Here is a Markdown editor I found that could be of some help to users. Take a look:

Markdown Editor

Boni

I work with markdown at work. Tell you the truth it really isn't that much of an aide. I know your trying to spin stuff in a positive light but it really isn't the right tool for the job here on a forum. We use it for readme and documentation our forums at work have it's own wysiwyg with far more friendliness to to forum usage needs.

WHAT was wrong with the WYSIWYG edtior? I don't get it!! Help me understand the thought process behind removing it cause for the life of me, I just don't see the logic.

Laurie

The only thing I can think is that there was a feeling Markdown was better for mobile (which we now know for sure was the motive behind the site redesign), and there's no WSYWIG editor component that produces Markdown. I'm not sure that's true, though, so my supposition there is probably suspect.

Other forums I frequent tend to use BBCode posting with a WYSIWIG editor on desktop platforms, but you have to use BBCode if you post from mobile. Typing BBCode with a software keyboard is kind of sucky, which is why I think Markdown isn't going to be much improvement, because it uses some of the same characters, which aren't super easy to type on a software keyboard.

Markdown might be easier than raw BBCode (on mobile) for some of the common, simple stuff, like italicizing or bolding a word. I don't think it would be better for something like entering a URL or a bullet list, which takes a lot of special characters.

The staff here is starting to remind me of a bunch of News Talk Spin Doctors for the Political Parties.......Look see how easy, how much better it is than the old way, really it's for your own good try it you'll like.

@4221935

Here take your medicine, it will all be better once you take your medication.... No no no .... ;)

@4221940 I did already, just made things worse but I'm always up for a couple more Hydro's maybe I just need more......

@4221940

Lol :)

@Boni Thank you for sharing the tool I found MarkdownPad2 which is a free editor as well and has made things a bit easier to posting in the forum here till I grasp how to use markdown better. Also fully understand many members frustration and empathize with you but to refer to us as spin doctors or in a negative fashion really is not fair nor called for. Everyone of the coordinators and moderators who contribute their time and effort do it because we enjoy the community here and we are doing our best to help answer questions and making sure the staff of Renderosity are aware of them. Yes most do not like change and there will be some growing pains but to make cheap shots at our efforts is low.

Wasn't there a "moderator" tag beside usernames before? Please bring that back, because now it's harder to tell who is an admin.

I was one of you I know what it's like so don't tell me about any of that. It's not Change we hate it's Breaking of a Site that worked that is hated and not just doesn't work but is now unusable for any artist who does Images larger than a Postage Stamp. Staff has done a lot of trying to gloss over what has been a complete failure and trying to spin a silk purse out of a sows ear but are not offering any solutions or giving any assurances that any of us are even really being heard. I know the Mods and Coordinators really have no say in anything and only the Admins in Tennessee have any say and they ain't talking.....

Hi IceEmpress
At the very top of the forum under the Welcome at the top of the forum page you will usually see who is listed as Moderator or Coordinator if a particular forum does not have someone listed contacting any other moderator or coordinator by clicking on the little house after their name will bring you to their profile name and then by clicking on contact you can send any one of us a site mail and we will make sure any issue you contact us about will be sent to the person it needs to go to. So please never hesitate to contact us we will get back to you usually with 24 hours

Hope this helps answer your question

Yes most do not like change and there will be some growing pains but to make cheap shots at our efforts is low.

This is little condescending, to infer that people's issues are only growing pains or issues with change is somewhat insulting. There is nothing worse than to respond to a critique with "your just not used to it, give it time and you will adjust". This type of response seems to say you are in fact the problem and denies accountability from the side of the site.

The fact that an external text editor is required or the learning of a ten year old markup language to edit forum texts is really quite unreasonable to say the least.

The criticism are not personal attacks at the mods or coords, who most here would acknowledge do their very best for the community. It's likely just a little boiled over frustration, with some slightly misguided offers of help. Offering an external text editor for markup clearly indicates not to expect an inline solution any time soon which is also somewhat frustrating. Also offering a tutorial for using the website seems like saying "we know the UI is not user friendly but you should "Learn" to use it because we have no intention of changing it to suit the end user anytime soon". I have found so many small issues that I don't even bother reporting them anymore because there are so many BIG things that need to be dealt with first, if the bigs things are never fixed then there is no point worrying about the small ones.

Hello Razor

If any comment I made was in any way shape of form insulting then my apologizes to you and to any member who felt the same but the comment was not criticism at us it was a personal attack which I did take offense to and it was a low blow and did not need to be made. I have been a member here for a long time as well before I ever took on the duties of a coordinator and then mod and I feel that we do our best to answer what we can and help where we can. To be insulted by a former team mate who I had held a high respect for and has taken every opportunity to make our duties that much more difficult is really uncalled for. I have seen the admins in many of the forums doing their best to resolve issues and answering questions and doing a really good job to get things taken care of. So again I will say if you felt insult then my wrong on that point but lets be fair with blame. As to my offering a external markup editor was an offer of a work around solution to the current inline one which is one issue that has been bought to the attention of the admins since if we are having difficulty with it as well so perhaps and this is just a perhaps if we are offering a work around is because we have expressed our concerns to those who need to be aware of it.

