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

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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?

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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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Marc Freislinger
Flipper · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 973 posts · 679 votes
15y
Bryan,

There is still an "update" button for your posts that you're not quite done with :)
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Brian H.
Real Estate Investor · Akron-Canton, OH · Member since 2009 · 53 posts · 46 votes
15y
On an iPad the forum seems small and the drop down on the right is kinda laggy. Another thing I noticed was the wholesaling forum wasn't under any category.
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Joshua D.Pro Member
OP
BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
Just so everyone knows, the forum part of the screen is actually larger than it was prior to the update. It is wider now. Looks a bit smaller because we've widened the entire template set for the forums.

NOTE: We are going to be renovating the UNANSWERED tab -- this was not the intended layout, but we wanted to be sure to get the forum up this week, so I settled with being 95% complete . . .

For those of you who mentioned that you can't figure out how to create a new topic, there are more ways to create a topic now than there ever were. There are buttons on all forum pages to create a topic, most importantly, there is now one on the main forum page as Brian mentioned.

Brian - Go to Real Estate Strategies and you'll see that wholesaling is the top category.

Everyone else - Thanks for the feedback.

NOTE: We still haven't launched our speed optimizations for the forum, so you will be seeing load times increase shortly.
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Marc Freislinger
Flipper · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 973 posts · 679 votes
15y
Originally posted by Joshua Dorkin:

There are buttons on all forum pages to create a topic, most importantly, there is now one on the main forum page as Brian mentioned.

I think Vikram may have confused the main forum page with the dashboard. (At least I did at first) Could we get a new topic button on the dashboard, or am I blind?
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Joshua D.Pro Member
OP
BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
Originally posted by Marc Freislinger:

I think Vikram may have confused the main forum page with the dashboard. (At least I did at first) Could we get a new topic button on the dashboard, or am I blind?

Interesting idea . . . never thought of that. I think we could probably do that now. I'll make a note.
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Dustin M.
IL · Member since 2009 · 68 posts · 10 votes
15y
AnI liked the old forum so far. I don't see where the mobile home investing sub forum is at now :(
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Joshua D.Pro Member
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BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
Originally posted by Dustin M.:
AnI liked the old forum so far. I don't see where the mobile home investing sub forum is at now :(

Investor Basics Tab --> Landlord & Tenant Forums

Those members who have favorite forums that they frequent, can set it as their favorite and then quickly find it in the MY FAVORITE CATEGORIES dropdown in the right sidebar.
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J ScottPro Member
Moderator
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
15y
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!
Podcast Guest on Show The Truth About Real Estate Investing in 2024 (What Investors NEED to Know)
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Timothy W.
Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
15y
I like it. Very easy one page navigation. Clicking rather than scrolling is always good, imho.
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Don KonipolBusiness Member
Investor · The Woodlands TX / Avon, CT · Member since 2009 · 6k+ posts · 10k+ votes
15y
I actually like the new version better. But I can't tell you why, it's just general feel.
Private Mortgage Financing Partners, LLC
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James Hiddle
Altus, OK · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 690 votes
15y
Originally posted by Bryan Hancock:
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)

[b]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.[/b]

This is what I want to see too. It would save time IMHO.

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Jeff NA
Involved In Real Estate · Portland, OR · Member since 2008 · 117 posts · 44 votes
15y
Being able to make a list of the forums I read is great. I thought the old layout was too cluttered and required too much sifting to find the places I was trying to get.

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Joshua D.Pro Member
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BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
J, Tim, Don and Jeff - I'm glad you like the changes.
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Harry M.
Real Estate Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2010 · 449 posts · 173 votes
15y
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.
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Bryan Hancock
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y
I also like the fact that the number of views for a given post is no longer available. It seemed that some people were reluctant to post replies to posts that had many views and no responses. I like this change.
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Raymond B.
FL · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 357 votes
15y
I don't like the "hidden forums."

The old way was much better.

