Programming Forums > Community Forums > Community Announcements and Feedback

cscgal · Oct 17th, 2007, 11:53 PM

Hi,

The new version of PFO is just about complete and I want to invite everyone to check out all of the new features while I give an explanation of what has changed.

Firstly is the new color scheme and a DaniWeb-inspired header/footer, as DaniWeb is now sponsoring PFO. The placement of everything has remained the same so you should be able to find all of your tools in their familiar places.

Secondly, there has been some restructuring of the forum index. Kyle had the various languages listed alphabetically but I prefer to list them in order of popularity while grouping similar languages together. Ideally this should lead to less scrolling down the page in search of the most trafficked forums. I've also merged the Site Announcements and Site Feedback forums because I openly welcome comments and feedback on anything I might announce. This forum has also been moved towards the bottom of the forum index.

I've set up my own version of highlighted code tags with the [code=language] bbcode. Therefore, you use [code] when you don't want to specify a language and you use [code=language] when you do. My version includes line numbers so that you can point out certain lines in code, but there is a toggle to view the code in plain text for easy copy/pasting into your favorite IDE.

I am also not a fan at all of code that is confined into a limited text area that requires scrolling. Personally, I have a very hard time reading code this way, and much prefer to see it all at once. Instead, I have very long lines set to wrap around to the next line, aided by the use of line numbers. Let me give you an example:

 php Syntax (Toggle Plain Text) 
if ($foo == $bar)
{
	echo "This is a line of php code.";
	echo "This is a second of php code.";
	echo "This is a third line of code. I am not typing out any hard returns. It just automatically wraps to the next line when needed.";
}
else
{
	if ($baz == $bat)
	{
		echo "This is a fourth line of php code.";
		echo "This is a fifth line of php code. When you click Toggle Plain Text, the code appears in a text box. You can right click on this text box and choose Select All to highlight all of the code for easy copying and pasting.";
	}
}
if ($foo == $bar)
{
	echo "This is a line of php code.";
	echo "This is a second of php code.";
	echo "This is a third line of code. I am not typing out any hard returns. It just automatically wraps to the next line when needed.";
}
else
{
	if ($baz == $bat)
	{
		echo "This is a fourth line of php code.";
		echo "This is a fifth line of php code. When you click Toggle Plain Text, the code appears in a text box. You can right click on this text box and choose Select All to highlight all of the code for easy copying and pasting.";
	}
}

There is also now support for inline code (use [icode]), when you don't need the code to appear in a new paragraph because it's something small. For example, I can explain code in a paragraph cout << "by doing this";.

A computer science-oriented website is never complete without the ability to use TeX markup for all of those equations. Therefore, you can now write things like the quadratic equation like this: $x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$ .

Now for the community side of things ...

Kyle had a listing of the latest posts on his portal. Now, latest posts, posts since your last visit (custom tailored for each individual user based on the forums you've last visited), and a listing of the latest replyless threads have been played up. They can be easily found both on the portal homepage as well as in the form of links below the search box on every page of the site. This makes it easy for you to see the latest happenings at any time from any page.

All users now have the ability to set their own custom user titles. Additionally, users get a little gold star under their username for every 1,000 posts they contribute.

We do have a new set of rules which is based off of a user infraction system. It works like points on a driver's license. As listed on the rules page, everything that is against the rules has a specific point value associated with it. If you violate a rule, you get points added to your account which last for a predetermined amount of time. If you accumulate 10 points on your account, you get temporarily banned for a "cooling down" period until your number of active points falls below 10. It's a simple system for both moderators and users and it ensures that everyone is always aware of what the consequences are for any rule violation.

From a moderation point of view, you will now receive automated Private Messages when a moderator performs any type of moderation action on your post or a thread that you started. So if you accidentally post in the wrong place or one of your posts gets deleted and you can no longer find it, you'll receive a notification all about it. This isn't necessarily a good thing, however, because these automatic PMs often come with infractions tied to 'em

And on the note of moderation ... Kyle had asked that I set up a new moderation team here at PFO, and I've started by bringing two moderators on board to lay the groundwork for our new team. Narue was brought on as our first new mod because she's actually also been a long time moderator at DaniWeb, she's familiar with the way I manage forums, and I trust her. Secondly, DaWei was brought on as our second new mod because, even though I've only been here a very short time, his dedication and devotion to PFO is truly outstanding, and I am confident that he will do his best to always ensure the best for our community.

cscgal · Oct 18th, 2007, 12:10 AM

Oh, I forgot to add ...

Thanks to Narue's suggestion, clicking on Mark Forums as Read from the portal now redirects you back to the portal, and clicking on it from the forum index redirects you back to the forum index.

