Old or new forum software?

[The Stealthinator]

Please vote as to whether you like the current forum software, or the old software before the update in March

Thanks.

 

[Saga Lout]

I've voted New and am in a majority of 67% out of six people. Hardly a ringing democratic victory is it? Many might find it academic to vote on something is is irreversible in any event - no way is BoM taking a backwards step after al the work that went into the upgrade. It sat in Beta for long enough for folks to suggest improvements and suggestions are made almost daily here and in Site Feedback.

I got used to the new setup after a while and found some useful shortcuts we didn't have before. Open your mind, Stealth - your advice is needed around here and you'll grow accustomed to the new layout in a while.

 

[rolli59]

My vote is new, it is fine but some of the changes brought with it are not.

 

[The Stealthinator]

This new software has disappointed me. I was looking forward to the upgrade before march, but it turned out to be too much of a disappointment.

Complaints that have been made and bugs that were reported WEEKS back are still there. Lack of proper email notifications is an example of this, as I did not get notified that rolli59 replied to this thread. If a feature that was working so well in the old software, how hard is it to get it to work after the upgrade?

 

[jpishgar]

Happy to answer this. The old forum software was very old, built on proprietary technology and devoid of a lot of features that we currently have. There was no Junk Detector, as an example, and mods had to hunt spam manually. They still do, but this has helped tremendously in reducing the amount of commercial spam we have on the forums. Registrations are less buggy, posting new threads and responding to threads are less buggy. User profiles are far and away less convoluted and generate fewer issues now than they previously did.

Sure, there are still a handful of minor glitches and issues that we're working through, but these are small in contrast to some of the problems we encountered on a weekly basis with the previous platform.

 

[The Stealthinator]

Wouldn't it have been easier to incorporate these changes into the old UI and ranking system, Joe?

 

[amuffin]

Badges are kind of screwy too! I somehow have the Ancient badge, but have only been around for a little over 2 years. I also have lost some other badges Oh well, not that big of a deal, but it is something to point out.

 

[jpishgar]

Wouldn't it have been easier to incorporate these changes into the old UI and ranking system, Joe?

Not really. The new design was from the ground up, incorporating many features that simply would not have been able to have been included in the new version.

 

[Ijack]

Old software. I use an iPad quite a lot and the new software is pretty unuseable on that. For starters, the opening page on almost every forum I look at is full of useless stickies and you need to scroll down to see a real post. And that's just for starters. It seems that Tom's are going for quantity rather than quality now. The worrying thing is that it looks as if they are now starting the same process on computing.net.

I'd vote, but this crappy software doesn't seem to want to let me do that from Safari.

 

[Saga Lout]

Sure it isn't your browser? It woks here on Firefox, Opera, Konqueror and IE!

 

[Ijack]

Developers blaming a browser is the ultimate cop-out. Sure, put it down to that if you like. It just means that people will get frustrated with the site and not use it.

 

[Ijack]

Grr - it double-posted on me. Most forums detect that and don't allow the second post. Double-posts seem all too common here.

 

[mactronix]

I find the site totally unusable on my mobile, I have no issues with other tech sites etc and so would have to conclude in agreement with Ijack that it has to be the site at fault.
How, I don't know. I am not a programmer but do know that I get issues on multiple PC'a and mobile where I did not before.

Mac

 

[Saga Lout]

The double post didn't appear so the Developers have been to work on that one. I thought I'd seen fewer lately. I only put up the suggestion of the browser because it seemed to be in the minority. I disliked it when it was in Beta and when it first went live but soon found ways of going about things that I couldn't do in the old setup. They were important at the time but I've go so accustomed to it now, I can't remember what they were.

The voting is split 50/50 albeit out of an abysmally low electorate so it seems opinion is equally divided into the old -v- new camps.

In another sub-Forum there's an almost identical debate going on about Windows 7 -v- 8
and elsewhere the old Intel -v- AMD regularly degenerates into flame-war chaos. I recall in the early days of my joining AOL in 1999, the debate about how awful Windows '98 was against dear old '95 and I believe these things have rumbled along over every change in every OS or utility since. Maybe we're just resistant to change until we get used to something and then we wonder what all the fuss was about.

The only company which seems immune is Apple - perhaps it's because they change hardly anything except the packaging and the fans rush out to queue all night to buy the new piece of cardboard. </CONTENTIOUS>

 

[mactronix]

Maybe we're just resistant to change until we get used to something and then we wonder what all the fuss was about.

The reason it seems like that is because with very few exceptions the changes are not changed regardless of feedback etc, (See Windows 8) Huge feedback from beta testing that was listened to and acted upon for W7 totally ignored.
So it can be said that people have gotten used to when in reality they make a like it or lump it decision, use it or don't.

Mac

 

[Ijack]

The double-post didn't appear because I edited the second one out of existence.

Perhaps I am resistant to change (though I've loved ever version of Windows since 2 and think 8 is the best yet). It's certainly true that I am resistant to change that makes it harder for me to complete the task in hand.

 

[Sangeet Khatri]

Everything is fine right now. Just fix this small issue

When we click on "Submit Your Answer" then many times it does not just connect and the loading circle keeps on rotating but it never actually connects. So just fix that issues. Otherwise the forum is very good and easy to use.

 

[Saga Lout]

Huge feedback from beta testing that was listened to and acted upon for W7 totally ignored.

As it was in Vista - there was an "it'll be alright on the night" culture but it never was. Next thing you knew, it was Goodnight Vienna and I'm glad they listened to you because I noticed no difference and no longer test.

 

[mactronix]

Not exactly sure of your point there Saga Lout

I'm glad they listened to you because I noticed no difference and no longer test.

?

What I was saying was that during the release candidate testing for W7 there was a very proactive attitude from MS and they listened and built many of the suggestions and ideas into the OS. With windows 8 they ignored it to the extent that they might as well not have released the previews at all.
I font know about Vista as that was always a pointless upgrade to me and I didn't look twice at it.

Either way most organisations actually work the same way,those that don't like changes are just Anti or Haters and are considered natural wastage. There is always new blood coming into computing and each generation much as is the case with many other things in the world only know computing from one OS/update onward.
These people take the place of those who leave and so there is never really a drop in numbers.
This enables people to claim that the new product or update has actually been well received when the reverse is actually true, with the vast majority of the exciting user base having issue with it.
Some leave to be replaced by new blood and others just carry on knowing that there is no point complaining because they know they wont be listened to.

Mac

 

[The Stealthinator]

Everything is fine right now. Just fix this small issue

When we click on "Submit Your Answer" then many times it does not just connect and the loading circle keeps on rotating but it never actually connects. So just fix that issues. Otherwise the forum is very good and easy to use.

Considering your join date shows May 26, I'm not entirely sure you were around the see the old platform...

 

[Sangeet Khatri]

Yes, I was not around the old forums, but I was just telling the problem that I am having with the forums right now.

As for the forum software. I am not having any problem with it and it works nicely for me. So, I would prefer to not to have it changed just because I am now very much used to it. But just fix that issue, if possible.

 

[jpishgar]

Hey there friends.
This thread has veered wildly off course - so I'm going to lock it for now. We're making strides in improving the user experience, and will be taking suggestions for fixes and feature adds. I encourage everyone who still has an issue with the latest platform to please make sure you get involved in the next beta test that we run, so your input can be heard loud and clear.

Thanks!
-JP