(UPDATED) ANNOUNCEMENT: New Forum Software and what to expect. Old layout will be back soon.

[Gxgolfer]

We were pushing to go live with new mobile and desktop theme next week but timelines aren’t matching up.

 

Current status:

Development site is projected to be merged this week.

Development and Staging will be done by next week.

Staging is currently being projected to be pushed to production June 22.

Roles, permissions, ranks, badges will be done by next week.

 

Feedback programming is underway but no eta yet.

 

 

[Gxgolfer]

> @HitEmTrue said:

> > @smashdn said:

> >

> > > @HitEmTrue said:

> > >

> > > It still works that way. I just did it.

> > >

> > How did you do it? When I click quote it automatically takes you to the "Leave a Comment" box at the bottom of the page. With the old version there was a radio button you could click that stored the quotes down in the box but allowed you to stay right where you were on the page to continue reading. When you went to page 2 or 3 or whatever of the whole thread then you could click down in the box and comment to the individual quotes.

> >

> > When I click the button I have the arrow on it drops me out of my place in the thread and to the bottom of the page.

> >

>

> Go to the next post you want and hit quote again. I’m on mobile, and it didn’t automatically put me into the edit box when hitting quote (maybe that’s something that needs fixing ). If you are in the edit box, scroll to another post and try. Can even go to another page and the existing quote should stay in the box.

 

Request should be asked in the 2.0 forum for in investigation.

[Gxgolfer]

Numbers aren’t bad.

 

Interesting discussion came up the other day. What if the belief that the majority who believe they are, are not? What if the end state changes the demographic but a much larger population?

 

The new themes are based on sound principles and the development road map is quite good. 6 months from now, will be drastically different, if not sooner.

[jj9000]

> @Gxgolfer said:

> Interesting discussion came up the other day. What if the belief that the majority who believe they are, are not? What if the end state changes the demographic but a much larger population?

>

Good Lord.

 

This sounds like it came straight out of a software sales playbook.

 

Looking forward to seeing the changes...but I'm really concerned you guys were sold a bill of goods (which you guys said was a mistake)...yet again.

[Gxgolfer]

There were no vendors involved in that discussion. The comments were concerning the exaggeration of numbers and activity.

 

It’s a numbers game and where is the balance between old forum users and new.

 

Also, never said we were sold a bill a goods. The mistake was underestimating implementation and agility.

[DBill]

Feedback having no ETA currently and migrating the old site feedback should have been a top priority. This was a huge mistake in my opinion.

[Skaffa77]

> @Gxgolfer said:

> Numbers aren’t bad.

>

> Interesting discussion came up the other day. What if the belief that the majority who believe they are, are not? What if the end state changes the demographic but a much larger population?

>

> The new themes are based on sound principles and the development road map is quite good. 6 months from now, will be drastically different, if not sooner.

 

Interesting thought. If I’m reading this right...essentially the heavy users (aka: majority) who are vocal are either not the heaviest users when you take volume/time into account or they aren’t who the forum wants for the future.

 

I’ve always found with Forums and enthusiast websites (and even churches and clubs to an extent)...your core group of users tend to set the tone and culture of the site. They are always the repeat users who provide a solid cornerstone for the forum to exist and attract new visitors which by nature have a large churn.

 

So...I’m curious if GolfWRX is looking for a new demographic or potentially is looking to shift their focus from a forum to a different type of website (which there has been more robust content outside the forums). Either you get a new demographic which is desirable for a reason or you appease the old demographic which provides a solid foundation for the forum but maybe holds back progress.

 

Neither old vs new is right or wrong...just different with its own risks and rewards.

 

 

[Gxgolfer]

The goals and principles have never changed and we are doing everything we can to catch up post upgrade. The doom and gloom vitriol isn’t bearing out in the numbers and The balance is not necessarily one or the other but part of growth and evolution. Churn always happens. Even before the upgrade there were posts about where is so and so member. We hear it, we get it, we own it.

 

Use cases for features now have to be put down and scopes for need and applicability. We will build a site that is based around the easiest way for users to generate relevant content. We know we are probably at a 0 right, now for most, but we are aiming for a 12 out Of 10. The new design will also allow us to expose and leverage our expanded content creation as well. The forums were way ahead of the front page. We are working on integrating both and raising the level and quality of content.

 

We are learning from the past and moving as quickly as we can. Feedback is coming in numerous forms and the majority will like the new themes on mobile and desktop while we iron out the other features power users want. We are forum power users, we are bringing back features power users want and need. Some will be faster than others and may be dependent on things outside our control. But will happen.

 

 

[swizbeatz]

I just can’t believe we don’t have an option other than the bright white background yet.

 

Numbers as in views? Because it’s obvious to anyone who spends time here how much posts are down.

[Skaffa77]

> @Gxgolfer said:

> The goals and principles have never changed and we are doing everything we can to catch up post upgrade. The doom and gloom vitriol isn’t bearing out in the numbers and The balance is not necessarily one or the other but part of growth and evolution. Churn always happens. Even before the upgrade there were posts about where is so and so member. We hear it, we get it, we own it.

