Welcome to GTP16: Dark Mode, Emojis, Reactions, Bookmarks, and So Much More...

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Jordan

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Welcome to a new GTPlanet!

This is the sixteenth major revision of GTPlanet and the most significant technical update in our website’s 20-year history; I am excited to finally share it with you all! Please report anything you find that looks broken or out-of-place and I’ll get around to fixing it as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience and understanding. 🙏

Now, let’s get to it. Here is a brief overview of everything new in the forums. (Note this list does not include all the updates to our new homepage feed and articles — check out that announcement here.)

Dark Mode 🌓

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One of the most-requested GTPlanet features of all time, “Dark Mode” is finally here!

I’ve gone all-out to create one of the most sophisticated implementations of “Dark Mode” that you’ll find anywhere on the internet (even the favicon will change colors in your browser 😎), and it’s designed to be quick and simple to use. To manage your theme setting, scroll to the bottom of any page. There, you’ll find three buttons:
  • “Auto”: The default mode matches your device or operating system’s settings and reacts to system settings changes in real time. For example, if you have your mobile device configured to switch between light and dark modes at certain times of day or in response to ambient lighting conditions, GTPlanet’s appearance will automatically change with it.
  • “Dark”: Always view GTPlanet in “Dark Mode”.
  • “Light”: Always view GTPlanet in “Light Mode”.
The mode that you set is stored in your web browser's memory, so if you always want to use Auto on your mobile and Dark on your desktop, just pick your settings and your preferences will be stored for each.

Please keep in mind that others will be using the site in both Light and Dark modes. Colorized text will be automatically adjusted to remain readable in Dark Mode. However, images cannot be adjusted, so if you post a PNG or GIF with a transparent background, it might become invisible or unreadable for users in other modes.

Emoji Support 🤩

You can now use over 3,500 emojis on GTPlanet. 😲

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Insert them into your posts with your device or operating system’s built-in emoji keyboard, or use the powerful new emoji menu in the post editor to search for the exact expression or icon that you need.

You can also trigger the emoji quick insertion feature by typing a colon “:” and the name of the emoji you want to use. This will prompt an auto-completion menu (similar to the user mention system) which allows you to search for and insert emojis without ever moving your hands away from the keyboard. 🥳

Native emoji support and appearance differs across devices and operating systems. Some have support for the full Unicode emoji character set, while some are missing entire categories of emojis, like country flags 🇺🇸 (looking at you, Windows 10… 🙄). However, GTPlanet’s emoji implementation uses a standardized emoji set, so everyone can use all emojis regardless of their operating system and you can rely on a consistent appearance. 💯

After two decades of faithful service, our old “smilies” will finally be retired and retroactively converted into their emoji counterparts. You can still use the same familiar names to insert your favorite classic GTPlanet smilies, they will just look a bit different. The “GTP Flag” guy isn’t going anywhere, though. 🐐

:gtpflag:

Post Reactions 🤣

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More than five million “likes” have been handed out since the feature was introduced to GTPlanet in 2013, and now you can share even more reactions.

You can also now react to messages in private conversations. 🙌

New Post Editor and Formatting Options ✍️

The advanced post editor has been rebuilt from the ground up to help you take advantage of all the new post formatting controls and options.



  • No more squinting at “BB code” tags! The most common tags — like quote boxes — are now rendered inside of the post editor itself.
  • In addition to BB code, you can now use limited Markdown syntax to format messages.
  • Insert “inline” spoiler tags, so you can hide individual words or phrases in your posts.
Table Support 😲

It’s easier than ever to share tabular data in your posts. Use the new post editor to insert multi-column tables — just keep in mind that fancy table you put together might not look the way you expect for users on mobile devices.

Feature NameCan you believe it?
Table SupportNo

GIPHY Integration 😻

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There’s nothing quite like finding that perfect GIF, is there? Just click the “GIF” button in the post editor to search GIPHY.com’s database of millions of reaction GIFs and insert them directly into your messages.

Link Previews 🔗

If you share a “raw” URL in your post, it will be automatically converted into a dynamic link preview. Link previews contain the page title and thumbnail of the linked page so others can get a better idea about what it contains before they click. Just paste a link into its own line and watch this feature work its magic once you submit your post.


(Note that this will not apply to old links posted before today, but you can edit older posts to trigger the preview functionality.)

Post Bookmarks 📚

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Save and organize notable posts that you find on GTPlanet in just a click.

Selecting the “bookmark” icon above any posts allows you to save it to your bookmarks collection along with a message and label. Labels allow you to organize the bookmarks you save for quick reference later.

To view your saved bookmarks, just click your account menu and then select the “Bookmarks” tab.

