We've just pushed a large overhaul public. Please report complaints, comments and concerns here. When reporting bugs, please make sure you include which browser(s) and platform(s) you have encountered the issue with.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
- Why did we do this? This update has been in development for over a year. It replaces a vast amount of messy code on the back-end, gives us a new modernized design, updates us to https, and creates a platform that we can more easily build on for future updates.
- Can we go back to the old design? This isn't happening. We'll make the new one work.
- Why are there so many bugs? As with any major overhaul, some problems will occur. The developers are working full-time on fixing stuff.
Frequently Reported Issues
This isn't everything, just the most common problems.Status Values
- Being logged in as someone else, sort of. [FIXED]
- Where'd the "Folders Open" toggle go? Not a bug, it's in your profile.
- Multiple issues with the new site search feature. [Logged]
- No sorting options.
- Forum poster search is gone. [FIXED]
- Can't search specifically by thread title, making results unhelpful.
- Pagination doesn't work correctly — the last page displays as if there were no search results.
- Line breaks don't work in some areas. (Ask The Tropers, Trope Launch Pad, forum previews) [Patched]
- ATT, TLP, forum previews fixed. Some more line breaking issues were identified and are being worked on.
- The Cut List does not work.
- Cannot approve or deny requests. [FIXED]
- Line breaks don't work. [FIXED]
- Cut request reasons don't appear. [FIXED]
- Additional cutlist issues noted here
.
- Note, subscript, and superscript formatting are broken in various places. [FIXED]
- Night vision has significant readability problems. [Patched]
- Namespace index is broken. [Logged]
- Articles may become locked when edited, or when backing out of editing without clicking Cancel. Moderators can remove the locks but can't fix the underlying problem. [Patched]
- Remaining issue: the lock system still doesn't distinguish between an article that's locked and one that's checked out for editing.
- Edits won't save when "<" or ">" characters are present in the markup. [Patched]
- HTML detection was disabled for the time being. We're working on a more robust system.
- Edits won't save when the [norreallife] tag is present in the markup. [FIXED]
- Redirects are broken. [Patched]
- This is at least partially fixed. We need to know if there are any remaining problems.
- Indexing is broken. [In Progress]
- Images on wiki articles are rendered smaller than in the previous design. [Patched]
- Resizing images with [quoteright] tags is still broken.
- The "Following" list (formerly called the Watchlist) doesn't distinguish visually between viewed and unviewed articles. [In Progress]
- Custom titles are no longer appearing in all places where they should. [FIXED]
- In-line icons for Flame Bait, Trivia, and YMMV wicks are intended, but sometimes overlap preceding text. [Patched]
- Trivia icons should not appear in-line. (Design issue, logged)
- In second-level bullets, icons overlap preceding text. [Logged]
- The [invoked] tag no longer suppresses the aforementioned icons. [Logged]
- [quoteblock] markup causes everything inside to appear italic and squashed together. [FIXED]
- Line breaking for external links doesn't work correctly. [FIXED]
- Post numbering is no longer visible, although you can retrieve it from the hard-link. [Logged]
- "Delete all posts by user" mod feature now causes posts to be completely hidden instead of replaced with "Troll Post". [Logged]
- "Mark all as read" forum feature doesn't work. [Logged]
- "Save Draft" feature doesn't work as expected. [Logged]
- Forum post preview doesn't show all markup. [FIXED]
- Unread indicators on individual forums (topics.php) seem to have nothing to do with whether you actually have any unread posts. [Logged]
- Avatar upload is broken. [In Progress]
- Avatar galleries aren't formatted properly. [Logged]
- Crowners are broken. [Logged]
- Namespace configurator (mod tool) is missing some auto page type options, and the namespace locking feature doesn't work. [Logged]
Previously compiled lists of problems:
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Edited by Fighteer on Jul 13th 2018 at 3:56:59 PM
I don't think I've experienced a single "website overhaul" on any site, ever, that hasn't added more unnecessary white space. I don't understand this at all.
And.. redlinks have turned blue.
I doubt people would be anywhere NEAR as salty about this if it weren't for all the bugs.
Theon is home.
Well, since you're taking complaints, I'll be blunt: the new design is hideous.
From a aesthetic perspective, it's all wrong: terrible use of contrastive features (either too much or too little), poorly distinguished page elements, and generally poor design. And that's before I even have the chance to spot bugs.
Apologies for being so unspecific and unconstructive; I can provide details when I have the opportunity to review the thread, make screenshots and see the changes on the actual computer.
