UKW seems to be broken

[RogerS]

Think the site might have been hacked as the layout is now totally unusable.

I've tried two browsers but it looks just as bad in both of them.

 

[9fingers]

Think the site might have been hacked as the layout is now totally unusable.

I've tried two browsers but it looks just as bad in both of them.

Roger, It is the new and improved layout deliberately designed to make you use the mouse and scroll wheel far more and to devote more (blue) space to adverts.

Slightly surprisingly it seems to need far more swiping to navigate in my iphone too?

One big advantage is that adblocker works much better and removes more ads and the Google suggested ads at the bottom of each page.

Bob

 

[RogerS]

It redefines 'unusable'. TBH I can't see me going back again as it really is THAT bad.

 

[9fingers]

It redefines 'unusable'. TBH I can't see me going back again as it really is THAT bad.

It not THAT bad. However i did pay for the whole of my screen width and can only use half of it now.

I have scaled the browser setting (Cntrl -) a couple of notches which makes a bit more info appear per half screenful

Mind you our layout wastes 1/3 of my screen too....

Bob

 

[Woodster]

It’s a pretty naff format clearly designed to work with phones. The adverts are very irritating as well. Add that it’s slow and it’s not a good move.

 

[RogerS]

It’s a pretty naff format clearly designed to work with phones. The adverts are very irritating as well. Add that it’s slow and it’s not a good move.

:text-+1:

I really loathe this current fad for treating us like two-year olds. It's the Janet and John approach to web design. Loads of useless white space. Simple fonts. You end up with your eyes going all over the place as it is not intuitive at all to use on a desktop.

And, as Bob says, you end up scrolling and scrolling. Yes, you can do a zoom in (or is it out) on the browser but then when you go back to a sensible layout you have to go back again.

 

[9fingers]

Yes, you can do a zoom in (or is it out) on the browser but then when you go back to a sensible layout you have to go back again.

Curious, my browser associates the zoom setting with each individual website?
I use SeaMonkey which is Mozilla based similar to Firefox.

Bob

 

[AndyP]

If it aint broke fix it until it is.

I am sure Charley and his team have worked hard to change the format and I do not want to sound like a killjoy, stuck in the mud, I dont like change type but do you think the change was bought about as a result of members wanting it?

It does seem to be the “in” thing to make everything easy to view on a smartphone but I have no problems with the format here and many like to use Tapatalk for that purpose so what is the point?

Always interested to hear our members views as to what they like, or don't, on the forum format but I do not think Mark has any intention of “jazzing” things up here.

 

[Coley]

Charleys damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. There's always people over there whinging about the forum being ancient and needing an upgrade, yet when he does get round to it he gets even more criticism.
So longs it supports tapatalk I'm a happy bunny.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[RogerS]

I don't recall anyone saying the old layout needed changing TBH.

And why f**k things up for desktop users ? Tapatalk caters for those who want to view things on a smartphone.

 

[Coley]

It's his forum at the end of the day. I'm just pleased he's taking the time to bring it up to date. Tapatalks had a few updates I've disliked in the past. After a few weeks it feels comfortable again. It's been the same for the last 8 years (apparently) so it'll take some getting use to. I suppose I should look on a pc to see what all the fuss is about [emoji28]

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[9fingers]

For quite sometime when odd issues crop up on UKW, the mods have said Charley was an absentee admin and the mods could not change anything other than maintain the status quo.

Clearly he is no longer absent but very much making his presence felt. He runs UKW as a business and one has to think these changes are to benefit the site income?

Bob

 

[RogerS]

It's his forum at the end of the day. I'm just pleased he's taking the time to bring it up to date. Tapatalks had a few updates I've disliked in the past. After a few weeks it feels comfortable again. It's been the same for the last 8 years (apparently) so it'll take some getting use to. I suppose I should look on a pc to see what all the fuss is about [emoji28]

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

I really disagree with the words 'bring it up to date'. If 'up to date' means devoting 95% of each page to white space, poor layout making it too awkward to read on a desktop or for anyone with arthritic hands having to painfully scroll that wheel in order to see the next sentence then time we went back to something usable.

