Originally Posted by
JG000 
I'm sure I have absolutely no pull, or substantial impact in the day-to-day operations of Styleforum - but would at least like to weigh in.
Rather than create a new thread echoing a chrous, I figure I'd drop my 2 cents here, just hoping it doesn't go unheard.
When I heard about the new layout/ aesthetic coming to the forum I wasn't particularly excited but decided to remain optimistic. Also, I made a conscious decision to evaluate it patiently and objectively.
After about a week or so, I can wholeheartedly say the revamp is terrible. The screen is messy, the new features are largely unnecessary, visually it's an eye sore, it's slow and the search function is absolutely terrible.
I viewed StyleForum almost as an encyclopedia, with a large archive on content that could be perused at any time. I would, in turn, search the forum often, and found myself more interested in re-reading old threads than keeping up with new posts on a daily basis. The search function went from easy to use and highly accurate (think Google) to one that almost seems like a random crap shoot. Not only the accuracy, but the results themselves are in poor form - as I can't seem to narrow it down to a specific post within a thread (while retaining a threadview). On a 600 or more post thread this can be quite tedious and frankly, a waste of time. That's IF I even get the results I'm looking for - most of the time now it's not even close.
I NEVER had this issue before, search results were always concise, fast and easy to sift through. You've essentially taken away the efficiency, accuracy and visual appeal while adding zero redeeming qualities.
As much as I appreciate the effort and time of this site's owners and administrators - I simply won't continue using it if remains in this current mess. I could certainly see some tweaks and spam protection, but in a nutshell - the new layout took a great thing and ruined it.
Can you please, for the love of god, add some kind of "Classic" option that at least remotely resembles the old forum. If not, traffic will continue to surge downward and longtime users will frequent new digs. The internet gives us a bevy of options - I'd hate to replace StyleForum but am leaning in that direction.
