Programs' areas for private members

[jarvi]

I see a change has been made to the private members area and it is now a sub-forum of the program forum. Is there a way for that to display as a list of threads like the public area rather than having to click through to another level? I can see, and use, the hiding complete sections but don't see something to automatically expand the sub-forums.

Hopefully you can understand what I'm trying to say. Thanks.

[MichaelCorfman]

I see a change has been made to the private members area and it is now a sub-forum of the program forum. Is there a way for that to display as a list of threads like the public area rather than having to click through to another level? I can see, and use, the hiding complete sections but don't see something to automatically expand the sub-forums.

Hopefully you can understand what I'm trying to say. Thanks.

Yes, I think I understand what you are trying to say, and I am not sure how to do that.

However, the post count and new post indication in the top-level forum list does include the forums underneath, so in terms of seeing where new posts have been made, the change we made has not effected that aspect of things much at all.

In terms of looking for new posts in general, there is another approach besides browsing through all the forums looking for ones with new posts that is used by many members. In the pull-down menu under forums there is a choice for new posts and a choice for today's posts. If you have not tried that method of seeing what is new, I'd recommend trying it.

Your thoughts in light of the above comments would be appreciated.

Michael

[CityGuard]

The subsections are visible to two levels below where you currently are. The section categories (such as "Public" "Private" "Platinum Affiliate Program Sponsors" etc.) are considered a "level" by vBulletin. This means that if you are on the forum index page you can see the main items under each category, but if you go directly to a category page you can see the subsections.

For example, if you go to the page for the Platinum Affiliate Program Sponsors category(https://www.gpwa.org/forum/platinum-...-sponsors.html), you can see both the new forum for each Platinum sponsor plus the private subforum. The same applies to other categories. (For example, if you go to the page for the "Public" category -- https://www.gpwa.org/forum/public.html -- you can see the subsections like the different Event subsections and the Private Polls subsection.)

[jarvi]

Now it's confusing me! Steven I'll have a bit more of a look at yours later as I wanted to reply to Michael's comments first. It's a bit funny but on other vbulletin forums I do you the new posts link. That said, they have it as a top level link on the forums main page which makes it easier. The problem is when forum traffic increases and the new posts functions produce more than a couple of pages, it just puts me off. There are many areas I don't bother to visit and don't really care to see what is in them because of time constraints. That's why I tend to just scan down the main page and look at the forums I'm interested in. Yes I'm being a bit fussy/pedantic, or whatever you like to call it I suppose.

Over the last few days though I have been thinking I need to change my method because of all the extra ones. And don't get me started on whether it is better to list off the programs in alphabetical order regardless of their sponsorship status. At the end of the day I don't really care whether they are gold, platinum, silver etc and when you are looking to post in a particular program's area sometimes I have to scan a couple of times to find it. That's probably another topic however I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts about that one too. Or is there an easier way to local a particular program's area? Keep in mind my bookmark is to the forum main page and I rarely (like once or twice a year) venture out of the forum area onto other parts of the GPWA site.

Don't get me wrong, we all use the site differently and I don't expect changes to be made just to accommodate an individual's preferences, however, it's good to throw ideas out there for discussion and with the changes being made at the moment I thought it was the perfect opportunity.

Now what's happening with the fonts, as I've had to expand the quick reply box twice to accommodate the length of this post! Only joking guys you have plenty on the go anyway. I suppose you will just tell me there is a setting in my cp to change the default size. I should have checked first.

[raphnix]

I have same concern here. Why is it that Public Members can't view or enter the Private Sections? Is there any exclusive privilege for private members?

[jarvi]

I started using the new posts this morning and remembered one of the reasons why I used to scan rather than use it. It's because I can easily see if I'm posting in the private or public areas. Any ideas on how we can easily identify the separate areas from within a thread without having to look at the top to see the breadcrumb? Maybe a different colour somewhere?

Raphnix - it's just that things in the private area can be discussed and you know the people who can view it are only private members rather than the general public. Sometimes it is good to discuss things before making the details available to everyone. Apply for membership, if you haven't already, and you will see the difference.