Question

A huge step backward--what are you guys thinking?



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Ok, and I have just noticed that the mobile version pauses after 20 or so threads, but another scroll-up action fetches more. ie. no page 1|2|3 button indication like there is on the PC version.
Userlevel 6
Badge +16
I'm finding the new site buggy and all over the place and really frustrated that on the iPad it loads the full site version when it should really have been a responsive layout - was this site built by programmers and not web designers. The mobile site isn't good either and again really frustrated - I don't sit at my PC/Mac all day like some and 99.9% of my time on the sonos community would be on my iPhone 6+ but now I feel I can't use the new site on my iPhone or iPad and it will limit me as to when I participate here.

I did wonder when I knew of the new community how well the mobile versions would work and as an ex web developer (not programmer) I understand and know that user experience is number one for users - yes functionality is key but if the layout and look and feel of the site is poor then users will get frustrated and leave. Also sitting at your PC/Mac is antiquated (unless that's part of your job) and most of my browsing is done via mobile devices - really I could sell my iMac for the amount of time I spend on it.

Yes I know that the new community will take a while to settle down and for the team to iron out the bugs but I just think they haven't thought about the demographic of user who visit this site on PC/Mac compared to Mobile device.
99.9% of my forum (Community) activity is on a keyboard. I don't enjoy "typing" by touching a slab or brick. And, I can be so much more productive with more screen real estate. And, in my opinion, the current trend for lots of white space in layouts wastes a bunch of real estate and my time.
And, in my opinion, the current trend for lots of white space in layouts wastes a bunch of real estate and my time.
Yes. There is a lot of wasted space vertically, with over large fonts in the heading lines, and the decision not to include the tool bar functions into the site heading bar.

But even worse is all the wasted horizontal space. They are barely using 50% of the width of my screen.
Lots of scrolling and page response delays.
Userlevel 7
Badge +11
Ok, it is early days but I a few things I have noticed in no particular order:-
I have been on the Sonos forum since 2007 but now I am a "Novice"!
Where has the unsupported area gone?
How do I see New Post since my last visit?
I have been on the Sonos forum since 2007 but now I am a "Novice"!
You can turn that off, in Settings/Settings.

Where has the unsupported area gone?

Errr.. it's not supported? On the other hand it could be that the threads have simply not been sorted, post-migration.

How do I see New Post since my last visit?

Activities/Active since last visit
However it's not terribly informative as it stands. You'd need to click through to the forum then hit View to jump to the last post.
And the last post times appear to be stuck at European Time with no user time zone control.
Userlevel 5
Badge +2
Quick note - the spiritual successor to the 'unsupported area' is the 'advanced setups' forum, where that content has been migrated to:

https://en.community.sonos.com/advanced-setups-229000
Quick note - the spiritual successor to the 'unsupported area' is the 'advanced setups' forum, where that content has been migrated to:

https://en.community.sonos.com/advanced-setups-229000

I can see other stuff in there which was very definitely not 'unsupported'. Could you please share the mappings you used for all the old forums?
Userlevel 1
Badge +1
What functions do you feel are missing most that you'd like to see on the community here? I see you've added a few things to the Wish List thread. Let us know what you're missing, we'll see what can be added and what can't. Some features that can't be added now may be available in the future too, so please let us know.

For me, I came in daily to the forums, clicked "New Posts" and read through topics of interest. I learned a lot that way or could occasionally help others. And That way I could quickly just stay up to date on the forums. Is there something comparable here?

Also all this white space, and then the design trap that sites think is right (white is clean), so you give us a page with white, grey, and lighter gray. check out http://contrastrebellion.com/

My 2 cents.
Userlevel 1
Badge +1
[quote=Rbalwinski clicked "New Posts" and read through topics of interest[/quote]

Ok, I found under activity, Activity since last visit. It works good enough for me. Now just lose all this white space.
http://contrastrebellion.com/ (and the content presented) should be Required Reading.
What functions do you feel are missing most that you'd like to see on the community here? I see you've added a few things to the Wish List thread. Let us know what you're missing, we'll see what can be added and what can't. Some features that can't be added now may be available in the future too, so please let us know.

For me, I came in daily to the forums, clicked "New Posts" and read through topics of interest. I learned a lot that way or could occasionally help others. And That way I could quickly just stay up to date on the forums. Is there something comparable here?

Also all this white space, and then the design trap that sites think is right (white is clean), so you give us a page with white, grey, and lighter gray. check out http://contrastrebellion.com/

My 2 cents.


Ditto here. Also missing an Advanced Search feature.

Though I will admit these and other peeves may already be solved and I'm just not aware of them.
Userlevel 7
Badge +11
Still finding my way around but getting to see the new posts since my last visit is much harder now, why as the "new post" button been removed? When I do get the new posts up they do not seem to say when their thread was started only when the last post was made. I am missing this functionality!

Also - No preview?
Userlevel 7
Badge +18
My private messages are gone. I asked where they are. No answer.

The Dutch Forums are gone. The French Forums are gone. The Spanish Forums are gone.

So I'm not satisfied, not by a long shot.
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Night Mode Eye Guard makes it easier on the eyes. I'm sure that alternatives exist for Chrome and Safari. Unfortunately the website still shows up white for half a second after a refresh.

