I agree.
Would like to see you eliminate the security step to search the forum. I understand entering the letters before being allowed to post, but it’s annoying and as far as I can tell unnecessary to have to do this just to search.
Here’s an example of what NOT to do:
http://gaitedhorsesense.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=26872&posts=48&start=1
- A full screen of photo to scroll past at the top of EVERY page. :mad:
- Animated (moving) graphics – GAHHH!! I absolutely HATE these and can’t make myself spend much time on that site due to the annoyance factor, even though I do like reading the posts.
- Avatars – UGH. More waste of space/annoyance factor. In the page I posted, they’re all relatively small, but avatars seem to have a miserable way of increasing in size and distraction level as posters seem to need to one-up each other and scream for more and more attention.
*Patterned background (autumn leaves, at the moment, in the example above) – hard on the eyes.
As other posters already mentioned, a clean page with no flashing graphics is of utmost importance to me. I do not like dealing with migraines caused by moving smilies and ads and really spend VERY little time on sites that permit them.
Thanks for asking for input!! It really is appreciated, even if all I’m adding are things to avoid. :lol: :yes:
Spell check would be great!
My gut reaction is a no, no, NO to a “like” button. This is not a social networking site. Are we so lazy that we can’t verbally (textually) express appreciation of someone’s statement? Is it so hard to quote the relevant section of a post and say “I think Somebody said it all right there?” Are we going to turn this into a competition, who can have the best-liked post?
I’ll now tell you how I really feel.
[QUOTE=PrimoAmor;5961560]
Spell check would be great![/QUOTE]
There are some excellent spell-check plugins for your browser out there, which will work better than anything they can do on their end. 
Here are my thoughts…
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Mobile phone and tablet app connectivity is a must. It properly presents the forum for tablet and phone viewing with all the options and features you want at your finger-tips, not to mention that it opens up a huge capability for live posting at events and whatnot. The mobile web browsers can’t compete with that. They just can’t.
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New smileys are a must. There’s no reason at all why the forum has been using the stock smileys for years other than sheer laziness when it takes all of ten seconds to update them with the appropriate smiley packs.
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No Like Button. That is not something that is needed at all. There’s just no logic for having it.
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Off Topic forum would be nice but you really need to pare down the member database with all the dead members whose posts are long gone and deleted and overall forum registration for new users should not be open 24/7 year-round. Opening up registration randomly or on scheduled dates, with the forum otherwise locked to new registrations will eliminate the SPAMBOTs and cut down on the alt nonsense.
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No photo albums. It’s not worth the trouble to implement and you have all sorts of potential problems that can arise from that. There are photo hosting sites out there that people have been using for years and the posters here have been using them with no problems.
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There need to be more sub-forums for appropriate subjects relating to equine businesses and whatnot.
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NO CAT FORUM. WE DO NOT NEED A CAT FORUM.
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Make the Premium perks better. If you want to sell something, it has to be something that people want to buy. Things relating to forum use like increasing the capacity for PMs, having Premium only sub-forums for more casual discussions, more user features, a bigger PM user-space, and other improvements over standard membership would be ideal.
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NO CAT FORUM. In case you didn’t read it the first time.
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A Cooking sub-forum. Horse owners need to eat and many here are reliant on their own cooking skills to get them through life because they live away from fast food and restaurants.
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A Gardening sub-forum would be great. Lots of people here have gardens and spaces to grow things.
That is all I have for now.
Thinking the new ideas sound really neat!
Love the like button.
Would really enjoy a western forum! I’m a little surprised by those who are anti-western. A horse is a horse is a horse and so many of us are wide open to the many uses of equines, it would nice to have a western forum for those who enjoy western, too. Reining after all is an FEI sport. Plus, if people aren’t fans of western they don’t have to look and it would keep the “clutter” out of off course. :rolleyes: Sorry… sarcasm comes out after midnight… I’m just surprised that people would be so elitist to not want a western forum to clutter up their board…
I also think from an a revenue generating perspective, if you allow everybody to view the proposed off topic forum, but only premium members to post… it would probably be a great revenue generator…
& thanks to the COTH powers for asking for our input… unlike FB where it seems to change every week… lol…
I don’t know if it is possible with this forum software, but what about a spell check feature integrated into the posting window? (Not that it would necessarily get used by those who actually need it anyway…)
I like the proposed ideas for premium memberships. I personally don’t find the current premium membership to be a good value for what you get, and I would be far more likely to purchase a premium membership if those things are implemented.
Potential new features for all users:
- COTH mobile app--I don't need it
- New smilies :)--The old ones are fine.
- “Like” button for posts--Easy, would be nice, but lazy like FB.
- Reining/Western forum--Don't need it.
- Universal log-in system for all Chronicle sites (this will be implemented after initial upgrade is complete)--Nice.
- New forum allowing discussion of business-related questions, brags, market research, employment opportunities and some other “borderline” topics previously restricted due to advertising policies.--Okay.
- Permanent Off Topic forum (also open to rest of community on occasion as we do currently)--It's more fun when we have to wait for it. Save it for special occasions. Some of the topics on there I wouldn't want to be seeing on a daily basis.
