i liked the old forum better as well.
granted. this forum has a lot of neat things: it like the look of it, from an aestetic point of view. and the photoalbum, video and block function are nice too.
the problem is, those functions arent really what this board is about in the first place. it is nice to have them nontheless, but the things that we really NEED arent there.
i still cannot make paragraphs most of the times when i hit "quick reply", which is a big problem (this is one of those "lucky posts). paragraphs mean i can structure a post and be easily understood. now when i post on a "fun"thread, i guess not having that option is ok. but when i am trying to give advice to a dog owner who has problems i think my posts are really hard to understand.
i also miss the old emotions, but again, that's no biggie for me. emotiotions arent essencial.
search function: i dont understand why they put it in in the first place. it is IMPOSSIBLE to find anything. why bother if you're not fixing it. it sucks, cause the same questions get asked over and over again and with less member being active a lot of them get tired of answering the same questions multiple times. i know i do. it also means having all the old posts from lets say a month ago stored somewhere is just a waste of space. we cant really use them anyways.
also, because there are less people posting now, many threads go unanswered for much longer. part of the reason i came here really WAS the AMOUNT of people posting. yes, you could say quality over quantity. but more posts means more insiteful posts. yes, there are those that i dunno what to do with. but getting more replies on a question mostly also means i get more info.
the email notifications. yeah, i miss them too. why the hell is it SO HARD to make it useful and easy to understand? i had to download a feed reader and between that and checking the "my discussions" section i have it covered now. but that, in my opinion is a lot of efford to have to go through and it should be this hard.
same goes for posting pictures...
i think the overall problem is that in addition to some bugs, the functions that we have here are just not intuitive. for most functions we have there IS a way to achieve what we want, but it is hard to find out how and really complicated. yes, as many have said before, this is free. but why change in the first place, if you didnt care about making a better forum? and that is the feeling i get. besides VERY few issues, nothing else got taken care of or fixed, until now - six months later!!!!
the differences are small, but they have a huge effect. to make a comparison:
most functions that the iphone has arent new. like browsing the web and using wireless to do so, etc, etc. however it is SO much easier to use, because all functions are intuitive. you dont need to read a manual on how to go online. and you dont need to go through 4-5 steps to do so either. you dont have to painfully scroll through a website, etc etc etc. small things, but they make a difference, because it means people USE the features. i can go online to any website i want with my phone, but i never do. why? cause its a pain! and the same goes for the forum. i came on here, cause it was fun. browsing the posts really was fun before. now, i stay because of the people, NOT because of the forum. (and of course because i'm a dog-freak.... 
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i wish our complaints were taken just a bit more seriously, really. i wont leave if they're not. but it peeves me nontheless....