Introducing the new Virgin Media Community

[Kei_M]

Huzzah! 🍾

After many years (8!) on the previous iteration, we’re delighted to announce our Virgin Media Community has had an upgrade.

2011 (courtesy of waybackmachine 😊)

2014

2015

Aside from the fact that it's been a while, it’s also given us an opportunity to greatly simplify things and put everything on a crash diet 🍔;

• We’ve reduced the number of different layouts (over 20 😱) to around 5. This should mean it’s easier to get to grips with particularly for newer users.
• We’ve removed a lot of redundant background code ❌ that should speed it up as well 🏎. It also allows us to do platform updates in the future without a constant fear 😱 of something breaking.
• No more going backwards to go forwards! ⏪ There’s now a persistent navigation bar along the top on desktop view or within the menu bar on mobile view so it reduces the instances where you need to go back to a previous page to navigate the site.

Let us know your thoughts or you have any questions below 👇

[mackerbootle]

Whoever designed this new forum layout I'm sorry to say needs sacking. It awful. I run my own forum using phpBB software which is easy to navigate. This new Virgin Media forum is not user-friendly at all, and navigating between posts and topics is a nightmare. Sorry Guys, this update gets a big thumbs down from me.

You really need to roll this back to the previous version.

[Oxo29]

I think it should be noted who the 8 people are that gave this a like. Certainly don't ask them for opinion on anything.

It gets worse every time I look at it.  Notifications, how do I delete the ones I've read? 

Is there really no way to see a forum in a single line - that's a basic.

[ALF28]

printing- has changed.

I problems trying to print a post, the usual righ click and select print did not work, I had to select the print post option and then control p to print the screen.

The website is very slow today with noticable delays when navigating .

It may be because I was using the firefox browser?

[newuser23]

Yes this forum is badly designed. It must have been tested only on a desktop screen because with a phone you are always scrolling through lots of pinned posts to find anything.

But what I really don't understand is what the official paid staff are doing here.  When customers come asking for help, the staff just keep asking the same questions back - have our team called you back?  what did they do? is it sorted?   This board works backwords - anywhere else the customers ask the questions and the company try to find the answers. With Virgin it is the company that asks the questions and the poor users don't have the answers.

[Sandrah]

I don't like it, it's too confusing. why change something that worked to something that doesn't work, a resounding NO from me.

[Richardr1]

Mobile for me doesn't give a list of forums when I click the menu on the top left. All I get is a lot of white space, and then external links to Virgin Media, My Virgin Media, Shop, and Help at the bottom. Using Edge on Android.

Not putting the date of the most recent post is an issue - one can't see, for example, posts made in the past day or whenever one last visited the forum.

I take it there is no easy way to quote a previous post when posting.

[Martyn]

no longer a "forum" wheres the "newest posts" etc? also its it just me or does it feel slower?? response wise.

[alphaomega16]

oh dear god in heaven WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO, CHANGE IT BACK, CHANGE IT BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK

God this site is a complete garbage dump holy crap, everything is taking up like 10x more space, it is not as intuitive and is a horrific experience.

Seriously what idiots are they letting design websites the past few years, whoever done this redesign do they have a prescription for 3 inch thick glasses or what?

How many 95% blind people did this decision go through?

>"After many years (8!) on the previous iteration, we’re delighted to announce our Virgin Media Community has had an upgrade."

NO, this is not an upgrade, this is a MASSIVE downgrade and was a complete waste of time but hey in todays age its "If it aint broke, break it"

>"Aside from the fact that it's been a while, it’s also given us an opportunity to greatly simplify things and put everything on a crash diet"

How the hell was anything simplified, it took me over 5 minutes to figure out how to get to somewhere where a discussion on this dumpsterfire of a ui was taking place.

>"No more going backwards to go forwards"

That is literally what you have just done, gone waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in terms of usefulness, WEBSITES NEED TO STOP MAKING BIG BLOCKY MESSES.  This forum is absolutely horrific to use now and on a 1080p monitor now the networking and wifi I can see 4 posts in the window TWO AND A HALF, SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL.

Dear god in heaven give everyone in the line of authorization on this mess some common sense and 20/20 vision to see how horrific this is.

If you want to make a step forward for your forums let us quote posts, I still have no idea how to quote someone because there isnt a button for it and the few times ive asked ive gotten no response.  Good lord this whole site is horrific now, even 2011 was better than this.

Lets have an actual forum topic view comparison

HOW IS THIS NEW FORMAT BETTER.  4 Posts on new layout, 10 on the old.

[Sephiroth]

They can ban me if they want, Tony.  It would prove my point.

[Cardiffman282]

The only logic I can see to the change is that it now mirrors the O2 Khoros community forum setup re bringing about closer alignment overall. I suppose at some point the two will merge in to a single mega VM O2 forum. Oh joy... 

[Sephiroth]

Awful.  What were they thinking?

[jpeg1]

Hi. I just looked in after a break, to see what improvements might have been made to this abysmally "better" forum. Or just possibly to find that good sense had prevailed and the previous forum had been reinstated. 

Instead I find that not only is it still doing the same job of driving help requests away, but that now the email links I receive are leading to removed posts.

Virginmedia's customer relations have now achieved the apparently impossible, and descended to an even lower level. Senior management who set these priorities must be really pleased. 

[Cardiffman282]

Huzzah! 🍾

[Oxo29]

I can't even find my own posts..is there a way?

[Cardiffman282]

Thus is the way of the labyrinth my son. Yeah just go to your profile and view your posts and replies from there. 

[jhuk]

Too much hard work to do someone basic like see the last post on a thread I took part in.

I also took a break to try it with fresh eyes but it just makes me eyes feel Stange (not sure if all the white space).

[Alby401]

I am sorry but I do not like the new site .. perhaps you cannot teach an old dog new tricks . I very much liked the previous community chat site. I find this new effort disjointed and hard to follow threads and thoughts ... I used to view several times a week but alas not this .. it may be for some a needed change not for me .. and that is my opinion .. a subscriber to Virgin media for many a year...... who said the previous needed change I thought it superb.

[mackerbootle]

I give up trying to use this new Forum now.

Congratulations Virgin Media, you have now officially created the worst support forum ever.

[Dav1d]

In the first post it says:

"Let us know your thoughts or you have any questions below"

3 pages of negative comments (I do not remember seeing anything positive) later and no response from Virgin Media. It's as if they did not really expect anyone to dislike it.

I agree with the comment above: "Congratulations Virgin Media, you have now officially created the worst support forum ever"

[Sandrah]

It wouldn't be hard for them to put it back the way it was. what you should have done VM is give the new layout a public trial for 2 weeks just to get feedback, and as no one likes this layout change it back. it's like you've apprenticed a 15 year old to design this, am I right.