Items removed in SMF 2.1

Started by noquiexis, August 11, 2018, 11:56:24 AM

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GigaWatt

Quote from: Study Force on August 17, 2018, 01:10:32 PM
Never used it in my life

I don't think anybody actually used it :D.

Quote from: noquiexis on August 17, 2018, 08:16:04 PM
Quote from: GigaWattmembers that use the default avatars are usually ones that have little to no interest in joining the community

Quote from: GigaWattI haven't seen an active member that either didn't have an avatar (their personal choice) or didn't have a custom avatar.

     That was what I argued against. Some of our most prolific posters use the default avatars. To belittle those users is an affront. I chose not to use an avatar for this forum because I did not want one.

Your forum has to be the first example I've seen where active, contributing members actually use the default avatars. I mean, it's one thing to use it temporarily, like in the way "I'm not really sure I'd stick around this place", but after a few hundred posts (or at least a hundred), I have yet to see a member that didn't use their own custom avatar or chose not to use an avatar at all (again, their own personal choice, as per your own example ;)).

Quote from: Arantor on August 18, 2018, 04:52:10 AM
The point about avatars was not meant as an insult, though. It's an example of an observation we've noticed across a *very* large number of (not just) SMF installs, that users who don't bother to customise their profile with their own picture do correlate pretty well to users who don't contribute a large amount of posts.

Exactly. This is the case in every forum I've ever visited or been a part of. Mind that I'm not talking about English speaking forums only. It's just human nature. People want to be recognized by the avatar they use, it's as simple as that... or by not using one.

Take it from me. If I just needed some info or an attachment from some forum and I can't get to it without registering, I usually just register, download or read whatever I needed, log off and usually, never return. I don't bother uploading an avatar... I would maybe choose one of the default ones if the forum required me to choose one after registration (believe it or not, there are forums configured like this, you're required to choose an avatar after registering or you can't open certain topics or download attachments ::), it silly, I know), but other than that, I wouldn't return to the forum. In some cases, I've registered up to 3 times on one single forum, just because I forgot my login credentials (including the email address) under which I registered on the forum 6, 10, 18 months earlier :D.

Quote from: noquiexis on August 18, 2018, 09:22:44 AM
     My only thoughts about the default avatars is that, why offer them at all if you don't expect people to use them? Admittedly, my experience is very limited. There are only three other forums of any kind that I visit. Long time users of SMF forums may not know that the avatar size is not always the same. They may be perfectly happy with the 65 x 65 pixel size.

I don't actually know the answer to this one, but... I guess the answer would be, back then, a default image list was the simplest way to actually give complete newbie users the option to actually have an avatar. After a few hundred posts, users will get accustomed to the UI and actually find out how to upload an avatar by themselves... or load an URL with an image on their profile, whatever.

I would say that most internet users nowadays actually know what a forum is (10 or 15 years ago, this was not the case), so in most cases, they know that they can upload a "custom picture" that distinguishes them from other users on the forum ;). This is also the case on social media sites, so if you've ever been on one, you'll probably see at least one image on the site that is usually the user's "avatar" (or whatever it's called).
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SychO

Quote from: Gwenwyfar on August 19, 2018, 07:50:30 PM
Quote from: SychO on August 19, 2018, 05:52:58 PM
Was the profile edits log also removed ?
That was very useful to be honest
It's still there, it was just moved to "Track user" menu.

Well, it's always been in track user menu, just found the option to enable it from admin area, sweet
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noquiexis

     Frankly I do not care what avatar, if any, forum users employ. I only used that as one example of "Items removed in SMF 2.1". Furthermore, I restated the help request as  "What should I tell my membership about the changes in SMF 2.1?" (Reply #37).

     If one were to go through the Online Manual page by page, one would eventually discover the differences between SMF 2.0 and SMF 2.1, but that would be a tedious process. The changelog defines these differences, eliminating that tedium.

     No one expects the changelog to be published until all of the changes are incorporated into the new version. Nor should they expect every jot and tittle to be explained. However, obvious items should be pointed out.

     Looking at the Beta releases does give us an idea of where things are going, but even those are not the final product. Still, there are some decisions that are hard a fast. Knowing those changes in advance of a major upgrade should prepare administrators for what is to come. Finding those changes is the point of this help request.

"To me the meanest flower that blows can give
 Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears."

    William Wordsworth

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