After the exchange with Matt earlier, I agree that the site is easy to use, always has been and I can use most of the features. However, with my equipment and software there are one or two issues. I can't see who the people are in the photographs because no names are displayed or what my Karma is since the percentage is not shown in figures. However, I've never liked the concept of Karma anyway so this is no great loss. I can't use the super whizzo photo loader either although I can use the simple loader. I mention this in passing since they are hardly critical. I can see the incentive to offer more services or lose out to other social sites but the point I was making has been summed up by Mandi Jay - If it ain't broke don't fix it. (Please note that I'm not being rude here by shouting.)
We could all do without about our choices of browsers being disparaged. The odd dig made in jest is OK but the current tirades are beginning to pull a bit which is why I got the hump and went into print. There used to be an old saying that the customer is always right which is often lacking from modern enterprises. People have rational reasons to use the software that they do and they should be catered for.
As for Microsoft being so altruistic, I believe they're success was from aggressive marketing and that without them there would be more translation programmes like ASCII from the old days with software houses competing on a level playing field and better compatibility between a variety of systems and browsers. I've no doubt that Biker Match would still be with us but in a different form. It's a bit like Betamax being the superior video format but VHS becoming universally accepted by better marketing. MS have been likened to the late 19th Century utility owners known as the Robber Barons whose activities led to US Anti-Trust legislation which was dusted off again more recently. The European Commission (an organisation I dislike for its interference in motorcycle activities but sympathise with them in this instance) is also attempting to limit Microsoft's activities. I am reminded of the scene in Tomorrow Never Dies where Jonathan Pryce is in front of a bank of TV screens in which one of his minions reports that the new operating system has been launched but it's full of bugs so people will be upgrading for years.
One suggestion I do have as an improvement is for forum posts to have the ability to display photographs from photo URLs linking them to sites like Photobucket. Some of the owners club sites have this facility and it's useful to illustrate posts as long as its not used as a substitute for the albums now provided.
Finally, I opened my original post by referring to the Chat Room. No one has tried to persuade me to try it use it so far...
... and save trawling thru the topic posts to find if there was a link.
That's why I (previously) asked folk not to banter in the EVENT topics, and why I add a link in an event topic.
...I may have to jump ship
PML mandi jay, jumping ships, saucy minx
cataraptor- your post made excellent reading,thank you for making some excellent points,and constructive criticisms.
The chat room,you should go into,I have many a laugh when I do visit,one of my favorites is rossi,I know I shouldn't say that,but she has quite a lively sense of humor.
Give it a try,you never know you may enjoy.
RustyKnight In: Newton Aycliffe
Posts: 2462
Karma:
Matt what about a dedicated section to ride outs with the ability to search by region. So if I fancy a blast this Sunday I can post the details under say North East and peeps can post to join me etc. There could be a section for last minute so if I come home from work and fancy doing a couple of hours I can post it and get a quick response. This obviously wouldn't work in the present set up as i'd have to wait for my event being approved. I think it would encourage more people to meet up and they'd be more likely to post and get involved.
RK - use the calendar for planned events, use the forum for last minute. Any other section will create confusion.
Ian - The site IS working fine, what's broken for you?
Cataraptor - What photos and Karma can you not see? The photos should all have tags which allow you to see the name. If not, please tell me which ones don't - be as specific as possible (page, location, etc).
The fact that you can't even use the basic Java uploader is concerning - but there's nothing I can do about it. It's a paid-for application that works fine on other Macs (including on Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome). If it doesn't work on yours then you'll have to figure it out. If you had a PC then I could take over your PC and help you fix it, but I know bugga-all about Macs so I wont pretend I know how to fix that. Can you upload to facebook? It's the same application I think.
And Please note that it's NOT possible to cater for everyone! Some people use plain-text browsing on phones, how can I support them with uploads? Then there's every in-between browser from them to IE. It's never possible to support everyone, but I do my best to include as many as possible. It's not MY fault if your browser doesn't work for basic Java applications, so I don't know why I'm expected to fix it. If people choose to use crap browsers that half the internet doesn't work on, please don't expect it to work on BM.
Don't want to allow people to post pics in the forum because nobody is considerate enough to resize their pics before adding. Instead the photo destroys the forum layout which results in people closing the site or complaining to me.
