Forum New Forum Layout

[DeletedUser110131]

I could list what's "wrong" with the new design. That wouldn't satisfy my curiosity, though. What I'm wondering is, what on Earth possessed someone into thinking that a new design was the right thing to put effort into? Did they think there was something wrong with the old design? If so, what? Do they believe that the new design has some superior quality that the old lacked? If so, what?

Or was it just that ancient superstition that new is better than old, and change is good in itself? I've always wondered how people can believe in that one, without discarding it for being such an old relic...

 

[DeletedUser4727]

Odd.

Im using a Nexus 6P and this is how things look for me, are they looking different for you?

 

[DeletedUser9168]

I've just checked looking at the forum on my iPhone and the header does take up a whole page now whereas before it was not shown at all

phone landscape

Phone portrait

Previous forum style

and the images of the same forum pages on my iPad

previous forum style:

 

[DeletedUser110676]

What happened here? Forums look horrid and I couldn't even find the "make new thread" button.

I had to manually type in 'create-thread' at the end of the URL to make this.

 

[DeletedUser110195]

I could list what's "wrong" with the new design. That wouldn't satisfy my curiosity, though. What I'm wondering is, what on Earth possessed someone into thinking that a new design was the right thing to put effort into? Did they think there was something wrong with the old design? If so, what? Do they believe that the new design has some superior quality that the old lacked? If so, what?

Or was it just that ancient superstition that new is better than old, and change is good in itself? I've always wondered how people can believe in that one, without discarding it for being such an old relic...

I've found that any company operating a medium of any kind is prone to changing how it works on a whim. YouTube would be a fine example of somewhere this happens with annoying frequency, but online games of all stripes do as well, to keep the experience fresh is my guess, only so many different ways you can present something that's been used or played for years.

When you click on a forum section, a plus sign in a circle, for me on the right side of the screen and close to the bottom, that's how you create new threads now....apart from the method whoever I replied to employed.

 

[DeletedUser99438]

Yeah it's less user friendly, less organised, badly categorised. And that's just my first perception on being here 1 min lol .... I'd say give me time to find more ... but be less likely to bother really delving into posts now, just on those counts! It's going to make looking for a particular category or post difficult. Not exactly the best design for someone with learning difficulties like dyslexia. It really needs categorising.

PS: I finally found the profile icon..... that's much improved and I like it, thank you

 

[DeletedUser12400]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/SQIjbSW.png[/IMG] ​

All new forum layout threads have been merged into this one.

 

[DeletedUser12400]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/SQIjbSW.png[/IMG] ​

I could list what's "wrong" with the new design. That wouldn't satisfy my curiosity, though. What I'm wondering is, what on Earth possessed someone into thinking that a new design was the right thing to put effort into? Did they think there was something wrong with the old design? If so, what? Do they believe that the new design has some superior quality that the old lacked? If so, what?

As Sovereign wrote the main purpose of the new layout is to improve usability for all platforms, but especially for mobile users. Obviously, the layout is still open to change. Please use this thread for feedback, as well as to report any bugs you find in the layout.

What happened here? Forums look horrid and I couldn't even find the "make new thread" button.

You can create a thread by clicking big plus sign on right hand side.

 

[DeletedUser110131]

the main purpose of the new layout is to improve usability for all platforms

I'm afraid that's an impossible aim. The larger the screen, the more information it can hold. Good usability is about utilizing that potential, without exceeding its capacity. Obviously, you can't utilize the potential of a large screen, without exceeding the potential of a small screen. Just be upfront about the fact that you're optimizing for smartphones, then hope that you're right that people prefer using the phone to write on the forum. Remember, visitors who don't write, are here only because of the ones who do.

An ETA on when you'll be optimizing for smartwatches would also be nice.

 

[Vesiger]

I've just checked looking at the forum on my iPhone and the header does take up a whole page now whereas before it was not shown at all

Brilliant, thanks. Yes, that's what I'm seeing!

Just be upfront about the fact that you're optimizing for smartphones, then hope that you're right that people prefer using the phone to write on the forum.

I'm using an Android-based tablet, and I'm afraid this is not an improvement at all (I do wonder if the site is trying to do some kind of autodetection and is serving up the smartphone version because it's never heard of a Tesco Hudl!)
A lot of wasted screen space, ironically (the permanent bar at the bottom of the screen means that I'm currently typing into a letterbox slot three lines high, for one thing) and it makes the site more laborious to use.

 

[DeletedUser98451]

The new layout has been in use on the beta server since december, so its reasonable to expect that it would be good to go now though that assumption is based on the devs having listened to beta feedback ........ same old story

 

[DeletedUser110433]

In my view so many things have been done wrong. Feels more like a change just to change, not with purpouse of improval. I`ll try to name the things i do not like:
Quick links have recieved too generous of a spot for little to nothing value in them, this really feels like advertising their own stuff, since top right corner is the most sutaible spot. Drag NEW POSTS above this box, or just put New posts line inside this box. Also i like to look at people on-line, but this boxes location is so abscured, need to scroll down just a bit, to see it, not go past it. Next is the crowns, although the visual does not that different, old style had monocolor green crowns and it blended in, allowing to see toppic text, this new yellow-red style takes focus off the text, did anyone TRY making it look pure yellow? Black crown blends in nicely, so it`s all about the color. Ok, so here are some question: where did the inbox go? Why do i need to go trough several menus just to see my profile? Why did the simple info box about my profile have to be removed in general (the one with Number of posts, likes and points)? What actual flaws were removed in Beta (feels like no feedback was taken at all) ?
A positive note, the adress of your current location is better, some_where / shome_place / here is much better looking.

Oh, so the profile information is at the very bottom, did not notice that profile bar at all.
It took me a while to find it, since i need to log out, and it was dam hard to spot, as it blends in with the rest.
P.S. what the hell is ''show online status'' ? I think i was always visable and here i find the box not checked out.

 

[Vesiger]

Do I really need a dedicated constantly visible icon at the bottom of the page to tell me that I have received a total of 209 'likes'? Is this vital information?

 

[DeletedUser110131]

Do I really need a dedicated constantly visible icon at the bottom of the page to tell me that I have received a total of 209 'likes'? Is this vital information?

Now, now. Just because you're not a narcissist in constant need of praise, you want to deny it to everyone else? That's just selfish!