While most of you have been out fiddling like grasshoppers this summer, we’ve been beavering away down in the guts of Proa File. (Note the new spelling!)

Yes, beavering away on HTML5 and CSS3, javascript and Expression Engine (it’s what makes time travel possible) bringing the site proudly into the vanguard of the “responsive” web. OK, maybe not quite the first, quite possibly the last, but still better late than never. We have also taken this opportunity to somewhat alter the editorial content of the site, namely: broadening the focus to include catamarans and trimarans.

(murmuring…)

What this means for you:

1. Proa File will be responsive, meaning that the content is viewable on any device from a smart-phone to a desk top computer - in theory. In fact, the forum still has a way to go, but the other areas should be good.

2. Editorially, the articles will expand to include items of interest from across the multihull spectrum, not just proas and outrigger canoes. This has always been the loose policy anyway, but we are making it official. Your editor has also agreed to spend a lot more time on the articles… (cough).

3. Things in the forums will continue on much as they always have. There will be new forum topics added, but the proa-centered cornerstone remains the same.

4. Bugs and such. Even though the Proa File staff works tirelessly to bring you the best possible web experience, accidents and oversights still occur. Please let us know if you experience accidents, anomalies, or 404. Thank you in advance for you patience and understanding.

Thanks for reading,
Mike

1. Proa File will be responsive, meaning that the content is viewable on any device from a smart-phone to a desk top computer - in theory. In fact, the forum still has a way to go, but the other areas should be good.

Cool. Hope the forum can be viewed using the Tapatalk app.

2. Editorially, the articles will expand to include items of interest from across the multihull spectrum, not just proas and outrigger canoes. This has always been the loose policy anyway, but we are making it official.

Compared to proas, trimarans are a bit like bicycles that have training wheels.

Good idea on the responsive design. Horizontal scroll bars suck. Right now I’m not seeing any CSS applied though.

Is it supposed to be a wavy grey background ?
Doesn’t look “right”......
I’m on a mac - don’t know if it makes a difference.

Alex - 16 July 2014 11:14 PM

Is it supposed to be a wavy grey background ?
Doesn’t look “right”......
I’m on a mac - don’t know if it makes a difference.

Page is right over on the left side of screen - sort of starts on the absolute end of the screen.

I’m on a PC, but I see both layouts. I think it may be due to how the webpage is accessed,

If I click onto a forum link directly, then I get the format which has the wavy grey background and all the text fully justified to the left, with no margins. (I’ve snipped an image of this. It’s the upper of the two images attached to this post.)

However, if I go to the Proa File homepage first, and then access the forum that way, it seems to render correctly. (The lower image that’s attached.) If I use different browsers, the formatting changes. Works well with Google Chrome, not so much in Windows Internet Explorer.

Michael et al: kudos on the upgrade.  What I’ve seen of it is impressive.  The long tail of editing and tweaking that comes whenever a website update takes place is just one of the joys of being a website editor.  Such is life!

Cheers,
Paul

When I try to post a fast reply, the robot tells me I am a spam robot and throws out my post.

Guys:

Things look nice when you enter through the site index - not so good if you directly link into the forums.  I haven’t viewed the source HTML in both cases to see what is missing (I suspect there is a CSS include that differs from the forum index to the site index).

I understand the ambition to expand the turf into other multihulls and hydrofoils, but I have reservations about diluting the content quality and attracting people I’d personally rather not share this forum with.  The smaller the group, the easier it is to manage and keep homogeneous.  If Doug Lord shows up and adds posting here to his rabid foiling-promotion rounds, I’m forever gone instantly.  I really, really like the Claudios and Rael Dobkins who post here.  I want to be part of a positive, pleasant and polite proa-specific site - I’m really not interested in reading about every new $30,000 carbon A-cat that foils, or every new condomaran being focused on the charter market to the Wall Street vulture clientele.  One Sailing Anarchy is enough.

Being really, really good at one thing is magical.  It is very, very hard to stay focused and magical.  Being all things to all people is a recipe for mediocrity.  I sure hope this forum which has attained a level of magic and respect doesn’t expand into it’s own demise.  Proas are the fringiest of the fringe multihull-wise - and those of us who are exploring their potential don’t suddenly wish to have to weed through general multihull content to find the 5% of the overall content that currently is the complete focus of the site.

