# Screen shots of the new site (still in development) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 12, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569 "2020-06-12T22:11:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/41 "2020-06-13T04:52:03Z")
> [@Anxious\_Squirrel](#): > > That’s okay. I posted it on Facebook instead. I’m trying to find a cute image instead, but none of the squirrels look anxious enough. [How about this one](https://i.redd.it/7t231l5ylj451.png)? ---
**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/42 "2020-06-13T05:21:33Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > [How about this one](https://i.redd.it/7t231l5ylj451.png)? Haha. I have that one as an option. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/43 "2020-06-13T10:59:48Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > More importantly (to me) will members still be saved the onslaught of ads? Ninja’d, was just going to ask that myself. That, titles and having the charter member thing are the main advantages to paying. Well and supporting one of my favorite hang outs. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/44 "2020-06-13T11:32:36Z")
> [@Anxious\_Squirrel](#): > > Can we have gif avatars? I should choose one of a squirrel having a panic attack, if I could find one. Panic? I think this [qualifies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Ya6z-NlDo). :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/45 "2020-06-13T13:43:50Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Panic? I think this [qualifies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Ya6z-NlDo). :eek: 😃 Poor Squirrel. I hope it was okay! ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/46 "2020-06-13T14:49:51Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > what are those circles between the thread titles and the thread counts? They are avatars for the folks in the topic. The first is the post originator, the last the last poster. The other the are the top three posters in the thread. > [@Spiderman](#): > > I notice it’s ‘all categories’ at the top of your screenshots. Can that be changed to look at what today we call a specific forum? There are a couple of current forums I never go into; don’t care about them. Having those posts clog up what I do want to see would not be beneficial. That field in the box is a pulldown menu. You can select specific categories there ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/47 "2020-06-13T15:42:46Z")
I welcome news of new software; woot! I don’t care for the new graphic look tho. It’s very cluttered looking. I find the sub-forum appearing under the thread titles to be somewhat odd. Is it not possible to keep the familiar graphic design of the site with the new software? Also, are we going to have to start referring to forums as categories? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/48 "2020-06-13T18:21:14Z")
Looks good to me. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/49 "2020-06-13T18:53:10Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Also, are we going to have to start referring to forums as categories? They’ll always be forums, subforums, threads, and posts to me. No real need to use Discourse terms unless you’re talking to Discourse tech support. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/50 "2020-06-13T20:31:05Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > 20 chars max for user names. I imagine that will throw a few members for a loop. How does the board handle this initially? I asked for my name to be verified on the new board and mine transfers over directly, with the only difference being underscores instead of spaces. Maybe it’s 30 chars max. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/51 "2020-06-14T01:52:41Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > You’re looking at the task bar of the Windows PC. That’s the Windows search icon and the Windows task bar. It has nothing to do with the browser or the web site. Oh, God, I’m a freaking idiot. I do use Windows at work, but it looks nothing like that screenshot. I even run a Windows VM from time to time, and looks nothing like that. I should send myself to the Pit. Or to GQ, to ask, how (and why?) to make my taskbar look like that? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/52 "2020-06-14T10:26:29Z")
In the first screenshot, what’s this about “lease 2 unique characters”? Can’t I purchase them outright? I mean, if I can buy a vowel from Vanna White, why not? 😉 Actually, I do have a serious question: the examples of ‘unique characters’ that follow (#$%& etc) are what are usually referred to as ‘special characters’. This is a big difference wrt passwords: a ‘unique characters’ requirement means my password can’t just be ‘aaaaaaaa’ because it has to have a certain number of unique characters. A ‘special characters’ requirement says it can’t be ‘Bogus123’ because it has no non-alphanumeric characters. It’s probably just me, but I’d strongly prefer simpler password requirements at a site like this, and specifically I’d prefer it if special characters aren’t required. The deal is, I’ve always had two ‘baskets’ of passwords. One basket has fairly weak passwords, for sites like this where the absolute worst thing that can happen if my password’s hacked is that someone can post a bunch of crazy shit (OK, even crazier and weirder than usual ;)) under my screen name, rack up a few warnings, and get me suspended. The other basket is an assortment of strong passwords for the sites where someone hacking my password could cost me serious money, like bank and credit card and retirement fund accounts. I really prefer to keep the contents of these two baskets as separate as possible. If someone hacks the Dope’s username/password list in its entirety, I don’t want my password here to give clues as to what my money market fund password might be. But the stronger the password requirements are at sites like this, the more likely that I’ll wind up overlapping the two buckets just because it’s one more thing I’d have to work to avoid, while as things are now, I avoid it just by having simple passwords at places like this. