Explanation of Latest Changes
Tonight we conducted a meeting with the majority of the forum staff over Skype, for the first time in months. Normally, administrator meetings are held on a regular basis. If time does allow us, we may expand this to podcast in the future, if people are interested, or if the idea catches on
The events immediately proceeding the admin meeting required attention. The forum software has been upgraded to a new version, which required extensive reworking of our theme system. Because some had complained of a slowness in the previous display and rendering, and because viewership was on a very steep decline, it was decided very quickly to create a new theme that would be instantly accessible. It was also decided to remove any bloat not necessary to the full functioning of the forum.
This has resulted in several things we use to measure site speed and accessibility.
A ranking called YSLOW2 used in Firefox found the site with a score of D originally, this has now been upgraded to a B. A page speed test in Firebug found an initial score of 52, then after some refinements 65, and now 72.
The work that was involved in doing this was tremendous and has sped up resource usage of the site significantly.
Code:
- All CSS and Javascript has safely undergone minification and combination.
- The way the datastore cache handles information has been improved based on recommendations from an article from Digital-Point outlining problems with vB4. This also includes other changes to speed up the rendering of pages.
- In almost every instance, measurements were systematically taken of nearly every image on the site and width and height tags were attached to them to speed up rendering.
- The sidebar has been removed, which was actually an enormous content management system adding many queries to the database. This will result in less immediate information, but at the same time, much less lag.
- Despite financial difficulties, 33% of all advertisements have been removed from the website.
These changes come with the understanding that Windows7Forums.com was and always will be, primarily, a forum site for information. Information is easily search-able and reachable to the masses. To make that search easier, a focus on simplicity, rather than abundance has been made.
Already, I have heard cries foul that the site is running slow. This is not possible given the circumstances. This has been completely optimized for speed and ease of use. The only one item which may slow the scroll of the page, is again, the background, which is high resolution.
This forum relies entirely on structured query language (SQL) database queries. We have reduced these queries from 15-20 to around 5-6 on every page. This frees up the database for heavy traffic.
Stylization was still a consideration in the latest theme. Studies show many viewers prefer white backgrounds that are easy on the eyes and adjustable to system monitors. The theme is fluid meaning that it will expand or retract based on the screen resolution or the size of the window, supporting down to 10**x800 resolution and up to 1080P HD resolution.
The latest staff meeting addressed a number of issues concerning where we would like to see the website at the end of the year in 2010. We will be documenting and covering Windows 7 SP1 extensively, and there is a serious consideration of bringing back the Meebo Toolbar (an interactive toolbar at the bottom of the screen which allows for further links, communication, and features without clogging up the site itself).
What is understood in this latest round of updates is that in order for the website to succeed, some change had to be made to its look and design, and a streamlining of its functionality. The forum must always be a forum, and its features must not slow down the site significantly. That being said, we continue to look into new ways to enhance the site for our viewers. The new forum code has introduced several unique problems that were unanticipated in this round of updates. The code broke our previous themes and has caused some problems with customized code that was added. Therefore, this new theme will provide members and all viewers with the resources and tools they need to find answers to Windows 7 issues and beyond.
Many software packages which were introduced into the site, including the website helpdesk, which went unused for months, have been removed. A focus will now remain solely on content and interaction with the website.
A continued request from RAK that we add a "Today's Posts" into the site is completely nonsensical. The What's New feature of the site IS Today's Posts until you mark those posts as read or read them.
There is an unofficial moratorium on new features until further code releases are made by the vBulletin Development Team which are expected soon. A second meeting of all forum staff is expected August 8, 2010 while admin meetings will likely continue on a weekly basis. I would like to thank all staff members for their continued and unwavering support. The website itself will always be a repository for important information, in no matter what form it takes. It is my goal, as overseer of the website, to continue that mission by ensuring both its financial success and marketability. I continue to work to make the website as user friendly and helpful as possible.
The changes made in the last 24 hours represent a sharp turnaround from our efforts in the past to add glitz and glamor to a serious technology community filled with passionate individuals. We will use these changes to get people to the information they need as quickly as they can, without links going to obscure areas that no one needs or cares about. We will not hinder access to those people who rightfully want to participate in the site, and I will personally do whatever it takes to make sure that the website runs at 100% efficiency at all times, using all manner of programming tricks, scripts, and other combination code to expose the website to the most people, with the most useful information, in the quickest time possible.
Simultaneously, even as this is written, our staff of fanatical supporters continue to answer questions to our valued members, solving hundreds of thousands of issues and inquiries. I truly believe this, and not destructive criticism from a small, but vocal minority, is what makes Windows 7 Forums the Internet's #1 Windows 7 Community Resource.
Expect more soon, as we challenge the possibilities of what a forum can be, and extend the golden age of Windows 7 Forums even further into the future.
Thank you for your time.