Sure, PG's website (forums especially) is kinda quirky, but unique, and I find that I've gotten used to its quirkiness. So why bother changing the regular website. Now for mobiles and tablets, that's a separate issue that can be handled separately, way I see it.
I'm just curious, what you find quirky about the forums (aside from not being great on mobile). But let's assume you're on a desktop PC using the forums, what do you find weird about it, and what forum do you use that you don't find quirky? (just to clarify I'm asking specifically about the forums not the rest of the site).
I don't find anything particularly weird about the forums. And by "quirky" I mean non-standard. I'm a member of a lot of Internet forums on topics ranging from photography to motorcycles to guitars to composition software. I find that a company that wants to have a unique presence on the 'net frequently has its forums customized. Personally I don't care for this because invariably I have to get used to that particular company's way of getting things done with its forums. There are a few very popular forum software packages used broadly on the net and the good thing about them is, once you've gotten used to one's layout, you're used to them all. I don't see this as a bad thing, okay? Makes life easier all the way around. So, it's possible for an entity to customize the look of their software to any level they desire, while retaining the same function that a forum user like me is used to. PGM doesn't do this. They have their own forum design, and it's one I've had to get used to. But now that I'm used to it, I just really don't see the need to change it. Unless perhaps PGM wants to install one of these popular forum software packages so its forum behaves like the rest out on the net do. And I kinda doubt PGM will want to do this.
As for specific forum softwares, there are several that are popular. They often have commands/menu selections in common.
phpBB is a popular open source package that can be heavily modified Here's an example of a lightly customized phpBB forum: https://www.astronomyhouston.org/forum/
+1 I use a few websites that look pretty much like this. I don't particularly care what they look like as long as I can read the info without going through a lot of clicks.
Last edited by raymb1; 11/17/1708:12 AM.
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My remark on small screens came from some research on the growing number of users. It's about not excluding the audience. I doubt anyone in this forum visits on a portable device, due to the nature of the program activity. The big display is so helpful. Formatting technology changes so regularly. At one time, web designers thought the displays would change according to the device detected. Didn't that turn out to be an underestime!
How interesting, Matt and John. Your comments took me by surprise, though this is an area I have lost touch with. I did grab the right edge of the screen and pull it to the left & was surprised to see the forum could still be read. Even without liquid CSS, the job gets done.
I haven't looked at Truefire's website in a long time. I noticed one of the instructors is Tommy Emmanuel, I bet that's a treat!
Personally I find background videos to be a distraction from the message imprinted over the video. I noted the background video was only used for the first and last screens of the homepage. The meat of the homepage message, which is a description of what the site offers, has a very simple background and static graphics.
I don't care for the front shade transition between screens either. A simple scroll would be more effective in my opinion.
My website provider, Wix, has an extensive collection of web templates. I sample new templates every couple of months just to keep track of new trends. I like eye candy but it can be a fattening distraction.
I'd like to see PG Music's website restructured so the site would be easier to search and navigate. I'm not sure what changes I'd want made though as I'm not a designer, I'm just a user.
Jim, a comment about searching (not navigating): some of us Google the PG site to find forum topics, rather than use the forum’s built-in search function.
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This forum software has served them well since 2000 when they made the change. Only thing I don't like about the search function is the 5 year limit. Most of Mac's posts have disappeared as a result. However as Matt mentioned this forum is indexed extremely well by Google, often within minutes of a new post.
If this is in regards to the main site, I did a 'view source' on the home page .. warning; this can not be unseen. There's a whole lot of old content just commented out and it is rough to look at. Also a lot of JS 'fixes', it really could use an update.
Quote:
At one time, web designers thought the displays would change according to the device detected. Didn't that turn out to be an underestime!
Can you explain that Ed? Isn't that what responsive design and Google's 'mobile first' initiative is all about? I know more and more devices come along every day but the goal is that the site does just that; change to fit the device.
Last edited by rharv; 07/08/1803:18 AM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Only thing I don't like about the search function is the 5 year limit.
rharv,
While the default search time period seems to be 5 years, a little while back the 'Advanced Search' function introduced a 12 year limit. I was surprised to discover this not so long ago.
Only thing I don't like about the search function is the 5 year limit.
rharv,
While the default search time period seems to be 5 years, not so long ago the 'Advanced Search' function introduced a 12 year limit. I was surprised to discover this not so long ago.
Noel
12 years is indeed news. That changes a few things. Thanks.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
In Reaper and KVR forums I can still go back and update/edit any old post. In this PG forum you can only edit it for a few days. I think that needs changing so the edit is always on and you can update info rather than having new post underneath like in Chord Picker Tool it ends up so long you have to scroll each post to take in all the info, when I could of just updated the first post.
In this PG forum you can only edit it for a few days. I think that needs changing so the edit is always on and you can update info rather than having new post underneath like in Chord Picker Tool it ends up so long you have to scroll each post to take in all the info, when I could of just updated the first post.
+1
I have written a few threads like that. It would be cleaner to be able to update the first thread.
By the way, although I don't think it has been explicitly stated, I think the limit on being able to edit a post is 24 hours. That's not a scientific answer though.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
..... In this PG forum you can only edit it for a few days. I think that needs changing so the edit is always on and you can update info rather than having new post underneath like in Chord Picker Tool it ends up so long you have to scroll each post to take in all the info, when I could of just updated the first post.
I agree. Also one should be able to edit the subject line. If someone has a problem and it is corrected 8 days later then they should be able to add solved to the subject line.
My wife had her driving test today. She got 8 out of 10. The other 2 jumped out of the way!
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Also one should be able to edit the subject line. If someone has a problem and it is corrected 8 days later then they should be able to add solved to the subject line.
+1
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
One thing to note is this forum changed format in 2000 (June I think). I wouldn't expect to be able to search the old format (anything over 18 years), but it would be nice if the history on this format could be accessible.
Edit Turns out it was end of May .. yeah, I probably wore out my welcome by now
Last edited by rharv; 07/10/1802:03 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
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