Welcome to the New Bench!

[Mike121]

Maybe its because I'm an old fart but this sure doesn't make things easier trying to find things. Old saying " If it ain't broke don't fix it. just my 2 cents.

I understand what you mean. I don't like big changes either! The problem is, the site was broken. When I acquired the site I had to do a lot of work just to piece things back together to make them work. The software on this site was old, and vulnerable to attacks. Because the site software was so old, I had to downgrade everything on my server to make it work too, which put the entire server at risk.

I'm hoping that you all will, eventually, find that the new site is much more efficient. Besides things working better, most tasks should be easier to do too.

As always, if there is anything you'd like to see different, please let me know and I'll look into changing it. That's one good thing about new software. It's a lot easier to update!

 

[KCLJ520]

Just like everything friends, it takes time to get used to something new. This is a great step forward for our site that has literally looked the same for decades. Give it some time, we are gonna get through this together.

Blessings,

Kevin

 

[jmboehm33]

Site looks tremendous! Can’t wait to poke around. One question: tried to access via Tapatalk and was having problems. Is that functionality still going to be there? Or not with the update. Tapatalk made it really easy to access and use The Bench via phone.

thanks again for all this work!
Jeff

 

[Chavezforprez]

In the transaction manager, I don't see transaction #'s anymore? Maybe I missed it on one of the tabs, but the number came in handy when dealing with multiple trades. Especially for those that do 25 or more trades a month. Everything seems to blend in together.

 

[AndyDrummond]

Site looks tremendous! Can’t wait to poke around. One question: tried to access via Tapatalk and was having problems. Is that functionality still going to be there? Or not with the update. Tapatalk made it really easy to access and use The Bench via phone.

thanks again for all this work!
Jeff

Hey Jeff,

i dont have the answer on Tapatalk, but I’ve been playing around with it on my iPhone browser and it seems to run way better as just a site in general that way. I wasn’t a Tapatalk user, so i can‘t spread to the difference from that aspect.

Andy

 

[Mike121]

Site looks tremendous! Can’t wait to poke around. One question: tried to access via Tapatalk and was having problems. Is that functionality still going to be there? Or not with the update. Tapatalk made it really easy to access and use The Bench via phone.

thanks again for all this work!
Jeff

I may introduce Tapatalk again in the future, but right now I'm looking at other options. Honestly, I've never even used Tapatalk before. It was installed, so I left it alone. Have you looked at the site in your mobile browser? The new site should look 100x better on mobile that it did before. I'd recommend doing that for now. If I can't find any viable app solutions, I'll look into Tapatalk.

 

[Mike121]

In the transaction manager, I don't see transaction #'s anymore? Maybe I missed it on one of the tabs, but the number came in handy when dealing with multiple trades. Especially for those that do 25 or more trades a month. Everything seems to blend in together.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look at getting the transaction ID added to the listing.

Please note that the transaction IDs have changed for all transactions, though. For now, there should be an option to filter by transaction state. So, you can set the filter to only show you pending (previously known as Posted) transactions, or confirmed transactions.

 

[jmboehm33]

I may introduce Tapatalk again in the future, but right now I'm looking at other options. Honestly, I've never even used Tapatalk before. It was installed, so I left it alone. Have you looked at the site in your mobile browser? The new site should look 100x better on mobile that it did before. I'd recommend doing that for now. If I can't find any viable app solutions, I'll look into Tapatalk.

Tapatalk isn’t great, but it allowed me to have all my sports card trading/messaging sites (Blowout, The Bench, Sportscard Forum) in one place with easy access.

But, yes I’ve looked at it on the iPhone browser and it looks, and works, awesome,so far! Way, way better.

thanks again!
Jeff

 

[katester44]

My log in worked, and I am here, and the site is still here -- and based on where we were a couple of months ago -- this feels like a HUGE win, thank you Mike!

The Bench has been through some format changes in the past, and the first couple of days are tough as you try to navigate and re-learn, I am sure we will all be happier and much more well adjusted as the days pass.

