I also find it very difficult to find the "new" replies to a thread i'd like to follow. And I'm struggling to find topics that used to be pinned at the top of the old forums like Sims on Social Media for example. I have no clue where to find out if there has been a new patch or hot fix released and what Simmers experiences with them are. All topics seems to be cluttered under The Sims General discussion and its becoming a massive mess to navigate.
As for stories like OP and others in this thread have already said, its impossible to follow the natural, chronological order of them in these forums. I'm finding myself spending less time here that I did on the old forums. Which is sad. I really enjoyed the generally positive and always friendly and helpful discussions with fellow simmers.