the dead zone

[jpreou]

I can relate to other posters;

1. I'm a GA only kind of guy and my flying is either 'follow the magenta line' on my world trip in the Baytower Vans RV-7A (which I just recently got working again in P3Dv2.4), albeit with a little extra planning around mountains, fuel & endurance, heights. Otherwise I'm flying 'properly' VFR in NZ using real charts, real flight planning etc. This helps me with my RL flying. That is usually in the RV, or sometimes in a microlight, since that is what I fly; a microlight. So I use Ants Drifter to get close to what I need, though I fly either an X-Air or B22 IRL. Ants Drifter is about the same speed.

2. I visit often, post rarely. Sorry! Thjere are some, um, 'characters' on this site, and sometimes the discussion 'develops' into a speech mode I simply can't follow! I often give up on the thread at that point.

Even so, old format : new format : not bothered. I don't believe the lack of interest or activity has anything specifically to do with the format...

[Ian Warren]

2. I visit often, post rarely. Sorry! Thjere are some, um, 'characters' on this site, and sometimes the discussion 'develops' into a speech mode I simply can't follow! I often give up on the thread at that point.

Some speak in long tongue, I simply speak Ianglish, I'm quick short and to the point , none of this sleepy Jibber Jibber!

[Charl]

Like Trolly I mean Ardy, I drift by every now and then to see what's up.
Most forums have a "Lightup" system, where topics with new content are in bold or whatever: go see AVSIM, flightsim or SOH, they all do this.

The new format here makes it very hard to identify what's current; I found this thread by going to
Board index » Non Flightsim Related » Off Topic
to see if there was anything interesting, not because the post jumped out at me.

It needs addressing, people (and not just Gen X/Y) want Instant Gratification, otherwise just drift off.

As to simming: I am delighted to announce renewed interest in FS2004 (which I espouse).
I see more and more newbies appearing on the FS2004 forums, as well as returning oldies.
I generally post unashamedly to entice more into the fold, and there just may be a new generation of simmers ready to experience the comprehensive simming experience that is NZ FS9.5.

All that is needed is a state of the art NZAA and I might start Doing Stuff again... and don't give me that crap about "It's too hard to cater for other sims"... Properly planned, 80% of the effort can be common, and then split off to FS9, Effeh Sex, XPlicit, or PeeD3.
Look to those who have done this, they are not Rocket Scientists.

[toprob]

...
The new format here makes it very hard to identify what's current; I found this thread by going to
Board index » Non Flightsim Related » Off Topic
to see if there was anything interesting, not because the post jumped out at me.
...

A couple of posts here have mentioned this, so it would be worthwhile looking at. But every forum I visit, I always go in through the 'unread posts' or 'active posts' link. This is always the link I have bookmarked, so that generally visiting the home page of a forum is more of an afterthought. When I start my browser, it will load up a number of forum tabs, all showing unread posts.

The one problem I have here is that I can't 'mark all as read' from the list of unread posts, I have to return to the home page.

[J7G]

I haven't forgotten this thread (or ignored it!). I'll post a reply when I get home after work tonight.

[toprob]

I've just had a thought, which I'll put here as it is kind of following the theme.

As I've said, my browser is set up so that when I start it, it will open up tabs showing unread posts on this forum, the FSDeveloper forum, and Avsim. My phone, using Tapatalk, also defaults to the 'unread' tab here, which is very useful, but the Windows 8 app, which I use on both my main PC and my tablet, seems to default to the first tab on the list.

So the FSDeveloper site defaults to 'home', which is quite useful, but I still have to click on 'unread' to get where I want to be. NZFF defaults to 'notifications', which doesn't serve much purpose for me. I wonder if these tab headings can be edited in the forum Tapatalk settings so that 'unread' was at the top?
Note that 'notifications' generally, well, notify me when they appear, so although they are useful, they are not often my preferred landing spot on the forum, I just have them beep at me when they come through.

And of course, still on the subject of getting to the best bits easily, you can use the RSS button on each subforum to track new posts, if you are an RSS sort of person. (Does anyone use RSS any more? I do, but generally for author's sites, and things like that, which I'm less likely to visit often.)

[deeknow]

And of course, still on the subject of getting to the best bits easily, you can use the RSS button on each subforum to track new posts, if you are an RSS sort of person. (Does anyone use RSS any more? I do, but generally for author's sites, and things like that, which I'm less likely to visit often.)

Hey Rob. Sorry don't know how configurable the Tapatalk thing is, but to answer the above.. yep ... I'm a long time RSS feeder and got my own equivalent of Google Reader running using the web app tt-rss (tiny tiny RSS), works well, great way to keep up with the news feeds I'm interested in, flightsim included.

[Ian Warren]

My reasons for not posting much anymore:
-FSX is a dead dodo and my interest has moved to DCS.

-This forum is mostly about posting pretty pictures rather than flight simming most of the time.