>

> Use cases for features now have to be put down and scopes for need and applicability. We will build a site that is based around the easiest way for users to generate relevant content. We know we are probably at a 0 right, now for most, but we are aiming for a 12 out Of 10. The new design will also allow us to expose and leverage our expanded content creation as well. The forums were way ahead of the front page. We are working on integrating both and raising the level and quality of content.

>

> We are learning from the past and moving as quickly as we can. Feedback is coming in numerous forms and the majority will like the new themes on mobile and desktop while we iron out the other features power users want. We are forum power users, we are bringing back features power users want and need. Some will be faster than others and may be dependent on things outside our control. But will happen.

>

>

The hardest part of running anything (company, website, sports, family) is that you’ll never make everyone happy. The hardest part about change is the reverence of our memories. The best you can do is stay open to feedback (even the irrational ones) and push forward.

 

As long as you stick to your core values that made you successful...you should find yourself continuing forward toward that same success.

 

 

 

 

[Russ757]

so... I used to live here.. ie on the site multiple times a day.. either posting or lurking... due to the navy gig.. I don't have the chance to get on as much but.. here's my thoughts... from a guy who kinda does this type of thing...

 

its terrible.

 

the background is one issue.. (um ya white on phones means youre burning up battery...

mobile.. you have to have a mobile version if you want to be an option this day and age... it takes forever to load a picture and they are all huuuuge.

change needs to be implemented quickly.. yes web sites have bugs but they should be able to be figured out in relative short time. As I said, ive logged about 5 times in the last 6 months when I used to live here. I don't know what has been fixed. The site has become that bad.

 

 

and to gxgolfer.. " 6 months from now, will be drastically different, if not sooner." are you kidding me.. in 6 months sites bloom or destruct. This update has been going on for nearly a year..

 

 

look at the number of posts by the fan club.. ie swizbeatz, bobcat, others.. people who we saw post on the daily all complaining about how rough the "new" site is..

[Russ757]

and tried editing but there was no easy way..

golfwrx.com was worth an estimated worth of $ 494,640.00 and had a daily income of around $ 687.00 in 2015

in 2009 it was worth 45K

now it is worth $108.44K

what changed...

[TheLarch]

Same here. I used to get on the site multiple times per day. Now maybe I get on three or four times per week just to see if it still looks like a second grade Go Daddy project. Sad how the “old forum look” being back in June is now possibly going to be six months. I’m guessing some of the administrators used to be officers for Kmart.

[Gxgolfer]

I have now typed 3 replies that I’ve deleted. I’ve decided to not feed the trolls. Taking words out of context and personal attacks I guess is part of the Internet now and helps answers other questions.

 

Updates will continue to be rolled out and if people decide to help, please post issues in the website 2.0 forum.

[smashdn]

> @

 

> @Gxgolfer said:

> Numbers aren’t bad.

>

> Interesting discussion came up the other day. What if the belief that the majority who believe they are, are not? What if the end state changes the demographic but a much larger population?

>

> The new themes are based on sound principles and the development road map is quite good. 6 months from now, will be drastically different, if not sooner.

 

People who have no problems don't tend to take surveys or post issues. The silent majority is oft just that, the majority. You well could be right.

 

I have no big issues, just minor tweaks to make it more user friendly. I also recognize that how I use the interface may be different than others. I have used many forums and probably lots of version of softwares. Some are better than others. Vbulletin had some good versions but often when they pushed an update you would lose some of the "creature comforts" that were handy.

[Yanki01]

> @Gxgolfer said:

> I have now typed 3 replies that I’ve deleted. I’ve decided to not feed the trolls. Taking words out of context and personal attacks I guess is part of the Internet now and helps answers other questions.

>

> Updates will continue to be rolled out and if people decide to help, please post issues in the website 2.0 forum.

 

trolls are long time members who vent their frustration?

[Gxgolfer]

There is a difference between frustration and unfounded and ill informed personal attacks.

[2putttom]

it's June June 14th. roll out ...... roll out .... lol

[jj9000]

> @Gxgolfer said:

> There is a difference between frustration and unfounded and ill informed personal attacks.

I don't disagree with you re: the personal attacks. However, people are frustrated. People know there are more functional sites out there.

 

You and Richard should know first hand about how easy it is for a site to get displaced by something better. BSG went by the wayside...and is now an open domain name that can be bought for $15.

 

That's the point, GX. People visit other non-golf enthusiast sites, and see better sites. They interact on better sites. Frankly, they're pi$$ed that the best golf site on the web has turned into this steaming pile of cr@p. We've been telling you this for (4) months now.

[hoselshot82]

Good grief, lots of chatter that is somewhat hard to follow. When is the “old” site or “old” ascetics or whatever coming or rolling out? And no, I’m not going to continue to complain about the fact the app is gone (even though I want to) This site was the very best and now to keep track of discussion updates or happenings on the site I have to keep 10 iOS safari browser pages open and keep refreshing throughout the day. Sad to say my usage went down x10. I’m sure my wife is pleased :)

[Gxgolfer]

Reposting.

