I'm hearing a few things about the main index that I think can be rectified to satisfy all parties (or at least most of you). Please know that I'd have made every change and fix (font sizes, etc) already, but our development team is a bit of a mess right now, so I'm trying to get it done in whatever hours I can eek out of them. I know that it doesn't matter to you guys, but I do want you to know that this is a huge frustration for me, as I have a hard time sitting around for days while problems that can and should be fixed right away sit. That said, here are some thoughts: 1 - Seems like lots of you used the recent posts tab of the forum and want to be able to navigate back a few days using the paginated view instead of the get more. I'll see if we can add the ability to show a few days worth of posts here in a paginated manner. 2 - It seems like the tabs aren't being retained when people refresh a page on the forums or hit the go back button. We'll see what we can do about that. 3 - We did eliminate the stats data from the side of the forums. This can be found at any time by going to the stats page. 4 - I've made note of several instances where the font size has become too small . . . we're going to get this fixed. 5 - It seems that the default search dropdown for the forum pages is now showing a people search instead of the forum search. We're going to be correcting that, and the blank page that you get from the index search box -- this should be corrected today. 6 - I've got a few other ideas that should please some of you who long for the ways of old . . . we'll see what we can get knocked out. Thanks again for the feedback . . . we're working to be responsive. Thanks for the patience.

One other thing that I noticed which I don't care for is that "My Discussions" used to include threads originated by me AND threads which I've participated in. Now it only has threads which I've originated. Is there anyway to get it back to showing both: the threads which we've originated, and the threads which we've contributed to?

Having been part of very large UI rollouts before -- including a couple at eBay that Jeffrey mentioned -- I've learned that the initial reaction by the most loyal users is often negative. This is simply because most people aren't fans of change (I'm included in this category, btw). So, for those that aren't thrilled with the changes, remember that as you get accustomed to the differences, you may very well realize that the changes are actually very good. Personally, I like the new look and feel. I've been accessing the site from my iPad most of the past week, and the changes are actually very conducive to that device. I love the fact that the discussions pages have more information (such as the category), and I agree that having more places to initiate a new thread makes things much easier than having to navigate to the forum first. Congrats on the updates, Josh!

To those that are unhappy, I think you'll be pleased with out next updates; as I've said before, we're taking many suggestions into consideration. As for the number of postings and traffic on the forums, both are up.

I agree with J.Scott - it's hard to be 100% objective the first few days, since there's this disruption to muscle memory that makes it initially harder to use. Just a couple of initial thoughts. I like that the recent discussions part that used to only be in the dashboard is prominent now. That's going to be useful, and I'm finding myself adapting to that already as my primary way of getting a quick idea of what's going on. The unanswered posts section is a fantastic idea! The only negative for me is how the forums are displayed. Previously, it felt very "open" - you could see all the forums on one page, and you could see the title of the most recently answered post. That was great for getting a quick overview of what was going on at a quick glance. The forums feel a little hidden now.

Josh, here's one thing that was better in the old version. In the recent discussions page, it would tell us how long ago the last post was written - e.g. 5 minutes back, 1 day ago, etc. Now it gives the date and time of the last post in the thread, which is hard to get a quick feel for. I suspect it should be a fairly simple code change for you to give us that relative time indicator instead of the absolute time indiactor.

I'm not trying to be negative, but I liked the previous version better. Will have to get used to this one. Sorry, just giving my personal opinion.

Gee, I didn't realize the old forum was "broke". It seems like the pages take longer to load with all the "improvements" and I still have my high speed internet connection, same as before.

That's exactly what I always did too. I can figure out military time, but I have to agree with this request for another reason: time zone differences. I recall that at one point the times were in Eastern time, but now they seem to be in Mountain or Pacific time. Regardless of time zone, the relative time did work the same for all users. Now think about Vikram working from India, and Uwe working from Germany, and Rich Weese being like Carmen Sandiego ("Where in the world is ...") - a real variety of time zones. Adjusting for time zones is the first thig to do with the time, and then doing the how far back calculation follows; relative time gets you there without much thinking at all. Maybe this can be implemented by user preferences. One person liked that there are twenty threads to a page, another prefers to see them appended to the end of the previous list. Both can get their way if user adjustable preferences can be allocated to do this.

Announcing the BiggerPockets Forums Version 3.0 - Notice anything different?

Questions About BiggerPockets & Official Site Announcements

15yFollow

Announcing the BiggerPockets Forums Version 3.0 - Notice anything different?

Joshua D.Pro Member

BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes

What do you think?

Podcast Guest on Show #100

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Darryl Dahlen

Commercial Loan Officer · Southern Maine, ME · Member since 2009 · 782 posts · 415 votes

15y

It really is great that you are asking for input as to how to make the site better. Your work is to be commended, and I am very impressed with your dedication to make this site better.

We really should be the ones thanking you.

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Andrew R
Real Estate Investor · CA · Member since 2009 · 138 posts · 19 votes
15y
Huge ad to my right lol.

I like it but it seems like the text is way smaller :( it strains my eyes.

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Steve Babiak
Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
15y
Josh,

I posted some fresh commentary in the Beta tester group forum; check there.
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Joshua D.Pro Member
OP
BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
Thanks Steve. Saw the notes . . . appreciate the suggestions and feedback on the few buggers you pointed out.

NOTE: There is an empty TOOLS dropdown in the RESOURCES section on the right . . . these should be filled in at some point this weekend with all the resource links that used to be on the right sidebar of the old forums.
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Jeffrey K.
Real Estate Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 671 votes
15y
It is getting harder to use. When ebay switched over they had an option to view the old style. Do we have that here? I miss the preview that came with the last version. I will play with this more but it seems like it might be harder to use at first. I feel the same way I did when facebook changed a few years ago... old.
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Joshua D.Pro Member
OP
BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
Jeffrey -
What preview are you referring to? What is more difficult to use?

