[TechGuy]

Alright, I get it. A lot of people don't like the tag cloud. I'm not sure if I'm in the minority in liking it, or if the minority who feel so strongly against it are just very loud. Either way, I've finished writing a bit of code that I think you'll like.

If you go to "My Account" At the very top of the page, then click on "Edit Options" on the left and scroll all the way to bottom, you'll now have the option to turn off the sidebar. This option existed a few days ago, but has changed.

Here's what it does now:

If you're a Premium Member or Authorized for Malware Removal, changing the option to "No, please hide the sidebar" will hide the sidebar completely on every page except the homepage. You will, however, see no advertisements anywhere -- including on the homepage.

If you're not a Premium Member, I still like you -- I know not everyone can afford to help out the site financially. Here's what I've done. If you change the option to "No, please hide the sidebar" it will remove the new sidebar and instead show the taller, thinner ad that used to be there before the latest upgrade.

Again, please note that the sidebar will always show up on the homepage. This is because the listing of forums is not very wide, so it would just show as empty space anyway.

I hope that satisfies some of the complaints. We still have a lot of things on our list to work on, but please remember that both Dan and I have "real" day jobs, so we can't fix everything as quickly as we'd like. Maybe that can change some day.

I know that not most people can't keep up with the main "Welcome to the new Tech Support Guy" thread, so I'll mention again quickly before it comes up -- we're still working on creating a feature to allow users to choose from a handful of different color variations for the new site. I already promised LauraMJ that the first of these variations will be based on the blue background that we had before the upgrade.

Thanks for your patience!

Signing off my longest post ever,
-Mike

[JohnWill]

Mike,

Actually, though I still don't think the colors are all that good looking, just taking the BRIGHT white off the background solved most of my usability issues with the board. I don't develop eyestrain like before the change. I guess that's my reward for using an LCD, a lot of white is really WHITE.

[blues_harp28]

Thanks Mike for all the hard work that has been done so far.
"I've finished writing a bit of code that I think you'll like."
Yep like it a lot.

[Gigacore]

I can't see any sidebar at all

[dotty999]

Thanks for that Mike! has anyone told you how wonderful you are? now..lemme just mention a few more glitches I've noticed.. JOKING

[DarqueMist]

Originally Posted by TechGuy

Alright, I get it. A lot of people don't like the tag cloud. I'm not sure if I'm in the minority in liking it, or if the minority who feel so strongly against it are just very loud.

You have to remember human nature Mike, when we have a complaint we scream at the top of our lungs wanting everyone to hear and console us. When we are content we say nothing, take all those members not saying anything as being happy with your changes.

[good grief]

I like the tag cloud just fine. I think it'll be really useful when it fills up a bit more. I've used it on Flickr before, and got some good results. I just minimise it unless I'm using it.

[hewee]

Well I used Adblock Plus: Element Hiding Helper to hid all of the sidebar every where.
Even being a Premium Member I do not like that sidebar on the main page.

[JohnWill]

Truthfully, I just ignore it. Besides, I rarely visit the main forum index anymore, we have that convenient toolbar that takes you to any forum directly.

[hewee]

True it is just the one main page for Premium Members.

[grandma77]

Mike you are doing a wonderful job!! Even when we whine you try to appease us. Thank you for all you do and I know in the last few weeks you must feel stretched to the limit. I just want you to know I am thankful for all you do.