MilesBuzz! - As you can see, the Icons are back!

Encore? Debut? Good idea? Wise use of BB? If/when FT has a "slow day", won't this make it worse? I'm kind of indifferent, but...

It looks like they not only allow message icon's, but each user now has their number of posts, as well as their location showing....

I don't mind the icons but the member info is pretty cluttered. And I'm wary of how the new look will weather those inevitable site slowdowns...

So why doesn't it remember when I registered. I am sure that the computer and I both knew at one time. Did it dump registration dates at some point along the way??

[This message has been edited by Punki (edited 02-03-2000).]

I like it! EXCEPT for the fact it did not recall my registration date... Hmm....

Mike

[This message has been edited by MIKE MAHONEY (edited 02-03-2000).]

Not having a date can be construed as a mark of honor(?), as if you registered prior to some date in late 98 or early 99, no dates were then registered.

So, No date = One of the Original Flyertalkers

Or so I believe.

Stewart.

I'm wondering if we will all get carried away with the using of the icons. I like the member info. It reminds us of where we are all from....

I like the member information, especially the reminder of where my fellow travelers are from. I like the icons; they make the site a little more colorful.

Have those of you on dial up modems noticed a speed difference?

Doc, I'm so glad to hear you are evaluating the "wise use" of the BB!

[This message has been edited by Dr. PfP (edited 02-03-2000).]

I really love the new look and imfo it supplies.way to go!!!

Hmmm I like it. Especially (as was said) the ability to see where everyone is based. It is good soI can see who has the same issues and esepcially if they fly the same airport http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Me like, too. But I'd much rather know each posters airline and elite level for each post than where they are from, but I'll take what I can get. Especially since I am so new to these boards, having debuted just last November! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif

[This message has been edited by kokonutz (edited 02-03-2000).]

kokonutz, how did you make the "stick out your tongue" icon? I know you are new to the boards but I'd really appreciate your help! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Geo: Next time you post a reply, click on Smilies Legend and you see all the codes.

Ok, let me be the first (and maybe the only). I'm sick of these things already. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif Our nice easy to read forum is starting to look like a comic strip!


[This message has been edited by PremEx (edited 02-08-2000).]

I don'tthink I'm too keen on this new look either. Personally, I don't see the need for the icons (although the smilies are okay) The personal info is a nice idea but I think maybe the novelty will wear off soon. It's gonna look very cluttered soon.

Just MHO.

------------------
Mark
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." - Dr Martin Luther King Jr

Got to try this to see if my posts are near the standard.

I like the member info, so you can see where fellow travelers are based, but I agree that all the icons make it a bit cluttered. I too am new to FT, so... am interested in hearing what the more experienced have to say.

Do we really need to know how many posts people have made? The Junior Member/Member deal (which IMHO should be called "Frequent FlyerTalker" and "Elite Frequent FlyerTalker") seems to serve that purpose. The locations feature is kinda nice, but the icons are trivial. Give it a week or two and everyone will be back to leaving the default icon.

- Derek

------------------
50 cents an hour not a big Advantage?
Be paid $20-$120 an hour with BePaid.
http://www.bepaid.com/users.rhtml?REFID=10063853

Knowing where a poster originates is helpful. Sorry I didn't include that information. How can I go back and include it? Only icon not available is the icon inside a circle with a slash across it! :-)

wannagotoo: glad you like my name http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

------------------
Ingrid

Cool, this gives us more to express ourselves!

Nah - more information than we need.

NJDavid... love the profile. And I have to agree with BIG BRUDDAR PREMEX about all these silly happy faces.

Also, I don't want to be bombarded with imformation and smiley faces when I log on this site half asleep before heading to work.

It's too much clutter, sorry.

Just the facts, folks.

CATMAN (dying to get to Tampa now, and writing from work!)

I like Derek's idea of including airline affiliation on the "where from" block in the profile. I have emulated and encouage everyone who feels comfortable doing so as well http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

[This message has been edited by kokonutz (edited 02-04-2000).]

Geez, I leave town for 24 hours and the board goes technicolor...actually, I really didn't need to add this comment but I'm curious to see my user info!

following kokonutz's 'profile-emulation' idea

Me too! I think we need to add an FAQ though for abbreviations, especially newbies, ie:

DL GM ~ Delta Gold Medallion
HY PP ~ Hyatt Platinum Gold Passport
HH Gold ~ Hilton VIP Gold
SPG Gold ~ Starwood Preferred Guest Gold

Sounds pretty unanimous. The icons have been deactivated. You all had fine arguments, the slowdown would certainly spoil your FlyerTalk experience. We apologize for the temporary inconvenience.

------------------
ThanX...
Michael at WebFlyer

Thank you Michael.

Now, Michael, can we do away with this stuff?
<------

I find it very annoying, and it takes up
5-8 lines of space for a 1 line post.




[This message has been edited by shadow (edited 02-04-2000).]

<---Agreed! Maybe at least a field limit?

Woah! I disagree....I'm kinda starting to like the room. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I'm with NJ David.... I like being reminded of where I'm from and where others say they are from http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif And I've followed the kokonutz idea of listing my carrier of choice and status.

