The new HP forums

[Dave Hicks]

Please feel free to check out the new forum software at
http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/

Nothing has been migrated over, so I recommend creating an account with the same name you've been using here.

A few things are still being adjusted but hopefully nothing major.

There is a test forum down at the bottom where you can just play around with forum features and get a feel for the software.

[Namir]

Dave,

The signing up process has a bug!!! When I enter the correct image verification characters, the web page confirms my input as correct. However, when I click on the Submit button, the web page flags my image verification input as faulty.

Please fix this bug!!!!!

Namir

Edited: 11 Dec 2013, 12:31 p.m.

[Dave Hicks]

What browser are you using?

Has anyone else seen this?

[Mike Morrow]

I just registered with no problems, although I had to guess what password format criteria were required...I didn't see that information anywhere on the registration page.

[db (martinez, ca.)]

Mike; i believe i used used 8 lower case letters. that's probably the lowest/simplest needed. correct me if i'm wrong anyone.

[Namir]

I am using FireFox 25.0.1.

Namir

[Thomas Radtke]

Hi Namir,

there's a second security measure, an HP calculator related question. Can it be you overlooked it?

Thomas

[Steve Simpkin]

I had no problems signing up (other than my existing password was too short) although I thought it was amusing that the HP related question for "The Museum of HP Calculators" was about the key placement on the new Prime :)

[Thomas Radtke]

I had to skip this question and answered the second about the key that's famously missing on older HP calcs :-D.

[Steve Simpkin]

Quote:

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I had to skip this question and answered the second about the key that's famously missing on older HP calcs :-D.

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Hmmm... I would have struggled with that question. Ive been using HPs for so many decades that I have forgotten what key is "missing", let alone associating it with a calculator :)

Moderator edit: Please don't publish answers to those questions or I may have to make up new ones! :-) - Dave

[Dave Hicks]

There's a button that lets you try a different question. Some Prime buyers may be new(ish) to HP so I needed a newer question along with the classic ones.

Edited: 11 Dec 2013, 4:10 p.m.

[Jonathan Cameron]

Thanks Dave,

I just registered without problems.

-Jonathan

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

I just signed up as well and found the sign up page to be no more annoying than average. :-) It does appear however, that it does not use the same password store as here, and password requirements are different. My old password was not long enough for the new forum so I changed it but my password here did not change, but I have now updated it to be the same.

[Dave Hicks]

Quote:

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It does appear however, that it does not use the same password store as here,

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No, everything is entirely separate. In fact the two forums don't even use the same one-way hash algorithm to store passwords. The new forum uses a much more modern algorithm.

I can reduce the min length on the pw if it bugs people, but spammers do try to break into other people's accounts to post spam so it seems like a good idea to keep them fairly tight.

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

No need to change anything, it was time I changed my password anyway.

[Mark Storkamp]

Doesn't seem to take yahoo.com as an acceptable email. What are the other options?

[Dave Hicks]

The existing forum doesn't allow yahoo so whatever you used here would work.

However, I just removed yahoo.com from the block list on the new forum. I HOPE that we can continue to allow freemail addresses on the new forum and stop spam by other means. The block list in the new forum was meant to have disposable email domains only but I'm sure a few freemails snuck in.

[Michael de Estrada]

I used gmail (Google) and it worked.

[Tim Wessman]

Well, that doesn't count as freemail does it? You have to sell you soul/firstborn/etc to use it, don't you? :-)

TW

PS - me too

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

So true.

[Steve Simpkin]

But that is such a small price to pay for the brilliance that is Google :)

[Walter B]

Hope you will never have to learn you were wrong.

d:-/

[Steve Simpkin]

What could possibly go wrong with giving Google all of my personal information? I mean their official company motto is "Do no evil". You can't get a better better guarantee of corporate responsibility with your personal information than that!
/sarcasm

[Chris Pem10]

Thanks Dave. This is exactly what everyone needed. Wiggle room for new guys (like myself) to ask questions and make mistakes while still preserving the sanity of the more seasoned visitors.

[Ed Wright]

I just signed up - no problem at all.

[Alberto Candel]

Thanks!

[Walter B]

Thank you, Dave. I could register with just a minor obstacle - I had to use a different email address. Everything else looks fine so far.

d:-)

Edited: 11 Dec 2013, 2:57 p.m.

[Marcus von Cube, Germany]

A few problems:

When I make a mistake on the registration page (such as forgetting to fill in a required field) I have to reenter the security stuff and password confirmation. It took me several attempts to get through.

User names cannot contain some characters which are allowed here, such as ','.

The signature character limit is way too tight. I was unable to add links to my favorite calculator related projects. Please change the limit from 60 to some 400 characters or more.

Let's hope for the best that the new forum will be as vivid as this one.

[BruceH]

I realise you are constrained by what's out there, but strewth the information density of the new pages is low.

[Dave Hicks]

Well I'm getting a chuckle out of a comment about low information density right after a suggestion that signatures should be increased to a size that is about half the display on some computers I have used in the past. Compromises, compromises....

[aurelio]

Thank-you DAVE, fot the Xmas present!

Edited: 11 Dec 2013, 4:16 p.m.

[Jean-Michel]

Hello Dave



Thank you for this new forum.

Please forgive this dumb question (I know it's dumb because it seems I am the only one to ask): will the new forum replace this one at the end? If not, why keeping two?

I mean: which kind of threads are supposed to be placed there and here?

Kind regards.

[Dave Hicks]

Yes, my expectation is that the new one will replace the old one as the active community, though posts from the old ones will still be visible.

