Some Upcoming TGO Improvements and Changes (January 2017)

[TGO David]

Hey gang...

Seeing as how some of you really "love" change (haha) I thought that it might be a good idea to go ahead and start talking about some upcoming improvements and changes to TGO that will occur this month.  There are some things coming down the pipe that I think the majority of you will really enjoy, and there are some things coming that may be a bit of an adjustment to some of you as well.  Rather than write a really long preamble about all of this, let me just dive into the specifics.

 

New:  Image Gallery

I have purchased the license to use the Invision Power Image Gallery system.  Because Amazon's S3 storage is so cheap, I am finally able to offer you all the ability to host photos of your gun collections for everyone to enjoy, right here on TGO.  In actuality, the Image Gallery also has the ability to host videos, but that is a feature I will have to give some thought to enabling as we move ahead.  For the time being we will just allow photos.

 

New:  Articles and Reviews

I have also purchased the license to use the Invision Power Pages system which allows us to host articles and reviews written by TGO Members and TGO Staff, in a nicely formatted, easily searched library of material.  Basically it will allow me and the Staff to chose posts that you are already writing or have written, and promote them to either an Article or a Review depending on the content.  One of things that has made TGO so successful over the years is the amount of knowledge amassed within it because of you.  This just allows us to organize it a little better for everyone's benefit.

 

Uncertain Future:  Real-time Chat

As I had mentioned previously, Invision Power is discontinuing their real-time Chat feature that some of you enjoy using here on TGO.  I honestly don't understand why they are doing this beyond the explanation that they have offered on their support forum.  Namely, that it is not a popular product within their portfolio and maintaining it draws away resources that they want to focus on other things.  Bummer.

I will be continuing to look for a replacement for the Chat feature.  So far, the prospective replacements have not been very good or very exciting, but I have not given up.

The current Chat system will expire at the end of April, 2017.

 

New:  Improved Classified Ads

This is a big one and honestly is the one that I am most excited about.  One of the things that has kept me from adopting a more feature rich Classified Ads approach on TGO has been the popularity of the Tapatalk mobile phone application.  In a nutshell, Tapatalk doesn't show you the whole "TGO Experience" and only shows you the basic things (threads, posts, private messages) and only in the Tapatalk format.  If it doesn't fit inside their carton, it doesn't get displayed on their app.  Also a bummer.

I have purchased a new Classifieds add-on for our forum software that not only provides you with an experience similar to Gunbroker or any other number of sites that allow easy upload of product photos, but it also creates a new thread inside the forums any time that you post an ad, so that folks using Tapatalk can participate as well.

Some of the features this thing has are:

• Central area for you to view all of your ads, including expired ads, and manage them.
• People can make offers (bids) on an advertisement if you have set the ad to allow it.
• Ads are integrated into the IPBoard activity streams and show up as new material.
• Ads are searchable within IPBoard like any other content.
• Ads can include Google Maps if an address is provided by the person posting the ad.
• Ads can be added to a "Wish List" by members.
• Ads can contain photos, easily uploaded to the ad from within the system.
• Ads can be marked to allow questions and answers.

We will also have a special section of Ads just for our TGO Vendors to showcase items for sale!

I will be making the new Classifieds system available to you as quickly as possible.  I have already begun setting it up and hope to have it ready for use within the next week or two.

 

Uncertain Future:  Mutiple "Themes" for Viewing TGO

I had to save the bad news for last, I guess.  Maintaining multiple "themes" for viewing TGO is a real pain and takes a lot of time.  Whenever a new version of the forum software is released, I can end up spending hours to make the various themes work with the new version, and unfortunately my free time for this sort of thing is going to be extremely limited in 2017 as I focus on going back to college for another advanced degree.  My free time for a lot of stuff is going to be limited because of that.

I know that some of you really prefer the Dark theme and find it to be easier on your eyes, but I am honestly not sure for how much longer I can keep that available to you.  If I find an easier way to provide a darker version of our main visual theme, I will gladly jump on it, but at the moment I just cannot make any promises.

Hopefully those of you who prefer the darker theme will be able to just bump down the brightness on your computer or mobile devices, and stick with us.

 

 

Well, that's the long and short of it all.  Feel free to ask questions or discuss.  I'll be glad to offer whatever additional information that I can.

 

[dralarms]

David, you do more,to keep this running with little to no appreciation. We are guests here and thank you for all you do.

[DaveTN]

52 minutes ago, TGO David said:

 

• People can make offers (bids) on an advertisement if you have set the ad to allow it.

So you are going to let us put stuff up for bids?

[Wingshooter]

Sounds awesome!

[A.J. Holst]

Never have so many owed so much for so little to so few (or one)

[TGO David]

1 hour ago, dralarms said:

David, you do more,to keep this running with little to no appreciation. We are guests here and thank you for all you do.

Thanks!  I appreciate that.

 

1 hour ago, DaveTN said:

So you are going to let us put stuff up for bids?

I am willing to give it a shot but I honestly think auctioning items won't be all that popular.  People tend to have in mind what they are both willing to spend as a buyer, and willing to accept as a seller so the traditional "set price" format appeals to more folks.  Auctioning might make sense on some things, however.

