I really like how, when you have a reply to a thread, the little number pops up on your icon and, if you click it, it takes you right to the new comment.
Many things.
I like how I can compose a reply and if I want to continue to browse the site while I do so, I don’t lose my reply. I was composing a reply a couple days ago, checked some information in another thread, then went to post my reply. The site asked me which thread I wanted the reply to go to. That was cool.
I like how easy it is to quote other posters or insert a link.
I love that I can mute entire forums, as well as individual threads. Re muting entire forums, I like that I can create an exception to a particular thread simply by replying in it.
I like the instant preview area. I can make sure the post is going to show up as I intend it to when I hit the ‘Reply’ button.
I like that if I’m to the end of a thread but if it’s a hot one and others continue to post while I’m reading, the new posts automatically show up without me having to refresh for them. Saves on ninjas.
There’s other stuff, but this is what springs to mind at the moment.
Thanks, I hadn’t picked up on this feature before now. Muting topics & forums is especially useful if you usually browse via Latest.
I would guess, after the “change is bad” frustrations of the first week (to which I’m not claiming to be immune myself) that the great majority of people will now rate the new platform highly. I feel that @TubaDiva et al have done a great job in adapting the new software to preserve the essential character of the old board. Some intrusive things have rightly been turned off, and it seems to me that we are left with a lot of extra useful functionality that won’t change that essential character.
The whole reply interface is a vast improvement, it really facilitates more complex discussions - much easier to quote multiple segments from earlier posts and organize your reply more coherently, and the “live” preview is a welcome relief. With the old board hanging so often I had got in the habit of not previewing at all, and then rushing to correct mistakes in the 5 minute window. With the new board working reliably I think the 5 minute window is the right compromise.
Yes, I have a saying about change “change is to be feared and avoided”. I hate change. But, I’ve kept an open mind and now I don’t mind the new site. I am still learning about it though. What I can and can’t do. Where is this or that. I still haven’t found my friends list. I’m trying to focus on the things I like and learning new things is good for the brain.
I really like the entire thread on a single page feature, along with the date display on the scroll indicator to the right.
The only ninjas we’ll see now are the really really sneaky ones.
Ditto to all! It has elevated the experience for me.
Number one, two, and three: No timeouts. So refreshing.
Four: While not as slick looking as the old site, the simpler, more stark look provides much more clarity.
Five, and tied with all the others: I love the way you’re taken to just where you’ve left off from the last time you’ve browsed.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned — so perhaps it only happened to me — is that when I click on a thread topic it takes me to the first unread post — unlike vBulletin, where clicking on “First unread post” would dump me anywhere from three weeks before the last post I read to the absolute last post, no matter where I left off. Not to mention deciding at random that I’d read everything in the middle of a session, leaving me to guess (which is why I made a point of noting the last login date and time right off the bat).
And there are a few of those. 
At first I was opposed to this in principle, but now I like it. On the old board, I often didn’t notice that there was another page after the page containing the post I was replying to, so I wound up missing some posts.
I like that you can switch easily back and forth between “watched” and “normal,” a less complicated process than subscribing and unsubscribing.
By clicking on your avatar in the upper right corner, you can see a drop-down of watched threads (topics!) that have new replies. I just run down the list opening each one in a new tab as I used to with subscribed threads. And as Aspenglow pointed out, if a new reply happens while you’re in the middle of reading, a notification pops up.
I hadn’t realized this either, and oh my is this great.
One Box rules them all!
Also, I like how hyperlinks have a number bubble to let you know how many people clicked the link.
How do I mute entire forums? Does that mean I don’t have to scroll past them when on the main Categories page? That would be awesome.
Click on your avatar, then your username, then Preferences. Under Notifications, click on Categories. Scroll to the end to Muted. Click inside the space to bring up a drop down menu of forums. Pick the ones you don’t want to see and Save Changes.
ETA: I think they still show up under Categories, but they are at the bottom of the page? I use Latest to search through threads, so just looked to see how bringing up Categories treated muted forums. Hope it helps, anyway!
OMG that is the best! They are gone from the list of Categories (well they’re at the very bottom in tiny font) and they’re gone from the hamburger menu up top too!
Love this. And I’ve muted 4-5 forums. Really nice feature.
Also, when you are done with a thread (sorry, “topic”) and click “back” to go back to the thread listing, the one you just read is temporarily highlighted in blue, so it is easy to see what the next one is
NM. I need to do more testing.