RustyKnight In: Newton Aycliffe
Posts: 2462
Karma:
Matt if people use the forums there'd be dozens of new threads and associated posts every day so peeps looking for anything other than ride outs chat would get peed off.
Anyway just a suggestion, no need for a discussion, thank you massa.
Can someone pass me a fire extinguisher, i've just been shot down in flames
lol i dont think it will mate, not that many people can start new topics (only subscribed members).
Just go for it - if u wanna have a ride out then bung up a topic in the events forum. Lets see how many people do it.
The tags in the photographs in events only work with IE and not Firefox or Chrome. I don't mean pictures that have been tagged by BM members, but the tags that come up automatically when you hover the pointer over the image, which is what Cataraptor meant, I think.
Rusty (and anyone else who doesn't know) I'm dealing with the event submissions so you don't have long to wait for an event to be accepted onto the calendar.
but...if it's a short-notice event then it wil be best if it's added to the FORUM and not the calendar.
I think that this site has just improved by the passionate response from all peeps,,,,,this should make for a great year and new friends and who knows what else......cheers.....craig
I think you misunderstood Cata there Matt - he can use the basic pic uploader, just not the bulk uploader, you did point out when you introduced it that we Mac users wouldn't be able to use it.
The auto-tagging doesn't work on Mac/Firefox i.e. the photos of the members attending an event show their ID using Windows/IE when you hover over them, but using Firefox, you have to click on the photo to go to their profile to discover their ID. The member-tagged photos work OK.
To write anything other than IE off as "crap" browsers doesn't really help much.
Your customers really don't need to be told that they're using "crap" equipment or software to access your site.
By all means, "regret to inform" your members that your site only works with Windows pc's using IE8, but there's no need to slate those who choose to utilise alternative technology. They might be in a minority of your membership, but it's worth remembering that their money is just as good as a Windows pc user's.
In the last 2 years, it's only BM and one other site that I've found which don't fully function for me as a Mac/Firefox user, which hardly constitutes half the internet!
going back to RK`s comments i quite often start a new thread for a short notice meetup in the summer and make it clear on the title, they all tend to drift out of view quite quickly after the event and dont seem to clog the forums.
we have enjoyed some good days out at short notice,often only planned on the day
Wills - thanks, understand now. Looks like I need to go over the entire site adding TITLE tags to all the images (normally I just use ALT which work fine for IE). I've just fixed the events, homepage, profiles and photos pages... but I've got a LONG way to go! I'll let you know when I've done all the ones I can find.
WB - sorry my response wasn't clear. I understand he can't use the advanced uploader, but the component which runs the advanced uploader is a BASIC Java application (If you use IE then it's an activex component, otherwise it's a Java application for all other browsers). It should work perfectly fine for Macs, here's the requirements for the ADVANCED uploader (Java version. For those not using Internet Explorer)...
OS: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X, Linux, or any other *NIX system ***with Java environment 1.5 or later***.
Browser: Any browser which supports Java applets, including...Internet Explorer (Windows version only) Any Mozilla-family browser (Firefox 2.0 and later, Camino, Netscape, and others) Safari (Mac version only) Konqueror Opera 9 Chrome
Notes: Java applets and Javascript must be enabled in the browser settings of course!!!
I have tested the advanced uploader in IE, Firefox and Chrome... all work perfectly fine on a PC. They should work fine on a Mac also.
And yes, if a browser in 2010 doesn't support a basic Java application then I'm very correct in calling it a crap browser! This is basic stuff that has been functional on the internet since 1991! (http://java.com/en/javahistory/)
Ah OK - I stopped reading the thread about the advanced photo uploader when you posted that you didn't think it would work on Macs.
I've gone back to the original thread tonight to refresh my memory and now find that you subsequently went on to say that it should work, but obviously I never bothered attempting the advanced uploader, as the last I'd seen was that it probably wouldn't work! Never clicked on the thread again, figuring it'd be a waste of time, seeing as the uploader wasn't going to work for me.
Granted, if a browser can't cope with Javascript that'd be pretty crap, but I was trying to make a more general point.
![Suggestions to improve BM (5) - Forums [Biker Match]](/images/backgrounds/strips/8mobileLQ.jpg)
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