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Where the hell is everybody?

Gary

By Gary
in HAIF on HAIF

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editor

editor

Posted
Posted

About half the time I get redirected from google reader to another site, I think for unclaimed web addresses.

I'm glad you mentioned this. I thought it was a problem with my computer.

I've spent most of the day looking into it and made some changes that I hope will fix things in a few hours. When/if it happens to you again, please let me know. If you know how to take a screenshot, you can e-mail it to editor@houstonarchitecture.info . That would be very helpful. But again, hopefully in a few hours that bug will be fixed.

This goes the same for me. And for some reason the new HAIF is much slower than the old one for me :(

The new HAIF is a lot more Javascript-focused. If you're using an outdated browser like IE6 that doesn't have complete Javascript support, slowdowns are not unexpected. If you're able to, switch to Safari or Firefox, which both run rings around IE in terms of Javascript performance.

Overall, the weight of the pages has been reduced from the old HAIF, and thus their load time on slow connections should be faster.

I was a little thrown off by the new interface too at first, but I'm fine with it now. My only complaint would be the overly-large 3" banner at the top, but I guess that's just a personal preference.

As noted in another thread, the change in size from the old header to the new one is exactly 22 pixels. Unless you're browsing on a netbook, it should be pretty much the same size. The only real difference is the new one is far more colorful and stands out more than the old one.

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august948

august948

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I'm glad you mentioned this. I thought it was a problem with my computer.

I've spent most of the day looking into it and made some changes that I hope will fix things in a few hours. When/if it happens to you again, please let me know. If you know how to take a screenshot, you can e-mail it to editor@houstonarchitecture.info . That would be very helpful. But again, hopefully in a few hours that bug will be fixed.

The new HAIF is a lot more Javascript-focused. If you're using an outdated browser like IE6 that doesn't have complete Javascript support, slowdowns are not unexpected. If you're able to, switch to Safari or Firefox, which both run rings around IE in terms of Javascript performance.

Overall, the weight of the pages has been reduced from the old HAIF, and thus their load time on slow connections should be faster.

As noted in another thread, the change in size from the old header to the new one is exactly 22 pixels. Unless you're browsing on a netbook, it should be pretty much the same size. The only real difference is the new one is far more colorful and stands out more than the old one.

Thanks for checking into it. I thought it was my computer also. I'll let you know if it happens again.

I've been using Firefox for a long time and the performance has been pretty good. It took a few days to get used to the new format and adjust my options but I'm as happy with the new format as I was with the old and some things seem to have improved.

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barracuda

barracuda

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The new HAIF is a lot more Javascript-focused. If you're using an outdated browser like IE6 that doesn't have complete Javascript support, slowdowns are not unexpected. If you're able to, switch to Safari or Firefox, which both run rings around IE in terms of Javascript performance.

Overall, the weight of the pages has been reduced from the old HAIF, and thus their load time on slow connections should be faster.

I tested it with IE6 and it is indeed much slower than Safari and Firefox. Why anyone still uses IE6 for anything but testing I don't know...

As noted in another thread, the change in size from the old header to the new one is exactly 22 pixels. Unless you're browsing on a netbook, it should be pretty much the same size. The only real difference is the new one is far more colorful and stands out more than the old one.

It may just be perception. The new header seems bigger, but maybe it's just the bolder graphics.

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editor

editor

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Ugh. All of the forum links from the main site are directing me to http://www.directnicparking.com/. The new site really frustrates me.

That has nothing to do with the new forum software. I made a change to the www.thehaif.com domain name to make it faster and more reliable. It will take a couple of hours for your ISP to catch up to the changes.

The main site is actually http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/ and is what you should have bookmarked. TheHAIF.com is merely a shortcut.

So "ugh" yourself.

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houstonmacbro

houstonmacbro

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For the last week or so it seems as if HAIF is almost dead. I'm sure alot of it has to do with the sites makeover, but it seems like a ghosttown.

Wayne? Anybody?

I am still learning how to navigate the new site and so have not been here as much. Also some of the topics I used to subscribe to seem like they have been born, lived a great life, died and then been resurrected ... it's almost like, c'mon folks ... let it die.

That said, I am back and perusing topics and making comments.

But I have been really busy at work and haven't had enough time to really post and interact like I used to during the day. By the time I get home, the last thing I really want to do is argue or go toe-to-toe with folks on this board.

LOL

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lockmat

lockmat

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I know I have stopped posting so much on HAIF for a couple of reasons...

1. Much busier at work. No time for HAIFy

2. No new projects around town to discuss

3. I feel like I'm much closer to forming my opinions about Houston related issues (rail, zoning etc) than when I first started posting 3 or 4 years ago. Most the people talking about this stuff are somewhat new. (I was them once)

4. Not as interested in topics discussed (see reason 3). I used to read almost all the threads.

5. Not many people are actually here to discuss anything.

6. More apathetic

I think a Plastic return would increase my participation

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D.J.

D.J.

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That has nothing to do with the new forum software. I made a change to the www.thehaif.com domain name to make it faster and more reliable. It will take a couple of hours for your ISP to catch up to the changes.

The main site is actually http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/ and is what you should have bookmarked. TheHAIF.com is merely a shortcut.

So "ugh" yourself.

Sorry, I know you're doing the best you can. For the record, I don't use "thehaif.com." I'm old school and type in "www.houstonarchitecture.com" each time. All of the forum links on that main home took me to the parking lot place, but it seems to be working now. I'm not sure if that info. is helpful to your troubleshooting, but I hope so!

