new swellnet site

^^^We've got a data feed problem Sandfly but it should be sorted by the end of the day.

I like the new site but Victorias forecast is always late! Still waiting for todays forecast.

vicco, the surf forecast was uploaded at 4-5pm but for some reason it's not displaying.. we think it's a server cache issue. We've just flushed the cache - hard refresh your page (ctrl + f5) and you'll be OK. Sorry 'bout that (and sorry about the crappy outlook too ;)

Ben, Stuart and everyone else at Swellnet, looking good so far. Taking a bit to get used to but once I've sussed out the quickest way to the info I'm after it will be back to being a second home.

Mark

Hey cheers Mark!

Yeah, we know it's a bit different and that we're upsetting peoples habits, but we also believe that this is a far better site. We probably chose a few wrong options to begin with but we're sorting those out now.

The hard part is assessing who to listen to - the abusive email senders (and there's been a heap of them!), or the people who like the changes (and sent more pleasant emails). I think there's a middle ground and we're slowly working our way through that.

The best thing is the full extent of the site is yet to be seen.

Hey Stu, I know from my own site/forum you can never keep everyone happy. At some point you have to settle for what you guys are happy with and go with it.

Great new setup! However, the link to other locations besides Manly doesn't work? Can't access Torquay or Jan Juc in VIC? Other than that it's looking great! Keep up the good work!

SO how are reactions in the office ... tension of implementation = any meltdowns?

^^Stu just let loose on one of the other employees in the office over Politics before the day even started..

Very close to meltdown me thinks ;)

Where is the Victorian - Woolamai surf report? It seems to have dropped off the site. Is that right?
I think the Philip Island report is for the Cat bay area.

^^^ We're currently looking for a Woolamai reporter Rusty. If you know anyone appropriate tell them to give us a hoy.

Clif and Craig: the other employee was trying to defend Tony Abbott, and the Mad Monks obvious contradictions. Namely, trying to stop people smuggling while advocating budgie smuggling.

Of course I had to slap him...

He hasn't got anything as big as a budgie down there, surely?

new format is great,

My only question is why is 13th beach now up as Barwon Heads? Barwon heads only has a river!

Fletch, as per the discussion re: changing Curl Curl to Manly, we changed 13th Beach to Barwon Heads as it covers the broader Bellarine Peninsula (from Pt Lonsdale to Breamlea). We figured this was better than naming the surf report 13th Beach, Ocean Grove etc.

I can see your reasoning, however it IS 13th beach not Barwon heads.

I hope this does'nt instigate a change in the boardriders name as the clubbies are now 13th beach barwon heads lifesaving club.

Also, is it just me being a dill, but how do you scroll through pages in the threads, I cant seem to find it

Hi how to you view like previous pages on the forums as i cant seem to find the page numbers, not sure if this has been talked bout yet or not
Cheers Sam

^^^The page numbers are just above the comment box (and also at the top of the page). Aren't they showing for you two?

I can see the page numbers fine!

Stu - The numbers don't show up on Internet Explorer (perhaps older versions). I had this problem at work.

^^^ OK, I'll have a word with the nerd.

Definately no page numbers for me using IE7.
The only way I can get to this end of the thread is to click on the link next to "Last Post" in the main window.

Congrats on the new site. I have to say that initially I was a bit, "why change a good thing -ish" and found it a bit hard to navigate.
After using it for a few days, however I can see the new direction and a bit more of what you are aiming to achieve and its great.
I am really enjoying the forums and the extra weather info is good too - it allows a quick scan of the overall weather picture so surfers (such as myself) who know areas well but don't have the good fortune to live nearby can have a fairly good guess at the breaks a forecast zone covers.

Im looking forward to seeing more, well done !

Yep i'm really liking this new designed site, especially now theres a form of community with the forum. Nice work!

^^this community's closed buster!

fucken johnny-come-lately's...

^^^ yeah, that's right, i've been here 13 posts longer than you!

Umm, yeah, piss off, locals only.

errr, can I be in your gang Patty?

LOL

Nooooooooo ! online locals dropping in on our posts ! :)

What can i say...
Swellnet always was and always will be better than that pessimistic sourcraut mob over at Coastalwatch....

^^^ OK, I'll have a word with the nerd.

By: "stunet"

Any luck with the nerd Stu as the page numbers on the forums still don't work for me at work on IE7. I use Firefox at home (and the page numbers work fine), but work uses IE7 (piece of shit) and I can never flick through the pages on the forums (very frustrating once a forum goes over a page length).

So that's what that is..I have the same problem on my at work computer.

looks fair sweet, way better than the old layout :)

Yeah, how do you get to the other pages? I don't even see any page numbers (maybe I'm not looking in the right place).

Hey guys, new site is cool, forums are great idea!

One small suggestion can you put a swell direction arrow on your predictions please.

thnx

walrus

Windows 98 and XP users cannot see page numbers.
Detailed explanation for non tech heads on how to fix problem would be appreciated.

Detailed explanation for non tech heads on how to fix problem would be appreciated.

By: "sir-yehudi-wooody-the-75-1-2th"

Yes please!!!

lookn good fellas....bit hard ta get it worked out but getn there...its fun!!!well done

Windows 98 and XP users cannot see page numbers.
Detailed explanation for non tech heads on how to fix problem would be appreciated.