Additionally, a watermark with directions about how to use code tags and to not ask for answers to your schoolwork is displayed in the editor box for all users with 10 or fewer posts. It then disappears for us more experienced PFOers.

Jimbo · Oct 18th, 2007, 12:38 AM

Liking it a lot so far. Thanks Dani

coldDeath · Oct 18th, 2007, 1:22 AM

I'm loving the lack of background to the reply box

and the code markup looks really great with the toggle to plain text as well. Nice work.

RobEasy · Oct 18th, 2007, 1:25 AM

When I stumbled out of my haze and looked I was amazed. I like the look?

Soulstorm · Oct 18th, 2007, 1:45 AM

I really like the new way [code] tags work. Great work.

xavier · Oct 18th, 2007, 3:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soulstorm

I really like the new way [code] tags work. Great work.

I'm digging the [icode] tag

.. oh, and the smileys

cscgal · Oct 18th, 2007, 3:41 AM

The new smileys came after I posted this announcement, which is why I didn't mention them.

Prm753 · Oct 18th, 2007, 7:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cscgal

And on the note of moderation ... Kyle had asked that I set up a new moderation team here at PFO, and I've started by bringing two moderators on board to lay the groundwork for our new team. Narue was brought on as our first new mod because she's actually also been a long time moderator at DaniWeb, she's familiar with the way I manage forums, and I trust her. Secondly, DaWei was brought on as our second new mod because, even though I've only been here a very short time, his dedication and devotion to PFO is truly outstanding, and I am confident that he will do his best to always ensure the best for our community.

Hi csgal,

I've been a member here for about two years, and I've lurked about for the past few days reading about all the changes. I think you'll bring a lot to PFO, and I truly believe it will become better for all the changes that have been made. Of course, this is not to say that Kyle did a bad job at all; but I think he knows that PFO was beginning to fall apart because neither he nor the moderators at the time really did not have the time or resources to be effective.

So, thank you to Kyle for all he did, and especially thanks for starting PFO.

Having said that, I'd like to say that I believe Narue and DaWei will both make excellent moderators - in fact, I was going to log on tonight and nominate DaWei for moderator.

So anyways, that's my two cents.

Thanks again csgal. Hope you like it here at PFO.

Booooze · Oct 18th, 2007, 8:06 PM

The new code tags are nice. Nicer than the old ones we had. Although I never have, and probably never will use the TeX tags, I must say it's a nice feature as well. Smilies are good, and the users chosen as moderators were also a good pick. Good work. Thanks

