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10-20-22, 09:41 AM
#26
Friendship is Magic
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I've asked tech to roll back the change until we add the opt-out option in the User CP. I'll provide detailed instructions on how to turn it off when we roll it back out.
Did anyone use the hamburger menu for navigation? It contained links to essentially all forums, which would then display in the regular fashion.
Did anyone use the hamburger menu for navigation? It contained links to essentially all forums, which would then display in the regular fashion.
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10-20-22, 09:43 AM
#27
Friendship is Magic
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...if it matters, I'm on a desktop when I visit this forum.
...if it matters, I'm on a desktop when I visit this forum.
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10-20-22, 09:45 AM
#28
LR÷P=HR
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10-20-22, 09:49 AM
#29
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I also want to add that I'm looking into why all the trending posts were from 2018.
What I know of the algorithm is that it takes into account multiple datapoints to determine which threads to display.
What I know of the algorithm is that it takes into account multiple datapoints to determine which threads to display.
- Number of posts
- Most recent post
- Posts within X-time frame
- Thread creation date (typically no more than 1 week old)
- Others I don't know
10-20-22, 09:57 AM
#30
Tragically Ignorant
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10-20-22, 10:09 AM
#31
Tragically Ignorant
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I also want to add that I'm looking into why all the trending posts were from 2018.
What I know of the algorithm is that it takes into account multiple datapoints to determine which threads to display.
What I know of the algorithm is that it takes into account multiple datapoints to determine which threads to display.
- Number of posts
- Most recent post
- Posts within X-time frame
- Thread creation date (typically no more than 1 week old)
- Others I don't know
Maybe the posts within a time frame was the one out of whack. As I recall, the first 6 threads were recent, but everything after that was from 2018, number 7 being a thread with about 100 posts that was closed by a moderator in July of 2018. Looking back on it, it appears that the thread got the 100 posts in less than 3 full days. The thread in question: https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...ndle-dogs.html
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10-20-22, 11:03 AM
#32
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You had received some feedback about concerns regarding the main page, to which you replied:
I simply pointed out that "other sites" owned by IB did not have the changes implemented here (maybe they are headed that direction?), gave examples, so was interested where is this data coming from that determined the changes here were beneficial to site operation and or ease of use.
Never said you used the same format as FlyerTalk. It was an example to show how another IB site was better organized.
As I mentioned, the only other IB site that looks anything like what was happening here was the Fodor's site. It was an example of layout similarities when compared to the change that happened here.
So what if they "look 25 years old"? Change for change's sake is not always the best way to go. I think the multiple threads and not-positive user feedbacks about the recent change here might be an indication that many users are fine with the way things are set up.
Out of curiosity, will you please provide a link to a "modern forum" that BF is trying to emulate? I am genuinely interested in seeing which direction the tech and behind the scenes people think BF needs to be heading.
Thank you for the rollback. To me, it makes the site much more user friendly.
Yes, I used the 'hamburger' menu for navigation. Again, I'll say it is/was cumbersome on both desktop and iPad (I gave up using my iPhone to access BF). The page rapidly filled up when the dropdowns were opened. You could not, for example, click on the main Bike Forums, Racer's Forum, The Lounge, etc category hamburger link and get to the "Bike Forum" discussion subforum. You would have to further click on a subcategory (like Bike Mechanics in the Bike Forum forum section, for example), to actually get into the "Bike Forum" subcategory. And if you clicked 'back', you would not get to the general subforum, you would be taken back to the main 'trending' page, where you'd have to go through the whole process again to get to another subforum or subcategory. It also did not allow for an overall forum listing to be opened.
Yes, when you finally got to the subcategory you wanted to get to, it displayed in the "regular" fashion. The number of steps to get to the 'regular' diplay, and the lack of being able to get to an overall forum listing are/were frustrating.
The "Forums" tab / dropdown in the header bar (top left) essentially achieves the exact same thing as the 'hamburger', except you can click on the forum group (Bike Forums, Racer's Forum, The lounge, etc) to get to the 'regular' display of all the other contained subforums straight away (couldn't get an overall fourm listing though). I found itmuch easier less cumbersome and faster to use that tab menu to navigate between subforums vs. the hamburger.
I simply pointed out that "other sites" owned by IB did not have the changes implemented here (maybe they are headed that direction?), gave examples, so was interested where is this data coming from that determined the changes here were beneficial to site operation and or ease of use.
Never said you used the same format as FlyerTalk. It was an example to show how another IB site was better organized.
As I mentioned, the only other IB site that looks anything like what was happening here was the Fodor's site. It was an example of layout similarities when compared to the change that happened here.
