Please read - new Forum homepage and rules are live

MSE_Marcus

Dear Forumites,

Today I have the exciting job of unveiling the new Forum homepage and rules. Thanks to your feedback and a stellar collaboration between our Forum Team and their tech colleagues, the shiny new iteration is now live and ready for you to try out.

The Forum has been a key part of MSE since it came into being two decades ago, but the recent independent audit showed us there was plenty we could do to update it to reflect the evolving needs of our users. So we opened the bonnet and got to work. The result is a unique Forum for MoneySavers that’s safer, more accessible, friendlier and future-proofed, but still with a full tank of MoneySaving tricks, tips and information.

We’ve focused on being clearer about what you can expect from the Forum – from us, and from your fellow users – and on helping everybody get the most out all the amazing contributions that the Forum community have posted.  

Here are some key changes we’ve made:

• We’ve a new set of rules we’re asking everybody to get acquainted with, the key points being to ‘keep it kind and clean’, ‘stay on track’ and ‘protect yourself’.
  
  
• The Forum Team will be following a new ‘ACT’ process when posts fall outside the rules, which means you could get ‘a quiet word’, ‘caution’, ‘time away’ or your account removed depending on the severity and/or frequency of breach/es.
  
  
• When the Forum Team receives reports of defamatory posts, they’ll follow a legal process set out in Section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013.
  
  
• We’ve a new homepage design. One major changed is that our top-level category boards have been revamped. Many have kept their titles, eg, the Coronavirus Support board, but we’ve new categories too, such as the Reduce Debt & Boost Income board.
  
  
• It's now easier to access saved drafts of your posts.
  
  
• Our new Community Spotlight slot highlights a popular board or thread. We’ll be changing it up regularly, so you might like to check back for inspiration.
  
  

 As for those of you who are wary of change, thank you for sticking with us. We wouldn’t have made these adjustments if we didn’t believe they were beneficial; they constitute some of the most ground-breaking work in the Forum’s history and we’re incredibly excited to unleash your suped up new version into the world. We’re confident the changes will allow the Forum to facilitate friendlier and safer MoneySaving chats, making it a ‘home’ for you for years to come. 

You are crucial to the next step. Please explore the Forum, put it through its paces, and if you find any problems, please report them through our feedback form.

It’s important you use the form for issues rather than posting in a thread, as we can’t guarantee they’ll be seen otherwise.

From all of us here, enjoy your new Forum. We hope you’ll continue to find it a valuable tool, and a safe, friendly environment that’s a pleasure to explore.

MSE Marcus,

Editor-in-Chief

lonibra

"Keep it kind and clean" Love it.

I've seen it far too often that new posters after summoning up courage to post their queries on the board (especially the house buying/renting one and the ones related to credit history) are treated unkindly and scared off by comments that neither show any empathy nor try to answer their question. Completely against everything Martin/MSE stand for and in direct contrast to how Martin talks to people who need his help.

Hopefully you'll be able to enforce and take ACT action (where needed) to reported posts.

Sandtree

Have to say the new look is awful, ever thread header looks to be in bold which makes the site seem crude (most other sites bold new/unread threads and have read threads in non-bold).

Outside of that why in some places is it called "All Boards" (eg left hand side) and in other places "Categories" (eg home page) - both lead to /categories. Consistency normally makes things easier.

J_B

I presume/hope that someone will soon be along with a way of hiding all the stuff on the left of the page

[Deleted User]

TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, looks cluttered, messy, and hard to navigate.

MSE_Laura_F

Sandtree said:

Have to say the new look is awful, ever thread header looks to be in bold which makes the site seem crude (most other sites bold new/unread threads and have read threads in non-bold).

Outside of that why in some places is it called "All Boards" (eg left hand side) and in other places "Categories" (eg home page) - both lead to /categories. Consistency normally makes things easier.

Thanks Sandtree,

Please report the issues through the feedback form Marcus mentioned. It would be helpful if you could include exactly where you can see 'Categories' mentioned.

Thanks,

MSE Laura F

MSE_Ben_H

ilikethesimpsons said:

TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, looks cluttered, messy, and hard to navigate.

Sorry you feel that way. We're really happy to take constructive feedback, if you have any, using the feedback form Marcus linked above. Linked here for your convenience.

MSE_Ben_H

J_B said:

I presume/hope that someone will soon be along with a way of hiding all the stuff on the left of the page

Hi @J_B ,

We'd rather people don't alter the display of the Forum as this can mean people miss important messages and could risk security when using the Forum.
The left hand-side is now the main way to navigate the Forum.

 If you have any specific feedback about what you'd like to see (or not see) please use the feedback form.

Thanks,
Ben

Jenni_D

If you don't want feedback I suggest you close this thread - that's TWO of my posts you've nuked. 🙄

WaywardDriver

The option to see Latest Posts for My Favourites only seems to have disappeared.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Thread titles on the board overview are too small. Does MSE have shares in magnifying glasses?