Forum update coming, what do you want?

[MitchC]

What's with the Reddit mentality from a lot of users around here?

For the love of God, if I read another post about how everything boils down to luck, I'm gonna puke.




Wow, what a big FAIL.

I just had an idea, somewhat because of this post, but also because it might just be nice.

Add a first name section to peoples profile that shows on your post, whether optional or not.

I think it would be a lot nicer to call someone by their name rather than their forum name, it also might make people a little more thoughtful with what they post.

 

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[machinistguy]

How about having a beginner section which is open to the public, and then those that prove they deserve to be part of the community get promoted to "Fastlaners" user group - or something like that.

Basically having 3 tiers of users:

• Beginners (public)
• Fastlaners (private)
• INSIDERS (private and paywall $)

I like this idea.

 

[MitchC]

Would anyone have an interest in a Random Lifestyle, Hobby and Enjoyment thread?

This thread would be very similar to the Random Chat thread except related to specifically to lifestyle updates from members. For example, if you're hiking up a mountain, share your pics. If you're entering a boxing competition, let us know. If you're at a conference, post pictures.

If you're on a fishing boat and drinking a margarita, let us know!

I love seeing and hearing what others are doing around the world.

Very similar to the desktop thread which showcases people's workspaces.

Basically something like this which I posted the other day...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660096568337506304

View: https://twitter.com/MJDeMarco/status/1660096568337506304?s=20

I thought about having a thread of how we are spending and enjoying all our money to give people ideas and motivation, but it might be a bit instagram douchebaggy

This sounds like a good way to do that

 

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[amp0193]

Haven’t been here in a while, so seeing things with fresh eyes. A few things stand out on mobile (on iPhone / safari). Not sure what’s a software limitation or not.

Remove the “Latest activity” section. Takes up half the screen and delivers no value. ( I don’t care about who liked what 30 seconds ago. This section is less annoying on desktop).

Add infinite scroll on “latest posts”. It randomly stops and won’t let me scroll further. Infinite scroll works fine on desktop though.

Even better if latest posts was the only thing on mobile home page. Send everything else (forum categories etc.) to the hamburger menu.

Tags/categories in line thread topics would help give useful context on what the thread might be about (shows on desktop: Gold/Mindset/Off-Topic etc. but doesn't show on mobile).

Seeing who started the thread more important than who the latest reply was (again, gives context before you click).


As is, I don’t think I’ll use the forum on mobile again. Pretty frustrating to use. On desktop it’s a lot better.

 

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[Guest130641]

Heads up...

I likely will be getting off the Xenforo platform and moving to a new forum system in the next 60 days. I'm done waiting for Xenforo to put forth a platform that doesn't feel like it is stuck in 2008.

This platform hasn't evolved into the current era, and unfortunately, it has made this place tougher to manage, grow, and facilitate.

The time has come and right now its just a matter of scheduling the move.

Advanced warning: It will be disruptive. It will be risky. And it will be a culture shock around here.

When I joined the forum I was like:

Did I just join the wrong forum? Is the forum stuck in 2008?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

have you considered Mighty Networks?

No, part of my consideration is there needs to be migration or conversion software. There are 15 years of posts here.

 

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[piano]

1) Remove the User Power %

Oh I wonder why

Btw, can we please add a dark mode for this forum in the future?
It's less attacking on the eyes and drains your laptop power less if you're on the go.

 

[BizyDad]

Also I find it hard to look for popular threads posted by users on their profile.

I second this. I understand people wanting to hide their profiles, but being able to at least see what threads they started would be cool.

 

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[Jon822]

They have a lot to be proud of. I'm a huge fan of dark mode and can't wait to see what the forum looks like with it.

Edit: I think I may have made this joke too subtle. The pic above was dark mode via Chrome and I was just poking fun at their company boasting about coming out with dark mode in 2023.

 

[amp0193]

You can now choose a Dark Mode style.

Thank you, I do everything dark mode.

It's kind of quirky like you said, but it's an improvement for me.

 

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[Belesarius]

Thank you, I do everything dark mode.

It's kind of quirky like you said, but it's an improvement for me.

Maybe you don´t know about it, but there is a Google Chrome Plugin called "Dark Reader", which makes every Website "Darkmode". It is a Gamechanger. Here is the link: Dark Reader

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Yes, you can bookmark any post or the whole thread

Sorry to bother you but how do you bookmark a post or thread?

That function is for INSIDERS only.

so if I could filter the "my content" tab to just my own threads, that would also be helpful.

 

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[Paul David]

When I open a thread using my phone browser it takes me randomly to the bottom of the thread instead of starting from top.

 

[KiwiEC]

Thank you for taking care of the forum!

One simple feature would be to have the option to hide/collapse the sticky threads list on the top of each forum section.

I like the fact we have so many gold threads which deserve to be highlighted and I have read most of them. But sometimes I just want to get to the most recent stuff posted and so you have to scroll a lot (+ the border between sticky threads and new threads is hard to spot).

It's just a minor feature which could improve the browsing experience. I may be blind but I did not see such an option like that (eg. a simple arrow to collapse/expand the sticky threads list on the top bar of the list section).

 

[JordanK]

@MJ DeMarco

I had a quick look at Xenforo. They are UK based and only seem to have 3 employees (possibly including the two directors).

Here are documents related to the company and its accounts.

