Okay, you know I'm not one to defend the folks that run these boards.  I've been really upset that many of the things we asked for aren't present.  I also feel a bit run around as Mary Grace (admin5) led us to believe we were getting our own software and we were just being pluggesinto existing software.  So don't take this as defense.  Maybe just some ways of making this doable for you.

First, I think what you see as >> is actually supposed to be quotation marks in a cartoon  balloon.

I've seen this as a complaint quite a bit here.  I don't get it.  I'm sure you remember how the AML forum on the old boards was so excrutiatingly slow.  We often complained that we were concerned new posters were just giving up and wandering away. The old AML forum was down to what I'd guess was about 10 posts a week on average.

It seems to me that this AML forum is lot more active.  Not as active as it could be.  I do hate the way its buried without a clue as to "Living With..." is all about.  But I do think the activity has improved with the new software/server/whatever.

You know, I guess I'm only commenting on this as that's how it was for me on the old forum.  Maybe there was an option I didn't choose that took you straight to the latest post.  But that's kind of the way it was for me.  What I do like is that I can tell from the menu if anyone's posted since the last time I did.  That was a real frustration for me on the old boards.

That said, I agree with most of what you say.  I miss "PJ" though I know it's you.  And wtf couldn't Dobrodude stay Dobrodude instead of this new Dorbroguy?  I'm just glad I'm from Texas and not an abbreviation for treatment.

I do think all the crap you have to crawl through to get to the posts is ridiculous and I really did whatever I could to try to avoid scrolling or at least minimize it   However, I think a lot of folks are posting out of the LLS frame.

Here's what I've done (most of this is through right clicking):  1) I opened the discussion board frame in a new window which gives me a lot more space,  2) I got to the page where the main menu is and then I bookmarked it.  That does save some clicks compared to starting from scratch.

You mention the presence of the admins.  I do have to say that Samantha is more present and responsive by far than Mary Grace ever was.  She could be around more, but she' answers more questions than not.  And that's a vast improvement to an admin who never responded directly to anything.  But the monitors who are here daily aren't the admins.  They're just here to make sure we keep it to a PG rating and avoid wirty dords.

I've been displeased with the clutter, the some things are hidden and the unavailability of many of the things we requested.  But I think there are some things here that are drastically improved over the old boards.

Thanks for sharing your concerns. I know that this is a learning curve for a lot of people who got comfortable with the last software, but hopefully with time it will get easier and make more sense for this crew.

That said, I'll bring up your concerns to our monitors and see if there is anything we can do about some of your items that have also been voiced by other participants. We can't change everything, but there should be a few things that are in our control that we can attempt to do a little differently.

Do you mind posting a screenshot or sending a screenshot to community@lls.org (if you are not comfortable posting here)? It will be easier for me to figure out what the problem may be if I see what you're seeing. Thanks!

I agree, but that relies on someone reading the banner.  I never have.  I didn't notice it until PJ pointed it out.

If you can't subtitle the titles like you did on the old boards, perhaps just change the name to "Living with Your Blood Cancer."  Or "Living with Your Specific Blood Cancer."

This isn't rocket science, it's Basic Communication 101.  There's got to be a way to make this more explicit.

I see that all the old L&LS discussion boards and archives are now wiped out as of July 1st.  Gone forever.  Just FYI for all "Living With..." Boards.