Here's what's new:
  • Mobile friendly (ex: turn your phone from portrait to landscape and watch it give you more detail).
  • There's an app.
  • It's easier to upload/edit photos from your phone/tablet.
  • A 'Like' button.
  • Light and Dark themes (look for crescent moon and lightbulb)
  • In-House Article Publishing: In addition to a friendly what-you-see-is-what-you-get text editor, the forums now allow file attachments to be dragged into place, images to be precisely edited and located, links to be unfurled for a useful preview, and media to be embedded. In the right hands, posts can become full fledged articles. Some very intelligent and talented RV folks in the community might find this an efficient way to painlessly publish their work.
  • News feed. Users can construct an activity feed tailored to their own preferences by selecting other community members to follow.
  • Improved security, search and server horsepower.
  • So much more!!!
Changes going forward:
  • No more front page ... the Off-Topic will live on though, don't worry! <g>
  • The 'who has donated' page has left the building. To the wonderful folks who donated in ’23 and have already donated in '24, thank you! Going forward, if you donate use the link in the forums.
  • For subscribers, a badge will appear next to your username. It may take a bit to get all this set up and squared away.
  • Ads from the old site will be coming online in the next few days.
  • Subscribe with benefits ... such as an ad-free viewing experience and access to an all new exclusive forum: The Ready Room (what happens in The Ready Room stays in ... well, you know the rest)
There will most likely be some hiccups along the way, but we’ll get the bumps ironed out. Hang tough and welcome.

One last thing, please feel free to post questions in this thread and thank you to those who take the time to respond and help users adapt to the changes.

v/r,dr

IMG_8813-X3.jpg
 
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lipper03 said:
I must be getting old, I’m on Apple stuff, phone, pad, Mac, but I’m not familiar with pwa, doing some googling now.
Click to expand...
I'm sure Bill will correct me if I'm wrong, but I bet you just need to hit the menu on your phones browser (the 3 bars) and there should be an option that says something like "download app".
 
bkervaski said:
Oh, I thought you meant embedded links in posts.

Search engines will work themselves out as the crawlers re-index everything.

Possible? Probably. In the budget? Not so much.

You can use the forum search, it’s really good with this new software.
Click to expand...
Yes, they are embedded in posts. Some examples:

Laser Cut Parts are Okay

A lot of detail to convince/demonstrate that Laser Cut Parts are okay, for the most part. If everyone believes it then this could be a huge help to Van's. What do you think? I believe statistical analysis. Yeah, there is a benefit to Van's for it to be true but they've gone with an outside...
vansairforce.net vansairforce.net

Job openings at Van's

Just saw this posted, but I don't know if it's new or has been around for a while. On the Van's website (search 'careers') and FB page. Position Department Sustaining Engineer Engineering Engineer Drafter Engineering Prototype Shop Senior Technician Prototype Shop Prototype Shop...
vansairforce.net vansairforce.net

While Google and other search engines will eventually index the new URLs, it will see all of the content as being new, losing SEO value. The large number of broken links with further punish the SEO value.
 
lipper03 said:
I must be getting old, I’m on Apple stuff, phone, pad, Mac, but I’m not familiar with pwa, doing some googling now.
Click to expand...
For Apple it is easy. Choose the Share up-arrow, and select Add to Home Screen. Pic of the share arrow is below. Really a misnomer this is an app. It is just a shortcut to the web instance without the web browser wrapper.
 

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lipper03 said:
I got it, the share button, add to home screen.
Click to expand...
^^^^ This! Need to highlight and add to instructions.
I was on myiPad and for the life of me could not find a Menu button. Yes, I’m pretty computer/Apple-literate. It did NOT exist anywhere on iPad - even after switching between mobile and desktop views. Finally looked on my iPhone, and the menu bars were there. Not sure what’s up with the iPad OS. Regardless… went to Share/Add to Home Screen. Now have app on both iPhone and iPad.
 
WOW!! What a shame. So much useful information missing with the header now gone from the displayed page without scrolling up to it.

I sure hope this change was needed. So far, my impression of "ease of use" is way down...... Hope I can put up with the learning curve.
 
