Since people seem to be having trouble finding the old sections of the forum, I figured I'd put up a "map" of where the old sections are so here goes (hopefully I won't get lost!)
Under Wildlife > Forums
All Creatures
Feeding Garden Visitors
Migration
Photography
Where to watch Wildlife
Where to Watch Wildlife...Abroad
Wildlife on the Box
Wildlife on the Web
Wildlife Protection
Under Wildlife > Ask A Question > Forums
Identify this!
Wildlife Questions
Under Wildlife> Homes For Wildlife> Forums
Green Fingers
Nestboxes
Water Features
Wildlife in the Garden
Chat > Forums
Gear Guide
Good Egg Award Winners
Hello
Poetry Corner
Polls and Quizzes
Request New Forum
Request New Gallery
Request New Group
Technical Problems
The Tea Rooms
Tips and Tricks
Website Comments
Website Feedback
There's also a special forum for Wales under Get Involved > We Love Wales!
To return to the Main community homepage - just click the RSPB logo/Community icon at the top left of the corner. This used to take you to the main RSPB page, but now will just take you straight back to the community home page :-)
Hope this helps a few people find some lost sections of the forum! I think I have all the ones in the old forum listed :-)
Kat
Millie & Fly the Border Collies
Unknown said: Hi Richard "I didn't realise the "Wildlife" had a link, I assumed it was just a drop down menu" So did I, as would most people I should think. The little down arrow on a tab usually indicates just that and from there you would normally choose one of the drop downs. This new site has a whole new way of doing things!!! Good luck finding your way around... SB
Hi Richard
"I didn't realise the "Wildlife" had a link, I assumed it was just a drop down menu"
So did I, as would most people I should think. The little down arrow on a tab usually indicates just that and from there you would normally choose one of the drop downs. This new site has a whole new way of doing things!!!
Good luck finding your way around...
SB
Hi SB
It's not just me then.
I'm just going to click anything that looks as though it shouldn't be clicked from now on.
Richard
My Photo Galleries
Me on Facebook
Hi all,
It's clear that the drop down menu's have made things complicated when trying to just nav to one of the sections that, before the update was executed, was a much more simpler operation. Indeed the entire community website has become that bit tougher to understand.
To this end I have found personally the simplest way to now navigate this website (which lets be honest here, has become far more complicated than it needed to be) is to add all pages that you visit on a regualr basis to your favorites and then navigate from your profile page. Your find the pages you want to keep an eye on on the top right hand of the profile page, and can easierly navigate back to your profile page once you have either viewed or posted a section, thread, post by going to the top of the page and clicking on your name again.
Using this way I have come to find that I can get around the different section of the site that I previosuly kept an eye on in a very short amount of time and at alot less stress then in previous weeks.
The only draw back to this is that you have to find the sections you want first to be able to add them to your favorites. But it didn't take me long to find what I wanted, so I'm sure the rest of you will neither.
Being pretty computer literiate and having built computers for friends in the past and dabbled in web page development I have a good understanding of how hard it is to produce such sites like this one. So its sad to hear that so many people have found the new site tough to co-operate with, I can imagine that the guys and girls that developed this site have some pretty heavy hearts to keep seeing this is wrong , that is wrong, the old site was better blah blah.
On the other hand, I was always told the customer was right no matter what. So its a tough situation to come to a conclusion over.
I'll finish by saying that, I have learnt in situations like this, perseverance is the key to it and what I mean by that is, more than likely we'll get to decemeber (note i avoided saying the C would there LOL) and be wondering what all the fuss was as we will all have gotten used to it. A majority never has found 'change' a comfortable thing in whatever fasit that 'change' comes, as the saying goes 'you can't please everyone.' But I beg those of you finding the site frustating to keep plugging away. I does and will get easier the more you use it.
I hope what I has said does not come across as pedantic nor insulting of anyones intelligence. I'm just trying to politely express my opinion on the matter.
Kind respects and regards
Chappers (and the Wife.)
'Educate' me, on the wonders of nature.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chappers360/
No, it wasn't just you Richard.
Initially the drop down menu only had one choice (Ask a Question). The My Photo choice was added some time later, and the Wildlife in Your Garden just the other day. Hardly anyone found the rest to begin with.
Cheers, Linda.
See my photos on Flickr
rhodopsin said:The penny drops :-)
I'm glad that you have found the links.