> @Gxgolfer said:

> We were pushing to go live with new mobile and desktop theme next week but timelines aren’t matching up.

>

> Current status:

> Development site is projected to be merged this week. - will happen Monday/Tues

> Development and Staging will be done by next week. - still on track

> Staging is currently being projected to be pushed to production June 22. - 50/50

> Roles, permissions, ranks, badges will be done by next week. - validating to push next week.

>

> Feedback programming is underway but no eta yet. - static feedback is in sprint go live in two weeks. No eta on new feedback system.

>

>

 

 

[Gxgolfer]

Again,

 

We get it about the frustration and we are doing everything we can to get the new themes live and restore the user experience.

 

Personal attacks and making baseless observations is part of the Internet now a days and that is sad. As a company with employees who we support and have families, we understand the gravity of what we are doing and when attacked, some take it more personal than others. We also know exactly what the numbers (traffic and revenue) are and we know exactly what needs to be done to correct our missteps. We own it, we will fix it. I’m not here to blow smoke. We understand the urgency and frustration but citing numbers and examples that are blatantly false, misleading, and belittling is wrong and not appropriate.

 

The new themes look great and will function well on mobile and desktop. It won’t be perfect but will be far more functional than now and we will be constantly improving it. Notifications is still a challenge that we are told will be fixed by end of the year but hopefully sooner.

 

Many features are in roadmaps, development estimates, and sprints that will satisfy power users. We are looking at app development and if we do launch it, it will comply with various privacy standards that the previous vendor had some trouble with. In the meantime, we are looking at middleware notifications apis that work with web interfaces.

 

> @jj9000 said:

> > @Gxgolfer said:

> > There is a difference between frustration and unfounded and ill informed personal attacks.

> I don't disagree with you re: the personal attacks. However, people are frustrated. People know there are more functional sites out there.

>

> You and Richard should know first hand about how easy it is for a site to get displaced by something better. BSG went by the wayside...and is now an open domain name that can be bought for $15.

>

> That's the point, GX. People visit other non-golf enthusiast sites, and see better sites. They interact on better sites. Frankly, they're pi$$ed that the best golf site on the web has turned into this steaming pile of cr@p. We've been telling you this for (4) months now.

 

 

[jj9000]

> @Gxgolfer said:

> Again,

>

> We get it about the frustration and we are doing everything we can to get the new themes live and restore the user experience.

>

> Personal attacks and making baseless observations is part of the Internet now a days and that is sad. As a company with employees who we support and have families, we understand the gravity of what we are doing and when attacked, some take it more personal than others. We also know exactly what the numbers (traffic and revenue) are and we know exactly what needs to be done to correct our missteps. We own it, we will fix it. I’m not here to blow smoke. We understand the urgency and frustration but citing numbers and examples that are blatantly false, misleading, and belittling is wrong and not appropriate.

>

> The new themes look great and will function well on mobile and desktop. It won’t be perfect but will be far more functional than now and we will be constantly improving it. Notifications is still a challenge that we are told will be fixed by end of the year but hopefully sooner.

>

> Many features are in roadmaps, development estimates, and sprints that will satisfy power users. We are looking at app development and if we do launch it, it will comply with various privacy standards that the previous vendor had some trouble with. In the meantime, we are looking at middleware notifications apis that work with web interfaces.

>

Thumbs up to this post.

 

Have you guys thought about beta testing the new system to try to find/get the bugs out prior to production?

 

Shoot me a PM if you need a beta tester.

[braincramp52]

Changes to a forum of any kind really has no effect on my day to day life. The over the top reaction to some of this sites changes is really kind of funny in a way, although I'm sure it's quite frustrating to the owners and others involved in making the changes. Just a thought. Maybe posting is down because many of us can actually "play" golf instead of talk about it.

[scott_Donald]

Is the email format being added like it used to?

 

Used to on Gmail get replies from one thread in a pile essentially but now I get them individual, woke this morning to 250 from just here rather than just 20 I would have gotten in the past.

[Gxgolfer]

> @scott_Donald said:

> Is the email format being added like it used to?

>

> Used to on Gmail get replies from one thread in a pile essentially but now I get them individual, woke this morning to 250 from just here rather than just 20 I would have gotten in the past.

 

Please post request and issues in the 2.0 forum for tracking. The update coming is for theme not notifications. If there request or issues, please post them in the other forum indicated wiith screenshot examples and specific workflow.

 

[johnroyal519]

so is this site going back to the old format or not?

[Gxgolfer]

Yes, an updated version of it as posted above.

[chinaski]

I know this is just negative feedback, but it's unfathomable how slow/clumsy this process is. Its especially annoying researching old threads with pics removed.

[Gxgolfer]

Because it’s a controlled environment, it’s very process oriented. There are multiple approvals needed for each fix and releases. A process we are still learning.

 

Very frustrating but once setup should move quicker. New theme is being released on dev severs then staging then production in weekly sprints. It’s 1/2 through dev and staging. The weekly sprints start on Tuesday and if you miss then are pushed to the next week.