Seems to be some glitch somewhere...
My usual bookmarks won't connect me to the forum.
Others are having issues as well?
I had to come in via the front door, and have an annoying header in the way..?
happy coaching!
buswarrior
Business as usual for me.
I am not getting notifications. But, we log in frequently enough and hit the button to see unread posts
Mines fine. Did you try and restart? Also clear all cookies. There are some good antivirius and malware apps that work great and are free. You can check some at Cnet.com or other sites such as Google or Amazon app store. Check and read some of the ratings before selecting one.
I have noticed a difference for the last several days. I have always used the busconversions.com address to check the forum, and it worked quickly with fewer ads than the BCM front page at busconversionmagazine.com, which now seems to be the only way in. More ads and a narrower forum box, it is more annoying to access. :-\
I figured it out. busconversionmagazine.com/forum goes to the "original" format without the side ads. The link on busconversionmagazine.com goes to busconversionmagazine.com/bcm-forum that is the new format with the ads on the side. If you still have your browser tab open to the "original" format everything still works as usual. That is why many are not seeing the "new" format.
I think this is going to drive away a number of the remaining members. I understand the need for more revenue, but ads on the side like that are extra annoying.
I wasn't aware there was a new format. So I tried accessing the forum from the Bus Conversions home page and my ad blocker gave me what I'm used to seeing with a blank strip down the right side. I understand the need for ad revenue but if its that simple to avoid seeing them then I doubt it will drive many people away.
Quote from: belfert on November 03, 2019, 02:42:05 PM
I figured it out. busconversionmagazine.com/forum goes to the "original" format without the side ads.
I think this is going to drive away a number of the remaining members. I understand the need for more revenue, but ads on the side like that are extra annoying.
Bookmarking busconversionmagazine.com/forum is definitely the way to go to avoid those excessive ads, and extra scrolling. Gary needs to keep things afloat with ad revenue, but that other page is excessive. :(
Mine is the same I get 2 tiny ads at the top always then they go away when I open the page
I use this one:
https://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?action=unread
It wouldn't load at all, day of and day before, when I originally posted, some sort of server error message, I was out in the fringes using the phone hotspot, so thought it was on this end, but then read elsewhere that others were having concurrent troubles.
Seems there's a few ways to get in to the info?
In via the magazine homepage is not my favorite, huge bar on top taking up screen space.
Happy coaching!
Buswarrior
Had to update my quik link to this one:
https://www.busconversionmagazine.com/forum/index.php
I use "click here for a quick start" on my phone that isn't bookmarked.
I havent been able to get in for a week or so. Had to post on grease monkey to get in. Someone posted a link and it worked. My previous bookmarks were no longer working
Same here...
Some word from our host as to whatever cleaning up has been done sure would be HELPFUL...
The old way works on my phone, nothing like the old way will work on the laptop...
Gary, which addresses are supposed to work or don't anymore?
happy coaching!
buswarrior
Maybe he's not posting because he hasn't changed anything. As I posted exactly 1 week ago its been business as usual here. There's a million reasons why computers act up. It doesn't have to be because Gary did something malicious.
The only reason I knew anything on this forum had changed was because you guys told me it had. I had to go looking to confirm what you were claiming but I still access the forum exactly the same way I have forever.
found my problem a few weeks ago=old bookmark. Entered using ID and password and all is good now. I definitely visit to often. I need to get active working on projects.. Bob of soon to be frozen southern Indiana:: start rain am ice after lunch turning to snow low of 15F Mon nite..
The "click here for a fast start" on the phone has disappeared. My tablets work fine with their bookmarks. All mine are Android though.
We have not changed anything except to add Google Ads on the right hand side to help support the Forum. It does not bring in much money, but does help some. I still have plenty of room on my screen to read the Forum even with the Google Ads on the right hand side and bottom.
If you are still seeing a large Google Ad at the top, then you should clear your cache and try again as this should not be happening.
If you are still seeing things you do not like, then please email me a screen grab and I will look into it, but I myself are not having any issues reading it on my laptop. Send your ideas and suggestions to Gary@BusConversionMagazine.com and I will do everything I can to help.
We do not want to upset the bus conversion community but we do need to have a way to pay for the Forum as the magazine itself no longer makes enough money to support the forum. We just do not have as many subscribers as we used to because younger people want something for nothing and do their research online for free. I am doing everything I can to make the magazine profitable but it is a tough road to follow at this point.
Please do not reply to this thread to suggest what else we can do to make the Forum or the Magazine better as this will take this off topic. Please send me an email and I will respond to all emails.
We have run ads along the right hand side before, for a number of years, and it does help pay the bills. However, it was just a single, narrow strip. I've noticed a number of times that it jumps to a size that is too large, and I agree, it is bbbiiiiiiiigggg. Will check it out. I think I can see the cause.
Thanks for the feedback!, Phil
Thank you Gary and Phil.
Interesting that the address I use on the phone works, but it won't work on the laptop anymore?
Keep up the good work!
Happy coaching!
Buswarrior
Quote from: plyons on November 11, 2019, 10:42:23 AM
We have run ads along the right hand side before, for a number of years, and it does help pay the bills. However, it was just a single, narrow strip. I've noticed a number of times that it jumps to a size that is too large, and I agree, it is bbbiiiiiiiigggg. Will check it out. I think I can see the cause.
Thanks for the feedback!, Phil
Thanks Phil.
Just noticed today that on my smartphone (Note 9) the 'new' layout appears with a huge ad across the top of the screen, taking up about 1/3 of the screen. Then there are the two normal ads. There was nothing left showing till I scrolled down quite a bit.
Looks like something went wrong with the mobile version as well.
On the phone now, just totally filled with lots of big ads . Thanks Gary!
Agreed. Access on smartphone is painful right now. Here is what the screen looks like right now. And the screen below when you scroll down. Something is wrong with the layout.
It's now necessary to scroll about 3 screens down before you actually start to see content, and even then it's not at all optimized for use on a smartphone.
I'm starting to miss the days of access through Tapatalk again. Access was pretty smooth through a smartphone until recently.
It looks like two changes have been made: More ads, and busconversions.com is no longer used for access. :(
Quote from: DoubleEagle on November 12, 2019, 06:03:10 AM
It looks like two changes have been made: More ads, and busconversions.com is no longer used for access. :(
I have no problem with additional ads on the site, and using a different URL shouldn't be a problem.
The problem is that the ads, especially when accessed on a mobile device, make the site very difficult to access and nearly impossible to read conveniently. I find myself going to the site much less frequently when away from my home computer than I used to. If ad revenue is important, which it appears to be, then driving away site visits is going to be counterproductive.
Perhaps the ads can be incorporated into the website a little differently? Scrolling is a headache when you've scrolled to the bottom of a lengthy thread, but have also somehow scrolled the ads on the side as well. In the end you have to scroll two different active areas of the website to get to the top again.
We removed the Google Ads from the top of the Forum. We have been trying to do that for over a month now and I think we finally succeeded.
Let us know if this is easier for you now or if there is still a problem.
Gary
Quote from: belfert on November 03, 2019, 02:42:05 PM
I figured it out. busconversionmagazine.com/forum goes to the "original" format without the side ads. The link on busconversionmagazine.com goes to busconversionmagazine.com/bcm-forum that is the new format with the ads on the side.
This works fine for me...