Is there a way to have the background made less bright? Perhaps a gray, not black background? I think that would help out a lot.
SInce we were just referred to the Random Questions thread, I went over to check. This is another issue I have: I know I was on page 155 (the tailoring question,) last time I checked. Using Bookmarks and clicking on that thread took me to page 156- several posts after you all got started in on Mr Jym’s shirts. Did not take me to the first new post. I’ve been having this problem off and on.
This new design is trash. Why change things when everything was perfectly fine before?
I’m having the same issue @lookingforward.
I had knee meniscus surgery and recouping (doing great BTW) and thought maybe this was all an effect from the anesthesia. It’s not. It’s real. Still can’t believe it.
Most software they should be able to o change the color and turn off the lists pretty easily. Not have copy type overlying images and putting a link to the last posts or whatever most likely pretty easily and this would make it easier and more functional today. Confused why it hasn’t been done. Maybe putting copy type over images to make it hard to read is the new cool trend? Maybe the people working on this site don’t have a clue?
“@Hello44, when I clink on the thread title, it takes me to the last post that I read rather than the most recent post. Isn’t that what you would prefer-to take up where you left off? Maybe I misunderstood you.”
To clarify:
I’m not always signed in. The old format allowed me to easily jump to the latest post even if I was not signed in. Apparently now I have to be signed in to be taken to the latest post I read.
I prefer to be taken to the most recent post, NOT the latest post that I read. Since I don’t necessarily sign in and check this site every day, being taken to the latest post I read means I just have to jump ahead to the latest post in the thread since I don’t always want or need to read every back post I’ve missed. For some threads I’ll go back and read every post, but not for all threads. That’s just my preference, so this new format is clunkier to use and I’ve found myself checking this site less often than before.
"I prefer to be taken to the most recent post, NOT the latest post that I read. "
Strongly disagree. Being taken to the next post after each last post each particular poster has read is the user friendly design of the system. It’s like a bookmark in a book. Please don’t change that.
No worries, @ doschicos. Sadly, its unlikely many of the requests will be changed.
As a long time poster, I am not really interested in random question threads. I want to help students, for the most part.
How many days now? I still have no idea where to look. I have done hardly any posting apart from this thread. Basically, I can’t get my head around the nothingness that this site now looks like.
As far as I can tell, CC has done nothing to address an single main issue anyone has cited. I think my days here are numbered. It’s a shame, because Cc has been invaluable to me for the college journeys of both of my kids. The other disappointment is that I OFTEN refer students to CC, especially the Essay and Test Prep forums. If I do that now, it will basically be me saying “well, you can try having a look at this, but it’s really hard to find anything.” Who has the time?
Btw, feedback from my 20 year old. I showed her the new site and let her play around with it. Her response: “how can anyone read this? How do you figure out where anything is?”
I am always signed in and the pages have been up and down with where they land me when I refresh the last couple of days. Sometimes I land where I left off (preferred) and sometimes it brings me to the end. I am most always signed in.
I generally use CC on my laptop - tried it this morning on my iPhone and wow I feel the complaints now - could not find the Parent Cafe for the life of me. It shouldn’t take rocket science to navigate a message board. If I was a newbie I’d be checked out so fast and googling for another college info source.
I am only using my phone and can find my way around but then can’t find how to get back to where I was. It’s just not intuitive. I just can’t believe someone created this and actually tested it and then thought it was a good idea or improvement.
Like @Lindagaf, I had my 15 and 18 y.o. try out the site this morning. I hadn’t said anything to them to taint their opinions but they had heard me mention this site in the past few months as a useful place to get college-related info. Both looked around for a few minutes and both came back with a thumbs down. "How do you find anything? was my daughter’s response…
Exactly.
Regretfully moving the CC app icon off my iPad home screen - I will periodically check to see if the site is still a pig’s breakfast, but I won’t be checking it several times daily anymore.
I’ll preface this by saying that I am not speaking ex cathedra since I am not privvy to what the tech gurus are working on, but there should be no expectation that any changes in the near future will have a feature that was unavailable in the old design. For as long as I’ve been here, one was never directed to the last post in a thread. Similarly, any other forum that I personally read also brings you to your first unread post.
Ok all. A couple of observations and a bit of a work around to @Lindagaf concern, which was mine as well.
After a few days it seems that my brain has started to begin a new pattern of usage that’s not unusable. And the coloration, fonts and look have lost the initial shock value. Still not loving it but the eye strain and frustration has subsided.
One of the things that is also interesting is I am starting to “get along” with the recent posts link.
Most people probably have already figured out this work around but it has helped me a lot.
Go to your bookmarks and select one to thread you enjoy. Once you hit the link to that thread, scroll to the top and find the forum name at the end of the hyperlink. Click that and when you scroll down you will see all of the threads with recent posts. And my version has the date clearly visible and most recent posts first. It’s brought a little bit of the ability to scroll through my favorite forums for threads of interest and recent updates pretty easily. As to @Lindagaf since I’ve booked marked a college specific forum and the big search and admissions threads I can find the usual list of new topics and student queries to engage or not.
I would still like a reboot back to the old site but taking Sorin’s at his word- that’s not happening.
My kids sometimes ask me, “What is up on CC?” This week I had to say, “No idea, they broke it with a redesign and I can’t really use it in my phone any more.” ?
Other younger CC users have already chimed in here with their difficulties post reno and @Lindagaf’s 20 yr old D and @Aug2019’s 15 and 18 yr old kids have also voiced their dislike of this “Fresh New Look.” So, I guess it’s not just us old timers having problems. Who was the target audience for this complete overhaul anyway!?!
Like many of you, I’ve been on many different forums over the years and this is, by far, THE most user-unfriendly format I’ve ever seen. So many things - even basic stuff - like the date/time of a post displayed at the bottom instead of the top. It’s like an amateur did this overhaul - bizarre!
Also, I’m irked that this happened bc I planned on using this site extensively for college-related questions for my D21. So much knowledge and experience here with so many of your Senior members that I value and respect. CC is THEM, not the articles, old “Featured Discussions” (the one showing now is from 2013!) and this cheap, new face paint. Ugh!
It appears to me that the purpose of this site used to be to use a discussion board format to easily exchange information. Occasional articles trying to drive conversation were sometimes posted but they could be easily ignored.
Now the purpose seems to be to use the space as a personal blog and discussions are an undervalued add on. There are plenty of college related articles online. I think people came to CC because they could ask real people real questions and get fairly quick responses to their particular situation. The current model isn’t one I’m interested in and I don’t think your market will be either. If they were, there wouldn’t have been a need for CC in the first place.
In broadcasting we talk about market share a lot. Once you alienate your audience it’s incredibly difficult to get them back. The dissatisfaction on this thread isn’t just from parents whose kids have graduated from college. People who came based on the reputation of what CC was are bailing because of what it’s become. That’s unfortunate because I think the site used to provide a valuable service.
@privatebanker , great to find a workaround, but that’s of no use to new people who are looking for help.