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New Format Sucks!

What the H E double hockey sticks have they done to the format of this forum? It ***** big time. It is neither as intuitive or informative as the old one. I guess I will go elsewhere until they undo this abomination of a format.

Posted on Apr 17, 2011 7:04 PM

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154 replies

Apr 17, 2011 9:09 PM in response to skalicki

First of all, with every page that I load, I get the message: "Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely?" and I have to click Yes or No. It is annoying and intrusive.

As for the format, under the old system, there were distinct categories that I could select (i.e., 3GS, etc.) that made it much easier to navigate for the particular information that I was looking for or just browse the current threads. This new format seems to lump everything together, and requires me to do a search, or browse through information that I am not interested in.


I don't know when this format was put up, but I discovered it just a few minutes before I posted my gripe. As I use the forum, I will probably be able to be even more specific as to what I dislike about it, but for now the secure content issue is a real problem for me.

Apr 17, 2011 11:32 PM in response to Topher Kessler

I've used the Apple Discussions site for years, and I completely dislike the new format. The old format was clean, straightforward, easy to navigate and fast. The old format had all the categories on one page, selecting a category opened another page with subcategories and messages. The current format has a far less dense list of categories in a slow scroll field. Selecting it brings a window with a "refine..." button which, when selected, shows a list of subcategories that, when selected filters in a more subtle way that makes me wonder if it did anything. There's plenty more, but I feel there is no reason to list them.


The old format worked. There was nothing wrong with it. The new format is change with no obvious benefit, and no benefit I can see that could not have been incorporated into the previous format, ie. people citing that the new format makes it easier to add online images and links. Change without benefit is change for the sake of change. I'd be interested in knowing the motivation and what problems they thought they were solving.

Apr 17, 2011 11:51 PM in response to Topher Kessler

Not true at all. The entire things is mysterious and unintuitive. Additionally, how to set things up is poorly discussed in the inadequate tutorials. Where's the setting to eliminate content and just have discussions? Where's the setting to always have the advanced editor as the default and to display the products. Why the obscure way to "personalize" something? Why isn't it clearly spelled out under set your preferences? Just a few of the many obscure things that were available in the previous discussions setup and I've been here for awhile.

Apr 18, 2011 12:04 AM in response to baltwo

Whenever people say this i can't help but think they're just resistant to change and are being a bit stubborn about an alternate approach to doing things.


The fact is it's quite easy and intuitive to find the location for your questions, and ask them. First you scroll to the relevant topic/community, and then type your question in the big old question field at the top of the page.


If the found answers do not give you the answer you need, you just click the "Submit to the community" button and your question will turn into a new posting where you can describe your issue. How much simpler and intuitive can that be? It's automatic, offers search and submissions in the same view, and does not clutter your view with a huge list of oddly highlighted search results to paw through.


The personalization options are all secondary to this main paradigm for finding answers. For additional features, if you spend a few minutes figuring it out then you can set up either a simple or more complex home page and other items.

Apr 18, 2011 12:12 AM in response to Topher Kessler

Whenever people say this i can't help but think they're just resistant to change and are being a bit stubborn about an alternate approach to doing things.


That is oversimplified and over-generalized at best - change is good, but only if it makes things better. If I now spend twice as much time perusing things I'm interested in, then I'm not pleased. I spent almost an hour trying to find a particular user ( because that person is somewhat challenged and I've been helping them for some time) - that is not progress.

Apr 18, 2011 12:24 AM in response to Topher Kessler

Your opinion. Easy? Go to a forum, click on Discussions tabs, waste time resetting to show 50 posts, search around for new topic and give up. Oh, it's back under some other tab with the innocuous name of Overview. Fill in the box and click on the submit button and miss that the stupid system is trying to find items that might or might not refer to your question. Then you get a text box and finally discern that the question box is really a subject box and not where you'll post your issue. And, this you consider intuitive. Give me a break and get off the bandwagon. These new forums are a nightmare for anyone who's used to working in the old ones. Oh, did I mention no learning curve? Just drop it on the poor fools and let them figure out how clever we designers are? Apple does promote the it just works mantra.

Apr 18, 2011 12:26 AM in response to babowa

My point is it does make things better, and it's quite obvious (especially by the examples here) that folks are just stuck to one way of doing things and therefore any change is labeled a drawback, even if it makes things easier.


Your example just exemplifies my point. If you need to find a user, start typing that user's name in the search field and it will offer you user names. From here you can select "View all results" to get more results, and then proceed to more advanced searches. Despite this, somehow you got stuck spending an hour trying to find the old way things are done.

Apr 18, 2011 12:35 AM in response to baltwo

I've used numerous forums, for years and years, and this layout is a welcome change.


You're pointlessly making things sound far more difficult than they are, but if you need to promote ineptness to support your argument then go for it. All you sound like are those ridiculous infomercials where they claim stuff like opening a window will break your back, so they sell you a magic window opener for a 2-for-1 deal of $20.


Ultimately it's very simple to find answers (or people, or topics, or ask new questions) here. Some features dont work too well, but there's always room for improvement and they don't impede on the overall functionality of the site.

New Format Sucks!

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