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Thwack suggestions

Perhaps these things are configurable and I haven't found them, but these irritations are driving me bananas, and while I'm not sure if this is the right place for these suggestions, this is where I'm putting them.

The blue text that is used for subjects, titles, and other critical UI elements in the Thwack user interface is a sub-optimal choice. Contrast, text size, and other factors combine to make the choice of the pale blue text a huge eye-breaker. And light grey is pretty crappy, too.

I wasn't able to find any way to change the UI elements, such as text size, so that I might be able to easily read portions of the Thwack site, but if those are configurable, that would be great.

Age of data. Searches often produce lots of information, and it turns out that a lot of it is not relevant to current versions of SolarWinds. I can refine searches after I get results, but I would prefer a global solution to save me from the same clicks over and over.

Timestamps on volunteered information. There are often "similar" or "like items" elements that are displayed along with a search result. If these had timestamps, I could easily dismiss items without having to click through to view the page itself.

I just looked at the NCM beta release notes, and one of the things mentioned is that 3.8 is going EOL. Considering the release notes for 3.8 are date August of 2011, I would think timeliness of Thwack information would be even more relevant. Plus I admit I was shocked to see something with a August 2011 release date is EOL'd, but I'm starting to understand that is the way it goes with SolarWinds.

Again, I'm not sure if this is the right place to make these suggestions. Obviously, admins should feel free to move this post if it is supposed to be someplace else.

  • Hi dgglynn,

    You're in the right place and thank you for the feedback.  There are a some things I'll need to look into in order to address all of your questions/suggestions.  Hang tight and I'll have a thorough response for you.

    Thanks,

    Danielle

  • The blue text that is used for subjects, titles, and other critical UI elements in the Thwack user interface is a sub-optimal choice. Contrast, text size, and other factors combine to make the choice of the pale blue text a huge eye-breaker. And light grey is pretty crappy, too.

    We haven't had any feedback about the UI elements such as the text color.  We will look into this and conduct some testing.  If you have any suggestions as to what you'd like it to be, let us know.

    I wasn't able to find any way to change the UI elements, such as text size, so that I might be able to easily read portions of the Thwack site, but if those are configurable, that would be great.

    We do not have a way for you to change the text size.  If you haven't already, I would suggest using the zoom on your browser as a workaround.

    Age of data. Searches often produce lots of information, and it turns out that a lot of it is not relevant to current versions of SolarWinds. I can refine searches after I get results, but I would prefer a global solution to save me from the same clicks over and over.

    We have a long-standing policy that content does not get removed from the site.  We have to keep this information available for those who are not on the most current version of our products.  Not to mention, a lot of is actually is still applicable to current versions.  With 100,000+ users and countless amounts of content, the best way to find what you're looking for is to use the search perimeters.  One way that may be more efficient is to search from within the forum you are in.  For example, navigate to the NPM forum and start typing in your search.  You'll notice results will start to populate and from there you can restrict the search to only NPM content.  Then all you'd have to refine is the date perimeters.

    Forum  Network Performance Monitor   thwack.png

    Timestamps on volunteered information. There are often "similar" or "like items" elements that are displayed along with a search result. If these had timestamps, I could easily dismiss items without having to click through to view the page itself.

    My apologies if I'm not understanding the question correctly, but there are time stamps located under each of the search results. 

    Forum Search   thwack.png

    I just looked at the NCM beta release notes, and one of the things mentioned is that 3.8 is going EOL. Considering the release notes for 3.8 are date August of 2011, I would think timeliness of Thwack information would be even more relevant. Plus I admit I was shocked to see something with a August 2011 release date is EOL'd, but I'm starting to understand that is the way it goes with SolarWinds.

    This is partially answered with what I mentioned above.  We cannot do away with older content for that very reason.  When a product version goes EOL, those users will still need a place for support which they'll find here on the forums.  Also, supporting a release schedule, updates, feature schedule, etc. for almost a full two years is substantial.  I would reach out to the NCM Product Manager () if you'd like to inquire more about this.

    Please let me know if you have any further comments/concerns.

    Thanks,

    Danielle

  • Hi - Not sure if you've noticed but we've changed the pale-blue text color to a darker blue.

  • I do find that more readable.Thank you for considering my suggestion.

  • Did the dark blue text revert some how? It seems to have returned to the pale blue.

  • Minor glitch.  It will return shortly.

  • No problem.  It seems most of our other users have taken a liking to the new color as well.