[MCJ]

icerabbit said:

Time to tap into Nobody's account and reverse the flow! Quick! ;)

Could just be a new term for "Anonymous" from when anonymous posting was still allowed.

I hadn't realised that that was ever the case. What fun I could have had!

[MCJ]

Peter Cohen said:

I wonder if he's related to Not Me? He's responsible for a lot of the shenanigans that happen around my house, according to my kids.

Hmmm, I'll keep an eye out for him for you. ;-)

[Cormac]

As to the main page, DITCH the new design! There is an old saying "If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it is a duck!" It seems that the powers to be at MW that new means better. NOT!

[kellie]

Hi MCJ,

When you click "View All Members" it takes you to http://forums.macwor...ple?view=status which is showing all members sorted by points, with the person with the most points at the top. You can use the buttons above the list to sort in different ways, including A-Z, Newest, and Who's Online. You can also get to this page by going to "Browse" and then "People". (This view defaults to A-Z sorting, however.)

Please let me know if you are still having problems with it.

Kellie

[kellie]

Hi jdb,

Are you using the forum-specific search, or the Google Custom Search in the upper bar of the site? Google Search should pick up the forum redirects... in fact, it should have done so by now. If you continue to have a problem with it, let me know and I'll look into it.

Kellie

[kellie]

Hi wgood,

Are you still having trouble starting a thread in Website Feedback? I just checked the permissions and you should be able to do this if you are a user who is logged in. Please let me know if you are still having a problem with this.

Signatures are coming back, but I don't have an ETA on that for you.

The new forums system has only one username, unlike the old system which had two (a login name and a display name). When we transferred to the new system, we used everyone's display name as their usernames, since that is the one that they had chosen to make public. When new users register, they are asked to select a username, and this is what is displayed with their posts.

We do not allow users to change their username. When abused, this can result in a lot of confusion and trolling. If you think you have a specific case and special reason yours should be changed, please PM me.

[kellie]

Hi Kyan,

We are really listening. I promise! As Curt has said, we are continually working to make changes and improvements to the site based on the feedback we see here.

Although we did re-design several of the forum features and look, most of what you see here is the settings of the forum software. Nobody from Microsoft was involved. :)

There is currently no way to default list them by forum instead of by most recent. The Customize Your View will remove those forums from your What's New list -- so you won't see items from that forum in your list anymore. This should help you cull the list down to just the topics you are most interested in. If you wanted to add those back to your feed, you would need to go back to Customize Your View and un-check the box. However, even with the box checked, you could go directly to the forum by clicking the link on the left side. Customize Your View doesn't change which forums you have access to view.

I hope that helps you!

[MCJ]

kellie said:

Hi MCJ,

When you click "View All Members" it takes you to forums.macworld.com/people?view=status which is showing all members sorted by points, with the person with the most points at the top. You can use the buttons above the list to sort in different ways, including A-Z, Newest, and Who's Online. You can also get to this page by going to "Browse" and then "People". (This view defaults to A-Z sorting, however.)

Please let me know if you are still having problems with it.

Kellie

Thanks Kellie, it seems to be working now.

[Cormac]

I like all the ads.

[Joe_Guy]

I like change. But not when it makes no sense.

The new format here is confusing and very user-unfriendly. I'm not sure what the purpose of the change was but it has become a very frustrating experience to come here nowadays.

Most changes to websites that I frequent are those that simplify the experience. This one has made it more complicated.

It looks like the work of a committee. Many people trying to do too many things.

It must make sense to someone - but at his point it makes no sense to me.

If there is an explanation for the change I can't find it.

I used to recommend this site. But if this doesn't get better soon I'll have to find a better Mac help website and apologize to those who I steered to this website..

I hope the people who re-designed this website aren't planning on re-designing MacWorld magazine.

[JasonB]

Hey Joe, Thanks for taking the time to post about the redesign. It would be helpful if you gave us some specifics about what you find a "frustrating experience" and what isn't making sense to you? We're working to address our long time users concerns before the Macworld Expo so any details you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Jason

[dmod415]

Hey Jason,

Does the MacWorld "Site Revisions" team remember what happened when some wizards at Coke changed the Coke Formula? Sales took a steep dive, and management had the sense to quickly resurrect "Coke Classic". They listened to their customers' screams and read the tea leaves well.

No one has bothered to share with forum visitors precisely why this change was deemed necessary and what goals were set. Any test pilot must know the difference between luck and skill in deciding when to back off and when to push on. It appears to this outsider that egos, not results, are the driving force now (and there's no turning back).

Nonetheless, this "customer" hereby registers his vote to pull the plug on SMURFZOMBIEWORLD and go back to what you had. Anyone got the guts to put it to a (honest) vote?

The MacWorld forums were NOT "broke". NOW they ARE! Many users have quit bookmarking the forums, and more will.

If you MUST change things, go slow and one at a time, like color, grouping, etc. As Joe said, if the magazine gets the same kind of sudden, radical "makeover" by the same mentality, the forums won't matter anyway.

just my 2? worth

dmod

[Albertr]

I know you will not ask me what I think about the new stuff. I will tell you anyway. The previous website worked fine and we were used to it. Someone had to make it better, new and improved. Well it is new I will grant you that but it is not better. It is a horror to navigate and try anything. I hate it! Thus I now rarely come in. If this is what you aimed for you have a great success. When something works, leave it alone! Then introduce change slowly one at a time. Have a good day and Happy New Year.

[Albertr]

I have a better solution. Get something like Netnewswire to read Macworld News. It is then fed to you automatically all the time when you want it.