Tank Information Fields in Profile to replace Signatures

[NanoReefaholic]

As some of you may have already noticed there is a new section under your signatures. This area is the tank information that is in your profile. Your tank information will need to be kept up to date in your profile as that will be carried over to your posts. Because of this your signature will now be whatever you like (within reason) and that is if you even decide to have one.

This format will compact the signatures, make finding the required information easier when giving advice, and hopefully sidestep any miscommunication with new members. It will put an end to those long signatures some dislike yet give those that want to the opportunity to be a bit more expressive but, you still need to follow the same rules as when posting.

You can still have the signatures displayed only once per person within the thread or all the time. You also have the option of not displaying signatures at all. This will give people more viewing choice and hopefully give those on dialup faster access to the AP site.

Your tank information is fairly generic and detailed but necessary. However if you decide to use a signature it is your chance to express yourself to the rest of the community.

[kgolem]

Very well stated... :iagree:

The information in the tank description may seem of little consequence to some. It has proven time and again to be vital when diagnosing problems and helping beginning reefers.

Please take the time to complete the tank description as completely as possible.

Thanks to all.

[J_T]

I like the new section, and noticed it the other day.

I would like to see two dates though. Right now, I am going to have to change mine, to show that I am setting up my 125 this week, but I would also like to show that I still have 7 years of learning before this tank.

EG.

set up date: 2007
years in hobby 7

Or something. I think that it will help when trying to help others. Right now, if I run into a problem, it will look like I put a whole bunch of stuff into a brand new tank. When really, I am moving my current tanks, into one.

[jeff_k]

It's a good idea and I'm sure it'll help people quite a bit.

The problem I'm seeing is that now we'll have to scroll quite a bit just to skip the sigs and read the info in the threads. I'm not complaining here, I;m just thinking out loud here.

I'm looking at this thread on a 19" widescreen monitor set at 1440x900 and the signatures take half a page of scrolling to get by. The moderators sigs are pretty big too. Sorry, kgolem, I'm not picking on you, but your signature takes up more than a page. A lot of people have quotes in their signatures that they think are funny, but after seeing them a couple of dozen times, scrolling past them is kind of annoying. I know that mods have to be identified in some way, but can there be a different way?

What if the tank information was collapsible and was closed by default? That way, we wouldn't have to scroll by it and the information was still available should it be needed. Heck, you could do it with some AJAX (only download the information when requested) and save yourself quite a bit of bandwidth. I'm sure the signatures add up.

Also, I'm thinking that the tank info is pretty limiting. Many people here have more than one tank, so they can keep their info up to date, but it's still technically wrong if they're asking about their secondary tank. I don't know that there's a one size fits all approach here.

I work as a web developer and would be happy to help out. I do these sort of things for my sites all the time.

[kgolem]

No probs jeff_k;

There are two options in the User CP / Edit Options / Thread Display Options.

In the Visual Post Elements you can uncheck "Show Signatures".

Or, in the "Signatures Only Shown Once" section you can select "Yes" in the pulldown to show sigs once per thread.

You will still see the tank info but the extra information in the sig will not be visible to you.

[gnarlyswine]

I quite like the new feature - easy to update , and much better now its not against a bright green background. Fair comments on multiple tanks and transferred setups - JT - I just left a comment to that effect in my signature.

Noticed the livestock section doesnt allow much entry though - I ran out of characters on it fairly quickly so maybe that could be shuffled around to allow a bit more room.

[jeff_k]

Or, in the "Signatures Only Shown Once" section you can select "Yes" in the pulldown to show sigs once per thread.


I like seeing people's tank info, so I have this option checked already. There's still a lot of scrolling, even only seeing their sig once.

[tankies]

same here..i kinda like the new feature...just hope more in fo in there..and whats with the color...giving me an eyestrain!!! :)

[Sea MunnKey]

Noticed the Sig upgrade yesterday (after a week away in Ohio) and I like it as it shows pretty much all the info that we need to know of other members (that is if we update it consistently) :thumbsup: !!

Hey Jeff ... I've got THREE monitors ... all 24" Apple MacIntosh's LCD dude!! :bah: :hihi:

Paul

[J_T]

I quite like the new feature - easy to update , and much better now its not against a bright green background. Fair comments on multiple tanks and transferred setups - JT - I just left a comment to that effect in my signature.

Noticed the livestock section doesnt allow much entry though - I ran out of characters on it fairly quickly so maybe that could be shuffled around to allow a bit more room.


Yeah, I plan on doing something like that once I get moved, and the tank is settled. Then I will play catch up....

[jeff_k]

Hey Jeff ... I've got THREE monitors ... all 24" Apple MacIntosh's LCD dude!! :bah: :hihi:

Paul :P :P :P :P

[NanoReefaholic]

Sorry it took so long to get back, I had to step into the office for a minute. Let's see if I can address your comments.

Currently you can have up to 500 characters in the livestock field. Gnarlyswine only has 95 ATM so there could be 5 times the info there currently is (the limit was upped before the announcement so if you had edited it before that time this would explain things, try it again and let me know of any issues).

