Recent Changes

KSoD

Call me Mak or K, Mod Emeritus
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All you all can see there have been a lot of changes to the site over the past 24 hours. Now that many of the things have been buttoned up i can start to explain a bit more about some of the new features of the vB4 along with what some of the changes represent for the site.

So to begin with you will notice that the layout is much different. It is now streamlined to help not only new people but keep things better organized for us all. It makes things a lot easier having them laid out this way. Like having the Virus section right below the Windows section. Lets face it 99% of the people are on Windows when they are infected so it should be right there for them to get help.

The Members area is now the former Miscellaneous section. This is your area folks, treat it right and with respect and you maybe able to get more things added in the future if requested. But if we see things get out of hand with the couple of new additions, not only will those be removed but the chance of getting more will be gone as well.

So lets talk about those new additions. It has been asked to add in a Multimedia forum and a Car specific forum for a while now. Here it is finally. The Multimedia section will be the place for you to share your interests about books, music, movies and so much more. Please bear with us on this section as we do have much more in mind which will extend the use of this forum and it will make a lot of people happy with some of the proposed changes we want to make. Give us time to finish working out the details and it will be announced in there soon.

Next is the car specific forum. This can be used for everything and anything. Talk about car problems you are having, if your looking to buy or anything that is related to any form of transportation. Be it a bicycle, motor bike, or anything else that has wheels and a form of engine.

Now the Contest forum is there for a specific reason. You already seen the first example. It is for the contests which we plan on holding on site. But there is a catch to this forum. You cant create topics in there. You can only respond. Sorry but being Officially sanctioned by TF means that the Staff must create the thread.

Next comes the Review and Tutorial section. There is 4 sections here. 2 are for members to post up their reviews and tutorials. The other 2 are going to be used by the staff to either promote a great review/tutorial by a member or to write one up ourselves and put it up on the site. Again with this area you can only create topics in the Member Area not the Official area. Dont worry, if your topic gets promoted you will still be able to post in it.

Last but not least is the CMS or Content Management System. This is what is going to be used kinda like our Front Page now. The Staff has the option to promote just about everything and anything to the specific sections laid out on the CMS so that when a new review is written it will appear on the CMS as well.

Now with all the changes it is going to take time to populate and sort out all the little details. Like how do you become and "Official" TF Reviewer and so on. Along with getting the CMS system populated and operating fully. This is a new system for all of us and we are flying by the seat of our pants trying to get it working right. I spent countless hours trying to sort out every detail.

We ask that you please bear with us. There are going to be some growing pains with the upgrade. With your help and the dedication of our staff we will get the things worked out and fixed ASAP. It isnt going to be instantaneous but we will try our best to keep moving forward.

About the new Blog Feature. We are still working out details on who will have access to create and use this feature on site. Once we figure that out i will announce it here for everyone to see so they know if they are eligible for the use of that feature.

We welcome you to the Improved TF. This is just the first step of many that we have planned. Great things are coming for our members for the rest of this year and beyond!
 
Good stuff! I love the upgrade!

I have been here since 2006 and have learned a lot of neat tricks! I prefer this forum over any other mainstream forum out there. Its personal and you get answers to your questions unlike the other big-name forums where nothing gets done. In fact I have learned so much here that I am a CIS major, working for an IT Helpdesk environment and also built my first computer!

Anyways, I'm not sure what I can do but I'll try to post more often from now as a thanks for the past years. If you need some moderation help let me know.

Thanks again mak!
 
There are many other forums out there that are bigger in size as in more members and post and activity. The problem is that you don't feel as special in the sense that out of the multiple topics I created; less than 5% got answered to my satisfaction. In this forum, techist.com, I am almost always answered.
 
I know of a few sites. Some sites like Neowin which are much larger and have a bigger user base are much more strict when it comes to a lot of things. Not to mention that their members are not as forgiving to new people asking questions that they feel should already be known to PC users. While we try our best to answer every question, and once in a while a topic or 2 will slip by without anyone noticing it isnt as bad as some of these larger forums.

Some sites are so strict that if you even argue with a mod over anything, including the fact that they are wrong with their answer, you will be banned instantly. I have looked around via Bing and Google at a lot of different tech sites rules and they are down right nasty. Some dont allow even links in their sigs without permission first. Kinda makes me giggle inside when i see people get upset about our rules when we are actually far more relaxed in our rules than some other tech sites.
 
I used to be a Neowinian myself. They do have a large community, but a lot of newbies outweigh the more experienced.
 
Just want to say, now that I've gotten used to the changes and stuff, I'm really liking them now. Thanks, Modmins! ^_^
 
I feel that there would/should be more new members join the forum now as it is now much more easyer to navigate to the forum from the main page, Good Work!
 
I know of a few sites. Some sites like Neowin which are much larger and have a bigger user base are much more strict when it comes to a lot of things. Not to mention that their members are not as forgiving to new people asking questions that they feel should already be known to PC users. While we try our best to answer every question, and once in a while a topic or 2 will slip by without anyone noticing it isnt as bad as some of these larger forums.

Some sites are so strict that if you even argue with a mod over anything, including the fact that they are wrong with their answer, you will be banned instantly. I have looked around via Bing and Google at a lot of different tech sites rules and they are down right nasty. Some dont allow even links in their sigs without permission first. Kinda makes me giggle inside when i see people get upset about our rules when we are actually far more relaxed in our rules than some other tech sites.

There really can be some mod Nazis on a lot of forums... I tend not to stick around those ones. There are a handful I frequent because the rules are firm and fair, but not crazy strict. I like forums (including this one) where blatant flaming, baiting, spamming etc... are kept in check and are not tolerated. As long as you're not being a total idiot the mods leave you alone, and I also find those forums are more laid back and the members are more welcoming.

The best forums are ones when if you break a rule on accident, you get a quick note, not a flame from a mod and that is it. You learn and move on. Those kind of forums are ones where members stick around and learn instead of leave.
 
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