Just bear in mind the memory of the Post-Newtown, CT run on ammo and AR platform rifles.  Bidding in a climate like that could become nauseating to witness.

 

13 minutes ago, Gotthegoods said:

Never have so many owed so much for so little to so few (or one)

Hah!  Well, I do appreciate that.  Honestly though I enjoy doing this stuff as much as you all enjoy using it.

 

[Randall53]

Your efforts are very much appreciated David. You have the most unique site on the WWW in my opinion which is why I spend about 90% of my web-time here. Well that and the awesome people that hang out here. It's almost like sitting around a campfire swapping stories. I've learned a lot from this site and not just about firearms. I have no problems with the upgrades and changes you make and it doesn't take much time for them to become just as cozy as the last campfire session. Keep up the good work and know that it is much appreciated!!

[bigun]

Sounds like it will be good for all. Now to learn how to adjust the brightness on my computer. I do thank you for everything you do to keep this site up to date and running so smooth.

[Ronald_55]

David we are going to revolt.... not really. Sounds like you spend a lot of time worrying about keeping us happy. Thanks for everything. I know this is just a side gig for you. 

You are better than me. I need to go back to school,  but can't stand the thought of it.  I barely get to sleep as is.  Just remember the best part of being in school is...well.. drinking to forget you are in school. Lol

[Raoul]

Your sand box, your rules. We'll adapt. And it sounds like there's a carrot to go along with the stick.

I will say that I'm happy to see you excited about what you're doing here. That can only result in trickle down positive results for the site. If you need anything just ask.

[TGO David]

14 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

David we are going to revolt.... not really. Sounds like you spend a lot of time worrying about keeping us happy. Thanks for everything. I know this is just a side gig for you. 

You are better than me. I need to go back to school,  but can't stand the thought of it.  I barely get to sleep as is.  Just remember the best part of being in school is...well.. drinking to forget you are in school. Lol

If you guys do decide to revolt, please hook me up with a cool torch and pitchfork and I'll help you storm the gates.

School is going to be mind-bending, but it's something I have been wanting to do for a while now and my company is paying for it, so I need to make good on their investment.  Hopefully it quickly becomes part of my routine and doesn't feel as out of place in my schedule as it does right now.

 

[Fourtyfive]

I like it ! Question, I just noticed the 10th Anniversary bug added at the top banner. Has it been there a while or is it just days old ?

 

Just saw the thread on it, never mind.....Congrats !

Edited January 3, 2017 by Fourtyfive

[TripleGGG]

Congratulations on school. Good luck. Thanks for all you do for this forum. The coming changes sound great.

[TGO David]

50 minutes ago, Fourtyfive said:

I like it ! Question, I just noticed the 10th Anniversary bug added at the top banner. Has it been there a while or is it just days old ?

 

Just saw the thread on it, never mind.....Congrats !

Just a couple of days.  TGO went live in January of 2007.

 

[Ronald_55]

21 minutes ago, TGO David said:

School is going to be mind-bending, but it's something I have been wanting to do for a while now and my company is paying for it, so I need to make good on their investment.  Hopefully it quickly becomes part of my routine and doesn't feel as out of place in my schedule as it does right now.

 

Good for you. I have yet to get a gig to reimburse me for any training. I would probably be more willing to if it was something that transcended the exact job I was in.

[RodMyers]

An option for the chat.  This group could start an IRC channel, not as convenient as in forum, but there are firefox addons that allow this

[TGO David]

Just now, RodMyers said:

An option for the chat.  This group could start an IRC channel, not as convenient as in forum, but there are firefox addons that allow this

Old school 1990's IRC user right here.   That said, IRC is seriously the wild wild west.  We'd have to lock down that channel pretty tightly and put a good bot in charge of it, otherwise you could quickly see it overrun by some of the most illegal, vile stuff on the planet.

I've considered Slack as an option but there's a pretty impressive option being coded by a reputable IPB add-ons author and I'm watching to see how it develops.

Honestly, I can sort of see where the Invision Power team is coming from in respect to the [lack of] popularity of the Chat feature.  On average there are 2-3 people using it in the evening on TGO.  I think the most I have seen in recent memory was 12 and that was around the time of one of the Presidential debates.  It really doesn't get a whole lot of use here, and if we are typical as an IPB customer, it isn't getting a whole lot of use anywhere else either.

I'll keep looking for a replacement since we've got some time left to search.

[Grand Torino]

Sounds good boss.....thanks for all that you do to keep us entertained and informed here.  I only hope I'll smart enough to use and learn everything....not a simple feat for this two finger typist. 

[Wingshooter]

I really like the new features! Site looks and works great.

[TGO David]

I am trying to put the final polish on the improved Classifieds system.  I am probably going to run it in parallel with the old way of doing classifieds for a few days just to get some feedback from you all before I make a complete switch.

Stay tuned!

 

[quickbiscuit]

Are we going to have to repost all our classified ads?

[TGO David]

1 hour ago, quickbiscuit said:

Are we going to have to repost all our classified ads?

No.

[bud]

.

Edited April 26, 2017 by bud

[Wingshooter]

The mobile version looks great on my Samsung Galaxy S5, BTW. Very clean and easy to read.