Official: How’s the New Community Site Working for You?

Jason Stone (Logos) · 2024-12-10T19:59:27+00:00

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Hi everyone,

We’ve been hard at work making continual improvements to our new community site, carefully triaging suggestions and feedback to create the best experience for all of you. I know there are still areas we’re exploring and evolving, and I appreciate your patience and input along the way.

I’d love to hear how the new space is working for you so far! Are there any questions I can answer, or specific suggestions you have for further improvements? Your insights are invaluable as we continue to shape this community together.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Grace and peace,

Jason

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Comments

Frank Sauer

Personally for me @Jason Stone (Logos) - I love the new forums for the Mobile Capability, I like the new forums for most of the design, but I miss the Old Forums for primarily the Quote capabilities and growing lesser by the day the table layout of posts… The New Forums layout is starting to grow on me with each new tweak.

Veli Voipio

Still trying to figure out what's going on …

Donovan R. Palmer

I like it a lot! The quoting feature is probably the biggest outstanding item in my wish list. 💁🏻‍♂️

Jason Stone (Logos)

Still trying to figure out what's going on …

Can you share a bit more about what you mean here? I'd like to offer guidance if I can, @Veli Voipio.

scooter

Hi, Jason: I asked to be able to Shop from here to the Catalogue……I love it + move down that street every day.

Shop is on the top line. Personally, I like it there.

When you all have the Quote improved, it will be a positive. I need to be able to take a piece from the Quote, then comment……I need to be able to take a 2nd cut from the same Quote, then add my say.

Then - all in 1 comment with the above - could I Quote somebody else into my one + only comment?……I saw people do this on the old forums; I never mastered this ability.

This white is too extensive, invasive. Shading off the top 2/3 of the screen takes the glare away.

I like you have expanded the number of discussions I can see in one swath.

You have a ticket for long-discussion-opens-to-the-last-comment. Thank you.

Bell: sometimes it goes to the same discussion twice. New comments should add on to the already existent Bell notification, leaving only 1 in the queue.

Amazon: Twice I have seen an URL for a given Amazon book. Neither URL was live. We need live Amazon URLs to promote these books into Logos……I rarely upvote a book I can't get a look at. Amazon is our de facto book catalogue to check the book out in……Perhaps you can get Amazon URLs to work here in the service of Logos.

Thanks, Jason + team, for your efforts here.

DMB

Well, since you're asking (and may look repetitive!).

Obviously, the quoting thing. Even the workaround is not easy to remember, if you operate on several sites.
From the thread list, be able to select a thread, and click to the last post (either by user or absolute; I assume most want last for a user). Even today, clicked on very recent threads landed me in the middle … I've already read those posts, and have to scroll down to see something unfamiliar.
Not a barn-burner, but it'd be nice to have underline, in addition to bold and italics (post editor).

But overall, (absent the above), I'm happy. And no offense, but very pleased with you and the staff's responsiveness.

Morgan

I like how much easier attaching images is. No more going through the awkward clip or Amber. Just copy and paste.

Only thing that bothers me, and I may just not know how to do it, but I'd like to unsubscribe from notifications on posts I've commented on. I don't really need to know everytime that someone will respond to this thread, but I'll be alerted anyways.

Jason Stone (Logos)

Hey @scooter!

Hi, Jason: I asked to be able to Shop from here to the Catalogue……I love it + move down that street every day.

Wonderful!

Shop is on the top line. Personally, I like it there.

Great!

When you all have the Quote improved, it will be a positive. I need to be able to take a piece from the Quote, then comment……I need to be able to take a 2nd cut from the same Quote, then add my say.

We'll see what we can do. I just copy/pasted your entire comment and am replying to bits a time, using quote text editors. Pretty snappy. Maybe I can do a quick video on that to help out? Not sure if that'd help. That said, we have some discussion thread improvements in the works.

Then - all in 1 comment with the above - could I Quote somebody else into my one + only comment?……I saw people do this on the old forums; I never mastered this ability.

Not sure what you're asking. Feel free to clarify and I'll try to help!

This white is too extensive, invasive. Shading off the top 2/3 of the screen takes the glare away.

Do you mean the white sidebars, white banners, where are you seeing excessive white that you'd like to have it minimized? The site is themed white.

I like you have expanded the number of discussions I can see in one swath.

Wonderful!

You have a ticket for long-discussion-opens-to-the-last-comment. Thank you.

I sure do! I followed up about that today. Nothing yet.

