It may just be unpopular opinion, but I find these new forums to be painstakingly difficult to read ,(text is tiny, and colors are blinding), follow thread, my hand hurts from scrolling through hundreds of post I already read since day one to get to current. Newest somehow works but requires a lot waiting of leg work too. Is it just me. Have I been put on a delay?It wont let me post to threads all the time for just no good reason. Notifications are not as clear and prompt as last forum.While I think it may need kinks worked out, I myself may have to take to another forum. I may check in periodically to see if they have improved it, but for now, I can't.Let me know is anyone if experiencing the same or if it's just me.

I can't recall using a worse forum than this new one.No profile pictures, so subcategories, no page numbers so having to scroll endlessly, having to sign in every time I visit... I could go on. The new forums are grossly unsuited to a huge community such as The Sims, and it's sad to see such a downgrade from the old forums. Interacting with each other shouldn't be a chore.

Same, I hate the layout and the 'sorting' - it's a pain to have to try to get a view of what replies are new and actually read the things you wanna read. It's so bad.

The real problem, I think (based on what the EA folks over the feedback forum have said), is that most of the critical problems people have with these forums - sorting, no page numbers, nested replies, no custom avatars, etc. - are all fundamental ways the new forums work. They can't be fixed, because they aren't actually broken. They are quite literally "features not bugs."I hope I'm wrong or misunderstanding something, because if I'm not the only real fix I can envision would be for EA to scrap these forums and start again with another new backend. I don't think that's likely.

I'm nodding so hard in agreement that I'm giving myself a headache.I would like to do an interview with the designer(s) of this platform to ask what type of research they've done in order to end up with this -totally out of touch with the (sims) community- answer of a forum. The disgraceful lack of page numbers and non-chronological layout, the constant sign out / sign in, the re-loading of pages, the LAG, the JUMPS, ARGH- ALL that and more-completely breaks the flow of any discussion. It drives me ab-so-lute-ly bonkers. It's like....it's like...DANG DONUTS I'm going to say it: it's like bad woohoo. The worst kind of woohoo to be more specific. (Oh well now ye know one of my "milestones".💀)I might sound like an aul' broken record since I already mentioned it about 50 times or so, but this forum is not designed for the community. At least not the kind of community that cares for having in-depth discussions and sharing easy to follow stories. There's absolutely no way this was built for us. No way.It was created for EA community managers and moderators to deal with a disposable type of community. The sims / EA community is too large and has become too outspoken to manage, so perhaps they figured it is best to limit who comes here. Make it difficult for people to stay. No individuality, near impossible to navigate, just say your bit and go.This is a drive thru folks, not a cosy pub. "Welcome, schmellcome -don't stay too long now, whatever you do. Bye. "Speaking of pubs, there are lovely pubs around, but no thanks to whoever came up with this forum. That's all community effort. Guess I'm ready for a Salty Llama now. Whee! 🕳️

I will add my own two cents to this conversation, because I quite agree, this forum is just...awful. I showed this site to a professional web designer who once specialized in usability testing. We were looking on my phone while I tried to navigate these forums, and he'd ask me to tap on certain things to see what happened. At one point, the entire site started strobing on my phone. Not an exaggeration. It completely went ballistic, I couldn't tap on anything and couldn't even look at it. Here's what he said throughout:"That's bad.""That's...really bad.""Wow, that's really, really bad."I pointed to the EA icon at the top and said, "This is the forum of a multi-billion dollar company. Did they hire an amateur? It looks like it was designed by someone they found cheap on Fiverr." He replied, "It was probably only designed to work on PC." I said, "Yeah, but it functions pretty much the same on that as well." He just made a sound of derision.So I feel a need to point out that the strobing risk is crazy dangerous. I am fortunate that I don't have to worry about seizures, but from what I've read over the years, many people who use the Sims forums do, and they've spoken up whenever changes were made in the game that bothered them. This site needs to be fixed promptly, and if it cannot be fixed, we need to either have our old forums back, or a new one designed by actual professionals who know what they're doing. I cannot believe it took at least five months for this forum. There is no way that it was worked on all that time. This thing runs like it was put up in a day. Is this what EA thinks of its communities? Especially the close-knit Sims 4 community who have kept the interest alive in this clunky, buggy game by being creative and sharing stories, creations, hype, and constant feedback for its improvement since its botched release? This is an insult to injury. There are many who use these forums in conjunction with their gameplay, and if the forums cannot be utilized, they will lose interest altogether. I've seen many already stating this. Maybe EA doesn't care about its forum community, but they should darn well care about paying customers who leave because they've taken away their enjoyment.

