34

I just logged on and found that, no doubt for my convenience,
everything on the ELU page was now in a different place.

I'm sure that someone would like to take responsibility for this putative improvement.
If so, do you spose they could give us a conversion table for finding the stuff we're used to?
Or do we have to endure someone's idea of a "tour"?

Postscript:
I have just been notified that this question has been awarded the Nice Question badge. In honor of this token of automatic esteem, I've restored the original title, since it's now, officially, Nice.

Post-postscript:
Andrew Leach points out that
"The question might be nice, but most of the upvotes were for the edited title."

Of course, I didn't say "What the f***?"
It's impossible to say "What the f***?"
It's putting asterisks in my mouth and I don't like it.

But I leave it to the readers. Before once again restoring my original title, I pause and
leave the topic open for discussion here. It's basically just another user interface issue.
And the tag that I was forced to choose for this question says "discussion", anyway.

25
  • 9
    For starts, how do I get the hell out of "Meta" and go to "Main" without restarting?
    – John Lawler
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 0:48
  • 2
    Yeah, I was planning to click from here to "main" to see what you mean ... and I see what you mean.
    – MetaEd
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 0:58
  • 1
    I found the main site under the StackExchange pulldown on the topbar.
    – MetaEd
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 0:59
  • 1
    I was irritated that I couldn't click through to chat after wading through the flag queue. Otherwise I like the changes.
    – Kit Z. Fox Mod
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 2:49
  • 1
    And you can switch between Meta and Main using the old multicollider, which is now a useful-ish site switching tool.
    – Kit Z. Fox Mod
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 2:50
  • ... somewhere on the page, no doubt. Reachable by going through a "tour" video.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 3:33
  • 1
    I see no one has taken responsibility yet. Isn't this what we have Elders for? Or is it a matter of having to toe the Party Line?
    – John Lawler
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 4:28
  • One thing which is definitely missing is the highlighted number for the Review queue. I just clicked it and found an edit waiting.
    – Andrew Leach Mod
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 10:50
  • 1
    There's a site policy to keep profanity out of titles. Everywhere else, it's fair game, but question titles can show up in the oddest places, so they're best kept family-friendly. (The "nice question" badge is purely based on the number of upvotes.)
    – Marthaª
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 20:42
  • 7
    I represent Authority? When did that happen? How do I undo it? :)
    – Marthaª
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 21:45
  • 1
    I'm not Authority; Authority is Diamond-bearing. I'm a User.
    – Andrew Leach Mod
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 21:50
  • 1
    You'll soon find your way around the new top bar design, and it won't seem such an issue. It's O.K. I just think the jet black looks horrible with the antique pink theme. Against grey, it's less annoying.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Dec 7, 2013 at 6:53
  • 3
    I've had time to get used to it, and it still seems like a major step down in usability. I want my main/meta toggle back, and I want the chat link back, too.
    – user28567
    Commented Dec 7, 2013 at 12:33
  • 2
    Some people do indeed say "f***", generally pronounced /ɛf.ʃtaːɐ̯.ʃtaːɐ̯.ʃtaːɐ̯/ though in the film In The Loop it is at one point pronounced /ɛf.ʃtaːɐ̯.ʃtaːɐ̯.kʌnt/.
    – Jon Hanna
    Commented Dec 17, 2013 at 10:51
  • 6
    When I go for a walk at night, and I look up and look at the stars, all I can see now is "uck uck uck"
    – Mr Lister
    Commented Jan 14, 2014 at 15:53

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
17

If you want you can blame me, It won't do any good, but I read about it in the blog and said nothing.

1
  • 7
    OK, it's all your fault then. Thanks.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 5:16
9

The consensus appears to be that the new title bar is

  1. illegible
  2. ugly

These are, it appears, negligible concerns, outweighed by a parsimonious reluctance to consult a Real Designer about decisions which The Programmers are perfectly capable of botching on their own. These are, after all, the same people who compose and decompose the Help pages and other informational matter without consulting an Actual Writer.

What vexes me is the lack of notice. A couple of weeks ago the admirable Laura took the trouble to announce, here and on ELL, that these sites were specifically excluded from a new policy which might have occasioned distress and misunderstanding. Why was the same trouble not taken to announce a new design which does affect us all? Why could this not have been announced on each site’s meta, instead of being relegated to the Community Bulletin? —which I’m sure many users besides me (and Prof. Lawler) never notice.

1
  • Who moved my cheese?
    – Robert Harvey
    Commented Dec 12, 2013 at 23:36
4

The new top bar is a network-wide feature, so it wasn't announced before anywhere but on the main Stack Exchange meta site.

There have been many complaints about the new top bar on the main meta. Most of the complaints are being dismissed as fear of the new. Neither usability nor design are perceived as legitimate reasons for complaints.

If you're feeling lost, refer to New top bar quick reference guide / Where has the link to gone?

1

This is being discussed/debated extensively on Meta Stack Overflow.  My take on it is at Complaints about new interface design; I’ve asked to have it moved (from Meta Super User) to Meta Stack Overflow, but apparently that’s not a priority for the moderators.

2

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