Tulane was listed as a “top University” long before his death. Perhaps (and I don;t know because this predates my involvement) Tulane became a top university because of the volume due, in part, to his participation on that forum.
I’ve gone on record years ago asking for the elimination of the “top” categories. Reagrdless, the top categories are unrelated to the redesign. Personally, I can think of faaaaaar more important things to gripe about But what do I know? I’m just a “mediator” who is one of the “unpaid voluntaries.”
Well, I guess my memory isn’t so good (no surprise there) as this thread seems to suggest Tulane was added to that silly category in 2018 (not sure, and don’t think that is accurate, though). FC died in 2016.
Do not like the new changes. Much harder to read on my phone, much more annoying to read on a web page. As others have said, way too much white space, non-intuitive heading/subheading graphic relationships. Went over to Reddit, /applyingtocollege, which seems to be taking your refugees.
Actually, in going through the archives, I think you are correct @jym626 . My memory is getting faulty with age. My apologies. But the 'promotion" was due to volume, not FC’s death.
But I still believe that whether college XXX is in top colleges is less important that, say, being able to actually read the text. And if other users want to workaround it by using BBCodes to change the color/boldness, be my guest. For me, though, taking those extra steps is not enhancing my UX. {Plus the fact that having everything in bold prevents one from providing emphasis, which is what the original intent of the bold was.
LOL, @skieurope, its gonna be hard to garner sympathy about your memory from many of the old geezer-ish parents on this page.
That said, I agree that the “top schools” refers to the amount of traffic the schools get on CC. Not necessarily their USNews ranking. And yes, FC did add to the high volume of traffic on the Tulane forum (not all the comments there were positive, but they were at times amusing to read). But, on sites looking for add and click revenue, negative attention is better than no attention at all.
[color=gray]okay that’s a lot of bracketing. But, at least I learned something! FWIW, my eyes get equally fatigued, no matter what I do with this font.[/color=gray]
@CTTC I haven’t left…but am making sure to monitor my forum but that is about it. I used to watch and comment on about 6 different subforums. If the powers that be think this format is more important than experienced posters answering questions, that is their choice.
[color=gray]On the issue of college/university lists, just about the only recent change I actually welcomed was the relocation of the Ivy League List to the bottom of the page.[/color=gray]
As an aside, and I’m just using this post as an example, not picking on @circuitrider , but now that users have discovered colors (not that it was a big secret), please don’t test them all out here. I’m accepting of the bold grey, but users have been typing in yellow and magenta and the like. If I can;'t read it, I doubt that many of those with older eyes than mine can either, so I’ve deleted.
What has become more apparent to me that even taking out the list of desires we have all expressed and that @CCadmin_Sorin compiled in that list a few days ago, is that overall this site is just now slammed with quirks and inconsistencies that really make it a lesser webpage. Lower in quality and in fact, NOT smooth, slick or updated and modern. User issues aside, the management team really got screwed.
Soooo, back to the “why are some schools more prominent” question… reading this 6 year old article from Chronicles about the way some of the things used to be on cc https://www.chronicle.com/article/College-Confidential-A-Field/138865. it seems schools could “sponsor” a discussion forum for $800
Can’t recall how the discussion sponsoring (separate form the banner advertising) was was evident, if it even was, but alas, perhaps its less about “favoritism” or conspiracy theories and even more and more about the almighty dollar. No surprise there.
@brantly You mention you thought perhaps Tufts was once on that CC forum of “top universities,” but I do not believe so. I have been on CC for over 17 years and it was never on that list (I noticed, being an alum). It is my belief that CC has not altered that list in all the years I have been on CC. I don’t think they are interested in doing so.
Anyway, while there are things like that to consider changing, I think the new forum format is a MUCH MUCH BIGGER deal and a dire situation. I think CC is going to lose what made the forums so great…knowledgeable people willing to help others. The forums won’t be so good if the blind lead the blind (sorta like the “what are my chances forum”) or there is less traffic.
@yucca10. This happened before and then I sent one out and the person got it also. Maybe there was a space or something. I am doing this from a android phone but doubt that is why it works now.
I think the issue is the spacing between letters. (An artist consideration when choosing fonts, not a software person.) Bolding doesnt help. It’s annoying. And notice:
The workarounds all fall on us.
And what value to persisting?
Agree w @abasket. “now slammed with quirks and inconsistencies that really make it a lesser webpage.”
