Open for inputs and ideas

[restless]

Rick...Ive been using WB for several years now. I don't post as much as others but I usually check things out at least once or twice a day. Some people have problems wit hthe new format, but I say change is inevitable. Everyone will get used to it. I'm not sure I would change anything, at least not at this point. Too much change at one time can be a tad overwhelming and sometimes works against your best intentions (case in point-look at recent changes to Facebook and the strong reactions thathave been generated.) Some people will never be happy, I say leave it alone. It works fine.

[Furlough]

I was not referring to the moderators and the admin staff when I asked this question.

FWIW. Perhaps, it may time to do so. I have been a member (donating) for a while now and watched the personality of this site change. Software changes come and go as needed with little outward impact on the site members. But I think heavy handed moderation has chased away more folks than the flame wars of the past did.

[The Weasel]

Ok Rick - plane and simple - everyone is doing a great job and folks that have moderator status, have a thankless job. In some ways I am glad I am out, and I still miss it.

The Crock needs to let up and stop chasing folk away... its directly hurting donations which floats the website and the business

Cant make it plainer than that. - Nothing against John - he is clearly the best man for the job... but the heavy hand needs to be adjusted.

I concur. But this should not be or become a discussion about that.

TW

[The Weasel]

A specific "trail issues" forum would be good. Not as a place for political debate in the classic sense, but there are many issues that can and should be discussed, including local land-use questions, some state-level topics (such as park closures) and an occasional national question. It should be limited to topics that are directly related to the AT and other long trails specifically, such as Wingfoot effectively did in about '99-'01 about the mining permits in NC. (He was not the only one, but he did effectitvely mobilize a lot of people who were then using Trailplace.) It would require a very strict moderator, but only (one hopes) to eliminate posts that got beyond trail issues, as opposed to the way Wingfoot eliminated points of view opposing his. I realize there is a more general "trail issues and concerns" forum now, but it is essentially a very general discussion about miscellaneous topics, all of which are useful but few of which go to public issues affecting the AT (and other long trails) specifically.

TW

[The Weasel]

This is more of a "fix" than a new item, but debugging to check "frame" alignments would be good. (Sorry if I use the wrong terminology.") I prefer to increase screen size in Windows 7 to "150%" in order to view text more clearly, at my ancient age. When I do, especially on the Home Page, some items are mis-aligned, such as the "search" box.

[CaptainNemo]

I go to BPL a lot. There are some things I like about them and dislike. They write these really great articles written by the experts, some are gear releated some not. I think some people are employed by BPL to write but sometimes the best articles are contributed. I will look up certain people forum profile just because I think they are that promienent (Mike C cough cough). They make you pay a big membership fee. BPL sometimes seems ritsy and west coastish. But its extremely detailed and the following there seems to be 10 times that of Whiteblaze. The GearSwap on there is ridiculously frequented.

I think it'd be cool to run articles on the AT. Thats the only reason I find myself coming back here kinda ... no offense. I wana thru the AT. I don't want to know about how much cooler the Rockies or the PCT is. I think articles like "Getting thru the whites: how the huts work" or "National Parks: Regulations and Opinions, a Future Outlook" (any article on future trail developements) and theres a number of famous people waiting to have juicy articles written about them. I would love to read about some of these people. The crazy places, hostels with history, the top ten shelters article. I think I could prob go on for a lil bit longer but ill stop.

An article has more authority than a forum post. Its more efficiently informative. I hope my opinions help in some way.

[scope]

The list of recent threads and recent blog posts does not go all the way down the page. I would love to see more of each - didn't we used to have 10 or so listings? I think it was just posts and I do appreciate the ability to see new threads, but seeing more recent posts listed was better for me. Would love if we could have 10 or so of each.

[Wise Old Owl]

- Ok software we have cooking and food and gear reviews > Food and nobody is doing any reviewing. Two places for the same thing...?

Thread Icons are hard to see - black bar on green folder - cant make them all out (Not enough contrast)

[Hairball]

Okay, this is minor in comparison to all the other postings, but here it is nonetheless: I'd really love more female avatars/icons, esp a "Female Thru-Hiker in Planning" icon to use. I am a 2012 thruhiker in planning but I am not a dark haired beardy man and therefore chose a different icon for my profile. Thanks so much.

[WingedMonkey]

What is the purpose of the "Calendar" function? Why does it have some guys rambling entry planning on completing the Eastern Continental Trail on every single day for every single month?

