What I have begun to dislike about the forum

The vBulletin boards or phpBB boards are laid out in a very visible way, in which you can see at a glance all categories and topics.
Discourse is like a Forum - inside a hamburger menu. Visibility is greatly reduced.
It is known that I struggle with forum searches... I comment on it enough.
A new join may post about a familiar issue; I recognize it as something covered a couple months back... I try searching. No good. I try different search terms. I try searching based on members that posted in it... It's like pulling teeth.

The forum itself is either presented as a List of Latest posts- without regard for category... Or as a grouping of Categories, with no regard for what they contain. It's just like the hamburger icon... Stuffed up inside other things and hidden.
Is this what sleek and modern means?
Can't find anything?
Who's brilliant idea was it, to trend modern as something that utterly lowers productivity?

Oh... right... Googles. Android.
Big money in it.
No wonder it is heavily trending with no dissension tolerated for Outdated ideas like visibility or organization or efficient productivity.

And companies are expecting people to be willing to work in these conditions for peanuts for pay.
Stop the world, please. I'd like to get off, the spinning is making me dizzy.

Though it look nice

What I miss is the ability to see who's online, so I can see when I'm needed as a mod.

That, too is missing. A lot of stuff is removed and missing. That is the trend... instead of adding features - remove them. Then say it "looks modern and polished."

I guess "Dumb-ed down" is the new black as technology became adopted for the masses. I really like to see the new generation with computers we had in the 80's. As a young kid with a little screwdriver trying to load a game on a C64 on the tape recorder.

Might come sooner than you think:

I also miss the old forum interfaces. From time to time I still stumble into some of those old relics, and is like going back in time. Definitely not as pretty but honestly, prettyness has it's place just like everything else.

This is difficult question. One what i saw people out because someone wants this forum to be nice and clear. I liked this forum is more friendly from anothers distribution also remember this is primary support forum. A coupe people with very Smart and wisdom knowledge about Linux. Very appreciate not digging uncle websearch. Online people mark could be usefull.

Can pretty and functional be combined?
I am not knocking the ZorinGroup, here. I am knocking Discourse software.

One of the things that bugs me about computers... is much of what we use, daily, in computing... is actually several decades old. But since people do not know that... since they do not see the code... they cannot claim it is old and therefor, bad.
I have a book in my shop on Automotive Electrical systems. There is a diagram for an automotive Alternator in it that is spitting image of ones you will find on many new vehicles. The book was printed in 1918.
Actually, let me snap a picture... Found a picture of a starter that is identical to modern, as well. Posting that image...

20220308_1707271920×2560 221 KB

20220308_1707191920×2560 167 KB

Surface appearances have changed a lot. But a Lot of what you don't see, from pilot bearings to bushings to ball joints are a hundred years old.
It just Works.

It's impossible to make something that appeals to everyone equally. I think this issue is more noticeable beacuse of the very nature of the community here, which relies heavily on Q&A type of content. As modern, lean interfaces like hiding away content they tend to de-prioritize what is used less often. Sadly, search functionality is one that never got used enough (I suspect most were guilty of this, at one point or another). Although some of the new features are also quite useful, like marking solved solutions and easily jumping around when replying or quoting others.

A pretty effective solution already used in the old forums was to pin frequent questions and answers. Maybe we can start making a mega-thread and pin it, or highlight it in every section.

We actually started out this way and quickly ran into the same problem: There were so many pinned threads, people just ignored them.
And the long list of Pinned threads meant users had to scroll way down to reach the current threads.

Agreed.

I do not think this relevantly applies...
I mean, the statement in itself is true enough... but bad applications go to the trash can. You could not say that the problem was that they did not appeal to everyone equally. They were Bad Apps.

I can't say I'm surprised that people ignored those pinned messages... like Storm said dumbed down tech, as convenient as it might be, has taken over people's ability to inconvenience themselves.

Mmm, well, a bad product can be a matter of perspective too. But I don't think we'll gain anything from following this rabbit hole

It's just a bad rabbit hole.

Touché

I have wondered about that myself .....

A lot of boards have gone to this as some people don't want others to see when they are on line ..... some boards have gone to a "log in as in incognito" choice when people log in ....

Me I don't care as if I don't want to talk to you when I'm on the board I won't ....

However that can be a two edged sword as someone can't hide out anymore .... ex. if a person asks a question and no one answers them for 2 hours and there are 4 support personal on the board .... might have the tendency to make the newbie feel they are just being ignored .... newbie's don't always know that the support personal are chosen for their expertise in one or more fields not ALL fields ....

In theory in first time when ppl are registered, could be reading a shortly rules this topic and what @Frog wrote in this rules how this forum working. Because nobody here is hired and get a money. We are free volonturies and in this forum some note when you can get a help from some ppl. I visited this forum because for me this is something go to bar with people drink a couple a bottle beer where is fun and everyone want relaxed and help each other reading news here better sometimes from news some websides what are very destructive.

There can be a toggle switch in the user preference settings that enables/disables the online status feature...Telegram has it and I think many other apps and websites has this feature as well.

I have several useful threads Bookmarked. Trouble is, there are now too many for me to remember their content.

Maybe the limited number of Categories does not help. I agree the bundling of all latest messages into one "Latest" list is a pain, same for Unread. When carmar got his feather duster out and spring-cleaned the forum recently, I nearly went nuts reading his "Solution" posts in the Unread list. I am all for clean minimalist forum look (I don't like raw concrete though), but functionality and workflow for helpers is not ideal.

Whenever I hear people saying that I kind of turn them off. They usually don't have any idea of what they're talking about and are only interested in what looks nice not what actually works correctly. And "polished" to you is not what is "polished" to me. It's a stupid saying that needs to go the way of the DoDo.

I prefer the old style of forums, in fact PCLinuxOS still uses the old style. I used PCLinux for years and years, this is what I went to after Xandros. I could always find anything I needed on here.

It is interesting that in my days on Windows, I did not come across "polished" or "that looks outdated" anywhere near to the extent that I do on Linux.
It's like dating.
If the dating crowd is concerned about Looks and not Content... they get what they seek, I guess...
The old style forums Work.
Yet, part of the move (part of) to the new forum was influenced by users joining, then complaining that the old ZorinGroup Forum looked outdated...
I think the new forum looks good.
It has been long enough, now, I think that my points of observation should carry more weight than they may have when the new forum was first unveiled.

You did not, because they don't complain about things in Windows like they do in Linux for some unknown reason. In fact people complained about Windows not having the old style in control settings instead of having to use the new "polished" look Windows came out with.

Everything is topsy turvy

It's also like how some come here to complain about one thing not working, saying I never had this problem in Windows. Really? So Windows is problem free all the time for everyone. Because I can show you page after page of Windows users having the same problem.

Or how come when software isn't working correctly it's the fault of Linux and not the software but the reverse in Windows.

They need to stop giving in to these new users and say, this is what it is like it or lump it. This dumbing down for the lowest common denominator is for what purpose?

This is where it can get more complex.
This... is what Gnome is doing. Not listening to users and telling us to Like it or Like it. And they are moving toward a direction of quelling dissent from Other Desktops, as well. KDE, is far less vulnerable to the gtk changes currently.
So, at least one desktop is reasonably immune...

This is why I often point toward encouraging users to take up the terminal and to resist the watering down of services - themselves. To build confidence and overcome fear.

In the Long Run; it is helpful.
Just as just making things "too easy" is harmful - in the long run.