[This message has been edited by geo1004 (edited 02-04-2000).]

There is a field limit. I wanted to list each hotel individually but ran out of space.

You know that under FlyerTalk Profile, you could always add a "signature" where you could put you elite status and stuff at the end of your posts.

I've been away for a while, and this stuff is new to me. Just looking at the screens that lead me to this response, I like it. Now, let's see what it does to me when I post this.

.

[This message has been edited by dgolds (edited 02-04-2000).]

Should I put my cheap ad in my "mini-profile"? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif I think my idea has grown to be too cluttered. Something like "DFW AA EP" would be sufficient.

I kinda have trouble with these status questions, because I travel on employee passes on AA. You know I have status envy.

- Derek

------------------
50 cents an hour not a big Advantage?
Be paid $20-$120 an hour with BePaid.
http://www.bepaid.com/users.rhtml?REFID=10063853

PremEx:"Our nice easy to read forum is starting to look like a comic strip!"

...but it beats Steamboat Willie! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif What do you guys have more pull than me--I have changed my profile "from" to add my airline etc. but it won't even change my location! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gifNow it worked, boy were my cookies stuck!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/confused.gifJust when I thought I had it figured out, browser confusion. Oh well, it is all doing what it is supposed to now!

[This message has been edited by BlondeBomber (edited 02-05-2000).]

At the risk of sounding completely clueless, what/where exactly were these icons? Reading this thread seems to indicate they were only around for a day. For those of us that didn't seem them, it's tough to understand what the fuss is all about.

okay, further surfing has caused me to run across some threads where the icons are still on. i'm assuming it's the icons to the left of the text "posted 02-05-2000", right?

Hmm. Ahem, Me me me me...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif

------------------
If don't go, you'll never know.

I really like the profile information that is to the left of each post.... Please, keep it.

I have to weigh in (if I didn't before.)

TOO MUCH CLUTTER!!

I do not like all these technocolor icons. In fact Eddie went to sit in my lap and one of the smiley faces started making those buggily eyes and he got frightened (His claws went through my jeans into my legs and I have the scratches to prove it.)

Also: I also think the bio info is also clutter. I think if you want the bio information of a Flyertalker, you should click the INFO icon. (although what you did NJDAVID was clever! I plan to advertise Fancy Feast cat food and Arm & Hammer Cat Litter!)

Simplicity is best. We are so bombarded with information and images and words that it can overload our brains. So keep it to our posts without all the decoration.

I know I am going to get razzed for this but I am standing by my opinion. And I know at least one Flyertalker who will stand by me!


[This message has been edited by Catman (edited 02-07-2000).]

Glad the icons are gone, like the bio information. Remember recent uproar over someone had changed his bio information before making a specific post - if we keep seeing it, even without "seeing" it, this should not be a problem.

------------------
Ingrid

I am quite familiar with UBB myself. Many seem to think that there are many choices of what to display from your profile, when the following settings are the only ones available:

Show username and status only.

Show username, status, registration date, post total.

All of above plus location.

This from the General Settings area of the UBB control panel. Various .CGI files can be edited to change the profile data fields to better reflect the interest of the FlyerTalk folks, providing the one editing has a grasp of PERL code. Personally I think username and status only is sufficient. UBB has many features that can be turned on and off, however many of the newer ones also drain bandwidth and storage resources. Keeping things simple makes FT go faster for you modem users, unless you have SDSL like some of us http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I love the new format. About time. Complete transparency of information=more meaningful exchanges. Privacy is good to a certain extent, but full disclosure is even better.

It's a brave new world out there. Join in.

jexjex

------------------

Perhaps this has been addressed elsewhere, but why is HTML not allowed in messages? I've never seen another UBB system that didn't allow it. (okay, call me sheltered... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif)

The reason most well known UBB boards restrict HTML posts is when a user inserts bad code/improper coding, the table width quite often gets distorted causing the UBB tables to look like they are 1400 pixels wide or similar. Most UBB tables are designed to stay within a certain % of 640 or 800 pixels of viewing width. UBB code allows basic editing of links, text atributes,etc. Image linking can be turned on, however boards that are very public tend to leave that feature off to prevent posting of questionable photos if you know what I mean!

If you want to see a complete (non-working!) real look at a UBB control panel exactly like the one FlyerTalk uses, click the following link. Its a PDF file, so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Ubb Main Control Panel View (http://w3.one.net/~wallaby/ubb/ubbcp.pdf)

Hope this gives you Flyer Talkers some insight on what goes on behind the scenes!

Thanks for the helpful info, 1K! I guess I need to venture around more, since I thought allowing HTML was the accepted practice. I didn't even see an option for this in that control panel. I also didn't see an option to turn off that annoying "[This message has been edited by User (edited 02-03-2000).]" option which makes me triple check messages before posting for fear that I've made a typo and could run the risk of having that appended to the message if I altered it.

Does anyone know why users here can't delete their own posts, since that's apparently not the UBB default? People always seem to run into caching issues with UBB (myself included at times), and it's irritating to see the same message three times in a row or one message followed by two "please delete" ones. It's obviously not a major issue, but it does create more work for the moderators.