remove the shoutbox?

[ericesque]

Why again? I don't see any flaming.

Kevin expressed his opinion about whether or not there is a need to change and/or use root account.

Gutter happened to disagree saying that it's important to change your root password. While he could have been more conscientious about the way he rebutted Kevin's post, I don't think he went as far as flaming.

Claydoh made a fairly accurate assessment that Gutter was using a bit of fear/uncertainty/doubt tactic in his attempt to change their root passwords. However, I don't believe that gutter did so in a deconstructive way. I think he was trying to express the importance he places on changing the password.

troy is simply a frustrated user... it's always a shame when folks have this kind of experience with a linux distro. Often they're more frustrated at the prospect of having to go back to MS than at linux itself. I think they have the right to vent a little bit. Why shouldn't they be allowed to do so in the shout box?

troy, if you're still around the forums, we could probably help you get kubuntu going... I think most folks will find it easier to dual boot XP and kubuntu their first time out. That way you can continue to use XP for the things you're working on getting to work in kubuntu... PM me if you want help. Explain the problem and we can start a thread for issues.

lmilano, I understand your concern with the shout box. It's important that new visitors do not come to the site only to find comments in the shout box which reflect negatively on the community or the distro. However, I don't think that we're seeing anything that is too terribly negative. I'm sure there are ways to resolve the issue without completely disabling the shout box. As I have come to understand the function of the shoutbox, I have realized it is a highly useful tool. Furthermore, it's up to the community to be able to monitor the shout box--to an extent. If you feel a comment is not appropriate, quick throw up a shout of your own and inform a moderator to take appropriate actions.

my .02

...actually that might be more like .50 it's rather long.

[claydoh]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

I'd prefer to see the shoutbox on a side panel and not at the very top, but thats just my personal preference.

[ericesque]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

that's an idea... I mean, it's already in the right hand side panel... so you're saying have it there and only there?

[claydoh]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

Yes, but again it is only one guy's preference, others may like it up there

[ericesque]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

Yeah, heh. I was trying to provoke a response to get a couple other opinions... doesn't seem to be working though. Even lmilano who first proposed we get rid of the box hasn't chimed in yet. We promise not to attack your opinion!

[claydoh]

Re: remove the shoutbox?


Oh, that's OK I am pretty flame-oblivious anyway. i figured you were looking for opinions, so I tried to help get the ball rolling

I don't have anything against the shoutbox, I just think it looks out of place up there at the top.

[OT] i do like the side panels ability to be opened and closed, that is a nice feature [/OT]

[Danni]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

I'm quite new here, but I've gotten used to it being up there. I'm too scared to post in it myself at the moment, but like reading what other people have said.

[Nirvana]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

I like it up there too... but I'd change the style to bold black on white, to the same style "navigartore" uses.. which is #afc6db for the background, and either black or #005177 ("uno" style aka the Home/Forum/Blog at the top style)

[claydoh]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

I prefer it on a side panel because, for one thing, it is being used to ask questions, or to answer one we can no longer see, and generally clutters everything up (imnsho of course).

If people are too afraid or timid to post, that is an issue that could better be addressed in a different way, perhaps more if us posting more usefull posts more often in a more newbie-friendly way (and yes I know I don't post very often, especially recently)

[Open Source]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

Well if too many people don't like/enjoy having the shoutbox, I can remove it all together. Moving it to the side is not available in the software, however I could do it by modifying the code. The problem with that is when I do an update to the software, I have to be really careful not to screw up my modifications, so I would rather not change too much code.

[claydoh]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

well why not just remove the top bar, but leave the "Last Shouts" on the right panel, as it is seen on the main page? or is that part 'hard-coded" into the module?

[Open Source]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

It is either on or off. I can set the number of shouts to show on the side, but thats about it.

[nrwilk]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

Well, I just got here, so don't take my input as that of a seasoned account holder, but I can give my first impression of the shoutbox section section.

It seemed unrefined, and unfinished to me. It took a few seconds to figure out what it was, and that threw me off. The generally agreed upon site layout has the site menu either along the top, or down the side, or both. It feels a bit strange to me to have it between that menu at the top and the forum. Combine that with the fact that it spans the total horizontal distance of the site, and it feels to me like it breaks the layout up too much. My view is that the real content which the user comes to the site for should be as near to the top of the site as possible. More stuff between the top of the page and the forum makes it feel bloated, spammy. I think that if it is kept, it would be better placed at the bottom, or along the side. Or, maybe as a per-account option. If that option existed, I can tell you that I would turn it off.

Other than that, I'm already a bit more used to it than I was then.

This is only a passing opinion to give a newcommer's view. None of this explains my real feeling about the site, only the shoutbox feature.

BTW, great site, Open Source!

[Fenyx]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

Hi nrwik! Just to give you on an insight that I learned from Open Souce a few days ago.
This forum is actually using to kinds of software, MkPortal and SMF (Simple Machines Forums). MkPortal is the one handling stuff like the shoutbox, the front page (http://www.kubuntuforums.net), and the rest of the options on the very top banner (home, blog, news, etc.) SMF is the one that handles the forum itself, starting from banner with home, help, search, profile, etc. So I guess it's a bit natural that there seems to be a "break" in the flow, since the two (shoutbox and forums) are handled by different software.

Anyway, I don't want the shoutbox to be removed. However, I suggest that, if possible, the shoutbox be limited to a certain length/number of characters. Look at the shoutbox now. It has one huge message that should have been probably posted in the proper forum section. Of course, it calls your attention to that user's problem, but it shouldn't be too much of a distraction.

I'm not sure if there's an option to hide the shoutbox, and probably it would be good if there was.

OT: nrwik, I'd like to call your attention to a not-so-visible portion of the forums. In the front page, you see two side panels (left and right). In the forums, they are gone. If you want to display those two, at the top of the forums there are two clickable icons (left and right) with ">>" and "<<" marks. click those to display the side panels. however, they disappear when you change pages. Probably a limitiation of MkPortal software. (The shoutbox is in the side panels, too)

[nrwilk]

Re: remove the shoutbox?

Yes, I had seen those little arrows which hide the side panels. Those are nice.

It's also a very good idea to limit the length of the shoutbox comments. But, if the software which is used to render that section in the first place constricts Open Source to only having the option of displaying it or not, then I doubt it would be easy for him to implement an option to display on a per-member basis, or a character limit.

Is that true, Open Source?