Nate, I thought about making it into an entire new Group... but of course then it might have confused everyone.

Kendra it's just a common old saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". I wouldn't take it personally. 

Nate here's what you get for your budget.  

Ken Hulme said: “ t'll be easier if some of you "old dogs" can learn a few new tricks. “

I do not appreciate being referred to as an “old dog”!  Your response is insulting and inappropriate. 

I’m trying to learn something here and you are not helping. 

Robin- show me the money.

Randy- sounds like a total lifestyle to me. 

Only time I've joined a group is when  it's  necessary to read a post. 

@strumelia I double dog dare you to change everything about this site into a massive fansite dedicated to how cool @nate is!  

Do you want me to work you up a price quote for that job Nate?  

I'm not saying you should convert the entire platform into a massive fansite dedicated to how cool I am, but......well actually that is exactly what I'm saying.

I could actually change everything about this site... how it is structured, how it looks, and how it functions.

It is the way it is, folks.  Nothing much can be done given the software involved.  The massive amount of time and expense to replace the site with something else just isn't on anyone event horizon. 

The perceived shortcomings cannot magically disappear.  It'll be easier if some of you "old dogs" can learn a few new tricks.   Let's not beat the dead horse.....

i liked this site but trying to figure it out all th time drove me away … i even had a hard time posting this ….. formd should follow format of places like guntalk …. as large as it is it is simple to follow… no offense meant ….😬

To be honest, I find the separation of Groups and Discussions kind of confusing. Im never really sure where I should be posting. I've also gotten confused a few times when I click on a group discussion from google search, and it doesnt show the replies because I'm not in the group. For non-members this is probably very confusing. For what it's worth I'm not great at navigating this site but I think it is very well put together considering just how much information is packed into this place!

i think people have gotten more used to mobile-favoring 'endless scroll feed' social software like twitter, YT, tiktok, and facebook. I myself find it very frustrating to try and navigate websites on my phone when a website encompasses multiple different areas such as forums, videos, profile pages, photos, events, and home feeds. For most websites that are not feed-scroll based, I'm way more comfortable navigating from a laptop or tablet. The original ED site was really just a PHP forum (no multimedia sections), which was pretty easy to navigate as well.

I'm sorry I can't realistically make FOTMD more intuitive and simple for everyone to figure out. Maybe if I simplified fotmd by removing the Groups feature altogether (leaving just the Forums area instead), it would remove some of the periodic confusion that people seem to have about Groups and how to participate in them?

You ain't the only one Kendra I don't get it either a lot of the time.

Not looking for suggestions/explanations. 

Kendra, are you referring to within the Galax Group?  If so... you made a Comment on the group's comment wall, which is simply a feed, not a discussion with formal 'replies'. Also, you created a new discussion a few hours ago in the group, about the Galax festival, but it has not had any replies yet from others, so there are no replies to see yet in that discussion.

If you are referring to a different discussion you made in a different group, please say so here.

Also, it helps us if you say what kind of device you are looking at/working from... a phone, laptop, tablet, or desktop?  And if possible, give a LINK to the place or discussion you are having trouble in.

@kendra-ward, are you referring to the discussion within Groups?  Make sure you have joined the group first. Then you should be able to see everything.

I still can’t see the replies from earlier, but maybe I have finally figured out a little more about posting…so never mind…thanks…

Once again, I cannot see or find the replies to a comment/thread/ that I just made. It says there are 11 replies which I cannot access. I can’t even find my original post now within the group but it was there earlier. I see my comment on the home page, but it won’t take me anywhere. I just cannot seem to understand how to navigate this site. Sigh…

I never could read the replies from when I had this problem several years ago. I do belong to the particular group and have for years. I am logged in. 

@paulpossinger You are welcome!  That is a lovely mountain dulcimer.  Another thought: if you'd like to address a particular person, note how I began this posting.  It is a way you can respond directly to another member.  

Dusty, you explained it better than I did.  (i didn't see your post until after i posted mine)

Hi Paul... that "comment Back" link is only available for comments left on someone's profile page comment wall .

What you are referring to are comments left on your Keith Young photo , here .

You should simply respond to Robin's comment right above it in the text box, as another comment on your photo. Think of it sort of like it's a little discussion going on about your photo. Robin will see your post.  :)

@paulpossinger, to reply to a post someone left in a discussion, such as that regarding your beautiful Keith Young dulcimer, you do not want to comment on their profile page.  Instead you want to click the link in the email that takes you to that discussion.  It should say something like "To see and respond to the new post, click ...."

That link will take you to the discussion itself, such as your Keith K. Young Concert Model .  Once in the discussion you can post in the comment box or, if you want to respond to something specific someone said, you can click the little speech bubble icon in the upper-right hand tools in their comment, and that will quote their comment in the new comment box, where you can add your commentary.

