First of.. I am sorry for the very late reply..
Got too much trouble with family visits over the past few weeks :p
Where do I even begin.....
Tim Drayton wrote:If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Yes, more and more people are accessing the internet from mobiles and a simplified layout is called for if people are to make sense of a web page on a tiny screen. However, I don't think that everything has to be simplified and dumbed down just to make it mobile friendly. People need to accept that there are more complex sites that cannot be adequately accessed from a mobile.
I studied the subject and also observe what goes on in the industry. Simplification does not mean Dumbing it down, sometimes it even means the opposite in my opinion!! This is why it is even harder for the designer who makes an interface look simple but has many functions available. We do not just design whatever. We Research (Users and Businesses), specify functions and content required, manage interaction design and information architecture, then information design, interface design and navigation design just to finish off with the visual design which is how it looks and feels. All these other layers are huge processes that build a system from abstract to concrete, at lease this is the most popular model used academically.
GreekIslandGirl wrote:Melan wrote:I don't think this forum is badly designed, I just think it's outdated now and it should be simplified and designed into something else.
Erm, that is so vague ... and frankly, probably unnecessary for the functions it fulfills.
It's not a facebook or a tweety thing or any of those over-interactive social-media things (none of which I do). CF is less pressured. It's good either for a discussion or for making a simple point and being left alone to muse. I think people here like the take it or leave it attitude CF has evolved.
It's cool!
Doesnt have to be Facebook or Twitter to have good design. As you will see in the following years, system design will improved dramatically. Especially now that User Experience Design is introduced. I do not know if you follow me, and I cannot convince you of my opinions in a forum, unless I write an article that explains everything about this topic :p
I just believe if you will do something, do it well to make it last. The forum has a typical forum structure, but I see a lot of improvements that could be make and these improvements will also attract more people to use this interface and stay tuned.
Plus, no one said it will become a Social Media site. I do not know why you all came to that conclusion :p
The style and objective of a system does not change, improvements are made only to make it work better, be more efficient, easy and accessible and so many other things :p
Damn… she probably had a look at my 80s app and run off! 
