Q: Please, Why this redesign? I thought Apple should make things better... not worse.

Aaaghh!  The PC Blood Libel!

I'm running fine on a 6-year old PowerMac G5. Try clearing your browser's cache and clearing cookies. That can help when sites don't behave properly.

Another specific:  searching by tags is always, inherently less accurate than Boolean searching.  Tags are inherently subjective and fluid in meaning.  I used the tag feature and wound up 1,000 miles in cognitive space from the topic I was looking for.  That can't be fixed by mild tweaks to style, a strawman set up to knock down by this revison's champions.  If tags remain the dominant search mechanism, we might as well use Google.

I wouldn't call that being dumbed down at all. It's a styling issue, and one that can likely be easily changed by Apple, but does not change the content or features of the site at all. I agree there is more white space than there needs to be, and hopefully that can be addressed, but it's not a drawback or dumbing down of the site by any means.

I'm guessing you mean "reeks"? Are you also suing that iOS isn't user friendly? Or is it dumbed down? People seem to be saying both.

I'm guessing that a lot of the folks who think this redesign is some sort of grand conspiracy to switch everyone tomIOS aren't that familiar with iOS. And you certainly haven't tried to use the new forums on an iPad! It doesn't actually work very well. Apple didn't design the forum software anyway. This forum now bears a strong resemblance to other forums that use the same software, one of them is, I believe, Adobe's. Kind of ironic.

Sure, i'm struggling with my own innate resistance to change. But, if I step back for a second, take a breath and reign in my knee-jerk change is bad reaction, I realize that a lot of the problem is just that it's different and will take some getting used to. I also recognizes, that, in the grand scheme of things, the layout of an Internet forum is pretty trivial and not worth worrying over too much.

The search seems a lot faster to me than the previous system.  This search for example would have taken about 5 minutes to run in the previous forum.

Best wishes

John M

I'd imagine the tags will get refined with use, just like the search features. The popularity and prevalence of certain tags will allow them to refine searches better, but they will first have to become popular and prevalent. Before I criticize this feature I'll wait a month or two.

It's definitely a styling issue. I've just looked at my Your View page in Safari on my MBP, on my iPhone 4 and on my iPad 2. The white space completely disappears on the latter two. Theoretically, shouldn't Apple be able to produce a version optimized for the i-devices, while utilizing more of the space available on a computer screen? I'd think this would be something that will come soon.

No, no, that's not the reason we're upset.  We are seasoned users and we know a good redesign when we use one...and and when we don't.  Please, although we are part of a community, you don't know me.  Don't presume that those who don't like this interface are only reacting to change.  If that was the case, we wouldn't be Apple customers. 

The conditions of the forums is not trivial when your computer goes on the fritz.  One of the absolutely best forums for finding solutions, MacFixit, ran on a five-year-old forum software.  It wasn't lovely but it was effective more than any other source.  When CNET bought VersionTracker -- another great service -- and replaced it with the failed tracker it sells, it also "upgraded" MacFixit to the point where it's virtually unrecognizable, a faint echo of what it was before.

In a similar situation, Skype issued 5.0 and you only have to read the thousands of comments posted to its and others' boards to realize what a gross error that was -- one not unlike the current "transformation" (to use an appropriate buzzword) of the Apple Forums into "communities."  Skype, which is seeing group video use not gaining traction, may not recover from its arrogance.  It's certainly set back the system's use among customers, many if not most of whom reverrted to Skype 2.8 for the Mac.  Skype then removed that version from its webpages, but eveyone knew where to find old versions. Skype's solution was to ban further public comments about 5.0 on its message boards.

This tyranny of the designers really has to stop.  Someone here dared someone else to design their own interface.  It's difficult to build a new OS, but I wouldn't be surprised if third parties start coming up with commonsense solutions.  Apple will try to stop them.  The rebels will persevere.  It will be an interesting contest.

the new quicktime in Lion has those features

No, Topher, we who are involved in interface design know that tags don't work as well.  They're just more popular with the push and punch crowd who use smart appliances in place of real computers...or maybe, since no one asks them either -- believe me -- with the design community that prefers flash to performance.

So why bother with tags?

BTW, the sequence of conversations is already breaking up.  I'm gonna stop, my point's been made -- but will someone from Apple find a better way to display replies?  Thanks.  Bye for now.  <Command-+++++>

I like the new design.

Bob Jacobson wrote:

 

So why bother with tags?

Because the majority of users are unable to use a search box?

I am very pleased they have managed to get the search working properly. This was one of the things that was making me thoroughly sick of the old forum.

I also have to say I like tags, they are a quick and dirty way to link stuff together. From your posts I see you don't. The job of the people who put this forum together is to make a space useable for us both.