The front page of the forums were impossible to navigate prior to the change . . . all that navigation is now on the sidebar and can be found from any forum page.....

I'm working on a post with all the features -- coming in a few hours.
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Account Closed
Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y
I like the new look. The forum printing id larger at least on my screen making it easier to read. There were some features of the old I liked but this one has a lot of promise.
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Nick J.
Residential Real Estate Broker · Payson, AZ · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y
That's it! I'm outa here
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Alex Hart
Portsmouth, OH · Member since 2009 · 198 posts · 54 votes
15y
WOW...what happened? I had to double check the URL.

It will take some time to get used to the new feel of this site.

Looks good though.
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Steve Babiak
Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
15y
Josh,

I'm not sure, but I think the keyword lookup that was in the old pages seems to be gone. along with other things I pointed out in that other (more private) thread.
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Steve Babiak
Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
15y
Originally posted by motiv8td:
That's it! I'm outa here

Good Riddance I say!!! Josh should have done this months ago - JK :lol:
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Jeffrey K.
Real Estate Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 671 votes
15y
The preview of what is being talked about in each topic. If there was a way to make it so taht when you rolled over the category in the sidebar and it displayed the top post or two that would make you want to click rather than clicking on all of them to see if there is anything you want to read. Maybe I am missing something. This is the only forum I use so I must not get it.
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Joshua D.Pro Member
OP
BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
The tags that were on the left of the page were rarely, if ever used. If someone wants to navigate by tag, the TAGS link can be found at the footer of the forums pages.

BTW - Anyone notice the ability to select your favorite categories and save them? You can then view them using the My Favorite Categories dropdown on the right of the screen.
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Joshua D.Pro Member
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BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
I know what you're talking about now Jeffrey.... on the main forums page you used to see what each forum was about. That info now shows at the top of each forum category.

If it is something that everyone can't live without, we'll look into a solution. After running this layout by a few dozen people, this is the first time someone mentioned it.
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Sammy Johnson
Homeowner · Dalton, GA · Member since 2010 · 108 posts · 13 votes
15y
Originally posted by Joshua Dorkin:
The tags that were on the left of the page were rarely, if ever used. If someone wants to navigate by tag, the TAGS link can be found at the footer of the forums pages.
BTW - Anyone notice the ability to select your favorite categories and save them? You can then view them using the My Favorite Categories dropdown on the right of the screen.

i like it is bigger and less eye strain i noticed the key tags were gone so i had to look around till found this thread and it was strange i didnt have to log in either i liked the old too but change is inevitable and is mostly good for us thanks for constantly improving an already great and rewarding site not brown nosing cause it never gets you anywhere any way just saying what is on mind thanks to all involved
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Deborah Mettler
Real Estate Investor · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2010 · 63 posts · 40 votes
15y
I'm not trying to be negative, but I liked the previous version better. Will have to get used to this one. Sorry, just giving my personal opinion.
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Marc Freislinger
Flipper · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 973 posts · 679 votes
15y
My only concern is that it makes the forum seem really small, especially on my phone, with that large of a menu on the right. It looks like only about 40% of my screen is actual forum now. Maybe we can cut the blue margins on the left and right in half to give more readable space?
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Bryan Hancock
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y
I haven't used it enough to comment a whole lot, but it is certainly going to take some getting used to now.

Things I like:

1. Navigating to the 2nd page just puts the new posts at the bottom instead of loading a new page

2. The alignment of ads and everything seems much better

Things needed still (unless I missed it)

3. Navigating to the 2nd page of posts with one click instead of 2

I'll give more feedback when I have used it more.
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Vikram C.
Real Estate Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y
Josh, if I want to create a new thread, where do I go? In the past, I would click on Forums and then see which forum I wanted to create the thread on and then do it in there. I do not see that screen anymore where I can see all the forums with the description beneath each forum and also the number of threads and posts in each forum, etc.

Also, as I am typing this message, I feel that I need to go buy magnifying glasses to see what I am typing in the text box. The font size is too small.

On the whole, I think it would take us a few days to give you good feedback because anything new takes time to get used to.
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Bryan Hancock
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y
I agree that the text and the window to type new comments is too small on the quick reply and advanced reply modes.
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Bryan Hancock
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y
Creating new topics is much easier now Vikram....there is a button at the top of the forum. Once you click it you get the drop down category with headings...nice!
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Vikram C.
Real Estate Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y
I must be blind, Bryan. I am not able to see that button. I do see a "New Topic" link at the top and when I click it, it only allows me to create a new topic within the existing forum, not in the most appropriate forum.
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Vikram C.
Real Estate Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y
Josh, here's one thing that was better in the old version. In the recent discussions page, it would tell us how long ago the last post was written - e.g. 5 minutes back, 1 day ago, etc. Now it gives the date and time of the last post in the thread, which is hard to get a quick feel for. I suspect it should be a fairly simple code change for you to give us that relative time indicator instead of the absolute time indiactor.
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Bryan Hancock
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y
Yeah...you have to start from the main forum...which is a bit confusing. I think maybe the person should be pointed to that same page anytime they click on the "New Topic" button.

I also noticed that the category for each post....or the forum it belongs in is underneath each post. That is nice.

I still say the feature that would be the nicest and save the most time and consternation is going straight to the right page from the home forum for a given post. Having to click twice on anything that is longer than 1 page is annoying to me.
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Bryan Hancock
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y
Yup...I like the old minutes-based system better too. Who the heck thinks in military time?!
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Bryan Hancock
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y
The "My Discussion" feature on the forums is awesome Josh...MUCH improved. I have often spent a lot of time trying to find posts that I started...this narrows things down considerably.
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