The last changed caused a substantial drop-off in participation, but as I recall, at least there was some justification for it (old software no longer supported or something). What in the world prompted this insane change? It’s as if they’re deliberately trying to kill off the forum and they’re doing a good job of it!
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On the contrary:
- The “they” you refer to is a group of three of us that work full-time to make paddling.com better. That includes the forum.
- The version of the forums from which we just upgraded was struggling behind the scenes. We have been working with our developer to find a better, long-term solution.
- The forums are an entirely free service, from which we make almost nothing. Yet I have personally invested thousands of dollars to keep active, up-to-date and engaging.
- The drop-off in traffic in the message boards was related to the fact that we made the decision to move the vitriolic bicker and banter message boards off paddling.net/paddling.com.
- Yes, this is a different platform but in all honesty it works 10x better than the previous version. Please take some time to get used to it and also be patient with us as we fix the issues related to any transition.
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I know it sucks to be criticized for working hard on something that you think is good (I’ve been there too), but I don’t see this as a functional upgrade for users. Perhaps it’s more efficient in the background, but only you would know that.
FWIW, Bicker and Banter was a bad idea from the start and getting rid of it was a blessing to everyone. If that represented a substantial percentage of site traffic, it doesn’t speak well for the rest of the forums.
From my vantage point, there also seemed to be a significant drop-off in participation on the “Advice…” and “Paddler’s Place” forums after the last change. Hopefully I’m wrong, but I don’t think you did yourself any favors with this latest update. I don’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings; I’m just being honest. Sorry guys.
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There is absolutely nothing about the new format that is intuitive, easier to use, or in any other way an improvement. I have visited a lot of forums and this is nuts.
On the other hand, the last time it was fixed, it was not for the better either. It took me months to figure out how to navigate around and use it. Believe me, there are way better systems.
I’m retired and probably have more time for messing about in this malaise than many, but I just don’t have the desire. This is not meant to be sour grapes–just my opinion.
Here’s the nifty part, you’ll probably never read this comment anyway, because I can’t see any way to post it.
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It did get posted and if you go to your preferences and set the theme to classic, the site pretty much looks like it did as to topics and content before this change.
I can’t find preferences …don’t see it anywhere
@roym Click on your icon and you’ll see a little gear to the right. Click it and it will bring up the preferences. Under “Account,” the last line says “Interface.” Open it and the first item is “Theme.” Change it to “classic.”
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First time seeing the new format.
It’s horrible.
Thank You Rookie …found it
Is there no way to save a reply in the process of being written, as in the previous incarnation?
I don’t know. I’ve been trying to shut off the damned email notifications. I found a few settings, but nothing that expressly turns off notifications. Looking at it, it’s asking if I want to enable them, even though they’re already on. This sucks.
I shut off the tracking, so hopefully that will take care of it.
You can do that in the preferences, as described for Roy.
Not sure I’ll ever get used to it. The previous change was overdue but this one… Meh.
I don’t spend much time here anymore. Seems a good reason to spend even less.
I’d been all through the preferences and somehow I missed it. Hopefully, they’re shut off now.
Yup, it saves as you type. You can minimize, browse or whatever you choose. It stays with you automatically
But you’re so funny! Just look at it as adapting to new paddling conditions. 
I’m relatively new to the Paddling.com forums (haven’t posted in a while) but have participated on several others for years and the formats are all different and they all go through changes from time to time. What’s interesting is that every time there’s a change a few regulars chime in about how they hate the changes. Everyone else just adapts and continues to enjoy the opportunity to engage in discussions with other like-minded enthusiasts. As mentioned earlier, it’s not our personal website and we should be thankful to have this great forum available to us. So thank you, brian, guide, Moderator_E, brylew, Rookie, Peter-CA, and Marshall for keeping this forum going strong.
Tom
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Thanks that works and looks a little more familiar…
Sitting here with a busted foot so it will give me something to do…
Like some others the change for me was shocking. I didn’t know it was coming and when I saw it I assumed that you were having issues on your end. When it didn’t change after a few days I started reading the topics and realized what was going on.
Then I got mad because the last change to the prior format was not appreciated and this looked like another stumble. Since I never warmed to the previous format the number of my visits had declined and I was feeling like this was the last straw.
Yesterday I poked around, followed the “tutorials” and tried a few things that encouraged me to climb off the ledge. Now I’m feeling better about it all and appreciate that the previous template (the wicked witch) is dead. I’m going to be able to live with this.
Though still a bit stark looking I really like the additional functionality. I imagine that there will be some glitches along the way. The badges are kind of weird and all of the icons can be a bit distracting, however, I will get used to them and add them to my toolbox.
Thanks for your work!
Jon
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I agree. I think I’m gonna say goodbye to this site.