UK Community Update

[katie@ebay]

Hi Everyone!

Today we launch the updated eBay community in the UK. 

As you will have noticed, the eBay community looks different. We have launched the updated design of the community with a few new features:

• Mobile experience enhanced
• Reduced load time
• Quicker navigation through the site

Of course, all your previous posts, messages and comments are still where they were before. The changes to the community are focused on the look and feel, to enhance your experience and allow mobile users to fully utilise the community, too.

If you have any questions about the new eBay community, feel free to ask below in this discussion board.

[cockneydevil]

Oh my God , very hearly a quarter of a CENTURY in development and we've arrived at 

"Ebay , its better than nothing "

What a damning indictment of  where we are 

Ebay , hang your heads in shame 

Of course . you have none . otherwise you wouldn't pull half the stuff you do .

[raspli-0]

There are some nice improvements with the new forum software. Auto-save, mobile-friendly, larger fonts. But did the folk that designed it ever actually USE a message board? And I don't mean "glanced at it for 10 minutes". It's incredibly difficult to see which posts I've already read and responded to. It's supposed to be a community and not "ask a question and wait for everyone else to respond". This new layout is great for asking questions but does nothing for helping make a community. 

[cockneydevil]

Great  another goal down the plug'ole 

A while ago , I decided to try to make /get  my Kudo's / posts  to even out 

I was on 4k of posts and a couple of hundred away when they reset the count LAST time ......

I was closing in again with the "remastered " count ,and blow me down , they've done it again 

I'll not bother this time . unless you want to Kudo  this post 

[cockneydevil]

Don't you think they would limit responders to people that at least have 1k of feedback to get  a  flying chance the info they spout is legit ?

[cockneydevil]

Yes and Father Christmas says , if you are good all year , he will get you a Christmas present .....

Irony , for when sarcasm just won't do 

[cockneydevil]

I dont know .......

I don't know  , if you are reading this off a script , or whether  you are in possession  of some secret SUPERphone that actually does what you claim it does ....

Why ........  in God's name ,did anyone think smashing the forum  to bits , making it virtually UNUSABLE ,and trying to justify it to the hoards of angry ebayers ; was an IMPROVEMENT !!!!

I can't work it out .......

You can ? Good , explain it to me , in reasonably straightforward  English,   making  full coherent sentences , using what ever logic they used , to come to the decision that this  was what was  required .
That this . above fixing all else that is broken , wrong , unusable , or just simply annoying with the site , was a priority ????
Is there some massive list of complaints on threads  in the forums that says I need this in my life? Point me in their direction 
That ,I've  just bought the new Apple iPhone 12 at a massively inflated price because Kevin Bacon can't find any filmwork at the moment . and this ,is  the justification that validates my purchase ?
Perhaps we need a distraction from the elephant in the room of Managed Payments  and  stopping us from using the forum us a way of cutting down complaints ?
Or . is it the old Labour ploy  of waiting for the latest natural disaster to introduce their latest  tax wheeze . or their latest pet project results that proves its doing EXACTLY the opposite of what they said it would ,at the outset ?
I'm not kidding Kate ; I rarely complain directly to you , but ,it's an ABOMINATION ... and as OUR community liason , you need to take our complaints , NOT to the goon squad the designed this , lettting them trot out some justifying BS that this was needed  but to their boss's boss . telling them , how much this "improvement" is loathed , detested , and shows utter contempt about what we need to make life simpler on ebay .

NOT !

[robmar0se]

2nd attempt to reply - keeps crashing - back button takes you somewhere I lnow not!  Renders the auto-save useless!

What I was trying to say was in regard to font size.  Doesn't Ebat (sp) know that most browsers have a zoom function, as do phones?  

As an oldie I usually have to increase the size, now I'm having to decrease the size.  Just proves how Ebay developers are not in the real world

[robmar0se]

No we don’t, buyers are as much up in arms as sellers, does nothing for us, as we can’t follow threads either - this new concept is a jumble of posts with no wy of navigating through a thread etc

[pixiesen2012]

I don't think the buyers want it either, questions are way down since this was intrduced, no one can work out how to use it!

[bravergrace]

---

@pixiesen2012 wrote:

questions are way down 

---

Seriously, seriously - how do you know this?  I can't even see a list of topics on a board.

All I can see, when I go to a board, is one out-of-date pinned post, 3 recent topics and a list of "related material" down the sides - yesterday, this was entirely archived material, several years old.