DeltaRomeo said:
Here's what's new:
  • Mobile friendly (ex: turn your phone from portrait to landscape and watch it give you more detail).
  • There's an app.
  • It's easier to upload/edit photos from your phone/tablet.
  • A 'Like' button.
  • Light and Dark themes (look for crescent moon and lightbulb)
  • In-House Article Publishing: In addition to a friendly what-you-see-is-what-you-get text editor, the forums now allow file attachments to be dragged into place, images to be precisely edited and located, links to be unfurled for a useful preview, and media to be embedded. In the right hands, posts can become full fledged articles. Some very intelligent and talented RV folks in the community might find this an efficient way to painlessly publish their work.
  • News feed. Users can construct an activity feed tailored to their own preferences by selecting other community members to follow.
  • Improved security, search and server horsepower.
  • So much more!!!
Changes going forward:
  • No more front page ... the Off-Topic will live on though, don't worry! <g>
  • The 'who has donated' page has left the building. To the wonderful folks who donated in ’23 and have already donated in '24, thank you! Going forward, if you donate use the link in the forums.
  • For subscribers, a badge will appear next to your username. It may take a bit to get all this set up and squared away.
  • Ads from the old site will be coming online in the next few days.
  • Subscribe with benefits ... such as an ad-free viewing experience and access to an all new exclusive forum: The Ready Room (what happens in The Ready Room stays in ... well, you know the rest)
There will most likely be some hiccups along the way, but we’ll get the bumps ironed out. Hang tough and welcome.

One last thing, please feel free to post questions in this thread and thank you to those who take the time to respond and help users adapt to the changes.

v/r,dr

IMG_8813-X3.jpg
Click to expand...
Great looking airplane!
 
VA Maule said:
I’m gonna be in the minority along with Mike and a few others. First impression is I don’t like change from the old and familiar .

The former version offered “Today’s posts “ which allowed a convenient way to check out everything that had been posted since the last visit in chronological order , is there still a button to get that setup or do you have to look through every individual forum topic looking for the very small “new” flag/ box thingy?
Click to expand...
Drop down the Forum button at the top of the screen and select "New Posts". Similar functionality under "What's New"...
 
Wow, I'm not ready for this!
Lead me through this.
BTW, I'm 84 years old and am not computer literate.
 
I like the new look of the forum, but have a question...
In the old forum, I had it set so the newest messages in a thread would appear at the top of the list instead of at the bottom. Is that option still available? If not, is the “jump to new” button now the best way to get to the latest posts in a thread?

Thanks,
 
Trophies?!

I'll give it a day or two to get used to the layout, initial thoughts are something is missing...
 
I am lost with the new format :-(. I use VAF everyday but now have no idea how to get around: the old way seemed so much more straightforward?
 
I like the new look. I totally get the monumental effort and overwhelming need to transition to modern software. That said, I mourn the loss of the front page. The front page has been an essential part of my nightly routine for a very long time. I hope it finds its way back someday. RIP.
 
DeltaRomeo said:
…
There will most likely be some hiccups along the way, but we’ll get the bumps ironed out. Hang tough and welcome.

One last thing, please feel free to post questions in this thread and thank you to those who take the time to respond and help users adapt to the changes.

v/r,dr
Click to expand...
I had a melancholy feeling for several days after I said goodbye to our 25 year old Accord with 430,000 miles.
Similar feeling now. I’ll get over it, but I’ll never forget. Goodbye old friend.
Maybe Doug should have a memorial service for the old software…
 
This change seems to be primarily aimed at enhancing the site for phone users. The changes are not good (with the exception of dark mode) for laptop/desktop users. I went through and put "Watch" an all the areas of interest to me but see no way get to them separate from everything else. Looks to me as though you can follow individuals but not areas. Losing the front page is huge. Perhaps this format is more familiar if you are a social media user (I am not) but it is now much more difficult to navigate. I know this must have been a tremendous amount of work and no doubt has increased abilities for posting given the large number of icons at the top of this window as I compose this but the usefulness of the site has dropped precipitously.
 
Skysailor said:
This change seems to be primarily aimed at enhancing the site for phone users. The changes are not good (with the exception of dark mode) for laptop/desktop users. I went through and put "Watch" an all the areas of interest to me but see no way get to them separate from everything else. Looks to me as though you can follow individuals but not areas. Losing the front page is huge. Perhaps this format is more familiar if you are a social media user (I am not) but it is now much more difficult to navigate. I know this must have been a tremendous amount of work and no doubt has increased abilities for posting given the large number of icons at the top of this window as I compose this but the usefulness of the site has dropped precipitously.
Click to expand...

Try "Watched Threads" or "Watched Forums" from the menu.

Regarding mobile users, that's a large percentage of daily visitors, so you're right about that.

It's not just a change, it's entirely new modern forum software. The site hasn't been updated in 20 years and had become a security nightmare. We worked very, very hard to bring this experience to you and keep the forum alive and online for years to come. We'll tweak what we need to based on your constructive criticism.

We're all learning what the new software will do, it's quite powerful, just new and different. As pilots we're great at adapting to change. As builders we love exploring new things. Enjoy!
 
It's now like Every other forum I read, What made this place unique was the front page it will be missed. I understand the front page took time and without enough donations made it imposible to maintian.
 
Yay for this. I suspect it will be good for our host on many levels, and better for our technical host on even more.

