Obsidian Portal Launch Feedback

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  • MarkGiguere
    MarkGiguere
    Posts: 53
    @JDarkShadow

    1: the page width is changeable. Go to Settings. In the Advanced Tab, you wil have Content Max Width. Enter a value that you like. I have 1600, for example.
  • Savannah
    Savannah
    Posts: 188 edited November 2013
    In addition to MarkGiguere's suggestion, I also figured out a way to widen the central column by narrowing the right side column (as the content there really doesn't need the space it has, in my opinion). On one of my sites, I have it so that it affects only the wiki pages, so you can compare the "normal":https://ageofworms-ap.obsidianportal.com/ to the "adjusted":https://ageofworms-ap.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page. Now, of course, this only adjusts what's already in the content area, while MarkGiguere's solution adjusts how wide the whole content area is. If you're interested in my solution, the code is as follows:

    bc. .wiki-page-show #sidebar {width:10%; min-width:50px;}
    .wiki-page-show .main-content-container {width:90% !important; min-width:300px;}

    I would imagine you can also combine the two, although I haven't tested it. Hope this helps :)
    Post edited by Savannah on
  • schiann
    schiann
    Posts: 19
    I just need to vent about the poor communication from OP about what's been fixed and what hasn't and what the priorities are.

    I don't understand why a public ticketing system isn't being used for submitting and tracking bugs and issues. This would allow me to follow the tickets that affect my campaign versus logging in to test them every couple days or skimming through this forum topic's 500+ comments to see if anyone else is having the same problem, if OP has said anything about fixing it, or if other users have a simple work around. This would also make it clear to users and to OP what's an issue for everyone and what's malfunctioning only in iOS, for instance. It seems users have wanted to address the Reforge issues using the implicit ticketing of the problems section in the help area, but OP has been closing those discussions and redirecting users back to this massive forum topic.

    At this point, I only have one issue with the Reforge (future Adventure Log dates), but my campaign's starting next week and I need to know whether it's going to be addressed or not and, if so, in what time frame. Just to see a prioritized punch list would be helpful. It would feel like progress. The response OP's given about this issue is that they're not willing to provide an ETA, which is just stretching my frustration out over a longer period than if they'd just said this feature was killed.

    Somehow I missed the Kickstarter for the Reforge, so my experience has been that a service I pay for has relaunched itself with fewer features, without user input, with lame excuses for not glancing through existing campaigns to see how users were using the existing service, and with no option to roll back to the old version.
  • dawnhawk
    dawnhawk
    Posts: 113
    Vent away, however...

    1) OP is in the process of hiring a Customer Service Rep to improve the communication. You can find this information on their blog, their twitter account, their facebook account, and in this forum. And quite likely their podcast, though I haven't listened to it, so I can't verify that. All of these things are linked in the footer of your dashboard of any of your campaigns or on the main page of Obsidian portal. So I won't bother linking them here.

    2) They have a ticket system, and have...since long before the reforge, and are utilizing it. You can view those tickets "here":http://help.obsidianportal.com/discussions as well as create your own, etc. This is ALSO linked with the above mentioned resources - however I find the term 'help' tends to get people lost for some reason, so I've linked it directly...

    I don't believe there is a prioritized list. Granted - aside from a system that I am working on, and therefore and part of setting said priority...I don't think I've ever seen a prioritized list for a 3rd party system. Only changelogs after the fact. But you could ask, I suppose.

    Hope some of that helps!
  • Basileus
    Basileus
    Posts: 585 edited November 2013
    +1 to schiann's summation of the Reforge, and Praesi's description as well.

    I think the fundamental underlying problem (rather than specific issues with the new site, many of which have been or are being addressed) is/was the lack of professionalism and customer service associated with the Reforge. With many pre-existing, paying subscribers and having raised $86,000 for this project specifically, there should have been testing, communication, a rollback plan, etc... Having worked for a company that provided web-based (among other) services for a customer base far beyond its staff size, I know first hand that it is possible to do regular web deployments properly with limited resources.

    All that said, I'm still around for the moment, though I've been taking a break. Largely because you can't cancel a subscription without immediately losing all Ascendant benefits, even if you've already paid for a full year - clever that...

    I honestly don't know whether I want to maintain my subscription or even activity on the site, so right now I'm just leaving things as they are and seeing what happens.
    Post edited by Basileus on
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    Thanks for the level headed responses, that makes a lot of sense.

    @Praesi - That's a pretty great description you've got there, and I don't think you're too far off. I just feel like people have been acting like the landlord didn't give you five months notice that they were going to do that. I understand that the landlord didn't explain WHAT they were going to do, and when it wasn't people liked or expected it, then it can be frustrating. (And I totally agree that some things weren't/aren't better than they were before, I don't want to discount that).

