Doohickie

If there is something about the new format that you would like to see corrected, post about that. Include a suggested solution. Don't just complain, that doesn't help the mods make this place better.

As I understand it, the previous version of the forum was becoming unstable, as evidenced by the frequent downtime. In an effort to fix this the BF team decided to go to the next generation of forum software. I don't think going back is an option; BF is by far one of the busiest forums on the net, and things would only get less and less stable.

So we have vBulletin 4.0. Yesterday things were very clunky, posting took a long time, and the whole thing seemed kind of unstable. Things have settled down now. The colors are a little different. I personally was satisfied with the old colors, but the new ones aren't too bad. The fonts in the editing boxes, and also those in the post snippets under post titles, are kind of small. I've mentioned this in a few spots and hopefully the mods can address this at some point.

Rather than just venting at the powers that be, if you are not satisfied with some aspect of the new software, try to turn it into a constructive suggestion. Don't simply say, "I hate the fonts"; be specific: "The fonts in the post snippets and the editing boxes seem disproportionately small." Give them suggestions they can do something about.

If your suggestion is "Bring back the old format," save your keystrokes, cuz I'm pretty sure that train has left the station, folks.

So get used to the new BF, report issues that can be fixed, and please, please, please, stop cluttering up the New Posts search with "Wah wah wah I can't adjust!" threads.

(Yes, I realize this one probably falls into that bucket too.)


I, for one, embrace our new vBulletin 4.0verlords.

MrRamonG

I like the new format. But when I go to my profile and click on Find all started threads, there are only two... that is way incorrect . And the Find all posts only comes up with ten.... that is also incorrect. And I am pretty sure I have more than 373 posts... as is stated under my name.

Doohickie

Heh.... same is true for me; I hadn't noticed that yet.

Machka 

I've already posted about specific issues.

-- Make the fonts in the reply and new post boxes larger so we can see what we're typing.
-- Get rid of the 1980s bubblegum envelopes (or whatever they are) along the left side of the forums and left side of the threads ... of if they can't get rid of them, make them about half the size.
-- Instead of using the faded blue font for headings and links, use something bolder with more contrast, like navy.
-- Get rid of that annoying "Now using the New vBulletin" icon in the lower, right corner
-- Tell us what the "new buttons and bells" ... I see nothing different other than unreadable fonts and faded colours
-- Fix the multipost issue I talked about in the News and Announcements thread where complaints like all these are supposed to go, and where I've put all my complaints ....

nekohime

I actually kinda like the new interface but...there's just waaaaaay too much white space, which makes my eyes hurt. Lots of other people think this too. If there is an option to change the background color, or to get rid of some of the white space, please let us know.

*goes off to stare at something dark*

Oh also, scrolling is weird and choppy, also makes my head hurt, especially for the longer threads like we have over at P&R.

I like the other newfangled features like the video embed though.

gerald_g 

Anything that would decrease the use of vertical white space. (ie: loosing the envelope icons). would be great.
My mouse scroll wheel bearings are nearly shot from scrolling and scrolling looking for text.

habals

Thanks for the hard work.
+1 to all the suggestions above.

Chilled

I'd love the fonts in the catagories column larger and darker when cruising the "new posts" lists. Other than that, good work and thanks.

Nachoman

Yes!

crispy010

New software is fine, but please do something about the new UI. Yes, it's pretty and shiny. But the functionality is a huge step backwards, and it's much harder on my eyes for some reason. I don't know what options come with the software, but please please please try another style or look!

This is not an impulsive response, I've visited a couple times today to see if it grew on me, and it hasn't. At least change the UI color scheme, or provide options for users to configure their own color scheme.

Ajenkins

Dear lord, the quote box scrolls at a different rate from the rest of the screen. By the time I got to the bottom of this page I was seasick. Fix that, for starters.

I'm not usually one to complain about new, but this really was a step backwards. Way too much white space, the "shades of blue" typography makes it hard to see, rendering is dog slow.

This thing is like Vista for bulletin boards. Visual and computational bloat.

wastan

Yes, it is harder on the eyes; and I have 20/15 vision. In the old format, I preferred to load the list of new posts and scan down quickly, you could digest a lot of information quickly with the old presentation. Now it takes much longer because the eyes have to jump around to gather the same data about relatively fewer topics on screen. I mean on a 17" monitor there are SIX topics on display when searching for new posts! That's gotta be only 1/3 or less than the previous format. -- hence I get bored and leave.

