Forum Software Update // Feedback
 

Hello Everyone!

We are very excited to announce that we are implementing a few upgrades to the forums tomorrow (7/13) at around 8:30 AM PDT. 1 hour of downtime is expected.

We have been working to improve the experience on AirlinePilotForums and these are just a few next steps. More are expected to come in the next few months.

These upgrades have received positive feedback when implemented in other communities, and we look forward to hearing your comments

We will keep everyone posted, please let us know what you think!

These are the main upgrades that we will be pushing tomorrow:

• We will upgrade the forum to a much stronger, more secure, and better performing version. It is a platform/back end change, the look and feel of the site will look and feel the same. This update also includes various bug fixes and optimizations.
• We will implement a couple of relevant upgrades to improve the experience for our growing audience of mobile users:

We hope you enjoy the update!

Please leave any comments and feedback to the updates below.

We've had users requesting for a preview of the upcoming changes. Thanks all for your interest.

If you're interested in previewing changes in the future, please let us know and we will set up a preview via GoToMeeting with a select few.

Would you allow videos to be posted and WYSIWYG editing? :confused:

Hello again!

The update has been completed and we are currently testing the site. Please help us out by reporting any hiccups that you may come across. Thanks!

We've had a few users report that they have had trouble logging in. If you are having any issues logging in or performing any activities on the forums, please reply in this thread or let us know by email - customerservice[at]airlinepilotcentral.com

All users should now be able to log in without any difficulties.

We have identified and reached out via email to all the users who had experienced technical difficulties today.

If anyone is experiencing any issues with the site, please email us at customerservice[at]airlinepilotcentral.com

Thank you very much!

Do not like the new format.

Infinite scrolling is clumsy and annoying. Frequent users of this forum do not require this function, it's better suited to those starting from the beginning of a thread and trying to get "caught up" from the start. For those checking on recent posts tons thread, this new version makes it much more difficult.

At the bottom my options are now first page, last page, or type a page. So if I want to check a thread out I have to open it, infinite scroll down to allow page option, select last page, and then type in random page numbers to see what was the last post I read. Previous version allowed a back arrow to visit the past page, having to type in the page number is annoying on an iOS device.

Hi The Juice, thanks for the feedback.

We're in the process of finalizing the release and it will take a few days to do so. Let's get in touch next week to talk more about your feedback.

Agree.....poor for mobile iOS device
 

Agree.....not good and have heard buddies say the same complaint.....very very poor user experience on ios

Thank you. This is Nick w/ AirlinePilotCentral/AirlinePilotForums - we are certainly committed to providing a better experience.

And we are certainly committed to minimizing the state of uneasiness (or frustration?) that new functionalities or changes in functionalities may generate.

deskflier - I'll PM you and we can hopefully chat more about your feedback. That would be really helpful.

Thanks for your help.
Have a great weekend!

On the mobile version. You cannot pick a page, it just takes you to the last page and at the top it just says go to last unread post. Which since it took you to the last page automatically, the last post is the last unread post.

So do you go up or down to see new posts? It loads in both directions.

This new scrolling sucks. It would be nice to have an option to use it or not.

Again with the pop-up advertising that slows down the loading of the site?

Feedback & Next steps
 

All, this is Nick w/ APC.

thanks for the feedback.

We'll be reaching out to everyone next week to get a full picture of the needs and we'll report our findings and next steps in this thread. More soon.

Have a great weekend.

Hey, thanks, I don't see the pop up on my cell phone, are you seeing the pop up when you are browsing the forums on your cell phone? If so, you should not and I have already asked my team to double check on this. We'll get back on Monday. Thanks. N

Pop up campaigns on APC
 

Hey! Hope the weekend was good. I confirm that the pop up is not live on the mobile version of the site, only on the desktop. Do you see it on your mobile? If so, PM me and we'll take a look. In general, like said and shared in the previous thread about pop ups, we have contractual obligations that we are committed to honor and these are the last pop ups campaigns for the site. Thanks.

I'm finding myself always Requesting Desktop Site to escape this. The old adage applies:

"If it's not broke, don't fix it."

News
 

Hey, quick update on this comment:

We have pushed an update today and the system/database of the site is now keeping track of the posts a logged in user has read, across all devices (desktop and mobile).

As such, the behavior that you should be expecting as a user of APC when you click on a thread on your mobile device is the following:

* If you are logged out: you'll see the first post
* if you are logged in: you'll EITHER see the first post (if it is a new thread that you are starting) OR the first unread

I have tried and it seems that everything is working. Let me know if this is the case or if you have a different experience.

There are a few things that we are currently looking into to improve the user experience on mobile. More soon.

Thank you.

Expected behavior on Mobile & Mark All Read
 

Let me know. Thank you.

Infinite scrolling: thumbs up or down?
 

Hey All, hope the weekend was good. Thanks everyone for the conversation.

So, infinite scrolling has been on for a couple of weeks on the mobile version of the site and I admit we could have done a better job at rolling this feature out.

And we have been pretty busy w/ fixing a number of issues in hope to turn things around. The good news is that the desktop and mobile versions appear stable and we can start gathering more data about the behaviors of our users and their interactions w/ the forums.

