DU Needs Your Help -- Visit our new DU3 software preview and start posting

[Skinner]

Source: Democratic Underground

Many of you are aware that the DU administrators have been working on a complete overhaul of the DU software, which we call "DU3". We have been working hard for more than a year, and we are excited to open it up again for the fourth and final preview.

Please note that only DU members who registered before January 19, 2011 are eligible to log-in to participate in this preview. Everyone else can browse the site, but cannot log in. Please note that because we imported the DU user data in January, if you have changed your password here on DU since then, you will have to use the password you had back in January in order to log in to DU3. (If you don't know your password, you can use the DU3 lost password function to have a temporary password assigned.)

There are lots of new surprises waiting to be discovered! ;) Don't be shy about trying out all the features and functions -- this is just a preview, and the DU3 database will be wiped clean for the official launch.

The new software is available at a temporary address here on the DU server:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/du3

Please kick and rec this thread so more DUers can see it. Thanks.

Skinner
DU Admin

Read more: http://www.democraticunderground.com/du3

[katsy]

1. kick/r

.

[Maven]

2. Can't log in

I was definitely registered before the cutoff (Jan 19) although I wasn't, um, active. Right now it says my username doesn't exist. Skinner - will I be unable to try it?

[Skinner]

12. I just sent you a PM (nt)

[freshwest]

38. I joined in January, can't log in. If I 'create an account' will it mess up my current account???

I want to maintain my current screen name and password. TIA.

:hi:

[HughBeaumont]

3. I'm hunting and pecking the password I've always used and never changed.

It's not letting me in because of that.

[Skinner]

11. Try the password retrieval funtion

and see if it works.

[Ian David]

4. Where do you want us to put feature requests? n/t

[Hugin]

5. It's asking me to update account information. Should I do this? n/t

[Skinner]

36. Yes.

But you'll probably have to do it again when we have the official launch.

[Kingofalldems]

6. It's new, therefore I don't like it.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

7. rec

[Boudica the Lyoness]

8. I'm in.

Well done lads!

[FailureToCommunicate]

9. I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore...

And the flying monkeys scared the **** out of me(even before I ever saw them in color!)

But I'm willing to be dazzled when we all get to the Emerald City!

-F2C

P.S.
Thanks, as always, for all your hard work on our behalf.

[dipsydoodle]

15. Be quiet Dorothy

:hi:

[pennylane100]

10. It will notl accept my log in information

[RebelOne]

40. Same here, I am becoming very frustrated. n/t

[Skinner]

46. Have you tried the password retrieval function? (nt)

[msanthrope]

13. I like it, Skinner!! nt

[dipsydoodle]

14. Updated profile just fine

:thumbsup:

[wandago]

16. What a mess! You guys couldn't organize a ham sandwich.

[liberal N proud]

24. Not getting off to a good start there

I found it to be quite easy to use and well organized.

But then some just can't handle change and would still be using cave drawings.

[man4allcats]

17. I just went over to have a look. Looks pretty cool, but

one thing I did notise in posting a reply was the aparent absince of spill chick - not that I use it that much anyway. ;-)

[onestepforward]

18. 2 questions

Will our avatars be imported to DU3?

Will our journals be imported to DU3?

Thanks! DU3 looks so clean and bright :)

[onehandle]

19. I logged in + was asked to participate in a 'jury.' I said yes, but the decision had already been...

...'rendered.' So for the 30 minutes, my options are limited, unless I leave the 'jury.'

If I choose not to leave the jury, will I be asked to 'serve' if another 'situation' comes up?

Or was that one 'situation' the only one that counts and I should leave the jury to get my posting privileges (etc) back?

If the latter is true, then the software should automatically end my 'service.'

Thanks.

[Po_d Mainiac]

20. You ain't gonna believe what you missed! n/t

[AmericaIsGreat]

21. The layout is not good

It just isn't.

[sarcasmo]

31. +1

[WillParkinson]

34. +2

I agree. It's too...blah.

