http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/

Hi all,

I have been away for a few months, and I would just like to get a general sense of how users think the site is doing, how it should grow, etc. If you are dissatisfied with some aspect of the site, please offer alternative suggestions.

FYI: I will be adding some sort of date parameter to the pages, so that everyone knows when they were last updated. That should help with figuring out "who" has the latest instructions. There will also soon be a favicon for the site, and depending upon the feedback, there may or may not be a nicer skin for the website soon.


Thanks all!
- Tomlong75210

That alone is a most welcome feature!

I really like your site, and it was a big help to me when I recently installed FCOM. So whatever I say, I mean it constructively. I really do.

So... what strikes me as a bit user-unfriendly is the homepage has far too many clicking options. There is nothing really eye-catchy and there are overall too many options on the homepage. It's hard to distinguish major themes from subsections. Maybe the main themes (dark blue titles on the left) should be expandable. Click on it and they will open it's content. Not like now where you can see everything. I probably have more feedback if you like, just a bit time-pressed now.

I guess you'll have to update many of the pages with more recent versions of mods appearing, especially Wrye Bash. The guide still lists installing v275 etc., but I believe that is not the preferred install method now.

Also, hopefully more BCFs will appear - your excellent guide enabled me back in July to move over completely to BAIN from OBMM, but adding BCFs will definitely help convert others. Also, I believe some of the BCFs didn't work for me.

And a suggestion: Add a list of mods that have been merged safely and some tweaks to make that happen. Psymon and PetrusOctavius have helped me a lot to make this possible. Maybe their suggestions can be listed on the website (I have their PMs, and information can be taken from there if both Petrus and Psymon are OK with that)?

I really like the right-hand bar which lists the most accessed pages (I think they are the most accessed pages). But it is difficult to find some things - e.g., the FCOM install guide is under Mod Installation Guides, under Guides and Tutorials. That should pop out more like a first-level heading, as most people will be directed to your site for the FCOM guide! Basically, I agree with Tommy_H says, the organization could be a bit simplified to help find the most sought after pages.

Also, the "next step" button at the bottom pages of some guides is so insignificant, that it seems that the install guide is finished while in fact only the first page is done. Please make that more prominent!

PS: Good to see you back! We've missed you, and your troubleshooting ways

Just to address one common concern, site navigation:

Would it be better if change the side navbar layout back to how it was on the old site? I'll try a few things to make the navigation simpler. Also, the homepage is definitely not finished.

Ms. Patriarch (that does not sound right)

Just wanted to say thanks for the work you put into this.

Hey Tomlong,

I don't remember what the nav bar looked like on the old site, so I can't comment on that. I would like to see more colour to delineate the different areas. I also prefer a background that's a bit softer on the eyes - I find the white background quite glaring. I also find the navigation rather confusing, but it's hard for me to describe exactly what the problem is. I just know that when I'm looking for something, it's often not classified the way I would expect. Mind you, it's probably really difficult trying to classify half of this stuff!

I know when I was looking for the load order samples, I had to poke about a bit because I didn't expect it to be called "Real Load Orders". If you scan that sidebar, you've got "Post your Load Order", "Real Load Orders" and "My Load Order". Perhaps those should all be combined in a single section that's a one stop source for Load Order Questions. You can explain how to post your load order when looking for help, some samples of real load orders and your own load order - I think that all fits in a single section and would make finding things much easier.

So that's probably the best way to describe how I find your navigation confusing and if you could find ways to group things a little more, it might make it easier for people to navigate the site and for you to maintain too!

Edit: Just found a link to the old site. I prefer the layout of the navigation menu on the old site - it was easier to tell that there were subheadings under the major headings. I also find it easier to read.

My objection isn't so much related to the ordering of the site, as to speed. I used to be able to scroll vertically with ease down a page of threads, or through a thread. Ever since the change, scrolling has been very slow and tedious. Fortunately, I've discovered NoSquint that allows me to disable background images, and I've regained that speed, but at a cost in functionality. These days, for example, when I want to use advanced search, I have to temporarily re-enable background images, then disable them once again, later.

Your welcome, haha.


That's a good suggestion for the load orders. I can change the nav layout to match the old one.

By easier to read, do you mean the color or the font? Have you tried the other color schemes offered? I am going to try to get a more official layout put together soon, but we'll see... I can definitely create more color schemes.


What pages are you having trouble with? Most pages do not have images. The CPS library is the only one with images on every page. I have not noticed any speed issues, but my setup could be different from yours in many ways. I just need a little help finding the pages that are troubling you.


Thanks for the feedback all!
- Tomlong75210


Edit: It has been a while since I looked at some of the pages, and I don't see any reason why the My Load Orders page should not just be destroyed and replaced with an entry in the RLO database.

I like the choice of themes and navigating around seems to be fine for me, the only thing I notice occasionally are some of the cross referenced links you started on the old converting to the new but I think are still on the back-burner awaiting your return. I havent looked at the site in detail since you were this sites resident whirling dervish not so long ago, so cant remember just now the pages but I dont think I need to go looking - you had such a long and organised changes planned list everything was covered which had been suggested by anyone.

