New feature: Recommended Articles

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by nvestysly

I guess I'm one of those people who don't like change particularly when it interferes/changes something that I thought worked perfectly well. As a supporting member I'm certainly going to attempt to turn this off.

I'm not particularly upset about them being at the bottom of the page but they are not really at the bottom of the page. They're near the bottom but create an annoying separation of the last post and the quick reply menu. Perhaps they can be moved so they really are at the bottom of the page.

Thanks.

Change just for the sake of change is so useless!

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by NWGetaways

FYI: They don't lay out correctly on an iPad.

This should be fixed now. We've also changed up the display so that there are fewer articles displaying for those logged in.

Thanks so much for the feedback

[OTRA15]

Nice fine-tuning. I have already read some helpful articles. Wondering about the remote sites' Cookie policies, but since I clean cache frequently, I hope I have this concern covered.

[switz]

It would be nice if the Black signing up screen would not pop up for a few seconds longer so I can finish logging in after reseting the browser and clearing the caches.

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Nice fine-tuning. I have already read some helpful articles. Wondering about the remote sites' Cookie policies, but since I clean cache frequently, I hope I have this concern covered.

RV Life is now owned by us so the privacy policy is the same as here on AIR Forums. We are an ad supported business so cookies are used by services that we use to serve those ads (such as Google). If you are concerned or do not like retargeting ads then I would suggest opting out from the following link which tells most of the networks to knock it off:
http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/

Originally Posted by switz

It would be nice if the Black signing up screen would not pop up for a few seconds longer so I can finish logging in after reseting the browser and clearing the caches.

ARe you talking about the Airstream Daily email screen? If so, that is disabled so it only shows once every 90 days but it uses a cookie to set that timer. So if you delete cookies, you will need to close the window before it will be suppressed again for 90 days. There is a setting to allow users to disable the prompt if you have cookies disabled but you will need to login each time.

I would suggest simply loading the site, counting to 5, close the Airstream Daily prompt and then logging in. If you try to login before it will just pop-up in front of you and you will have to close it to get back.

I understand this is a pain for some and apologies. The reason we use that modal window for the Airstread Daily is because it works. The Airstream Daily is now our #2 source of traffic allowing us to diversify our visitor traffic. This is important should we ever suffer a catastrophic Google algorithm blow. We have to focus on other ways to keep our audience coming back and the emails work.

If you are looking for quick easy ways to dump your cookies, try using incognito mode in the web browser. Cookies will only last for your current session. Once you close incognito mode they will all get dumped. That's a decent way to stay away from the ad cookies.

[OTRA15]

Excellent suggestion switz! Another 4 seconds to log in would benefit faithful readers immensely.

Edit -- Thanks Andy R for the details.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Andy R

. . .
ARe you talking about the Airstream Daily email screen? If so, that is disabled so it only shows once every 90 days but it uses a cookie to set that timer. So if you delete cookies, you will need to close the window before it will be suppressed again for 90 days.
. . .

Thanks for this useful bit of information. First time I heard of a cookie actually making it more pleasant to be online.

I have found that I can actually log in on my laptop (with real keyboard and mouse) faster than it takes for that screen to pop up, if I am ready that is! Not so on the iPad and iPhone where I do indeed wait the 5 seconds you suggest and close the pop-up.

Can't imagine NOT cleaning cache and deleting cookies very frequently during each online session. Too many bad guys out there . . .

[Janet H]

Most browsers (and virus protection packages) will allow you you to selectively allow cookie exchange and retain those cookies with a specific site. Browsing choices are pretty personal, but if you have a site you frequent and trust you could explore this option to make browsing easier.

[Gene]

I assume the articles are those "you may also like" boxes just above the Quick Reply" box. They are not at the bottom of the page despite what Janet wrote in post #1. I will look to see how to remove them.

I did not know Social Knowledge now owns RV Park Reviews. I have used that site for years since Woodalls is biased towards advertisers and AAA no longer publishes camping books. I have recently started using TripAdvisors camping reviews, but they are hard to access. Still, they are better in some ways than RV Park Reviews. Both sites need help in making them more informative and faster to use. Another thing—often we are stuck at someplace where the wifi is bad and it is hard to use RV Park Reviews at all. Maybe a simpler version for bad wifi is possible.

Gene

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by switz

It would be nice if the Black signing up screen would not pop up for a few seconds longer so I can finish logging in after resetting the browser and clearing the caches.

We increased the time for the modal to show from 14 seconds to 20 seconds. Hopefully that will give you enough time to login before it pops-up.

Originally Posted by Gene

I did not know Social Knowledge now owns RV Park Reviews. I have used that site for years since Woodalls is biased towards advertisers and AAA no longer publishes camping books. I have recently started using TripAdvisors camping reviews, but they are hard to access. Still, they are better in some ways than RV Park Reviews. Both sites need help in making them more informative and faster to use. Another thing—often we are stuck at someplace where the wifi is bad and it is hard to use RV Park Reviews at all. Maybe a simpler version for bad wifi is possible.

Gene, we acquired RV Park Reviews in fall of 2013. We rebuilt the site and launched the new version in fall of 2014. Now we are rebuilding the backend so we can be on a more stable platform and then we'll start to get more iterative and innovative with new feature releases.

