Autodesk Discussion Groups Feedback

[#1]

How come conversations randomly change direction?  Sometimes they start with the start, sometimes with the end.  Pick one please.

I hate that when I am replying I can't see the whole conversation.  Sometimes I am replying to more than the last response and I can no longer comment to different responses at once.  Dumb.

Everything takes up so much room.  I seem to have to scroll for miles down to see even the post I am responding to.  It all seems so badly setup.  Just below this the attachments, Subscriptions Tags is so dominant but the actual post I am replying to is WAYYYYYYY down there.  The space from NEW MESSAGE to post message, subject body is set up like a child would.  There is no economy of space for efficient use (like the ribbon hey!).

On my screen this narrow vertical band takes up about a 3rd. 1/3rd of that is this side band and I have this tiny inconvenient space to actually do what I came for.  Why is 2/3rds of my screen useless.  Most Adesk software users would have wide screens by now.  Can't it adapt on the fly.

After all this time the old newsgroups are still so much better than this dumb experience. Get some real designers on board who understand interface design better because this one is STILL COMPLETE RUBBISH !!

[#2]

Feel better?

[#3]

haha  yes thanks Charles.

Do I now "Accept your post as solution"?

Still like a major overhaul of this place!

[#4]

Have you been keeping up with the other couple conversations going on about the current format?

Some of the issues you have brought up are being discussed.

[#5]

Not in this particular NG though I have seen others over the time since the changeover.

I did read many of the BIG contributors who cleared off early, had enough of ADesk making things more difficult than they should be.  Shouldn't progress be advancing and advances be progressive?

[#6]

ntellery,

All valid input, so thanks - really. The thread Charles was referring to is this one, and I'd really appreciate your input in there as well. There's a massive list of improvements your peers have asked for (and they're oddly feasible too), so please get on over there and give me your honest, blunt, and constructive feedback. No sugarcoating needed. 

Thanks!

[#7]

If there was sugar in the first post I'm not sure you may want the unabashed version. 

[#8]

This web interface continues to be a black eye to Autodesk.

I am not saying they have not put a lot of work into it, and do not care, but the end result is just horrible.

The only thing I like about it is the ability to have email notification of replies.

Other than that, it butchers about every aspect of forum viewing.

Back with outlook express, or Forte Agent (nntp), I could view true threading, and easily look at the body of the message as needed. Like 100 message headers on a screen.

Fixing this is a big opportunity for someone out there. I get the feeling that anyone internal brining it up is essentially calling the king naked. And calling him naked is worse than the real nakedness it seems.

[#9]

I'm not going to be helpful here Jillian but at this point of such interfaces it should not be necessary for users to think much about the interface.  I have enough trouble trying to remember all the passwords to all the oh just Autodesks varying websites (thought I could have just one?) cause chrome just dropped it again.  I have lots to complain about ACA's interface but really I don't want to spend my time redesigning your web interface.  I suspect you have uni grads doing it and what did they pay their tuition for except to learn how to do things.  

It should just work and be intuitive.  When I design a house it just works!  How complex is it. (don't really want to know. :-)

There is very little about this design that is right.  Cludgy comes to mind.

The latest (12) release of AutoCAD belies belief in the number of 'design' gaffs.  Like the X/ref attach button that doesn't show up until you find it.  Ok it was there all along at the far end but 3 days to find it?  And the button colours where you have to take a second look to determine if it's on or off (OsnapZ and the Curtain wall Shrink grow buttons.  Ok these illustrations might be meaningless to you doing this interface but is that my point.  You don't want to know how autocad works to design an autocad newsgroup cause you are the experts in web interface design.  This interface is not clever or inovative.  It's not intuitive. I spend enough time viewing video's to learn ACA I have no time for learning how to use NG.  It should just work.

I rarely use search.  I don't think I've ever found a useful result.  I use google instead which brings me back to the right post (ulp).

I enjoy interacting with other ACA users and helping out but visiting this site is always a cringe experience. 

Hopping off soapbox and taking hat off.