Have you noticed....

..that posting activity has significantly dropped since the new forum was introduced (the good and the facetious ones)...

Why is that..?

Well, there's always a bedding-in period for a new interface. Given the wealth of good forum software that could have been used as a template (even if the underlying software was never adapted), I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in this effort. Clearly the people behind it are technical whizzes, but don't have much experience building user interfaces.

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Line breaks are now stripped from posts, meaning that you have to read one long, continuous paragraph. So that's a step backwards in my book.

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Similarly, the text on the right-hand side of the screen doesn't resize to fit the size of the browser window, so you've got to contantly scroll left-and-right to read the messages. Another step backwards.

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On the plus side, you can now read a complete thread without having to go back-and-forth to the main index page, which is a small step forward. I won't mention the fact that this feature has been available in commercial forum software for the past five years. It's a small step forward at TC.

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Finally, it's nice to see that TC have teamed up with the Royal Institute for the Blind when designing their user interface. It's busier than a Bangkok brothel. I've seen more intuitive ERP installations.

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I'm sure that TC have spent a fortune implementing this new technology, but in this case, they should have followed the old adage: KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

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Just my 2p.

Thanks for the input Anon - we'd noticed these shortcomings ourselves and are putting these things right. "Test, Learn, Test" is our mantra with these updates... Have a good weekend, Tony

Those of us who implement software for a living have learned that the "test, learn, test" mantra is best performed before a general release. Unless you're Microsoft, who beta all of their software to everyone. The rest of us tend to follow the standard software development methodology of test, user acceptance test, pilot, then release. The 'skip testing, release, await feedback on broken software' methodology usually results in a subsequent discussion about payment of fees, contractual obligations, and flying accusations of blame. Which is awkward and uncomfortable, and which most of us would rather skip. Oh yeah, it also means you get sarcy messages like this in your public forums and mutterings of "the cobbler's children".

...forgot to add: Have a nice weekend! :-)