Bell: sometimes it goes to the same discussion twice. New comments should add on to the already existent Bell notification, leaving only 1 in the queue.

Hm. I'll make a note because I have to look into this further. Are there means to maybe simplify your notifications? I wonder if you are by chance receiving notifications for the same thread because you've enabled notifications that might produce that result, accidentally?

Amazon: Twice I have seen an URL for a given Amazon book. Neither URL was live. We need live Amazon URLs to promote these books into Logos……I rarely upvote a book I can't get a look at. Amazon is our de facto book catalogue to check the book out in……Perhaps you can get Amazon URLs to work here in the service of Logos.

To clarify, we (Logos) are not limiting what links are hyperlinked, only the original poster/commenter decides what becomes a hyperlink when they are publishing new content. (i.e., If a user does not hit space after a link, it does not hyperlink the text) I just wanted to clarify that because I would hate for you or others to think that we're banning hyperlinks out; that is simply not the case.

Thanks, Jason + team, for your efforts here.

Happy to help!

Frank Sauer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1348477#Comment_1348477

Yes - @Jason Stone (Logos) is a refreshing complement to the experience with Logos! (In spite of my experience or ignored lack of - elsewhere within the Logos Universe)

Jason Stone (Logos)

Hey, @DMB!

Well, since you're asking (and may look repetitive!).

I sure am asking! Thank you.

Obviously, the quoting thing. Even the workaround is not easy to remember, if you operate on several sites.

Yep. Noted! Thank you.

From the thread list, be able to select a thread, and click to the last post (either by user or absolute; I assume most want last for a user). Even today, clicked on very recent threads landed me in the middle … I've already read those posts, and have to scroll down to see something unfamiliar.

Right! We've got to get users to the #latest comment, and we have a ticket open to resolve that.

Not a barn-burner, but it'd be nice to have underline, in addition to bold and italics (post editor).

I believe this has been discussed, but underlining in the text editor could easily cause confusion with hyerlinked text (or any URL addresses that are posted) and best practice is to not include hyperlinks in forums. Even Reddit, one of those well-known forums sites, does not permit underlining one's content in their post.

But overall, (absent the above), I'm happy. And no offense, but very pleased with you and the staff's responsiveness.

No offense taken! I'm happy that you're happy, and we're glad you're here. Thank you for taking a moment to comment!

Steven MacDonald

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1348486#Comment_1348486

Thanks Jason for listening. It's nice to see things progressing.

Bill

What is the purpose behind the tag system in a new post text box?

I've noticed they are inconsistent in use and the tag choice when used sometimes does not seem appropriate for the post. I'm not sure, but this may cause posts to not get responses because they don't get noticed or maybe they aren't organized under the right tag.

Take this post, it is a Question but I'm sending it in a comment to your post. Should I have created a new post with tags?

If it's purpose is to place the post in a specific group where it will get attention by those who follow that group and can help the poster, then I think the tags need to be made into two groups and at least one entry from each group has to be made mandatory and entered before the post can be made.

The first tag group would be the "App type" ( Desktop, Web, Mobile)

The second tag group would be the "subject Type" (Bug, File, Performance,…)

Jason Stone (Logos)

Great feedback, @Morgan

I like how much easier attaching images is. No more going through the awkward clip or Amber. Just copy and paste.

I also like how simple that process has become.

Only thing that bothers me, and I may just not know how to do it, but I'd like to unsubscribe from notifications on posts I've commented on. I don't really need to know every time that someone will respond to this thread, but I'll be alerted anyways.

I'm like you in that I don't need to have notifications about every addition comment on a post. For that reason, I updated my Notification settings and removed that selection. I'll attach an image here to show you thanks to the easy drag-and-drop feature. :)

Jason Stone (Logos)

Good question, @Bill!

What is the purpose behind the tag system in a new post text box?

Tags help the discoverability of posts in the future. Users can filter forums and even bookmark them in their browsers to review them later, and tags allow more granular discussion. Having one forum gives new users an easy place to land, and tags provide the ability to appropriately filter.

I've noticed they are inconsistent in use and the tag choice when used sometimes does not seem appropriate for the post. I'm not sure, but this may cause posts to not get responses because they don't get noticed or maybe they aren't organized under the right tag.

Posts will be responded to all the same, tags or no tags, and there is a learning curve on adopting their implementation—users are still learning just how important tags can be for organizing and sorting content.

Take this post, it is a Question but I'm sending it in a comment to your post. Should I have created a new post with tags?

You responded to the original post appropriately as a comment. Perfect!

