Bad bad forum format

Don't mess with success. The enemy of the good is the better. Leave well enough alone. Can't change a winning team. You gotta delay entropy. Etcetera. What other cliches are out there?

I hope it's clear that the new format absolutely, positively sucks. It's user-hostile, disorienting, prohibiting a global & quick view of threads and tough as hell to navigate. As a web veteran, I foresee its quick demise or, if the webmasters are stubborn, a sharp drop in contributions.

yeah, and those damn ford model "T"s will never catch on either...

[Rick Nebiolo]

Cyrus,

We should take some time to get used to it before making an evaluation. Most of us are resistant to change and tend to dismiss what is new or changed. Over time, the new forum format and software may prove to be much better (or may not).

OTOH, I’d be very happy if I never saw another woman in hip hugger jeans with a too- short top and have had plenty of time to ponder this one. Anyone who is slim enough to look good in that would look even better in classic high-waisted jeans with her top covering her abdomen. I had to go the mall last week and almost blew my lunch at all the exposed flab. What are they thinking, or is “Jerry Springer” setting styles these days.

Call me old-fashioned!

Rick

[Clarkmeister]

Rick, I agree.

It is clearly more powerful, and the ability to view the entire thread at once ala RGP is a huge time saver. In fact, while its taking a bit to get used to right now, it seems to be significantly more powerful than the old software. My only beef is that I wish there was a FAQ or primer somewhere. But I think this is a good long-term upgrade.

I don't like the fact that we can't readily see all the posts on each forum simply by scrolling down (even using the "expand" option does little to help). Having to page, page, page is a royal pain and will surely reduce input on pages other than the first.

Also, it seems I cannot post anymore using "M" as my handle because I get the message "Cannot Proceed--User Name is not the proper length." /forums/images/icons/confused.gif

[Mason Malmuth]

When (and if you register) you can then go to "my home" which will allow you to click on "Display preferences, number of shown threads, languages, colors..."

From here you can adjust the number of threads you see on a page.

As for why you can just use "M," I don't know the answer.

Best wishes,
Mason

[Mason Malmuth]

There is a FAQ. Just look above on the menu line.

MM

"We should take some time to get used to it before making an evaluation."

No doubt. Except if you've been there before!

I had the dubious pleasure of experiencing about oh three times the "upgrading" of websites to precisely such a format. They al ended up in complete and utter capitulation of the webmaster(s) and their return to the format temporarily abandoned by TwoPlusTwo.com. Which happens to be simply the most successful, user-friendly and efficient format for bulletin boards on the web -- end of story, that's al she wrote.

I make the O/U two months only because Malmuth happens to be a stubborn son of a gun. (I don't go for the theory that falling head over heels can mellow out a fella.)

Folks, the new format is ugly : get rid of it before you get "used" to it!

NT

"It is clearly more powerful, ..."

For the webmaster, yes. For the user, why? Do you realy need al that additional information? All these bells and whistles? At the expense of ease of use, too ?

"...and the ability to view the entire thread at once ala RGP is a huge time saver."

You could view the "entire thread" before, as well. You could view as many threads back as you wanted, ads a amtter of fact -- through Preferences. Just count the clicks it takes now to navigate or even to respond to this post.

Web veterans are positively aghast at the irresponsible play now unfolding.