I hope that helps. It's easier to do than to explain.

I tried to reply to Robin-Thompson's comment on my Keith Young dulcimer.

Below the New Comment email I received it says:  "To respond to someone who has left a comment on your profile page, please go to their comment and click "Comment Back" link underneath it."   

I did not find the "Comment Back" link underneath anyone's comment.  I was on my page, -- Photos, Keith K. Young - Concert Model

Instead there was a box I found to make a comment to Robin-Thompson.  I wrote a reply in that box.  I cannot see it anywhere.  Don't know if it reached her.  

Thanks for your help.  

PS:  Thank you for your comment on my Keith Young dulcimer.  

Awesome!  Yeah that Dusty Turtle is a real pip. 

This was so helpful.  New here, and sometimes we overlook the simple things.  ;-)

Kendra, please tell me an actual example of 'something you posted' that you cannot see the comments on. I need that.

Kendra it's hard to know exactly what comments you are talking about- can you please post here an URL where there is a comment you cannot read?  or tell me what the comment says so i can find it?  that would enable me to help guide you better. I'm understanding only that you somehow know there has been a comment or message to you, but are not using the correct link that takes to the comment or message so that you can see and respond to it.  I'm not knowing how/where you are being presented with these links or notifications so that I can advise you where you are going wrong.

My best guess right now without getting further clarifications from you:

Is it in an email that you find out about a new comment? This would a site notification, which typically has two or three links in it (to unsubscribe, to go see a comment, to turn off notifications altogether).  If so, please copy/paste the text of what the email says here... that will help me determine whether these 'comments' you are referring to are comments on your videos, private messages, comments on your profile page, etc.  Or, it will help me guess which incorrect link you are clicking on in the notification. Knowing that will help me tell you how you are perhaps going to the wrong place, resulting in your not seeing the items.

I don’t know what group it’s in? I’ve joined several in the past but the comments are not within those groups. I can’t find comments or read them on something I posted...

Not quite clear on what comments you are referring to, (this thread here is about what to do if you can't see the entire discussion in a group because you;ve not joined it yet) but....if you are referring maybe to email site notifications you get when people have commented on your items, then follow the LINK provided in the notification, which leads you to the comment itself, on your item.

Maybe you are clicking on the wrong link in the notification.  Please look carefully at the notification- the link to follow should be near the top, above the comment.

Kendra, have you tried reading this thread?

It explains how you need to join a group in order to be able to read the complete discussions in the group. It also shows pictures on how to join a group.  Try that.

I’m pretty frustrated. I cannot see any replies. I’ve tried everything. Please help. 

Thanks for the great explanation, Dusty!

JP, I'm just curious- did you not look over the other threads in this Site Questions forum to see if the solution to your problem had already been asked about and answered?  I hope you now understand why you were not seeing the whole discussion.

Dusty mentions the main site links along the TOP navigation bar on every page of FOTMD (Home, Forums, Photos, Videos, etc). When one is very confused about how the site is laid out, it really does help to click those links to gain a better understanding of the areas of main function and content. Not everything is immediately accessible from the Main Page... or else it would have to be five miles long.   

I'm glad you were able to post a new thread here in the Site Questions forum in order to ask your new question, though!  I'm going to edit this thread's title to be more descriptive of the thread subject now- in order to help others in the future looking for answers to similar questions as yours.  :)

@jp. there are two main areas for discussion at FOTMD. One are the Forums, which are open to everyone.  But there are also special interest Groups. 

If you look at the tool bar on the very top of your screen, you will see "Forums" as the second item from the left and " Groups " as the sixth.  I encourage you to peruse the Groups and join those you are interested in.  There is a group dedicated to traditional noter/drone players, a group for players from Indiana, a group for builders, a group on dulcimer history, a group for fingerpickers, and so forth. 

If you are not a member of a group, you will be able to see the most recent or sometimes the very first post in a discussion, but you will not see all the other posts.  However, if you simply click the big green button that says "Join Group to Access Discussions" which can be found to the right of the group's name, then you will see all the activity.

i am so confused... *sigh*

That post by Lois is indeed in a Group discussion, not a general public discussion.  The Group is called Beginner Players, and the thread is about I, IV and V Chords.   As Dusty sez -- to see everything you have to join the Group.

@jp, you might be clicking into a discussion within a group. You have to join the group to see all the content, or to post in that group's discussions.  In the example you provided, that is the Beginner's Group.

often as i go to a post on the home page and click on it even if it says 11 comments all i get is the original question there is nothing else there.

this post is an example.

 

@lois-sprengnether-keel • 20 minutes ago • comments: 11
Posted a new Comment on I, IV, V chords :

"Dusty Turtle: Stephen Seifert has posted a good DAd chord sheet on his website. You can find it here and download it as a pdf if you wish. Guess..."