Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Alert

Welcome to the newly redesigned forums!

Apr 14, 2011 3:59AM PDT

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the newly redesigned forums! If you missed my announcement a week ago about the changes, no worries, click here to read about all the new forum features and redesign.

Now with everything in place, please have a look around, let it all the changes soak in, and if you want to give the forums a test run with all the new features, please go ahead a post in the Test forum .

Our team has worked very hard to get these new forum features and new design in front of you and we hope you really enjoy them. If you have any questions, feedback good or bad, bugs to report, please feel free to submit them in this discussion thread here. Thank you everyone for your continued support of our forums here. I appreciate each and everyone of you!

Sincerely,

-Lee Koo
CNET Community

Discussion is locked

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I jujst tried it again, If I hit
Apr 14, 2011 12:45PM PDT

either the "answer this" button and the "request clarification" buttoin nothing whatsoever happens.

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The "Answer This" and "Request Clarification" buttons
Apr 14, 2011 1:48PM PDT

Roddy..

I replied to Marc's post, without having seen your last "I just tried it again" post. Mistakenly, I deleted mine. The short of it was:

I started reading this thread not too long ago. Coincidentally, prior to coming here, I answered the post you referenced in this post. No problems.

At first, I thought to "request clarification", as I didn't know what s/he meant by "when trying to run malware". The buttom worked. I changed my mind midstream, and decided to "answer" it instead. Obviously, that too worked.

The only out of the ordinary changes I made (using FF4) was to log out and log back in again. I wasn't able to "Create a New Discussion". Thanks to Lee, he suggested I try it. And THANKS TO LEE... it worked.

I don't know why it worked, or what issue it addresses, but you might want to try it. It certainly, can't hurt! The effort is minimal. Happy

@ Marc. Thanks for all your hard work. It was well worth the effort!

Carol

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Thanks Carol, I tried that and it didn't work so
Apr 14, 2011 1:59PM PDT

I deleted the CNET cookies and logged in that that worked., Thanks

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Just to note...
Apr 14, 2011 2:33PM PDT

I've remained logged in and have not had an issue with replying/answering/requesting/et cetera. Then again, right now I have a reason for using every bit of the forum functionality that doesn't involve actually posting anything. Wink

John

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John too busy making his bug fix list or....
Apr 14, 2011 3:09PM PDT

he trying really hard to be the first to break the forums! Wink

I'll be waiting for that laundry list.

Cheers!
-Lee

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I like the voting buttons but
Apr 14, 2011 11:04AM PDT

For replies there is an option to vote the reply as helpful OR unhelpful.
For threads there is an option to 'Like' a thread ... but why isn't there an option to 'Dislike' threads? Especially in Speakeasy there are any number of candidate threads for a 'Dislike' function.

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I knew someone would bring this up eventually....
Apr 14, 2011 3:07PM PDT

The reason, we want to keep this place a friendly place.... Grin

Thanks Bill!
-Lee

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Sorta like Facebook...
Apr 14, 2011 10:20PM PDT

Unfortunately, it gives you no context. For instance, 8 people 'like' the IRS on Facebook. I have a feeling that that number would be dwarfed by the number of 'dislike' votes should the option ever be offered. However, there's nothing to say otherwise, so I could equally assume that only 8 people saw the page and all of them 'liked' it, meaning 100% of people 'like' the IRS.

Faulty logic, I know, but in the absence of fact we'll dwell in fiction.

John

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I can see what Dr Bill means
Apr 14, 2011 9:40PM PDT

In any forum, (not just SE), the option is not there for the first post to 'dislike' the thread starter, only the option to 'Like this'.

I can also see why it is not there, and especially in SE. But in general there is little point in disliking a thread starter post unless it contravenes forum policy, and then if it does, it gets reported and deleted.

I have made up my mind that I will only use this Like/Dislike option in SE sparingly, if at all. There will be plenty of posts and threads I don't like there, but given the {often} polarised views in SE it will just be a mechanism to take sides in any discussion, and I don't see the point of that. It's just a number and proves nothing.