So what if they "look 25 years old"? Change for change's sake is not always the best way to go. I think the multiple threads and not-positive user feedbacks about the recent change here might be an indication that many users are fine with the way things are set up.
Out of curiosity, will you please provide a link to a "modern forum" that BF is trying to emulate? I am genuinely interested in seeing which direction the tech and behind the scenes people think BF needs to be heading.
Thank you for the rollback. To me, it makes the site much more user friendly.
Yes, I used the 'hamburger' menu for navigation. Again, I'll say it is/was cumbersome on both desktop and iPad (I gave up using my iPhone to access BF). The page rapidly filled up when the dropdowns were opened. You could not, for example, click on the main Bike Forums, Racer's Forum, The Lounge, etc category hamburger link and get to the "Bike Forum" discussion subforum. You would have to further click on a subcategory (like Bike Mechanics in the Bike Forum forum section, for example), to actually get into the "Bike Forum" subcategory. And if you clicked 'back', you would not get to the general subforum, you would be taken back to the main 'trending' page, where you'd have to go through the whole process again to get to another subforum or subcategory. It also did not allow for an overall forum listing to be opened.
Yes, when you finally got to the subcategory you wanted to get to, it displayed in the "regular" fashion. The number of steps to get to the 'regular' diplay, and the lack of being able to get to an overall forum listing are/were frustrating.
The "Forums" tab / dropdown in the header bar (top left) essentially achieves the exact same thing as the 'hamburger', except you can click on the forum group (Bike Forums, Racer's Forum, The lounge, etc) to get to the 'regular' display of all the other contained subforums straight away (couldn't get an overall fourm listing though). I found it
Redd.it is the be-all, end-all forum site. I have even suggested in passing in the past to merge all forums IB owns into a single site (don't worry, this will not occur for logistic and revenue issues) to compete with them. Discord is now the pre-eminent discussion site, but for long-term information management, it's very inadequate.
To keep BikeForums relevant, we have to keep up with modern expectations of design. The Trending Homepage as an idea is 15 years old, at least. Younger people, who make up an increasingly large segment of our site visitors, are not going to stick around if the site looks older than they are. They'll go to Redd.it, they'll go to YouTube. Gen Z uses TikTok as a search engine instead of Google. Then we won't make any money and we'll shut the site down. I've seen it happen during my time at IB. It's easy to say, "We have a more robust discussion forum that can easily give deeper answers on a subject". Which is true, but doesn't do any good when people don't stick around to read them.
It sucks to say, but each passing year makes you and I increasingly irrelevant.
10-20-22, 11:06 AM
#33
minimalist cyclist
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I remember the brouhaha surrounding the changes to the blue site logo and all the associated changes that came with it 
...including many fights over the background color. Time to pull out the perfect soundtrack for site change bickering
:
...including many fights over the background color. Time to pull out the perfect soundtrack for site change bickering
:
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10-20-22, 11:27 AM
#34
Senior Member
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Given the way I visit BF I haven't come across "Trending" yet..so I have no first-hand experience with it..yet. However the name/function suggests that threads with lots of responses and a high frequency of responses will float to the top of Trending. Hmm..what threads typically/often have a high frequency of responses and high number of responses..?
Sticky threads and long term informative threads come to mind(show us your vintage mtn bikes or show us your mtn bike drop bar conversions.or love of English three speeds...etc..).
The other obvious threads that might "Trend" would be troll threads and threads where some bitter argument has broken out(near daily occurrences it seems & what drives "engagement" all over the web)...perfect..if this is the case, perhaps new and improved isn't so improved. We'll see I guess.
Sticky threads and long term informative threads come to mind(show us your vintage mtn bikes or show us your mtn bike drop bar conversions.or love of English three speeds...etc..).
The other obvious threads that might "Trend" would be troll threads and threads where some bitter argument has broken out(near daily occurrences it seems & what drives "engagement" all over the web)...perfect..if this is the case, perhaps new and improved isn't so improved. We'll see I guess.
10-20-22, 11:40 AM
#35
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Given the way I visit BF I haven't come across "Trending" yet..so I have no first-hand experience with it..yet. However the name/function suggests that threads with lots of responses and a high frequency of responses will float to the top of Trending. Hmm..what threads typically/often have a high frequency of responses and high number of responses..?
Sticky threads and long term informative threads come to mind(show us your vintage mtn bikes or show us your mtn bike drop bar conversions.or love of English three speeds...etc..).
The other obvious threads that might "Trend" would be troll threads and threads where some bitter argument has broken out(near daily occurrences it seems & what drives "engagement" all over the web)...perfect..if this is the case, perhaps new and improved isn't so improved. We'll see I guess.
Sticky threads and long term informative threads come to mind(show us your vintage mtn bikes or show us your mtn bike drop bar conversions.or love of English three speeds...etc..).
