Since the controversial changes that have taken place on the site, I have experienced problems with exceptions, the overlay of one lot of text on another, (especially on the Forum Home page), long page loading times and site unavailability, either because it has been down, or will not accept the connection, (presumably due to load).
It appears that there are many bugs around the place that should have been worked out by now and, whilst I respect the efforts of the web team, I feel more work was needed before the old site was turned off. That in itself was a dubious decision, as this new site just doesn’t look or feel right and I can’t get used to it at all.
I urge more testing, with a wide range of browsers, (I use Firefox) and a good de-cluttering of the pages. I’ll go now and check again in a couple of weeks before I decide whether to delete my account or not.
It is interesting that all the posts regarding the new format have been negative as far as I’ve seen. I have yet to see someone post a thread praising the decision to change. Most of the “old” hands in here have expressed displeasure with the new site either in open forum or privately…
You know, change isn’t always good. For many years I think that there has been an attempt, in walks of life, to convince us that change is always progressive or “better”—it just aint so.
You might be able to fix the overlay issue by simply holding your control key and then press the minus to reduce the size of the screen. I had the same problem too…that fixed it.
The site changes were a bit difficult to deal with but now I find that I have adapted to them. Nothing good is easy, but the content and the people here make it worth adapting to the change.
Every forum has its own features and benefits, atmosphere and nuances…personality if you will. One I feel worth staying involved in.
Actually, I have made a positive post about the new forum “What I LIKE about the new forum”.
Sure, there has been problems, there were problems with the last as evidenced by these two posts from 2005:
Sorry, but the new forum bites
New Forum not as active?
There were many people who were PO’d when the forum changed back then. Some stomped off never to return. Some stayed. I had just arrived (my joined date was much earlier than my first post date) and wasn’t attached to the previous forum, so I stayed. And guess what? I wasn’t attached to the last forum, either. Nor am I attached to this one. It’s just pixels, people!
The only REAL problem with the new forum(s) is that it caused some people to leave, and that diminishes the forum in general. Too bad, most of them had some real value they could bring to the table.
I have to admit, I left a few scathing posts within a couple of months after the change-over…
As of last week, thanks to Aaron Skinner and Megan, I’m beginning to believe again…
Not always perfect, especially last weekend, but as long as progress is made, I’ll hang out. The site has been running much better in the last recent couple of weeks…
And kudos, Mr. Skinner,
Thanks for keeping us “lowly” users in the loop…[B]
Well, I aint leavin’, but I’m not in love with the Forum like I used to be…But there will always be another model in here for me to love and want to marry…
I can’t claim to like it - mainly for the “you’re going to like it and we don’t care whether you do or not” way the who changover was handled, and the continued issues like very slow load times, random error messages and “features” that are unlike those on any other forum I’ve frequented (or managed, for that matter). Kalmbach has made it pretty plain what their priority is, and it’s not the forum, or its users.
I don’t even need to do that with this buggy software. I post something, refresh the page with the F5 key and the fonts are larger. Refresh a couple more times and the fonts are smaller again.
I still say AOL had a hand in this software. [whstl]
I’m in the same boat as (earlier poster??), I had signed up months & months ago & really didn’t make too many posts until recently, just as the new site was being unveiled. I never had the chance to get attached to the old system I suppose. Other than the first 2-3 weeks, I really haven’t had too many errors to deal with. And keep in mind they are trying to make the new posting system talk nice to the old archived info… makes me happy I’m a graphic designer, not a programmer!!
And above all… anyone (subscriber or not) can create an account, login and interact with modelers around the world - it’s free baby! Thanks FSM,
I’m sorry to say, I have given up on the new forum! Having been a member here for about 7 years, I’ve seen this forum in three seperate incarnations.The first two designs were user-friendly, easy to read, and easy to manage. This version does not meet any of those criteria IMO. The forum is no longer easy to use, reading the text through all the graphics and signatures is a nightmare, and marking posts as read is now a twenty minute job…minimum. Since the day I first joined FSM, this forum had always held a place of honor in the “Daily Folder” of my Favorites (Bookmarks). I would visit the forum at least once every single day and for several years I averaged about 3 or 4 posts each day. Since the latest change took place, I think I’ve visited this forum a dozen times and maybe made 3 posts…mainly suggesting changes. As of last week, the FSM forum hyperlink was moved from my “Daily Folder” to the much more generic - and less frequently checked - “General Modeling Sites” folder. Sure, I’ll keep my account open and pop in to the forum from time to time, but the FSM forum is no longer a “must visit” site for me and the new design is the ONLY reason for this change in importance. If someone cannot find the information they need or want, or if a person can’t read that information quickly and easily once they do find it, a forum is failing to fulfull it’s basic function, to effectively communicate the written word.