half way down the page

bobbydazlers
bobbydazlers Posts: 2,532 Arc User
edited June 2015 in Vanilla Forum Migration Bug Reports
why is it that whenever I go to a thread I find It opens half way down the web page and I then have to scroll to the top of the page to see the opening comment.
not a big bug I know, but very irritating none the less.

I have also noticed when I go to a thread that I have previously left a comment in and if I quoted another post when I get to the bottom of the page there are multiple entries of the quote in the leave a comment text box, again not a big problem but again very irritating and could be bad if I was to accidentally click the post button.

When I think about everything we've been through together, maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey, and if that journey takes a little longer, so we can do something we all believe in, I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with. :)

Comments

  • opkossy
    opkossy Posts: 11,177 Community Moderator
    It goes to the oldest unread post instead of starting at the very top/bottom or the like. Essentially, a function to try and ensure that you don't miss any posts in the thread.
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  • frtoaster
    frtoaster Posts: 2,566 Arc User
    opkossy wrote: »
    It goes to the oldest unread post instead of starting at the very top/bottom or the like. Essentially, a function to try and ensure that you don't miss any posts in the thread.

    That's only true if you're logged in. If you are logged in, then links to threads appear like this:

    http://perfectworld.vanillaforums.com/discussion/1190581/vanilla-forum-migration-status-update-6-18-15#latest

    If you are not logged in, then links to threads appear like this:

    http://perfectworld.vanillaforums.com/discussion/1190581/vanilla-forum-migration-status-update-6-18-15

    If you are logged in, then links to threads should take you to the first post that you haven't read yet. If you are not logged in, then links to threads should to take you to the top of the first page of the thread. However, that only works if you use perfectworld.vanillaforums.com to view the forums.

    If you use www.arcgames.com/en/forums to view the forums, then when you left-click on a link, the browser remembers the position of the scrollbar from the previous page, so it opens up the new page somewhere in the middle. This happens regardless of whether you are logged in or not. I tested this in both Firefox and IE; I don't have Google Chrome installed, so I don't know if it happens in Chrome.

    The problem is that www.arcgames.com/en/forums is using JavaScript to generate an iframe that contains the content from perfectworld.vanillaforums.com. Browsers don't interpret JavaScript-generated iframes the same way as HTML contained directly in the page. Another side-effect is a perceptible flicker as the browser renders the iframe, though the length of the delay may depend on the speed of your browser's JavaScript engine.

    Unfortunately, the JavaScript-generated iframe is built in to Vanilla's embedded SSO implementation. If PWE wants to continue to use that, then users will have to live with the navigational quirks. There might be a way to seamlessly integrate perfectworld.vanillaforums.com into www.arcgames.com/en/forums, but I'm not going to spend time thinking about how to do that right now. The current implementation has visible seams everywhere.

    You can work around the problem by going directly to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com. Part of me is afraid that they'll disable this workaround if they find out that too many people are doing it. Of course, disabling the workaround would show more concern for whether people are doing things the "approved way" than the underlying problems that caused people too look for workarounds in the first place.

    I've actually explained this problem multiple times before, but I don't think anyone was paying attention.
    frtoaster wrote: »
    3. Clicking on a link sends you to the middle of a thread instead of the top. I think what's happening is that the browser is keeping the scroll position from the previous page. This only happens if you access the forums through www.arcgames.com. It doesn't happen if you go directly to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com.
    frtoaster wrote: »
    The content is hosted under perfectworld.vanillaforums.com instead of www.arcgames.com/en/forums. The pages on arcgames.com use JavaScript to embed the content from perfectworld.vanillaforums.com. This creates two problems:

    1. There is a noticeable delay in render time. I can clearly see a flicker before the browser renders the content of the page.

    2. When I click on a link, it often takes me to the middle of a page instead of the top. I suspect that the browser is remembering my scrollbar position from the previous page.
    frtoaster wrote: »
    It's not just an iframe, but an iframe generated by JavaScript. I already complained on the STO forums about the usability problems this creates, but I don't think anyone else noticed.

    1. If I browse the forums starting from www.arcgames.com/en/forums, then sometimes when I left-click on link, I get sent to the middle of the page instead of the top. I suspect that the browser is remembering the position of my scrollbar from the previous page.

    2. There is a noticeable flicker whenever the browser loads a new page. The length of the delay may depend on the speed of your browser's JavaScript engine. I am using Firefox.
  • khamseenair
    khamseenair Posts: 345 Arc User
    @frtoaster It does also happen in Chrome, just for the record. Though I've found that opening all links/threads in a new tab sends it to the correct place so at least that's something. I tend to be a multi tabber anyway so it's not that big a deal to me, though I guess not everybody opens each new page in a new tab haha.
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  • frtoaster
    frtoaster Posts: 2,566 Arc User
    edited June 2015
    khamseenair wrote: »
    @frtoaster It does also happen in Chrome, just for the record. Though I've found that opening all links/threads in a new tab sends it to the correct place so at least that's something. I tend to be a multi tabber anyway so it's not that big a deal to me, though I guess not everybody opens each new page in a new tab haha.