-Any topics other than those are often people having rants about irrational things.

Truthfully, you have to contribute before you can say anything, today I took a break , edited Whanangui or without the 'H' then headed into MOT to finish or restart AGNs whiles waiting from confirmation to upload photo-real Waiuoru with a airfield update ..

The pretty pictures .. where you be with out them , I look at it this way , its encouraging , .. other side off the coin .. before you brought the DCS gear .. Where would you have been checking out the "pretty pictures" .

I have done scenery now almost 20 years .. One thing I said myself years back so many people did superb aircraft models , New Zealand was a dead spot as far as scenery was concerned, So think, believe .. things happen , only by the ones who do the work and its FREE !

[Naki]

My lack of posting has been caused by a number of factors:
A brilliant summer which has made me been guilty about been inside, massive amount of time on kids sports (especially rowing & cricket which are a new sports for two of my kids), a frustrating time trying to get my sim from not crashing, a horrible pop up virus on my PC, the change of forums which has taken me a while to get used to after using the old forum for 9 or so years and just a general lost of interest in simming at the moment. I'm still around though ... keeping up to date with things

[Ian Warren]

My lack of posting has been caused by a number of factors:
A brilliant summer which has made me been guilty about been inside, massive amount of time on kids sports (especially rowing & cricket which are a new sports for two of my kids),

Paul 'its a dirty job' , looking after family first , very sure most of us have you covered

[emfrat]

It's not dead, it will come around again. As I pointed out elsewhere, total membership is pretty good, considering the available population, when you compare NZFF, CBFS, and CalClassic.
Many of our members are kids of our age, but most others have jobs, families to support (including teenagers to feed ) and the many other things which intrude on the hobby. No need to panic.
I don't know what if any stats Doug keeps, but I think NZFF is doing alright.

[Ian Warren]

It's not dead, ................... but I think NZFF is doing alright.

Gotta see what I'm working on so YEAH ! ... cooking the pot , trouble is most don't appreciate it and you wonder why ... story is step up to the plate get in the game and keep going

[emfrat]

NZFF is the only forum I know of, to suss out how to do carrier-based MPs like we did yesty

[Ian Warren]

NZFF is the only forum I know of, to suss out how to do carrier-based MPs like we did yesty

Dose it for me , To ready trying things out , check and test , go that way or the other to get a result .

[Ian Warren]

Best thing about it is using TS, come up with answers and from there sharing IP's to check each other then go the other direction, part in parcel with Multi-play , something I tried doing last night running my laptop , think I need to shut down the other PCs to trick MSFS to run properly.

[J7G]

My reasons for not posting much anymore:

-FSX is a dead dodo and my interest has moved to DCS.
-This forum is mostly about posting pretty pictures rather than flight simming most of the time.
-Any topics other than those are often people having rants about irrational things.
...

Hit the nail on the head. Given that from memory the 'C' in DCS stands for 'combat', though, there will always be a need for a home for us non-combatants, so how about signing up to write a DCS blog? If you can't beat 'em...

If you do, I'll stop my rants:)

Actually, that's something I've mentioned, the 'grumpy old bar...d' bias here, which could easily be dealt with, by being drowned out by a younger bunch.

Yeah I do agree there is a need for non combatants. If DCS had a good ATC system and some GA aircraft I think more people would get into it from FSX since the physics and the way the aircraft operate is so much more realistics than FSX. I can't speak for Prepared.

What kind of stuff would you want on a DCS blog? I could probably do it.

I thought i just posted a reply to all this ... but i don't think i clicked on " post" so without wanting to go thru the whole thing again , the guts of it was ....
I never meant to insinuate that the forum was compulsory .... and if posting "pretty" pictures is a crime , well lock me up ... because thats what i enjoy , and the stats from the old forum back that up.
Horse's for courses i think .
I most certainly did not mean to make members feel they need to justify not being here.
This forum , has been , and is,a sanctuary for me ... those that know me will know what i mean .
I've been told off , had posts removed ... and i 100% agree with those actions ... i have ranted irrationally ... and apologized ... but , i have also been counselled , and supported here through some bloody hard times .
I have also made some great friends .... and i was worried that this maybe coming to an end ... nothing more .

So , please , go where you feel comfortable , do what you enjoy ... and enjoy it.
I really struggle to maintain 100% concentration most of the time (driving for example is becoming harder and harder) ... but here (forum) Im ok ... i was just trying to protect that , selfish i know .... but , thats how it is these days for me.

I'm not saying the pretty pictures are a bad thing I'm saying that is a reason I don't post much anymore- because there isn't a hell of a lot of discussion outside of those. Don't think my post was a hatchet job on you, either. It was certainly not.

I do think that if most people came to the forum they'd probably not be interested in screenshots so they'd migrate out.

My reasons for not posting much anymore:
-FSX is a dead dodo and my interest has moved to DCS.