@4222015

You know. Talking down to folks that way isn't the solution either. Markdown is not a tool for this purpose. Saying it is is well just wrong there are more standard options out there that are better known and more fitting for mobile support.

Your real problem actually is that the last couple of days were largely silent from staff until today. The silence fostered the large level of distrust you have going on. Calling this a matter of growing pains is kinda akin to calling a gall stone a flesh wound. :) Sorry that isn't a cheap shot that is fact. I can get your stress been in your shoes before I can get the frustrations as well on the staff side. I have a tiny bit of sympathy but not a great deal. I do fully understand the user perspective a well... and as I've sat on the other side where users were unhappy... well... I get that to. Been there, done that. Have my wounds... but I always listened to my user base and if I had to change things because of an oversight or poor design in the php code for the games I wrote when they were right. I didn't hold on to a design that is ill fitting. Stuff being broken is one thing that happens ... more happening here than should be. However, you have a systematic problem of a poor design. You have systematic problems with the general implementation of a great many features that matter to folks. Those aren't growing pains.

This is a superb tool that will is great and easy-- once you get used to it.

@4222075

No it isn't a superb tool, I'm stuck with it at work, the horrors. :)

@4222075 - hopeandlove posted at 2:27PM Fri, 21 August 2015

This is a superb tool that will is great and easy-- once you get used to it.

De-evolution in action.

UI's are meant to make life easier, not introduce learning curves.
This implementation of Markup is so great even an underline is not possible? Or change the color of text? The forum markup preview recognizes "Greaterthan/command/Lessthen" but the actual forum doesn't... What was wrong with BBcode may I ask?

Again this is a case of: Oh, you don't like it. Well thats your fault or you are just not smart enough to understand how great it is. You will love it when you adapt.
Sorry but No I won't. It took me ten minutes to look at markup and understand it's use and two minutes to realise its a step backwards for the forums. Maybe if there is some more front end built on to it like simple buttons to bold, Italic, text size and color and a realistic quotation system it may become usable, but no I wouldn't say it's great.

Seems we are stuck with something that is basically unusable. It's funny how 99% of the ppl using formatting are staff.. And the rest - users - are not.
Could it be there is a problem? That the users are think in the options have been removed? That learning a new language is not something they want to do?
Hmm?
And hope. To keep telling us that is getting insulting. How about being the community manager and listening to the community? They are talking to you. Soon they will be shouting.

@4222059 So I'm making Your job tougher by voicing my opinions here.....good to know

@4222096

Actually the real problem also is it shouldn't be necessary to have an outside tool so that you can use the forum effectively. BBCode is kinda a de facto standard there are other options that are more usable for this purpose as well. :) But agreed I'm tired of being told or it being insinuated that it's just case I haven't given it a chance. I use the stupid tool and markdown at work. I got experience with it. I got years of experience with forums. I can code when I want when I want to.... I know. I ain't expert in all things I'm more of a jack of all trades but stop telling me something is great and really awesome when I have the technical background to say.... POOEEEYYYY on you! ;)

Anyways, hope I think is a nice enough person and all and I know she is trying to be positive but after some point ... you gotta stop pushing the drugs to folks who don't want them. :)

Gah, oh lord. I can't come back to this. You guys are all delusional. What drugs are you taking and where can I get some?

Laurie

I don't find people disagreeing with your choice to change things in the forums here as insulting to Rendo. It is YOUR CUSTOMERS and YOUR VENDORS telling you their opinion about a community that would not exist without them. You cannot run a community and not expect it's people to have a voice. It's time to put on your hearing ears and stop letting your feelings get in the way of what YOUR community is telling you. Not all change is good Renderosity , sorry.

Testing

1. tst

2. test

3. testing

it's only cool if you know html ... and how many do ?

TO ME 'MARKDOWN' IS A HARDER WAY THAT MAKES INNOCENT VISITORS DO A FORM OF PROGRAMMING JUST IN ORDER TO COMMUNICATE.

IT'S LIKE SAYING " MS-DOS IS BETTER THAN WINDOWS BECAUSE YOU HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF NEAT TOOLS! .........SEE- HERE'S THE MANUAL FOR DOS TO PROVE IT!"

I'm beginning to think there's a bunch of people out there who have gotten used to texting but may have not done very much programming. To someone coming from a texting experience something like 'Markdown' might be cool because it expands what you can do with your fingers. I'm sorry, but I don't think it's cool in a 3D graphics environment, though.

Thanks for deleting every image in my gallery that DID NOT meet the new size requirement without my notification. I have removed the rest of my images and will not be posting in the gallery in the future.

@4222332
Wasn't me. I swear!
Oona, did you want this perhaps in one of the Gallery related threads??

I learned HTML(Hyper Text MARKUP Language, NOT markdown) during the "type 'til you bleed" era, now I use an editor... but I still have to go in manually, now and then to make changes the modern editors no longer support but are still viable.

Markdown is very neutered (and dumbed-down) compared to HTML of any version and can never compete with all the bells and whistles available.
I refuse to lower my standards of intelligence, thank you very much.