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/53 "2020-06-15T14:36:14Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The “New Front Page” screen shot doesn’t look the way it should, I think. > > It looks like it has just two main categories, labeled “Site Feedback” and “Main”, with a bunch of sub-categories under “Main” that are the forum names we have here. And those aren’t even all listed on separate lines, and they don’t have a brief description of each forum like we have here. (Is the layout still a work in progress?) > > Contrast with the Categories page on the Demo site – Each category there has its own title line in larger heading-size type and each has its own brief description – much more like the Forums page we have here. > > You couldn’t include the lines on the banner that say “Fighting Ignorance Since 1973” and “(It’s taking longer than we thought)” ? Is the banner a block that you can format with text any way you want, or is it an image that you supply? I will ask that the full banner be placed on the site. And I will look at the categories to see if/how we can flesh them out. Might end up being a banner inside each forum area. Jenny your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/54 "2020-06-15T14:44:15Z")
> [@Anxious\_Squirrel](#): > > Can we have gif avatars? I should choose one of a squirrel having a panic attack, if I could find one. I am going to try hard to care less and be cool with just popping in occasionally, always losing my place, never being able to keep up, and being unable to save anything for offline reading. The last one is the hardest. If I could still save stuff then I could keep up. > > First I lost my house, then I lost my kitty, and now I’ve lost my forum. _imagine adorable squirrel breathing into a paper sack_ > > The only possible good thing is that now it will be harder for people to find old threads. Especially if you originally posted on page 95 of a 200 pager. It would take 3 hours to scroll down that far. I doubt anyone has time for that. I’m sorry all is so stinky for you right now. This is scant consolation but according to _Psychology Today_ this is a stressed squirrel. [Squirrel](https://www.straightdope.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/stressed-squirrel.jpg) And yes, avatars allowed. Static avatars; no disco lights, no flying bologna, no animations. We decide if appropriate. As always. Jenny your humble TubaDiva ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/55 "2020-06-15T20:16:17Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > It’s the avatars of people who have posted in the thread. > > Jenny > your humble TubaDiva > Administrator Curious, is that a “clamored for” feature? What happens if 50 different people post? Do only the first X posters show up? ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/56 "2020-06-15T20:24:57Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Curious, is that a “clamored for” feature? What happens if 50 different people post? Do only the first X posters show up? The OP first, the three or four posters who’ve posted to the thread the most often next, then the most recent poster at the end. If the OP is the most recent poster, a blue halo surrounds the OP. I think the posters with the most likes in the thread and those with high Trust Levels are also taken into account. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/57 "2020-06-15T21:07:33Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Curious, is that a “clamored for” feature? What happens if 50 different people post? Do only the first X posters show up? I can envision it being helpful. If I can see who the most prolific posters in a thread are, it will give me a pretty good idea of whether I want to open it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/58 "2020-06-15T21:09:56Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > I’m sorry all is so stinky for you right now. > > This is scant consolation but according to _Psychology Today_ this is a stressed squirrel. > > [Squirrel](https://www.straightdope.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/stressed-squirrel.jpg) > > And yes, avatars allowed. Static avatars; no disco lights, no flying bologna, no animations. We decide if appropriate. As always. > > Jenny > your humble TubaDiva awe! That stressed squirrel is so cute. And thanks you. Change is hard, especially everything at once. But then we get used to things, and it’s alright. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/59 "2020-06-16T01:25:58Z")
I haven’t seen any evidence that thread titles on the thread-list page provide mouse-hover-over previews of the OP. Is that a configurable option? That tells me a lot more about whether I would want to bother opening the thread, than a display of a few users’ avatars who posted in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569/60 "2020-06-16T01:37:05Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I haven’t seen any evidence that thread titles on the thread-list page provide mouse-hover-over previews of the OP. Is that a configurable option? That tells me a lot more about whether I would want to bother opening the thread, than a display of a few users’ avatars who posted in the thread. I believe the only way is through an add-on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screen-shots-of-the-new-site-still-in-development/855569.md?page=4)