RIP old Vacuumland.

VacuumLand – Vintage & Modern Vacuum Enthusiasts

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amtraksebo1997

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 13, 2022
Messages
370
Location
Vacmasterthegreats basement
It's over. Classic Vacuumland is no more.

All of this came as a huge shock to me. I was just refreshing the site, with one second it being the old design, and the next it being this new one. I saw the site creator's thread on how he wanted to "pass the torch" to someone else in terms of running the site, and knew that something like this could eventually happen, but all of this still blows. One of the core appeals for me was this site's old school design and UI. It looked as though it'd never been updated since the site's launch in 2006, and I was all for it. In fact, I even was planning on making an entire thread dedicated to appreciating the site's look, but now I can't. Now it just looks like some generic forum site, with 90% of it's heart and soul ripped out.

Don't take this as me saying that the old Vacuumland was perfect and did not need change at all. For one thing, it's nice to finally have notifications, instead of needing to go to each individual thread to see if there was any activity on it. Also, I don't think basic features like being able to delete comments and posts, change fonts, and other things should've been locked behind a subscription.

In all fairness, I'm only just starting to navigate and learn about this new version of the site, but from what I've seen, there's a few things that I don't like already, those being the new way user-uploaded images are displayed, the fact that threads are no longer continuous and now are broken up by tabs, and generally how clunky and confusing it is to navigate compared to the old version (though I may get used to it).

Now, if I had it my way, I'd like there to be a "classic mode" for this site that could be enabled through some settings page. Basically, I'd want most if not all of the features of the current version, but with the old UI and look. However, I don't know if that could/will be a thing someday.

Either way, I'm sad. Press F to pay respects for the old Vacuumland.

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While the overhaul may have been arguably long overdue, unannounced changes still can be a shock to the system, but the more I explore the new Vacuumland, the more I find to like about it. Still, there are a couple of features I miss:
  • Different visual themes for each forum--This was a subtle, yet handy visual cue to inform me of where I was on the site--green for Vintage, blue for Contemporary, yellow for Household, etc. I'd definitely like to see this resurrected, if possible.
  • Vacuum of the Day--This was just a fun feature. I realize that most, if not all, of the VotD images are located under the Media tab, but it's not the same thing. I guess I'll get used to it not being there.
I'm still learning to navigate the new site, and I'm sure I'll grow more accustomed to it as time goes on. The important thing is this community is still intact and the conversations will continue.
 
I agree, Human. While I never really looked at the Vacuum of the Day page very often, it was kinda neat being able to see ads/brochures for obscure vintage machines. However, the color-coated forums are something that I'll also greatly miss. I'm having trouble just getting to the main page of just one forum. Again, this site basically got its soul ripped out and replaced with a generic forum template of some kind.
 
It's so odd feeling. Like you know you're on vacuumland and you know why it changed, but there's a disconnect... like you're on some other random website. Funny this happened as I'm changing to a new laptop.
Like I said, it feels like everything that made this site special (aside from it's subject matter), was ripped from it and replaced with a generic template. It's kind of like how Mcdonalds resturants used to have their own unique looks and colors, but now almost all of them look like grey boxes with random metal parts sticking out of them, with their logos being the only thing that identifies them as Mcdonalds.
 
This SUCKS!!! and not in a good way. I emailed Robert when he first announced that he was retiring about the possibly of the Vacuum Cleaner Collector’s club buying VacuumLand back. VacuumLand was given to Robert back in 2013 by our former president who is now deceased. The club membership did not get to vote on it. This is still my biggest gripe.

I’m not really upset it was sold. I’m more put off by the fact that I was completely ignored. Either Robert didn’t see the email or ignored it. The original VCCC that started this site is not supposed to have it back for some reason. To be honest, I was torn on the issue anyway. We discussed it at our membership meeting last year and one member said he didn’t want it back due to the drama that was on this site. Which is understandable. Now, that times have changed Facebook gets more engagement anyway. It would be nice for the club to have but we really don’t need it to attract new members.

It makes me wonder how the new company will handle the drama that arises without knowing the history or all of the players. I’m over it anyway. Vacuumland now, looks like a time warp back to 1996.

Kenny Loveland
VCCC Treasurer
 
It's over. Classic Vacuumland is no more.