[bravergrace]

---

@cockneydevil wrote:

unless you want to Kudo  this post 

---

Dear me, you are dreadfully out-of-date!  We don't "give kudos to" a post any more.   That's a ridiculously old-fashioned notion, not good enough for these modern, mobile-friendly new boards!  If you hover above the thumb sign, you will find that you now exhorted to "GIVE HELPFUL TO THIS POST" - or, if you are subsequently racked with anguish at having done so, to "REMOVE YOUR HELPFUL FROM THIS POST".

[i_failed_my_dna_test]

---

katie@ebay wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I have an update earlier than Monday so wanted to share here.

==================================================

Katie , when the team responsible for this shambles returns after a weekend pigging out on sugarpuffs and binge watching Noddy in Toyland box sets , could you please explain to them the damage that this new board format is doing to ebay .

At present , and in the past if there are posts on these boards that ebay does not like, the post get altered or deleted and the poster can get banned. Despite these interventions by ebay (or moderators) buyers and sellers have been helped,scammers have been caught out , trolls have been leaned on , and the odd bad advisor exposed .

But the real problem is the bad sellers ,bad buyers , scammer and trolls all migrate to places were they cannot be controlled.

ebay members who have a problem will realise the new board format is totally unfriendly and offers no real help will themselves migrate to those anti ebay boards and chatrooms. This can damage ebay's reputation.

So simply tell this team , return the boards to the original format so we can get on with buying and selling .

[guru-banana]

Despite MP being divisive at times, I'm not sure that I have ever seen such a united front in opposition to this appalling mess which will possibly do as much if not more harm to eBay than MP ever will as disaffected buyers and sellers give up on it completely or as you say migrate to the we all hate eBay forums. Giving far more problems than a stupid change for a corporate look does to something that needs a usable look to be of far greater service to eBay's customers.

[pixiesen2012]

use the load more option below the three posts that show

[bravergrace]

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@pixiesen2012 wrote:

use the load more option below the three posts that show

---

Thank you.  That does work - but it still only shows me 4 threads at a time, with no indication whether there are any new posts on the threads, and if so, who they're from.

I don't know if anyone else is seeing the same as me, but this is what I'm getting, starting at the Discussion Boards page (https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Discussion-Boards/ct-p/13)

Page 1 - big creepy grinning pictures, and 6 boards only (more if I scroll).

Page 2 https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Selling-on-eBay/ct-p/11900000091

- big creepy grinning pictures, and 6 boards only  (more if I scroll)

Page 3 https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/bd-p/27

- big creepy surveillance panopticon picture, and 1 thread title only (more if I scroll).

If I scroll, I can see 3 thread titles at a time, ordered by the date of the OP.  So any threads that might have started a week ago, have dropped off the first page into oblivion - which is ridiculous for ongoing threads about difficult returns or lost parcels, which often take 3 or 4 weeks before the matter is resolved.

Do you suppose this is how it's MEANT to be?  Conversations and help threads being kept short and then binned after a day or two, as new ones take over?  And any thread with no replies because it's a specialist sort of matter (like "How do I contact CS about an item returned after 5 weeks by Brazilian Customs, but purchased on eBay.com" or "Is it possible to appeal against a partial refund due to an item being returned  allegedly damaged, seller now NARU?" - these older threads will never get a reply, because nobody can actually see them?

[clute21]

This style of the boards is self defeating and not fit for purpose.
They just require too much work to be bothered with.
Keep the puke colours if you wish but return to the old layout for the benefit of the members requiring help.

A drowning person does not care what colour the life saving ring is or whether it looks nice they just want help Now!.

[suema_62]

What everyone has been saying.........absolutely terrible.....no idea how long a thread is when at least with page numbers you could click on the last page. When will 'youngsters' get over the fact we dont all use mobiles for instant gratification and short attention spans.....give us a layout that works on laptops and computers....you know the things you dont use when walking and crossing a road.

How do more 'pretty ' images help with speeds?   I have no idea where this comment will end up lol. Is there a 'dont email me replies'  ? oh yes hidden under 'Additional options' too logical for words when the ONLY option is 'email me' so why not instead of the arrow the email box itself and legend? Too simple.....

[cee-dee]

Where's "Additiona Options"?????

[thesmi42]

Well, based on the comments made so far, it doesn't take a genius to realise that this new version cannot be described as an 'improvement' by any stretch of the imagination.  Did any of the developers actually sit down and try using it?  What level of User Testing was conducted?

From what was a well-presented and easy to use discussion board, we now have a version that is cumbersome, time consuming, unfriendly, and most importantly a deterrent to discussion.

Please have a rethink!

[robmar0se]

It seems apparent these days that companies such as Ebay expect the "users" to debug the systems for them..  However its more commen to release Beta versions first to commited interested users.

This change is incredibly unprofessional - my advice to you its always best to keep it simple.  This isn't it.