John Barresi

Tom, I do totally understand the pluses of the old system in this regard... I have put it on my project list, maybe someone can make a plugin to add this feature to the forum. That's another neat thing, the software now uses more "modules", "applications", "plugins" and "hooks", basically addons through the admin panel instead of the old traditional way of modifying site files every time... It's promising, I imagine we'll see a lot of good stuff coming out soon. This version has been available for just 3 days now, there are only 6 plugins at the moment... Previous versions prompted 100's of mods with each release, I expect the same or better with this new set up.

Have you tried the "today's active content" link at the bottom of the forum home page? It shows everything from within the past 24 hours, not just just since your last visit.

Sweet. A rare mix of Revs and stacks with tails, no easy feat!

It seems to do the right thing for me. Watty, It's not nice to fib to your elders ... or brag ... or several other things ... When I click on "View New Content" the first item in the list is the "Best Kite for ..." thread. To find this thread, I have to go back to "Kitelife Magazine - Forum" and scroll down to the "Site Topics" area. Still grumbling, Tom You said you had to go back to index to find/read that topic... Did you try clicking on the topic name, right on the New Content page? That works for me.

I had an issue where every single post was new content, so I couldn't see the real new stuff... But if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the forum INDEX, you'll see "Mark Board As Read", that will empty out the New Content page so only real new stuff shows up. Using the little tabs on the New Content page, in addition to posts, you can actually look up new photos, downloads, members (once some are added post-upgrade).

Another project for the list, not immediate, but in the near future I think... I'm considering taking a healthy portion of the video archives and making smaller resolution files (maybe 320×200 and lower quality) in another section of the downloads area for the general public (and non-subscribers)... Mainly, I just want to make the material more accessible to the general public and I think small resolution video is enough to provide some inspiration and reference, even if it's not exactly high quality video, while keeping the cost of operations reasonable. It'll be crucial to keep the files around 5-10MB each... Ray Bethell's video (about 25MB) shut down my site a number of times due to bandwidth before I moved it over to YouTube, cuz it went crazy viral a couple years ago... Also, I may be able to set some sort of a daily download limit on that section to avoid going over on the bandwidth. There's a significant time investment to complete this task, I'd very much like to hear what you think. So, I've got a poll on this topic... What say ye?

If you are a registered member of this forum, you should see this in the bottom right corner of each post... It's a "reputation" feature of the forum, wherein you can + or - to indicate if you felt it was an unusually useful/positive or destructive/negative. I know the implications, trust me... But, I'm going to leave it up for now and trust the members of this forum to use it appropriately. Yes, if there are any real problems, I will consider deactivating it, but I'm looking it primarily as a way to PLUS particularly good posts. Won't be using the minus portion, such things are better worked out or settled directly, imho. I trust everyone else will do the same, but I'll also do whatever needs doing. Have fun!

Just a quick tip, something I'm using myself... If you find the graphics and text in the new forum format are too large for you, try this: Hold down the CTRL key (or CMD on a Mac) and press the minus/underscore (-) key once. You'll now find everything a notch smaller, which was perfect for me. To reverse that, use the plus/equals (+) key instead. Simple zoom in and out.

Sweet, let us know how it goes on the beach with some clean wind!

In all honesty, probably about the same size... PNG (flattened) would probably be best. Pardon the pun, but "iconic" (well known / historic) kites would be best as well (Rev, cody, E2, etc), I can obtain permission to use the kite(s) from each manufacturer, no problem. == Trick is, the more I muck with changing styles, fonts, etc, the more bull**** I have to go through next time we upgrade. Over the years, I've learned to make all the customizations as simple and essential as possible. Nothing like having to re-skin an entire web site just because the new script version doesn't support the old templates. While this forum version may have a little more "mouse travel", I don't think I'll be changing a whole lot. == For those who find the mouse travel tedious, try bringing up the Kitelife forum (like right now) and press ctrl then the minus key (that's cmd and minus for us Mac users)... It will shrink (zoom out) THIS web site only. The opposite of course is CTRL and the + key, which will zoom in.

Cool. Aye, here too.

Right on Tom, I dig it.

Sounds like you somehow activated a "linear" or "outline" layout for forum viewing, it is an option, always has been. 1. Go to the new forum and make sure you're logged in. 2. In the upper right near your avatar, click on your user name and select "My Settings". 3. Once there, click on the "Forums" tab... Or, just click here now. 4. Under "View/Posting/Email Prefs", select "Standard" in the "Topic Display Mode" section. 5. Save your settings. That should cure your issues, hopefully. Ya, I think so... That would be cool. Just need someone with some good (clean) graphics skills to whip up a good set of icons to use.

It's BRAND new, just released yesterday... However, it's actually the latest version of the same one we've been using (Invision Power Board). Best forum software available, hands down... I've got over six years with them now, never once regretted it. I've used phpBB, vBulletin, etc... None even come close.

Well, someone took the time to submit their "sucks" vote on the poll, thanks for that... While we appreciate the feedback, it doesn't do us much good if we don't know why. Would love to hear about it.

Also notice, the login for this forum is now secure... SSL (https://), just like you have on most reputable web shops. This is during the login process only, won't effect anything else.

Got some wicked new features in this upgraded forum version... == "Insert Media" option when making posts, makes embedding YouTube, etc, much easier, like this: == Multiple simultaneous file uploads in forum posts, with an actual upload progress bar for each one! Also, adding uploaded images to specific places in your post is much easier now. == Coming in the not-too-distant future, Facebook users will be able to have their Kitelife/FB accounts interact somehow... Maybe cross-posting, that kind of thing, I don't have all the details yet, and it's not quite ready anyway. == There are other good features that I haven't mentioned, but I'm looking forward to y'all posting here with your discoveries. So, let's hear about it!

As you've seen by now, we've just upgraded the Kitelife forum! Still working on graphics and settings, but we're up and running!

Dan, did you buy the Rev new, from a retailer? Generally it comes as a package with 2 frames, handles, lines, weights, carrying bag and weights. Also, many retailers will offer lines at a slightly discounted price with the purchase of a new Rev.

Aye, the trick is, we see SO many different IPs and email addresses (we do ban our fare share on both the server and forum level), just doing manual approvals every couple of days has proven to be far easier than trying to ban or filter every single spammer. As for activity on this forum, I can tell you that there are TONS of lurkers actually reading here, and we've seen a reasonable increase in posting over the past 6 months or so. As I said before, I don't disagree with your sentiments at all, but based on my experience with the several forums I manage these days, manual approval has been the most straight forward method we've found.

This from our good friend Avril Baker...

Right on, you have some good folks up in your area. See you on the field sometime!

Thank you Tom, it's the subscribers who make it possible for me to dedicate so much time. A work of passion, for sure.

Noted, and post corrected. I'd love to see a project like this, for sure... Alas, I don't have the time for it myself. Any other indoor fliers here have suggestions?

Michael, thanks for the direct feedback, I don't get nearly enough, believe it or not. While I understand your point of view, the main issue is that we typically see 3-5 new registrants every day who have made it through CAPTCHA and even confirmed their email address somehow, caught only by my hand-filtering... This would equate to an average of 100+ spammers on the forum every month, cleared to post. Also, Revolution's forum is handled the same way, and there's no measurable impact on the level of activity, they're pretty busy all the time. The few spammers who still sneak through my filtering every now and then take quick advantage of the opportunity... I might conscience dealing with some level of "generic" spamming (internet companies, directories, etc), but even one pornographic post while moderators are offline poses a tremendous problem as we do have several regular visitors who are underage. Again, your feedback is appreciated, I hope you understand my position.