Forum Change Log

[Mattis]

Hi everyone!

This thread will serve as the change log for the forums. All new features, enhancements and fixes will be updated here going forward, that way you can see what is new or what has changed etc.

Shenmue Dojo Staff
Updated: Tuesday 7th August, 2018

Owner & Administrator: Peter
Co-administrators: Yama, Mattis, LemonHaze

Moderators: Jibby, Flagship, James Brown, Henry Spence, ShenSun, Spud1897, Spaghetti

Design & Development: Mattis

Social media Staff: Spud1897 , AXM


Version #7.0
Launched: Friday 27th July, 2018

- New Forums launched ?


Version #7.1 (Jump to post)
Launched: Tuesday 31st July, 2018

Enhancements
- Added widgets (Visitor panel, Latest post, Staff- and members online, Forum and Online stats, Today's Birthday).

• 
  
  • Changed listing of Staff in "Staff Online" section.
  
  
  • Changed colour of loading bar in the top, to match the sites theme.

- And many minor adjustments++

Bugs
- Fixed Issue where background colour on nodes in Alerts overview page was missing.
- Removed a 1px spacing on highlighted alerts.


Version #7.1.1 (Jump to post)
Launched: Thursday 2nd August, 2018

Enhancements
- Changed styling in order to differentiate read and unread topics in forums list.
- Reduced size of latest post time in thread list, where some instances if the time was right, the AM/PM would break line.


Version #7.1.2 (Jump to post)
Launched: Thursday 16nd August, 2018

Enhancements
- Added "Favourite title" to Account Information, now visible in the user side panel.

• 
  
  • Added "Currently playing" to Account Information, now visible in the user side panel.
  
  
  • Added "Dreamcast Now" as new contact/game platform field under Account Information.

- Increased Avatar size as well as increased sidebar with user information to accommodate new user information.
- Minor adjustments

 

[Mattis]

Version #7.1 Features

Members Online
Members online is pretty self explanatory, but now it also displays when staff members (Admins and moderators) are online. This not only displays our presens, but also makes it easier for members to get in touch with staff.


User Panel
This is basically just your user card, you can change your avatar from here and see some basic stats about yourself.


Latest post
Shows the absolute latest post, helps you jump to new conversations.


Forum and Online Stats
These are two seperate, but similar fuctioning widgets. They display stats about the number of visitors and stats about the forum, such as registered users, latest registered users etc.


Today's Birthday
This is a widget that displays which users have their birthday on the given day.

 

[Mattis]

Version #7.1.1

Read/Unread Topic Styling
Where the difference was unnoticeable, read topics have been changed in order for unread topics to stand out.

From this...

To this...

 

[Peter]

Some changes have been made to the staff of the forums over the past few days.

Both OL and Sonoshee are no longer staff

It's not easy to let someone go, but in the case of veteran contributor, OL, we both agree that his staff status was more of an "honourary member", rather than an actual staff member. In the coming weeks and months, we really do need staff who are as present as possibly can be, not afraid to act when needed, and fully really to commit to making this place a little safer and more appealing to visit.
I really thank and appreciate OL, the longevity he has had at the Shenmue Dojo, and his contributions, particularly to the general gaming forums where his presence is most felt.

Sonoshee unfortunately has left her post due to personal issues, and whilst not having much more info to give, I know we will wish her all the best in whatever it is she needs to face. Just like OL, we hope to see her on the boards posting very soon.

Spud, who looks after our Facebook page is now a part of the team to help keep the forums safe and balanced as we edge closer to the release of new Shenmue games!


Banned members & alt accounts

One other thing I want to ratify is that the ToS states that any banned accounts of members, new forums, old forums or whatever remain banned. As harsh as it may seem, there are no do overs. Some seem to have the opinion of, "new forums = new clean slate", when that was never the case. It wasn't advertised as such, nor was it even suggested.
We have a long history here, and the members banned throughout the Dojo history have had some sort of notorious reason to have been so. I won't name them here. There's no need to. Many know who they are and they certainly know who they are. Any opinions they have of, "it's not fair", or, "I've changed!", won't wash.

If it's a little too harsh, then all I can say is a lot of us have put too much work, too much of ourselves into this site and we are not going to allow previous troublemakers who just see this site as their own personal playground to risk damaging the stay of genuine fans. We are not to blame for their banning, it's their own doing. Keep that in mind.

To any banned members reading this, all I can say is move on. There are other online platforms to show that you have indeed "changed". I wouldn't waste your time on creating alt accounts. They won't last long with the new advantages in technology XenForo offers us, from IP tracking, geo-location, VPN identification and more. Whilst staff in the past may not have understood how to use these tools, all staff are now trained, and troublemakers will be spotted and removed on sight. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and this place is moving forward, regardless of anyone who feels like they want to drag it into the past.

 

[Mattis]

Version #7.1.2 Features

New user information options
Members of the old forums might recognize that these options. Not you are able to display which of the Shenmue titles are your favourite and which game you are currently playing. Users of the service Dreamcast Now are able to add their username there too. These options are found under Account Details.


Larger Avatars
To accomodate the new user information feature, we have increased the user side panel to the left (on desktop) and also made the avatar bigger. On mobile they remain the same as before.

 

[Peter]

Spaghetti has resumed his position as a staff member, and will be helping out more on the social media side as we ramp up our efforts towards the release of Shenmue III.

 

[LemonHaze]

XenForo was updated to 2.1.4 and PHP 7 last night with minimal issues. All aspects of the forums should be working as usual.

 

[Peter]

Some small additions have been implemented to the forums.

Spoilers

As we begin to prepare the forums for the release of Shenmue III, it is understandable people do not want to be spoiled. Since a spoiler is something that's subjective to each individual, we will be rolling out measures to help each user stick to what they are happy already knowing, or allowing those who don't care about spoilers a place to continue to visit. We now have TWO Shenmue III forums:

Shenmue III - Non Spoiler Forum
Shenmue III - Spoiler Forum

We have also removed any posts in the spoiler forum from the "New Posts" section, so people who use this feature, will not have anything spoiled for them. Further information on the sites policies and procedures will be made available very soon.

OP status

Anyone who creates a topic, will now have an OP (original poster) ribbon on their avatar, to highlight the user who started the thread.



Media plugin update

Any previous issues with embedding media (Facebook and Reddit etc.) have now been resolved. A full list of supported media embeds can be found under the "insert>media" option when drafting a post.
Also, users now have the option of popping out an embedded video to watch, as they continue to read the thread (desktop only).





We will continue adding to both the forums, as well as the main site , in the run up to Shenmue III.

If there are any issues , please contact me ASAP.

 

[James Brown]

24Nathan has joined the team as a forum moderator. Nathan will also be available to help out on the social media side.

 

[spud1897]

Updated forums to Xenforo v 2.2.0.

Highlights:
Change User Banner
Change Username Request
Improved Search Functionality