Looking for the original Bar Towel blog? You can find it at www.thebartowel.com.

We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.

Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!

What to do with the Bar Towel Forums?

Discuss beer or anything else that comes to mind in here.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

User avatar
Chris
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2001 8:00 pm
Contact:

Post by Chris »

I think the forum would benefit from a more mobile friendly / mobile first template. It works on phones but is clear that it is desktop first. We don’t live in a desktop first world anymore :) . (Also allow real emojis)

I wonder if breweries, brewpubs etc. may be willing to promote the bartowel forum (or whatever it’s called eventually) in exchange for some minor recognition. I think awareness is crucial. I want some more bar towel coasters!

User avatar
S. St. Jeb
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1044
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:44 pm
Location: Burlington, ON

Post by S. St. Jeb »

Urotsukidoji wrote:I need this form. I don't do any social media.

No twitter
No Facebook
No nothing

So if this form dies, or is moved to some SM, I wont see it.
And here I thought I was the only one. :wink:

User avatar
alsiem
Posts: 130
Joined: Sun May 03, 2015 9:16 pm

Post by alsiem »

Late to the party but I think most of the reasons for a slow down in activity have been covered in previous posts. Craft beer is so mainstream right now it is ubiquitous, there is no need to band together to find events or track down new beers. Having said that, I feel that many people on this board have a lot of knowledge about beer and have a longer perspective on beer trends in Ontario and further afield than much of what is churned out for social media (Yes I called you old). I like the idea of a community bar guides and travel related posts.

User avatar
Cass
Beer Superstar
Posts: 3828
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by Cass »

OK, I have updated phpBB to the latest version, and I think it works. I also installed the Media Embed plugin, which you should be able to see above the compose window. But I think regular URLs of social/video sites should parse automatically.

Sample:


Let me know if anything looks odd!

User avatar
Cass
Beer Superstar
Posts: 3828
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by Cass »

Regular emoticons work too: 🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻

Provost Drunk
Posts: 346
Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Toronto

Post by Provost Drunk »

Also late to the party, but +1 for keeping the Bar Towel Forum distinct from social media and for making changes at the margins rather than overhauling. I'm a fan of the current format and discourse.

Historically, I've found the threads detailing upcoming LCBO seasonal releases and providing travel guides most useful. I have been buying less from the LCBO over the past two years as I have been making a greater effort to order directly from breweries and also made use of the new "bottle shops" and bars selling to go. But if we can start getting the seasonal release lists again, that would be wonderful, particularly as it relates to the imports. Travel guides will become increasingly useful again too.

User avatar
Cass
Beer Superstar
Posts: 3828
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by Cass »

Provost Drunk wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 6:33 pm But if we can start getting the seasonal release lists again, that would be wonderful, particularly as it relates to the imports.
I've sent a note to one of the contacts I have at the LCBO Beer department to see if we can get the lists again.

User avatar
Cass
Beer Superstar
Posts: 3828
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by Cass »

I've also added an open graph / metadata plugin to format forum links a bit nicer in social, etc.

lagerale
Posts: 492
Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2004 1:23 pm
Location: west side

Post by lagerale »

Thanks for keeping Bartowel Alive!

User avatar
Cass
Beer Superstar
Posts: 3828
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by Cass »

If anyone wants to logout, or use a private browsing tab, check out a light colour scheme I installed. (The original one stays for legacy members, for now.) What does everyone think? Time to move away from the dark blues?
Screen Shot 2021-12-07 at 5.45.21 PM.png

User avatar
Tapsucker
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1910
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 6:21 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Tapsucker »

I assume there are no functional or significant layout changes, but I haven't looked close enough. I generally prefer the white background, especially on smaller screens. Even if it's change for some change and just creating a fresh look, I support it.

On the topic of smaller screens, I don't use a smartphone as a primary tool for these kinds of applications, but there are times I may be out and about and need to look something up that I may have seen before. That's when good screen layout, clear fonts and readability really are appreciated by my old eyes.
Brands are for cattle.
Fans are cash cows.
The herd will consume until consumed.

User avatar
Chris
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2001 8:00 pm
Contact:

Post by Chris »

I really like it… overall a better experience. On mobile, with this theme everything is much improved, just with they would make a line out of the whole post rather than having to tap the title.

User avatar
Craig
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1943
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:23 am

Post by Craig »

I really like having a dark mode theme. I don't particularly care about the blue or whatever, but all white hurts my eyeballs.

User avatar
Cass
Beer Superstar
Posts: 3828
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by Cass »

I guess I don't actually have to change it for everyone, as I believe we can all choose by going to the user control panel > board preferences.

User avatar
Cass
Beer Superstar
Posts: 3828
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2001 8:00 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by Cass »

OK, I've set it so you can go to the user control panel > board preferences and choose between "Bar Towel Dark Mode" and "Bar Towel Light Mode".

Folks, take your pick!

Post Reply