I've added in a field for other information that may be important to your tank and it will only show up if there is information to share.

I thought about having more than one tank information but when you get people like me whom have four tanks atm the tank information would be more intrusive than the signatures were. Therefore you would only be asked to have your main tank in your profile and keep it up to date.

I had mentioned about having a few other styles but that isn't the direction that Aj wishes to go and did make a good point; it takes just as long to click a button to bring up the information as it does to go to their profile and read their signature. Thanks for the offer anyways.

I hope everyone enjoys this new feature and if you have any questions or problems please let me know.

[ajx22]

Please keep in mind this is still very much a work-in-progress...so the community's feedback & suggestions is very important as well.

Everything we do on AP.ca is to make it better for everyone; and we appreciate your ongoing patience as we continually strive to improve AP.ca for everyone!

~ Mahalo & Aloha~

[NanoReefaholic]

Please keep in mind this is still very much a work-in-progress...so the community's feedback & suggestions is very important as well.

Everything we do on AP.ca is to make it better for everyone; and we appreciate your ongoing patience as we continually strive to improve AP.ca for everyone!

~ Mahalo & Aloha~

:iagree: and thank you. Some of the issues others are experiencing I may not have known about (like that green problem, lol) and suggestions are great, you never know what may come from an idea (thank you for the other information idea!).

[gnarlyswine]

Currently you can have up to 500 characters in the livestock field. Gnarlyswine only has 95 ATM so there could be 5 times the info there currently is (the limit was upped before the announcement so if you had edited it before that time this would explain things, try it again and let me know of any issues).


Thanks - I thought that may be a possibility as I noticed others seemed to have quite a bit in the section.

The green thing was there last night for me but went away today ,so may not be an issue. Blue is so much more soothing.

[NanoReefaholic]

Good stuff.

Just an update, the words '{username}'s Tank Information' is now a link to edit your profile. Sponsors have also had this field removed from their posts.

[Nanoized]

Actually I'm posting to see how mine looks and to see if its working.

Andreas

[Darryl_V]

This is JMO but why cant we just check out someones profile if we need to know tank information. I mean it was mentioned. Before I had the option to turn signatures off. If I needed info to answer someones question I could check it on a needs be basis. This is way smother to me anyway and saves me a lot of scrolling and makes the page look better rather than seeing the same thing over and over. Besides 95% of the time I don't need to know everyones tank info. If I do I can check it then. I read it once and dont have to see it over and over. I realize some people like these features but can we make them optional??

[Darryl_V]

Hey I just noticed that it only shows tank info once...thats nice anyway. It still would be good if we could turn it off and on if we wanted though. :)

[NanoReefaholic]

The reason why we ask for this information isn't only to know what you are using when asking for help but also so others can see what people are running. It's also funny that you mention this as I have just (and I do mean just) installed code to bind this with the show signatures only once option. Now when you have signatures only shown once the tank information will also only appear once. There will however not be an option to turn it off all together.

[ajx22]

Sorry in advance for the "inconvenience" of change - we are working as quickly as possible to get through these transitional 'issues'; and apologize to the membership for the inconvenience.

We would as that you not post complaints about the changes at least until we're done working through the inevitable kinks. At that point; we would be more then happy to hear your constructive remarks - within the Site-Related Comments forum (not interjected into your regular posts).

Thank you for your patience and co-operation.

[corpusse]

The reason why we ask for this information isn't only to know what you are using when asking for help but also so others can see what people are running. It's also funny that you mention this as I have just (and I do mean just) installed code to bind this with the show signatures only once option. Now when you have signatures only shown once the tank information will also only appear once. There will however not be an option to turn it off all together.

To be honest I don't really like the look of the box, I found the signature nicer however I understand that everyone didn't fill in everything.

It is nice to see what other people are running. Less questions you have to ask when you run into them at the reef shops. :)

[ajx22]

Aloha;

We have been working to get everything working properly - and think that we have worked out the remaining bugs (seemingly was mostly with Microsoft Internet Explorer). I will again mention that AP.ca is built on and is designed to work with Mozilla Firefox (http://www.firefox.com) first and foremost - and you indeed might find MSIE issues. To fix that - switch to Firefox (http://www.firefox.com). More and more sites are being optimized for Firefox due to the major problems with MSIE.

We ask that all members migrate their tank info into the proper Tank Info areas - and remove it from your signature. Even if you chose to keep some of your tank info in your signature - it must be in your Tank Info area. While not all fields are mandatory to save your profile - if you have a system - they are mandatory to post. The only reason the other fields aren't mandatory to actually save your profile is due to some members NOT having a tank. If you have a tank - fill it in!

IF you encounter a "You have profile fields that must be filled out" error - ensure that you indeed have the *mandatory fields filled in; and scroll to the bottom and click save (even if you didn't need to change/add anything) - as this should reset the error as it will tell the software that your profile is indeed complete.

Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused - and if you run into any other issues - please report them into the AP Support Ticket forum (http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=182) (do not PM or email us for support please).