I certainly won't be bothering to go back

 

[RogerS]

.......one has to think these changes are to benefit the site income?

Bob

Why ? How ? All one now sees is an annoying pop up bleating about 'You're using Adblock'. It also is delayed and catches your eye as it pops up a bit after the main page has loaded. Frankly I couldn't care less as I won;t be going back. I'm hacked off with this current mania for redesigning websites for bloody smartphones.

Tapatalk was created to provide a better viewing platform for smartphone users. Perhaps we need to develop an Anti-Tapatalk app for desktop users ?

Or is because the younger generation never read books anymore? Need their stuff in tiny simple chunks ? Both you and I are used to reading dense printed material. That's why we prefer (I'm making an assumption there) the old style layout as it more closely resembled print material.

 

[9fingers]

I've been quite happy with the woodworking forums TWH2, UKW and WUK on a smartphone but there are many others who don't get on with it. Hence the move to tapatalk.

There are some sites that I land upon, that are really really unusable on smart phones and do need sorting out and presumably the modern trend is all driven by phone and tablet users - devices that a mate of mine calls "Fondle Slabs" which always tickles me.

Other UKW users are saying that there is a greater screen area devoted to ads which could well be related to income for charley.

I predominantly read forums on a widescreen notebook (dell d420) or a standard desktop monitor and so don't feel the need for these changes but they are here and won't go away.

What I don't quite understand is that at one time HTML code was written to adapt according to the receiving platform, PC/MAC screen size etc but this does not seem to be possible or maybe it is harder work?
One P2P finance sites that I frequent is offering users the ability to select old and new formats from the same URL so I guess it is possible?

Bob

 

[Woodster]

I certainly won't be bothering to go back

I won’t either.

It’s clear the website layout is all about maximum leverage for advertising. It doesn’t even look attractive either if I’m honest.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Schlimmbesserung. And then some.

The changes DO seem to have be welcomed more by mobile users...themselves succumbing to the strident siren call (marketing, Folks, marketing) of the mobile 'phone industry convincing us we HAVE to keep up at all costs, everywhere, all the time, instantly. It makes THEM "lotsa money" donit?

Sam

 

[RogerS]

Yes, you can do a zoom in (or is it out) on the browser but then when you go back to a sensible layout you have to go back again.

Curious, my browser associates the zoom setting with each individual website?
I use SeaMonkey which is Mozilla based similar to Firefox.

Bob

What benefits do you see in Sea Monkey over other browsers, Bob ?

 

[Robert]

Firefox saves the zoom setting by site too so each visit looks as you expect. TWH2 I have at 120%.

It is so long since I last looked at UKW I don't even have a bookmark for it. Had a quick look and saw the adblocker moan. Layout didn't look that bad. I'll not be adding a new bookmark.

 

[Woodbloke]

I've just had a swift peek and whichever way you slice it, it's crap - Rob

 

[9fingers]

What benefits do you see in Sea Monkey over other browsers, Bob ?

Roger, I think it is largely historic.

Back in the early days of my browsing there was IE and Netscape only for HTML. IE then was browser only - no outlook etc so nescape having integrated mail and Usenet, was my much favoured browser.
So I used that until its demise when Seamonkey took over the development.

Whether or not SM is a good choice now I'm not sure but I stick with what I know.

I think most browsers integrate browsing and mail now but not sure how many support Usenet which I still use daily. So for me a onestop browser is best.

Bob

 

[9fingers]

I've just been looking at this post from Charley, UKW admin here https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/new ... l#p1205095

He says
"There's also the fact that the forum software will need to be upgraded in the distant future. Support for the version we're running was abandoned by the developers last year and the old theme is incompatible as well as outdated."

I also think I've seen mark comment that our current forum theme is also incompatible with newer versions of phpBB.

