Crap Upgrade

[Sean_A]

I am so cheesed off with the terrible upgrade for GCA.com I became desperate.  I now use the dreaded Explorer for this site because Explorer is presumably so decrepit that it does not support "rich text editing"...which is the part of the crap upgrade which is so hopeless to cope with. 

Ran needs to do a serious rethink because I think the upgrade was about making the site easier to operate at the expense of user friendliness. 

Ciao

[Ronald Montesano]

Had you emailed or messaged him with your concerns? I think he deserves that much, at least before being called out in public like this. I use Chrome as my browser, and only get weird fonts sizes once in a blue moon.


Un-ciao


Ron M.

[Mike_Young]

Sean,
Yep..upgrades suck....the golden age was where it was at and all of these modern upgrades frustrate minimalism computer dude...ODG code writers were the best and these young modern technical dudes just botch it...

[Sean_A]

Had you emailed or messaged him with your concerns? I think he deserves that much, at least before being called out in public like this. I use Chrome as my browser, and only get weird fonts sizes once in a blue moon.


Un-ciao


Ron M.

Ron

I have had long conversations with Ran...to no avail.  I don't think he posts pix etc so doesn't realize why this upgrade is not so good.

Ciao

Ciao

[Jeff_Brauer]

Sean,


First, thought you were talking about me not posting as much.....


But, I learned something. I have not been able to use smiley faces, colored fonts, etc. (so I can't engage Pat Mucci..... ) but I was using IE.  Your post convinced me to try it on Google, as the opening page always suggests, and it turns out its true. It is better viewed on Chrome.


Thanks, and Merry Christmas!

[Steve Lang]

   Sean,

So you'd be good to go back to the mainframe days of Courier and Times Roman fonts only?

Just wondering' if you'd give it a Doak 0 or go imaginary or complex numbers for defining crap.

Safari here, no problems.

[BCrosby]

I vote with Sean. The site is less user friendly.


Bob

[Tommy Williamsen]

Sean, I'm not sure I understand your dilemma. I use Safari and have not noticed a problem.

[Jim Franklin]

All I know is that if I don't post a comment, it takes more clicks to get back to the DG. Pain in the ass for sure.

[Kalen Braley]

Jim makes a good point.

There used to be a link at the bottom of every page in the DG, regardless of where you were,  that allowed you to return directly back to the main page of the DG.

Now you have to use the back arrow on your browser, or go up to the top and go to Golf Club Atlas Home, and then click on the Discussion group link.  I don't know why they removed that very convenient link on the bottom of each DG page.

Kalen

[Phil McDade]

I think the upgrade was about making the site easier to operate at the expense of user friendliness. 

Ciao

Sean:


I think you've absolutely hit the nail on the head with this -- every single time I've seen a website go through with one of these "upgrades," it's done to make life easier for the back-end gerbils, and never (I mean, never...) for the front-end users of it.


I dearly love this site; not to get too nostalgic, but during these days of giving thanks, I'm forever grateful this thing is still around, and still carries some interest for me a decade or so after I first discovered it. But the current discussion board is just.....awful. This is not rocket science (sorry to haul out cliches, but they are occasionally true).

[Aaron Marks]

I think you've absolutely hit the nail on the head with this -- every single time I've seen a website go through with one of these "upgrades," it's done to make life easier for the back-end gerbils, and never (I mean, never...) for the front-end users of it.

Back-end gerbil here!  Believe me, every time we try to make something idiot-proof, the world goes and produces a bigger, better, dumber idiot.  At my current job, I have no say in what we build.  The product manger (who talks to the customers) takes info from the customers and tells us what to do.  If anything, the past year of changes has made my life harder.  This has been true at every job I've had in this industry. 


Anyways, better get back on my wheel before the boss comes. 

[Kalen Braley]

I've worked in the tech industry now for 15 years, and based on personal experience and from what I've read up on, this stuff is happening due to the cost cutting measures that are happening in nearly every industry.

Experienced workers in this industry are being replaced by the lowest cost options, (either thru outsourcing or straight out of college kids) who will work at a fraction of the price.  So instead of a nicely designed product with a well thought out interface, done by people in the know who have done this many times in the past...a lot of new stuff is being under designed, released in quicker time frames, rolled out with more bugs and less features....all in the name of getting the lowest cost option to market at the expense of well working and well tested products otherwise.

This is the main reason why we are seeing sites like this degrade IMO....

[Ronald Montesano]

Back-end gerbil here! 

Thanks for sharing, Aaron. We all know you a little more intimately now


Happy Holidays


RM

[Steve Lang]

   So does anyone need the Calendar function next to the Calendar/clock to discuss GCA??


Ben Cowan just had a birthday on the 23rd!  Happy Bday Ben!

[Steve Lang]

I've worked in the tech industry now for 15 years, and based on personal experience and from what I've read up on, this stuff is happening due to the cost cutting measures that are happening in nearly every industry.