    @Basileus - I'm not disagreeing, but as I understand it, there were reforge backers that had access to things that were going on and such? Perhaps that didn't occur like I thought it was going to. And as far as I'm aware there was never a demo roll-out of the site on a secondary domain for those beta-testers to check out? That definitely could've saved a lot of problems. On the other hand, I've worked on some complex campaigns on here, and I actually like the re-design for the most part, even though it did some damage to my sites. There are a lot of things that I didn't utilize that other people have though, and so I've had a different experience I think.

    I'm just glad to see that people are not attacking each other again, so hopefully we can have some purposeful discussion about what works and what didn't :).

    Thanks for your explanations though guys, it's starting to help paint a clearer picture. :)
  • schiann
    schiann
    Posts: 19
    @dawnhawk,

    1) I guess I expect push notifications (i.e., email) from service providers, whereas OP expects me to find the information about important service changes (i.e., the Reforge). If I hadn't tried logging into OP using my Google account one time, I wouldn't have received any notification about the Reforge at all.

    Call me cynical, but I see hiring a part-time virtual CSR as a way to put a buffer between the devs and the complaints. Rhetorical question: If the devs aren't motivated to respond to paying users, how is a low-paid underling going to motivate them to respond? This project needs a full-time on-site PM, not a part-time virtual CSR.

    2) I've had four issues with the Reforge, and here's what's happened with the supposed ticket system:

    Problem: Banner size changed
    Response: OP referred to the Forums and closed the ticket.
    Ticket URL: http://help.obsidianportal.com/discussions/problems/10666-banner-image-rescaled-other-images-not-showing
    Eventual Resolution: The Settings area specifies 994px wide x 199px high.

    Problem: Subforums removed
    Response: OP referred to this Forum Discussion and closed the ticket.
    Ticket URL: http://help.obsidianportal.com/discussions/problems/10724-what-happened-to-forum-layout
    Eventual Resolution: Subforums were reinstated.

    Problem: Type-in adventure-log date fields disabled
    Response: OP declined to provide an ETA and closed the ticket.
    Ticket URL: http://help.obsidianportal.com/discussions/problems/10930-setting-an-adventure-log-date-time
    Eventual Resolution: None yet.

    Problem: Dice roller removed
    Response: OP recommended other services and closed the ticket.
    Ticket URL: http://help.obsidianportal.com/discussions/questions/1129-no-dice-roller
    Eventual Resolution: None yet.

    I am comparing that to the support forums and bug reporting systems for Mozilla, Wordpress, Microsoft, etc. Typically there is a list of known issues and some indication whether a work-around is available or in progress (or not happening). The better support forums allow users to click a button to be counted as having the problem, and the better bug tracking systems show whether or not a bug's been assigned to a dev. More "we appreciate your understanding" chatter from a CSR is not going to answer my questions.

    I hesitate to use the word "unprofessional" because I don't want to make any personal attacks, but let's just say that there's a website relaunch process better devs have been following for a few years and I don't see any signs of that process here.
  • Teak_Dhara
    Teak_Dhara
    Posts: 61
    I am the GM of 6 campaigns. I log into the site through internet explorer and hit the dashboard to see all of the campaigns. For all but one I can enter the site and use the forums etc. However, one of them thinks that I am not logged in and any attempt to log with the frontpage displayed doesn't "take". Ok, weird, so I try to log in through Chrome and all of the links work and I can access all of my campaigns. So basically, when using internet explorer I can't actually use one of my campaigns. Rebooting the computer didn't solve the problem and it has existed for days. One of my players also reported the same problem. Anyone else have that issue?

    Another gripe is on the ipad... it used to be that you could scroll very fast by flicking your finger to move the screen up and down to see the adventure log and forum posts. However, after the Reforge, the fast scrolling no longer works. It is brutally slow and painful to scroll on the site through an ipad or iphone. Is that something that is coded into the webpage?
  • Jehzavere
    Jehzavere
    Posts: 4
    Hello, everyone!

    My name is Jess, and I have been hired as your new support representative. I'll give you all a proper introduction later, but wanted to let you all know what my immediate plans were.

    First thing on my agenda is to get right into working support tickets and resolving what I can on my own. I've been going through the forum threads so I can fully document everyone's concerns and frustrations and will be providing updates as I have them available, so I ask for everyone's continued patience while I get everything sorted out.

    I'm also a GM and Player and Obsidian Portal is the service used for those Campaigns, so I understand the changes everyone is experiencing. I have many years of professional experience in technical support and technical training and plan to use that to serve this community.

    I apologize to everyone who's been wanting more constant communication, but I am here to help you all now. I want to especially give a big THANK YOU to the community members who have taken the time to help one another out. You are all great and make me proud to be a member of this site.