Oh, well.  It was really good while it lasted.  Please think hard about why you are contemplating change.  I’d personally rather see you start another general multihull site and keep this one pure.  Stay gold, Ponyboy.

—
Bill in Ottawa

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. We are still putting out fires, and expect some choppy waters today - I may have to take the site offline briefly - or not. I’ll reply to Bill’s concerns after things have settled down. Thanks again for your patience!

That was fast!

If Doug Lord shows up and adds posting here to his rabid foiling-promotion rounds, I’m forever gone instantly. I really, really like the Claudios and Rael Dobkins who post here.  I want to be part of a positive, pleasant and polite proa-specific site - I’m really not interested in reading about every new $30,000 carbon A-cat that foils, or every new condomaran being focused on the charter market to the Wall Street vulture clientele.  One Sailing Anarchy is enough.

That’s not what I have in mind at all, and isn’t it a bit sad that we instantly think of the above when we think of multihulls now days? The aspects of proa development that I appreciate are that it isn’t (with rare exceptions) full of the kind of massive egos you find in racing, or in yachts aimed at the 1%. Simple, cheap, fun, authentic, DIY: these are all virtues that the original multihull movement was founded upon, and yet are all but lost in the current paradigm. Do you really need to be a millionaire to afford a multihull these days?

Claudio and his Zen approach to boat building is indeed refreshing, and we could use a lot more of that. His approach is not limited to shunters, and can be adopted to cats, tris, or most likely, any aspect of your life. Why do I want to expand Proa File? Because I want to expand the idea that we really can do it ourselves. Duckworks and Small Craft Advisor are inspiring, mix in some Surfer’s Journal and you’d have a good idea where I want to take the site.

I am confident that we can maintain the standard of discourse that has made the Proa File forums such a pleasure. I am open on how to best achieve that. PM me if you have any thoughts.

Thanks,
Mike

I enjoy some of the off-proa topic, as long as they are not forum subjects that is fine by me.  To be a real purist, should the forum include allow one -way ‘proas’ (asymmetrical catamarans)?  If so a separate section?

Mark

I can understand Bill S’s concern about the couple of issues he has raised.
I would like to respond to the one about attracting members who might bring
behaviour here that this forum was set up to avoid. Michael, myself and Sven
Stevens, in our different ways, have put a lot of work into providing the
environment which has proved so conducive to the high quality discussions
that you members have provided. We recognize its value and we aren’t about
to throw that away.

To Bill and others that are concerned about this, I can only point to the
fact that disruptive/rude commenters can only do damage if I as moderator
allow them to persist. In other words, if I don’t continue to do my job. So
it is more a case of what we will allow rather than a case of who will turn
up on the members roll.

There have been occasions in the past where members have jumped in when
someone has been disrespectful of other members and I haven’t had to
formally get involved. This has said to me that some members have really
grasped what we have here (as Bill has given voice to) and own it because
they have been part of the success and they are prepared to act to preserve
it. Which is great!

But there are other tactics other than rudeness that can cause division and
disruption or simply waste time on forums and it seems to me that not many
members are aware of these tactics which ‘fly under the radar’ of many
members. Inevitably, there will be over time some new people who will join
and employ these lesser known techniques and I intend to make use of these
people, if they persist, to demonstrate what is going on to the members
here. It is one thing to read about these techniques and but it is much better
to see them playing out in real-time.

My aim is to have members that are alert to these more subtle behaviours and
recognize what is going on and to be able to intervene as some members have
done in the past with rudeness. The future of the forum is then in your
hands as much as in Michael’s or mine and it will certainly not be in the
hands of anyone who might turn up from Sailing Anarchy or elsewhere and
expect to treat this place as their own private playground.

I would like to get to a place where members can, with good reason, feel
confident that they can preserve what they have built and continue to
build here.

I appreciate the thoughtful replies and assurances that this site (and the evolutionary future) is intended to remain civil and well moderated.  You have all collectively done a great job in creating a venue worth visiting and learning from.

—
Bill in Ottawa

When you preview a post it uses different CSS compared to when you actually post it. Not a big deal, but is this intentional?

Hmmm… I’ll check into it. Thanks for the note.