I wonder how much of the newer theme that UKW are adopting is forced by later versions phpBB and hence we might get dragged down a similar route.

Also,
Earlier I wrote about HTML code that can differentiate between various receiving platforms. On closer examination I see that UKW presents a different format between iphone and my browser on a PC so it should be possible to support a mobile friendly format as well as making it use a PC scree to best effect - but- I have no idea of the effort required.

Any Thoughts Mark?

Cheers
Bob

 

[TrimTheKing]

Not had time to think about the new version let alone look at it yet mate. I’m working on the principle that ours is perfectly suited now to what we use it for and the size of our community.

I’m sure there are some other bells and whistles that we could add but I can’t think of any off the top of my head that would be more than lipstick on the pig...

Our current version, while no longer supported officially, still has support in the phpBB community fora and our forum is very static in terms of changes to the underlying functionality so I’m personally quite comfortable with leaving it as is for the foreseeable ensuring that it is constantly backed up in case of issues. Obviously as SQL versions progress and hosting support for those changes then we might be forced to reconsider but I will look into the timeline for that soon.

The look and feel is the big thing for me because I really like the colour scheme we have and I’m not sure how we go about getting that back in a new version, short of me (or one of you guys with my guidance on how...) combing through the various style sheets for the new versions and editing the colours, formatting etc manually.

I could ask someone on the phpBB forums to do it for us I suppose and see how much they would charge. That might be the easiest route then once we know the cost then see if there’s an appetite to fund that by way of donation...

I really don’t want to get into the world of adverts on here and we are too small to do so right now anyway, so short of me or the Mod’s shelling out for it personally then crowdfunding is the only solution I can see.

Apologies I went on a bit of a ramble there but hopefully that gives you the gist of the ‘problem’ we need to solve, or will do at some point in the future.

Cheers
Mark


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[RogerS]

:text-goodpost:

Which reminds me.....ahem....spare keys ?

 

[9fingers]

I'm with you 100% Mark. I've no desire to see changes here. You know me - founder member of the Luddites club. Whilst we can keep things running in an acceptable manner on laptop/destops and mobile users get their fix via tapatalk lets leave well alone.

Bob

 

[AndyP]

I had to look it up but Schlimmbesserung is right.

 

[Phil]

My 2 cents from down South ...............

I prefer our current layout and colours and the way to access and read.

Had a look at the new UKW, not impressed. The blue adblocker thing is annoying. WWUK still looks ok.

Lots of wasted space on this one.
https://www.marklin-users.net/forum/pos ... roundhouse



Phil
It is 32c in my study at the moment, fan running full blast.

 

[DaveL]

For quite sometime when odd issues crop up on UKW, the mods have said Charley was an absentee admin and the mods could not change anything other than maintain the status quo.

I was a Mod back in the day when we lost all contact with Charley. We were left holding the baby, companies wanted to by advert space but we could not do that, so they posted directly and we got flack from both sides.
One of the other Mods got so feed up with it he deleted himself from the forum and I have not heard from him since, to be honest I came very close to doing the same. I don't think Charley had any idea of what he had started, it was his second go at UKW as the first time it died and he had not realised the new version was a good source of income with the adverts.

I agree with Mark, if its not broke, don't fix it. WH2 looks good on my PC and I can view it easily on my tablet using TapaTalk. I have not looked at UKW for years now and have no reason to go there now.

 

[Halo Jones]

Roger, I'm not sure whether you are a mac or a pc person but I just resize the browser window to the viewable area of the webpage I am looking at (I also tend to have multiple programmes and instances of a browser open at any one time arranged to suit what I am doing). I also use adblocker as an extension on Chrome and I find very little blank space on webpages. Adblocker also means that pages are much more responsive as it is not constantly loading adverts. I would rather pay a subscription (such as WUK asked for a few years ago) rather than be bombarded with adverts.

I don't mind the new UKW site but I didn't mind the old version either!