But I'd also like to hear everyone out again.
I have the following main question for all the users (and especially for the ones who have a reported a less-than-ideal experience on mobile): could you please provide an update about your browsing of APC on your cell phone today?

Is it better than a week ago? Or worse, or same?... Thumbs up, or thumbs down to infinite scrolling?

Have the fixes that we have pushed live after launch improved your mobile experience, or do you still think that your experience would be easier if we reinstated the pagination feature and turned infinite scrolling off?

If pagination is better, can you please elaborate when (in which occasions) you usually browse APC on your cell phone, what activities/actions do you happen to do, and why pagination makes it easier than infinite scrolling?

Here is a recap of the expected behavior on mobile and its rationale:

Logged IN users:
- Read thread > User is taken to the first post, post #1
- Unread thread > User is taken to the first UNREAD post

Rationale: to provide the most relevant content to an experienced user of the site

Caveat:
If you are using mobile a lot and you are a power user of the community, I would suggest that you mark all threads as read by selecting the "Mark Forums Read" link, in the drop down menu called "Quick Links" on the right hand side of the navbar.

Logged OUT users:
- Read thread > User is taken to the first post, post #1
- Unread thread > User is taken to the first post, post #1

Rationale: to provide the most relevant content to a less experienced user of the site, who tends to need more context to familiarize w/ the conversation

Anything else? Thanks All for your help on this, I will keep everyone posted.

N

Thumbs down. I've only returned to see if the site has returned to its previous format. I don't even know if this comment will post.

Thanks... please elaborate? :)
 

Thanks - can you please provide more information, can you please elaborate?

I certainly appreciate comments, but can you clarify what you'd like to see? The site has not changed. The site on desktop and tablet should be looking the same, and the mobile version looks the same as the previous version too. The only change is infinite scrolling replaced the pagination on mobile. Is this specifically what you are referring to, you'd like the pagination to be back on the mobile template?

Also, why do you say "I don't even know if this comment will post." Have you have ever experienced any issues posting on APC? This would certainly be a big issue, which no one ever reported before and which we have been extensively testing, and all seems OK on our side. Please provide more info, when you have a chance, I'd certainly appreciate your help.

Thank you again, Nick

+1

Open the site, the whole page is "grayed out" while the Bose A20 ad loads. And loads. And loads. Takes forever.

Once the ad loads, click on the "X" to get rid of it, and again it takes forever for it to disappear.

Only then can I use the site.

Happens every time I go to the site. I'm about to stop using APC...

As soon as the page is grayed out, hit the reload page button and it will reload without it right away. Works every time on my iPad, at least.

Pop up campaigns
 

Thanks, this is one of the last pop up campaigns on APC and we are taking steps to renegotiate the few ones (2) that have been confirmed.

Nick

Infinite scrolling & related threads
 

Hey All, hope the weekend was good.

The decision has been made: we will be rolling back the infinite scrolling & related threads feature from the mobile template.

It seems that this is the best course of action that will allow us to get more insights on the mobile experience that the users of the forums have. The users on mobile will now have to click to move from page to page.

Thanks to all the users who have shared their point of view and to all the ones that have participated in our focus groups. It has certainly been a great learning experience for all of us. Thanks again.

N

All, happy Hump Day!

Infinite Scrolling and Related Threads will be rolled back tomorrow at around 10 AM PST. The older pagination template will be back in full swing.

Please report any issues you may be experiencing in this thread, or PM me.

Thanks All.

Nick

Pagination template on mobile is back
 

The Pagination template on mobile is back and everything seems to be working. Thanks to all the users who have voiced their opinions, it's been great to working w/ all of you and I look forward to keeping our chats going. Please keep sharing your feedback w/ me and the team. Thank you!! Nick

Not sure if this has already been mentioned or not. But could you guys also change/fix the "infinite pages" of repeat post?

Let's say the last post/page in a thread was pg. #609. There are often like five other pages, or more in sequential order. All repeats. It's annoying. Like really annoying. Like REALLY, REALLY annoying.

Other than that the site is great, and I love the new features, like "thread starter."

Keep up the good work.

Hey, this is certainly an issue.

Can you share how you see this/how we can replicate?

Are you on your desktop or your cell phone when this happens? Are you logged in or logged out? Which browser/device are you using?

Thank you! N

Always logged in.

I don't yet use the mobile interface, so when I'm logged on. It's always on a desktop.

I can't answer how to replicate it. Am I the only one seeing this? I use multiple desktops. At work, at home and friends houses (I'm addicted, lol). And I see the problem on all computers. So it's not just limited to one desktop, at least in my case.

I mainly hangout out in the regional forum, that's where I see it the most. Like for example I just checked the Endeavor thread. Page #605 is the last page, but the page counter says that there is a page #606. But it is just a carbon copy of page #605.

Happens a lot. Anyone else seeing the same?

Counter
 

Thank you. We'll be reviewing. It's an issue that we have been experiencing with the pagination counter. We are forcing the system to update every 2 days, but it sounds that that's not enough. Let us review this again. More soon. Thanks.