Seeing that the new forum has only been open for a few hours though, I'm still letting people get acclimated. There have also been a number of little changes people have wanted this morning, most of which I've been able to get done. Still a few things to investigate further.

[Les Bell]

Dave,

I think everyone is scared to post in the new General forum - the first post ought to be a suitably significant one, and none of us can come up with a big enough topic.

I think you're going to have to declare the thing open yourself, with the first post. ;)

Best,

--- Les

[http://www.lesbell.com.au]

[Steve Simpkin]

Quote:

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Dave,

I think everyone is scared to post in the new General forum - the first post ought to be a suitably significant one, and none of us can come up with a big enough topic.

[http://www.lesbell.com.au]

---

There. Primed the pump, so to speak, with all the grace and dignity I am known for.

[Les Bell]

Quote:

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I think everyone is scared to post in the new General forum ... none of us can come up with a big enough topic.

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OK - so not everyone was trying to come up with a suitably momentous topic to dignify the occasion. . .

--- Les

[http://www.lesbell.com.au]

[Jonathan Cameron]

Dave,

What is the transition plan? IE, when will you disable/freeze the old forum?

-Jonathan

Edited: 11 Dec 2013, 5:41 p.m.

[Bill (Smithville, NJ)]

Dave,

It took me several tries, but I finally got registered.

A couple of quirks:

Use the TAB key to go from field to field. I made the mistake of using the ENTER key several times and it was the same as SUBMIT.

The user name can have SPACE and left/right parentheses, but not COMMA. Not sure what other characters are not acceptable.

Once I got that, all went well.

Bill

[Namir]

I used the ms internet explorer. The web page complained of my AOL email address. I used a gmail email address and it worked fine.

Namir

[Dave Hicks]

I just removed aol from the block list.

[svisvanatha]

Thanks for the new forum!



I have one question regarding the intent of the "MoHPC" Logo at the top of the Forum's Main Page. Once clicked, the browser goes to http://hpmuseum.org/forum. However, once you are in a thread or category, there is also a "HP Forums / " link which takes you to the same place as the "MoHPC" Logo.



Is the intent of the "MoHPC" Link at the top to direct users to the Museum's main page (http://hpmuseum.org), or to the Main Page of the Forum?



Clicking on the "MoHPC" Logo on the "old forum" takes you to the Museum's Main Page. The Link to the Museum's main page is buried at the bottom of the new Forum's Main Page.

[Dave Hicks]

I wasn't sure which I preferred, but since you noticed and asked, I've re-pointed the new forum logo at the main museum page.

(And soon I'll point the museum main page directly at the new forum.)

Thanks!

[Patrice]

registered on new forums!

I didn't found how to make it to remember topics ordering in forums between 2 connexions :(

[Adrien Bertrand]

No problem registering, for me :)

[Geoff Quickfall]

Ditto

[HrastProgrammer]

So, all HP emulators/simulators are now under "Not HP Calculators" section?

[db (martinez, ca.)]

They're in good company there: the 34s, the Mostec RPN ROM family, the Heathkit 1401, your stuff, free 42, and someday maybe the 43s. Lots of great things.

[HrastProgrammer]

Quote:

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They're in good company there: the 34s, the Mostec RPN ROM family, the Heathkit 1401, your stuff, free 42, and someday maybe the 43s. Lots of great things.

---

I know, it just doesn't make sense to me that, for example, things like WP34s (which are much more important than bag-of-bugs Prime, IMHO) are now located under some "Not HP Calculators" section at the end of the page.

[Walter B]

Quote:

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I know, it just doesn't make sense to me that, for example, things like WP34s (which are much more important than bag-of-bugs Prime, IMHO) are now located under some "Not HP Calculators" section at the end of the page.

---

Da müssen wir halt das Feld von unten aufrollen ;-) (Some strategic remark).

d:-)

[db (martinez, ca.)]

It's all how you look at it. My bookmark to enter the new forum is http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/forum-8.html First things first.
Or maybe it's a modified version of this classic: http://xkcd.com/150/ The room full of non hp rpn playpen balls is the most interesting one to me.

I <3 non hp rpn

[Mike (Stgt)]

:quote.
The email address you have entered is currently disallowed from being used. Please enter a different email address.
:equote.

I am very sorry, this is the only email address I use since years now. And I do not like to change it.

Ciao.....Mike

[DeboT]

The simplicity of this old forum made it easy to breeze past and quickly view what was happening.

The indented thread view, messages marked clearly as (new) in red and Daily view made it easy to see what was new and who replied to what. This allowed quick focus on what interested me - and only login if I wanted to add a post.

The new forum doesn't have the indented thread view and also as I have a general interest in calculators I have to look at several forums now (old HP calculators, new HP calculators, not quite HP calculators and not remotely HP calculators). I know this came about because of complaints.

Unfortunately you can't please everyone all of the time. The new forum format is just not for me.

[Thomas Radtke]

Quote:

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[...] I have to look at several forums now (old HP calculators, new HP calculators, not quite HP calculators and not remotely HP calculators).

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There are the 'new posts' and 'todays posts' hyperlinks which might help.

On the plus side we have unicode and TeX support. Very useful and worth a second look at the new forum.

[DeboT]

Quote:

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There are the 'new posts' and 'todays posts' hyperlinks which might help.

---

I can't see those, are they only visible when logged in? Also it seems some images in posts are not displayed unless logged in (the inline images are blank and I see thumbnails at the bottom of the post, but when I click I get "You are either not logged in or do not have permission to view this").

I have a strict rule to log out of whatever I have accessed as soon as I finish browsing. As stated above, I wish to quickly browse what's new or interesting and only log in if I wish to post - not log in everytime I just wish to read. Just too much hassle for me.