Admit it doesn't work and change it.

[justasking]

I know the editors have gone to alot of trouble changing the category layouts but it isn't working and if you did a poll on this you would find that 99% of people would prefer the old layout back. It's so much harder to find everything and it makes the site boring and time consuming. Before there was a feeling of community which there isn't anymore. Even most of the questions are not getting answered and when they do its only 2 answers where as before mos questions had many answers so the answer actually made sense. I think the reason you have done these catagories is because people where posting random questions in different catagories but that hasn't stopped. What i would suggest is if you reverse the catagories to how they were and put an extra catagory for random questions.

[B00]

An extra category for the 'odds n sods' type questions would become ChatterBank, just with different name, and as that proved a disaster the 1st time round I can't see 'em being in hurry to implement that idea- sorry :-(

I think we should give the sub categories a little more time before deciding we don't like them. They do cut down the chattiness to degree and considering this is a Q&A forum and not a chat one I guess that was the idea.

As for your point that questions only get 2 replies instead of say possibly 10, maybe that's a good thing. Perhaps now the question gets answered perfectly well within those 2 replies thus cutting out the others which lets be honest are usually chatty ones anyway.

Personally I'm giving the sub categories a chance before I decide whether I like 'em or not.

[Robinia]

couldn't have put it better myself BOO!

I've had no problem with it up to now & for people to say things like 'the vast majority' or '99%' want it back the old way is probably well away from the actual truth.

....did we ever find out how many ABers there are?

[B00]

Ta <robinia :-)

I think maybe the majority of ABers like the sub cateories, they just haven't said owt as they are too busy gleefully trawling through the sections replying to posts.....lol.

[Whickerman]

Personally I think there are waaaaaaaay too many catergories now, and find I can't be bothered scanning through them all. It has the effect of reducing the number of questions the reader will be willing to answer.

[Octavius]

Well I�m sort of getting used to it, although I rarely go into the sub-sections. It can maybe be a bit wearisome for a new user to find the appropriate place for their question, but insofar as �trawling through all the sub-categories� etc to find a question you want to answer � well it�s not a requirement is it? If you post one answer or 200, it won�t change the world will it.

There are many people on here berating the new layout and I can�t say I really appreciate sub-categories for food and for drink, in food & drink (?!?) or sub-categories for sub-categopries sake. If you can�t be bothered trawling then don�t do it. If the sub-categories irritate you, then don�t go into them.

Some of us have been round long enough to see many changes (including this orange layout which made me nauseous for a few weeks), you just either accept them and continue what you are doing, or live by your own principles and wander off to another website forum. Answerbank will never change back, so we have to get used to it and live by our own rules (avoifd bits we don't like), or move on.

[B00]

Bravo octavius Nicely put!


clap, clap

[smudge]

Most of the sub-cat's are a good idea & although I haven't experienced any real problems, it did initially take a little longer to trawl through some of them.

As I mentioned on another thread, some people don't like change, but I'm sure we'll all get used to the new system in time.

[PinkFizz]

Im slowly getting used to it,but I find I don't look at half as many sections as I normally did.

The main thing I notice now is that even with all the new sub-sections we are still getting pregnancy questions in B & S, when there is a pregnancy section in FAMILY,etc etc and I have lost count of the number of times I have now read " I haven'e got many replies in the correct category so I thought I would try it here" or "not sure where to post this so I will give it a go here".

People aren't actually looking at what seb-sections there are and are just posting in the old places,our if habit or laziness I'm not sure.

[crete]

the new system is PANTS,

[newtron]

It appears to me that many of the sub-sections are just not being used, as most people are just asking questions in the main category. I am starting to get used to the new system. I do think that using the sub-categories as a filtering system, as suggested by others would be better. So you can see all the questions in all sub-categories in the main category. Of course, this means that every category should also have a 'general' sub-category, which is what the main category is being used as in the present system. Doe that make sense?

[PinkFizz]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/AB-Suggestions/ Question310777.html

This makes more sense.

[daisy48]

I did'nt like it at 1st but it's grown on me now so I've got no problem with it. Just get used to the change:-)