The other obvious threads that might "Trend" would be troll threads and threads where some bitter argument has broken out(near daily occurrences it seems & what drives "engagement" all over the web)...perfect..if this is the case, perhaps new and improved isn't so improved. We'll see I guess.
10-20-22, 12:12 PM
#36
Senior Member
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Given the way I visit BF I haven't come across "Trending" yet..so I have no first-hand experience with it..yet. However the name/function suggests that threads with lots of responses and a high frequency of responses will float to the top of Trending. Hmm..what threads typically/often have a high frequency of responses and high number of responses..?
Sticky threads and long term informative threads come to mind(show us your vintage mtn bikes or show us your mtn bike drop bar conversions.or love of English three speeds...etc..).
The other obvious threads that might "Trend" would be troll threads and threads where some bitter argument has broken out(near daily occurrences it seems & what drives "engagement" all over the web)...perfect..if this is the case, perhaps new and improved isn't so improved. We'll see I guess.
Sticky threads and long term informative threads come to mind(show us your vintage mtn bikes or show us your mtn bike drop bar conversions.or love of English three speeds...etc..).
The other obvious threads that might "Trend" would be troll threads and threads where some bitter argument has broken out(near daily occurrences it seems & what drives "engagement" all over the web)...perfect..if this is the case, perhaps new and improved isn't so improved. We'll see I guess.
I wasn't worried about the stickies and long-term useful threads, I was lamenting the latter type..highlighting troll and argumentative threads. Discord drives 'engagement' all over the web. Highlighting discord wouldn't be an improvement. While I hope the algorithm will not highlight these types of threads as "Trending", having done some coding in my day, I'm not sure (off the top of my head) how an algorithm would discern between interesting popular topics and threads that get locked up eventually(for obvious reasons).
There's a lovely thread teetering off the rails in Touring right now. If the Trend function were working properly at the moment, would this thread would be highlighted as "Trending" (right up to the point when it's locked)? I would think issues like this were considered prior to implementation as troll and argumentative threads are not at all rare.
..I'm not trying to give you a hard time, just offering some honest feedback..which I'm guessing you expected with the forum changes. There's always feedback, for better or worse..
10-20-22, 12:16 PM
#37
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I wasn't worried about the stickies and long-term useful threads, I was lamenting the latter type..highlighting troll and argumentative threads. Discord drives 'engagement' all over the web. Highlighting discord wouldn't be an improvement. While I hope the algorithm will not highlight these types of threads as "Trending", having done some coding in my day, I'm not sure (off the top of my head) how an algorithm would discern between interesting popular topics and threads that get locked up eventually(for obvious reasons).
There's a lovely thread teetering off the rails in Touring right now. If the Trend function were working properly at the moment, would this thread would be highlighted as "Trending" (right up to the point when it's locked)? I would think issues like this were considered prior to implementation as troll and argumentative threads are not at all rare.
..I'm not trying to give you a hard time, just offering some honest feedback..which I'm guessing you expected with the forum changes. There's always feedback, for better or worse..
There's a lovely thread teetering off the rails in Touring right now. If the Trend function were working properly at the moment, would this thread would be highlighted as "Trending" (right up to the point when it's locked)? I would think issues like this were considered prior to implementation as troll and argumentative threads are not at all rare.
..I'm not trying to give you a hard time, just offering some honest feedback..which I'm guessing you expected with the forum changes. There's always feedback, for better or worse..
10-20-22, 12:32 PM
#38
ignominious poltroon
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I see that the landing page https://www.bikeforums.net is now back to the original format, albeit temporarily. Would it be possible to assign that page another stable URL like https://www.bikeforums.net/sitemap-landing-page so that it can be preserved as an alternative, non-default option that users could book-mark, when the new format is again implemented?
The advantage of the original format is that it serves as a convenient site-map and brief overview of the content of all of the sub-forums.
The advantage of the original format is that it serves as a convenient site-map and brief overview of the content of all of the sub-forums.
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10-20-22, 12:34 PM
#39
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Also not a fan of the 'new' trending main page. Glad they reverted back until a toggle to turn that off can be added.. 
10-20-22, 12:59 PM
#40
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I see that the landing page https://www.bikeforums.net is now back to the original format, albeit temporarily. Would it be possible to assign that page another stable URL like https://www.bikeforums.net/sitemap-landing-page so that it can be preserved as an alternative, non-default option that users could book-mark, when the new format is again implemented?
The advantage of the original format is that it serves as a convenient site-map and brief overview of the content of all of the sub-forums.
The advantage of the original format is that it serves as a convenient site-map and brief overview of the content of all of the sub-forums.
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