The amount of white really doesn't work when viewing at night. Would be great to have an option to reverse the colours as a user setting, like some other forums allow.

For those on iOS devices, one potential solution (not ideal) is to use the accessibility mode and set it up with the home button (3 clicks to change mode). Works reasonably well. Might be something similar available for Android devices.
Userlevel 6
Badge +16
Night Mode Eye Guard makes it easier on the eyes. I'm sure that alternatives exist for Chrome and Safari. Unfortunately the website still shows up white for half a second after a refresh.

The amount of white really doesn't work when viewing at night. Would be great to have an option to reverse the colours as a user setting, like some other forums allow.


I agree that there is a LOT of white space here and this website could benefit from themes similar to those found in XenForo so that the user can switch from White to Black etc whenever they want.
XenForo is horrible to begin with, and switching it to another theme makes it even worse. A few mentioned early on after the mention of the switch in the old forum that the white space was a concern, and you still went ahead with it. Who thought a white with all that wasted vertical space was a good idea? I've not purchased products from some companies because their user forums were horrible. Glad I already have my Sonos kit. I purchased it because of stuff I read on the forums... it wouldn't be the case today. And you're actually advocating a third-party browser add-on to actually make this place readable?
Userlevel 2
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It's got to be tough moving the old threads over.

Some suggestions for consideration -

I see why you'd want these forums to have the same look and feel as the rest of the website, it's basic web design guidelines. Perhaps some smaller versions of the fonts to increase the readable area of the page? Less scrolling is always good.

The green area on the opening page could probably benefit by being smaller, or keep it the same size but add links to the various subforum categories - maybe below the search field?
Just so you know, still receiving the 500 error when clicking the link in the email notification. If the forum is already open in my browser, clicking the link will work as it opens another tab and displays the topic.

Anyone else getting this? Possible its just me.
Userlevel 2
Badge +1
I expected a learning curve to the new forum but from my standpoint, it certainly is not as user friendly as the legacy forum. The new forum topics are not terribly logical although that may be because I was familiar with the old forum topics and I generally knew where to look for topics that interested me. I also preferred the way the legacy forum handled new topics and responses with BOLDING (it made looking for new topics or posts easier for me).

This new forum represents a significant change from what most of us were used to. I think we all realize that SONOS' key objectives was to reorganize and consolidate their limited web resources. I have to believe SONOS also wanted to continue to support their very active user community. I'm not so sure they have fully achieved the user support portion yet. I hope the new forum will continue to evolve and improve but it is clear from the comments in this topic that there is still much work to do on that front.
Userlevel 5
Badge +2
Thanks everyone for your input so far. Jim28277, you're absolutely right, this new platform represents a new start and it will absolutely evolve and improve over time. As mentioned above, the migration process was complex, so we're currently very focused on ensuring that everything has made it over correctly. We're making good progress here, and expect to have the launch migration hickups ironed out in the coming days.

We are also listening to your feedback around features you'd like to see and your concerns around the design - we're going to be capturing, sorting and considering all of your thoughts and feedback, and will let you know about any changes and improvements that are coming.
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
We are also listening to your feedback around features you'd like to see and your concerns around the design - we're going to be capturing, sorting and considering all of your thoughts and feedback, and will let you know about any changes and improvements that are coming.

Be sure to check out this post whilst you compile that list !
https://en.community.sonos.com/new-community-feedback-229090/wish-list-6730681
I guess the more savvy current millennial users like this type of layout. I for one do not, but I am also an old fart. It wastes way too much screen real estate. Its much too bright white. It makes me work too much at getting any usable information out . Rather than scanning most of a thread with my eyes I have to use the scroll wheel on my mouse. I used to visit daily to see what's new and happening with other users. I don't see that happening anymore. I will visit only if I have an issue. Sorry to see a concise information and entertainment source go away.

I shouldn't be surprised though. This new and improved version follows the trend set by the new and improved controller versions. I will persevere here as I have done there. Just please don't mess with the hardware. It works just fine thank you very much.

Oh does this mean this is a SONOS moderated and controlled forum(?) now; rather than a SONOS supported USER forum
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Oh does this mean this is a SONOS moderated and controlled forum(?) now; rather than a SONOS supported USER forum

The new site doesn't have any user moderators, however there are many very active users who are here hanging out and helping. I'm sure you've already seen many of the long time forum moderators around here.

Though we're the moderators on the site, we aren't going to be doing any moderation that any other moderator wouldn't. We aren't in the habit of removing posts, deleting threads, or silencing communication unless it is in breach of the terms and conditions of the community itself.

I understand the concern that if the company is moderating the forums they might hide negative statements or messages that aren't friendly, but that isn't the way we work.

The forums had a great sense of community and belonging which we absolutely loved seeing, and we're hoping to take that to the next level here on the new platform. We've got so many talented and experienced people involved here and we can't wait to see where it goes.

We're looking into all the feedback on the site and are happy to look into changing what can be done to make everyone happier. Some things can certainly be done, some can't. So please let us know if there are specific features you'd like to see, and any suggestions you might have.
I guess the more savvy current millennial users like this type of layout. I for one do not, but I am also an old fart.
Some of us in the same boat are going to have to lump it, I guess. I don't like that, but I don't have a choice.

Look at the bright side: ex-forum moderators now won't have to read every post and can cherry pick where they want to add value!