If it's purpose is to place the post in a specific group where it will get attention by those who follow that group and can help the poster, then I think the tags need to be made into two groups and at least one entry from each group has to be made mandatory and entered before the post can be made.
The first tag group would be the "App type" ( Desktop, Web, Mobile)
The second tag group would be the "subject Type" (Bug, File, Performance,…)

Tags can help sort content, but do not change where a post lives. With or without a tag, the post will live in the same forum. Tags can help discoverability but they do not place a post in a different location.

An example with tags:

A great example to demonstration this is we have one forum for Resources Forum but many tags in that forum. A user never leaves the RESOURCES forum when browsing the Reformed Products tag.

DMB

Another request but you probably already thought about it, and have a good reason not to.

Need to be able to delete erroneous posts. I just posted (another thread). Hit the 'Post Comment'. Re-read to make sure of no errors (more easily seen after posting). Then hit the 'Post Comment' again … for the empty comment box below! I do this maybe once a day at least.

Doc B

I like the added features and ease at including pics and screenshots.

I do hope the partial-quote issue is fixed. That makes communication much easier, especially when answering a specific question about a post.

The best part of the new community is the attention they are getting from staff, specifically Jason. This is refreshing and extremely helpful.

Overall, these things are a win, in my opinion.

Jonathan Bradley

I'm enjoying the new forums and loving the fact that I can view them and interact from my phone. Overall, it's a great switch. There's still some getting used to, like less directly accessible forum pages, but still all of the same content. Keep up the great work!

1Cor10 31

Jason Stone is a rick star among Logos employees.

1Cor10 31

Jason Stone is a rock star (not rick star) among Logos employees.

MJ. Smith

I'm still fighting with it. For example, adding a picture can remove the formatting of the post … but I haven't narrowed the conditions down sufficiently to create a bug report. There are a couple of other items where I'm trying to decide if it is user error or application error. I am concerned about the drop off in users reading my Tip's posts; I am simply accepting on faith that my filters are showing me the posts I intend to see. I'm not thrilled by the space taken by posts as it means less context is visible. But I have no serious concerns about the new forums … it is simply a matter of putting in the time and effort for it to become automatic, and its behavior become what I expect. So, all's good.

David Taylor, Jr.

Honestly I am not a huge fan. The old forums were easier to navigate. The old feedback site was easier to navigate. This is just clunky and hard to find the information I am either looking for or interested in. I just don't like it. I've tried to.

The only thing I like better is actually entering text in this little editor box. But other than that this all seems like a downgrade.

Antony Brennan

Wait, what, there’s a new community site for Logos? Is there a link to it?

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1348569#Comment_1348569

Entered as a link not a quote.

Antony Brennan

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1348570#Comment_1348570

I like your new head-dress

Dan Cleghorn

Is there a way to mark all the posts on each page as "read" so I only see "new" posts the next day? I am finding the new format hard to browse in a short period of time and end up just reading the top ten and skipping the other posts. The other format was easier to see more posts in each topic and marking all of them read.

GaoLu

@Antony Brennan
I like your new head-dress

The MVP laural? She deserves it, if not half a dozen.

PS: Did you know there are two profiles of @Antony Brennan that show up?

Antony Brennan

@GaoLu I changed my picture, but I didn’t create a new account. There must be a bug in the forum software. It looks like and Ant.

GaoLu

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1348582#Comment_1348582

At least you have a nice head-dress in your profile pic. My head looks decidedly under-dressed: blame Rembrandt.

Overall the site works well. Every time I look at the forum I wish I could quickly see what is new to me. That still seems a mystery.

Aaron Hamilton

I'm not a fan of the way the title of posts goes from bold to not bold. I would prefer more contrast between read and unread. I enjoyed how the old forums turned the title of read posts to grey.

DMB

I never caught on to the read/not-read thing. Instead I 'read' a lot into who posted and when (largely what part of the world). The sort by post-time kept me oriented by read/not-read. But most probably use the app to indicate read/not-read.

I still don't know how the new software dumps me into a thread. I thought maybe read-unread, but that's not it.

EastTN

I'm not loving it. The basic functionality seems to work o.k., but it's not as easy to navigate as the old site. I'm finding the quote function, in particular, much less flexible and intuitive.

danwdoo

I am overall happy with the new forums, with the hope that they continue to be tweaked. They have solved one of my biggest issues with the old forums, which was remembering my place in a long thread. That alone has been a huge help. A few tweaks I would still like to see are:

Mark all as read
Compact mode to see more posts on the screen. Both in scanning the list of threads and in discussion threads could use an option for less whitespace. So many posts seem to have so much extra spacing in them, but not all. Editor issues people need to learn? Several of the posts in this thread take nearly half my screen for a sentence or two.
Reduce the default size of media in posts (if I need to see it bigger I will click on it)
Easier partial quoting as others have suggested.

