I don’t understand; I really don’t. There is a big (growing) movement among the haters. Facebook is getting closer and closer to forcing everyone over to the new layout and phasing out the old one, and they’re becoming more and more frantic. There’s a couple of groups over a million members strong: Petition Against the New Facebook, 1,000,000 Against the New Facebook Layout plus plenty others of smaller sizes but the total Facebook population is over 100 million; are these significant numbers in the big picture?

I take back what I said. I can understand a little why people are so upset, but only because the changes are so radical. I’m not too proud to admit that the new interface isn’t flawless. It’s stumped me more than once while trying to find my way around, and in a couple of places it was downright broken. This hasn’t been the norm for the new Facebook layout, and compared to a lot of applications out there, it’s a shining example of navigation design. The problem with all this noise people are raising is that they could spend as much time as they are joining groups and posting in forums to just get used to the new site. Complaints about being lost in the navigation are only a part of the complaints. A lot of them are just plain ignorant. I’ll tackle this top ten list posted by the leader of the Petition Against the New Facebook group.

10. Left side shortcuts to apps and groups are gone tied with the layout is too wide

Ok, that’s cheating. You can’t put two points in one bullet.

Fine, I’ll take them both. The application shortcuts are more customizable than ever and are in a static location on the left side of the chat bar at the bottom. If you want to jump to an application you no longer have to scroll to the top of the page.

The new layout is approximately 980 pixels wide. That will fit on a 17" 1024×768 monitor when you maximize your browser. I don’t understand what you’re complaining about there.

9. There is too much blank space on the main profile page and it’s boring

If we’re making a logical argument ‘boring’ is a pretty subjective word to be using. Maybe you’re confusing blank space with much needed breathing room following the app cramped layout of old Facebook. Whether it’s boring or not is up to you. Some apps can be placed on the main ‘Wall’ tab. The main content of your profile is what you do on Facebook, and that will all show up on your wall.

8. The new layout is starting to look more and more like MySpace

Really? No, really? I mean, have you ever actually visited MySpace? Doesn’t look much like new facebook to me.

7. Personality is gone from everyone’s main page

In my opinion (and apparently in the designer’s opinion) personality had gotten a little out of hand with the direction apps were moving. With this redesign they’ve gotten them a little more under control. In the next few months we’ll probably see the restrictions on popular apps loosen up a bit, but for now only a few are allowed to be brought outside the ‘Boxes’ tab on your profile. On the other hand, how does the all-in-one wall/mini-feed not convey a sense of your personality?

6. You can no longer minimize or move applications around the way you want to

I don’t know what ‘way you want to’ but yes you can move them around like you used to. You actually can customize your profile more than you could before thanks to the tabs they introduced. It’s a courtesy to other users that you can’t put applications in certain places. There are people out there who might be interested in finding out about you through the info tab instead without having to wade through the twenty or more applications you might have added.

5. The new layout is not centered and looks messy

The centered part? I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s as centered as the old layout which was pretty much in the center of the page. I’ll make the concession that it does look a little disorganized at first glance, but take a moment to consider the organization behind it. Your gateway into the world of apps is all in the bottom left. A few useful quick links are in the top left. Chat is the same as it was before. Any navigation around someone’s profile is done from the left, under their photo just like before, or by the tabs which are new. The tabs are there so you don’t have to scroll for a million years to write on someone’s wall.

4. The wall and mini-feed are now one thing

This is one of the most legitimate points on this list. To be honest, at times I can still be confused about exactly how the new mega-wall-feed works, but if you give it a chance you’ll realize this actually simplifies things. It reconnects everything one person does into a single feed, bringing more information together to make it easier to find. Someone leaves a comment on one of their pictures and it’s on the wall of both people involved. Status updates and all forms of nested replies are possible with the new mega-wall-feed.

3. The new layout looks confusing and is no longer user friendly

Yes, it’s confusing. When I first joined Facebook it was far more confusing than this new layout was. From a technical standpoint it’s far more user friendly than the older layout was. If you really want I could help show you around and help you learn how to get around in the new Facebook. Leave me a comment and we can hook up.

2. Many applications are no longer compatible with the new layout

Many applications are absolute crap and were created with the sole purpose of exploiting you and all your friends to look at ads in order to buy the developer another six pack. If an application is worth your time, the developers will get on top of that, stat.

1. Applications and general info are on different pages

Finally; thank god.

Those are my points. If anyone wants to pick up the torch and clarify any of these arguments against the new design I’ll listen with an open mind. I’m no Facebook fanboy and I’m more than happy to discuss good design with the new layout as the guinea pig, but most of what I see in these ten points are just people hating on change, even when the change is for the better.