Don’t wish to host a pity party, and don’t suspect anyone will really care too much one way or the other, but I’m wondering if anyone else is thinking that it isn’t worth trying to figure out the new site.
Yeah, I’m pretty far towards the Luddite end of the continuum. I don’t reject tech, but I have infinitesimal patience at messing around with something on my phone or computer to try to figure out how to do the most basic things (no, the idea of changing colors and shit just never enters my mind. I’ll take whatever plain vanilla is offered, thank you!)
I realize that operating systems and even hardware requirements change - which further lessens my enthusiasm for much/most tech. Perhaps I have an overly short tolerance for re-learning how to do what I’ve done w/o problem or complaint for previous years/decades.
I’ve really enjoyed having these boards, but stumbling around just trying to figure out how to get my username, password, and email recognized, not to mention trying to do the basic things I used to, is pretty much at the bottom of the list of things I could do. Heck, I’d probably even prefer to do WORK!
Well, just kinda wanted to get that off my chest. We’ll see if I get so bored that I give it another try later, but I would imagine my presence here will quickly fade out.
I just got here. It took me 15 minutes to figure out how to reset my password, but that’s okay. It’s called “growing pains”, and they will pass. I would strongly suggest that people give it a one month trial run before making any hasty decisions. I’m willing to bet that 95% will have adjusted by then. I know that I ain’t going anywhere!
I get where you are coming from. I had the same thought before I checked it out, “If it’s a pain to use I can use it as a reason to quit.” It keeps me away from gaming - as soon as it requires any great effort I delete the game. As it worked out I’m quite happy with the new setup.
I can’t say I’m really enjoying myself today, but unfortunately I love you guys, so I’ll have to deal with it. I expect to screw up a lot trying to post links or whatever, but unfortunately you guys love me so you’ll deal with it.
I’m thinking of leaving because the things that everyone else are so excited about are making the site like all the other places on the internet that I already avoid. Look…we’re just like everyone else! Threads full of gifs and pics and emojis! That’s not the content that I’m interested in.
Emojis are disabled and I haven’t seen any gifs yet. There are hardly tons of pictures all over the place.
However what makes this place unique are the people and the level of discussion. The rest is aesthetic, and that doesn’t change the fundamental nature of the board in my opinion.
I don’t have it “all sorted out.” I’m not even using my username of 20 years, because I couldn’t figure that out. I just went to the list of threads for MPSIMS and i did not see where I could search the forum. When I clicked on the COVID breaking news thread, it presented an endless list starting at post #1.
Yes, I’m sure most of you have dogs, cats, and even gerbils who could figure this out far more easily than me.
20 years, and (IIRC) closing in on 20k posts - yeah, these boards meant little to me. (And here, I’d insert a rolleyes emoji if I knew how to do so.)
I believe they’ve disabled the postings of gifs and pics. Emojis/smilies have always been part of the boards. And the ads will eventually be disabled for members, apparently.
It’s taking me getting used to the new look, but I’m liking some of the new features, like different ways to track threads, being able to see who might be replying, and not having to refresh a thread to see new posts… they just pop up.
I was here last night and I know that these things are now possible so will be used when enabled. I already hated it when people decide to large, colored font shit, so these changes are the last thing I wanted to see.
You know when they say 98% of people like whatever. I’m the other 2%.
I’m having trouble navigating. But my larger problem is that this is incredibly slow. I get a lot of spinning circles… Random error messages… Really, the basic usability seems WORSE than the old site.
Maybe my internet isn’t working well. I’m having some issues with my work computer, too. But the old site want constantly trying to interact with my browser, so it was actually more stable when there are issues at my end than this new set up.
So I’m an unhappy puppy today.
The site is basically a self-contained app running on your computer, which means slower connections or older machines are going to have more trouble with it than with a page only asking you to load text.
I’m somewhere between underwhelmed and outright put off at the moment, but it’s the first day. I’m happy to wait to see what changes can be made under the hood to clean things up and then to see what changes can be made using scripts on my end.
What I really really miss, and I probably just haven’t figured it out yet is a listing of the recently-posted-to threads in MPSIMS, Questions, etc. I could do without the 1.5 spacing as well simply because I like to look at the list and I suspect it will appear long.
I’m not picking on anyone, really, but I don’t understand how so many people could be on the internet for 20 years and not pick up the basics of navigation. Clicking on your user pic is a pretty obvious way to find preferences/settings etc. Taking 10 minutes to click around and orient yourself shouldn’t be that difficult. I know, I know, change is hard, but this is really not a big deal.
Personally, I would much prefer inline pictures, because even if I really, really want to see your cat (I do), I’m not going to click a link to do it. Sure, it can be abused, but that’s what community pressure and mods are for.
The format of the board is definitely a major change and will almost certainly bring a shift in members. The format will mean some members will leave, but it will likely mean some new people will join up. If the SDMB was something that was necessary for work, then certainly everyone would stay and figure it out. But when it’s just a pastime, people won’t have the same level of dedication. If it doesn’t meet their preferences, they will drift to other places.
Keep in mind that the SDMB lost about 2/3rds of the active members in the last 10 years. I’m sure the performance problems didn’t help, but I would guess most of those members left for a variety of reasons. Even if the performance was fixed, I’m not sure the decline in members would have turned around. Many people just found other internet spots more to their liking and hung out there instead.
Personally, I’m finding this format harder to sync with on a conceptual level. The old format seemed more concrete to me and the discussions seemed easier to grasp. This new format seems like chat in a cloud and everything is blobbing together mentally. This isn’t about trouble setting colors or whatever. The way the information is presented is not to my preference and I’m having to put more effort to interact with discussions. If anyone works with tools, the comparison is like a tool that just fits perfectly in your hand versus one that feels awkward and you have to think about more. The format of the old board is one that fits perfectly in my mind and this kind of format is more awkward. I guess I’ll see if I get used to it.