Remember, if this software upgrade didn't happen -- and we stuck with the old Bench format, it would have kept breaking down with no recourse to fix it. So let's not pass harsh judgement less than a day into something that we have all been enjoying for years.

 

[Rhubarb_Runner]

I'm sure it'll take a little getting used to, and various tweaks will be happening, but I'm all for getting the site in a better place.

It may be here, but I can't see it -- there used to be an indicator in the lists (like What's New) that identified threads that I had posted in. That was handy, if it can be added some time. Thanks, and keep up the great work.

 

[Mike121]

It may be here, but I can't see it -- there used to be an indicator in the lists (like What's New) that identified threads that I had posted in. That was handy, if it can be added some time.

If you're looking at a listing of threads, look at the avatar. If you've posted in the thread there will be a small version of your own avatar right there with it. Here's an example of what I'm talking about. See how my avatar is shown twice? The larger version is there because I started the thread. The smaller version is only there to show that I've replied in the thread.

 

[PRosefan1]

I just posted a trade with Chavesforpres. When he accepts, will the addresses pop up somewhere?

 

[Mike121]

I just posted a trade with Chavesforpres. When he accepts, will the addresses pop up somewhere?

Yes, addresses are only shown members you have an open, confirmed trade with and staff members.

 

[ripahl]

whoa.. takes a but of getting used to for sure, but I am sure the functionality of the site's core still works. What I love about the other site was 1) the trade Manager had the trades a little separated with the active ones atop. Perhaps there is a default view to not show all and just show Pending\active trades. I agreed with one that transaction numbers helped when conversing with another member. But the number of thing I loved about the site was the ability to hit new Posts and pick the forum... If I recall the new posts had a number in param (i..e (8) and when you hit that you got to pick (filter to) to the forum... now I think you hit new Posts and you get all forums... Perhaps another configuration I make or a previous widget?... anyways, riding the wave into the new platform. thanks for at least stabilizing it. For me, I just get use to it and configured my own views if I can.

 

[Mike121]

the trade Manager had the trades a little separated with the active ones atop. Perhaps there is a default view to not show all and just show Pending\active trades. I agreed with one that transaction numbers helped when conversing with another member.

These are both on my list of things to look at. I'll come up with something to make it easier to differentiate between pending, confirmed, and completed transactions. Like you said, I may default it to only show pending and confirmed.

 

[Mike121]

I looked at the new HOF and I didn't see my name? Do we only see others profile in the HOF?

Billy

This should be fixed now. Thanks for pointing it out!

 

[Mike121]

In the transaction manager, I don't see transaction #'s anymore

Perhaps there is a default view to not show all and just show Pending\active trades

Thank you both for your suggestions. I've made changes to both of these.

I've added the transaction ID directly under the transaction title, where other information about the transaction is shown.

I've also changed the default view to only show pending and confirmed transactions. To view your completed transactions, or to view pending or confirmed separately, you can adjust the filters.

 

[ripahl]

Thank you both for your suggestions. I've made changes to both of these.

I've added the transaction ID directly under the transaction title, where other information about the transaction is shown.

I've also changed the default view to only show pending and confirmed transactions. To view your completed transactions, or to view pending or confirmed separately, you can adjust the filters.

Thanks... while I have your attention, I like to consider adding back mailed date, tracking number and received date... to the transaction\trade manager as we had before (if possible). It was a way for me to make sure that I know I filled and mailed a trade and then with the tracker on larger trades the ability to back reference when needed.

 

[Mike121]

I see it, but I'm pretty sure my transaction total was higher prior to the changes, 2,000 or more? Might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure.

Another member mentioned something here too. I'll take a look at it as soon as I get a chance. I can't even begin to imagine what might've caused some trades to not get converted over.

 

[Mike121]

I like to consider adding back mailed date, tracking number and received date... to the transaction\trade manager as we had before (if possible)

It's definitely possible and you're not the first person to mention it. I'll look to make some changes to this, too, at some point in the near future.