Ask the Administrators - is there a notice about changes to it anywhere?

[muriel_volestrangler]

The 'forum' link now just goes to a form for submitting a question. Has this been explained anywhere, eg where all the answered questions have gone?

[demmiblue]

1. Not that I have seen.

I knew that forum would eventually close (so many unanswered question for quite some time).

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. They also seem to be drastically limiting the topics on which questions can be posed.

Not too long ago someone started a thread wondering why questions in Ask the Administrators hadn't been answered in a long time. Looks like we now have the answer.

[Autumn]

4. The new format takes care of questions like that since you can no longer see ATA

people won't be able to see when or if they answer a question. Maybe posters will now get a message answering their question.

[Solly Mack]

3. I'd imagine the new form - and it is new - allows them to prioritize the questions/requests

in terms of importance, thereby saving them time and allowing them to address time sensitive issues quicker.

Some matters are more time sensitive than others.

A problem about a donation for star membership would be deemed important - as people want to know if money they've spent has been received and documented.

Glitches that could indicate a hack or a problem with the server (or whatever) are also important.

It reduces wading through the petty to get to the necessary.

Not saying everything else is petty - but petty does happen.

I have not seen a formal announcement.

I am only speculating.

[Ptah]

5. DU is 17-1/2 years old. Adult supervision is no longer necessary.

[Hekate]

11. Hmmm,

[lamp_shade]

15. Perfect.

[Blue_Adept]

17. Yeah, no.

I've been running my own forums since the late 90's and they need continued tweaking otherwise they get pretty stagnant.

[progressoid]

6. Nothing in Announcements about it.

Kind of weird that the old stuff just disappeared.

[hlthe2b]

7. I would have expected an announcement post, but there is none...

[GusBob]

8. Is that pinned post missing as well from GD?

What may or may not be posted in this forum?

[uppityperson]

9. I just noticed the icon on Latest Page was odd colored and checked to

see this and was wondering also.

[Rhiannon12866]

10. I didn't notice until another DUer pointed it out to me

And it's no longer a Forum like we're used to, looks like it sends a PM? I agree that it's very strange that there was no announcement, both in Announcements and a major change pinned to the top of DU. And that's a good point about the answered questions. I've learned all kinds of things just by reading the posts.

Ask the Administrators
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=ata

[Blue_Adept]

12. Just another piece that makes me feel like the admin has abandoned the site

The usual changes we get going into an election period aren't happening, minimal to no communication or presence. A community-driven design without the ability for the community to really make any decisions.

It's little wonder I find myself interacting on a different site more these days - something I haven't really done since DU started.

[Tipperary]

13. I kind of feel the same. I have not renewed my star for that reason.

What other site do you go to? I would be interested to find somewhere else; even in the short time I have been here, I have noticed a real change in the tone of posters. Not a good one either.

[Blue_Adept]

14. I use The Avocado

It's an off-shoot a few years ago from AVClub.com members who left during some stuff that went down in ownership.

They do just a single thread per day, so you can find it here: https://the-avocado.org/tag/politics-thread/?latest

Usually shifts to a new thread at the start of the day. uses disqus for its software. It works for me since I'm online constantly throughout the day and it doesn't devolve into hundred+ post threads usually. But it can generate around 4,000 posts per day on a range of topics. I've been impressed. I read for a few months and started posting this week after Helsinki.

[irisblue]

18. Thanks for the addy.👋

[Blue_Adept]

19. I use the same name there, say hello!

[lamp_shade]

16. See Post #5

[JonLP24]

21. same here

I agree 100% plus the whole flagged for review. Sure some members deserved it but we lost some good people that made me want to come to the forum.

[hunter]

20. Whatever it is, I blame Bernie Sanders...

[Brother Buzz]

22. If you want to lose that insipid blue icon, EarlG tells us how:

Hi,

Thanks for the heads up. Since Ask The Administrators is technically no longer a forum, the icon should not "light up" either blue or yellow when new threads are posted (because people can't post new threads there any more).

I've asked Elad to fix the icon so that it always shows up as white. In the meantime, you can do this yourself by clicking the "Mark All As Read" button on the Latest page (bear in mind that this will turn all the icons white until new threads are posted in each forum.)

Hope that helps,
EG (DU Admin)