New ways to interact with the Llamagraphics web site...
Wow! We are gearing up for the future with a new way for members of our community to interact and connect with each other on the Llamagraphics web site. We are really excited about all the new web site changes because it paves the way for additional types of services and features to go along with the Life Balance product line to help you "power your priorities" each and every day!
While this may look like a small change.... so far... it also allows us to add in a lot of nifty Web 2.0 features to the web site, including more consistent use of RSS feeds for the forums, the blog, and the announcements on our home page.
If you've been participating on the site for a while, you know that the forums can be a great place to share the dreams and goals you are working on with other members who are also using the Life Balance software. The forums are full of tips and strategies for getting the most from the software.
All your favorite user forum content has been preserved for reference, and you can still use the same accounts and passwords. However, you will need to log into the site as a whole to gain access to the forums and other "members only" content. Look for the new login panel in the left column.
If you have been getting subscriptions to posted messages sent via email through the User Forums, those will no longer be sent. You will need to use RSS instead. Look for the "orange" RSS buttons to sign up for that. RSS is a more modern way to keep up to date with the latest posts. It is compatible with browsers like Google Reader, Firefox, Internet Explorer 7, and Safari.
If you have been using the RSS feeds for the blog, those will be redirected soon, or you can simply resubscribe to the new feed.
And for our iPhone users out there, in just a few seconds, you can now add a button to your iPhone launcher to take the Llamagraphics web site with you on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Here's how to do it:
- Launch Safari on your iPhone and visit www.llamagraphics.com
- Press the "+" sign.
- Press "Add To Home Screen"
- Done
You now have a swanky little llama icon button that will get you back to our site in a jiffy. Consider it one more step along the way!
Comments
"new, Improved" Site?????
I go to http://www.llamagraphics.com/ and I get redirected to http://www.llamagraphics.com/drupal/. I have to login in and I can't find the knowledgebase or support options?
Navigating the new site — no login required
Yes, we've redirected our home page to the drupal subdirectory, but you only need to login if you want to post to our Forums or add a comment. Everyone is free to browse as a guest without having to log in.
The knowledgebase and other support options are right where they've always been: under the "support" button at the top of the page. Perhaps the new navigation menu for Drupal distracts from the other choices — we may have to make some adjustments before everything flows smoothly.
The knowledgebase has always been a little hard to find, which is something we need to fix. It's currently found under Support > Visit the Support Center > Browse Knowledgebase. You can get to it directly at:
http://www.llamagraphics.com/support-center/index.php?x=&mod_id=2
As you can see... if you do login, there is participation in more places, too.
We had logins for the forum community, those accounts now are simply raised up for comments for the site as a whole.
subdirectory redirect...
We talked about this yesterday, actually. The advantages for us keeping the "/drupal" in the URL is mostly for maintaining the site. One advantage for our customers is that by having the subdirectory, we can maintain all the links from the prior user forums. Mostly it helps us to have a clear understanding of which content is in drupal, and which is being maintained in other ways.
The URLs are different. Considering that we're having a conversation based on content on the home page.... it seems worth it.
That's kind of fun and exciting... and that is the whole point. It offers a lot of new ways for our members to interact and communicate with each other and with us.
Hmm, lost comment?
I submitted a comment about the new design and it seems to have gone missing. Oh well, try again.
One thing I miss is the ability to see just new posts. The current "recent" scheme doesn't really do it. It's not too bad when there aren't many recent posts, but at times there can be quite a lot. Also, it isn't even accurate. This thread, for example, shows its most recent post as Catherine's original, not any of the follow-ups.
Cheers
KeithC
Patriots and the Superbowl rather than working on Sunday...
Even though I am not much of a football fan... I do live in New England. Your post about the "recent posts" was posted on Superbowl Sunday...
I see the issue. IN IE6 the
I see the issue. IN IE6 the menu bar buttons aren't visible
Thanks! We're on it!
Aha!
Yup... it looks like the layout is goofy on IE6. Thanks for letting us know.
We'll look into it that right away.
Should be fixed now
Thanks for letting us know about the problems with Internet Explorer 6. I believe that the worst of the problems are fixed now, and the links at the top should be showing up. (You might have to refresh for the fixes to appear.)
