the new comments look looks kinda messy without the boxes...

I'm not going to sugarcoat it.  The new layout for the mgoblog page SUCKS.  The column with thread titles shouldn't be narrower than the columns with poster IDs.  That just makes no sense.

On main page posts, the color of the "New Comments" thing is my main irritation.  Blue on red kinda hurts my eyes.

I like the point changes.  Not so much the new layout.  Can't win em all.

There are two thinks that I miss from the previous format: the join date and the comment number. While reading a post with more then 30-40 comments, it was nice to know how many more you have to read.

I am also not a big fan of the new MGoPoints system. I think it puts in a disadvantage the well written, long, explicit comments. It will encourage people to post shorter, useless comments just so they can get the points. Since there's a new MGoPoints system why not everybody starting from 0 points?

Edit: also the Online/Offline was nice.

I just realized that I have a completely irrational attachment to my points, which have, at most, hypothetical value and a nebulous connection to some sort of credibility and status.  From now on I am going to spend like PacMan Jones in a strip club.

When things get weird, I just resort to beer and it all seems to work out fine.  Two down, ten to go!

I'm completely cool with the tweaked points system, but the new layout is terrible IMO. With the removal of the join date, this feels more like an online "message board" than a "community".

I'm not a fan of these changes.  I don't care about the point scoring.  I've never down voted someone and I only up vote things I really like, which is rare.  I don't like the new layout of the comments.  The boxes helped organize things visually.  Now the comments blend together.  Also, you have to read from right to left if you want to know who is commenting.  I miss the start dates too.  But, I'll learn to deal with it.  I don't like change very much.

I don't mind change.  Not sure I understand why the all the changes but none the less I stick to the philosophy that all we need to do is win.  Winning changes everything.  We beat OSU this year and everything is fine again.

I like some of the changes, however I worry about the cost of voting.  Posters who do not post much but still like to voice their opinion are all going to end up with negative points quickly.  And then, as another poster mentioned, if neg costs 2 votes to the "community" (-1 for the person being negged and -1 for the person voting) and  an up vote gives the community in the same points wise (1 for the person receiving the vote and -1 for the person voting), then pretty soon only people that post a lot and always get positive votes will have points.

I personally really liked how often people voted in the past.

The spirit of MGoPoints has been ruined. The points system worked perfectly in my opinion. It was a very simple and effective feedback system. This change has simultaneously made them more precious and less meaningful.

Community stoning is the best way to keep irrational dissenters and straight up trolls in check; you just took away our badges. Yes, hive mentality would often set in, but so what? As long as a guy could still post, there is no real harm done and the message of "chose more thoughtful phrasing" was delivered.

In the old system, a few points to the negative was negligible and just meant you rubbed a small amount of people the wrong way. However, a few dozen meant that you're probably being an asshole. Now, since no one will want to give up their precious, there's no telling what a few negs means. So

I agree that way too much was made of them but their value just went WAY up; they're now an even bigger deal but they mean even less. No one has expressed support for the change, I think that is saying something.

As for the rest of the stuff, I'll adapt but what was really wrong with it before?

I should have registered and started posting sooner, when the points flowed more freely.    Oh well, who cares about points anyway?  (Honestly, me!)

Since we get -1 everytime we downvote somebody, we should be able to downvote them as much as we want, or at least more than once (maybe 3 times?). This could also be used for upvoting. I don't really care much for giving anyone more than +1, I just like negging people who post ridiculous crap.

NO TALKING ABOUT POINTS!!!!!

/sarcasm

Does Brian get any sort of monetary gain by a rise in posts?  With votes now costing you points, users will be more willing to post back "I agree" (net gain of 1 point, rather than a net loss of -1 point for an up-vote).  If his ad revenue is based on posts, he's been losing out on an easy revenue stream with a voting system that allows people to vote without posting.  If this is the case, the fastest way to get rid of this new system is through "Beveled Guilt."

When the point system was changed today I originally thought it was a good change. I still think that in a sense.

It's important that there is some collateral associated with the points, because without it, there was huge inflation and you had users with over 30,000 points and users with -10,000 points. All which meant nothing. I see the value in making points valuable: Only the best posts get up-voted, and only the worst get down-voted.

However I also see the problem in this system: Trolls might not be regulated as easily, and people actually start to care about their points. I think a happy medium can be attained, where points have value, but they still don't mean much to people.

Perhaps like was stated earlier, if up-voting someone didn't count against a voter, but down-voting someone did, and perhaps if the voting threshold be moved up so that you can't vote until 100 points (like was also suggested) you might see better moderation once more. That's all these changes are trying to do anyways, improve moderation.

Anyways these are just one man's opinions, I know you guys are hard at work coming up with something a bazillion times better so I will just keep to myself now.

Here's another vote for the old system, which I thought was working fine.  The lack of message boxes and post numbers make it harder to navigate through a thread, and I'm concerned that the omission of the join date and the penalty for voting will make it harder to reduce trolling; trolls were often easily idenifiable by their same-day join dates, and they were usually negbanged into oblivion.  Will that still happen if there's a penalty for voting now? 

When I first read about the new system, it reminded me of the water cycle, which is a closed system.  No new water can be created on this planet; water simply shifts from one place to another, from the skies to the ground to the river to the ocean and back to the skies.  Mgopoints would be the same way!

HOWEVER, when you consider that points expire, then you add a dangerous new characteristic to this seemingly beautiful system.  The overall number of Mgopoints will decrease over time (unless 100% of points are constantly cycled to another user before they expire, which is highly unlikely). 

What has been set in motion, my friends, is the inevitable demise of Mgopoints.

Another vote here for going back to the old style or at least some major improvements to this layout. My reasoning is a little different, though.  

I view this site on a 50" lcd and I could literally spend 3 or more straight hours on this board with no problems.  Well, so far I've been on for about 30 minutes with the new changes and I feel like my eyes are on fire.  I can't really say why as the layout isn't radically different, but it just hurts.  Sorry.

*Shakes fist*

"Hey, I liked the old point system... and I want to see who joined the board when, so I know who gets my nod of credibility...."

*rabble, rabble*

I just wanted to say, people are complaining (And I'm not saying it's THOSE GUYS....definitely me too), but don't take this as solely criticism, Brian.  The way I see it, all of us are INVESTED in the site, feel a part of it, and part of the community, and feel, well, at home here. It's not customers dissatisfied with the product and saying they're going to take their page hits and go somewhere else (though some of the changes may unconsciously cause that if they have less reason to check back in, post some new info, or such).  It's people saying what they enjoyed doing on this board, what has value, and what keeps them/us/me coming back for more. Yes, you make a living out of it, and do a good job finding a way to do it.  And that should always be your first concern, because if you're not making the dough, and have to go back to engineering or whatever, then we don't get to read all this content. But it's not your customers saying you're a bad host at the restaurant...we're just all arguing over what dishes we want to order. So while it may be overwhelmingly negative, it's not a personal/site attack. It feedback on what makes it best for everyone (and of course, hopefully you included).