I ignore all of the drop down arrows, just always click the Blue Tabs and then forums.
Some of the time I click on RSPB or Community, as that now takes you to the main default Community page, but it now gets too clogged up with new posts from Groups and Blogs so you can't see all of the most recent threads and posts that you always used to see.
Lot's of threads and posts are being missed, and that's the reason.
Once you have found the places you like to be, you can now save them in you Favourite Places (Top right of the page) so that you can access them easily
Best wishes Chris
Click Here to see my photos
Woodpecker said: Some of the time I click on RSPB or Community, as that now takes you to the main default Community page, but it now gets too clogged up with new posts from Groups and Blogs so you can't see all of the most recent threads and posts that you always used to see. Lot's of threads and posts are being missed, and that's the reason.
I'm glad you brought that up Chris.
Far too many lovely threads are being missed and getting buried with a fraction of the replies they would have had on the old forum. It's such a shame, and quite honestly it makes me reluctant to start new threads. It must also be affecting other people too. Does anyone else feel this, or is it just me?
Susan H said: I'm glad you brought that up Chris. Far too many lovely threads are being missed and getting buried with a fraction of the replies they would have had on the old forum. It's such a shame, and quite honestly it makes me reluctant to start new threads. It must also be affecting other people too. Does anyone else feel this, or is it just me?
Susan H said: Some of the time I click on RSPB or Community, as that now takes you to the main default Community page, but it now gets too clogged up with new posts from Groups and Blogs so you can't see all of the most recent threads and posts that you always used to see. Lot's of threads and posts are being missed, and that's the reason.
I agree with Sparrow and Woodpecker. I hardly ever looked at groups and blogs and could find threads easily before the changes.
Of all creatures, man is the most detestable, he is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~ Mark Twain
JudiM said: I'm glad you brought that up Chris. Far too many lovely threads are being missed and getting buried with a fraction of the replies they would have had on the old forum. It's such a shame, and quite honestly it makes me reluctant to start new threads. It must also be affecting other people too. Does anyone else feel this, or is it just me?
Yes, it is a problem. and threads are missed. But that was one of the major issues discussed on various threads at the time of the changeover.
There was a recent post, by the goon, I think, that commented on how well Birdforum was organised and I have to agree - not because this site should have the same objectives as Birdforum - but simply because it is organised in a logical, easy to navigate manner. Topics, groups and blogs are easy to find there. In my view, the template of this forum is sadly lacking well thought through design and often I can't be bothered signing in and filtering posts etc etc.
Sorry, I know that there have been umpteen posts in this vein, but I have been working in the garden all day and have not been able to keep an eye on all the interesting comments and photos on here and have probably missed so much.
"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" - Wlliam Blake
I bung all my favourite forums in the little black bar at the top of the page then when I get in I go through each one scanning for the first post for that day in each forum or else a lot would pass me by :-( Not the most user friendly site still but I try not to gripe on and on as Im sure they are doing their best (creep creep)
By the way Claire my pictures of the young blackbird preening did surface after I re-jigged the size and the ammount of pictures its about several pages back now though (not a gripe just an observation :-) )
ChrisS.
A very old Shropshire Lad.
JudiM said:I agree with Sparrow and Woodpecker. I hardly ever looked at groups and blogs and could find threads easily before the changes.
Hi Judi and Sparrow
It is definitely a problem. One way to solve it would be to have less space allocated to Site Activity and more space allocated to Recent Posts. After all why do we all need to know whenever someone has created a gallery in Site Activity? I noticed that it took someone 4 attempts to create their gallery this morning, and it took up half of the Site Activity details. We don't need to know who has created their own gallery or joined a group, so most of the comments in Site Activity could be hidden to make more room for important details somewhere else.
Also, I know that the idea of merging Groups and Forums was designed to make us one big happy family, but now there are just too many items in the Recent Threads and Posts list. I can't find new threads or replies half an hour after they were posted. The Recent Posts list could be divided into 2 columns, one for Forums, and one for Groups and Blogs. Then people would be able to find what they want to see.
One more thing while I'm typing. I notice that several people are asking where to find this forum or that forum, despite the fact that all of these details were given at the beginning of this great thread of KatTai's.
Just in case it's a slight navigation problem, when you need to read the beginning of a thread, then you should click on the Topic Title, under the Topic column, and when you wish to go to the end of the thread you should click on the Latest Post, under the date column.