Profile Post & Comment Improvements 💁‍♂️

You can now upload attachments and images to profile posts — and comments! — with full message formatting controls.

Self-Service Account Name Changes (And New Name Change Policies) 🎭

Eligible users can now change their username in account settings, without filing a name change request with an administrator.

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Moving forward, username changes are logged and a user’s username history can now be viewed on their profile. If name change history is available, a small “history” icon will be visible next to their username. Click on it to see all of their previous usernames over the past two years.

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Eligible users can now change their name every 90 days, compared to the previous limit of once per year. Users with less than 10 posts can also now change their usernames in their account settings. Many new users register with typos or mistakenly reveal personal information in their usernames, then need help or create multiple accounts in an effort to rectify the error. This new policy will ease the burden from the moderation staff and simplify the process for new users.

Previously, name changes for Premium users were limited to once per year. As a result of this new automated system, name change periods are reset and all Premium users are eligible to change their names immediately.

Verified Users ✅

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As GTPlanet’s community has grown, we have attracted many high-profile users from the world of sim-racing.

Racing drivers, game developers, esports stars, accessory manufacturer representatives, and notable influencers regularly post in our forums, and now it will be easier to find them thanks to “verified” account badges on their posts and profiles.

Some of our verified accounts include:

  • Thomas Jackermeier (@Fanatec...) - Fanatec / Endor AG CEO
  • Dom B. (@DomB_Fanatec) - Fanatec Community Manager
  • Ian Bell (@IanBell) - Founder of Slightly Mad Studios / Project CARS
  • Jimmy Broadbent (@Jimmy B) - YouTuber / FIA GTC Commentator
  • Steve Brown (@F4H Super GT) - YouTuber
  • Tom Brooks (@Tom) - Polyphony Digital Voiceover Artist / FIA GTC Commentator
  • Lewis Bentley (@mclarenLB) - IGTL Project Lead / FIA GTC Finalist
  • Martin Grady (@Tidgney) - YouTuber / FIA GTC and GT Academy Finalist
  • Nick McMillen (@GumballCGT) - GT Academy Champion
  • Igor Fraga (@Igor Fraga) - FIA GTC Champion
  • Mikail Hizal (@TRL LIGHTNING) - FIA GTC Champion

...and many more!

If you are notable in the sim-racing community at large or if you represent a company in the industry you may submit a request for verification.

Profile Background Pictures 🌅

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A new option exclusively for Premium users, you can now decorate your profile with a large background image.

Attachment Viewer 🖼

Images uploaded and inserted into posts as thumbnails can now more quickly be viewed through an all-new “lightbox”, which enlarges the images and allows you to swipe or click your way through all of the full-size images. This new lightbox has also been implemented in the media library.

Media Gallery Integration 📸

GTPlanet’s Media Gallery is now more tightly integrated with the forums.

New Media Gallery “categories” now automatically include all images posted within specific forums, including the Photomode forums for Gran Turismo Sport, Gran Turismo 6, and others. These new categories make it easy to quickly browse through all of the images posted in these forums, as thumbnails or as full-size images. Additional information is included with each image that allows you to quickly jump to the post in which it was uploaded to the forum.

This new integration allows individual images posted in the forums to have their own reactions and comments.

New Thread Types ❓

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Threads can now be specifically designated as “questions”.

“Question” threads allow users to “upvote” or “downvote” each response, and the thread starter can designate a specific reply as the “answer”. The “votes” are displayed in a new area to the right of posts on desktop screens and are displayed at the bottom of posts on mobile. Posts designated as the answer will be pinned directly below the original post, which remains at the top of each page of the thread.

Posts in question threads can be sorted by either the number of votes they have received or the order in which the replies were posted, like a regular thread. Just click on the controls near the page navigation to change the order. Initially, only specific sub-forums will have the “Question” thread format available.

Quick Thread Creation 💨

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Create new threads faster and easier with inline thread creation! Just click in the “Create new thread…” field at the top of any forum to start composing a new thread without leaving the page.

Similar Threads and Suggestions 🔍

Nobody likes making a thread only to find out that a similar topic already exists, and now we have a way to help prevent that with thread suggestions.

As you type out a title for a new thread, similar topics will be suggested with a "Is this already being discussed?" prompt:

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The same algorithms and heuristics will also be applied to existing threads: "similar threads" will be displayed at the bottom of each thread page to help you find other discussions on the topic. For example, here are some of the suggestions when viewing a thread on PSVR and Gran Turismo 7:

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Thread Previews 🧵

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On desktop devices, you can now quickly see the contents of the first post by hovering your mouse over the thread titles. It will display a brief excerpt of the first post.

New Forum Search 🔎

Last year we experimented with new search engine technology. Although it offered a wide range of benefits, many of you were not always satisfied with the results. We are now returning to the previous search technology that provides a more traditional forum search experience.

