Why is the "Back to the C/V version of the forum? Please?" thread (a closed thread, it's important to note) a sticky? Is this just to rub our noses in "and you can't do anything about it"?

{Scrooge mode on}And why did "Secret Santa" merit sticky-dom? Are we back to the age of burgeoning stickies?{Scrooge mode off}

Why do sticky threads now have a square sticky icon (that does nothing), even though they all have titles beginning with "Sticky: " and they stick to the top of the forum threads page? Is that for the illiterati who "read" BF?

Why does the new "look" include page numbers below a thread title, but the it only goes up to 6, even when the thread may have dozens of pages? Is this the inverse problem heritage as the amp whose knobs don't go up to 11?

Why do some threads have a large blue envelope, and others a large orange envelope? Again the icon does nothing; what's the purpose?

Clueless in NYC,

ah, the Icon legend is at the bottom of the index page for the subforum. Oh, and while I'm remembering discovered things, the "Ignore" list is editable from your profile page (I think Kurt was asking about that). I got nuttin' for the thread count.

--
Been wondering too, but what makes sense is that Tom S. and pals want to concentrate all the b*tching -- sorry, INPUT -- should be concentrated in one thread, so the mods can actually find and perhaps deal with it. Search don't work too good, ya know.

Can't help you with the rest!

I'm still looking for a response to my complaints about the changes to the Forum Jump feature, which now simply does you the favor of way-too-big-to-use scroll that doesn't even start at the current forum -- PITA!

that could have been the case if that thread was not locked...

Actually I can't find the old thread where we all enthusiastically commented about the new site. I meant that the mods wanted comments to be put in there, not in various complaint sites in all the various subforums. I didn't notice any other changes.

The back to the old C&V thread is stickied so another 'this software sucks' thread isnt started like this thread. Its locked because there really isnt anything more to say, I'm sure the mods and IB have overhwhelmed with complaints about the software and have heard everything there is to hear.

There is no doubt in anyones mind that the new software has been a GIANT step backwards. Unfortunatly there's nothing we can do about it.

LOL...when I first started in the IT business a wise old-timer told me that in the back-out section of the change request form you should put "Resignation attached, open in case back-out is required".

I find the navigation so much more "unfriendly" that I am now spending a good bit less time here.

+1,000,000

Heh....

I had made the comment in one thread that had our team turned this obviously untested application loose in a production environment, people would have lost their jobs over it. Seriously - it would have been backed out on day two (if not sooner), blame would have been assigned, and heads would have rolled. I pondered out loud why this "upgrade" wasn't test-bedded and vetted in a non-production environment before being implemented.

I don't wonder any more. Turns out IB owns the s/w in question. Looks like WE'RE the test environment that they're using to tweak the product so that they can sell it to their prospective clients.

Ah. Sounds like, um, Vista!

Seriously BBM! Under no circumstances would I be standing in front of a CIO explaining THIS application. What happened to UAT??? Oops, I guess WE are the testers.

I agree with the above posters. The good thing is that I now have much more free time on my hands as I spend much less time here.

The worst part is that as the more knowledgeable, experienced cyclist's leave the forum due to frustration the forum will change from a enjoyable resource for the novice to more of a foo filled troll site. I have learned much in the short time I have been a member but fear that the same thing that happened to the Ebay motors forum will happen here.

The nature of internet forums is that people come and go for all kinds of reasons. But I sincerely hope that this (admittedly awkward and off-putting) redesign doesn't drive a lot of vets away. I just got here and want to learn!

Somehow, my PC crashed last weekend, and the rebuild, plus the inevitable updates, took a while, but this forum is now working quite well, basically the same as before.
I know that may not be the case for everyone.

Can you imagine the outcry if another paying internet site, let's say flickr, went down as often as this place goes the last 2 weeks? I suspect that the folks who are running this do not realize the responsibilities that come with running a pay site over the internets.

An another thing: Is there any way not to make the "scheduled outages" on prime time ET (5-11PM)? How about in the middle of the night like every other self respecting paying site.

Answer to your first question is found in the last post of the thread. Tom redirecting comments, complaints, problems etc to the main thread:

As far as Secret Santa, I sticked that for the short term so that it would remain visible. I will unsticky it later next week once the PMs go out on who everyone's secret Santa is that choose to participate.

As far as the issues with this new forum software - yes they are many and wide ranging. Please let it be known that none of the Admins or Moderators here on BikeForums had any real part in the decision to move forward with the upgrade. We have however been working very hard to get the problems identified so that the development team can get them fixed. I am just as frustrated as any of you about the issues we have had since the upgrade. I honestly can not think of a single positive that has come out of it thus far, and only hope that in the near future things will get ironed out enough so that we can stop complaining about the software and get back to talking about bikes.

If any member chooses to take a "break" from the forum due to these issues, please PM me with contact information if you wish to be notified when I deem the forum stable enough to return. I'm here for the long haul, though I will admit I have been putting in extra time improving my own cycling website (and forum) in the last several weeks.