If anyone pays attention to this sort of thing

I’m not a frequent poster at CotH forums, but here is some feedback. I have used the internet since the very beginnings and the rec.equestrian days. I realize changes occur and formats change. I’m aware that I am probably not the intended audience here, but I’ll go out on a limb here and say I am not a fan of this new layout AT ALL. I suspect others have felt the same, and are just merely gone. SO, those of you who log dissatisfaction and customer complaints, I think I’m gone here. Old buddies trying to reach me, please email me at jrfisher@live.com

@SPRINGBORO

Just out of curiosity, how long have you messed about with the new platform?

Many have started out similar to how you feel and after using it for a few days or so, have come to like all the features that do work, navigation that isn’t that hard once you learn how to utilize it, performance that is nice.

Discourse’s user interface is not like the older-style BBs such as what COTH used to use, vBulletin. It does take some learning. I’ve used some of the other ‘old style’ BB software applications. This is pretty different. But, IMO, worth giving it more than a cursory glance.

If you look through the Technical Forum and read a few of the topics, yes long, where people started out with complaints and dissatisfaction and have changed their opinion as they’ve learned, you can see where others have given it a chance.

Just click the 3 lines on the top left and start from there. I actually like it better now.

You are not unique in your dislike for change and feeling like things will never work because they are not how you are used to them being. Been there, done that. I am the queen of hating change.

What I decided was that I like COTH enough to give it a chance and learn to use it. (Something I am not doing willingly for the new software that work is making me learn. While I am on this topic, it is a great example of how all computer stuff changes always. I am sure my job would rather just continue on with stuff we all know, but not an option so we have to learn new stuff.)

If you read around this section of the forum (the technical help forum) you will see that lots of people said “oh wow, so different, please go back” and then, after giving it a chance they learned that there are so many great features that it is so worth it.

Ask the questions that will help you use this forum. People will gladly answer, complete with screen shots which are so easy to post now.

But… if you really want to flounce off…enjoy the world!

I worked in Mexico for years, the company I worked for bought other companies to consolidate the manufacturing processes in Nogales,MX.

I found that no matter what the workers were told and shown they still had problems so I photographed every step of the assembly process, made a binder for each work station for reference. Assembly problems did not end but were greatly reduced (actually I was able to prove the labor costs were greater in Nogales verses Long Island, NY but that is another deal all together)

What I getting to that a YouTube type video with screen shots of how to navigate this site might be more helpful then just telling them to go read the Tech forum. Many of icons used for navigation are not easily understood to the average person, but showing them how to get to where they desire to be is easier than handing them the manual. (Many people can not read any way, that is why we had more pictures/drawing in product manuals)

It might be for people who learn that way. For me a video would no work. I need to see the step by step instructions while I am looking at the thing.

I am sure no one would complain if you took all the great screen shots in the FAQ thread and made them into a video for everyone.

If the screenshot-style help Simkie put together for us doesn’t work for someone’s learning style, here’s the link to one of Discourse’s tutorials for the software that is provided at the top of the FAQs section from the three-lined “hamburger menu” at the top of the page. Their tutorial includes some video. I also shared this video in the weeks prior to the switchover to help users get an idea of how the site works (the real “tour” starts a few minutes in if I remember correctly).

There is also an automated tutorial that is activated via PM when a user first logs onto the site, which helps walk people through some of the basic functions.

Perhaps some of those resources may be helpful for you or others.

We appreciate that the site is different than our old one, and it may take some getting used to, especially for people who have been using a vBulletin-style platform for upwards of 20 years! We also know that people’s time is valuable, and they may not want to invest it in learning something new. We are attempting to be as responsive as we can to community members’ questions and input to help ease this transition somewhat.

If someone can’t devote the time to familiarizing themselves with the new environment right now, it’s understandable. Different software is going to have inherently different ways of doing things. We hope that the value of this community will encourage folks to eventually set aside a little time to get comfortable and gradually retrain those years of engrained clicking and scrolling habits.

I get that people are here by choice and relearning software for a leisure pursuit is not high on anyone’s list, but we felt this change was necessary in order to continue to offer the Forums as a viable and secure resource going forward.

I am getting more accustomed to it! Perhaps had people been a bit more understanding with my initial shock (come on, folks … you knew what I meant when I said it was so different) I would have felt a little less foreign. Lordy, send out a greeting party and all! I did feel much better after finding the technical support thread and seeing that I was in good company.

I HATE the green vertical line thing that messes up when I get near the top or bottom. What’s up with that?

Reading more and TRYING to give this a whirl. Mixed reviews so far, but I gotta get a horsey fix somehow. Reading the BLoodhorse only gives news with little discussion. And the old pedigree.com group splintered away a few years ago. SIGH … I miss the old rec.equestrian days. What was the name of the old coot who used to say something about “when you were in pampers” and then flamed the hell outta you. Ah, good times…

Can you describe what’s happening when you use the green timeline to navigate?

Here are a few general tips that may help:

• You can scroll to advance with the timeline, or drag the slider to different points on the thread.

• You can use the date/time stamps at the very top or bottom of the time line to jump to the first or last post in the thread. That works better than trying to scroll with the slider all the way to the top or bottom, especially on a long thread.

• You can hit the # sign when you’re reading a thread, and it’ll give you a pop up to navigate directly to a post number of your choice.

• When you have a thread open, and are looking at the OP, you can go right to the last post, by clicking on the last reply time given at the bottom of the post. You can go back to the top anytime by clicking on the thread title at the top of the page.