TeaChat forum changes and poll

[Chip]

Alas, or hark depending on which side of the fence you may be on...TeaChat has changed. Do you like the old or the new format. Here is your chance to voice your opinion regarding perhaps the best general tea forum on the web.

You can also leave a comment for our friends at Adagio.

[Warden Andy]

It's just a forum.

[Mary R]

It's just a forum.

And I still hear the Python resonance. I'm nuts. I know.

Anyway...Yo, Adagio!

I've got to hand it to you, the new format is a bit more streamlined and much 'cleaner' in appearance...

But I really miss seeing the last post and last author info alongside each different forum. I know it just takes half a second to click the button and see for myself, but I really liked being able to quickly peruse the forum board to see who had posted and if it would interest me.

Sorry. I'm just not a fan.

[Salsero]

Apparently tea drinkers (or at least some tea drinkers) do not like change. Andy, as usual, being the exception to normal!

[lenny7]

I hadn't even noticed. The first thing I do when I hit the forum is hit the "View new Posts" button and from there I can see the all the topics with new posts and who posted to them last.

[Mary R]

:blinks:

That...makes perfectly logical sense.

[deadfingers]

Eh doesn't look like much has changed, but I prefer the old way. Like mentioned above, I like knowing who posted last or who the author was. Either way it doesn't make much difference to me.

[Chip]

I hadn't even noticed. The first thing I do when I hit the forum is hit the "View new Posts" button and from there I can see the all the topics with new posts and who posted to them last.

True...and false. If you log in and log out before you hit view...all the new posts are "lost" and one must go into each heading and/or topic one by one to find recent activity and who is posting.

I was on TeaChat ealier, saw there was a bunch of new posts but had to log off. When I came back...I was forced to do this stupid back and forth thing and finally gave up because it was so ridiculous and a complete waste of time.

So, I say, ALAS, they changed TeaChat for the worse. It is still a great forum...but it is frustrating. The basic information is not as conveniently available...and much more time consuming.

[TeaFanatic]

I really like the view new posts button, that helps see all new posts, but I fear that it will cause other posts to go dead, because people won't go to them anymore.

[Madam Potts]

There;s more clicking to see What was the last post in that category and then again to see WHO.....and when you are frequently checking in and having a bit of a convo -- it's annoying.

I have found myself spending less time due to all this extra clicking. It feels LESS user-friendly!

[lenny7]

True...and false. If you log in and log out before you hit view...all the new posts are "lost" and one must go into each heading and/or topic one by one to find recent activity and who is posting.

I'll have to check that out. I didn't think logging out would affect it. I'm pretty sure I've logged in and out and still had a correct "new posts" list. In any event, whenever I come back, I'm still logged in. I have no reason to log out.

[Chip]

True...and false. If you log in and log out before you hit view...all the new posts are "lost" and one must go into each heading and/or topic one by one to find recent activity and who is posting.

I'll have to check that out. I didn't think logging out would affect it. I'm pretty sure I've logged in and out and still had a correct "new posts" list. In any event, whenever I come back, I'm still logged in. I have no reason to log out.

Not everyone is always logged in to teachat...I may log onto my computer as many as 5 times a day...I certainly do not check teachat everytime, but I can tell you, if you log out of the forum, the new posts will not display again when you press view new posts from the main page. Since I have selected to log in to teachat automatically, I lose them more times than not.

It appears to me that new posts have also dropped off significantly, though I could be wrong. It seems that the change in format may be affecting forum participation...and participation is what the forum is all about. I know I have only posted to this thread since the change.

[lenny7]

Not everyone is always logged in to teachat...I may log onto my computer as many as 5 times a day...I certainly do not check teachat everytime, but I can tell you, if you log out of the forum, the new posts will not display again when you press view new posts from the main page. Since I have selected to log in to teachat automatically, I lose them more times than not.

Well I logged off last night, logged back in this morning and the "New Posts" function worked just fine. Logging out and back in did not lose a thing.

Are you actually clicking the link to log out or are you automatically logged out when you leave the site? I never click the logout link and I'm always still logged in when I come back.

It sounds like it's a cookie issue. You must not allow the teachat cookie to stay on your computer so when you return, there's no way for the teachat site to know what posts are new for you.

[Elly]

I do not like the new format and agree with those posters who said so above. It is not user friendly, takes too many clicks and too much time. I don't bother going into each category and as a result I just found this thread.

I liked seeing the last posts alongside each forum. I spend less time reading here. Too bad.

[teamuse]

another vote for not liking the new format.

I tried to like it, but I just find myself frustrated too often and as a result I visit less often