XENFORO LIMITED filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

XENFORO LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

Would you be in a position 'ala' Elon Musk to buyout this company and appoint your own developers/team to oversee further development. Seeing as the forum is so reliant on its software to function. This would give you a certain element of control (CENTS), it would probably add value to the forum too as you'd now be a tech company lol.

Just thought I would suggest it.

 

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[Timmy C]

The number one thing for me is the search function.

Always been the worst thing for me.

Everything else is tolerable.

 

[Lyzmin]

Would love that actually!

HOT! - CHAT - The lifestyle, hobbies, and fun thread.

This week I’m on vacation in Bordeaux (France). What an amazing city. Once I’ve reached a certain Fastlane level, I will definitely buy a place here. Have a great week Fastlane community!

www.thefastlaneforum.com

It's here @Strm

 

[Panos Daras]

As many people already indicated the mobile version does not look good. Approximately half of the global web traffic is mobile. In my opinion, this is the one thing that needs to be done. Optimizing for mobile is a strategic move with immediate ROI.
These are the 3 main reasons:

1. Increases User Retention: A great mobile experience keeps users coming back, and increases lifetime value.
2. SEO Boost: Since Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites, this is a must to rank higher.
3. Content Discoverability: A good mobile version makes it easier for readers to find content even with the current not-so-good search engine.
   

 

[Fox]

@MJ DeMarco , have you considered Mighty Networks? They are at https://www.mightynetworks.com/

I was a member of a community based on a Mighty Network for a few months and whilst I left, (due to the content) the platform was IMO super easy to use and seems to be highly flexible.

I'm guessing that you have already considered them and ruled them out, but just in case you haven't.

For clarity, I am not associated with Mighty Networks in any way.

Don't use them - I switched to them before and there is a huge loading lag time on posts.

You don't notice at first but after a few days it becomes painful to use.

 

[Andy Black]

Don't use them - I switched to them before and there is a huge loading lag time on posts.

You don't notice at first but after a few days it becomes painful to use.

I had a play with Mighty Networks a few years ago. It seemed more interested in looking good than making it easy to find and engage in conversations. That was just my cursory observation, and a few years ago.

I don't particularly like Skool or Circle either. I don't like nested comments for starters (Circle had them I believe).

 

[Black_Dragon43]

@ImmortalFounder and everyone else, this is exactly how hard selling looks like. Pretend to resonate with the concerns of who you’re talking with so long as they agree to do what you ask them to. Perfect example

 

[ImmortalFounder]

Yah bro, I’m not sure either. You’re clearly an expert who understands the needs of the forum better than the founder. I hope MJ has his card nearby and signs up for a year of Skool right now!

I never claimed to know the needs of the forum better than the founder, I never said anything about buying from me, didn’t post any affiliate links, didn’t ask MJ to pay me for anything. I suggested a platform that I’ve enjoyed as a user and think could be a good fit for this forum. You seem to think you have me pegged as a “closer for Sam” or trying to do something shady. All I did was offer my opinion and a suggestion for where to migrate. MJ is free to ignore or take my input as he pleases, I do not care. Don’t know how that’s a crime or why you’re taking offense to my input.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Is it just me or are none of them loading on phones?

Interesting, I've been having trouble getting them to load all morning.

If that is the uptime I can expect, I can scratch Discourse off the list.

 

[Robdavis]

@MJ DeMarco; would it make sense to setup a sandpit? So create a forum with no content on a new platform where we could try it out and see if we like it?

MJ suggested that he wants to consider Invision and Flavum.

So, for example, Invision would give "us" a free thirty day free trial. Obviously anything that was posted in there would be lost at the end of the period.

Flavum will offer us the demo area which is available here:

Flarum

Flarum is the next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun. It's simple, fast, and free.

flarum.org

You can log in with user "admin" and "password" and the demo site resets daily.

This might make it possible for us to compare the two different providers if we created a pair of sandpits.

P.S. We could always post the links to the sandpits in the speedway or INSIDERS if we wanted to restrict the number of users.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I like the user experience.

That's the point I'm making.

You like the user experience and are still here. But the 9 others that came after you didn't like it and left. I'm not hearing from them.

 

[Kak]

View attachment 51152

I actually think the current forum layout is decent.

X2

 

[Jrjohnny]

A small idea: an AI that automatically bumps gold, notable and other threads.

Another thing like I’ve said but different:

A thread or tab where messages that are pure gold can be found.

 

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[WillHurtDontCare]

Not threads, like a catergory called gold Posts

Like where gold advice is in a normal thread.

Johnny boy has had quite a few over the last few days.

They tend to be in threads that aren’t marked as gold.

So you could put it in a special catergory so anyone who’s looking for advice from a certain person and wants to seperate their very valuable posts from the more casual one.

I just came to this thread to mention this. Biophase had a post a few days ago about the tax considerations of buying and selling a website and I thought "it would be great if there was a way to get a list of all these great one off posts in one spot".

Perhaps you could just auto-populate a thread of all of the posts that have 10+ gold bars?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Perhaps you could just auto-populate a thread of all of the posts that have 10+ gold bars?

That is already is "kinda" possible, just sort by Best Posts.



As well as...

Hot Posts on Fastlane (Most Reactive)

This page features the most reactive (liked) posts on Fastlane, including posts that might have occurred in the middle of a thread.

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

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[Timmy C]

I just activated dark mode.
Incredible haha.