Problems with new Board Interface

[TotallyOz]

Clearing the cache doesn't help me. I still get the blank screen.

 

I don't encounter this problem if I switch over to IE Explorer, but the browser I use is Firefox. I had no problem at all until you did this upgrade and it's just too inconvenient to have to switch back and forth between browsers.

 

I'm sorry. I know the problem is not your fault, but the programmers trying to blame the browser is ridiculous when that same browser had no problem until this upgrade. They need to find what is causing this problem and they need to fix it. That's what you're paying them for. If they can't fix the software they're busy selling to people, then they need to hire someone who can.

 

I'm not even convinced their upgrade actually resolved any security issues in the first place. What security issues were they resolving?

 

I agree with your previous statement. You have never been condescending in any remarks you make. LOL You are just the epitome of level headed and fair and balanced.

[Gaybutton]

You are just the epitome of level headed and fair and balanced.

 

That's right. I'm glad you finally figured that out . . .

[TotallyOz]

That's right. I'm glad you finally figured that out . . .

 

haha Hey, I am from Alabama, we are a bit slow out of the gate!

 

[TotallyOz]

Mr. gaybutton has this issue been resolved for you? Or, are you still seeing a blank screen?

[Gaybutton]

Unless I follow the procedure I outlined above, I still get the blank screen.

[PattayaMale]

Mr. gaybutton has this issue been resolved for you? Or, are you still seeing a blank screen?

Unless I follow the procedure I outlined above, I still get the blank screen.

 

According to what Mr. Gaybutton has posted, he is using a BETA version of FireFox. If you go to Mozilla's web page they report that there are still MANY BUGS with the BETA version.The newest version that is not BETA is version 9. He says he is using version 10. The Beta version will still be updated and fixed. Having programmers try to fix their site so it works on a Beta site is in my opinion Foolish. People that use Beta versions should report problems to, in this case, Mozilla.

I downloaded version 9 and the GAYTHAILAND site works fine on that Firefox version for me.

If every other site in the world works fine on the Firefox Beta, it would no longer be a Beta.....in my opinion.

[PattayaMale]

This post is being sent using the Firefox newest NON BETA browser.

I had not problem signing in. I had NO BLANK page. I could read the forums and post a reply without any problems.

 

I believe Firefox beta is the problem.

[Gaybutton]

I believe Firefox beta is the problem.

Ahaaaaa! Maybe that's it. If I'm using a beta version, I didn't even know it. If everyone else using Firefox is getting in without any problems, then that's probably the explanation. I just sent in a report about the problem to Firefox.

[TotallyOz]

Gaybutton, don't take my comments the wrong way. LOL I use Firefox as well and I have had no problems with this site. But, the last week, I have had issues with speed. Firefox has been constinently slower than all my other browsers for all sites. There was lag time when typing. There was lag time from page to page. I thought perhaps it was my computer. But, it was only in Firefox. I tried everything to fix it. Finally, I uninstalled ALL my plugins and then the problem stopped. What happens with Firefox and all browsers is that when they update, some sites do not work with the new way they have decided to display things. It is hard for web programmers to keep up with all the browsers. Then, as a user, you must also then keep up with the plugins. All in all, it is always a guessing game to try to find the solution to a problem that others are not having.

 

When I started playing online it was only Internet Explorer. Now, you have that, Firefox, Safair, Opera and others. And, new ones often. Then, everyone of them has plugins. What I learned over the years was to keep up to date with a few browsers in order to be able to enjoy the internet as much as possible. And, there are plugins to help you transfer the bookmarks and passwords from one browser to another.

 

Firefox is great but I much prefer to have a good backup browser.

 

Betas are great but they cause problems until their issues are solved.

[PattayaMale]

Scooby wrote: " we are a member dating site and not just a forum. We remain popular in that arena."

I don't understand the part of being a member dating site. Who are we dating??

[Gaybutton]

Gaybutton, don't take my comments the wrong way.

Sorry, but it's much more fun to take your comments the wrong way . . .

 

Besides, it's still possible that Firefox is not the culprit at all. It probably is, but that's only our guess.

 

Obviously I can still get in as long as I use a more inconvenient method. I prefer that to switching browsers. I'm used to Firefox and I like Firefox much better than any other browsers I've tried. And so far this is the only site I'm having trouble with.

 

The thing is - this is the same version of Firefox I was using before the upgrade and I had no problems at all then. While Firefox may be the reason for the problem, it seems obvious to me that something in the upgrade is why the problem even exists.

 

Is anyone else out there using my version of Firefox? If yes, are you also having the same problem I'm having?

 

 

I don't understand the part of being a member dating site. Who are we dating??

I'm available . . .

[KhorTose]

I have had no problems with this board update. Using firefox 9.0.1

[kokopelli]

Scooby wrote: " we are a member dating site and not just a forum. We remain popular in that arena."

I don't understand the part of being a member dating site. Who are we dating??

