Another need: The new design relies much more heavily on visual cues than the old one. But in many places the graphics aren't up to the task. Here's an example: Because the flag icon is identical on every board in this example, the visual cues break down making it harder to navigate. This is an easy fix, presumably. The MLS board should have the MLS shield. The USL board, the USL logo. The USA board, the USSF logo. And so on, wherever possible..
I want to add my vote to eliminate the right side User Profile, Trending Threads, and Recent Articles column.
I don't like the column on the right. I don't need to see my user ID panel, or the recent articles or trending threads sidebars. It just makes the layout of the page more complicated. Any way of deleting these? Also, I liked the little menu button that was on the top left of the page that gave us a list of the fora. That was my preferred method for navigating around BS. Any chance of getting something like this? And so, @soccernutter , if you're still the mod for this forum, you did a great job collating the various wish lists BS users had, and getting answers as to which modifications were going to be possible, for the last major upgrade. We'll be needing your services again...
Yeah, everything seems to work perfectly, so thats great. But if we are doing immediate complaints about the design, the header and right gutter stuff are both too big. I feel like the actual forum posts get lost in comparison. At least the way it appears now, there's a ton of empty blue space above and below the menu options on the header. It seems like you could shrink the header by about half without doing anything. Also, If you keep the stuff on the gutter (I'd be just as happy to see them go away), the 'trending threads' part should link to 'first unread', rather than to the first post.
The forum no longer saves a draft of any post you may have been writing in the reply box of the relevant thread. I found that a really useful feature. The forum has a more "modern" aesthetic now but in terms of features it's a downgrade not an upgrade.
Agree that was very useful. BTW, I just saw the ghostly "draft saved" message. Requires further study (on my part) before I weigh in. By nature I'm resistant to change, so I will try to separate the new/different from the new/worse.
Another suggestion: Can we make the green online dot more understated? As it is, it detracts too much from the avatars, impairing the overall visual appearance. For instance, make the dot smaller. And put it at the bottom of the avatar, not the top.
Mobile navigation needs a redesign to reduce clutter and increase the content area. This is what I see: Note the advert that doesn't even fit.
OK. How about this: Put the Trending Threads and Recent Articles below the threads, not on the right side. -- On my desktop I have two identical monitors. However, the primary monitor is in portrait, and the secondary one in landscape. If I put BigSoccer on the (tall but narrow) portrait monitor, the Trending Threads and Recent Articles boxes appear below the threads -- and work really well there.
Is there a way to switch it back to a list view rather than the new grid view (like as a user settable option)?
99.9% of users come here to do 2 things: - Read posts they care about. - Respond to posts they care about. Every other feature is secondary and/or clutter. To that point: - The right column is pure clutter. - The secondary menu row should not be pinned, and takes too much space. - Where is the pop-in menu with "my forums" that took me directly to content I care about? - Saved drafts are missing.
And they should be fixed at the top of the page rather than moving when scrolling down the page. Also, the "Add Media" thing in the upper right..I don't get it. What is the purpose? Why, when selecting "site a category" does it only have clubs/countries? Also, the quoted post-text (as above in this post) should have a different background since we have the ability to use italics when typing non-quoted text. Also, being a bit harsh, the trending post/threads needs to go - waste of space. Also, seconding Val1 about the Women's forum - huge objection to that. And I'm being polite. Also, why did the fora get re-ordered? Why did "Soccer cups" get moved to the top of the list? (And it should be "Soccer Cups," the "c" in cups being capitalized.) Also, under "Notable Members," can you remove BigSoccer (Super Moderator) and BigSoccer Bot (I am not real)? Like - when viewing the forum list, I like the layout is with double columns. Like - thank you for keeping the navigation ("Forum List") and the quick navigation.
This. And I definitely won't quickly get used to that. And this. Basically, the new graphic reduced the space for the posts, that are everything actually counting, on any kind of screen (so far I used it only on a browser on my PC and it looks miserable, compared to the previous one). I see much less posts (or parts of a single posts) for any screenshot. I am sorry, I am probably an hopless misoneist, but I don't like it. I'd want to have the option to revert to the old version, but it looks like I am a lonely voice in the wind... If this was the "exciting upgrade", sorry but I am very unexcited... It looks like a version that wants to optimize the experience for the mobile users, except it leaves PC users out in the cold... Also, if I am not wrong, there is no more difference between "read" and "unread" threads: they both appear in bold. So, basically, if you don't already follow a thread, you don't have a way to immediately tell if something new was posted there. Am I missing something here? Edit: oh, also: the "new" tag on new posts is not enough visible right now: I definitely liked better the grey one, coming out of the frame of the post.
I initially didn't realize the list continued beyond my watched forums because of the light color of the background, but I agree.