- Photo Albums--Don't need it.
- Embedded video in posts-Nice idea. Too cumbersome?
I would prefer to bypass some of the goodies rather than lose our dial up posters in the process of the upgrade. Just my opinion.
[QUOTE=Renn/aissance;5961605]
My gut reaction is a no, no, NO to a “like” button. This is not a social networking site. Are we so lazy that we can’t verbally (textually) express appreciation of someone’s statement? Is it so hard to quote the relevant section of a post and say “I think Somebody said it all right there?” Are we going to turn this into a competition, who can have the best-liked post?
I’ll now tell you how I really feel.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, but maybe it would reduce the number of people who quote a 3000 word post to add their own eloquent word… we all have seen it… the wonderful “This”. If their is a like button… maybe those (imo annoying) posts will stop, or be minimized!!!
I like the western forum idea. COTH covers most Olympic disciplines. Like it or not, their are now Western events in the Olympics, so it would be reasonable that COTH would cover them.
[QUOTE=vineyridge;5961077]
Just remember that a lot of rural people are still stuck with dial up. So try to keep programming bloat down as much as possible. Please make videos a matter of choice.
The site already loads a lot slower than it did a year or so ago.[/QUOTE]
^This.^
What about a “new” button, like mare stare. So you don’t have to wade back 10 pages to find where you left off.
I would love to have a Western forum. I understand there is no western coverage in the COTH mag, but there are alot of users of this BB who enjoy both styles of riding. There are already lots of Western threads on the Off Topic forum. If the Western people had a seperate forum, those that have no interest could simply not read and comment in that area of the BB.
Spell check would be nice for those of us with less than stellar typing ability!
I also like the idea of a Like button.
Thanks for asking for my opinion
I like the like button.
I’d also like an off topic category, but for any member.
Most desired: A CHAT ROOM! :yes:
thanks!
This^
I too am surprised at the NO western forum- there are plenty of COTHers who are not only familiar with Western but are actively competitive. I no longer ride Western but that doesn’t mean I don’t keep up with current trends, etc.
What about a “new” button, like mare stare. So you don’t have to wade back 10 pages to find where you left off.
That would be very helpful, great suggestion.
Improvements to the search feature would also be great. Even with quotation marks it can be difficult to find accurate results.
I don’t mind navigating the forum on iThings right now, but know that a mobile app has been a big suggestion in the past. I do agree that if it were to be implemented, it should be fully functional. LexInVA made some great points about that.
Allowing premium members to post in-line images would be great. The new features for premium members also do sound like greater incentives to become a premium member in general.
As a moderator on a few other sites, I hope that these upgrades are also going to help YOU guys out by giving y’all better spam protection. Or at least more Advil.
Yeah, but maybe it would reduce the number of people who quote a 3000 word post to add their own eloquent word… we all have seen it… the wonderful “This”. If their is a like button… maybe those (imo annoying) posts will stop, or be minimized!!!
I don’t think that adding a “like” button will teach anyone the virtue of brevity.
[QUOTE=Moderator 1;5960023]
Potential new features for all users:
- COTH mobile app
- New smilies :)
- “Like” button for posts
- Reining/Western forum
- Universal log-in system for all Chronicle sites (this will be implemented after initial upgrade is complete)
I may be the only person, but I really don’t like the idea of a “like” Button. Its not Facebook and I don’t want it to turn into Facebook.
I personally would LOVE a western Forum. I know the magazine doesn’t cover western events, but reining is an FEI sport now. I’m all for it.
Thank you for allowing us to have some input!
What about a “new” button, like mare stare. So you don’t have to wade back 10 pages to find where you left off.
The little blue button next to the thread title will take you to the first unread post since you last read the thread.
I vote YES for the “Like” button, and “NO” for the separate Western forum.
Sheilah
[QUOTE=Proud To Be Spotted;5961779]
^This.^
What about a “new” button, like mare stare. So you don’t have to wade back 10 pages to find where you left off.[/QUOTE]
Wow! excellent idea!
Sheilah
^This 
But seriously, I agree that the like button would go a long way towards eliminating pointless posts that are nothing but agreement with something that has already been said. Additionally, our traditional lurkers could cast their opinion without opening themselves up to the COTH smackdown.
I don’t see a huge need for a separate app, unless you’re going to program some highly specific functionality into it, which I can’t imagine would be cheap.
Love the new perks for premium membership. Agreed that right now the ability to post image thumbnails (that annoyingly download, not open) is not enticing me to pay $$$.
Don’t see any reason to put video in the posts, will slow down the entire page and further encourage disguised sale ads.
Could care less whether our smilies are the hippest out there.
No opinion on a western forum. Not useful for me but no sweat off my back either.
LOL, total dream, but always thought it would be nice if each thread had a sticky that clarifies the points that have already been stated or ascertained. So much time is spent rehashing facts that have already been stated . . . I don’t believe this is possible (or could be utilized without a cat fight) but my biggest gripe is the amount of redundancy in the threads. The same points, over and over and over. And the long ones are impossible to go back through and discover the most pertinent facts &/or links. If a post could be marked “reference”, perhaps . . . I know, pipe dream, carry on…