In fact, I don't see the point of the option anyway! I'm not into social networking like that. Happy

Mark

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Agree
Apr 15, 2011 5:00PM PDT

While "Like" buttons are fine for help forums, my experience at other forums is they are abused, used like ammunition to see who can fire the most shots, some even adding extra profiles they rarely post from to get more "bullets" to use.

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Thanks
Apr 14, 2011 11:14AM PDT

I wish this forum had signatures though.


Note: This post was edited by the forum admin to remove signature link which is prohibited in the forums. on 04/14/2011 on 10:23 PM PT

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That's one thing I hope we never see...
Apr 14, 2011 12:30PM PDT

Most forums to support signatures of some kind, but it dramatically adds to the length of, and detracts from, the post. Suddenly a one-line reply turns into one line of content followed by favorite quotes, logos, websites, et cetera. They do add a level of personalization to a post, but threads are about the discussions, not the users; that's a what user profiles are for.

Now, making user profiles more prominent is something I am definitely in support of, letting users add to/customize them more thoroughly while making it easier to spot a link to view sid information if the user desires to.

John

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Agreed, sigs aren't gonna happen here.
Apr 14, 2011 3:03PM PDT

Except for the manufacture reps that we help create for them. There just too many folks out there who will abuse this and make it their advertising venue.

-Lee

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I'm glad they don't
Apr 14, 2011 1:51PM PDT

At other forums I get tired of seeing the same stupid signature blurp on the same person's posts all the time. I think they detract more than add anything to it. Too many of them are snarky anyway.

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I'm puzzled by something ...
Apr 19, 2011 11:07AM PDT

Even though I have clicked on 'mark all read' at the forum page a few times over the last few days, this post about the signatures is ALWAYS the post I go to when I click on 'next unread' for this thread.
The 'next unread' features has always been broken for multi-page messages but this is a new problem.

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Yeah, me too
Apr 19, 2011 2:05PM PDT

I figured it's because Lee "touched" it, lol. Maybe being edited caused it to become a super post?

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(NT) Needs work Can NOT type in "Message body" with iPad/iPhone
Apr 14, 2011 2:49PM PDT
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Yes I just found out this myself tonight, so I had to jump..
Apr 14, 2011 3:00PM PDT

on the computer to read through this thread and reply to people. Thanks for letting us know. We'll look into it. I think it has a lot to do with the new WYSIWYG submission form we just implemented.

Thanks again!
-Lee

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This is fixed now for the iphone/ipad/ipod
May 2, 2011 8:50AM PDT

You can now create new discussions and reply to other post in the forums using ipad/iphone/ipod touch. The Text editor was the cause of this issue and it is now disabled when using these devices. One small bug, on the create new discussion form, the "Close x" button doesn't respond, we will have that addressed shortly.

We are in the process of getting this fixed for all mobile devices--blackberry, android phones...

Thanks!
-Lee

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Feedback for CNET website (not specific for the Fora)
Apr 15, 2011 12:33AM PDT

Dear Lee,

When I visit the CNET website, my "Big Picture" impressions are as follows ...

I like following goodies ....
- Diversity of contents. One can always "search for" (!) and find interesting information.
- Information is up-to-date
- Downloads are a very valuable part, and tracing the software updates to inform your visitors readers is an important feature.

I dislike the following ...
- Most webpages have a messy presentation. Too many things , too many mixed information all over each page.

- Visiting the CNET website means keeping to navigate from one page to another, just like walking in all the streets in an unkown town, without any map. I had to "search" for about 15 minutes to find a location where general feedback can be given. I couldn't find any. Site map was not giving the expected information.

- The survey that CNET is making for the moment starts to ask all sorts of totally irrelevant questions on my personal profile. This might be usual in the US, but I would say ... It is none of your business. So I gave up on the survey after a few first questions. If CNET is that much interested in feedback, it should be found right under one mouse click only !

(By the way, the correct original plural of "forum" is fora, not forums, as the original Latin language).

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On finding this forum...
Apr 15, 2011 1:43AM PDT

If you visit forums.cnet.com, you'll find the full listing of CNET forums, just in a different format than was used previously. There's also a breadcrumb and sidebar on every Forums page that'll let you know where you are and where you can go.

