what do you think of the new format?

[frank]

I do not think the new format is an improvement. I am kind of partial to the old format. what are your thoughts on the subject?

 

[disneysteve]

I love it. I particularly like that there's now a "Like" button instead of the old way of having to send a Thank You which was awkward and you couldn't do from the mobile version.

 

[Dtail]

Is the "Like" button a substitute for the PM message?

 

[Qs Laptop]

I LOVE it. It's clean. Lots of white space. Larger font size and a better default font. The new logo looks 100% better than the old logo. It is easier to navigate the site. There are useful shortcuts at the top of each page. There is a "Like" button for instant reactions.

Minor quibbles: The quote function is behind the three vertical dots ⋮ so requires an additional mouse click to access. A different theme color would be nice. But the team managing this site really knocked it out of the park.

People complaining about needing to scroll more than before...I don't know how to break this to you, but scrolling up and down computer, tablet, and phone screens is here to stay. An extra half second or two spent scrolling per thread is not a big burden. You're retired for heaven's sake! You got all the time in the world. If you really want to scroll less on your PC try the "Change Width" setting in the upper right hand corner of the screen,.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Is the "Like" button a substitute for the PM message?

No, it's more akin to the Thanks button from the old forum. But the problem with the Thanks button from the old forum is the poster that received it didn't know they had received it unless they checked their User profile page. With the like button you can see them below the post and also who gave them to you.

 

[pacergal]

I am finding my way around!
I do find it easier to read and like the larger fonts.

 

[OldShooter]

I generally look at the "New Posts" list and would like to see as many of them as possible. White space is visually nice, but I'd rather have more density of posts.

Not sure I understand the "Thanks" issue. Whenever I get a "Thanks" I get an email notification, so no issue knowing about them. I like having the thanks messages (probably 600+ so far), so if "Like" is the new "Thanks" I would like to get notifications.

 

[euro]

Takes some getting used to, but overall it is good. I tend to be a person who likes to hang on the "old and comfortable", so I definitely didn't need a refresh, but I'm sure there were good reasons for the change, so I will embrace it! Did we lose all the cool emotes?
Never mind about the emotes - I found them

 

[Dtail]

I generally look at the "New Posts" list and would like to see as many of them as possible. White space is visually nice, but I'd rather have more density of posts.

Not sure I understand the "Thanks" issue. Whenever I get a "Thanks" I get an email notification, so no issue knowing about them. I like having the thanks messages (probably 600+ so far), so if "Like" is the new "Thanks" I would like to get notifications.

Same here on the notifications.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I would like to see more than 10 of the latest posts, perhaps 20 or 30 would be better, as opposed to having to hit "More".

 

[GrayHare]

like so many new versions of software, IMO it's mostly just different, so the change creates a net loss because it requires audience relearning

 

[LateToFIRE]

It is literally hurting my eyes. Too many colors, to much white space. I do like the font better, but that's about it.

 

[GenXguy]

Not liking it. I prefer the previous forum software.

I generally look at the "New Posts" list and would like to see as many of them as possible. White space is visually nice, but I'd rather have more density of posts.

Same here. Using on Windows PC & Firefox. There's too much wasted space and more scrolling required and just not as efficient to read through the posts as quickly and comfortably as it used to be. And the area to the right is wasted as well. Just too inefficient for my taste. The "like" and "op post" features are meaningless compared to the general usability.

 

[Major Tom]

But the problem with the Thanks button from the old forum is the poster that received it didn't know they had received it unless they checked their User profile page. With the like button you can see them below the post and also who gave them to you.

I used to receive an email every time I was thanked for a post. Because of that, I never missed a thanks.

 

[MichaelB]

I would suggest members give it a couple of days before jumping to conclusions. There is an informative discussion thread on the new format here Forum Update - We're back! Ask your questions here.

 

[skyking1]

I generally look at the "New Posts" list and would like to see as many of them as possible. White space is visually nice, but I'd rather have more density of posts.

Not sure I understand the "Thanks" issue. Whenever I get a "Thanks" I get an email notification, so no issue knowing about them. I like having the thanks messages (probably 600+ so far), so if "Like" is the new "Thanks" I would like to get notifications.

It is at the little bell for notifications. You can set the preference to send you an email, I'd rather not spam my own inbox too much.

I like it fine but I use this forum software at another site. The game changers for me are inline image posting and the 'like' button. I can click a like or a laugh rather than make a post about how helpful a post was, or humorous. It gets the job done with brevity.

 

[Willers]

Although I agree with others that I'd always like more density, overall I like the format. It is very similar to others forums I frequent so I'm already used to the layout. As the saying goes, the only constant is change, and I think tis one is for the better

 

[Golden Mean]

I noticed there is a now an "OP" banner in the original poster's image when they post in a thread they created. I think this forum was the last one I frequent that didn't flag the OP in a thread, so I was always going to the first post to make a note of the OP's handle.

 

[GenXguy]

If you really want to scroll less on your PC try the "Change Width" setting in the upper right hand corner of the screen,.

Lol. That makes almost no difference. It makes it only about 1/2 inch wider across my monitor and doesn't address all the wasted space, so virtually no change in all the scrolling and extra effort of reading a thread. It's such a small difference, I'm not sure why it's even an option.

For example, in the first post of this thread, all it did is move the words "what are" to the previous line but did not shorten the vertical space wasted.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

The "Quoting" system seems confusing, I think I just figured it out though.

 

[Sojourner]

Did we lose all the cool emotes?
Never mind about the emotes - I found them

Ooh, yes... there are lots of new emoticons to choose from. Cool! That was one aspect of the old forum software that seemed very out of date.

I will also chime in to say that I like the new "Like" feature. Much better than the old "Thanks".

 

[Qs Laptop]

I used to receive an email every time I was thanked for a post. Because of that, I never missed a thanks.

Since I didn't get an email, it must have been a setting that I hadn't properly configured. Or I didn't get many thanks.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I like the new emoticons. Especially beating the dead horse. I guess I'll have to add an avatar. And they are rather big.

 

[Calico]

Is the "Like" button a substitute for the PM message?

Private messages are still there - they are called "conversations." Hat tip to Janet, who explained this to me!

Click on the envelope icon next to your user name at top of screen. This menu will drop down:

To view your old PMs, click on "show all."

To send a new PM, click on "start a new conversation."

Once you start typing a recipient's name, it will start "auto filling" so make sure you're sending it to the right person!

 

[MichaelB]

The discussion is getting into specific questions and functions, and there’s already a thread for that, so let’s close this for now, just to avoid confusion. Once again, this thread is for questions about specific functions. Forum Update - We're back! Ask your questions here.