Opinion on New Forums | EA Forums

ck213
Seasoned Scout
4 months ago
I come back from time to time out of just simmer's habit. I never stay long.
I really, really dislike this forum. Part of the joy of simming is coming back to the forums and seeing what others are doing and sharing what you have done. I no longer have any desire to do so. I can see this having an effect on my simming--less than the little I do now.
This is really bad.
Ceridwen_ae
Seasoned Newcomer
4 months ago
If this is how the forums are now, I don't need forums. I might be able to find out useful news on the Sims from elsewhere, but it won't be here.
Good luck to everyone else if you stick around!
mariefoxprice83
Seasoned Hotshot
4 months ago
Something else I find annoying is that I've apparently been here 16 years yet I still apparently count as "new."
- LadyGray01
  Seasoned Hotshot
  3 months ago
  It's a slight improvement. When we switched from Sims 2 to 3 forums (which morphed into the Sims forums we had up until now) we all lost any time we had already. I should have 18 or 19, not 16.
pvrescue1
New Traveler
4 months ago
It's not just you – the new forums are bad. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting them to regress in so many ways compared to the outgoing forums.
Everything about this new site is slow – and I mean everything. Especially loading. There has to be something seriously wrong with its scripts for that to be happening. That seems to be an issue with the rest of the modern internet, too, likely because modern computers have so much processing power that optimization ends up being overlooked.
It didn't have to be this way.
Caerfinon
Seasoned Veteran
4 months ago
Houses are built to live in, and not to look on: therefore let use be preferred before uniformity. -- Francis Bacon
At first glance it's not bad to look at, but when you get down to the brass tacks of using it reliably it more resembles a Potemkin village, the façade is OK but the function is quite unfourmlike.
Hope springs eternal for improvements but I have doubts the the functionality and usefulness can be obtained on this platform in any reasonable amount of time.
MonaSolstraale
Seasoned Veteran
4 months ago
PhilxSims wrote:
Here's an example of one - Word Association Game | EA Forums - 4937919
PhilxSimsI remember there was something similar on the old Forum. I always thought of it as a bit of fun and pleasant pastime for those who participated.
This is also why I fear that the template in this Forum will cause one to remove the focus from the essentials. People's rank should not be an issue as long as we feel we have something in common to talk about.
Jooleeyuh
Seasoned Adventurer
4 months ago
I agree with many, many of these replies.

One of my biggest peeves about the new forum is the default sorting of replies by "most liked." At the very least, we should be able to choose our own preferred sort and have it automatically applied forum-wide. A place where less-popular statements are buried by default and a chore to access can hardly be called a discussion forum, don't you think? And how is a reply supposed to gather more likes when it's kept out of sight, anyway?

Between this "upvote" culture and avatars being restricted to "high ranking" members (even if only temporarily), this site feels governed by one big popularity contest, and it's icky, IMO.
MonaSolstraale
Seasoned Veteran
4 months ago

PhilxSims wrote:
And as for the "game threads" that (in my opinion) appear to be a blatant abuse of Cheating to Rank up (Level up your forum account by participating, not by gaming the system)...😦
I apologize if my language barrier means that I might misunderstand you. I probably don't quite know what you're referring to when you mention the "game threads".
However, there is something that catches my eye because when you write some obvious cheats to get a higher rank......This is exactly what my protests regarding the new Forum design are about. After all, it is designed to highlight rank and likes. Therefore, one can hardly blame that some people try to do what they can to climb the ladder.
I know that rank and likes also existed in the old Forum, but I never experienced that it was highlighted as the current Forum system invites, indeed is almost based on.
I want to stop before I talk myself into an unpopular place. After all, there are some oases in this Forum that I enjoy staying in ☕
NB: Please correct me if I have misunderstood you 🥰
- PhilxSims
  New Scout
  4 months ago
  Here's an example of one - Word Association Game | EA Forums - 4937919
  - PandoraTO
    Seasoned Vanguard
    4 months ago
    The old forum used to have an Off Topic section where people could discuss anything and play games like this. There was a word association thread there. I think these people are just continuing that game.
    I doubt those people are trying to climb any kind of ladder; it’s hard to imagine that this place would excite anyone to that extent. They’re probably just trying to maintain the camaraderie they used to have on the old forum.
PhilxSims
New Scout
4 months ago
It seems strange that this thread was quickly moved to the Questions and Feedback forum, however there are still a significant number of screenshot threads in the the Sims 4 General Discussion forum
(Join lively discussions, share tips, and exchange experiences on Sims 4 Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs & Kits) when surely they should be in the the Sims 4 Creative Corner forum (Share screenshots, stories, builds, custom creations, mods, challenges, and funny moments in our Sims 4 Creative Corner). And as for the "game threads" that (in my opinion) appear to be a blatant abuse of Cheating to Rank up (Level up your forum account by participating, not by gaming the system)...😦
grnblz
Seasoned Traveler
4 months ago
Well I am with the rest of you. I don't like that when I am in a discussion and reading (That's what I do, I lurk) that I cannot locate the newest response in the discussion without going through the whole discussion. The posts are scattered everywhere. They are 10 hrs ago and then the next one might be 9 days ago and then it goes to 3 days ago and it takes a very long time to find another one that say 15 mins ago. Also in between all those responses are the See More things which takes me back to the top and I have to go all the way back thru just to find where I left off. I was looking forward to lurking in a discussion about the new EP that came out today but can't seem to find where that one is. I'm not too sure how much longer I can stay on this forum. But one thing I do know. If I do not use the forum I will lose interest in my Sims games and may never play and I have been playing since the very 1st Sim game was released. The old forum always kept me engrossed in what everyone was doing in their games and gave me ideas of things to try in my game. But since they have made that a really difficult thing to do on here all the fun has left. It's just pure frustration...not fun anymore.