For my fellow curmudgeons, think of this as modern heart surgery: you certainly didn’t expect to have it, and would not have asked to have it. And you will have to make some little changes to your daily habits. But it will enable life to go on a bit longer. And when you look back in a little while, outpatient surgery today vs. a week in the hospital 20 years ago is a lot easier to deal with.
 
Is there a way to see only the new posts in a thread? Before, there was a button on the left side that would bring you to the first post since the last time I looked.
 
skybolt31 said:
Is there a way to see only the new posts in a thread? Before, there was a button on the left side that would bring you to the first post since the last time I looked.
Click to expand...
When you come the main page look to the upper right. There is a Blue Box the says New Posts. It just like the good old new posts !
 
I used to get an email each day that summarized postings to Classified. Now I'm getting a new email for each new post. Is there a way to change that back?

Edit: In "Preferences", Email I see the summarize option, but only in general, not for specific forums. Is that hidden somewhere else?

Finn
 
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Me exploring the New Site: where did that go? Oh: there it is; Oh, cool! That's new! Wow: more that 12 faces to add :love: Oh: I didn't see THAT! Where is the.....found it....never mind.....:LOL::ROFLMAO:

I'm getting to like it! I may never get out of Dark Mode.....😄
 
Had me worried for a bit. Please don’t take this the wrong way but I come to your site for “off topic”. I’m sorry. I’m an RV 6A flyer but got hooked on the need for laughter and “off topic” is awesome.

I did note the line that you would be keeping”off topic” so thanks. BTW, I do appreciate everything else to. :)

THANKS
 
jrm7997 said:
Had me worried for a bit. Please don’t take this the wrong way but I come to your site for “off topic”. I’m sorry. I’m an RV 6A flyer but got hooked on the need for laughter and “off topic” is awesome.

I did note the line that you would be keeping”off topic” so thanks. BTW, I do appreciate everything else to. :)

THANKS
Click to expand...
I completely understand!

I plan on doing a Van's Air Force News every few days and I'm going to make sure I put an off topic at the bottom of every one of those. They've been a part of my life for many years now and it's kind of ingrained in me that I need to put that out there :).

Thanks again to everybody for their patience during this transition. A lot of moving parts and many many things to get squared away. Your patience means a lot!
 
I wondered when this day would come, the old site was clearly well past its prime (the forum software, NOT the content). Big change, will mean a whole pile of recurrent training. After the initial shock, lots of great stuff here. No more full mailbox!
 
I REALLY like the new update. I especially like the "Jump to New" feature in both threads and the "What's New" page. Well done folks.
 
I like the new look and I'm getting used to the new format. Kinda like putting your favorite screwdriver in different drawer and trying to find it. LOL.

Do have a request. Can you put a "BACK TO THE TOP" button at the bottom of the screen.
 
bkervaski said:
Oh, I thought you meant embedded links in posts.

Search engines will work themselves out as the crawlers re-index everything.

Possible? Probably. In the budget? Not so much.

You can use the forum search, it’s really good with this new software.
Click to expand...
I look at post dates a lot to see what is old vs new. Very tough to read post date, as it is a VERY light font. Any way we can darken this up to make it more readable.
 
DeltaRomeo said:
Here's what's new:
  • Mobile friendly (ex: turn your phone from portrait to landscape and watch it give you more detail).
  • There's an app.
  • It's easier to upload/edit photos from your phone/tablet.
  • A 'Like' button.
  • Light and Dark themes (look for crescent moon and lightbulb)
  • In-House Article Publishing: In addition to a friendly what-you-see-is-what-you-get text editor, the forums now allow file attachments to be dragged into place, images to be precisely edited and located, links to be unfurled for a useful preview, and media to be embedded. In the right hands, posts can become full fledged articles. Some very intelligent and talented RV folks in the community might find this an efficient way to painlessly publish their work.
  • News feed. Users can construct an activity feed tailored to their own preferences by selecting other community members to follow.
  • Improved security, search and server horsepower.
  • So much more!!!
Changes going forward:
  • No more front page ... the Off-Topic will live on though, don't worry! <g>
  • The 'who has donated' page has left the building. To the wonderful folks who donated in ’23 and have already donated in '24, thank you! Going forward, if you donate use the link in the forums.
  • For subscribers, a badge will appear next to your username. It may take a bit to get all this set up and squared away.
  • Ads from the old site will be coming online in the next few days.
  • Subscribe with benefits ... such as an ad-free viewing experience and access to an all new exclusive forum: The Ready Room (what happens in The Ready Room stays in ... well, you know the rest)
There will most likely be some hiccups along the way, but we’ll get the bumps ironed out. Hang tough and welcome.

One last thing, please feel free to post questions in this thread and thank you to those who take the time to respond and help users adapt to the changes.

v/r,dr

IMG_8813-X3.jpg
Click to expand...
 
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