All of this came as a huge shock to me. I was just refreshing the site, with one second it being the old design, and the next it being this new one. I saw the site creator's thread on how he wanted to "pass the torch" to someone else in terms of running the site, and knew that something like this could eventually happen, but all of this still blows. One of the core appeals for me was this site's old school design and UI. It looked as though it'd never been updated since the site's launch in 2006, and I was all for it. In fact, I even was planning on making an entire thread dedicated to appreciating the site's look, but now I can't. Now it just looks like some generic forum site, with 90% of it's heart and soul ripped out.

Don't take this as me saying that the old Vacuumland was perfect and did not need change at all. For one thing, it's nice to finally have notifications, instead of needing to go to each individual thread to see if there was any activity on it. Also, I don't think basic features like being able to delete comments and posts, change fonts, and other things should've been locked behind a subscription.

In all fairness, I'm only just starting to navigate and learn about this new version of the site, but from what I've seen, there's a few things that I don't like already, those being the new way user-uploaded images are displayed, the fact that threads are no longer continuous and now are broken up by tabs, and generally how clunky and confusing it is to navigate compared to the old version (though I may get used to it).

Now, if I had it my way, I'd like there to be a "classic mode" for this site that could be enabled through some settings page. Basically, I'd want most if not all of the features of the current version, but with the old UI and look. However, I don't know if that could/will be a thing someday.

Either way, I'm sad. Press F to pay respects for the old Vacuumland.

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Yeah, it kind of feels a relative dying. Things change nothing stays the same. But still UGH!!!
 
It appears the sister site (automaticwasher.org), at least for now, remains just the way it is. However, as what Kenny pointed out, nothing stays the same. I still miss the old YouTube days like for example when you had the five star rating, I know VidLii exists for that matter but not many people want to go back. And speaking of which, even if this website remained the same, I know that some members have already moved on and don't post here anymore. Even I could see myself possibly walking away in the future, not saying it'll happen but at some point I'll probably focus on other things that'd make it harder to still be active here. But nonetheless, I'm confident this change would make it so that VL is here for the long run. It's better than for it to go defunct all together.
 
This was such a jarring change for me. I just casually hopped on here yesterday morning; when I saw the entirely new layout, I was confused and assumed that the site got hacked. But that wasn't the case as time went on and posts were made regarding this ordeal.

The old design was simply unique and unlike any other forum out there. Nowadays, this new design looks no different than any other 2000s forum here on the Web.

As an individual on the autism spectrum, I used to struggle a lot with change. Although I've learned to better accept change as I grew up, the new VL layout is no exception. It'll take me some time to get used to all this.

It's kind of like how cell phones prior to the rise of the iPhone had their own unique colors, form factors and operating systems. Nowadays, all phones look the same: metal slabs with a giant touchscreen covered by a sheet of glass, devoid of any front buttons. The OS and back logos are the only distinguishing features.
 
I’m more put off by the fact that I was completely ignored. Either Robert didn’t see the email or ignored it.
Hi Kenny, I'm positive I never received or saw your email. I certainly would remember an email like that and for sure I would have responded to you. If I spaced it or accidently deleted it (which isn't like me) I do apologize to you.
 
Hi Kenny, I'm positive I never received or saw your email. I certainly would remember an email like that and for sure I would have responded to you. If I spaced it or accidently deleted it (which isn't like me) I do apologize to you.
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Robert, I sent it to your unimatic1140 address. I know email gets lost easily. I was just irritated I didn't get a response. I didn't push it because I didn't think it would be nice. I just re-forwarded them to you. Not that it matters now anyway. Kenny
 
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As much as us previous users may somewhat dislike it, this new design is much more user friendly than it used to be. I think this is a good thing! The only things I dislike are the new AI logo (just pick a picture/drawing!) and the lack of colour co-ordination. There are more benefits than negatives in my opinion though.
 
As much as us previous users may somewhat dislike it, this new design is much more user friendly than it used to be. I think this is a good thing! The only things I dislike are the new AI logo (just pick a picture/drawing!) and the lack of colour co-ordination. There are more benefits than negatives in my opinion though.
I'm not saying the old Vacuumland was a cake-walk to figure out and navigate, but at least for me, it's a lot more difficult.
 
No one has explained (or I didn't see the post). about pricing. Right, now it says I've been upgraded until June 14. After that it's $200.00 per year. Surely, that is a mistake. Can you elaborate?
 

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@kloveland, the pricing was incorrect, and it has been changed based on your old pricing scheme. Please take another look.
 
Now this site looks a lot like my lawnmower site I visit. I guess If you see me posting about Wheel Horse tractors here you'll just have to help me or ignore me till I realize I'm on the wrong site. This looks lousy all right, Grrr!
 
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