Please note: it may take up to 48 hours after the site upgrade is complete for our new search engine to be fully operational.

New Forum Home Page 🏡

Get to the content you're interested in faster than ever before. Your subscribed threads will be automatically displayed at the top of the forum home page, along with a collection of the latest posts from across the forum.

In the new sidebar, additional account links are now included, providing quick access to your account, profile settings, threads you have started, and threads you have participated in. You can also quickly find user profiles with a username search.

...and more! 🤪
  • Custom user titles are BACK for Premium subscribers! Set your custom title in your account details.
  • New default avatars: the first letter of your username and a unique color will now be displayed if you are not using a custom avatar. This makes it easier to keep track of who is posting in discussions among users who have not customized their profiles.
  • Gravatar support: Users who have used the popular Gravatar service will now have their Gravatar applied to their account automatically, without having to upload a separate image to GTPlanet.
  • New users with less than 10 posts will have a “New User” banner displayed below their name. This will make it easier to identify and welcome newbies into our community. Be sure to tell them hello! 👋
...and MORE! 😅

If you haven’t already seen it, GTPlanet’s all-new homepage design will bring you the best from our community, with featured threads, posts, and images in addition to our regular editorial content.

Our news articles also feature a new comment and upvote system. Check it out!

...and EVEN MORE?! 😵

Two more significant new site features will be rolled out to GTPlanet in July of 2021. Be sure to subscribe to the Site Update Log thread so you don’t miss what’s next... 😜
 
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I have just one complaint so far...! The emoji chosen to replace the "lol" emoticon. I wish it was "smile" instead of "joy". That's going to make old posts look a bit weird, IMHO. The "joy" one is so misused and awkward.

I've always very much preferred our traditional emoticons to their emoji equivalents, but I also don't mind having more choices.

🐺
 
A lot of nice changes here Jordan. I've seen two minor issues so far.

Firstly on mobile with the menu gone there is no quick link from a news article to the forums. Minor I know, but I used to read articles and then want to jump directly to the forum.

Secondly the dark mode is pretty nice but it's a bit hard to notice the difference between unread and read topics. I know unread are bold, and you can tell obviously, but at a glance they don't stand out to me as much as they do on the light theme, not sure why. But perhaps another indicator could be added?

Oh and not an issue as such but what was behind the decision for no article images on the homepage of the site? Performance I assume? It feels very text heavy now, with nothing to draw you to a certain article at a glance.

EDIT: Noticed also that the site header can't be made unsticky by the option in preferences any more, it has no effect. I assume this is intentional, so perhaps remove that option if it's not longer possible?
 
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This is quite a big change, sad to see the smilies go for emoji-cancer tho :D

I did find something I wasn't sure is intended to work as it does. Now with the forum top page showing subscribed threads I figured I might get rid of a few subscriptions as they're years old. However, if I click on either "Subscribed Threads" or "Show more..." I get directed to a page that only shows one thread:
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Is there another way to see all my subscribed threads or am I missing something else?
 
Was just expecting Dark Mode, but a heck of a lot of work must've gone into this. Good stuff! 👍

@Jordan - However, I've come across a few issues; I can't find a Mark Read option for the entire forum like before, just for individual ones. And, when I look at my post history, the "latest" ones are 4 years old. Also, a YouTube playlist I'd posted isn't working, but individual videos are.

 
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As someone who's been on the site since 2006 (!) I'm gonna miss the old smileys. They're all different colours and it's easy to tell the expressions apart at a glance. All these yellow smileys look so similar to each other unless you squint. And as someone said, some of the old expressions doesn't translate exactly into the new one, which makes old posts look kinda weird. As for the other thousand or so emoticons, how many of those are going to see regular use realistically?

Same with the poo reaction, who knows if people are going to misuse that and gang up on less liked members. The old like system was enough IMO.

It's my age speaking here but I guess I just prefer the cleaner look and not a facebook/whatsapp wannabe.

Not all is bad though. The News page is back to linear form and the comment section is now separate (god I hate the auto generated threads because most of the time, the topic is already being discussed elsewhere). Also thread previews were in the previous GTP version (14?) and I missed it dearly.

Everything else, we'll get used to it eventually.
 
Was just expecting Dark Mode, but a heck of a lot of work must've gone into this. Good stuff! 👍

@Jordan - However, I've come across a few issues; I can't find a Mark Read option for the entire forum like before, just for individual ones. And, when I look at my post history, the "latest" ones are 4 years old. Also, a YouTube playlist I'd posted isn't working, but individual videos are.

Mark Forums Read is under the main Forums tab at the top of the page now. Big list of options there when you click the little down arrow.
 
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