Yup, it's still there, still looks scary....haha. It would be nice to know where I could supplement with your guide though. I could leave the details to your guide, and make the relevant Bash pages on my site more concise.

Oh yes use what you can, the idea was to create as many different ways to help users read up on what they needed to follow, either by checking out the images on site, having multiple windows open they could swap between on their desktop with either a pdf viewer and multiple windows, or even just using the Complete Guide of JPGs viewed with Windows Picture and Fax Viewer.....

You have the website developing skills I lack to implement it in a different way so feel free to use images from the optional file Complete JPGs collection if you wish (which have also just been updated). Give me a credit somewhere

Edit: Even though they are JPGs, there is no compression (at 100%) so no loss, I did them that way because I found making the PDF's and occasionally editing pictures would over a few changes accumulate loss (I should have used PNGs to start with really but it got too far with too much to re-do so didn't) - Anyway, re-sizing them should you need to hopefully will not make the images fuzzy, they re-size fine in Open Office (well so long as the aspect ratio is locked, otherwise the writing goes a bit jagged).

I still need to feed TESNexus with all the images again (going out tonight so probably tomorrow), but the JPGs collection is up to date.

If you can remember which BCFs did not work for you, let me know. I only had trouble with the one for HGEC I think.

The merging suggestions sound like a great addition. You can just send me a PM.

The suggestion about the guide button is old news, haha. I guess I really need to move that up on the priority list.



Thanks for the heads up. I'm still recovering from a crazy vacation, and I need time to look through all of your files. Apparently, I missed a couple downloads.


Thanks again all!
- Tomlong75210

Any page. For example, the thread page that your comment, quoted above, was on. If I allow background images, scrolling becomes jerky, and moderately slow. If I use NoSquint to disable them, scrolling vertically is smooth, and very fast. It's the difference of a 2-3 seconds on scrolling a screens length, but multiple that by doing this repeatedly, for every time I scroll through a page of threads, or within a thread's pages, and it becomes a real nuisance. My CPU is fast, and I've got a good card. Can't say I've encountered this anywhere else, or before the site was renovated. For example, if I go to /forums.civfanatics.com/, or //forum.paradoxplaza.com/, it's not a problem. I can keep background images active, and scroll quickly without difficulty.

The main visual difference to the background that I notice, here, is that with background images enabled, the site screen seems to be on top of a mottled tan background, visible on both sides of the screen. It doesn't move when the site screen does, and it doesn't go away with resizing. Once background images are disabled, the mottled tan vanishes, and the active screen reaches to both edges.

If you need specific parameters of anything, I'll be glad to offer, but I'm not sure what you'd want at this point.

The homepage does not have any images. Wait, are you talking about the site's thread or the site itself? By setup, I meant internet connection and browser and the like.

Re. My earlier comments about the background and colours: I didn't even know you offered different colour themes! I rarely look at the very top of the screen very often and that little theme box is jammed right up at the top of the frame. So to answer your question: no, I don't find any of the alternate schemes help. I guess I'd prefer black text on a beige or cream background - just something to back the white off a bit. I do like to have the side panels a slightly different colour - although you could probably keep the same background (as the re-coloured background for the centre section) and just use a different colour for the links. The Dark2 theme isn't bad and does help with the left side panel navigation - when it was all white it was really hard to differentiate. I still think the old navigation style looks a little cleaner though

I've completed installing Oblivion on a new pc and followed your website.

Now that I finished I decided to drop by and let you know.

The site layout is very well thought and simple. Of course I would like a different theme but I think you got plenty of options already.

Basicaly, fantastic work on the website! Thank you very much for all the effort!

Yeah, it looks like I'll have to revamp the side panel, but I'll see what I can do about modifying the dark2 theme for you. I generally use that one or the blue theme. (I love blue and green, haha.)


Always nice to here! ^___^


Thanks again for the feedback everyone!
- Tomlong75210

Actually I'd prefer a black text on pale background theme (like beige or cream), if you wouldn't mind I can live with the dark2 and if you don't want to create another one, that's fine. Creating another one would give a second option for those that prefer black text - I think all your other themes use white text.

Need any updates on anything, just shoot me a pm.

Glad to see you back and great work on the site!

From the http://www.gamesas.com/? site, there is no such left-right border in mottled tan as I describe. But if I were to choose Doom, for example, the Doom forum screen displays on a colorful backdrop drawn from the game. Fallout displays on a kind of light green marble backdrop. TES? On a mottled light tan backdrop. It's also at the top, just a bit. That's what slows things down.

As for my setup, I'm using Firefox 3.x, and a T1 line.

What does this have to do with TESIV:POSItive? I think I lost focus of what we were discussing along the way.

Your site is always a great aid to me and my modding adventures, Tomlong75210!