Quote - "Seems all what matters to some here are avatars and cutesey smilies. Nobody wants to take away your new toys, but some of us would like to use the forums for a bit more than meaningless chitchat, so we depend on at least minimum functionality. "

I can do without the avatars and cr@p but I found the old style forums too difficult to deal with.Too much clicking on links to get to the nitty gritty.This way they are all laid out.

I think the major complaints are because everyone had got used to the bad old system and knew the quickest way around it.Me I couldn't be bothered so I went elsewhere for info.

I also could do without the rudeness that seems to abound here..Maybe a few smileys might help a posting or two not seem quite so antagonistic.With only text and no body language to clue one into someone's state of mind smileys can help...Frankly I think this will be a much better site for the changes in the long run.It's certainly faster than the old system which even my BB was struggling to cope with.Even the searches are faster and I didn't think t would be possible considering the huge catalogue available..Now I'm going to use a smiley to indicate that I'm not unfriendly or aggressive in replying to you.