Is RIB NET FINISHED??

[Nasher]

It's good to see I'm not alone in some of my thoughts about the site.

Yes the cost of Fuel must be putting some off, personally I've swapped my old DT200EFI out for an almost as old 225Opti with the hope of better fuel economy at cruising speeds, but life, a motorcycle accident, and work has got in the way so I've not tried it yet.
Although I don't think I'll be anywhere near 1l a mile at any speed.
However I'm mid plan for for some much cheaper, and in many ways more fun boating, so watch this space.

I do feel quite strongly that an update to the site would make it appeal more to some 'Younger viewers'.
When I joined up, 20yrs in Jan 24, it was cutting edge, but now feels old and lacking in features compared to the newer formats I use on a couple of Motorcycle forums.
Compare this to Ribnet:
https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/thread...ect-999.87890/

I don't do FB, Twitter etc, and don't plan too, but some stuff that's migrated out to forums can work well.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Nasher

When I joined up, 20yrs in Jan 24, it was cutting edge, but now feels old and lacking in features compared to the newer formats I use on a couple of Motorcycle forums.
Compare this to Ribnet:
https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/thread...ect-999.87890/.

Hi Nasher, I must be missing something as I didn't see much difference. Like you I don't do any social media, so I'm probably not the best at judging the way sites operate or spotting any difference.
Pictures embedded within the text looks better and is a feature I would like to see, without having to go through a picture hosting site. But apart from that, what else was different?
Does it operate more like a chat site, ie: instant updates and replies?

[Pikey Dave]

We’re going to see some friends this weekend, we haven’t seen them since late last year, minimal comms in between, we send the occasional WhatsApp etc but that’s it. When we meet up, it’ll be like we’ve never been apart, we’ll just pickup where we left off. No guilt on either side about the radio silence.
My point, Ribnet is that old friend that you say hello to as & when. It isn’t FB/Twatter (or whatever it refers to itself these days). People have become accustomed to the constant, inane stream of shite that seems to fill Social Media. If they don’t see Ribnet pop up in their notifications a dozen times a day, then it must be “Dead”.
Ribnet is generally a one trick pony, in that, generally it only covers one subject, it’s niche. We don’t do kittens, latest grandkids, call each other “hun” or “like” each other
Long May it last, in whatever new outfit it’s dressed up in.

[Nasher]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Hi Nasher, I must be missing something as I didn't see much difference. Like you I don't do any social media, so I'm probably not the best at judging the way sites operate or spotting any difference.
Pictures embedded within the text looks better and is a feature I would like to see, without having to go through a picture hosting site. But apart from that, what else was different?
Does it operate more like a chat site, ie: instant updates and replies?

The pictures embedded without a hosting site is the big one, but to me the format feels fresher and easier to use.

The front page looks more professional and 'Managed' with trending threads etc.
https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/
I think this is what attracts the commercial uses to invest in it.

The controversial thing is the Like, Agree etc buttons.
I like them because it keeps some threads a bit cleaner and keeps the number of off-topic posts down.

It is also free to use if required, but with some payed for upgrades.
However the free Halfords trade discount card available if you subscribe for just one year have saved me a lot over the years.

[Steve509926]

I suppose it's each to their own. I find the Ribnet site easy and very intuitive to use. I think some of the threads could be updated quicker, but I presume that is more to do with the speed of the server.

However, please, please let's not go down the "like" route.
I can just imagine some of the sh1t that would be posted by some members just to get "likes"

If you agree, please use the like button below......... Opps!

[A1an]

I find Tapatalk a much easier way of using Ribnet.

[User name]

I've been on/off browsing here for maybe 15 years or more and I remember when it used to be much busier, though thats a common theme across forums/message boards in general.

I do think this place would benefit from some improvement though. It's not great on the higher res monitors that are common these days and it doesn't utilise much of the space available, leaving content very narrow. It doesn't work well on mobile browsers either. The vBulletin build is 10+ years old and there have been a lot of optimisations since then.

A dark theme would be nice and it would be great to have dedicated image hosting instead only using of off-site URL embeds.
Adding social sign-ups as a registration option would really streamline the new user process and improve security, recovery etc.

There's some other basic things like meta descriptions needing work and favicons missing that could improve the appearance and ranking of the site too.

[Nasher]

A lot of that went straight over my head User name, but I'm sure I'd agree with it.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by nasher

a lot of that went straight over my head user name, but i'm sure i'd agree with it.:d

+ 1

[User name]

Originally Posted by Nasher

A lot of that went straight over my head User name, but I'm sure I'd agree with it.

Yeah, maybe that sounds a bit overly technical, but here's just a quick UI example of a screenshot from a modern laptop screen.

How it is now,


How I use it.


That's just a few examples of UI stuff that make it nicer to use. It doesn't address functional issues like the image hosting and how well the site responds to mobile browsers and so on.

[kerfoo]

This seems like a lively discussion on if the website is finished. Ergo, not finished.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by kerfoo

This seems like a lively discussion on if the website is finished. Ergo, not finished.