This is intended as a counter view to the spate of diaries predicting that the conversion to DK4 will result in the utter destruction of all that is good and holy on Daily Kos. I've spent some time on the beta site and I see the new layout as representing progress on the whole.
The beta site is located at: http://www.dailykosbeta.com/
The reality has always been that a large site like Daily Kos is made up of people with diverse interest and purposes. Each of us is inclined to think that the site should serve our interest and are disposed to define the PURPOSE of the site accordingly. I think that the new site is likely to serve my purposes better than the old one. There appears to be at least one other person who has formed a similar opinion. His name is Markos.
The case I wish to make here is for a speedy conversion. I don't see any bugs that are serious enough to prevent the site form functioning. The biggest problem I see at present is the slow page loading. That appears to be a function of limited hardware. I would urge the management team to put enough muscle on the beta site to eliminate that problem now. That should make some people more optimistic about the future.
Now that the new design is out for all to see, there is a growing debate about it. I mean, this is Daily Kos. What else would you expect. It seems to me that the design is something that has already been decided and that tweaking is as much change as is likely to happen. Given that anything entered to the beta site will be lost in the conversion there doesn't seem much point in investing large amounts of time and energy there beyond what is necessary to get familiar with the layout. Therefore, the business of really getting used to it won't begin until it is Daily Kos. Many people won't even look at the beta.
The longer things remain in the present state of anticipation the more anxiety and controversy will build. We are already getting the GBCWDK4 diaries on the rec list. I advocate making the conversion happen as soon as is administratively feasible and then we can get on with the business of coming to terms with it.