Hope this helps,
John

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Excuse this post John
Apr 15, 2011 6:49PM PDT
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Need an "Edit" function
Apr 15, 2011 11:06AM PDT

If possible, could you add an "Edit" function where we can edit our post after we submit a reply? If I find a mistake in my original post, I need to make another post to make a correction.

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Definite Bugs
Apr 15, 2011 1:37PM PDT

I replied to a single post in the Home Audio & Video Forum. The OP replied and now the post says "Due to the length of this discussion, no more replies can be made. If you need to make an additional post, reply to the Original." Only two posts were made. This is a bug. Also, the Original Post does not have a "Reply" button now. It's been changed to "Answer This." Weird.

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That is *not* a bug...
Apr 16, 2011 3:28AM PDT

The Question and Answer thread type has a modified format, one where the reply depth is purposefully limited to 2 and you must either "answer" or "request clarification" when responding to the original post/question. Personally, I feel that format/limitation is insufficient and am propositioning TPTB to change it with the next forum update. If enough members agree, we may be able to make it a focus for them to address in the near future.

John

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I was just coming here
Apr 17, 2011 5:38AM PDT

I was just coming here to bitc.... Complain about that. Figured I'd skim the thread to see if someone had brought it up already.

Also, if possible, it'd be great if they could make the main text entry box the next tab stop for keyboard shortcuts. I know web forms are a bit different, but it's annoying having to take my hands off the keyboard then use the mouse to click into the main text entry box or keep tabbing over all the formatting buttons. Been a while since I've done anything with JavaScript, but maybe there's a way to capture the tab keystroke and then redirect the focus. At least until someone finally invents the ever elusive "focus follows mind" system.

And if you ask me, the whole new layout has potential, but it's a little too fisher-price for me. The bright pastel colors make me think of a children's book or something. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I like something a bit less Dr. Seus and a bit more professional, so somewhat more muted colors, more text and fewer idiotic icons. So like instead of a thumbs up/down icon, maybe a simple, tasteful, text link. I'd honestly just as soon the whole like/dislike thing go away, but if it's going to stick around then at least make it a bit less garish. Right now it seems to dominate the entire post unless the post is long enough to force it further down the page. The human eye is drawn to bright flashy things, so they're naturally going to lock onto these stupid icons and not the actual TEXT of the post. Then you have to try and put them out of your mind while you're reading the post, and the closer you get to the end the harder that will be the more they move from the periphery to your main field of view.

Maybe as a compromise, just make it a collapsible element like the report a post link. Someone wants to say they like/dislike something, they can click on an icon in that little row of (currently) three, then a new form element is exposed where they can select like/dislike, see what other people's thoughts are assuming they give a gerbil's rear. You could even go one further, and let people filter comments so only those with at least one "like" vote show up, or maybe for more review oriented forums they can filter for the negative comments. Slashdot's forums would probably be a good place to draw inspiration from. Especially how they have different categories, saying how you like this post because it's informative, or this one is disliked because it's off-topic. They also do a good job of keeping those elements out of the way of the actual content of the post.

Like I said, the current layout has some promise, but it just kind of seems like your stereotypical white trash teenage girl who doesn't know the meaning of overboard when it comes to makeup. There are just too many elements which all seem to be screaming for attention and just make things confusing.

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LOL, could be worse
Apr 17, 2011 2:14PM PDT

<i>"And if you ask me, the whole new layout has potential, but it's a little
too fisher-price for me. The bright pastel colors make me think of a
children's book or something. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I like
something a bit less Dr. Seus and a bit more professional, so somewhat
more muted colors, more text and fewer idiotic icons</i>"

http://www.pampers.com/en_US/home/

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Hmm, I see the format box failed again
Apr 17, 2011 2:16PM PDT

I hilighted the quoted text, clked on the "I" button and it showed italics, I then put quote marks on each end of it, and what did I get? An entity characterization of hypertext code at the start and end of that.

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Have a look at my reply to Jimmy
Apr 17, 2011 8:14PM PDT
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I had to chuckle
Apr 17, 2011 8:12PM PDT