New Format Sucks!

No, you're not 😝 But maybe I'll have to add you to my watch list 😁

I've never seen their user names before and don't really care if I see it again..... I prefer tech forums, not social networking sites.

I whole heartedly agree with the OP. This new format is garbage. G-A-R-B-A-G-E. Why did Apple do this? All I wanted to do was read up on the new 4.3.2 iOS update and instead I get sucked into this vortex of confusion.

Also, where are user's post counts? I tend to listen to the forum members that have some history here with a high post count.

You have to review https://discussions.apple.com/___sbsstatic___/apple/tutorial/reputation.html and then count the dots under their names. That's the new way. Level with number of bars was too difficult for the masses to comprehend, so they doubled the number and now use fancy dot arrangements. 😎

You can see the points counts by clicking on the user name to see the profile; also, you can estimate it by looking at the little dots under the names: i.e. you have 1 dot, mine shows 5...

I'd say a blend of the two could be a real boon--a "best of both worlds," if you will...

We'll see though. For now I appreciate the effort here and see the potential in the site. I think with some refinement they could really get things moving for people, but we'll see. For now it's definitely a lateral move to a new layout/infrastructure.

I don't like this new format.

These 'bubbles' have a First Grade feel to them. I like to believe Mac users are a wee bit more mature.

And it seems like a lot of wasted space. It's a good thing I have a touch pad, Two fingers can help fly through a very long scroll.

Give me another week. I may learn how to find things. I guess my age is showing. I've had a Mac since the SE.

It's not only the format... it's the navigation. Frequently clicking a post, or the "next" button, or even replying to this post causes a blank page to be rendered. Reloading doesn't help. Back button loads more whiteness. "View page source" yields a screen full of more serene, pure, but essentially useless whiteness.

At the moment I'm chained to a Windows XP running Firefox 3.6.3 on but this problem is unprecedented. I've tried clearing the cache, quitting / restarting / rebooting etc.

You can see I'm no newcomer (all of four bips) and I think I know what I'm doing. What about the millions who aren't nearly that experienced - the kind who come here for help? I'd surmise their tolerance level for such unfriendliness is lower than mine.

***** indeed.

As Charlie Brown said,

AAAARRRGGHHH!!!

😠

AAAARRRGGHHH!!!

I can think of much better and more appropriate except in this type of forum....😮

Makes perfect sense....😕

I tried replying to this by clicking the link in my subscription email. I'd send you a screenshot of the result, but there's no need. Just imagine a screen full of existential nothingness, with https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3003229?answerId=15020607022#15020607022 in the URL field.

The only way to navigate back to this page - where I can compose a reply or do anything else helpful in what used to be known as the Discussions forum - is to go to www.apple.com, click Support, click Communities... and find this thread (or whatever this creature is called now). Then, after some unknown amount of navigating around, I eventually reach a point where I reach a dead end of utter whiteness, no way forward, no way back, and no option other than to close the window or tab.

It's the Web equivalent of... death!

Where's the skull and bones smiley?

I think it's pretty apparent that Apple has much more in mind than simply improving upon the help forum, so that it works better at helping people.... Since there is really nothing about this new design that presents anything even close to a major improvement, and as many have pointed out, there are many flaws, making our experience less fun, & more frustrating. Why change something all around, especially something that is supposed be functional, if not to improve upon it? That's the underlying question here, why? What for? Employees with too much time on their hands? I honestly think it has more to do with, however odd, an attempt to make a help forum a "social networking" site, which I believe, will go over like a lead balloon......

I don't know what happened, but on top of everything else, my lengthy post just disappeared! I thought it was posted, because I dared hit the paragraph button, but it's nowhere to be found....

Anyway, I have searched using my question and even when I give it a whole year, there are only a handful of relevant posts, & some not very relevant at all. The more I use this new program, the less & less I like it, I feel like I'm trying to do something on a Windows OS!!

It's confusing, cumbersome, more complicated, and I know I'll be looking to use different sites, personally, as stepping backwards, or even sideways, is something I'm just not willing to do

I think you answered your own question. They do have more in mind, and this gives them a better framework to build upon. The Apple representatives who've answered questions here have made it quite apparent they're working on bugs, refining things, and looking to implement features. I figure they're compiling a huge list right now and will get the kinks ironed out at a steady pace, perhaps regularly or perhaps in batches. It's a major challenge (even for a huge company like Apple) to revamp a system like this and get everything right in the first go.

Did they never think of a test forum. If I want to socialize I'll go to Facebook.

I want answers.

Topher Kessler wrote:

I think you answered your own question. They do have more in mind, and this gives them a better framework to build upon. The Apple representatives who've answered questions here have made it quite apparent they're working on bugs, refining things, and looking to implement features. I figure they're compiling a huge list right now and will get the kinks ironed out at a steady pace, perhaps regularly or perhaps in batches. It's a major challenge (even for a huge company like Apple) to revamp a system like this and get everything right in the first go.

1. That's the fundamental problem, why take a support discussion site & turn it into "more"?

It's bad enough Apple doesn't provide enough help on its own (as the Help features within the OS used to do, years ago), but now, when we have to come here to look for answers, we have to jump & wade through more "stuff", to do so? Why? As littennorsk aptly put it, "if I want to socialize, I'll go to Facebook", we don't need another social hangout spot...

2. "A major challenge"? Setting up a discussion forum? They're all over the web, and most work quite well, this is Apple, they've done far more sophisticated & complicated software than something like this. Why take what wasn't broke, & instead of tweaking it, change it completely, and not for the better?

3. A "huge list of features"? I mean really, what did they not know ahead of time? This is not inventing the iPod or a new OS, it's a support forum/discussion board, one that has been around many years. If they didn't clearly know what they wanted to do, & all the features that would warrant such overhauling, then putting this into place was reckless, irresponsible, and disrespectful of we, their customers. As I said before, if this was still buggy, & they were that unaware of that "huge list of features" you mentioned, then this should have been a more limited, Beta release, so those who volunteered to be guinea pigs, would be the only ones having to deal with it, until it was really ready for release..