Similar situation here. I've had /. set up as my home page at work and at home for as long as I've been around on the site, which goes back to before the days of UIDs. I finally stopped being active in January'11 because the latest redesign made the site unbearable for me to use (and even plain technically impossible on one of my computers). I guess I also somehow stuck to the Slashdot of the past, even if maybe not in the same way a Rob.

So today I'm making an exception, loging in for the first time since January just to say thanks to Rob for all the work he did and all the joy I got out of it. Especially in the past. ;-)

Dear /.,

I've tried. As your logs will show, I've really have tried the redesign. But there are so many broken bits - ranging from design errors to an obvious lack of testing and debugging - and other usability frustrations that I just can't stand it anymore.

I've had /. set up as my home page at work and at home for as long as I've been around on the site. And that goes back to before the days of UIDs. I even held out through many years of not being allowed to moderate despite excellent karma, just because once I'd disagreed with one of the editors. But as of today, I'm voting with my mouse buttons and switching away.

Maybe I'll pass by in a few weeks or months to see whether you've become usable and again. But until then: Sayonara!

No more regards,

MCE

Indeed. But it's worse: if you dig around, you'll find options that suggest that they fix this. Except that they don't

The latter problem is present all over. So what does it actually *mean* disabling the section menu? What section menu? For sure it's not the section lookalike menu on the left, because it remains visible no matter what I do. So what is is? Let's click on the question mark to find out. ... Ooooh great: Now I'm told that if I tickmark "section menu", I will get the section menu.Surprise! But WHAT IS this mysterious section menu? WHERE IS IT? WHY does this section lookalike menu not listen when I try to tell it to get lost?

Summary: TOTALLY HORRIBLE implementation of options setting, options using, ,,,

Seconded! I don't even want to see the facebook et al. links.Way too many privacy & security issues.

OK, I managed to get the Pool back, but "older stuff" is still broken. I want it back real bad!

I had the same initially: "older stuff" was gone. I also played with all knobs that I could find, and now the result is that I've completely lost all slashboxes and can't get them back no matter what I do. :-( What a mess...

I don't think it will be back. Palin is one of the most incompetent potential US presidents ever, but she's not that dumb (nor is her entourage, "unfortunately"). The map has now been forever linked to the shooting, even if the shooter might never have seen it before and even if he acted out of completely unrelated reasons. There are plenty of conservatives/republicans out there of which Ms Palin needs the votes of if she wants to get anywhere, but who'd never want to be linked to this map again (let alone in public).

You have a point, but so does the OP. Yes, sometimes "just do it" is not feasible and the action has to be postponed. But why postpone till (the next / new) year? If action must be postponed, postponing - even repeatedly if reality calls home - till the next feasible moment is best, be it "Next Monday", "March 15", or whatever. But don't use January 1 as an (lame) excuse for not "just doing it when possible".

Do you really think that all the oil has drained back in just the 1 minute you're waiting for the light to turn green?

The oldest file that I don't need to restore (but can obviously restore in case my disk crashes) dates from April 1, 1992.

The oldest file that I can restore easily, will most likely be from the summer of 1989. That would be the original source file of a public domain program that I wrote at that time (released first in the early nineties, but I have the complete history all the way back to 1989 on backup). But I also might still have a LaTeX copy of my master's thesis from earlier that year hidden somewhere.

The oldest file that I can restore at all, must date from about 1987. This, however, requires me to dig up a working DOS machine (doable, because my father still has one of those dinosaurs - now unused, but still booting if needed).