~ Mahalo ~

[ajx22]

Aloha;

We have been working to get everything working properly - and think that we have worked out the remaining bugs (seemingly was mostly with Microsoft Internet Explorer). I will again mention that AP.ca is built on and is designed to work with Mozilla Firefox (http://www.firefox.com) first and foremost - and you indeed might find MSIE issues. To fix that - switch to Firefox (http://www.firefox.com). More and more sites are being optimized for Firefox due to the major problems with MSIE.

We ask that all members migrate their tank info into the proper Tank Info areas - and remove it from your signature. Even if you chose to keep some of your tank info in your signature - it must be in your Tank Info area. While not all fields are mandatory to save your profile - if you have a system - they are mandatory to post. The only reason the other fields aren't mandatory to actually save your profile is due to some members NOT having a tank. If you have a tank - fill it in!

IF you encounter a "You have profile fields that must be filled out" error - ensure that you indeed have the *mandatory fields filled in; and scroll to the bottom and click save (even if you didn't need to change/add anything) - as this should reset the error as it will tell the software that your profile is indeed complete.

Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused - and if you run into any other issues - please report them into the AP Support Ticket forum (http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=182) (do not PM or email us for support please).

~ Mahalo ~

:bump1: :RTT:

[NanoReefaholic]

Just a reminder to have your tank information up to date and complete.

If you're trying to view the classifieds and get an error message saying that you need to update your profile you will need to update your profile via User CP (http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/usercp.php) or click this link to edit your profile (http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/profile.php?do=editprofile) and fill in the missing information.

[ajx22]

Please note - entering BS / Bogus data into these fields will only result in it being removed; and your account suspended. Take the few minutes it takes to enter in the data...it's polite; and like it or not - it's required.

We WASTE many hours every day as it is trying to make the site what it is - please at least respect the community enough to respect the few volunteers who make AP.ca possible. You get AP.ca for free - don't look a gift horse in the mouth...

Honestly - if you're not willing to respect the community - you won't be here.

~ Mahalo ~ (and sorry to come off as rude; I'm just sick of this crap).

[ajx22]

I'm honestly starting to get a tad bit pissed-off now.

It's funny how when people ask questions here; they want real answers...however most of you are wasting everyone's time by entering bogus BS into your profile fields.

It's STUNNING how many tanks were set-up January 2007 - are you THAT lazy that you have to take the first option? Then it's funny when you post; and someone makes a comment about your tank being so young and unsuited for that animal; you can come-up with exact date of 3+ years ago to defend yourself...or when the newbie looks at your system set-up as sees your clams and anemones listed in your newly-set-up tank & tries to copy you.

Folks - it's simple - We're all here (supposedly) to learn from, and help teach each other. If you're not going to follow the few simple things that we have set-up to HELP everyone - then honestly; I'd rather just delete your account. If you're THAT important that you can't spend 5-minutes out of your day to enter in the info - then you can tell your Personal Assistant to do it for you; as if you're THAT busy & important...

So please - enter in the real info that we ask for to HELP everyone...as if we can't do this the easy way; we'll just create a limited usergroup that can only modify their own profile; and that will get submitted to the Moderation staff to review. Complete profiles will be promoted to Registered User - and bogus profiles will just be rejected...then you will have to re-submit it; wait for approval...

Last I checked; we're all mature enough to be reading here - so I'm sure that we don't all need to be baby-sat through these little things.

[Atomikk]

A very important bump, as everyone should read this.

[G.H. Dorr]

Migration completed as requested. :)
.
.

[NanoReefaholic]

Migration completed as requested. :)
.
.

Many thanks :pompom:

[Atomikk]

Another important BUMP.

[Atomikk]

Todays bump. People please read and update your profile.

[River]

The problem with the date in the profile is if you make a mistake or miss a box by accident the date gets changed back to January automatically it also wipes out all the info you just took the time to fill in. I don't understand why if you happen to miss a box you have to redo the whole thing again and not just the box you missed.

[vaporize]

The problem with the date in the profile is if you make a mistake or miss a box by accident the date gets changed back to January automatically it also wipes out all the info you just took the time to fill in. I don't understand why if you happen to miss a box you have to redo the whole thing again and not just the box you missed.

It's because they do not use a form save after submission and does not carry the data upon error.

just use extra caution when filling in forms like these :D And review it prior submission LOL

[NanoReefaholic]

The problem with the date in the profile is if you make a mistake or miss a box by accident the date gets changed back to January automatically it also wipes out all the info you just took the time to fill in. I don't understand why if you happen to miss a box you have to redo the whole thing again and not just the box you missed.

You're using FireFox so you should just be able to hit the back button and the information should still be there.

If you're still having issues with the tank information please submit a support ticket (http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=182). Others may have the same issue and this will aid them as well.

[NanoReefaholic]

That the whole reasoning behind the tank information, those whom don't want to see sigs can turn off signatures and never have to worry about seeing them again. The tank information is VERY compact compared to signatures.

[tlo]

I just thought I'd chime in here since you guys are getting so much negative feedback. I really like the new setup, it's clean and organized, you know where to look for any important information. It's easy to fill out and no excuses for having missing info. I just thought I'd let you know I think it's a great idea.