    Don't hesitate to let me know what I can do to assist you. I'll be doing my part to transition into things as quickly as possible and provide the support you all deserve for your patience.
  • madartiste
    madartiste
    Posts: 328
    Thanks, Jess! I have no doubt you'll be a big help to the community.
  • Omegabase
    Omegabase
    Posts: 41
    Savannah: thanks for the tip! Makes a huge difference on my content-heavy wiki...opened up a lot of screen real estate. Example: https://gamma-world-2754.obsidianportal.com/wikis/artifacts.

    That's the first custom stuff i've used and it did the trick, repeating here for anyone with same needs:

    bc..wiki-page-show #sidebar {width:10%; min-width:50px;}
    .wiki-page-show .main-content-container {width:90% !important; min-width:300px;}

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Arcanearth

    Gammaworld 2754

  • GamingMegaverse
    GamingMegaverse
    Posts: 2,998
    Welcome Jess! Please give us a link to your campaign so we can check it out!
    Please feel free to reach out to us if there is something that you cannot solve- this is a great community, and we all try to help each other out!!
    killervp
    "A God...Rebuilt":https://a-god-rebuilt.obsidianportal.com
    "OP's COTM April 2012":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/a-god-rebuilt-aprils-cotm/
    Here to help anyone- Send me a PM

    Just trying to help out.

  • Savannah
    Savannah
    Posts: 188
    Looks like your sidebar is being pushed down rather than shrunk, Omegabase, and I suspect it's because of a really stupid typo I made -- the bc. part of that code was just to make it look like code on the forums and I left out a space so it didn't do its formatting thing. The correct code really should be

    bc. .wiki-page-show #sidebar {width:10%; min-width:50px;}
    .wiki-page-show .main-content-container {width:90% !important; min-width:300px;}

    See if that shrinks the sidebar correctly -- if not, I'll need to go poking around to see what's up with it.
  • bluesguy
    bluesguy
    Posts: 127
    schiann: _Call me cynical, but I see hiring a part-time virtual CSR as a way to put a buffer between the devs and the complaints. Rhetorical question: If the devs aren't motivated to respond to paying users, how is a low-paid underling going to motivate them to respond? This project needs a full-time on-site PM, not a part-time virtual CSR._

    Ok you are cynical :-) And dead wrong.

    As someone with almost 30 years of software development experience both as a developer and a PM, what is needed is a CSR to provide the buffer between developers and the 'noise' on these forums. Developers are not motivated by hearing how much everything they have been working on doesn't meet your expectations. And piling it on is even less helpful.

    It looks like the CSR that has been hired has a good idea about what should be done - based on her post.

    I would like to make the following suggestions to Jess and OP in general concerning the bugs/issues people are reporting and communication:
    # Set a severity on the bugs - good article here "http://quality-intelligence.blogspot.com/2010/08/bug-severity-vs-priority.html":http://quality-intelligence.blogspot.com/2010/08/bug-severity-vs-priority.html
    # Come up with a few Service Levels of agreement so that everyone knows - any bug turned in with be assessed in x hours (say 24 hours). The team should then tell the person reporting the bug if there is a workaround, severity, and expected completion date.
    # Bug trend chart that shows bugs coming in, their current state and close rate. This will help build confidence that things are getting worked off.
    # Stop accepting bugs anywhere other than the official bug tracking tool. Close down any threads on the forum that are about bugs. Why? The team needs one source of truth.

    That's my 0.02 on this.
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006
    Hello Jess, good to meet you.

    Best of luck as you take things forward. I'm sure it is a big challenge but also one that will reap great personal rewards as you develop your strategy and begin to address some of the community concerns. I will wait till you are ready but one of the things I think will be very helpful is a sticky thread of Issues with their status and resolution in short point form. It is so easy to get lost in the sea of information.

    "That HOBBIT is close now!"

    twiggyleaf
    CURRENT CAMPAIGN: "Mysteria":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/mysteria - set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
    Previous CotM Aug 2012: "Shimring":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shimring

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • JackMunchkin
    JackMunchkin
    Posts: 8
    Hi, I just became an Ascendant. I don't want to type in code or whatever CSS mentioned above, I don't have time for that. I am currently updating my Campaign and noticed 2 "bugs" :
    Seems Uploading images doesn't work anymore (or is there a size limit ?)
    Sending email options seems stuck on myself and one player. I have to deselect / select players for every update I make as the system seems not to memorize the config I put on email updates.

    Please fix it.