Jerry Bush

I made the switch from the newsgroup to the old forum on day one, however many years ago that was. Therefore, I have a lot of muscle memory built up over that time. So the new forums were jarring to me at first. I really didn't like them. But I knew I should give myself time to get used to them. I am a daily visitor but I don't post all that much.

Over the last two weeks, I have started to get used to the new format and even like it a bit better. Still learning to do things but it is coming along.

I don't get tagging very well but Jason explained its use above. I appreciate being able to do "likes" and the other options.

I am still learning new things in the forums, but I will give it a "one thumbs up." Two thumbs will likely come one day.

Jerry Bush

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1348626#Comment_1348626

I agree with all of these suggestions, danwdoo!

scooter

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1348482#Comment_1348482

Hi, Jason: re: quote text editor. Please keep the solution quick + simple……I have no idea what a 'quote text editor' is…..A video would show me how. Note, I am subscriptionLESS. Would that make a difference in the video?

Re: dead Amazon URL. Indeed, perhaps 2 someones forgot to press the space bar. It happens fairly often here. I thought a coding problem might have prevented the URLs' activation, or some such computer-y thing.

Re: white theme. If it has to be, it has to be……Eyes: My blink rate is up - my body is tying to eliminate the excessive white. I type looking at my keyboard; this is still too bright, pushing at my eyes.

Bernhard

Thanks for asking! Overall I like the new forum a lot. I always use https://community.logos.com/discussions?followed=true for my reading.

Things I would like to see:

Mark all read
A way to only show threads with unread posts
Clicking on an unread thread should always take me to the first unread post.

Problems I have found:

Sometimes threads show in the list as unread among other threads posted in today, but when I open them there is no new post. Not sure, but they might have in common that the last post was on December 8. Just now for example the following thread showed in the list with the time stamp 6:10pm, but the last post was actually on Dec 8:
https://community.logos.com/discussion/244100/how-do-i-find-parallel-passages
Sometimes threads with unread posts are not shown in bold, but I hadn't even been at the forum since someone last posted. They seem to have in common that they are threads moved over from the old forums that were resurrected. This just happened with this thread:
https://community.logos.com/discussion/179621/drag-and-drop-of-a-scripture-reference-from-a-bible-version-or-from-a-passages-list-into-notes
Find my old posts: I know, I have posted above the second issue before. I looked at https://community.logos.com/discussions/participated. But how do I then find my post in a ten-page thread listed there without reading the whole thing again? I think the old forums had a list of my actual posts.
Search: I then tried a forum search using some words that I probably used when I reported the Unread/read issue before. But I couldn't find it. I then copied some random words from someone else's post and searched for those, but even that post was not found. Is there a problem with the search function?
Sometimes when posting a link I get to choose how I want the link to show but sometimes (I guess always when linking to a forum thread) it will just default to the big box - which I think takes too much space

Bill

I don't like the fact that all the old forum groups are dumped together in one bucket in the English forum. This is a problem if youre like me and only want notifications by email. I never followed most of these groups, only the desktop group and notes group, sometimes files group. Now, because there is no filter in my notification preferences for groups, not categories, by email, I'm stuck receiving emails for every post in the english forum category. Please a a filter for Groups tags in my notification preferences like you have on the top of the english forum page.

Thanks

Bill

Sorry, I know this is a dumb question to most of you out there, but here it goes.

How do I get the @name thing to work? When I type @ and a persons name the selection box pops up with their name but it disappears when I hit space to continue typing and selecting it doesn't work either.

Antony Brennan

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1348676#Comment_1348676

I find that to be annoying also. You have to type the name exactly as it is spelled, spaces and all. Even then sometimes, as you say it evaporates and won't come back. when the happens I hit return and try in a different line and it starts working again. So anomalous.

Maria

I absolutely love this new forum. Also, the team at Logos has gone above and beyond in responsiveness these past weeks. Truly, a job well-done!

Nathan Parker

Working great for me. Super easy to move from Forums to Feedback.

Veli Voipio

Jason Stone (Logos) Administrator, Community Manager, Logos Employee Posts: 469
Still trying to figure out what's going on …
Can you share a bit more about what you mean here? I'd like to offer guidance if I can, @Veli Voipio
.