-This forum is mostly about posting pretty pictures rather than flight simming most of the time.

-Any topics other than those are often people having rants about irrational things.

Truthfully, you have to contribute before you can say anything, today I took a break , edited Whanangui or without the 'H' then headed into MOT to finish or restart AGNs whiles waiting from confirmation to upload photo-real Waiuoru with a airfield update ..

The pretty pictures .. where you be with out them , I look at it this way , its encouraging , .. other side off the coin .. before you brought the DCS gear .. Where would you have been checking out the "pretty pictures" .

I have done scenery now almost 20 years .. One thing I said myself years back so many people did superb aircraft models , New Zealand was a dead spot as far as scenery was concerned, So think, believe .. things happen , only by the ones who do the work and its FREE !

I can't tell if you're saying I haven't contributed to the forum or that I need to contribute more to irrational rants. FYI even when I was still into FSX the discussion here was still lacking a bit.

Again, don't take that post as some kind of personal attack. It is not.

[Ian Warren]

I can't tell if you're saying I haven't contributed to the forum or that I need to contribute more to irrational rants. FYI even when I was still into FSX the discussion here was still lacking a bit.

I look at it this way, every forum has the same sort off content, that is what builds the community, here you get the real mc'coys the dreamers and the working bees.

Again, don't take that post as some kind of personal attack. It is not.

Hells no .. biggest thing with typing it can be reed in a different ways, ... I guess its not until you actually meet the people behind the keyboard or chat then you understand exactly how his/her brain case works.

PS: You have just contributed .. food for thought for everyone on the forum.

[gojozoom]

Quick update from me:

I raised a second (more aggressive and demanding) support ticket with Freeparking regarding these annoying performance issues. The good thing is: I found the silver bullet. They've never admitted to it and it was difficult to prove but finally, the site produced a "Ran out of resources" error message So they can't blame the forum software now. Anyways, I'll keep you in the loop.

I have another note, please don't take this the wrong way. A lot of "issues" mentioned in the thread regarding the new format is not an actual issue with the forum - I'm not trying to save my bacon here, but these issues are not Forum issues really. This forum software is highly personalizable (I know this word doesn't exist but you know what I mean) to your liking. You can virtually make it look almost exactly like how it was before.

I have 2 examples that were mentioned in the thread: 1) the default start page is "notifications" and 2) the new posts being difficult to find (I hope I didn't misunderstand these questions). I'm not sure what you meant with the notification page but if I just type "nzff.org" in the browser it comes up with the board index as it should.

Anyways, here is a tip that could solve both:

1) Type nzff.org in your browser
2) Click on "View new Posts" on the top of the Board Index
3) Bookmark the page as NZFF
4) Now whenever you open the bookmark it'll list all the Topics that have posts that you haven't read before. To go to the actual post directly, click on the small "play" button next to the Topic title, that'll take you to the first post you haven't read.

Of course, for all this, you have to be logged in as that's the only way the forum software knows what you have or haven't read.

Apologize if I misunderstood the requests.

Also, as I mentioned before please PM me if you have any questions/issues with the forum. I'll reply in a couple of days max. I only received 3 PMs since the cut-over.

Also, you can find the Forum manual here: https://www.phpbb.com/support/docs/en/3 ... cafd97a369

Cheers
Dan

[toprob]

I'd hate to see people being turned off by the almost inevitable movement of a fairly stagnant community towards the 'whippersnapper' reaction:
'Come back when you've got something valuable to say.'
'Have some respect for your elders.'
'He'll be fine once he's learnt how to behave here.'

Another part of this is the belief that those who say the most, have the most say. Sometimes the only answer to lack of growth (or worse) is someone just stomping in and yelling some obvious truths. I suspect that a lot of members hold back from contributing because they either want to understand the 'rules' first, or they can't be bothered sorting through the layers of seniority, etiquette etc.

The truth is, the older you get the more you like things to be done your way, that's human nature, and the balance comes from those who see the need to challenge that. So the problem is more that those who are new, younger, have different ideas etc, don't feel that they belong here.

Anyway, that wasn't the point I wanted to make:)

'Contribution' can mean any little thing:

• Log in automatically when you visit, so that you show up as logged in, and have easy access to posting on a whim.
• Consider entering the Screenshot comp, unless screenshots are not your 'thing'.
• But always vote in the screenshot comp, it is your civic duty:)

Don't get confused by the way we do things here -- your way is the right way, even if others don't like this. Don't let the fogies drive you away. Take what you need, give what you can.

[Ian Warren]

Cheers Dan, the Silver bullet aye , Great work on your part, that's one way off looking at it again its letting the new site mature.

Hey Rob , the 'whippersnapper' reaction , I also believe some like to dip their toe in and test the water, generally they get a warm welcome but we have seen the whippersnappers and all hell break loose as well, least we know we have the people here who know the knows and know what they are talking about and do the dos.