I'm sorry, but I hate the new forums
cbmeeks
Posts: 634
I don't want to dismiss the hard work people have done on the forum transition. But, I just do not like the new forums at all.
Forums are always a tricky beast (I used to run a popular one myself). People get stuck in their ways and they don't like change.
I guess my biggest complaints are:
1) It's too much "in your face". So many pictures and super gigantic table rows.
2) Search is killing me. Seems like no matter what I search for, I get maybe 5-10 results per page and that page is HUGE. So I have to pan down vast amounts of text to find the next item. No 20-word blurbs.
3) Doesn't take advantage of wide-screen monitors. Nearly 50% is wasted.
4) I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just seems so hard to read? Anyone else feel the same way?
5) How do I paste code snippits? Maybe there is a [ code ] tag. I just haven't tried it yet. But it isn't in the toolbar.
Anyway, I love the Parallax community and I spread the word whenever I can. You people have been so helpful to me for years and years.
But, I just wanted to voice my thoughts. I know there is work being done to fix various issues. But I feel they are fixing a bad design.
Forums are always a tricky beast (I used to run a popular one myself). People get stuck in their ways and they don't like change.
I guess my biggest complaints are:
1) It's too much "in your face". So many pictures and super gigantic table rows.
2) Search is killing me. Seems like no matter what I search for, I get maybe 5-10 results per page and that page is HUGE. So I have to pan down vast amounts of text to find the next item. No 20-word blurbs.
3) Doesn't take advantage of wide-screen monitors. Nearly 50% is wasted.
4) I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just seems so hard to read? Anyone else feel the same way?
5) How do I paste code snippits? Maybe there is a [ code ] tag. I just haven't tried it yet. But it isn't in the toolbar.
Anyway, I love the Parallax community and I spread the word whenever I can. You people have been so helpful to me for years and years.
But, I just wanted to voice my thoughts. I know there is work being done to fix various issues. But I feel they are fixing a bad design.
Comments
There are already many threads about some shortfalls of this new forum. They are being addressed.
It would be better to join those threads, and you can see the complaints and give some input there.
I'm hoping the aesthetic problems can be addressed easily enough. I mean why have a huge screen when everything is crammed into the middle? Why have avatars when they are too small to make them out? What is it with all the not so interesting forum statistics being so big and prominent?
There are usability issues that need fixing. The voting on posts should go. The ordering by vote should go. The search is, well, typical of a non functional forum search.
Then there are the bugs in the post editing...
I should stop there.
Light fuse, get away.
Firefox and Yet Another Remove It Permanently extensions allows you to remove the column on the right which works on the Main Category and individual forums.
It would be more helpful if you suggested in what order issues should be addressed than just complaining about them, and your post title is just asking for trouble.
Not sure why the order is important, Parallax is clearly making that decision.
He's been here for a member for a decade, Parallax is going to have to grow a thicker skin as intermittent members stop in and make the obvious comment, until the fix things.
There are already many threads about some shortfalls of this new forum. They are being addressed.
It would be better to join those threads, and you can see the complaints and give some input there.
I would put my two cents worth in as well, except I doubt I could find the threads you refer to ... and nobody at parallax cares anyway.
... Tim
Well, I know was complaining in the literal sense but I wasn't aiming for upsetting anyone. I really didn't see anything wrong with the old forum and wished we could go back. The forum on 6502.org is nice too. To me, a forum is just a place to ask questions, answer questions (when I can) and chat about anything and everything as long as it's on topic. I would MUCH rather ask questions in a forum (typically) than put up with the hypocritical BS of the Stack Exchange sites where their content is governed by if the "powerful" moderators like you or not.
Anyway, there was no particular order. I almost didn't even post it because I didn't want to be "one of those" guys.
@koehler
Thanks for the kind reply. And wow. I can't believe I've been here for that long!! WOW. I do remember I used to be active in the SX scene here. Then when I realized that the SX was going away and this new fandangled "propeller" was coming out, I lost interest. I literally stopped tinkering with electrical engineering for several years!.
@Tapperman
I actually tried to do the same thing. It wasn't obvious what was the "official" thread on complaints or issues. And, when I tried to search...well, read my previous issue on searching. :-)
Thanks guys.
He is currently planning on implementing the same style of search we use on Parallax.com, because the native search function of Vanilla is too difficult to work with, too limited to optimize the way he would like. Keep in mind that this change will not be quick to implement, and the list of other issues is still long, so there is currently no ETA on when it will be available. IT is working their way through feature requests in a priority order that they set internally.
I'll just stick around until they get resolved.