Welcome to SFF.Network. We're just getting started.

TL;DR: We've upgraded our forum, which will unlock lots of new features! As a part of this, SFF Forum is now merged into SFF Network, and the two are now one website and online experience. The website as it looks and feels now is mostly the 'default' setting of our new template; this will be updated and refined over the next few weeks. If you encounter bugs or other issues, flag them here and we will work to address them as quickly as possible.

Hey all,

I'm pleased to share that we've successfully updated our forum today! This release is the result of considerable work behind the scenes, much of which isn't visible to end users. That said, it's the sizable effort culminating into today's release that will enable us to begin development work on some exciting stuff that you will be able to see, use, and enjoy.

Here's what's new as of today:

1. SFF Forum and SFF Network are now one and the same. Our newsfeed and forum are one unified website, and will imminently share deep integration, such as native forum threads for comment sections. Our domain name will also soon be updated to sff.network (though smallformfactor.net will continue to work)
2. Our website has a new interface. Our focus for today's release was to transition the forum to a new platform, and as such the look and feel we have today is merely a sign of what's to come. Expect a bunch of changes and refinements as we turn towards creating the ideal user experience and functionality for the community, atop of our new technology stack.
3. A bunch of new features are now available. From native support of high-DPI screens, to emoji support, to tables (FINALLY), to inline Giphy GIFs in our post editor, there are all sorts of new functions of the forum that members can enjoy, right away.

Here's what to expect in the next few weeks:

1. Changes to our Patreon and supporter tiers. Just as we've merged our newsfeed and forum, we will be unifying the ways in which community members can support our content and our forum. We will be retiring our Patreon account and making significant changes and investments in the feature set we offer to existing and new supporters, who will now be backing our content as well as our infrastructure.
2. New content, with a focus on mediums beyond written posts. We'll have more to share later, but are excited to expand the scope of what content is published in the SFF.Network newsfeed!
3. A genuinely modern forum, with an interface and functionality set that leads the pack. Advanced searching, tagging and indexing; improved media and embed integration; better formatting tools and content; new capabilities and controls for creators; improved web performance... there's a lot we have in our backlog, and much of it will be deployed in the coming weeks.

As with any transition of this magnitude, there are inevitably going to be some bugs or regressions; I would ask that you flag any issues you encounter and let us know about it, such that we can address. Of course, feel free to share any questions or feedback here, as well!

We're excited for what's next. Welcome to SFF.Network!

MRW I didn't melt down our servers while updating everything:

Best,

– Joshua

 

[TheHig]

Woohoo!

I may or may not have attempted to access the site like 50x today... ?

 

[tinyitx]

One quick feedback: the white characters on black background is, personally, not appealing. The previous one was 'bad' already but this new look is even worse. Previously, it was marginally better than the Hard Forum's but now it is just the same. I feel bad that my initial impression is not a positive one.
BTW, I think Hard Forum offers a 'dark mode/theme' and a 'light mode/theme'. Does this new look have this too? If there is one, I am still looking for it. I have checked 'Preferences' and there is not one.

 

[Windfall]

I agree with @tinyitx.

Improvements I like are changes in mentioning (so much easier),
the search bar up top and the recent tabs.

One question. Will the main url now be sff.network?

Some suggestions:

add a light mode switch if at all possible
make so when you highlight something it's black on white instead of white on black. Super hard to see what you're selecting.

Very excited for the future!

 

[comagoosie]

With patreon being sunset, just let me know where I should redirect my monies ??

 

[Solo]

The only thing tilting me is that the categories are arranged in a block formation.

Edit: Also the miniscule avatar size.

 

[loader963]

Red and black huh??? Reminds me of MSI Gaming lol. I can get used to it. Btw I like the white text in black background.

 

[ASCii]

It does feel more organized.

 

[giraffesinmybalcony]

please allow users to choose between the current forum theme and the previous one. this is just horrendous and looks like a low effort copy of HardForums

 

[Reldey]

Interesting... I just noticed the expand width button in the bottom left and I like the layout much better now. Cool overall design, I think the contrast is OK. The background of posts could be a little darker to help make it better though. Nice job.

 

[Choidebu]

Love the font, I'm (always) on mobile (android), this is much more modern and easy on the eyes.