Still ab bit confused, although the Forum looks better. Finding relevant discussions is not easy. For doing a quote I needed to make a workaround. Adding pictures is easy.

Doc B

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1348542#Comment_1348542

Chris Heil

Overall the community is much improved over the forums. Search is so much better - moved from unusable in the old forums to finding every post for which I have searched in the new community.

Two things with which I am struggling: 1) notifications - how do I stop getting a notification for threads in which I participated in the past but no longer wish to get the bell notification in the future? and 2) release announcements - how can I get an announcement each time Logos releases a new version (all platforms and prod+beta) without having to get additional notifications when users post replies/comments/issues to the announcements?

Lew Worthington

There are lots of advantages to the new system. Chief among them is your (Jason and team's) ability to modify the way things work, which is the whole purpose behind this current discussion. Thank you Jason and team!

I won't say I miss anything simply because of my attachment to something old. But objectively, I struggle with certain things. I echo what @Veli Voipio said above: Finding relevant discussions is not easy. Perhaps the fact that everything gets dumped into one cauldron and users don't consistently apply tags lies at the root of this issue. "Mining" for relevant discussions, or anything I'm interested in, is overly labor intensive. Frankly, most the the time, I just lose interest. I think @MJ. Smith mentioned something about getting fewer people reading her tips, and this might be why.

As others have said, getting emails based on things we're interested in is problematic. I would LOVE to get an email whenever someone mentions something about, say, the desktop app. But I can't see anyway to make that happen. I don't want to open the web site from a browser and sift for stuff. Again, that's too much work.

I desperately thirst for a way to mark, en masse, a group of posts I've read or that I'm no longer interested in. Clicking the many, many things I haven't read and will never read doesn't make sense. Again, too much work. Also, there should be a greater coordination between what has not been read and what alerts have been recognized. (I've mentioned this before.)

I'm still looking for a good explanation of what it means to "follow" something. Different social media implementations imply different things with this one term.

I find it great that we can paste graphics from the Windows clipboard. I find it odd that the default size is Large.

Thanks for asking and listening!

GaoLu

I desperately thirst for a way to mark, en masse, a group of posts I've read or that I'm no longer interested in. Clicking the many, many things I haven't read and will never read doesn't make sense. Again, too much work. Also, there should be a greater coordination between what has not been read and what alerts have been recognized. (I've mentioned this before.)
I'm still looking for a good explanation of what it means to "follow" something. Different social media implementations imply different things with this one term.

Zactly.

Jason Stone (Logos)

Thank you all for your feedback on the new community site! We genuinely appreciate your time in sharing both positive experiences and areas where we can improve.

We want this space to serve you well, and we’re listening closely to the concerns you’ve raised:

Performance: We’re actively investigating reports of sluggish loading times and broken links to ensure a smoother experience.
Usability: Feedback on navigation and search functionality is noted. Improving these areas is a top priority, and we’re exploring ways to make it easier to locate threads and resources.
Support for Learning: We hear you on the learning curve. In the coming days, we’ll provide helpful events and brief tutorials to assist you in using the new layout.

Your suggestions, such as improving visual clarity and thread organization, are being carefully considered for future updates. We’re committed to creating a community space that is both user-friendly and effective for all members.

Please continue to share your thoughts—your input is invaluable as we work to refine and enhance this platform. I’ll keep you updated on progress as improvements roll out.

Thank you for your patience, grace, and for being such an important part of this community!

Mike Childs

In my opinion, the old forums were much more helpful. It also seems there was much more participation.

Jason Stone (Logos)

@Mike Childs, thank you for sharing! Means to measure activity on our legacy platform was limited so I cannot speak to participation increase or decrease. We're excited to actually have the capability to gauge participation with our new space.

I know that you really miss the old forums, but I'd love to hear what you mean by "the old forums were much more helpful." (e.g., more helpful in learning to use Logos?)

Adam Sudduth

I am not a frequent commentor, but I used to look through the threads on the old forum at least once a day and could figure out if I wanted to look through it more and where I was and such. the last page bug was annoying, but manageable. this new forum, I may briefly look at it a couple times a week, but haven't really gotten much help or info from the new forum. To me, it is too much white space. There may be just as much interactions, but it seems to have dropped off from the old forum.

Time will tell if they come back and engage at the same pace in the future. I figure that as people get used to the new forum, there will be a healthy forum moving forward.