[RWheeler]

I'm not sure how well it could be implemented on this forum, but on another forum I used (for computer hardware/tuning), there was an option for a "sig rig", or a computer to list in your signature every time you made a post. It would list each individual component and any tuning you had done to it.

Maybe make a feature where people can at least list their big four and other typical items they bring with them while hiking? If there's a way to have it provide a different "pack" for each sub-forum, it might make it even better, so you can keep a rolling list of gear lists for thru-hikes and such.

[B-Rabbit]

I would like to see a better way to view pictures. Some kind of slideshow feature for easier browsing.

[tiptoe]

It's probably been mentioned in other threads, but the search function seems very ornery. I had no trouble using it on the old site, but I can't make it work now.

[Nean]

Does anyone use the previous thread/ next thread option on the bottom of each thread ? My wish is a Todays Post option at the bottom of each thread.

[Janeway]

Love the new changes, especially the Random Images front and center. I guess images have always been there, but this way I can go right to them and usually it's the first thing I do and then come back to the forums. I call it "gear porn" and just love seeing all the hikers and their equipment and the scenery. Keep up the good work WB!

[HT1]

Does anyone use the previous thread/ next thread option on the bottom of each thread ? My wish is a Todays Post option at the bottom of each thread.

(claps and cheers) +!

[malowitz]

Troll - Shorts 2010 here.
Thanks for continuing to run the site and do it well.

I don't often check the gallery images (but I love the return of the randoms) but I do sometimes check on the most popular, most commented, etc, and they rarely seem to change. Could the number of most popular etc be increased and/or could we do a most popular in the last year type thing?

As for the search, maybe something on the front page for a few weeks to review boolean operators and different search options (advanced search, the search bar, or site:whiteblaze.net [search term] at google.com) could be reviwed. Seems there have been quite a few comments lately about the search.

[Chaco Taco]

Does anyone use the previous thread/ next thread option on the bottom of each thread ? My wish is a Todays Post option at the bottom of each thread.

NEAN!!! What up?

[attroll]

Okay, this is minor in comparison to all the other postings, but here it is nonetheless: I'd really love more female avatars/icons, esp a "Female Thru-Hiker in Planning" icon to use. I am a 2012 thruhiker in planning but I am not a dark haired beardy man and therefore chose a different icon for my profile. Thanks so much.

I can design and add a few more avatars later but I am busy right now working on another update for the web site software, a minor one this time. If you have a couple or would like one specific one added then please send me and message and we can work out adding one.

What is the purpose of the "Calendar" function? Why does it have some guys rambling entry planning on completing the Eastern Continental Trail on every single day for every single month?

The calendar allows users to post events to it. It appears that one users has decided to post there date range for there ECT thru hike. I have removed that event. I have to admit that the calendar is something that I rarely look at. Do you think we should remove the option to allow users to post to it? I am open to suggestions.

I would like to see a better way to view pictures. Some kind of slideshow feature for easier browsing.

Right now there is an option to click on the Next and Previous image. I will look into the option for a slideshow.

It's probably been mentioned in other threads, but the search function seems very ornery. I had no trouble using it on the old site, but I can't make it work now.

I do not understand why a few people are having problems with the search option. Nothing has really changed. You type the word or phrase you want to search for and click Search. If you want it to be specific to that phrase then you put it in quotes like this "search for dogs".

Does anyone use the previous thread/ next thread option on the bottom of each thread ? My wish is a Todays Post option at the bottom of each thread.

I am not sure I am understanding what your asking here.
You have the option if you want to view all Today's Posts you can do this by going to Forums and Quick Links.
Or you can go to the forum where the thread is located and find the thread in the list and click the down arrow to the left of the thread title and it will take you to the first New Posts.

[Nean]

NEAN!!! What up?

Visiting Texas, on my way to N.C. for the winter. Happy Holidaze my friend!

attroll- I'll try to explain better. After I- (others?) submit a reply all I want to do is go back to Todays Post. I don't want to go to the Next Thread - Previous Thread because I don't know what they are, and even if I did chances are I don't want to go to either of those two options. I wish there was a Todays Post option right there so I wouldn't have to scroll down to the TOP option and navigate to the bottom right corner, then navigate back up to the top middle of the screen for the Todays Post option. Did I mention that my mouse only has three legs? So my guess is many go back to todays post while few use the previous / next option which in my humble opinion- would be the perfect spot to have a back to todays post option (as well).