Scott Newman

Q: Could This (new discussion format) Be Any Worse?

I've been participating in the Apple support forums for a good many years. They have been very useful and I've supplied a number of useful support answers. But now it's pretty much all gone. It's very difficult to find specific things and it's now impossible to see, at a glance, how many people have both viewed and replied to individual threads. That's critical for identifying big issues--especially those that accompany a signficiant operating system upgrade. Further, the text is so large that much less information can be displayed on a computer display. Finally, when you go to Apple Support your display is completely taken up by big square blocks--can you say "Windows R/T?" I guess all good things come to an end.

 

The best that Apple Discussions ever was was two changes ago. The previous iteration was tolerable even though it was confusing for newbies.

Posted on Jun 21, 2014 10:42 AM

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Q: Could This (new discussion format) Be Any Worse?

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  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Jun 28, 2014 11:07 AM in response to Yellowbox
    Level 6 (8,187 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 28, 2014 11:07 AM in response to Yellowbox

    Ian

     

    I think the reference is to the "Tool" for inserting the OP's post - like this in the Simple Editor

    Yellowbox wrote:

     

    Hi Ziatron,

     

    This is how I do it.


    Quote from the Original Poster, when copied and pasted into a reply, has a blue background:


    I've been participating in the Apple support forums for a good many years.


    Quote from a reply (not the Original Poster) appears as white background:


    I no longer have the ability to quote someone text. I now resort to using the arrows as shown above.


    After pasting into a new reply, select again and press command i (italic)


    I no longer have the ability to quote someone text. I now resort to using the arrows as shown above.


    Italic will distinguish the quote from your reply.


    Regards,

    Ian.


    EditorSIMPLE_quoteButtonPointer.jpg

     

    Unfortunately, when one switches to "Use advanced editor" - tool is mysteriously absent

    EditorADVANCED_quoteButtonGONE.jpg

     

    I already looked under the ">>" pullDown... "Insert" there just puts a Blank quoteBox inline.

     

    (Ian, I am walkabout-ing the Editor issue - I like the additional tools - but miss the quoteTool)

     

    Ask Ziatron if he is an AdavncedEditor fan like me

     

    CCC

  • by Yellowbox,

    Yellowbox Yellowbox Jun 29, 2014 12:41 AM in response to ChitlinsCC
    Level 6 (10,535 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 29, 2014 12:41 AM in response to ChitlinsCC

    Hi CCC,

     

    Thanks for pointing me to the "Tool" for inserting the OP's post. When moving to the advanced editor, the tool disappears because the reply-to post has been inserted.

     

    Now moving to advanced editor...

     

    And nothing. Back to the drawing board.

     

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • by Yellowbox,

    Yellowbox Yellowbox Jun 29, 2014 12:51 AM in response to ChitlinsCC
    Level 6 (10,535 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 29, 2014 12:51 AM in response to ChitlinsCC

    ChitlinsCC wrote:

     

    Ian

     

    I think the reference is to the "Tool" for inserting the OP's post - like this in the Simple Editor

    Yellowbox wrote:

     

    Hi Ziatron,

     

    This is how I do it.


    Quote from the Original Poster, when copied and pasted into a reply, has a blue background:


    I've been participating in the Apple support forums for a good many years.


    Quote from a reply (not the Original Poster) appears as white background:


    I no longer have the ability to quote someone text. I now resort to using the arrows as shown above.


    After pasting into a new reply, select again and press command i (italic)


    I no longer have the ability to quote someone text. I now resort to using the arrows as shown above.


    Italic will distinguish the quote from your reply.


    Regards,

    Ian.


    EditorSIMPLE_quoteButtonPointer.jpg

     

    Unfortunately, when one switches to "Use advanced editor" - tool is mysteriously absent

    EditorADVANCED_quoteButtonGONE.jpg

     

    I already looked under the ">>" pullDown... "Insert" there just puts a Blank quoteBox inline.

     

    (Ian, I am walkabout-ing the Editor issue - I like the additional tools - but miss the quoteTool)

     

    Ask Ziatron if he is an AdavncedEditor fan like me

     

    CCC

     

    Trying again. The "Tool" has  inserted your reply.

     

    Now moving to advanced editor...


    OK.


    IMHO, quoting the whole reply is wasteful. It makes the whole thread very long and hard to follow. Just my opinion...


    Regards,

    Ian.

  • by John Link,

    John Link John Link Jun 29, 2014 8:59 AM in response to Scott Newman
    Level 1 (114 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 29, 2014 8:59 AM in response to Scott Newman

    Why all the white space and large fonts? Is the format of this forum designed for use on an iPhone? I have a 27-inch iMac and I want to see as much information as possible at the same time. What's the point of large, high-resolution monitors if the format of the forum is like it is now? I've noticed that this sort of idiotic format is also used elsewhere (for example, Constant Contact). What the **** is going on?

