I am afraid that I too am not comfortable with the font change - I normally log into the forum on my Windows 10 PC.
It may only be a font change, but as a result of the change I’m afraid I find the forum as a whole much less pleasant to view and navigate around, and individual posts significantly more difficult to scan quickly.
Sorry to be so negative about the change. I had a similar initial reaction to the new forum when it was initially introduced, but my view changed very quickly and I now much prefer the new forum style. However, I suspect that my opinion of the new font will not change over time.
I had a (desktop) screenshot of a thread with the old font, so I took another of the same with the new font to make a comparison, and for comments by others.
As a typographer for 40+ years, I don’t have time now to add all my observations, but will in summary say that on Android mobile the new font looks good, but on Windows desktop (and tablet) it could be better. I can understand why naim want to be consistent in their ‘brand styling’ and match this with the main website but the forum is a special animal (!) and accessibility with readability should be perfect.
If you click these images to enlarge them you can alternate to compare.
That shows the difference really well. With the new font the letters are smaller and more spaced out. It’s far harder to read and even harder to read quickly. I’ve rebooted, logged out and in, changed sizing and still think it’s horrible. The Forum should be pleasant to read, and it simply isn’t. Please can we go back to the previous presentation.
Hi David, sorry to hear that. I’ve directed our developer and Naim to this thread so they can gauge the feedback. I’m told it’s easy to roll it back if need be.
The dark background with white/grey text works well on my iPad and iPhone. It was really difficult with the white background after the enforced change for the reasons others have stated.
Perhaps allow a User Settings option for the old font - that will please everyone without imposing on all what some are not liking as a change.
Personally it is not growing on me with time and makes me feel a bit sick dealing wit it, so will probably not post or read the forum as much personally. Maybe that is a good thing!
Don’t like it at all - I’m usually fairly adaptable as the forum changes I don’t complain much but just go with it, but this does cause me a lot more mental effort and is unpleasant - I ask ‘why’ - I don’t have any good answer, for me, why - so I will use here less ahead as things stand.
We all make personal decisions - good some like it, but an option setting will allow all to customize as that is why options are there.
This would be the ideal if the board platform allows such an option.
I can entirely understand Naim wanting a consistent look and feel for corporate/product website and user support forum, but for whatever reason the new font here was instantly noticeable for me, and inexplicably harder to read.
It’s actually quite surprising when I flick back and forth between the screen captures above how little difference there seems to be, yet the vast majority of us for some reason don’t seem to be getting on with it.
A user setting to choose either font would be ideal.
While it may seem trivial, a change of end user experience on a forum can really affect regular users continued participation if they are frustrated by or no longer enjoy using the forum.
It would be a real shame if you were to visit less frequently, David. Your often rapid and informed response to issues on the Beta forum has proven invaluable.
I wonder if the web site is putting people off too, I find it less appealing than the old less flash version, could it be just the font? I also find it less appealing on the forum than the one we had until recently.