 

PattayaMale; All those photos of members which are posted on this forum are looking for a date!

[Guest thaiworthy]

PattayaMale; All those photos of members which are posted on this forum are looking for a date!

 

How is this site different from GayRomeo? (I have used neither for dating.) The latter seems is all the buzz on most forums. Why?

 

If this site is predominantly a gay dating site, then I doubt the forum will gain any popularity, in my opinion. The one recent new poster I cited earlier was only looking for a date.

[PattayaMale]

PattayaMale; All those photos of members which are posted on this forum are looking for a date!

 

I really did not know that. I thought the pictures where part of flirt for free. I never clicked on those (in the left column until today).

 

So this is really a dating site? Wow!

[kokopelli]

If this site is predominantly a gay dating site, then I doubt the forum will gain any popularity, in my opinion.

 

This site is a multipurpose site combining the commercial/business aspect with the message board aspect. There seems no reason that it cannot be successful in both ventures. Other gay forums such as Sawatdee and Gay TingTong also include commercial ads to help fund them. Baht-Stop and Gaybuttonthai appear to be free of commercial interests.

[Guest thaiworthy]

I really did not know that. I thought the pictures where part of flirt for free. I never clicked on those (in the left column until today).

 

So this is really a dating site? Wow!

 

I initially had the opposite observation when I first registered:

 

So this is really a forum? Wow!

 

This site is a multipurpose site combining the commercial/business aspect with the message board aspect. There seems no reason that it cannot be successful in both ventures. Other gay forums such as Sawatdee and Gay TingTong also include commercial ads to help fund them. Baht-Stop and Gaybuttonthai appear to be free of commercial interests.

 

Multipurpose though it may be, I still think theFlirt/Dating aspect strongly overshadows the forum aspect. The design of the board hides/camouflages the existence of this forum by placing Flirt-For-Free and the gay dating aspect foremost. However, omparing other sites to this one is irrelevant since each draws its strength from its own individual appeal.

 

What is GayThailand.com? A gay dating site, a Flirt-For-Free voyeur site or a Forum? Or all 3? If we are all confused about it, can you imagine what a newcomer must think? Mebbe this is the Swiss Army Knife of gay web sites . . . you want it . . . we got it!

[Guest fountainhall]

This is an addition to the comments I made in an earlier thread about the City Guides. It's also a more general comment on the suggestion made earlier, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I realise the discussion has centred largely on the Board's new intereface. But to be frank, I suggest there are quite a few more basic problems which should be addressed, problems that are perhaps not so noticeable to those who have been using the site for many years.

 

Perhaps, also, it is because I have had the site bookmarked at the Message Board page that I had little idea of most of the site's other functions - until this thread opened up!

 

(Note: my use of boldface and italics below is merely to highlight key points to save readers going through the entire post).

 

So, this morning I went back to basics and tried to imagine myself coming across the site for the first time. And I’m sorry to have to say I did not manage to get much beyond the home page. There is a huge, jumbled mass of information on that page. Much of it is important and much of it is useful, but there is, in my view, vastly too much there for a first page. It’s all so incredibly confusing! My first thought was, “Where on earth should I click first?” A first page surely must be visually striking, simply laid out and very easy to navigate. I reckon only about 5% or less of the wordage and photo materials should be anywhere near an introduction page!

 

It's also unnecessary to pack in so much difficult-to-navigate info on that page. For example, why are there lengthy descriptions of “Gay Thailand, Gay Bangkok, Gay Pattaya, Gay Chiang Mai, Gay Phuket and Gay Koh Samui” taking up acres of space (more than 60%!) at the foot of the page, when precisely the same information is provided when you click on the sub-headings “Bangkok” or “Koh Samui” etc.?

 

I would get rid of this entire section in dark brown. It’s just irrelevant for page 1. The short pithy intros to the five listed areas are fine as they stand. Let the reader just click on each area for more info.

 

I did not read the “History of Thailand” in detail because it is again a huge chunk of prose without any sub-headings and, equally importantly, any visuals to break it up. (Please note the misspelling of Thailand as “Thailande” - did this come from a French source, I wonder?). It also stops in 2005, and a great deal has happened since then that could well be of use to visitors. This page cries out for some rewriting, editing, repackaging into much shorter sections, and the addition of sub-headings, and – ideally – some photos and visuals.

 

Back to the first page. After the header, the first thing I see is a floating “Click Here for the Message Board”. Yet, underneath, there is a navigation bar. Why, I wonder, is the Message Board set apart and is not part of the overall site navigation?

 

After “Home” and “Register”, there is “City Guides”. But virtually all that info is also to be found on page 1 by clicking on the “City Profiles”. Surely having both “City Guides” and “City Profiles” in not only a big waste of space, it is again confusing?

