Left Side Bar Can Now Be Turned Off In "My Preferences"

Those who may not wish to see the left side bar can now turn it off in your "My Preferences" drop down selection in the "My Messages & Other Stuff" menu on the menu bar.

I do appreciate that change which makes the forum more user-friendly.

Hhowever, when will we be able to turn off a whole page of junk before we ever get to any messages?

All the temperature, big banner, money appeal, Sabbath Closing, etc. take a LONG time to load on a slow connection and are the main reason I don't check in to MSDAOL very often. BlackSDA performs much better because it is not so bloated with extra junk.

Please don't misunderstand. I don't object to that stuff on the site, but it does look messy and slows down loading time considerably, and I suspect it costs you more readers/contributors than yours truly. You could probably put some of this in a side bar that can be turned off, if you really think this is importan. Alternately, you could have the money appeal in a "pinned" thread visible on the main page. A thread title takes up less room than the message.

[Edit] Just went to to the main forum page for the first time in many months and noticed that not only does the money appeal apppear abovethe actual forum page, but it alsoappears as the first message with a big moving text banner, disguised as a promo of a "free forum."

I have a strong suspicion that folks are more likely to contribute with less blatant pressure. (I think providing the ability to contribute is fine and good.)

Blessings,
Inga

I am also unfortunately on dial-up, however, it still loads quickly for me.

Does anybody else have any similar concerns?