Were any usability tests conducted before rolling these changes out universally? All my respect to those who dedicate their time and keep this site up and running, but seriously, this overhaul is in need of a massive overhaul itself.
Edited by mahidevrans on Jun 26th 2018 at 11:07:38 AM
Veteran Editor IV
The crowner for changing it back now has 120+ upvotes and 9 downvotes.
The consensus seems solid for changing it back. But if we do change it back, can we keep three things that are definitely good?
- This site being in HTTPS.
- Crowner Activity finally getting paginated. It weight over 4000 KB back when it wasn't.
- Some hardcoded site links finally link to pages with namespaces. This finally links to Administrivia.TV Tropes Forum, and not Main.TV Tropes Forum.
Edited by Piterpicher on Jun 26th 2018 at 8:21:23 PM
Currently mostly inactive. An incremental game I tested: https://galaxy.click/play/176 (Gods of Incremental)
Meito Anizawa, Anime Tenchou
Also noticed color markup shows up in previews now! At least that's a good thing, I've been wanting that for a while
"Leftover items still have value!"
I'm really not digging the fact that the redesign makes the forum look like Wikia comments sections.
"I like girls, but now, it's about justice."
Wasn't the site already https?
The Protomen enhanced my life.
Veteran Editor IV
Nope, it wasn't HTTPS until this update.
Currently mostly inactive. An incremental game I tested: https://galaxy.click/play/176 (Gods of Incremental)
Theon is home.
I just noticed the HTTPS (though it doesn't seem to appear on all pages) and that's certainly a feature I can get behind as well.
I would like to know from those who find the new design better: why? I'm not being facetious, I'm just finding it difficult to see improvements on the front-end of things.
Edited by mahidevrans on Jun 26th 2018 at 11:24:48 AM
I keep getting logged out on my computer and phone. That didn't happen with the previous site. I don't know if it was like that for anyone else but it has changed for me.
Even though it's HTTPS, there's no padlock on either Firefox or Chrome.
The "Open/close all folders" is tiny and barely noticeable compared to the previous layout where it looked like an actual button and more visible.
On my Firefox, I can't even do bullets - with the * in the front - for my points here (that, or I'm using the wrong formatting).
Edited by eagle108 on Jun 27th 2018 at 12:01:23 PM
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
Currently only able to experience this on mobile. Skimmed the thread. I too apparently joined 4/4/12, and I'm getting mobile ads that stretch the page, forcing me to scroll to x out of them.
I just wish this big change had been announced beforehand, to cushion the shock.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Our Favorite Cowgirl, er, Mare
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
You and me both.
This new layout is hideous, distracting and bug-ridden. Get rid of it.
I am guessing this is a known bug however (I have seen it mentioned a couple of times previously) but I just noticed that the page I attempted to edit yesterday (The 40K Chaos Marine Character Page) soon after the overall that resulted in a failure is now locked.
Also on Edge, forum posts seem to unsecure but everywhere else is secure.
The Recent Changes shows only one page of edits, there is no page for any older ones
Edited by jormis29 on Jun 28th 2018 at 5:02:23 AM
Given the sheer amount of bugs and glitches we've been finding, why wasn't this change announced in the first place? Like, on the TVTropes Twitter or at least a banner on the main page with a "Hey, changes are coming, please expect technical difficulties!" or something.
Edited by eagle108 on Jun 27th 2018 at 12:02:31 PM
I've got a few forum navigation complaints.
The less amount of pages viable is really annoying. You can now only see tabs for 3 pages (I.e Prev, 34, 35, 36).
That makes navigation though backlog just a little bit more annoying.
The biggest issue is how much less intuitive it is to see which threads have updated since you last looked.
Getting rid of the icon and replacing it with just a gray text filter was a huge mistake.
"But if that happened, Melia might actually be happy. We can't have that." - Handsome Rob
Too much adorableness
@Eternityof Spirits: And remember when the last layout was changed from the original? Yeah...
IMO it's not bad. HTTPS support is long overdue...still want Spoiler toggle back at sidebar tho, also still wish since last layout version that the siderbar IMO eats a bit too much space. Show Folder button isn't working (although the new folder layout is nice). I also wish that the trope watchlist you can disable the image so the list can be condensed to use less space without resorting to use cosmetic blocker to hide them.
Edited by onyhow on Jun 27th 2018 at 12:11:46 PM
Give me cute or give me...something?
Never Ask Me For Anything Ever Again
I don't mind how it looks, I just want to be able to use it on Chrome and not in Incognito. And for every other bug to be fixed. And to be able to make all spoilers visible. And make it easy for me to navigate the website on Chrome.
