New Message Board Layout and Design

We’ve been working to improve and modernize Phantasy Tour's layout and page design. We began this endeavor by collaborating with an independent user experience/user interface (UX/UI) designer to produce a style guide and composite designs for an entirely redesigned Phantasy Tour. Our goal is to provide a contemporary, intuitive and consistent sitewide design that scales seamlessly across various screen sizes. We've been releasing newly designed pages as they've been completed. So far, this includes the band home page, the band show list page, and the band setlist page among others.

The message board thread list page and post list page are the two busiest pages on our site. We do not take making changes to these pages lightly. Our members have expressed strong opinions both for and against the current format and layout. Furthermore, it is imperative that these pages are optimized for performance due to the amount of traffic they see. Changes to these pages require thoughtful consideration and feedback. As such, we have been conducting a private beta test for several months and are now moving to a public beta test.

Starting today, any member of Phantasy Tour can opt in to using our new message board layout. The toggle switch for changing your layout is located on the message board settings page (https://www.phantasytour.com/settings/forum). Not all message board pages and features have been converted yet. The search page as well as various others will be converted in the coming weeks.

Below are some screenshots of the new interface. Some key features worth noting are:

  • We have replaced paging on the thread list page with infinite scroll. On most browsers, this will mean that the back button in your browser will return you to the same spot in the thread list where you left.
  • On mobile, the "create a thread" feature is now a floating "Compose" button in the lower right corner of the screen when browsing the thread list page.
  • On desktop and mobile, the reply box at the bottom of the post list page can be opened as a pop-up anywhere along the page using a floating button/bar in the lower right corner of the screen.
  • On the post list page, a "Star" button replaces "MT" as the method for adding a thread to your "My Threads" list.
  • On the thread list page, the "Star" button will filter the list of threads down to those on your "My Threads" list.

If you have feedback regarding the new layout, please provide it on our support site located at http://support.phantasytour.com.

Thread List Page (mobile)

Post List Page (mobile)

Board Settings Page (mobile)



Thread List Page (desktop)

Setlist Pop-up (mobile)

Popular posts from this blog

Island Tour Inspiration

Image
I can trace the inspiration for Phantasy Tour to a couple key events and interactions leading up to its launch in September 1999. One such event was a rec.music.phish / Phunky Bitches meet-up that took place 20 years ago today on April 5, 1998 at the Trinity Brewhouse in Providence, RI. This was the day of the final show of Phish’s 4-show Island Tour , named as such for the fact that the shows took place on Long Island and in Rhode Island. My wife and I were living in Harrisburg, PA at the time and had made the trip up to Rhode Island on Saturday for the first of two shows at the Providence Civic Center . On Sunday we arrived at the Trinity Brewhouse a couple hours before the show and weren’t really sure we’d know anyone there. We were pleased to spot a familiar face in the crowd; our Harrisburg friend and Benjy’s Digest curator, Benjy Eisen. Twenty years later, there isn’t much about that pre-show gathering that I can recall, but I will always remember that Benjy handed me a pen ...
Read more

Changes Coming to the Phantasy Tour Message Boards

For over two decades, Phantasy Tour has been a destination for live music fans to engage with their favorite bands and connect with other fans. We have long struggled with enforcing the rules for posting messages on Phantasy Tour’s message boards . The volume of content, diversity of opinions and technological work arounds make this especially challenging. As with any vibrant and active online community, discussions on our forums can often devolve into ugly exchanges. With our large number of readers, we have attracted users that seem to have little interest in discussing music and instead are intent on sowing discord, intimidating others or spreading disinformation. We do not condone hate speech or illegal activities on our website. We have always had mechanisms for reporting content and have been committed to the timely review of all reported posts. When reviewing reported content, we strive to be as fair and objective as possible while also respecting freedom of expression. This is ...
Read more