Click on the forums link, scroll down the page, and see what was posted since my last visit.

New way: Multiple clicks to see if anything new was posted, is not an improvement.

Why hide information, interesting posts, etc?

Ray in Ct.

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Joshua D.Pro Member
OP
BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
Raymond -
Can you explain what you're talking about a bit more? The old forums showed the 1 latest post for any forum on the main index of the forums, nothing more.

Now, if you go to the index, you can see all the most recent posts and you can move back in time until you see the posts since your last visit.

I guess I'm confused by what you're missing?

Thanks.
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Joshua D.Pro Member
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BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
A few quick notes:

We're planning on a new update on Tuesday to fix a bunch of bugs that slipped through, including a problem with the search on the forum index page and a problem with the forum feed caused by user avatar issues. We're also planning on increasing the font size in the text boxes and have several other key fixes to come.

For those who noticed that the resources links were missing a few days ago, they are now up and running below the category accordion.

I'll keep you all posted with further updates as needed.
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Raymond B.
FL · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 357 votes
15y
Joshua,

Before you did this upgrade, I could click on the "forum link" (top left side of the page) and every Category was shown, with the last post, and about how long ago it was posted.

Now I have to search for a Category, click on that, and then I see when the last post was in that particular Category.

Ray in Ct.
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Joshua D.Pro Member
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BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
Ray - I got ya. Yes - that is now the case.

While before you'd click the link to show a category and could then see when the last post was made. Now, you need to click on the right side and you can see when the last post was made.

Actually, it is quicker to do so now . . . that's one of the features our testers liked best.
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Mark N.A
Real Estate Investor · North Carolina · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 483 votes
15y
I really miss knowing the originating author of a topic. I've been here long enough to know who has something important to say (regardless of the topic title), as opposed to some 'important sounding' topic posted by a fly-weight.

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Bryan Hancock
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
15y
You can still see that once you open the post though...right NC Mark?

Yeah...I liked seeing the originator too. Was there a good reason to get rid of it?
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Joshua D.Pro Member
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BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
15y
You can see the author of any thread from the category pages -- see below the title of the thread. You've never been able to see the originator of a thread from the index page and have always been able to do so from the category pages.
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Herb V.
Real Estate Investor · Vicksburg, MI · Member since 2009 · 129 posts · 36 votes
15y
I hate it, I like the forum topics the way they were, and get rid of those blue verticle bands on each side, they block out my cursur. Herbster
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Uwe S.
Property Manager · Dublin, OH · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 291 votes
15y
Joshua,
After three day with the new version I must say "I donÂ´t like the new version of the forum". Here some reasons:
1. If I came to my dashboard it was always on "activty feed" section, now its the "latest forum activity" section on old forum it was storable which section, now its not.
2. Biggest issue for me, the "get older" button on the forum site. If I want to look for an topic of 5 days ago (where I not have posted!) its very difficult to find this.much less if the topic 1 month or more ago. In the "my discussion" section I find the old site scale why not on the recent discussions?
Its so time expensive to look on some older posts now, example: I want to go to site two so I press the "get older button" now I found an topic to look at after I go back to the recent topics site IÂ´m on site one not on site two, so I must press "get older" button again and so on. If I want site five you know now how long it will take to come to the same topic site its frustrating for me.
Please change this to the old site scale. Thanks.
3. Here I agree with Raymond, old complete forum oversight was much better, you saw with one look which forum in which category. Now you must seek the right forum by pressing some buttons on right site. If I donÂ´t know in which category the forum located I must klick some more categorys need more time for this.
4. I miss the how much was on site within 24 hours and actual.
5. Here I agree with Herbster the "jump to category" on right site is not a good thing looks much older and to big im my mind than the old forum segmentation. The question is why right site and not (as otherwise customary) on left site?

-Uwe

p.s. Not all is bad ;), I see now also all group forum disussions in the "recent discussions" section where IÂ´m a member thats good in my mind.
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