BK asked yesterday
Just out of curiousity - what is it that you can't get used to, Noel? The look? The feel? If you just stick with it you will be fine. No, it's not what we had, but I find this more fun in a way, and I was actually more worried about the change than any of you. I find it no different, in fact, in terms of how I read the excellent posts, their content, etc. The only thing that's different is the look and the feel and that I got used to instantly. But, as I said, I know it will take others longer, and that's fine, as long as they stick with it. The funny thing is, one tends to enjoy what one is used to - if we'd always had this board and then tried to make the change to something else, I guarantee you we would have the same problems and confusion. However, the fact that so few ARE confused, is heartening and pleasing. Once you have the hang of it, just go with it. Forget everything else and just enjoy our new look and feel in terms of posting. All else remains the same
I come not to damn the new board but to praise the old one:
How I enjoyed coming here and reading BK's Notes II. With one click of a not-so-unseemly button, I got to one page that served all my needs:
1. It completed the witty and urbane notes with a question or topic.
2. Then it said how many unseemly responses there'd been.
3. Since it was just one page, I could "find" a word (using Ctrl+F) like Sondheim, if I wanted to just jump to whatever anyone said about Sondheim that day.
4. It was all scroll. Never did I have to click again.
5. Most wonderfully, it was all text. The HainesHisWay board was the product of what the host and guests had to say. What they said was often amusing to me, and I really appreciated seeing words and nothing but words. In one readable font that never glowed.
6. Sometimes Ethel Merman would post.
Now, I realize the ability to post under any name (e.g., 5 on The Last 5 Years) meant that uncouth interlopers could waltz through Bruce's door. So I've no objection to passwords and real e-mail address registry. If this is a party at Bruce's place, well, uttering a password at the door reminds me of an authentic old speakeasy like Chumley's, where we had our reception.
To continue the analogy, I loved that Bruce's place was sparsely decorated, thereby increasing the concentration on good conversation. I know I'm resistant to change and a nattering nabob of discontent, but when you've been coming to a charmingly spartan place for a while and suddenly there's loud whirring pinball machines, skittle ball, and balloons that keep popping ... it just seems that the focus on
talk ain't what it used to be.