View source for A new easy-going forum

{{editorial
| datetime = 2008-12-09 07:44:00
| text = '''Around 100.000 [[Forum message|messages]] are posted in The Hattrick forums each day, and with its total count of 178.000.000 posts our [[forum]] is one of the biggest internet forums in the world. We have now made it more attractive also for new forum users to join the forum fun. Our new forum is much easier to use and understand, and if looks count – it certainly looks a lot better!'''

'''The forum is no longer separated from the rest of the game, once you enter the new forum you still have the site navigation in front of you. It doesn't come in two parts either; the old sneak-peek section has been integrated into the ordinary forum. And even though the forum has been made a lot better for new forum users, hardcore users will still find most of the functionality that made the old forum so great and also some new handy features. Read on for a guide to the new forum.'''

There's an old saying that goes "what's not posted on the Hattrick forum is not worth knowing". Ok, we made that up – but it could very well have been one! All in all, the forum is a fantastic place with a very warm and friendly atmosphere. And it actually seems there are other things in life than Hattrick worth talking about, because our forums are not only used to talk about Hattrick related topics. In fact most of the talk is about non-Hattrick related things. 

The old forum was really liked by our experienced forum users. But at the same time it was hard for new and casual forum users to use and understand it, so unfortunately only a minority of our users used the forum frequently. Our new forum looks and behaves more like any normal forum and has been especially designed to make life easier for you new and casual forum users who haven't visited the forums much earlier on. At the same time we've had good feedback from our experienced forum users during the test phase, because under the forum skin advanced forum users will find many of the features which you've grown addicted to in the old forum. 

'''A guide to the new forum'''<br>
If you visit our forum for the first time, it should be pretty self-explanatory. As mentioned, it looks and behaves like any normal forum. But under the surface there are some features and preferences that may make your forum life even more enjoyable. So, below is a full guide to the new forum. If you're an experienced Hattrick forum user we recommend you to read the "Good to know for experienced forum users" chapter below.

'''The forum front page'''<br>
On the front page you will immediately see the messages that are posted to you. You can choose to jump directly to a post, or just have a sneak-peak on what they have written. Just below you find your recently visited threads, making it easily possible to catch up where you left off. It's also on the front page you find a search for forums and your recommended forums.

'''The left menu'''<br>
When you open the forum you will see all your forums in the left menu. You can sort your preferred forum order, your forum priority, in your forum preferences page (MyHattrick > Preferences). When expanding a forum you'll see all threads in it. For each thread you'll see the total number of posts, and in orange the number of unread posts, in that thread. The left menu has three tabs (and you can set your default tab in your forum preferences):

New shows the newest threads in your forums, taking your forum sort order into consideration. In your forum preferences you can set how many thread posts you want to display.
Shortcuts shows "Threads I'm following" (threads you've posted in or have subscribed to, see below) and "Bookmarked users messages" (threads where your bookmarked users have posted).<br>
All does what you think it does; it shows all your forums. 

'''Find and add a forum'''<br>
To find and add a forum to your forums there's a search tool on the front page, you can also choose from your recommended forums on the front page. When you click on a forum you will read that forum as a guest. To join the forum, click on "join forum" in the left menu. If you wish to leave a forum you do this from your forum preferences page.

'''The read area'''<br>
When you click a thread the posts will open in the main area, and you use the arrows to browse from page to page. You can set how many posts per page you want in your forum preferences. If you don't like to scroll to the end of the page you can add a scrollbar to your read area in your forum preferences. Your read area will then automatically adjust to your screen size. You can actually also choose to add a scrollbar to the left menu if you want.

The dropdown at the top of thread where it says "show all posts" by default can be used to see who've posted in that thread, and also filter the posts from a specific user.

'''Subscribing and bookmarked users'''<br>
You can choose to subscribe to a certain thread, that thread will then be displayed in your shortcuts tab which will make it easier for you to continue reading it. If you post in a thread that thread will automatically be marked as subscribed.

If you bookmark a user, any thread he/she posts in will also be automatically shown in your shortcuts tab. 

'''Avatars and signatures'''<br>
Our Supporters have the possibility to set both an avatar and a signature. If you don't like them you can turn them off in your forum preferences. Signatures can also be truncated if you want, meaning only 50 characters are shown.

'''Ignoring threads (and users)'''<br>
You can ignore threads from the left menu clicking the x icon. You will also find the ignore function at the top of each thread. Ignored threads can however be found when expanding a forum and choosing "show ignored threads". It's also possible to ignore a certain user and his/her posts will then not be displayed when reading.

'''Good to know for experienced forum users'''<br>
We think you'll shortly find your way around the new forum as well. In short one can say that there are two major changes apart from the new look: Sneak-peek has been integrated into the ordinary forum and the old priority system has been replaced by a better (yes, actually!) one. Sorting your forums in your forum preferences is also the first thing we recommend you to do (don't forget to save). Here's some other valuable info for you:

* You'll find the old sneak-peek features on the front page (messages to me) and in the shortcut tab.
* Forum priority (high/low) has been replaced by a new priority system (sort order) where you now can sort your forums as you wish.
* Thread priority (high/low) has been replaced by subscribed threads (shown in shortcuts tab) and ignored threads.
* Bookmarked users posts (which earlier became high priority) are now shown by themselves in the shortcuts tab.

And as you're used to the frames we'll mention it again: If you don't like to scroll to the bottom of page you can add a scrollbar to both the menu and the read area in your forum preferences.
| author = HT-Tjecken
}}