Sam said:
If you make it any wider, can we have the option to keep it as it is please? I like it exactly as it is. The thinner the forum, the more substantial and readable the posts look, like columns in a newspaper.
Andrew said:
The wide forums are absolutely horrible. They're hard to read and make the site look cluttered, unlike the Weight Watchers forum.
If you are thinking about changing the forum design, at least post a poll to see whether the forum wants to change the design, or have an option on the site which allows people to switch between either so it suits them. It could be put under modify profile or something if needed.
Thing is, to put it bluntly, every site that has a redesign is always met with arms thrown in the air and cries of "we don't like it!" because it''s just change - look at Facebook every time they change something, yet very few people actually stop using it because of said change, and usually merely adjust and get used to it.
There
has to be change to sites, because technology is changing and its almost a losing battle for web designers to catch up with technology. We're making changes to the site because we're falling behind in terms of usability, navigation and style, and we're barely a year old - but thats mainly down to education on my part as I'm being brought up to date on whats acceptable and whats not these days
Of course we have a duty to existing members, but we also have a duty to new members, and we need to remain attractive as a product almost to new members too, which means keeping the look and style of the site fresh, and adjusting to changes in the world (such as resolution and screen size, as well as other technologies).
Obviously we welcome feedback on changes, and we'll do what we can within the scope of the change to make it better for people if they have feedback - but staying the same is rarely one of those options, which is why we (like the vast majority of other sites) don't poll for change. It's a nice idea, but in reality its a bureaucratic nightmare for design.
Just to be clear too, I'm not making a u-turn on the ethos of TowersStreet here in terms of listening to members and asking them, however we established that promise on the basis that we'd carry it out wherever reasonably possible - and design of a product is nigh on impossible to agree as a team of 12 people, never mind the input of hundreds of others. However, the key thing here is that we always listen to feedback, and will make adjustments if possible.
That said, if a change to the width of the site is made (it's not confirmed yet, merely tested to see how it performs in terms of the look - and your feedback has been noted!) I'll look to leaving the old template as a choice for current users. However as a compromise it would be on the agreement that it won't be updated for any other new functions or features the forum or site offers, as it is enough work to maintain one copy of a site, never mind two!
TL;DR - Change certainly happens, and we'll always listen to feedback about it, and make adjustments where possible in the nature of that change, but we can't always please everyone either.