  • by John Link,

    John Link John Link Jun 29, 2014 9:10 AM in response to John Link
    Level 1 (114 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 29, 2014 9:10 AM in response to John Link

    Where would be the best place to tell Apple about our displeasure about the idiotic design of the support forums? This page http://www.apple.com/feedback/ is for feedback about software and hardware but where should we complain about the forum?

  • by stedman1,

    stedman1 stedman1 Jun 29, 2014 9:17 AM in response to John Link
    Level 9 (74,253 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jun 29, 2014 9:17 AM in response to John Link
  • by John Link,

    John Link John Link Jun 29, 2014 9:19 AM in response to stedman1
    Level 1 (114 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 29, 2014 9:19 AM in response to stedman1

    Thank you, stedman1.

  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Jun 29, 2014 9:49 AM in response to Yellowbox
    Level 6 (8,187 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 29, 2014 9:49 AM in response to Yellowbox

    Ian,

     

    Wait a minute! When you say "... switch to the Advanced Editor, the Quote has already been inserted..." do you mean that the quote insertion is automatic function of the switch to AdvEd, or do you mean that I have already shown the insert step in SimpleEdit? If you mean the former, I have not witnessed that.

     

    OK, I agree that quoting the whole reply is wasteful (with rare exceptions). My desire generally is to address portions of the quote rather than the whole thing anyway. Lotsa people do this: --------insert the whole quote then deleting parts not wanted ---------------

     

    Yellowbox wrote:

     

    ChitlinsCC wrote:

     

    Ian

     

    I think the reference is to the "Tool" for inserting the OP's post - like this in the Simple Editor

    ...

    ...Trying again. The "Tool" has  inserted your reply.

     

    Now moving to advanced editor...


    OK.


    IMHO, quoting the whole reply is wasteful. It makes the whole thread very long and hard to follow. Just my opinion...


    Regards,

    Ian.

    Then I generally give EMPhasis in the quote as shown to the reponses I am making.

     

    Just personal pref, that.

     

    Quivering with anticipation as I await clarification on QouTe INSERTION !!

     

    higher regards,

    CCC

  • by stedman1,

    stedman1 stedman1 Jun 29, 2014 10:01 AM in response to John Link
    Level 9 (74,253 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jun 29, 2014 10:01 AM in response to John Link

    You are quite welcome.

  • by notcloudy,

    notcloudy notcloudy Jun 29, 2014 10:21 AM in response to John Link
    Level 4 (1,200 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 29, 2014 10:21 AM in response to John Link

    You have to got to safari view and Zoom out --- each time you access this site so yes it is for tablets and iphones - so sad.

  • by John Link,

    John Link John Link Jun 29, 2014 10:53 AM in response to John Link
    Level 1 (114 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 29, 2014 10:53 AM in response to John Link

    PayPal's latest format also follows this idiotic practice of too much white space.

  • by PlotinusVeritas,

    PlotinusVeritas PlotinusVeritas Jun 29, 2014 10:58 AM in response to John Link
    Level 6 (14,811 points)
    Jun 29, 2014 10:58 AM in response to John Link

    John Link wrote:

     

    PayPal's latest format also follows this idiotic practice of too much white space.

     

     

     

    True, its nothing but a rancid FAD based upon 1980s style Japanese hyper-minimalism

     

     

    its based on a look, not on function, or intuitive workflow

  • by bobseufert,

    bobseufert bobseufert Jun 29, 2014 11:18 AM in response to John Link
    Level 6 (14,131 points)
    iPad
    Jun 29, 2014 11:18 AM in response to John Link

    Large fonts ?  Consider yourself lucky. The Forum fonts on an iiPad are miniscule. I doubt the Forum was designed with iPhones in mind.

  • by seventy one,

    seventy one seventy one Jun 29, 2014 11:20 AM in response to notcloudy
    Level 6 (15,369 points)
    Peripherals
    Jun 29, 2014 11:20 AM in response to notcloudy

    notcloudy wrote:

     

    You have to got to safari view and Zoom out --- each time you access this site

           I've raised this so often.   Surely it's not rocket science to insert a page size option.

  • by John Link,

    John Link John Link Jun 29, 2014 11:33 AM in response to bobseufert
    Level 1 (114 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 29, 2014 11:33 AM in response to bobseufert

    bobseufert wrote:

     

    Large fonts ?  Consider yourself lucky. The Forum fonts on an iiPad are miniscule. I doubt the Forum was designed with iPhones in mind.

    I guess I wasn't too accurate about the font sizes. Some of them are ok on my iMac, but some of them are way too large.

     

    Was it always necessary to log in to the forum after closing the browser window? I have a recollection that it wasn't, but I'm not certain.

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