The main thread on this issue is found here > http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/new-format-for-readerwordpress-website?replies=97

First of all since I have the dashboard address on my toolbar, whether or not it gets me to sign in, I go straight to my dashboard with no problem Then or Now... gee a shortcut!

Obviously clicking on it anytime can take me straight there.. By the way, if you think about it, a lot of you are simply referring to Navigational Tools... quite simply, change the way you 'browse' WordPress.. is actually nothing to do with them how you Choose to Browse it is your own problem.. (referring to Scottish comment of: "when you first come into wordpress" I find hugely amusing like you are serious you only use one way.. simply save as a bookmark or toolbar or even your desktop a shortcut to any page on the internet that you want....................

You seem to maintain something 'in an every person' state....

I do not have ANY problem with the way it works now..

Just saw the comment above here, little black bar is here also on the forum page.. If it isn't for that person, then I'd perhaps be checking on your browsers also...

I joined WP two years ago because it was streamlined and well put together, now everything (like the dashboard) is hidden and one must be a magician to figure it all out.

The reader and Freshly Pressed pages are horrible. Just horrible. The photos take up my entire screen - I'm not even sure which blog in the reader I should be reading - there is no fluid movement to these two pages at all. I will be missing out on a lot of my favourite bloggers because of this mess.

The little black bar at the top of the screen is gone, only visible when viewing blogs. Annoying.

I have never used quick press to write a new post - I tried it once and hated it. I certainly hope that these changes are temporary.

Seriously, WordPress - you've just gone and set yourself back 10 years.

Jennifer Avventura

Bookmarks / favorites are your friend. You can actually bookmark your dashboard (and stats page, if you are afraid WP will mess up your access to it), put it on your bookmarks toolbar, and you are always only one click away. You don't even have to go to the WP home page. (Shh, don't tell anyone at WP I said that.)

Please, everyone, come down off that ledge. :) Just back away slowly, use the slow 3-4 click method to find your dashboard, and bookmark it. Go somewhere else, and then click on the bookmark to come back, and suddenly you'll be there. It's ok. You'll be surprised -- the sun really will come up tomorrow.

If there's another page you use frequently, bookmark it, too, just in case WP annoyingly changes something else to make it hard to get to.

Then, stand up, look out the window, wave to your neighbour, and get a cup of coffee.

Have not looked yet at what has changed in regards to making new posts.

While in this post, you can still see the old header - top right hand corner is your image. Hover over that, then you get your blogs and the option to go to your dashboard.

When you first come into WordPress - the new header is shown. Your image is there, but the options have change. You cannot
get into your dashboard. In fact it is nowhere on the new layout.

As I've said, there is a workaround to get the old dashboard, but why has been made harder to get to it? Is this the next step to remove some/all of the options available within the dashboard? That is how it appears.

They have already replace stats a while back (with an improved version - albeit currently having issues), and the post facility has been updated (with a dumbed down version - which I don't like), and the new update has brought in the 'Change Appearance' to Manage Accounts (which currently doesn't work), so this is all hinting that the dashboard is to go eventually.

In the old version if somebody had a gallery or multiple images in a post multiple images would show in the reader for the excerpt. I really loved this feature when viewing photoblogs for example. Are there any changes of bringing this back?

Thank you for your consideration. :-)

1. That one large picture is shown in the reader. It takes up most of my screen vertically, and I'm having a real tough time reading posts, I basically gave up. Which is a shame, because I love reading posts through the reader. I liked the old way much better.

2. I really miss the black bar at the top of the reader. I use this to navigate, and now I'm getting lost in the reader. That some links are now at the bottom(?) I can live with, but I liked the top navbar a lot.

3. The new 'see your likes, comments, etc' button looks like a comment button, and it isn't intuitive for me what it does. I liked the old one better.

The typography looks really nice though, and the new like and follow buttons look fine too for me. Like the tag location and color, as well as the date published and the blog link.

Otherwise, would it be possible to have an option where you could have two/ three rows of posts with smaller boxes of the posts in the reader? It would it make it more readable.

I was really shocked though with the new layout, hopefully it will smooth out, though... :-)

Honest, I may not use the Reader very often, but the only MAJOR change is the sidebar going from the left side to the right side, now don't hate me for that, but if you guys were to give it a rest like for a Day or Two.. (or even 2 or 10 hours??? ) you may get a staff response by then. As it is obviously as you yak here being worked on and they cannot do everything at once, like if they are ironing out some glitches and getting it right, they are not going to answer anyone until they have.

Get creative and just work around the new layout and if it returns to the older style then great.. all the best but just relax, demands go 'nowhere' ville..... but in the end you are of course, free to do as you want don't take my comment to heart am only a blogger like you all... Goodnight from Australia.. :) as is just after 1 a.m

And while I want to applaud WordPress for trying to improve the service, I also feel that they haven't actually listened to some of the concerns being raised.

Luckily, I have found a way to still get to the dashboard, but if I am forced to use the 'Quick Post' in the future, then I will be transferring my blogs elsewhere.

While I get that it makes it easier for some people, I feel like the whole process is "dumbing down" my experience. I am losing control on how I want my blog to look and feel.

I came on here to blog, but I can't be bothered anymore.

As for this blue top bar, I thought they finally got rid of it ages ago! Why bring it back now?

Particularly given my blog averages out 14 - 20 of the stupidest and worst spam messages a week, and not being able to squelch/remove them promptly has proven to increase exponentially.

Don't get me wrong, Askimet is good... But it's not perfection. Particularly when you have folk in the former Soviet Bloc being paid $2/hour (American) to get crap spread for better search engine saturation.

have a good day / night where you are..

Would be great to manage everything on the that "manage my blogs" page though ... saves the clicking around.