By: "sir-yehudi-wooody-the-75-1-2th"

I have XP at home and use Firefox and I can see them.

But if I look on my old Internet Explorer 6 they are also there but all the page layouts is out of whack etc.

So what browser are you using and is it updated to the latest one? That's what I think the problem is.

I use XP and Firefox at home and it works fine. Work uses XP and IE7.....two computers in two different offices....one being the client....and they both don't have the page numbers at the bottom to flick through the thread if it goes over a page. Very frustrating indeed.

If I could switch work to Firefox I would (as IE is a pig), but work doesn't allow us the rights to install new software on the machines.

Hey whats the go with forcasting for Perth and Margs!?!?! It used to be updated mondays , wednesday, and friday. It's now sunday 21st feb and i seem to be reading the forcast from the 17th. Farrrrrrk!

Am now seeing page numbers.
Thanks.
The new site now is good.

Page numbers are now working at work for me now too!!! Only thing is that means I'm gonna be wasting more time on here whilst at work............

Ahh well done Matthew!
Now one other thing...
do we really need thumbnail previews for the last 125 surcam archives?

Maybe have the last couple of hours worth on the main page, along with an option to load up "more archives..." linking to another page.??

Is it just my computer or is anyone else finding that the updated SN forecasts for SE Qld aren't loading up for some time after they say they've been updated. For instance, Mondays forecast states it was updated at 3:54pm on Monday and yet it wasn't updated on my computer until very late Monday night?? Similarly, today's update still isn't uploaded?

Don,

We are still having some cacheing issues with the back end where the extended forecast notes aren't going through until a while after they are published.

The short forecast daily summaries are coming up straight away but the notes are still being held back. WA is still suffering this problem today even though Steve updated them yesterday.

We are trying to resolve the issue as quick as possible.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanks for the quick reply Craig.

I just wasn't sure if it was just my computer or a problem with SN (and you guys were aware of it).

Cheers.

Any update on the status of the forecast caching issues Craig et al? It's becoming rather frustrating to wait until late at night on the forecast days, or even early the following day to read Steve's extended synopsis, noting that he actually posted it some 12hrs+ earlier!!!!

Also, just some other words of advice. Any reason why the entire 7 day forecast isn't published on the day the forecasts are written? Currently there's a 5 day forecast which rolls over each new day, however I know from first had that the actual 7 day forecast is prepared on the forecast days (ie, it's not a new 5 day forecast prepared each day, as it may appear to some?). I personally believe that this would assist surfers with long range plans etc.

The works done by the forecaster on each of the forecast days, but the reader can't access this information until the 5 day rolling forecast rolls over each new day. Just seems a waste of effort by the forecaster if the reader can't see this information until a few days later.

Just my 2 cents worth anyway.

Thanks Matthew.

Anyone (from Swellnet) like to respond to my other query/suggestion in my post above?

Don.. sorry for the delay in replying - been overseas for the last fortnight.

Re: 5 day forecast - first and foremost, we only ever intend to display 5 days of manual forecasts on Swellnet. The main reason for this is that days six and seven are much more prone to large changes than those days within the five day chart. If there's any speculation about a swell event beyond five days, it'll be written into the extended notes - I don't see the need to further represent this with a bar graph.

The purpose for setting up our database with a seven day entry field is simply to reduce the time spent updating the forecasts on non-forecast days, and also to keep the swell forecast 'current'. The bulk of the forecasts are entered Mon/Wed/Fri, however they each have the ability to be 'tweaked' every other day as required (ie as the models move around).

For example, by entering seven days of data on Wed, this means that the 'forecast tweak' on Thurs is short sharp and shiny - the bulk of the forecast entry will already have been completed while the information is fresh inside the forecaster's head (the day before) and if there are any tweaks to be made, they can be done very quickly. This is much more time efficient than having the forecaster write the 'new' fifth day for every Swellnet location, seven days a week.

And something else to consider - if we displayed the full seven days of forecast data, we'd have to recreate the seventh day, every single day of the week - as each forecast would 'roll over' (losing the last day each time). This would create a lot of extra work for the forecaster. Of course, we could alleviate this problem by setting up our database with a nine day entry field, but I imagine that as soon as you got wind of it, you'd be asking us to display all nine days as well ;)

In any case, we'll have extended forecasts up on the site soon, via our new computer generated model data.

Still big cacheing problems here at work, where IE7 is loaded, is still showing the picture of Trigg Point from early last week and we're only up to day 3 of the outsider, but I ahve already read day 5 from home (on IE8)

Still can't get my head around the fact that I have to click through Surf Reports and Forecasts > NSW > Maroubra > then go to Forecasts (only to find the forecast written on 22 Feb, I kid you not)

It sort of suggests that the forecasting is for local beaches, which makes no sense. I would like to read Steve Shearer's qld forecasts as well, but so many bugs I can't even click through to where I imagine I would find it (Surf Reports and Forecasts > Qld > any beach > Surf forecasts !!!!!!!!!

Can't update work computer, eggheads control updates.

Suggesting that you separate forecasts from reports, making it one or two clicks to read all forecasts.

IMHO, your greatest value is in your forecasting, I know what the local beach is doing.

My 2 cents worth Ben and Gentlemen.