How do you like the new forums?

Is Neo Mario Boards great?

  • I love the new layout; SMF pales in comparison

    Votes: 14 31.8%

  • I like the new layout, but SMF had some cool features that I was disappointed to lose

    Votes: 18 40.9%

  • The new layout is about on-par with the original one

    Votes: 3 6.8%

  • I dislike the new layout, but enjoy the new features that came with it

    Votes: 7 15.9%

  • I hate the new layout and it wasn't worth losing some of the old SMF features

    Votes: 2 4.5%
  • Total voters
    44
YoshiFlutterJump

YoshiFlutterJump

Power Star
MarioWiki
YoshiFlutterJump
Personally I really like all the cool new features, even if a couple SMF features went away as a result. The layout will take some getting used to, but I think over time I'll come to like it better than SMF.
 
There are a couple of things I will probably miss from the older format, namely the ability to use a URL for rotating avatars (signatures are fine though) and how simple the older format looked, but almost everything is clearly improved. Things like being notified with replies/likes, ability to leave user messages in the profile and how the mobile version is very likely to be user-friendly (haven't checked this one) are conveniences in a forum.

Sure simplicity is good, but I found that the older forum has several inconveniences (like mandatory DST even though a lot of us don't need it) so the modernisation is much needed.

Thank you for reading.
 
+thread tagging
+about me field
+more reactions than just likes
+notifications and logging for reactions and stuff
+people with lots of ranks get a colourful stack of rectangles
+drafts of posts automatically get saved(i didn't even know this until this very post when i clicked away and then came back expecting to need to rewrite my post but i didn't)
-circular avatars
-boards continue to look like they have new posts even after you've looked at them
-sub forums are in drop downs
overall pretty good

also its cute how the posts have a little speech bubble thing pointing at your avatar
 
I hate it.

Granted, I have a large distaste for modern website designs and redesigns in general.
 
I pretty much like everything more about it. More kinds of reactions to give posts, status updates for random thoughts that don't pertain to Mario and don't really need entire threads to ruminate about, being able to post images without having to rely on imgur (still wouldn't abuse it though), quicker to reply to things, much easier formatting (though BBCode is still useful to learn), more useful follow function, more useful "what's new" link, emoji options, file attachment options (don't think I need this to be fair), links to the wiki/discord and what's new always being at the top of the screen, and maybe more I missed. The few things we lost, such as gif avatars, getting smallish circle avatars, having those little icons I used for the top of each post I made, stars (the new color bars that denote user rights are very bright and garish), less convenient access to subforums, ranks (though yeah I don't miss having the Donkey Kong rank), display names (temporarily it seems) are fine, worth it for the newer software.

Mobile view still sucks though.
 
I like the layout, however some good features from SMF were lost in the process.
 
Mostly neutral, getting used to it bit by bit.

I like some of the new features. Uploading images are neat. Having an emoji selection at your fingertips is nice. Saving drafts would help in a pinch. You can view ninja'd posts too.

I like clicking and highlighting shit due to my ADHD tendencies so the new reply function when you highlight a post is a bit annoying for me.

Embedding existing images are little bit more inconvenient than it should, but the payoff of uploading images is good.

For a Mario-themed site, it still looks pretty woefully generic. I'm not a fan of losing post ranks and post stars.

Circular avatars can work, but mine hasn't translated all that well.
 
LeftyGreenMario said:
I pretty much like everything more about it. More kinds of reactions to give posts, status updates for random thoughts that don't pertain to Mario and don't really need entire threads to ruminate about, being able to post images without having to rely on imgur (still wouldn't abuse it though), quicker to reply to things, much easier formatting (though BBCode is still useful to learn), more useful follow function, more useful "what's new" link, emoji options, file attachment options (don't think I need this to be fair), links to the wiki/discord and what's new always being at the top of the screen, and maybe more I missed. The few things we lost, such as gif avatars, getting smallish circle avatars, having those little icons I used for the top of each post I made, stars (the new color bars that denote user rights are very bright and garish), less convenient access to subforums, ranks (though yeah I don't miss having the Donkey Kong rank), display names (temporarily it seems) are fine, worth it for the newer software.

Mobile view still sucks though.
Click to expand...
Post ranks actually still exist, but are overwritten by custom titles should you have one. At least higher position ranks no longer replace post ranks, so I don't have to forfeit Shine Sprite to be part of the Poll Committee.

Mobile view is actually pretty decent imo, and a huge improvement over SMF's mobile view. The worst part about it is that desktop view is no longer an option on mobile devices, unless you use a special desktop browser.
 
I quite like it and think I'll get to used to it pretty quickly, I haven't played around with absolutely everything yet, but it does seem there are some good new features. Also, as a small thing, I really like that the Like button is now at the bottom of posts, it always used to annoy me on the old one where I'd scroll through a huge post, like a wall of text or load of images, get to the bottom where I want to like it, only to have to scroll all the way back up the top to give it a like. It's a small thing, but it is something I really like.
 
A hard #2 for me. It's an interesting new design, and almost everything is improved, but I will miss the old SMF features.