It turns out that we were using a CSS selector syntax that isn't supported in Internet Explorer 6, but I've replaced it with something more basic.
Please let us know if you notice any other problems!
Another issue with the forum conversion...
Hi folks,
There seems to be another web site issue with the forum section on the new site. The replies from the old site didn't convert over properly.
We are looking into that one now.
More soon!
-c-*
Forum replies are fixed.
The forum replies are now back where they are supposed to be, too.
Eight years worth. I can hardly believe it!
Wasted space?
Hmm, the one problem I see is that the center content column is fixed width. So on my 1280x1024 screen, I see a lot of empty space on the left side. Other than requiring a bit more scrolling, it doesn't really affect usability, but it does look odd.
thinking about that...
Hi Scott,
I'll be sure to look at it on that monitor size. We have been making a point of looking at the site on the iPhone to see how it looks in the itty bitty browser realm! Sometimes I feel like we do the equivalent on the web site of the Eames "Powers of Ten" movie here. We have to plan for lots of different sizes, from picnic basket to galactic vortex and everything in between! Wheeee! :-)
While I'm on the topic, I will also add that we will be moving the whole site to a new server soon. That transition is already in progress. So lots of database upgrades going on here. We'll have more disk space to work with and Apache 2. Like moving to a new house, we'll get rid of some old stuff we don't need anymore. :-)
Once we are moved over to the new server, we'll add in some extra web site blocks and modules that will enhance the basics. I was thinking that the left column would be a good place to add in some other kinds of content and links... so it may turn out to be a temporary issue.
Although, I will also add that I do like to keep more white space on the page than some folks. Leaving some open space on the page gives the mind a moment to open too. It tends to be less visually jumpy. But it needs to look good and have enough stuff on the page to make that work too, and I have been thinking about which modules and blocks might be interesting. There's a lot to choose from. We probably don't have that mix just right yet. :-)
Thanks again, and more soon!
No "new posts" list
I really miss the ability to just see new posts since I last checked in. I know you can do something similar with "Recent", but that insists on showing me as "new" things that I saw two weeks ago.
Maybe it just needs some tweaking?
Cheers
KeithC
We may have some choices on how that gets displayed...
I'll look into what options we may have for displaying new posts.
You were pretty accustomed to the old way of doing things.
One thing I really appreciate is that the "recent posts" gathers new posts together from all around the site. I don't have to log into the forums, then login to the blog. And then log into the web site to post news or new content.
It is much more streamlined for me to respond to our customers wherever they are, and to get web site information posted to different locations around the web site. That's important to us, and the old system was getting in the way of that.
--Catherine--*
yes that's true
In reply to what Catherine said:
Are you saying I have been here too long ;-)
I do like the fact that I can see things from every part of the site gathered in one place, that is really cool.
Cheers
KeithC
PS, I think I have been around long enough (see above) to be allowed unmoderated :->
I'm still learning the access rules...
Hi there KeithC,
The old forums had been in use on our site for a long time -- over eight years! so I think we all have grown accustomed to how all of THAT is supposed to work.
On the other hand, while there are quite a few benefits to the new system, especially going forward -- NONE of us have figured out the NEW stuff completely.
A perfect example, as you mentioned, are the access rules.
I think this thread may count as being "news" content which is different than "forum" community content. When I post "news" it is considered to be authored by us, and so it is automatically elevated to the top page. I believe the "news" has its own set of access rules. But, honestly, I'm not certain of how all of that works yet, so it will take me some time to figure out what we want to have happen.
Should "news" content even have comments at all? Or is it just news? Maybe comments are reserved for the forums, articles and blog entries? We'll probably choose to do some with comments and some without. It may depend on the nature of the content in a particular post.
For the news about these web site changes, I like having comments so we can quickly tell where we've missed something in the migration.
Best wishes,
--Catherine--*
By default... "news" is without comments...
Checking further, the "news" category does not allow comments as a general rule, although you can turn them on for a particular post, which must be what I did for this web site announcement.
iphone
Not having Life Balance is the CHIEF reason that I don't get an iphone! Go, Llama, go!
John