Oct 17th, 2007, 11:53 PM	#1
cscgal Hobbyist Programmer Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 163 Rep Power: 10	New Features Hi, The new version of PFO is just about complete and I want to invite everyone to check out all of the new features while I give an explanation of what has changed. Firstly is the new color scheme and a DaniWeb-inspired header/footer, as DaniWeb is now sponsoring PFO. The placement of everything has remained the same so you should be able to find all of your tools in their familiar places. Secondly, there has been some restructuring of the forum index. Kyle had the various languages listed alphabetically but I prefer to list them in order of popularity while grouping similar languages together. Ideally this should lead to less scrolling down the page in search of the most trafficked forums. I've also merged the Site Announcements and Site Feedback forums because I openly welcome comments and feedback on anything I might announce. This forum has also been moved towards the bottom of the forum index. I've set up my own version of highlighted code tags with the [code=language] bbcode. Therefore, you use [code] when you don't want to specify a language and you use [code=language] when you do. My version includes line numbers so that you can point out certain lines in code, but there is a toggle to view the code in plain text for easy copy/pasting into your favorite IDE. I am also not a fan at all of code that is confined into a limited text area that requires scrolling. Personally, I have a very hard time reading code this way, and much prefer to see it all at once. Instead, I have very long lines set to wrap around to the next line, aided by the use of line numbers. Let me give you an example: php Syntax (Toggle Plain Text) if ($foo == $bar) { echo "This is a line of php code."; echo "This is a second of php code."; echo "This is a third line of code. I am not typing out any hard returns. It just automatically wraps to the next line when needed."; } else { if ($baz == $bat) { echo "This is a fourth line of php code."; echo "This is a fifth line of php code. When you click Toggle Plain Text, the code appears in a text box. You can right click on this text box and choose Select All to highlight all of the code for easy copying and pasting."; } } if ($foo == $bar) { echo "This is a line of php code."; echo "This is a second of php code."; echo "This is a third line of code. I am not typing out any hard returns. It just automatically wraps to the next line when needed."; } else { if ($baz == $bat) { echo "This is a fourth line of php code."; echo "This is a fifth line of php code. When you click Toggle Plain Text, the code appears in a text box. You can right click on this text box and choose Select All to highlight all of the code for easy copying and pasting."; } } There is also now support for inline code (use [icode]), when you don't need the code to appear in a new paragraph because it's something small. For example, I can explain code in a paragraph `cout << "by doing this";`. A computer science-oriented website is never complete without the ability to use TeX markup for all of those equations. Therefore, you can now write things like the quadratic equation like this: $x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$ . Now for the community side of things ... Kyle had a listing of the latest posts on his portal. Now, latest posts, posts since your last visit (custom tailored for each individual user based on the forums you've last visited), and a listing of the latest replyless threads have been played up. They can be easily found both on the portal homepage as well as in the form of links below the search box on every page of the site. This makes it easy for you to see the latest happenings at any time from any page. All users now have the ability to set their own custom user titles. Additionally, users get a little gold star under their username for every 1,000 posts they contribute. We do have a new set of rules which is based off of a user infraction system. It works like points on a driver's license. As listed on the rules page, everything that is against the rules has a specific point value associated with it. If you violate a rule, you get points added to your account which last for a predetermined amount of time. If you accumulate 10 points on your account, you get temporarily banned for a "cooling down" period until your number of active points falls below 10. It's a simple system for both moderators and users and it ensures that everyone is always aware of what the consequences are for any rule violation. From a moderation point of view, you will now receive automated Private Messages when a moderator performs any type of moderation action on your post or a thread that you started. So if you accidentally post in the wrong place or one of your posts gets deleted and you can no longer find it, you'll receive a notification all about it. This isn't necessarily a good thing, however, because these automatic PMs often come with infractions tied to 'em And on the note of moderation ... Kyle had asked that I set up a new moderation team here at PFO, and I've started by bringing two moderators on board to lay the groundwork for our new team. Narue was brought on as our first new mod because she's actually also been a long time moderator at DaniWeb, she's familiar with the way I manage forums, and I trust her. Secondly, DaWei was brought on as our second new mod because, even though I've only been here a very short time, his dedication and devotion to PFO is truly outstanding, and I am confident that he will do his best to always ensure the best for our community.

Oct 18th, 2007, 12:10 AM	#2
cscgal Hobbyist Programmer Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 163 Rep Power: 10	Re: New Features Oh, I forgot to add ... Thanks to Narue's suggestion, clicking on Mark Forums as Read from the portal now redirects you back to the portal, and clicking on it from the forum index redirects you back to the forum index. Additionally, a watermark with directions about how to use code tags and to not ask for answers to your schoolwork is displayed in the editor box for all users with 10 or fewer posts. It then disappears for us more experienced PFOers.

Oct 18th, 2007, 12:38 AM	#3
Jimbo Battle Programmer Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bellevue, WA, USA Posts: 763 Rep Power: 3	Re: New Features Liking it a lot so far. Thanks Dani __________________ <insert disclaimer here> <insert shameless plug for Visual Studio here>

Oct 18th, 2007, 1:22 AM	#4
coldDeath Expert Programmer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: UK Posts: 862 Rep Power: 4	Re: New Features I'm loving the lack of background to the reply box and the code markup looks really great with the toggle to plain text as well. Nice work. __________________ Programming Tutorials - Linux Installation Guide - Learn Python - Learn C++ Got Slack? Join us at #programmingforums @ irc.freenode.net! My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.

Oct 18th, 2007, 1:25 AM	#5
RobEasy Programmer Join Date: May 2006 Location: The US duhhhhh! Posts: 42 Rep Power: 0	Re: New Features When I stumbled out of my haze and looked I was amazed. I like the look? __________________ Work Hard... Play Harder!

Oct 18th, 2007, 1:45 AM	#6
Soulstorm Hobbyist Programmer Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Menidi, Athens, Greece Posts: 243 Rep Power: 3	Re: New Features I really like the new way [code] tags work. Great work. __________________ Project::Soulstorm (personal homepage)

Oct 18th, 2007, 3:41 AM	#8
cscgal Hobbyist Programmer Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 163 Rep Power: 10	Re: New Features The new smileys came after I posted this announcement, which is why I didn't mention them.

Oct 18th, 2007, 8:06 PM	#10
Booooze Expert Programmer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Igloo Posts: 710 Rep Power: 3	Re: New Features The new code tags are nice. Nicer than the old ones we had. Although I never have, and probably never will use the TeX tags, I must say it's a nice feature as well. Smilies are good, and the users chosen as moderators were also a good pick. Good work. Thanks

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