This is awful!

30 March 2002 | Me

[Nogbad]

No, this is awful!
I don't know where anything is anymore!
Where are the sidebars?
I used to go straight to them
to find out
what was going on.

[Vinomori]

Why donate money if they are going to play around with it like this? We donated money because we loved the way things were. I am canceling my monthly donation, because, like the Democrats in Congress, FR is finding absolutely gratuitous ways to spend it.

[Great Dane]

#19......... You are not an old fart, I find it slow loading as well..... but then, maybe we are the same age. :-}

[LarryLied]

Took me three minutes to figure it out. Latest, Topics, Self ... pretty hard concepts to master.

Sorry I wasn't clear. If it tooks hours or even days to figure out the new format, I would do it. The problem is loading. Checking on replies takes minutes to pull up. Lastest posts is the same. And I freeze up when loading so I can't do anything else. Individual threads are fine. Finding them is not. I imagine I can change the type size on latest posts so I can read the sidebars but even that won't help much. And I am having these problems with graphics turned off. Probably have to restart if I loaded graphics.

[aruanan]

Right about changing the oil. In the time it took the posts to load, I could already have scanned through all of the first fifty on the old format. Since only WORDS convey useful information in the most direct way (notwithstanding a picture being worth a thousand of them), anything that cuts down on being able to get to the most words in the least possible time--no matter how pretty it may have been hoped to look--is a failure. Form, content, and purpose. If the purpose of FR is to give people a quick, easy way of accessing lots of useful news items and comments upon them, then both the form and the content should be tailored toward that end. The content is the posts and their titles. So it appears that form has gotten entirely in the way and vitiated the purpose by impairing access to the content. Let's not sacrifice substance to form.

[ArneFufkin]

Mack, there is no reason that Jim and John would have implemented these changes unless there was a compelling need. This is not a "toy", this isn't a vanity fling ... this is a reconstruction of the forum.

They invented and nurtured the FR that everyone is mourning over. These two. They didn't wake up one morning and commit their lives to screwing over their patrons. There's no upside to that. The new look took time, effort and expense to execute, there was a beta site. This isn't a frivilous move, they are re-engineering Free Republic. I know about stuff, I know when capacities are stretched ... and the point when you need a new server is scary as hell ... that's 15-20K. I don't know if that's the case here. I don't care. We've got a new interface. Let's embrace the opportunity. It's here for a reason.

SuperAmerica put in a new ATM last week, with all kinds of touch screen scariness and discombobulated steps. I fought my way through the fear and doubt.

[bvw]

That's a question that's best answered with access to more server-side stats than I have. The "browse" or Forum page I just loaded saved at 54K bytes -- I suspect the older page would store at under 20K. And that's not including the jpgs and other imbeddeds.

In terms of maximizing server caps, I'd think John Rob is very much on the leading edge from having observed his comments, still there are so many different things that can be done. I also know, from my own experience and observations of many others, that we software creators do tend to get caught up in bells and whistles that can confuse most users but look cool. Whereas the most simple and dumb looking interfaces are often and long term the best.

Consider the instrument panel of the old VW bug -- a big speedometer, a big clock, a fuel gauge and an oil light. The clock was an overdo.

Less is more.

[Yardstick]

I'd prefer no left gutter column at all. There is a reason that text presentation is always left justified with a column of whitespace or no column at all. It's the way the eye has been trained to quickly pick up the next line. Doesn't work well with the Flag graphic. This is why so many people complain about the headaches.

I've been trying to put my finger on what's wrong the visual mechanics of the new format, and I think you just explained it. The flag column is pretty, but it feels awkward.

[AppyPappy]

It's not arrogance. It's just a fact. If you don't like it, say why. Just don't whine about it.

[OhREALLY?]

In the years to come, we will refer to this as "The Easter Exodus". Our grandchildren will sit at our knees, and we will tell them the old stories about the good old days of FR, before ladies got migraines and men had 56K dialup connections and scroll mice that waved and messy fonts.

We few will be virtual living legends, explorers who went beyond the pale, mapping out the uncharted regions of cyber space that will forever be known as "Free Republic". We will set the standard among conservatives with confidence and boldness, knowing that we were not defeated by bells and whistles and inability or unwillingness to embrace change.

Do you want a t-shirt that says, "I Was Beta'd by Free Republic..and Survived!"?

[AppyPappy]

Why not change? People complained about the old format too. Which complainers get your ear?

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

On the plus side, Smokey and the Bandit just arrived in Georgia with the Coors.

It's a timeless classic.

[ClancyJ]

Not lazy, just want to see my news, my comments and all without having to wait 30 minutes. A new person accessing this site will not be able to see what a wonderful place it is. Many people are not computer whizzes - they are doing good to get on the computer.

I can't imagine a new person coming on here and being able to see breaking news, or anything that would encourage them to return. They will not be able to customize their screen, subscribe to "breaking news" - they will just leave.

[Teacher317]

IF people weren't complaining and supporting this site with generous TIME and DONATIONS - why did they change it all???

You question almost answers itself, actually. I'll take a few stabs at it: maybe because the site is growing (as rapidly as ever), and because there is always a continual stream of suggestions, ideas, complaints, and server needs? If there were no reason to change it, I doubt the Robinsons would have. Since they did, I'll wager that there was good reason. They certainly couldn't have created the most popular political discussion web-forum in the world without having the good sense to listen to their (either monetary or verbal) contributors, and they are probably interested in keeping its growth curve as steep as possible... just as we all are.

[ArneFufkin]

Larry, I have cable modem access so I see no difference. \

Larry, you've been around here a while, I respect you greatly, the Robs wouldn't embark on a forum restructuring without careful consideration for the business case, and equal loyalty to us!

Happy Easter sir!

[Teacher317]

hear-hear!
well-said!
encore!
harrumph!

[lonestar]

It's going to be a while before I find myself and can be happy,gal. :)

[AppyPappy]

No. Some people just complain. It's what they do. They feel the need to "vent" and then they are fine.

Others make concrete suggestions and get what they want. If the popcorn is too salty, some people will say "I don't like it. The old popcorn was better. I hate this new stuff. Why did they change? ". Others will say "The popcorn is too salty. Fix it.". And it gets fixed.

[fooman]

I don't like the layout. Even the flag on the left looks washed out to me.

[antaresequity]

I dont like it....I liked the old way better.