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Mark Olson
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On 2/4/2023 at 10:50 AM, Jim Kovar said:

6a00d834f93f8753ef01053583439e970b-pi.png.d8e182d87b2c97b87ff25f03ffffb8f9.png

Someone suggested I
should've captioned the
image...

6a00d834f93f8753ef01053583439e970b-pi.png.d8e182d87b2c97b87ff25f03ffffb8f9.png.47e0c6a00237de73f8a683a25e177f35.png

"...but naked."

 

Now, why didn't I think
of that?

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I feel similarly to Lawrence.   The search function on this (and the old) site leaves a lot to be desired.  
In my past I wrote some code and maintained/tweaked old COBOL mainframe language.   If we wanted to add a function we added another module to the system.  
I’m not at all familiar with website construction but I’m assuming the base program comes with some sort of a search function and (usually) there are upgrades or add-ons available from the vendor.   
Not sure if this site is a custom designed or “off the shelf” system or not but I’d be willing to pitch in a few bucks to help fund an improved “add-on” or upgraded search function.   
It would be nice to add a field or two in the profile display for the City & State of the member, and the ability to search for members by state.  I wouldn’t add the full addresses, email addys, or phone # information in the displays unless it was part of a security choice by the user - to display certain info or not.   The info is published in the magazine, so why not make it a user choice to display it on the site?  

Edited by John Landstrom
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I have just added the ability to display your City, State or Province, and Country on your Profile page, if you so choose.
To display this information on your Profile page, you first have to go to your Profile page and then edit your profile. It will now allow you to add your City, (2-letter) State or Province code, and Country. Once that is saved it will update on your Profile page.
This is not mandatory information, and if you do not fill it out, it will not display on your page.

I will look into the possibility of altering the search function in the future.

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Hi Jamie, the old forum would display that city and state beneath the persons name when they post. Currently it now just says member , along with the useless status icon. Maybe we could push the city and state to that location just  like on the old forum?

it would help new members know if there’s someone local to them without looking in each persons profile.  Just s thought. 

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15 hours ago, Lane Shirey said:

Hi Jamie, the old forum would display that city and state beneath the persons name when they post. Currently it now just says member , along with the useless status icon. Maybe we could push the city and state to that location just  like on the old forum?

it would help new members know if there’s someone local to them without looking in each persons profile.  Just s thought. 

Nice idea.  

I’d still like the ability to use the search function on the membership database to list out by state.  As for me I’d only be searching WA and OR.  Right now if you only put in two letters into the search field (like GE) the search on forums fails.  Wondering if that limitation would affect searching the membership by state that is only a 2 character field.   (I’m assuming to conserve space). Maybe something specific in the membership search area (once you find it) would work.  Once they’re put in WA in a “state” field to return all hits in the database for those who’ve entered WA in that field.

The info is in a database somewhere as it’s required for AFCA membership.  Whether it’s “linked” to the forum or not I don’t know.   

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John, I think what you’re gonna run into even if you could search for members, is that of the 700-800 members we have, only a small portion are active, and go to meets, interact with others, etc. And even fewer actually contribute anything for the good of the club.
 

 It seems there are many private collectors that are members but keep to themselves and don’t interact much. I feel that those who would wish to meet up with you are in that smaller part of the members. I wish more of our members and guests would attend meets and be more active, but they don’t. 
 

I recently cleaned up a bit and tossed all of my old membership booklets. Maybe someone has a recent copy they’d be willing to send you. We used to receive one every year. I think that would work for your needs. Even one that’s a couple years old.  

Edited by Lane Shirey
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I don't know if it's just me but I often end up re-reading messages that I've already read. The blue dot seems to come back at some point which I assume indicates it's unread. Oh well, it's probably just as well since it often takes me 2-3x to get the message.  

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On 2/11/2023 at 10:40 AM, Will Novitske said:

I don't know if it's just me but I often end up re-reading messages that I've already read. The blue dot seems to come back at some point which I assume indicates it's unread.

"Bold" indicates there is
unread content...

Screenshot_20230214-095108_Chrome.thumb.jpg.f7ea9a208c070e79d2de6d0cfa1708cc.jpg

 

Again, "Bold",...  unread.

Screenshot_20230214-094729_Chrome.thumb.jpg.9b67f6d6b26d2487ec7fbf67db135418.jpg

 

Clicking on the bold topics
will take you directly to the
unread content.

Screenshot_20230214-095013_Chrome.thumb.jpg.39f987ab7605a93afe21fc0472169610.jpg

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I will do my best to look into all the topics discussed on this thread, however, there are limitations to what the forum software can do, so I can't promise anything. Also, Jamie = Volunteer, so it may not happen extremely quickly. 🙃 Seems we're having an emoji issue as well. 

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Bob Peshoff...Ugh. I couldn't see it. I am color deficient reds and greens. I'm also left handed. The deck is stacked against me. 

Jamie Horner, is it possible that if you read a thread and then someone adds to it afterward the bold "unread" blue returns?

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Will... the text is right below your name on the top right.  You should see the search box and right below that you should have "Unread Content" and "Mark Site Read"

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Okay, one more thing solved everyone. I have been able to add the City, State/Province to the posts for anyone who has made them available through their personal profiles. They should now show up under your avatar when you post in the forums.

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So far, I have had very little luck with the search functions available with this forum software. As far as I can tell, currently, you have to have more than 3 letters in your search criteria to be able to do a general search for anything, although, I have been able to do a general Member search with less than 4 letters when looking for a specific Member or Guest name. I have read that it has something to do with the way our MySQL database is formatted, and the load it places on the server. Also, I have been unable to search by City or State/Province in the advanced search section. We may just need to wait for an update to the software in order to get these "bugs" fixed.

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