I'd love to hear about what you like and don't like about RV Park Reviews and TripAdvisor. It's our hope we can be nimble and keep making the site better so we can continue to be the "GO TO" place for RVers. Any chance you could email me your thoughts on what's good/bad of each? My email is still the same. I'm also available by phone if you don't feel like typing it all up.

We are hoping to launch some new apps for RV Park Reviews. The first version will require a connection. I could see an offline version in the future which would provide access when disconnected.

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the extra time to log in!

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Gene

I assume the articles are those "you may also like" boxes just above the Quick Reply" box. They are not at the bottom of the page despite what Janet wrote in post #1. I will look to see how to remove them.

Gene

Somewhere up in the previous posts, Janet told you how to turn the whole thing off if you are a supporting member. It's pretty easy, just a couple of mouse clicks, and you'll never see them again.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Janet

. . .
For AIR Supporting Members, as usual, there is a link in your User CP to disable this option (>edit options >> disable recommended articles >>> save).
. . .

Post #1.

Personally these are a "plus" as I have already learned a few new things . . .

[Steamy1]

I have used RV Park Reviews and it has proved very useful. It is one of our "go-to" sites when considering campgrounds and sites. More campgrounds need to be added, but it is helpful.

I actually like the new advertorials and looking at new topics. I hope this stays fresh with constant new material.

I still would like to see the Daily pop-up eliminated. sometimes you just want to browse the forum without signing in, and the pop-up is very annoying. this is the only site that has this feature that I go to.

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by Steamy1

I have used RV Park Reviews and it has proved very useful. It is one of our "go-to" sites when considering campgrounds and sites. More campgrounds need to be added, but it is helpful.

Yes, RV Park Reviews is a tremendous resource. Most people don't know it's owned by an Airstreamer! Don't forget to post your reviews so other campers can benefit from our collective knowledge. That's what it's all about!

Originally Posted by Steamy1

I actually like the new advertorials and looking at new topics. I hope this stays fresh with constant new material.

We pull from the last 16 items published on RV Life. So the items will rotate over time. If you all feel you are seeing the same thing over and over, maybe we need to dig in a little deeper. As new articles are published they will show up so hopefully it will stay fresh.

Originally Posted by Steamy1

I still would like to see the Daily pop-up eliminated. sometimes you just want to browse the forum without signing in, and the pop-up is very annoying. this is the only site that has this feature that I go to.

It's a catch 22. That modal window works for signups. The Airstream Daily emails are now one of our biggest sources of traffic. So we need a way to show them but for our regulars to opt-out quickly if desired. Maybe we could do something like going to a URL like www.airforums.com/x and that would instantly tell the server to prevent the modal window from showing? I'll have to talk to my programmer to see if this is possible.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Andy R

. . .
It's a catch 22. That modal window works for signups. The Airstream Daily emails are now one of our biggest sources of traffic. So we need a way to show them but for our regulars to opt-out quickly if desired. Maybe we could do something like going to a URL like www.airforums.com/x and that would instantly tell the server to prevent the modal window from showing? I'll have to talk to my programmer to see if this is possible.

Could you add an "opt-out" button on the pop-up to disable it for the active online session only?
__________________________________________________ ____________

"[box to check] -- please do not show this again during the current online session"
__________________________________________________ ____________

Or words to that effect?

OR

Maybe just a "Thanks -- not this time" option, like many other sites have for feedback surveys and so forth?

For me, the new longer time to log in works great, both on the laptop at home AND on the iPad Mini in the van, if I am ready to type right away . . .

[Steamy1]

ANDY R: thanks for the response. Yes, I will sign up and add our reviews, which I should have done a while ago since we use it for site reconnaissance.

[Gene]

Andy,

After all these years and kids, isn't it time to buy a bigger trailer?

I'll look at RV Park Reviews and send you ideas. I've never reviewed anything on that site since I know how to use TripAdvisor and am loath to learn new tricks since I'm an old dog.

Gene

[spenfolder]

The only thing I hate worse than change is when everything stays the same!

Thanks for the new features. I continue to love the Forums!

Stan
Salt Lake City

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Could you add an "opt-out" button on the pop-up to disable it for the active online session only?

It currently does work that way but it uses a cookie. So when you leave and wipe your cookies it will come back. If you login, you can disable the prompt and therefore use the site without the modal (this was done for people who have cookies totally disabled). Of course, when you come back you need to login again since you have cookies turned off and session is not held that long.

Originally Posted by Steamy1

ANDY R: thanks for the response. Yes, I will sign up and add our reviews, which I should have done a while ago since we use it for site reconnaissance.

That would be great. It take contributions from lots of folks to make these resources useful. I'm sure I can speak for other Airstreamers that the more reviews, the better!

Originally Posted by Gene

After all these years and kids, isn't it time to buy a bigger trailer?

I bought a 1959 Tradewind with twin bunks on both sides. It will fit the whole family for a while. Should be fun!

Originally Posted by spenfolder

The only thing I hate worse than change is when everything stays the same!

Thanks for the new features. I continue to love the Forums!

Thanks for the kind words Stan!