Probably one of my favourite things is the reply box at the bottom, makes it easier to respond. Also, being able to change your username/display name yourself makes things that much easier. You don't have to rely on the mods being around, and likewise it makes their jobs easier without having to respond to every request that comes along, which is an absolute win.

I think URL images are still a thing, I checked it earlier in private and it seemed to work, but I'm not too sure at the moment. Either way, the inclusion of being able to upload files (with the added option of scaling them) is also absolutely wonderful. It really adds to the ease of just uploading an image outright, without having to go through Imgur or any other image hosting software.

The notifications system is extremely helpful, I can see who's quoted me and who's reacted to my post, which will help me stay in the conversation. That way, I won't miss when people tell me something important.

Status updates are a good way to quickly inform people of any going ons, even if we're just using them to shitpost right now. That being said, I can't say I'll be using them much, but it might help to cut down on the large-scale topic influx in Mindless Junk.

The Follower/Following system is nice, it's good to see just how many people considered me a buddy (or considered me annoying enough to ignore), so it adds a quick access route to their profiles if you want to talk to them face to face, or just see what they're up to. Useful feature, could come in handy soon.

Just like how Snack or whoever it was that pointed it out said, it would be nice to get a reply page button. I probably won't use it much since I've now got the quick reply section, but it would be nice for other users who don't want to use that feature.

RIP sending private messages to yourself. I guess you can do it if you already previously have done so, it'll just be added to that conversation. That being said, the feature is pretty damn good - it works more like a messaging system instead of an email now, which is great. It means that users can engage each other on a regular basis without flooding inboxes.

Sharing a page to another social media platform is an interesting feature, but I most likely won't be using that feature at all. Good if other users want to share something to Facebook or Twitter, it sort of makes us less closed off, which is great.

Also RIP our old likes. I had quite a few racked up, but alas, it is time to begin anew.

I will miss the extra customisability of our old profiles (namely the custom title aspect and the url uploaded avatars). I'm also missing the user stars, but it's helpful to see everyone's ranks stacked on the side (if we can get @Gamefreak75 to join the poll committee, he'll be a member of every group)

The moderation has done well to replicate the old design. It's obviously still different, and feels like we're on another forum at the moment, but the heart is still there. It's like we've moved house, and we only need to adjust to our new home.

Well done to @porplemontage, @Hibiki Tachibana and anyone else who was involved for their work in transferring the forum over. It's a brilliant new system, one that I can see being our home for a long time to come.
 
I'm very happy. XenForo has been my favourite forum software for years. It's clean, feature full and fast right out of the box.

Mobile site is solid as well. No more swapping to Desktop and having to constantly scroll left and right. Also, if you're not a fan and using Chrome on Android you can click the 3 dots beside the URL bar at the top, then hit 'Desktop site' to view it in Desktop mode.

SMF was one of my least favourite softwares. The look and feel always felt janky. It didn't even have a preview button for signatures which was available on Invisionfree 15 years ago.

It doesn't bother me too much but it is a shame that we don't have gif or rotating avatars. I'll miss LtQ's thread specific avatars. But for the most part things are good.
 
I don't really like the new layout and it feels like a lot of the new features are just bells and whistles, but I'm aware that SMF was a big, outdated security hazard even before the server issues. Switching software was basically an inevitability and it's impressive that we lasted this long without doing so; as a result I can't be frustrated at all that the move happened, if anything I'm thankful that we transferred before anything worse than the database crashes happened.

I am disappointed at the loss of functionality even if it's nothing that will impact Awards to the point of them being unworkable, but I'm hopeful that some old features will gradually be re-added. It already seems like the forum's layout and functionality has improved/gotten closer to SMF (sub-board changes, etc.) since it went up in the morning.

Overall, I'm sure a chunk of my feelings also stem from my general dislike of Xenforo's layout coupled with 10+ years of being used to SMF & the adversity to change that comes with it, but I do want to think that things will improve and I'll get used to it.
 
There are definitely some features I am disappointed to lose, but I do mostly like the new forums and think it is something I will be able to get used to.
 
I was familiar with Xenforo due to posting on wario forums so I welcome the change 100%. The only thing I'll really miss is being able to view old sent PMs and having two of my posts in the top 10 most liked posts list
 
Some of the problems I had are slowly being fixed, but I do find issue with the lack of posts per page options, the lack of an easily accessible reply page, and the ignore boards function being gone.
 
So far it's a bit of a mixed bag.

Off the top of my head, the two most positive things for me I can think of are the ability to upload images directly, as well as the notification system.

As for negatives, it seems like you can no longer ignore specific subforums (and with that filter their updates out of the new front page feeds). I'm also not entirely sure about the new pseudo-twitter feed. I liked the serenity and quietness of the old front page, and how it didn't infoblast you. Might be nice to have those collapsible or something.

I've had a couple more issues, but they have all been fixed by the time of this post, so kudos for that.

EDIT:
That was quick. My concerns have been laid to rest. Thanks, Porple.
 
Last edited:
It initially caught me off guard but I'm getting more used to it now, I like that I can just directly upload images to my post without having to link it from Imgur and resizing images is a lot less of a guessing game now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back