Experienced workers in this industry are being replaced by the lowest cost options, (either thru outsourcing or straight out of college kids) who will work at a fraction of the price.  So instead of a nicely designed product with a well thought out interface, done by people in the know who have done this many times in the past...a lot of new stuff is being under designed, released in quicker time frames, rolled out with more bugs and less features....all in the name of getting the lowest cost option to market at the expense of well working and well tested products otherwise.

This is the main reason why we are seeing sites like this degrade IMO....

So Kalen, have you checked out your opinion with the folks at http://www.simplemachines.org/about/smf/team.php  who provide the free forum software used on this site?


Just wonderin

[David_Elvins]

Sean,

I like the fact the site is less user friendly.  There are less threads, less posts and discussion moves slower, making it easier to follow and higher quality imo.

[Kalen Braley]

I've worked in the tech industry now for 15 years, and based on personal experience and from what I've read up on, this stuff is happening due to the cost cutting measures that are happening in nearly every industry.

Experienced workers in this industry are being replaced by the lowest cost options, (either thru outsourcing or straight out of college kids) who will work at a fraction of the price.  So instead of a nicely designed product with a well thought out interface, done by people in the know who have done this many times in the past...a lot of new stuff is being under designed, released in quicker time frames, rolled out with more bugs and less features....all in the name of getting the lowest cost option to market at the expense of well working and well tested products otherwise.

This is the main reason why we are seeing sites like this degrade IMO....

So Kalen, have you checked out your opinion with the folks at http://www.simplemachines.org/about/smf/team.php  who provide the free forum software used on this site?


Just wonderin

Steve,

Surely you jest, but for shits and giggles I took a look at their "Staff" page.  One group seems to be ominously missing....

[Steve Lang]

Kalen,


Seriously, I often jest.   


But i would be serious if you want to help in another thread to list gca presentation or interface improvements/suggestions for Ran to consider with his server host for the database.  Perhaps just prioritizing what's needed by some new scripts would be helpful.  I don't see that happening in a thread entitled "Crap Upgrade"


... and please complete your Mucci intro hook.

[Sean_A]

Now that Christmas is over...


Even working in rich text there seems to be a random element of font, colour and sizing which appears magically.


Try posting photos...more time consuming now...and worst of all, the sizing has gone down from 800 to about 675 width.  This doesn't make any sense to me...especially as lots of people sized for 800 and now their pix are no longer properly framed....need to use the daft scroll bar to see entire pic. 


There is no quick way back into discussion group.


The red background is hard on the eyes. 


I don't have a clue as to the particulars of why the above is the case, I just know they are negative upgrades.


Merry Christmas

[noonan]

I've worked in the tech industry now for 15 years, and based on personal experience and from what I've read up on, this stuff is happening due to the cost cutting measures that are happening in nearly every industry.

Experienced workers in this industry are being replaced by the lowest cost options, (either thru outsourcing or straight out of college kids) who will work at a fraction of the price.  So instead of a nicely designed product with a well thought out interface, done by people in the know who have done this many times in the past...a lot of new stuff is being under designed, released in quicker time frames, rolled out with more bugs and less features....all in the name of getting the lowest cost option to market at the expense of well working and well tested products otherwise.

This is the main reason why we are seeing sites like this degrade IMO....

Facebook is making message boards obsolete. You simply make a group and the photo uploads from your phone are simple. There is also a simple search function. If there is a member you find distasteful you simply block them but enjoy the discussion.

[Ronald Montesano]

Facebook is making message boards obsolete. You simply make a group and the photo uploads from your phone are simple. There is also a simple search function. If there is a member you find distasteful you simply block them but enjoy the discussion.

Along with the loss of "privacy" (said in an English manner), and might I add, ownership. When GCA goes to Facebook only, I'm out.

[Ulrich Mayring]

Facebook is a nuisance, hopefully a short-lived one like most other supposedly "indispensable" services gone corporate.

Once the founder as a personality and his integrity behind the community are out, all life will be sucked out of an enthusiast project.

Ulrich

[Kalen Braley]

Steve,

I made suggestions years ago...mostly on deaf ears.  Perhaps its a new time now, who knows.

P.S.  As per the last post, I didn't see one Quality Engineer on staff.... then when I saw all the customer support guys, that was completely NOT a surprise.

[Garland Bayley]

I think you've absolutely hit the nail on the head with this -- every single time I've seen a website go through with one of these "upgrades," it's done to make life easier for the back-end gerbils, and never (I mean, never...) for the front-end users of it.

Back-end gerbil here!  Believe me, every time we try to make something idiot-proof, the world goes and produces a bigger, better, dumber idiot.  At my current job, I have no say in what we build.  The product manger (who talks to the customers) takes info from the customers and tells us what to do.  If anything, the past year of changes has made my life harder.  This has been true at every job I've had in this industry. 


Anyways, better get back on my wheel before the boss comes.

You forgot to mention that managers in the software industry are those who can't as those who can are to valuable to make them into managers.