Not entirely sold on red on black scheme, since this particular red has an aggresive tone to it, compared to the old calmer blue. Like, I feel that there must be some other, less violent shade of red..

Seconded @Windfall 's opinion on highlighting... almost unusable.

I'll play around a bit more, many new exciting facets.

Best one so far? BOOKMARKING. I literally just talked about this feature in respond to @VegetableStu 's post the other day!

 

[PlayfulPhoenix]

I may or may not have attempted to access the site like 50x today... ?

Yes, apologies for that – we needed a fair bit of time to get everything updated/upgraded safely. We shouldn't have such a prolonged outage for some time, though.

BTW, I think Hard Forum offers a 'dark mode/theme' and a 'light mode/theme'. Does this new look have this too? If there is one, I am still looking for it. I have checked 'Preferences' and there is not one.

We are planning to offer this, as we do have the capability to offer an arbitrary number of themes selectable by users!

Also, to address some of the feedback around aesthetics:

One quick feedback: the white characters on black background is, personally, not appealing. The previous one was 'bad' already but this new look is even worse. Previously, it was marginally better than the Hard Forum's but now it is just the same.

make so when you highlight something it's black on white instead of white on black. Super hard to see what you're selecting.

The only thing tilting me is that the categories are arranged in a block formation.

this is just horrendous and looks like a low effort copy of HardForums

The background of posts could be a little darker to help make it better though. Nice job.

Not entirely sold on red on black scheme, since this particular red has an aggresive tone to it, compared to the old calmer blue. Like, I feel that there must be some other, less violent shade of red..Seconded @Windfall 's opinion on highlighting... almost unusable.

I think I should have emphasized this better in the OP, but: we've done very little configuration of the look and feel of the forum, as it exists right now. For today we were pretty narrowly focused on making changes to our server, database, platform, etc. However, a consequence of those changes – particularly the migration to XenForo 2 – is that we broke compatibility with the original SFF Forum template. So what we have right now is a 'good enough' stopgap until we publish a tested and refined UX, over the next week or two. A lot of this feedback is the sort of thing that will definitely be changing; in terms of my own notes I've already flagged:

• More muted tones, particularly for the accented colors
• Some legibility improvements (text/background contrast, point size, line height)
• Tagging + Topics UX (mostly making these a bit easier to use)
• Scaling (avatars, labels, navigation)
• Layout (particularly for the blog and forum list)

 

[confusis]

TLDR; (IMHO)

The current aesthetic is a quick draft to get the new functionality for users online and running sooner rather than later

"Please excuse the crudity of this model. I didn't have time to build it to scale or paint it"

 

[tinyitx]

''We are planning to offer this, as we do have the capability to offer an arbitrary number of themes selectable by users! ''
--->Excellent! ?

''number of themes''---> plural! I hope there will be a theme similar to Overclock.net's which I think has one of the best looking text/background colour combination among all the tech forums.

 

[Phuncz]

Considering it’s a stop gap and not yet final, I’m looking forward to the endresult. I’m positive after being patient while @PlayfulPhoenix gets the layout tuned, we’ll be feeling right at home !

 

[Aux]

Um, its very red . . . . am struggling to read the red on black. . .

 

[razaldo]

Love the new layout and functionality

However, IMO, the blue color looked better than the red

The red hits the eyes too hard, especially on the black / dark background

 

[VegetableStu]

uhh quick question: does the new engine allow for animations to be turned off in the user settings? ,_, I'll tolerate over time if it's not possible to

EDIT: oh hey, ctrl-enter works here o_o

 

[owliwar]

omg I hated the new layout but I'm getting used to it.
thanks for letting me know that its temporary, though.

I dont know anymore how to reply to comments, but the red on links is very harsh and hard to read. I'd prefer if we could add a blue/gray theme at least;
I also miss the bigger avatar.

did the DMs changed in any way?

 

[owliwar]

test test
edit: ops I thought ctrl enter would break line but it submits. its interesting.
One other thing. view count. Its possible to keep the view count as full numbers? its a bit weird seing a 300 view post appearing to have more views than a 8k view one.
I know its a right form of notation but I kinda linked that visual cue as to how many views the posts were getting