What we have lost

[Jacob Bugge]

b What we have lost:

b 1) Direct actual loss of functionality:

b In the forum lists:

The ability to see which threads have new posts (and how many) since the last visit: obtained by the use of flags, numbers, different colour.
With it, you can immediately see and enter the threads that have grown, and the threads that you have visited.
Without it, you are groping in the dark, wasting a lot of time.

b In the threads:

The feature of going to the last read post to continue: default.
With it, you can just enter and continue reading.
Without it you are groping in the dark, wasting a lot of time.

The ability to open all posts without changing to a special view: obtained by pressing the Show All Messages button.
With it, you can scroll easily back and forth throughout the continuous thread
Without it, you have to go back and forth between pages, breaking up the continuity, unless you change to a special view (Print preview) that is lost as soon as you post.

The ability to archive a whole thread safely from the default view (possibly overwriting an earlier version): obtained by pressing the Show All Messages button.
With it, you can just archive.
Without it, you have to change to a special view (Print preview); if you forget, you will destroy the archived thread.

The ability to answer several posts at the same time: default.
With it, you can answer several posts freely; see below.
Without it, you have to choose to label your post as an answer to the original post or one other specific post, thus declaring a limitation that rules out all generality and multiple answers.

The ability to see other posts while creating a new post: default.
With it, you can scroll back to any post to reread and/or gather quotes while writing your own, thereby easily considering and possibly answering several posts; see above.
Without it, you can only see and answer one post, unless you exit your own posting using the Back button in order to see the others, and then you lose what you have written, unless you remember to select the lot and Ctrl+C before, and Ctrl+V when you return, using the Forward button.

b 2) Loss of efficiency, beyond direct loss of functionality:

b In the forum lists:

A compact thread list enabling you to overlook a large number of threads, often covering many days.
Instead, the thread list takes up some 2.5 - 3 times as much vertical space.

b In the threads:

A compact series of posts, only stating what is necessary, and keeping the focus on the actual posts, allowing relevant information about the poster at a click or a search.
Instead, the thread is dominated by repetition/unnecessary information in larger text size and actual posts in smaller text size, making the latter the most difficult part to read, taking up far more vertical space, possibly about 1.5 times as much (based on the same size text in the actual posts).

b 3) Loss of a timeless, mature, and unfortunately unique, forum design:

As is the case with designs in any area, a timeless mature design reflects the purpose it fulfills.

The lost forum format is casual, simple, and efficient in terms of focussing on the purpose and the actual content: user to user exchange of knowledge and experience within a community. This may be compared to a workshop/brainstorm, where everyone is equal and mixes with everyone else, and may be judged by actual contribution within the current forum, and may relax by informal OT in the form of joking, banter, and the like.
The new mainstream forum format follows the present trend of distracting focus from the purpose and content and directing it towards presenting the posters themselves. This may be compared to a formal conference, where everyone is ranked and decorated with medals/badges/ribbons according to some highly doubtful criteria across all forums, and every statement is preceded by a formal introduction/announcement, all of which is highly formal OT.

[Jacob Bugge]

Just a few additions (in the OP, which was written in the days of the fair forums, b shows that the following text on the line was in BOLD😞

1) Direct actual loss of functionality:

Search:

1) The range of Seach was set to the current forum/thread by default, with the option of extending it to all forums. Now all searches are in all forums;

2) The screen names were included in the search so you could specifically find posts by a certain poster, including yourself (along with a far smaller number of posts where others used it). Now you cannot. The only way to find anything posted by yourself is to use Your stuff>Discussion, and that only leads to the OPs of topics you have started.

With this, Search is quite hopeless in most, if not all, cases.

Saving web pages:

It was possible to click All Messages and save the lot as one page. Now it is necessary to change the view to Print Preview which has to be renewed after every posting, and the page takes up about twice the space as it did; it is posible to choose PDF, but then you have to enter the name of the page each time.

With this, saving web pages for archiving or other purposes has become far more time/space consuming.

User options/preferences:

1) The number of posts per page, including the option to Show All. Now you can choose up to 50 threads in the forum pages, and the only way to get an uninterrupted thread is to go to Print Preview which has to be renewed after every posting; and it is impossible to choose Print Preview as a preference.

2) Font style and size, referring to the discussion about the present default.

With this, the user options/prferences have been restricted to a few generailities.

If it were possible to select Print Preview as default it would be much easier to archive threads.

Creating/editing messages:

It is impossible to select text downwards in order to (re)move it; a rather strange restriction.

[Kath-H]

Inability to be taken back to where you left off. Loss of NNTP and email not really functioning as a suitable alternative. No breadcrumbs at the bottom of the page. Inability to see more than one post when replying. Mixing up of flat and threaded views. Log-in annoyances. You know what people are unhappy about - please let us have a progress report.

[Guest]

the traffic in Mac Photoshop was maybe 3 posts yesterday that's slow for a holiday or a weekend.

[Ann_Shelbourne1]

You have lost a LOT of people.

As far as I am concerned, the Forums are no longer usable.

I rarely sign in anymore at all — and only looked-in today to see if there had been any improvement.

There hasn't.

I might check in again in a month or so — but I won't be contributing until this mess is fixed.

[Ramón_G_Castañeda]

Tonight, I posted this in the Adobe Camera Raw forum:

16.  Apr 19, 2009 12:20 AM  in response to: cssadobe

Re: ACR color difference with PS CS4

Craig,

This will be just a brief addendum to my last post.  The disgusting slow performance, navigation idiosyncrasies and general un-usability of this new, miserable and ugly forum format, has slowed all contributors down to where some of the regulars are not posting any more, and even the more determined regulars like me have been slowed down to a crawl.

Since the changeover two weeks ago, we have yet to see a new post here by Thomas Knoll, creator of both Photoshop and ACR, or by Jeff Schewe, who wrote THE book on Camera Raw. 

This afternoon I had been trying to reply to your last post for over twenty minutes before I was able to get back in, but by the time I finally got to the reply box I had to leave with my wife and grandson to get some dinner.  Normally, I would have replied in greater detail, but since even the search function leaves much to be desired, I was unable to fetch links to some of the many, many existing threads on this very same subject where lengthy explanations have been given.

If you are still interested and determined enough, you may want to browse some of the existing threads.

You haven't "bothered" anyone.