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Flickr users: We hate the new site

Commenters on Flickr's forum say they don't like the new site format and want an option to revert to the old layout.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
2 min read
Bigger isn't better, say Flickr uers.
Bigger isn't better, say Flickr uers. Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET

Many Flickr users seem none too happy about the new layout, at least according to a heavy dose of comments posted on the site's help forum.

On Monday, Flickr's parent Yahoo unveiled a slew of changes to the photo-sharing site, revamping the familiar style of the home page, photo page, and photo stream page. The company also increased the free storage space per user to a hefty 1TB and updated its Android app. So, what's the problem?

Several users chiming in on the forum say the photos are now too big and "in your face." Others say the large layout makes it difficult to interact with their fellow Flickr users. And some say they just find the new look confusing and messy. Many of them are asking Yahoo to at least offer them an option to use the old layout.

"Messy, too different and doesn't work properly. Can we have the old one back and add the changes a bit at a time rather than big bang," one commenter said.

"While understanding the reasoning behind the layout change (making it more mobile device friendly), I feel that for your CORE users this is not an improvement. My suggestion would be to change it back or at least offer a toggle option between the new and old layout until people learn how to more effectively use it," another said.

"Change it back! This is awful -- the screen is cluttered -- beautiful or interesting images are reduced to just so much fodder on the page. This is hideous. Truly hideous," yet another added.

People never like changes to their favorite Web sites. So a certain amount of griping is to be expected. But the overwhelming negative comments about the new site indicate that Yahoo may have a problem on its hands.

The ball is now in Yahoo's court. Will it return to the old site layout, offer users an option to use the old style, or hope the whole thing blows over before too long?

Watch this: Yahoo revives Flickr with photo-centric redesign, 1TB free storage