a whole bunch of glaring white included large spaces between the threads. It would be much harder to read and much less pleasant to see.

C. I don't think it would 'fix' anything. Yes, I manage by simply switching between two browsers. I can tell you having spent days setting up a Motorola phone after years of using a Google phone that devices, connections, and the internet are in fact complex and wonky, and changing almost by the day with endless system(s) updates.

C. Matt has contributed his administrative contradictions from the beginning of WTF as I understand it. He has never failed to keep the lights on and keep us moving forward vis a vis finances and logistics. I think it would be very unfair to him to switch platforms without hearing his input.

D. I don't think, with due respect, that a decision should be made by one or more moderators, or for that matter, by one or more individuals.

I call for a polling if we want to decide as a group whether or not make such a significant change.


I see that a new site has already been set up. I object to the process by which this was done for the reasons mentioned above.

Daniel

I only speak for one moderator, but I have no intention of making the decision a moderator decision, and have no idea why anyone would think the moderators would do so. In particular, I have said the following:

quote:

we have had the discussion several times about changing platforms, and it's always been decided that we should not do so. I'd be up for it, but the group has leaned otherwise, so I have gone along.

In case that is somehow unclear (which I don't believe it is), a moderator decision to move, absent a more-than-thin-plularity of the members, would be over my vociferous objection. This isn't a moderator decision, it's a member decision. However, I have exactly zero reason to believe that the other moderators would take this decision on themselves.

I also object to a poll. A poll only captures the people who participate. There are plenty of others who may only check in infrequently, they might not see a poll, and they should have a voice, too. Matt is just one example, albeit an important one.

I have no reason to object to Ax's "break in case of emergency" site, and have no intention of doing so. He graciously provided an alternative that can function in the event of emergency. I think we should all say thanks for that.

All of which is to say, I think gathering the necessary momentum to shift to another site is unlikely. I expect we will continue to drive our 57 Chevy.

If I see that we are heading for bigger problems than we already have, I feel I need to to alert the community of the issues and to provide alternatives. It's the community's prerogative to decide what they want to do.

The backup forum was set up more than two years ago and is not something that has just popped up out of the blue. Daniel, you were included on the PM I sent out over two years ago that talked about why it was set up, namely because WTF was having outages and our recovery plans are extremely shaky. I went back and looked and see that you are in the Declined category on that PM, so apparently you chose not to participate in the discussion. Matt was also included but did not submit any comment.

The other site allows you to choose your color scheme; they are called skins. The default is "No Skin", which is the white you see. If you don't like white, you can change it. There are many choices. And there are different formats that can be tried out, and that we would have control over. We're not "stuck" with something we don't like.

This isn't a matter of simply changing browsers. We have ongoing erosion of functionality, things like the password reset problem that Quirt outlined. And we have no way to handle day-to-day forum management, like getting all the problems we've been talking about reported and resolved. Those lines of communication are non-existent.

To be blunt, you have no idea the effort it's taken behind the scenes to continue to have this place be available to WTFers to share their thoughts. For years things have been smoothed over and handled behind the scenes because there was no need for drama.

No one is forcing anyone to move. I proposed a trial period of maybe a month to try out a new venue, and then a group discussion, and of course a vote.

It's a recommendation based on my inside knowledge of where things stand at WTF and my background as a systems person, nothing else. I'm not trying to railroad anyone here. But I am telling you that this train could well go off the tracks at some poin. I hate to see that happen and am making recommendations to prevent it.

I would have hoped that you would understand that any recommendation that I might make to consider a move is based on the desire to provide a stable forum environment and in the best interests of the community.

One further thing. Anyone who wishes to contact Groupee and tell them all the ways in which their software is broken is free to do so. I imagine it will be the equivalent of shouting into the void ... absolutely nothing will happen. But anyone who is energized to do so, please go for it.

I'll travel along wherever...

quote:

A) Moving would tend to thin the number of members. I said this myself. I have no doubt about it.

I don't agree. Participation here at WTF has been waning gradually for years now, and the current functionality problem is making it worse. If we all decide to switch, and make sure there is a thread here with that info, then it should be fine and may even make it easier for people to participate more regularly.

quote:

C. Matt has contributed his administrative contradictions from the beginning of WTF as I understand it. He has never failed to keep the lights on and keep us moving forward vis a vis finances and logistics. I think it would be very unfair to him to switch platforms without hearing his input.

Matt has been ignoring this site for several years now, just to set the record straight. When there have been problems with this site, several of us have messaged him here and on FB, and he doesn't respond. Once, as I recall, he stepped in to help, after many of us messaged him.

Matt, if you're reading this, by all means, please chime in. I would be happy to be proved wrong. But with all due respect, I think it's far from ideal to have the site owner so completely absent from the site.

quote:

D. I don't think, with due respect, that a decision should be made by one or more moderators, or for that matter, by one or more individuals.

I completely agree with you. I think everyone agrees with you.

But to be clear, no decisions have been made. I've started posting there just to sort of try it out and see how it compares.

quote:

I call for a polling if we want to decide as a group whether or not make such a significant change.

This is probably a good idea. Let's let a few more people chime in and see what other people think.

quote:

I see that a new site has already been set up. I object to the process by which this was done for the reasons mentioned above.

The site we're talking about is a back up site that Ax made in 2021, it's been there since then. Many of us made accounts at the time, or another time a while back when this site was inaccessible for a time. I actually had forgotten I'd made an account until this most recent thread, but the point is, the other site has been there for many years now.

Also, whether or not people decide to relocate officially to the back up site, this site, the original WTF here at groupee, isn't going anywhere. (not any time soon anyway).

I don't think I ever registered over there...

Oops, I responded to Daniel's post before seeing the other posts.

The more I think about it, the more I want us to move.

If we don't do a poll, that's fine, Quirt's reasoning makes sense.

It's time, this site it practically broken. Ax has made a very nice site, let's give it a chance!

This site can continue to be here while we're experimenting, it's not like we're going to set everything on fire and run away...

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:
One further thing. Anyone who wishes to contact Groupee and tell them all the ways in which their software is broken is free to do so. I imagine it will be the equivalent of shouting into the void ... absolutely nothing will happen. But anyone who is energized to do so, please go for it.

Yup. Try clicking on "Powered by Social Strata" at the bottom of a page.

Edit under B)

B2) The linked platform is not single spaced. I think that this fact would drive me, writers, and people in general up a wall in time. I think the format would hinder posting anything easily and especially anything in depth.

Daniel, I've been using the new site from both my laptop and from my phone, and I think it looks fine on both.

Why don't you just try it first?

I'm sorry, SK and wtg, but I think this decision has not received due consideration by the members and I call for a poll to be conducted and again for Matt to be contacted for his participation.

Daniel, please feel free to contact Matt about any concerns you have. I am also interested in getting his input. Please pass along anything you might learn.

Thanks.