    Yes, links opened in new tabs go directly to the perfectworld.vanillaforums.com domain. I use multiple tabs too. As I said, the integration is not seamless. It's very easy for users to wind up on perfectworld.vanillaforums.com without really trying. Opening a link in a new tab would do it. So would coming to the forums from a search engine like Google. Right now, it's actually preferable to use the perfectworld.vanillaforums.com domain. Pages load faster, and clicking on a link doesn't send you to the middle of a page.
    Post edited by frtoaster on
  • daveyny
    daveyny Posts: 4,787 Arc User
    Also in IE-9.
    STO Member since February 2009.
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    Still a STO Veteran Minion
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  • bobbydazlers
    bobbydazlers Posts: 2,532 Arc User
    edited June 2015
    sadly it doesn't appear to work for me the way it`s supposed to.
    even in unread threads it takes me to half way down and I need to scroll up to the top.

    it seems to work the same if I`m logged in or not.
    Post edited by bobbydazlers on

    When I think about everything we've been through together, maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey, and if that journey takes a little longer, so we can do something we all believe in, I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with. :)

  • frtoaster
    frtoaster Posts: 2,566 Arc User
    bobbydazlers wrote: »
    sadly it doesn't appear to work for me the way it`s supposed to.
    even in unread threads it takes me to half way down and I need to scroll up to the top.

    it seems to work the same if I`m logged in or not.

    That will happen if you use www.arcgames.com/en/forums to view the forums, regardless of whether you are logged in or not. It shouldn't happen if you go directly to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com.
  • gfreeman98
    gfreeman98 Posts: 872 Arc User
    opkossy wrote: »
    It goes to the oldest unread post instead of starting at the very top/bottom or the like. Essentially, a function to try and ensure that you don't miss any posts in the thread.
    In this, it fails. What you describe would be appropriate for someone that's already viewed a thread and is returning to see new posts.

    Whoever wrote this apparently doesn't know how to track that, which is a common feature in forum software.

    screenshot_2015-03-01-resize4.png
  • gfreeman98
    gfreeman98 Posts: 872 Arc User
    frtoaster wrote: »
    That will happen if you use www.arcgames.com/en/forums to view the forums, regardless of whether you are logged in or not. It shouldn't happen if you go directly to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com.
    Interesting. I (and I presume 99% of everyone else that were migrated) just went to where the redirect sent me.

    Thanks for that tip - I'll update my bookmarks.

    screenshot_2015-03-01-resize4.png
  • krittycat
    krittycat Posts: 4,187 Community Moderator
    gfreeman98 wrote: »
    frtoaster wrote: »
    That will happen if you use www.arcgames.com/en/forums to view the forums, regardless of whether you are logged in or not. It shouldn't happen if you go directly to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com.
    Interesting. I (and I presume 99% of everyone else that were migrated) just went to where the redirect sent me.

    Thanks for that tip - I'll update my bookmarks.

    Well, the Arcgames site is simply a shell site. The boards are just embedded, which would also be why you can open the forums in a new tab and end up on the perfectworld.vanillaforums version.

    Simply put - they want us to use Arc. I don't wanna. fox-44.gif
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  • opkossy
    opkossy Posts: 11,177 Community Moderator
    krittycat wrote: »
    Well, the Arcgames site is simply a shell site. The boards are just embedded, which would also be why you can open the forums in a new tab and end up on the perfectworld.vanillaforums version.

    Simply put - they want us to use Arc. I don't wanna. fox-44.gif

    Sounds like me with the Arc client. Don't touch it unless I absolutely have to.
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  • bobbydazlers
    bobbydazlers Posts: 2,532 Arc User
    edited June 2015
    frtoaster wrote: »
    khamseenair wrote: »
    @frtoaster It does also happen in Chrome, just for the record. Though I've found that opening all links/threads in a new tab sends it to the correct place so at least that's something. I tend to be a multi tabber anyway so it's not that big a deal to me, though I guess not everybody opens each new page in a new tab haha.

    Yes, links opened in new tabs go directly to the perfectworld.vanillaforums.com domain. I use multiple tabs too. As I said, the integration is not seamless. It's very easy for users to wind up on perfectworld.vanillaforums.com without really trying. Opening a link in a new tab would do it. So would coming to the forums from a search engine like Google. Right now, it's actually preferable to use the perfectworld.vanillaforums.com domain. Pages load faster, and clicking on a link doesn't send you to the middle of a page.

    yes going to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com sure does fix the half way down the page bug and that is great for reading the threads however if I wish to comment in a thread or start my own thread I cant seem to sign in effectively and end up going to http://www.arcgames.com/en/games.
    returning to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com after signing in is no good as it still does not recognise that I have signed in at all for some reason so the only way to make a comment is to stay on http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums# and find the thread I wanted to comment on from there, as I have just now.

    I guess for sanity sake I will have to just keep using http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums# and put up with having to scroll up to the top every time I go to a thread.

    also I often like to check up on the news at http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news at least once a day and often go to the forums just by clicking the forum web link on the news page so to save any confusion with what address I have used I would prefer to stick with http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums#/categories/startrekonline even if it means suffering this annoying bug.
    Post edited by bobbydazlers on

    When I think about everything we've been through together, maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey, and if that journey takes a little longer, so we can do something we all believe in, I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with. :)

  • frtoaster
    frtoaster Posts: 2,566 Arc User
    edited June 2015
    bobbydazlers wrote: »
    yes going to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com sure does fix the half way down the page bug and that is great for reading the threads however if I wish to comment in a thread or start my own thread I cant seem to sign in effectively and end up going to http://www.arcgames.com/en/games.
    returning to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com after signing in is no good as it still does not recognise that I have signed in at all for some reason so the only way to make a comment is to stay on http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums# and find the thread I wanted to comment on from there, as I have just now.

    I guess for sanity sake I will have to just keep using http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums# and put up with having to scroll up to the top every time I go to a thread.

    also I often like to check up on the news at http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news at least once a day and often go to the forums just by clicking the forum web link on the news page so to save any confusion with what address I have used I would prefer to stick with http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums#/categories/startrekonline even if it means suffering this annoying bug.

    I usually log in through www.arcgames.com/en/forums and then go to perfectworld.vanillaforums.com.

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