Moving on?

Boom_Boom

Great thread.
I use this, Loquax and CD.  This used to be my favourite, but sadly is no longer fit for purpose and I feel that they have had ample time to sort things out, but have little interest in doing so.  I would be certainly up for a move to a bespoke forum should someone be able to sort it.  
I think all 3 main sites have good benefits that could be utilised.  For example, I think the Postal comps section and magazines sections are the best on here and I like how users assist with answers for comps which is better than the other 2.  However, I like how easy comps database is for entering and keeping records and I like Loquax's abiliy to seek out custom competitions and filter.
Also, we want a site that has the most competitions posted on.  I think that used to be this one, but not anymore and I am not confident that all comps are posted on the other two and feel like I am missing some on those sites.

The fact remains it is just too difficult to comp on here now.

Misslayed

thingamaBob said:

Have you tried? I do not have problems posting. The "time limit" has only been introduced recently in response to massive amounts of spam and I'm sure it will be amended as soon as as they can introduce other spam prevention measures. The search facility is working very well, indeed, better than the old forum, you just need to use it correctly.
You have only posted 4 comps (none since 21st April), none of them were dupes/got merged but 2 of them did not have the standard date format which may have affected whether or not they showed up correctly in search. If lack of comps is one of the big problems then people running away and not posting only makes it worse.

I think people are making a mountain out of a mole hill. The new forum is not as bad as is being made out and the small, but yes irritating, problems are on the list to be sorted once the Covid19 workload/problems slow down. 
I have been a member of Loquax for more than 10 years but still prefer to comp here. I have had a look over there and have found very few more comps that I want to enter than I have already done here. Yes. it is a very good site if it suits you but if it's that good why even think about coming back when those that stay have got this one improved.  As I said, if all the compers go, there will be no competitions board to come back to.

You say "Change is good, if it's change for the better.  Which this change hasn't been" but the old forum was old and near the point of collapse especially as regards security. I'm sure you would not have liked it if it had been hacked and your details stolen.
It's true, the change could have been handled better but, as I said earlier, the old forum took years of development before it got to where it was. This one has only been here 4 months and for most of that time the workload and precautions from Covid19 have made it virtually impossible to put time in to make improvements.

"There used to be at least a couple of hundred comps posted here most days, now it's less than a hundred." Well there was about 109 comps posted here on Thursday and about 129 posted on Loquax. I think the problem with numbers of comps being posted is that many sites are not running comps at the moment, probably because the staff have all been furloughed or they just can't afford to give things away with no trade going on. I check a number of sites each month and many of them have either reduced the number they have run or they have not run any at all.

I have no problem with people going somewhere else if they like it and it suits them better but they should consider carefully if it is really as bad as they think or if they are just listening to the people complaining who never like it when something changes.

^^^^^ This! Well said @thingamabob! 

cooldude255220

I've had the luxury of having enough time to go through the forum page by page, from start to finish, until I went through the whole board. Since then, I come back multiple times each day, and go through the forum page by page until I'm caught up. Because of this, I don't rely on the search function to enter comps, so the lack of ticks and crosses there isn't an issue for me. 

I appreciate people's frustrations and clearly there are some things that could be improved, but I think it's unfair to think that they are the result of a grand conspiracy, or that they no longer care about the competitions board. I suspect that people talking about it being an easy fix have no website development experience whatsoever. Clearly there have to be priorities, especially given the effects of the pandemic.

I would urge users to think long and hard before jumping ship. Ultimately, that's a decision for you but, if you do go elsewhere, that has a negative impact quite aside from the current issues which have been identified. 

Blulu

Thanks Cooldude for what you said. For me, I wasn't exactly thinking there was a conspiracy, or that they don't care. I was just posing it as a question. To be honest, I (as well as most here, I'm sure) would wait patiently and with loyalty for MSE to sort the mess out. But it would really help to see some posts made by the team, explaining that they plan to sort things when they can. To be fair, it might even be that they do this, in places where I haven't visited. Perhaps they could post a sticky on the comping board, just to reassure us that the issues will be tackled, at some point. A little info would go a very long way to help. I certainly feel better about things here since I finally read what MS-Tine wrote in reply to another thread. Please see earlier on this thread where thingamaBob posted about it. For me, the worst aspect is having to open every post in order to click "thanks" or "skipped". It was sooooo much quicker and easier when we could do this from the listing page. I will wait patiently for them to resolve this, but while waiting, it would help to know that they plan to.

I don't think we're being unreasonable to express our worries and concerns. It doesn't mean we're allergic to change, or making a big fuss over nothing. We're just being honest. If we can be honest with MSE, surely that will be helpful to them in the long run. After all, two-way communication has to be the best way to progress.

Blu XXX 

martinsnest

I am getting used to this new layout now.  Still really missing the hover thing that never got sorted.  This virus will be the excuse for many things for years to come!!!   We need to get back to some sort of normality before its too late for lots of things.  Kids need to get back to school and people back to work!!!!

BlueBella

I am ok with the new layout APART FROM the fact that I cannot hover or cross a comp without having to open the post!  I just hope this is sorted before the advents or I will be off !

mumto2boys

Progress hopefully
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6157247/competitions-time-announcement-list-view-expiry#latest

BlueBella

Fingers crossed as I am beginning to lose hope!  It is hard to stay positive at such grave times!  I am shielding because of health conditions and won't step out of my home until a vaccine is found!  I feel a second spike is on it's way.....