 

On the navigation bar, there is another problem page titled “Articles”. Click on it and you’ll see a page headed “Nuts and Bolts”. This features the first few lines of 17 articles. You also see an A-Z filter implying that there are lots more articles. There are two basic problems here. Click on any letter and you discover there are only these 17 articles – period! So why have the A-Z filter? Secondly, when you click on “Click Here for the Full Article”, you get this –

 

An Error Occurred

Sorry, an error occurred. If you are unsure on how to use a feature, or don't know why you got this error message, try looking through the help files for more information.

 

- and you get it with every article! So what, I wonder, is the point of an “Articles” page? Although I can see it could become relevant, as it stands it needs a major revamp – or just get rid of it.

 

Then there’s “Calendar”. But click on that, and you get the Error message again! Once you are in the Forum page, though, there is yet another Calendar heading, and this time a proper calendar with entries! Why two separate "Calendars"?

 

“Forum” brings you to the Message Board. So, why the need for two separate headings – “Message Board” and” Forum”? Again, it’s just plain confusing.

 

After that comes “Search”. This turns out to be a Profile search. Next question. Why is this not attached to a heading titled “Profiles”? I can only assume because there is no “Profiles” heading! Indeed, there is no introduction anywhere I can see to “Profiles”. Now I am totally confused!

 

But then I come to “Newest Photos” and I am finally into a profiles page – but, note, one with absolutely no introduction. Just pics and names. Once again, surely it must be obvious that "Newest Photos" should be part of a sub-heading under a general “Profiles” title somewhere on that navigation bar?

 

After the navigation bar, there are the Live Web Guys. OK, the site has to make some income. There is also an excellent compact welcome paragraph about gaythailand.com, an enticing eye-candy photo (which incidentally seems to be of the same guy who has been featured there since I last visited the page years ago ), the City Profiles (see comments above) and two columns of individual profile photos. My comment here is that there ought to be a link under the profile columns that will automatically take readers on to a main Profiles page. But there is nothing.

 

Lastly, there is a large list of recommended links – but still nowhere near up-to-date (shamelessMack’s blog disappeared about a year or so ago, Albury Massage is still not listed, etc.). My question here is – why direct readers away from gaythailand.com to other sites on your very first page? Surely that is about the last thing you want them to do! These links should ideally be listed under the individual establishments in the “City Guide” section, the same as happens in the utopia-asia website.

 

I think I am now beginning to realise why gaythailand.com is not attracting more regular readers and more potential members. With all respect to those who have developed the site over the years, it seems to give the impression of a site which merely has been added to and added to - without any focus on the impression being given to readers. Indeed, I think lack of focus and lack of organization of the information are the site’s two major problems.

 

Instead of more adding-on, I do hope the site owners will gather around them a small focus group to consider firstly the issues of focus, function and objectives, and thereafter copywriting, navigation and design. For it appears – at least to me - that these are at present greatly lacking.

[PattayaMale]

Outside of the forum part, I really am confused about the dating part. I don't really see any directions or help on how to use the dating section, and I am not able figure it out.

 

At some point I see member profiles. It seems just to be a list and picture. I click on a picture and it takes me to a profile of someone let's say in Germany. The person is looking for a "date". Well, that is not going to help me. So, I try to search for Thailand (since the site is GAYTHAILAND), what I get is "no results" or something like that.

 

I went to help and could not find any on this.

 

Would some please explain how it works? Also when I registered my profile as a member of GAYTHAILAND, did I get put into the "dating" member part? I really am not looking for a "date" here. Just info about GAYTHAILAND.

HELP Please

[PattayaMale]

FireFox 10 web browser is now officially released. No more Beta.

I would be interested to learn if people that use the new FireFox 10 have problems with this Board as earlier described by GayButton when he was using the BETA version

[TotallyOz]

FireFox 10 web browser is now officially released. No more Beta.

I would be interested to learn if people that use the new FireFox 10 have problems with this Board as earlier described by GayButton when he was using the BETA version

 

I am using it now with no issues! But, I have a mac.

[Guest fountainhall]

I have noticed a new 'problem'. If, once I have posted an article and then notice an error, I click on 'edit' to make the correction. The first time I do that and then click 'submit', I get the three little green boxes flashing at the top of the page, but most times the page does not revert back to the thread. It stays stuck at the edit. However, the edit has been made! I have to go back to the forum page and then go back to the thread.

 

Is there some small glitch in the software?

[Rogie]

I tried to set up a new poll today in the Beer Bar, but I failed. I got all the way through without any problems and hit the 'Finished' button, lower right hand corner, but the poll was not posted. I tried it again, same problem.

[Guest]

I just managed to post a simple two option "Test Poll" in the beer bar, with no problems (it's about to be moderated out, to save people from reading it).

 

How many reply options are you trying? That used to be limited to about 10. No idea what the new rules are.

[Rogie]

Thanks z, I'll try again

 

Later: Ok this time, I think I know what I was doing wrong, I was going straight into compiling the poll without filling in the start new topic box.