Too much white space on the right is also an issue. I recognize the need for revenue space but there ought to be a more elegant way to do it.

Look at the contrast in the buttons below this entry form. Now look at how you've blended all the pale blues and grey/whites together with little real purpose or visual benefit for the reader. See the difference, the easy way the eyes read the white on DARK background? Some contrast and bold is good.

JakcBeNimble

The previous two posts pretty much su up my feelings. Visual bloat is the worst part, and having tons of useless space, lines, and visual effects is just distracting. I used to be able to fit the entire list of main forums (not the for sale and etc. subforums) on one page, but now I have to scroll all over the place.

Also am I missing it or is the "quick reply" gone?

Machka 

It's at the bottom ... scroll down.

old and new

Scrolling to review one's own written text prior to reply is a problem, it responds slowly if at all. I'm already getting used to the overall look and feel and just reading here and now what some have just posted, I'll fiddle with adjustments.

Cyclist0383

The font on the 'what's new' or main page of sub-forums is dreadfully hard to read, and hard on the eyes. P&R used to give me a headache at times, now all of BF does......please change it to something easily readable.

Fibber

Wow, take a day away, and everything changes! Being vintage myself, I like the way it was. But as Doohickie said, they ain't going back. Hopefully they can fix this. Job 1 - font and size! I cannot read it! Somebody said "ctrl" and mouse, but nothing seems to change. Colors are also a problem. Very washed out. I can hardly see things like "Post Quick Reply" on my LCD panel.

What happened to the "Forum Jump"?? I used a link from the now closed grip thread in C&V, and cannot find a way back without going all the way out. BTW, I have been kicked out back to the front page twice for no apparent reason.

Rumpled

I visit this forum mostly on my Blackberry. Is there a mobile version?
I'm doing an awful lot more scrolling now.
I'd second the Vista like appearance is a negative.

Rowan

If the train has left the station, then a lot of the users will go to other forums. They are out there, and they are operated generally by real cyclists with cyclists in mind.

There is NO point in making any suggestions. The operators of this site don't give a rat's about what you think.

The registered user-to-active user ratio continues to plummet. Now down under 9.5%. The problem was not appearance, but the inability to see new opportunities in content.

When eBay started to change its sites, it gave users the option of using the beta version or sticking with the old. It took around 12 months for the transition, and there was a lot of fine-tuning went on. I don't necessarily like it, but the new format wasn't simplly thrust upon users with the glib statement "this is cutting edge".

Get a a grip of yourself. If you think this is one of the busiest forums around, you are sadly out of touch with where BFs actually ranks on IB's list of sites, let alone the web generally.

And appearance has nothing to do with stability of the database.

Cutting edge? It's about as sharp as baseball bat. And the users are being bludgeoned to death with it.

gsteinb

the main page needs the show all the page numbers of a thread, or a last button, or some and the last page #. There's no way to get to the last page of a thread without going into the thread.

at the bottom of a thread there doesn't seem to be a way to go back to the main page, unless you go back to the top.

Tom Stormcrowe

As I've said a few times now, we are going to be installing a home link at the bottom of the page shortly. I just spoke to IB last night and that's one of the things that will be done relatively quickly.

Also, in the user assistance forum, here, there is a tutorial on how to use some of the navigation features you might find helpful. It's up in the stickied threads.

gsteinb

You could have said it a 100 times but I haven't seen it. With 97 forums you can't really expect folks to do a comprehensive search before pointing out something they notice.

DMF 

Yes it is, but hitting the "Reply" button in the post you're replying to inserts a QR editor directly beneath that post now instead of jumping down to the QR box at the bottom like it used to do. IOW, the QR box at the bottom is practically obsolete.

bellweatherman

Whoever designed this new website must have had a HUGE HUGE monitor. Most of us are on a resolution of 1024x768. I am using a notebook computer and you just cannot see as many threads as the old website.

DMF 

I'm at 1600x1200 and it still shows fewer threads and posts than it used to. Not great, but not terrible.

I personally prefer more text-based than graphics-based UIs, so I like the old UI better. But I'm sure Tom et al. will improve the style over time. In the meantime, I can cope.