Unread Messages

[Packard Don]

The new forum software is much cleaner and looks streamlined compared to the old version but it is more difficult to know when there are new postings. The old version had a different color icon next to the name but that is gone on the new version, having been replaced only by a bold font on new entries. On both of my PCs, the difference between the non-bold and bold is almost non-existent. Is it possible to highlight new entries differently? I saw nothing in the user settings for doing so.

 

Thank you and, as always, I appreciate all the hard work that it takes to keep a system like this up and running.

[gwells]

Don,

 

There is no such setting as far as I know, either at the user level or the admin level.

 

My suggestions are to switch to a different browser, i.e. if you're using Internet Explorer, try Chrome or Firefox. Or enlarge your standard view via zooming in. The difference between bold and non-bold may be more discernable at a larger view setting.

[Packard Don]

Thank you for the quick reply and as a Web programmer myself I knew to try different browsers but most car-people would probably not know that so thanks for suggesting it. I've tried it in both Internet Explorer and Firefox on Windows 8.1, Firefox on Ubuntu Linux and Safari on an iPad but it is just as difficult to see the difference on any of them. It sounds like it's something we'll just have to live with until the developers themselves decide it needs a tweak!

 

By the way, after I wrote I saw something about the advanced uploader requiring Flash 9. Flash of any version, however, is a huge security problem and is being discontinued in favor of HTML5 and other technologies so you might want to see if steering away from it is an option. I've known this for years but in the last few weeks it's been all over the Internet as the end is very near now so I'm surprised this latest version of the forum software is using it in any form.

[MCHinson]

Don,

 

Obviously you want to use the browser that you prefer but my observation is that it is very easy to see the difference on my laptop running Google Chrome on Windows 7. 

[gwells]

By the way, after I wrote I saw something about the advanced uploader requiring Flash 9. Flash of any version, however, is a huge security problem and is being discontinued in favor of HTML5 and other technologies so you might want to see if steering away from it is an option. I've known this for years but in the last few weeks it's been all over the Internet as the end is very near now so I'm surprised this latest version of the forum software is using it in any form.

Well, first of all, The AACA forum is not yet using the very latest version of IP.Board, nor am I at my hobby forum. Version 4 of IP.Board was officially released a month or so ago, after a three+ year development and beta process. Many users of IP.Board are waiting before upgrading, for reasons I likely don't have to mention to an experienced guy like yourself.

Whether version 4 has ditched the use of Flash for the advanced uploader, I do not know.

I can say that the advanced uploader works very well. As to the vulnerabilities Flash might have, I've not seen any issues on my end, but then I use the Apple platform exclusively and have since 1991. None of my forum's users have reported any problems with Flash to me.

I would like to point out the vBulletin, the forum software formerly used here, has experienced a recent issue with hackers being able to break into its PM system to spam the membership. I know of two forums who have been dealing with this and reports are there are many others.

So far, IP.Board has not suffered similar issues to the best of my knowledge. IPS, who market the software, are extremely vigilant regarding vulnerabilities in their product, based on almost a decade of using it.

[Packard Don]

This issue with Flash is that it is being discontinued and it is even recommended to remove the Flash player from PCs because having it installed makes them vulnerable to attack due to the holes it opens in the system. Making things worse, Flash's support is nearly over, if it isn't already, so there will no longer be security patches. Also, Flash does not work at all on any iDevices, such as iPad, iPhone, etc.

 

That said, the AACA forums are great and look even better after the update. Sometimes things cannot be found on the new version (I do not see anywhere how to edit my biography) but it is clean and streamlined over the older version.

 

P.S., The way Chrome insidiously sneaks itself onto my PC while installing something unrelated, it will never purposely be installed on any computer of mine!