    Thanks
  • Savannah
    Savannah
    Posts: 188
    Regarding the email options, the system does not memorize the configuration because it's set by individual account. If you edit your profile, down at the very bottom there is an option to either automatically receive or not receive emails, and it sounds like you and that one player have it on, while the other players have it off.
  • Teak_Dhara
    Teak_Dhara
    Posts: 61
    What gives? Did OP remove the "edit forum posts" button today? I hate the fact that OP has never let us edit adventure log posts (still have never heard a "why" for that) nor can we upload images into comments (which is crucial for running round by round combat), so I have had to use the forums to run adventures. But now OP has removed the "edit" button from forums (and yes I am logged in). This is the last straw.
  • saethone
    saethone
    Posts: 153
    Not sure what you mean Montana, I just checked and nothing has changed from what I can see, I was able to edit an adventure log post, comment, and forum post with no problem.
  • Teak_Dhara
    Teak_Dhara
    Posts: 61 edited November 2013
    Forums used to be editable but now for two of my campaigns the little icon button that looked like a piece of paper with a pen (that allowed me to edit a forum post) is gone (and yes I am logged in). I have one campaign that I am the GM for that no matter how I log into the site doesn't think I am logged in and I can even see the forum. My players are also reporting the same error. You cannot (nor have we ever been able to add images into the comments of adventure logs.) I did just check and SOME of my adventure logs now have an editing button back on the "comments" but not all of my campaigns (that is a welcomed new feature but why isn't it available on all of my campaigns (I am ascended). So why would some of my campaigns have editing features and others do not?

    I just checked one of my campaigns and SOME of my forums posts can be edited and others can't ---- so darn frustrating!
    Post edited by Teak_Dhara on
  • saethone
    saethone
    Posts: 153
    I can't think of any reason why some would work and others wouldn't, they all use the same code.

    On the ones that aren't working, do you have any custom css that has .icon-edit or .edit-post-link in it?

    Also, the edit icons only appear when you mouse over the post you want to edit...they are also light gray so if you have a light background they may be difficult to see.
  • SkidAce
    SkidAce
    Posts: 830
    I have mentioned the "sometime edit sometime not" problem at least twice in the forums.

    It is still occuring, and I have not modified anything concerning icons or edits that I am aware of.

    "Here":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=3414&Focus=28302#Comment_28302 and "here":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=3394&Focus=28228#Comment_28228
  • Teak_Dhara
    Teak_Dhara
    Posts: 61
    I am not using any CSS codes nor have I changed any settings. So, for example, in my Traveller Campaign, this forum works for editing https://clarkes-third-law.obsidianportal.com/forum/betty-rose
    but this one doesn't https://clarkes-third-law.obsidianportal.com/forum/adventure-log-current#post-470451
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006
    I had the same problem as Montana a couple of weeks ago, but then it seemed to rectify itself, so I thought it was a temporary glitch. I am not having the same problem at the moment though.

    twigs

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • Pils
    Pils
    Posts: 149
    Hi,

    Apparently, anybody can upload a new map on every campaign, whether you are or not DM, player, fan... etc. I'm not worried about that, but it's strange, no?

    -Pils
    "Dark Sun -- La Décade des Héros":https://dark-sun-a-trova.obsidianportal.com/: Face the Fire of the Dark Sun... a World ravaged by Sorcery!

    -Pils

    Dark Sun ● La Décade des Héros : Face the Fire of the Dark Sun... a World ravaged by Sorcery! (CotM - Dec 2012)

    Les Royaumes Oubliés : A D&D 5e old school style Forgotten Realms campaign!

    (And I'm so soooorry for my poor english...)

  • SkidAce
    SkidAce
    Posts: 830
    Yeah I almost did it to one of the campaign of the months before I realized. Sent him a message but since I didn't actually punch the button, it didn't change anything.
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006
    I have found the same problem that Montana brought up is persisting. I have a Forum thread that I delete every now and again to keep it current. However, as discussed above, some of the posts I am able to EDIT and some I am not. Does anybody know if this is currently being addressed or not?

    twigs

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • madartiste
    madartiste
    Posts: 328
    Looks like there's a few tickets in the help area about it: "Here's one":http://help.obsidianportal.com/discussions/questions/1135-deletingediting-posts-on-campaign-forum and "Here's another":http://help.obsidianportal.com/discussions/problems/11409-forum-editing-issue

    I'm going on the assumption that everyone reporting their problems in an organized fashion in the help ticket area would work best, but I know the devs have been keeping an eye on this thread too.
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006
    Thanks, I have added to Baldilock's ticket!

    twigs

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • Jehzavere
    Jehzavere
    Posts: 4
    Thanks for the welcome, everyone!

    For those that asked, the URL of the Exalted campaign that I GM is here: https://northsky.obsidianportal.com/. It is a local, monthly campaign but my players seem to be enjoying it so far!

    For those of you reporting additional issues, if you haven't already, make sure you get tickets created on these. While I will be watching the forums, I don't want anything in a thread to be accidentally overlooked since my focus is going to be helping get through tickets for a while.
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