I think the Phoenix couldn't be any easier, not even if we had a little anthropomorphized paper-clip helper. (Of course, it would be wearing a corset, which would be interesting...)

I much prefer this set-up. Threaded boards feel like you're wandering off into back streets when you try to follow one thread, then you have to try and figure out now to get back to where you were. Here we can refer specifically to something previous, and if you're a couple of days behind, your comment doesn't get lost at the end of a thread that no one is paying attention to anymore.

But there were people who didn't notice the "next/previous" links.

They're right there at the top and bottom of the posts. How much more obvious can you make them, unless they blink?

Also, having a board that keeps track of what you've read is so amazingly handy.

I've said it before after visiting other boards ... here is where it's at in terms of ease of navigation. I was pretty new to boards when I first came here, and it didn't take long to get the lay of the land (no porn intended). Maybe it's because this is where I learned, but many (most?) other fandom boards confuse the hell out of me. Talk about yer thread proliferation ... sheesh.

ETA: And it didn't take any time at all to figure out basic things like posting and how use the next/previous, first/last links, etc. It's very intuitive.

I think our navigation's incredibly intuitive, but as Dana said, that may just be because it's based on TT's style.

I also wonder if "hard to navigate" could be in reference to our creative thread-naming. [x-post, and nevermind, if the complaints were about "next" and "previous" buttons]

creative thread naming

That's a pretty good point, but they can just read the slugs and a few posts and catch up like all the rest of us.

I also wonder if "hard to navigate" could be in reference to our creative thread-naming.

It's possible, especially if they were looking for Wonderfalls stuff prior to our putting it in the slug. We know that Tim Minear is the producer, but perhaps they don't make the connection.

I think it's probably more a cultural thing than anything else. Most other boards out there allow any old person to start a new thread, and as a result people have more control over what they read, depending on the specificity of the thread topics.

Here, if you want to talk or read talk about Angel, you have to just dive into the thread, and deal with everything that comes up. You can't pick and choose among sixteen active threads, some of which are overlapping or redundant. For myself, I like this version because it enforces some community element: everyone talking about Angel is in the same room.

Anyway, I'm rambling, and this is pretty meta, so I'll stop.

They're right there at the top and bottom of the posts. How much more obvious can you make them, unless they blink?

Hmm. I wonder if having them slightly larger and on their own line would help?

I've been on boards with many kinds of interfaces, though never Table Talk.

This set up is clean and very intuitive as far as I can see. I go on the BronzeBeta or another threaded board and it drives me apeshit to try to find and follow a particular conversation.

If I were there all the time, I'm sure it wouldn't be as difficult, and I think the complaints you're reading (without knowing any specifics other than next/previous) are an artifact of getting to know ANY new interface.

That said, if it wouldn't frell something badly, why not just use a slightly larger font for that whole command bar? That might make it a bit easier for newbies to follow without having a blinking trail of pixie dust to follow.