Edited by TimeLordVictorious on Jun 27th 2018 at 12:08:40 PM
"Shout, shout, let it all out These are the things I can do without, come on I'm talking to you, come on!" -Tears For Fears
First time posting on the forums and it's because of this mess, what a wonderful way to start. I could make a post about my views on the update and what should be done but I'd just be echoing what everyone else is already saying, it's bad and should be reverted. In the interest of being constructive I can comment about the frasibility of reverting the site.
While there have been a couple of posts have claimed that there's no way to revert the site due the extent of changes in the backend code this isn't quite true. While these changes may make it impossible for a conventional reversion to occur it should still be possible to rollback the site. If the admins are following good backup protocol(and if not what the hell) they should be making regular copies of the site. To rollback shutoff the current site, load in the most recent backup from before the update and good as new. True all data between backup and rollback will be gone but I'd bet money that setting up a script to restore lost data, or hell doing it manually, would be faster than fixing all the bugs in the new update. Does anyone have a count by the way? I'm pretty sure we're either in the triple digits as of T+11 hours or on track for it soon.
Also bug reports: on iOS at least when I click the link in the bulletin list about “New overhaul” it goes to a blank white page with the text “File not found.” Second bug, when I press preview on this post it shows me a preview with no paragraph breaks, not sure if there'll be missing breaks in the actual post or not. Just in case they are actually missing this post should have breaks right after the sentence fragments “reverting the site.” and “on track for it soon.”
Edit: Oh good, they survived.
Edited by NexusEye on Jun 27th 2018 at 12:12:01 PM
Dark Sun, what choices have I...?
Can't seem to upload new avatars, it just gives me an empty box instead of prompting me to select an image or letting me drag one in. Switching between the ones I have is fine, though.
i guess you can watch me shitpost i guess
Wow, just the login bug would make this one of the most disastrous rollouts in TV Tropes history. I'm surprised the site wasn't rolled back to the old format to the point of wiping out all changes made in the new format and everyone forced to change their passwords. Instead it looks like there was just a single forced log-out.
Here's the point that needs to be made and where all these problems really stem from: this really should have spent some time in beta where it could collect actual feedback before being let loose on the wiki as a whole... and as has been indicated, it was! As announced in a thread that a) wasn't linked from the bulletins to my knowledge, b) wasn't linked from the TV Tropes 2.0 or namespace-cleanup threads, and c) wasn't even linked to people who contributed to the Kickstarter from so long ago and were supposed to be beta-testing any new changes. That's not even getting into how it was made in Long-Term Projects, a forum people rarely have any reason to check the main page of because new threads are exceedingly rare and what threads people do check they probably already have on their watchlist (in the past threads about large-scale site changes showed up in Wiki Talk; I think even the namespace thread started out there before being moved to Long-Term, or at least was linked from the 2.0 thread). I actually happened to stumble upon the thread... after the beta testing period was already over. A grand total of five people posted in the thread before the new site rolled out, two of them while the beta was accessible. I thought we'd learned how to be better at how to communicate and prepare the troper base about significant changes. I hope the devs didn't seriously think they "tested as much as we could" without questioning how many people actually participated in the test to the point of junking all the old code that actually worked and people were actually mostly fine with. I'm not sure whether or not this is worse than Fast Eddie's failed "facelift" that was discussed entirely in a thread with a title that implied it was only about a handful of specific namespaces until it was rolled out (that was long enough ago that one of the namespaces mentioned was Troper Tales and what became the bulletins was rolled out partly as a result of that fiasco).
Also not a fan of the format from an aesthetic perspective. Having titles in Helvetica/Arial worked in the Fast Eddie era and added to the slapped-together amateur aesthetic of the site (and I mean that in the best possible way). This not only clashes with how the site design has changed since then but the titles are now something like twice the size, making them all the more distracting. The second-level bullet point bug makes it look like the bullet is part of the text and generally looking amateurish (in a bad way) and being distracting, with the second-level point now being indented the same as a quote in the first-level point (at least in iPhone Safari). The line spacing looked slapdash when I looked earlier too.
By the way, I notice that some posts have "edited" times wildly different and often earlier than the post times (not always simply changing PM to AM as some people have suggested). Are time zone settings being inconsistently applied?
Can we have our old TV Tropes back now? Please?
:( If it JUST looks like ass that's one thing, but it seems like we've lost a bunch of features in the process...
Just put it back the way it was....