 

[wizer]

Every couple of years Charley turns up to meddle with something. Often a very limp attempt at revenue growth. Hat off to him, I suspect he'd earned a nice little bit of pocket money over the years (for physically doing little). However, I always felt it could have been a better place for everyone if it wasn't so neglected from the top. Much of it's success stems purely from being 'early'.

All that said, I honestly can't see where forums will end up in the next 5-10yrs. They used to be such a wealth of information and are now more niche than ever. :eusa-think:

Well done Mark & Co for picking up the pieces after my little episode. TWH Spirit has carried on.

 

[chataigner]

I'm with you 100% Mark. I've no desire to see changes here. You know me - founder member of the Luddites club. Whilst we can keep things running in an acceptable manner on laptop/destops and mobile users get their fix via tapatalk lets leave well alone.

Bob

If it aint broke dont fix it ! I'm perfectly happy with things as they are here - my vote is leave it alone until circumstances force us to change it.

 

[9fingers]

TWH Spirit has carried on.

That is very pleasing to hear Tom as it was our overriding aim when starting TWH2 to preserve the TWH spirit.

Bob

 

[RogerS]

Roger, I'm not sure whether you are a mac or a pc person but I just resize the browser window to the viewable area of the webpage I am looking at (I also tend to have multiple programmes and instances of a browser open at any one time arranged to suit what I am doing). I also use adblocker as an extension on Chrome and I find very little blank space on webpages. Adblocker also means that pages are much more responsive as it is not constantly loading adverts. I would rather pay a subscription (such as WUK asked for a few years ago) rather than be bombarded with adverts.

I don't mind the new UKW site but I didn't mind the old version either!

Hi. I'm am Mac user. It's not a question of simply fiddling about with the browser settings. Too much space between the lines. No differentiation between the signature line and the post. Basically I think the layout is crass. I also use Adblocker but get distracted by the delay in their nag screen. I'm off. Simple as that.

 

[Coley]

I've just had a swift peek and whichever way you slice it, it's crap - Rob

Much like the Axminster effort then [emoji23]

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Woodbloke]

I've just had a swift peek and whichever way you slice it, it's crap - Rob

Much like the Axminster effort then [emoji23]

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

The way the Ax forum works is OK, it's just that there's nobody using it which is why it's rubbish - Rob

 

[Coley]

Reading the 'bandsaw modification' thread was the one that influenced me to not look at it again [emoji6]

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Woodbloke]

Reading the 'bandsaw modification' thread was the one that influenced me to not look at it again [emoji6]

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

That was somebody at Ax who saw Alex S's method and adopted it as their own after I posted it on their site having seen on WH2. I mentioned that it came from 'across the pond' but didn't mention Alex by name, which I should have done.
The other issue which I mentioned concerned the leather cramping block video where Ax wouldn't give credit to Chris Tribe, even after I said prior to the shoot that we ought to mention that he was the originator of the idea. That individual has since left the company. In hindsight (a wonderful thing) I should have refused to make the video.
I expect the individual concerned regarding the bs clip (who I know well and worked with) got a severe slapped hand for that one. This was the original post that I made which Ax subsequently copied on their 'Knowledge' page. https://community.axminster.co.uk/t/tuning-a-bandsaw/81

The whole thing got a bit out of hand, which can happen quite easily with t'interweb forums - Rob

 

[fiveeyes]

Being that I am on 'holiday', I have just now looked in on both UKW, and TWH2. UKW was a shocker, I say. But, thanks to all those that run TWH2, I like it just fine. cheers from Arizona

 

[Woodster]

This site has always been cleaner and easier on the the eyes than UKW, long may it continue.

 

[RogerS]

Out of curiosity I looked at UKW on my smartphone. Formatting was perfect. It was readable. It looked fine.

I use a desktop. Peeking at a few comments from guys who do websites for a living it seems that sites can be written to be responsive to the viewers platform.

Say no more.