Is the new forum better ?

Developer Tools & Services Developer Forums
Claude31 OP
Created Jun ’20
Replies 16
Boosts 0
Views 2.6k
Participants 6
The new forum has been there for a week now.

I did wait to get accustomed to it so that my comments are not just due to the change factor.
I think it is now possible to make some assessment and I would appreciate others’ opinion to see if it is just me…

There are some good points:

  • the editor is much less whimsical

  • the possibility to tag topic is a good thing

  • search has improved (a little).

But I find really frustrating points:

  • Editor is better and has a live Preview. What a strange concept in the world of the inventor of WYSIWYG ! Did we return to the 90’s editors with their control characters ?

  • Tags are good, but IMHO it would be useful to have major and minor tags. That would help focus when we list threads by tag by making it possible to select only the major one

  • All posts are now reviewed to avoid spam. Good enough. But why can it take hours (in a case, already 5 hours and still in review) for a very simple answer post (no URL, no bizarre word) to be reviewed. A bit frustrating. And that does not allow for any rapidly going discussion.

  • Many features seem to be inspired from SO, but without some critical capabilities, as the inclusion of images.

  • The concept of upvote or downvote has been introduced as well. Was it really needed ? Won’t it lead to some regrettable side effects that we see in SO where some do not dare propose an answer or even ask a question for fear of a negative vote ? That’s particularly the case for anyone not very fluent in english who may not express properly his/her opinion. I did find that previous developers forum was a more welcoming place than SO. Hope that will not change.

There are also capabilities that are missing from previous forum (unless they are so well hidden I could not find them):

  • because of increased spacing, there are now just 15 instead 25 posts per page. And you have to scroll a lot more to get at the end of the shorter list. That do slow down the screening.

  • how can one see the threads he contributed to ? Seems we can only filter the one we authored.

  • It seems now quasi impossible to edit a post, and of course delete it.

So at the end, instead of the whaooh effect I was expecting I have just a mixed feeling.
Answered by Claude31 in 665231022
There have been improvements even though important features are still missing. It is time to close this thread.
Replies  16
Boosts  0
Views  2.6k
Participants  6
Claude31 OP
Jun ’20
I miss something else from the previous forum: capability to follow a thread or a domain. Is that possible on the new forum ?
5
tundaware OP
Jul ’20
@Claude31 I don't see that feature either. I hope it was just overlooked.
0
DTS Engineer OP
Apple
Jul ’20
Indeed. See here.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@apple.com"
0
Claude31 OP
Jul ’20
Thanks Quinn for the information.

But how is this possible that the new forum lacks such basic functions that were available for years ?!?

After 2 weeks of use, I'm very sad to note that using the new forum is no fun at all. It is really boring.


0
Macho Man Randy Savage OP
Jul ’20
These forums are very hard to use, even with the link at the top of the main page that says "List all tags".

I'd like to add a few issues I've noticed:

1) I'm not getting e-mail notifications when people reply to threads anymore.

2) No RSS support.

3) The posts on the main page do not show the latest posts. Instead they show "Top posts". For example the post "Aspiring Developer" has been the first post displayed on the main forums page as far as I can tell for at least a week. The main page should show the most recent posts, not "Top Posts." I guess the "Top posts" are ranked based on the number of replies and the number of "likes" (or upvotes/downvotes or whatever). Nothing wrong with the post itself, but the fact that it is sticking to the top of the main page for a week show that whatever criteria is used to determine a "Top Post" is flawed. Developers are trying to get answers and give answers to technical problems. Seeing what looks like a static list of the same 5 posts makes discovering new discussions difficult. Also going back to my second point, since RSS support has been dropped I cannot even subscribe to a feed for a given topic. On the old forums, I could subscribe to the "iCloud" section of the forums and see all the latest posts in these section of the forums without even having to open a web browser, which was nice.

4) It would be great if we could edit posts. Being able to edit a post for only 15 minutes is too short. Also in my opinion we should be able to delete posts if we are the original poster (especially for posts that nobody has even replied to).




2
Claude31 OP
Jul ’20

These forums are very hard to use,

Indeed !

So at the end, the question comes: how is it possible the forum has been designed so poorly ? I just hope that among the 1000 developers who "promised" to participate to the forum, some involved in the forum code will get notice.
0
Claude31 OP
Jul ’20
Another unclear point of the forum. The number of posts never seem to change. What is this number really counting ?
0
BarryD0706 OP
Jul ’20
Without any notification and subscription capability it is DOA. Back to the drawing board guys.

I don't care about "top posts". I'd be way more interested in newest posts.
0
re5i5tor OP
Jul ’20
I may have missed it, but I can't find where to edit a question I posted? I used this a lot in the old forums, fixing typos, adding info, etc.

EDIT: Hahaha ... I *was* able to edit my response, big blue edit button. But apparently not a question I posted such as https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/653601
0
DTS Engineer OP
Apple
Jul ’20

I can't find where to edit a question I posted?

You should be able to edit any content up to 15 minutes after posting it. For this and other tidbits, see the DevForums FAQ.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@apple.com"
1
Claude31 OP
Aug ’20
@re5i5tor  You can edit… but only for 15 minutes. And we can't remove a post…
0
Claude31 OP
Oct ’20
Apparently, the scoring system is fuzzy to say the least:

  • impossible (or none found how), to correct a wrong typing of "correct answer"

  • one's own answers may be marked as correct… OK, and score

  • some counters (number of posts) never change (at least for me since 5 months)

0
Claude31 OP
Feb ’21

some counters (number of posts) never change (at least for me since 5 months)

I just noticed a few improvements on the forum:

  • the counter of total posts by a developer (tested on my profile) now updates.

Maybe more improvements to expect in the near future ?
0
Claude31 OP
Feb ’21

how can one see the threads he contributed to ? Seems we can only filter the one we authored.

That's now possible. Going to your personal page, there are new links to Questions, Replies, Watching.

A BIG improvement.
0
Claude31 OP
Feb ’21
I notice it is now possible to get notification (on a thread by thread basis, not a a complete tag).
But that's already better.
0
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