[PatrynXX]

22. bit buggy on jury

told me it was full but then went to main page and said I was still on then clicked whatever.. and left my opinion. That'd be a bug. Maybe a bed bug with tent monsters...

[Boudica the Lyoness]

25. Did the same to me.

I had the same problem.

[dballance]

23. Got Logged In and Updated my Info - It looks nice

I'll have to say I have the same repulse to new things as everyone else but the new site does look nice.

[MarkCharles]

26. Canot log in. Claims my user name cannot be found. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

30. Because you were not a DUer in Jan 2011

which is when the database of userids and passwords was copied for the test.

[MarkCharles]

37. Oh OK

[RebelOne]

41. I am having the same problem and have been a user long before Jan. 2011. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

43. That's strange - you do have a profile there

I just checked. Perhaps you'll have to get Skinner to take a look.

[DerekJ]

27. Ok I need to be honest ..AWFUL is the keyword here.

STOP, change your CSS/Layout designer. not sure how to describe this but the current DU beats it hands down.

[riverbendviewgal]

29. I do like this old way too

It is hard to adjust to new stuff at my age. I like the colours and stars and layout of present DU. \\

I don't twitter and I
don't text. I am visual and this resent DU is more visual.

[sarcasmo]

32. +1

[SheilaT]

28. I'm trying to figure out

why we even need a DU3. This one works quite fine, in my experience. And I've been around since 2002.

I did go there several months ago when you asked us to do that, and I found int MUCH clunkier and harder to use. I'm going to wait before checking it out this time around until more people start posting that they had no trouble getting on.

Plus, if I had to select a new password I have no idea what I might have chosen. Sigh. So many passwords. So many systems that have different, idiosyncratic requirements for the password which means even I, a relatively low-level computer user, need to keep track of at least fifteen different passwords.

[sarcasmo]

33. Won't let me log in, been here since 2004.

[RebelOne]

42. Me neither. I am getting pissed. n/t

[MineralMan]

35. Well, it's no Free Republic, that's for sure.

:rofl:

I like the new site, and the new system you've put in place. Others' opinions may differ, though, I think.

The jury system is going to generate a lot of unease, until people see how well it's going to work.

I can't wait for it to go live on a permanent basis!

[Duppers]

39. I can't seem to find the GREATEST Page there.

The "old" DU's "Greatest Page" is my go-to page. We old geezer-ettes are quite set in our ways. ;)

:hi:

[muriel_volestrangler]

44. Click on the 'Latest Threads' tab, and you'll see a "most rec'd" button

near the top of the page, in buttons to the right of "Post a New Thread!"

[Duppers]

45. Ah, thank you!

:)

[eppur_se_muova]

47. I've dipped my toes in, haven't plunged in headfirst, but ...

my big complaint re. layout is that my subscribed groups/forum now appear in a vertical column on the left, rather than in a compact, multi-column table at the top. This is one of the "features" that annoys me most about **many** different Web sites. It just doesn't make as efficient use of space, leads to titles wrapping around too much, and requires more scrolling. It doesn't make much sense to have this list constantly gobbling up screen space when I spend more time jumping from message to message, or thread to thread, than from group to group. If I'm looking at just one group/forum, I like to have the titles etc. *for that forum* running from margin to margin of the window. It makes for faster reading and a lot less scrolling. I would think by now some efficiency experts would have concluded the same thing, and recommended against the use of too many vertically-organized lists and menus.

{At least on DU3 the leftmost column doesn't require constant LEFT-TO-RIGHT scrolling to read lines of text that go off the right edge (hardwrap is the bane of laptop users). Sites that do this should put the lists/menus on the RIGHT edge where they can be accessed by scrolling if needed, but don't gobble up screen space when they're not needed.}

The new feature that I like best is the "latest post" (oh, and the fact that clicking on a name takes you to user info in the first place!), which is one I had suggested myself. Now, when someone disappears from DU for a while, we won't wonder if they really have gone silent -- we can check.