You’re in the minority running a computer that’s that old. The club can’t provide bespoke solutions for everyone.
This isn’t some freakish new platform, it’s used by many, many organisations and companies for their forums. It’s also regularly updated to make it secure for the enormous amount of data the club keep on all of us. I imagine you’d not be happy if we were using older software that wasn’t updated and there was a security breach?
I get angry at the loss of functionality with progress and built in obsolescence generally. There are bits of software and hardware I genuinely mourn because I loved using them and they’re not supported on modern platforms anymore. So I’ve found new ones and life moves on.
In my office I have several old computers, including two Macs of similar spec to yours. It’s disingenuous to suggest that only this site doesn’t work because modern browsers aren’t supported on them generally and lots of sites need the latest browser versions. Go back to 2015 and try and run a computer from 2005 and you’d have similar problems. Technology moves on and either you hack them (newer versions of MacOS on old Macs is possible) or repurpose then with Chrome Flex or Linux, or buy a newer (reconditioned or new) machine.
This isn’t the OC being rubbish, it’s the way of things sadly. The options are use modern software or be dangerously insecure with our data. I know which is the right thing for the OC to do.
The club, like many other sites as @foolhandy says, just uses the Discourse forum software.
It was likely reviewed by the club against the many other products that provide similar functionality, albeit in different ways, and chosen for its features both what we see and behind the scenes administrative dashboards etc. A good example being how easy image attachments are for us, the end-user, compared with some of the alternatives out there.
Just to say, after February when your FF ESR updates stop, please take note that you may be at increased risk when doing any digital banking/online payments. I can’t say I’ve never continued using browsers that are well past their security updates (I only recently upgraded from an iPhone 5 for example) but I still am aware of the risks involved when I did on occasion use them.
One last thing to add, if you’re using some form of ad blocking addon on FF, maybe disable it for the OC site in case it’s suddenly causing issues. Last week the one I use started going haywire and blocking elements of sites that weren’t adverts breaking most sites for me.
Perhaps we should all be using typewriters[*] to create our posts. We could then post them to Club Office who would compile all the posts into a newsletter which they could then post out to members once a week/month.
[*] We could also allow those members who find typewriters to be too high-tech to handwrite their submissions, which could also then be included in the newsletter.
Not really.
And I too regard the PC as a tool essential for engineering design and writing, and not a hobby in itself, so my learning curve to civilise this latest one to remove all the excess baggage weighing down W11 has been painful.
It’s a bit like a mother’s advice to her daughter I saw in an old wartime film; when a man’s undesirable forcible attention is unavoidable, one might as well lie back and enjoy it, and take your revenge later.
His computer went on an extreme diet and feels healthier for it - but as with any diet the process was painful
I didn’t even bother trying on my Win11 install, it had been implied that Windows Updates may undo (or break) a modified install and with every passing Windows version, cutting out the bloat has just become harder - since Windows isn’t my main OS I just ignore it and have done as much as I can through the settings (and old control panel) to reduce the annoyances etc.
John I do wonder if you are having some cross threading going on with log in also - if you have not had to log in recently there have been some security updates on the website and forum that may also be causing conflicts.
to log out on the forum - click on your account avatar (probably J Icon) on the top right - click the little human shaped icon at the bottom of the drop down menu and log out is displayed there.
It is worth then going back to the Club homepage mx5oc.co.uk, logging back in there with the log in button - and then reconnecting to the forum from the community menu or top quick navigation. this will update cookies and other session identities so that you are running.
might be worth trying that to see if that may assist?
I guess it might be regarded as one of those planned “Enrichment” games where one has to scour the territory to find all the tiny hidden features where one can enjoy switching off something else, akin to “Whack a mole.”
Putting a link to good old Control Panel on the desktop is just the first step of the big adventure.
I am very loath to run someone else’s script (many exist!) that sprints through the Registry simply turning off all these switches, and doing only they know what else.
There are also a few turnkey “looks like W7” and “looks like W10” environments available for W11.
But again what else do they do?
And as you say, watch out for when M$ step on the changes at the next update!
It was directed to the OP as if he is indeed running a 10 year old MB pro there is a chance he could run Monterey which although older should still work traded my 2015 MB pro in at CEX a couple of months ago never had any issues with this forum
As mentioned previously keeping the website and forum software updated is essential for security, performance, and modern features. Updates patch vulnerabilities that hackers exploit, preventing data breaches and enhancing site speed and user experience.
This can create a challenge for users with older hardware, as their outdated browsers may be incompatible with new web technologies, leading to broken sites or complete lack of access.
For users who don’t want to upgrade hardware, lightweight browsers like Pale Moon or K-Meleon may offer a solution.
Cloud-Based Browsers
An alternative solution is a cloud-based browser. This type of browser runs on a powerful remote server, which does the rendering of modern, complex websites. The server then streams a simple, visual version of the page back to the user’s older device. This effectively bypasses the local computer’s limitations, granting access to the entire modern web without needing a hardware upgrade. Examples of such services include Browserling or Kasmweb Kasm Cloud Personal - Cloud Browser | Desktop | OSINT
None of the above has been tested or is endorsed, offered only as a potential route.
Upgraded hardware mostly doing what I want. Set up shown here with three monitors shared between two PCs and the security system with the aid of some HDMI switches.
Just updated my Apple system as an early prezzy to my self with the new MacBook Air and MacBook pro, iPad wifi/sim and Iphone 17… kept my iphone 16 now thats become the new in built tracker and music car phone with front camera screen.. All in all really impressed and no problems connecting to apps and club sites either with Retina scan \ facial or finger/thumb scans just love this tec when it works
