[SteveC]

Noticed that when accessed from the MLS menu bar there is no "member List" available, yet when accessed from the "Members" option located on the far right in the grey area just below "Whoah!!!" link and horz. rule, there is an active member list available.


Once you are into the member list there is no easy way to locate a specific member, other than moving from one page to another. While you can jump from one alphabetical letter section to another, once there you have no choice but pick a page number that you think contains the name you are looking for.


Adding to the frustration is the fact that the navigation capabilities are located at the bottom-right of the page, so you have to scroll down to access them.

 

[Semper Vaporo]

Across the top of the first Members List pages is an alphabet.  Click on the first letter of the name you seek and it will show the first page of those names.  Then it is a matter of a 'binary search' for the page with the name you seek.  For example, if the name is me, Semper Vaporo, click on the "S" and you will get the first of 24 pages of 'S' names.


Click on the page number that is nearest the middle of the set of pages (or page 10, which is highest you can get to directly) and you will get somewhere around the middle of the series of "S" names. Then determine if the name you seek is before that page or after and divide the number of pages between the page you are on and which ever end of the whole list the name will fall into.  Then pick that page number.  Keep doing this until you find the name you seek.  You can probably speed the search up a bit by guessing a better starting point for that first click... like for my name, the second letter is "e" so that probably won't be all the way to page 10, so pick maybe 4 or 5 and see where that takes you.  A wee bit of intellegence will reduce the number of clicks necesary by half and get you where you want to go.

 

[SteveC]

Yep, I know about the divide and conquer method. However, that is a major step backwards, now it may only be an oversight that will be corrected in the future, but if it turns out to be a limitation of the forum software then I can't say much for the design.

 

[Semper Vaporo]

Hmmm... I don't remember the old forum method for displaying the member list or how to navigate it. I was pleased to see this method as the only other lists I have seen either don't supply the letters to select from or only allow 4 or 5 pages to be selected from the list at the bottom. I know of one that has over 500 members but displays the names only 20 at a time and you have to page linearly through the list. Makes it hard to get to the folk whose names begin with "Z"! This pick a letter and then "divide and conquer" method is not too bad. I just wish it had more than 10 pages to select from at a time.

 

[SteveC]

The previous Snitz Forum software had the alpha-letters that you could select from, but it also had a field in the upper-right that you could type in a specific search value and based on what you entered the results set that was returned would list all records that matched. If you typed in the complete user ID then only one record would be returned.