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KimberlySayWhat

KimberlySayWhat

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I know I have stopped posting so much on HAIF for a couple of reasons...

4. Not as interested in topics discussed (see reason 3). I used to read almost all the threads.

6. More apathetic

Me too. More so #6. A lot of things are proposed and nothing comes of it. I understand some of it is because of the times, but I'm getting to where I don't care anymore. I'm losing interest.

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Dan the Man

Dan the Man

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I'm also not really interested in most of the stuff that is discussed on this forum, as most of it doesn't have much to do with architecture. I usually only end up reading the "Historic Houston" forum since it contains the least amount of opinion. I don't care about other people's opinions on issues and I know they don't care about mine, so I don't log on as frequently anymore.

Please don't interpret this post as a complaint, I'm just trying to offer some explanation for my lack of participation.

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Gary

Gary

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The reason for the lack of architectural threads is obvious. new development has all but ceased. I have cut back posting because of the constant bombardment of Dems who take it upon themselves to constantly ridicule those of us that lean toward conservatism. I used to enjoy the political debates on HAIF, but no longer. In fact, I'm sure this comment will draw heavy critisism.

I feel for Wayne because he has worked very hard for all of us to enjoy this site.

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editor

editor

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HAIF has taken kind of a strange turn over the last six to eight months or so.

Instead of a few people (five or six) dominating and commenting on every discussion, what we now have is a larger number of new and recent members who participate in a greater number of smaller discussions.

I patrol all new user registrations to keep an eye out for spammers. It used to be that people would register, but then just read the messages. We would get maybe one or two people a week who would register and immediately post a comment or take part in a discussion. Now, it's more like three or four people a day who join and immediately start posting.

I think the reason for that change is a change in the social dynamic noted above. New users are less afraid to express their opinions and ask questions than they were before. There's less chance of them being shouted down in non-political threads. Again, I think this is related to the fact that we don't have a small gang of bullies jumping ugly with every new post like we used to.

How did that happen?

I think it's a combination of two things. One, I started sanctioning experienced users more often for poor behavior. Some were of the opinion that they could do whatever they wanted on HAIF since they were long-time members. It was a perception shared by many, and one of the top complaints I used to get. After a few of the higher-posting members were slapped with Moderator Preview for bullying other users, they decided that HAIF wasn't fun anymore and moved on.

This is related to...

Reason two -- the change in View New Posts. As we went through the transition from the old form software to the new, there was some flakiness in View New Posts. As it was before, it was a great way to constantly monitor the forum for instant changes to threads and to jump in on the tail end of dozens of threads with little effort. That made it a great tool for those who would impose their views on the masses in a ruthless manner. When View New Posts changed, it became harder to conduct such stalking, and gave the bullies another incentive to move on.

At the beginning of the year, I'd guess that 5% of HAIFers were responsible for 40% of the new posts. Now I think that disparity has largely disappeared. Sure, there are always going to be heavy posters, and that's fine. But we don't have the sort of people who feel obligated to weigh in on every single thread no matter how little they know about the topic.

Gary is right -- overall traffic on HAIF is down. There are a number of reasons why:

  • The annual summer internet slowdown.
  • Bad economy has people spending less time online.
  • The majority of HAIFers HAIF from work, and many people have lost their jobs, or are afraid of losing their jobs.
  • There are still lingering effects from hurricane Ike. We haven't quite recovered to pre-Ike traffic levels.
  • Lack of external promotion of HAIF (which I hope to partially address with the new HAIF cards)
  • About six good, regular posters moved on because they were being harassed by others.
  • More aggressive promotion of TV and newspaper web sites.
  • Less media coverage. There used to be a mention of HAIF in a radio, TV, magazine, or newspaper about once a month. Not so much anymore.
  • The switch from .info to .com killed us in the search engines.
  • The forum software can be difficult for people with very old (think Windows 98 and earlier) computers.
  • The site appears visually heavier than it used to (it's not), which seems to have scared off dial-up users.
  • Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have become a competing time-sink.

We're still Houston's leading internet community. Heck, we're 30x larger than Houstonist. What Houstonist does in a month we do in a day. And while traffic is down, overall posting is up. I'm encouraged by this. Hopefully more people will contact me about HAIF cards and help spread the word about HAIF and we can return the site to its 2008 peak.

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editor

editor

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Great info Wayne.

Question: What's up with HAIF radio?

Gone. For now anyway. Money's been tight lately and I couldn't justify spending $30/month on something that didn't (and wasn't intended to) generate any revenue. I had big plans for it, but like so many plans for HAIF -- I have more plans than time to implement them. I know a lot of web sites have legions of volunteers helping out with various sections, but I've never been very good with organizing people.

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houstonmacbro

houstonmacbro

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I know the feeling. Those of us still with jobs are being stretched to do even more. Meaning even less time for HAIF or other sites. It's all I can do these days just to check my personal email 1-2 during the day.

I know I have stopped posting so much on HAIF for a couple of reasons...

1. Much busier at work. No time for HAIFy

2. No new projects around town to discuss

3. I feel like I'm much closer to forming my opinions about Houston related issues (rail, zoning etc) than when I first started posting 3 or 4 years ago. Most the people talking about this stuff are somewhat new. (I was them once)

4. Not as interested in topics discussed (see reason 3). I used to read almost all the threads.

5. Not many people are actually here to discuss anything.

6. More apathetic

I think a Plastic return would increase my participation

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