Normal Forum View?

[geiger]

Is there any URL for the normal vBulletin forum view? I hate the "highlighted forum discussions" view with a passion.

[earther]

Me too! There is a link 'Switch to Classic Mode' under the forum list on the forum index page. That'll do it!

[Dark Tranquility]

Take a look here : http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259343

[Dean C]

Yeah it's really annoying having to login at college or the library to switch back to classic view

[stymiee]

I tihnk this needs to be added to the FAQ.

[Dean C]

I still have not yet seen an answer John, as to why guests are deprived of the normal forum view now. When I registered it took me about 30secs to find out how to switch to the classic view, and had I not I probably wouldn't have registered. It really is irrating to be deprived of the conventional forum view!

[stymiee]

The featured view highlights good discussions in the forums. It (theoretically) encourages new members to join when they see the great conversations we have going on.

[Dean C]

I'd love to see that theory put to the test for a couple of weeks. One week default for guests is classic, the next it's featured

[Rick]

I still have not yet seen an answer John, as to why guests are deprived of the normal forum view now.

The traditional view of the majority of forums is pretty lame to be honest. Seeing a default 'classic vB' layout when I visit a forum is a real turn off. It wastes acres of space with infomation that is seldom any use to anyone, and could be used so much more effectivley.

Many forums combat this by using something like vBportal to try and highlight activity in their community, however a solution like that doesn't really fit our needs, so Tom developed something that we can use to highlight activity from around the community, which would also make us stand out from the crowds.

IMO, its good to be different, and if your not keen well, you always have the option of switching to the classic view!

BTW - if you have any suggestions as to how you feel it could be improved start a thread in the feedback forum. And if you really just don't like it then fair enough, use the option to switch to the default view - it's cookied so you shouldn't have to switch back and forth too often.

Rick

[SRTech]

The featured view highlights good discussions in the forums. It (theoretically) encourages new members to join when they see the great conversations we have going on.

It was what got me interested in the forums. I wished more forums had it like this.

[stymiee]

It was what got me interested in the forums. I wished more forums had it like this.

There you have it. All the proof we need.

[Bleys]

I started a poll in General Chat a few months ago in which 39% of SPF users said they preferred Featered view over classic... so it does have its place (though personally I don't use it).

That said, the link to go from Classic to Featured is a lot more prominent than from Featured to Classic. I think Tom should add the buttons to the top of the Featured view as well.

[ICO]

Oooh, I didn't know there were different views, I know I'll be making a switch right now

To classic, the featured view is a bit confusing for me.

[Dean C]

I started a poll in General Chat a few months ago in which 39% of SPF users said they preferred Featered view over classic... so it does have its place (though personally I don't use it).

That said, the link to go from Classic to Featured is a lot more prominent than from Featured to Classic. I think Tom should add the buttons to the top of the Featured view as well.

So let the majority rule

[Hierophant]

BTW - if you have any suggestions as to how you feel it could be improved start a thread in the feedback forum. And if you really just don't like it then fair enough, use the option to switch to the default view - it's cookied so you shouldn't have to switch back and forth too often.

Should be a user option stored in the database. When people use multiple computers either because they are in a lab, accessing the site on the road or whatever, cookies don't cut it. Since there is already a complete profile system to handle this it should be used. The vBulletin code doesn't even have to be changed to do this. Just add a custom profile field and set the view appropriately in the phpinclude_start template. It is a five minute job to make it a profile option that has been requested for well over a year.

Personally, I just gave up and stopped visiting as often as other webmaster forums allow me to get to the information without the hassle of changing a view constantly. And that statement is pretty sad coming from the former administrator of this forum.

[Rick]

It previously was an option in the template settings - you could select either the classic or featured as seperate templates, it changed when we upgraded to the gold version of vB 3 I think. But I'd agree that having it as a option would be alot better than a cookie setting.