/article/2010/08/16/145833-apple_support_discussions_500.jpg?lossy)
As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, Apple has announced what it is calling a "major upgrade" to its support forums, bringing increased social aspects to the site. The changes, which are simply said to be going live "very soon", will see the "Apple Discussions" forums rebranded as "Apple Support Communities".
Very soon a major change will be taking place here at Apple Discussions. To help you prepare we have created some documents to give some insight and instructions on this major upgrade.
Apple has also posted a series of documents highlighted by an introduction to the new support community. While many of the items seem to describe enhanced versions of features already present in Apple Discussions and no screenshots showing how the user interface will change have been posted, a focus does seem to have been placed on socializing and customization.
While users are currently able to fill out some basic profile information, it appears that Apple will be offering additional support to help users identify themselves within the Apple Support Communities. In addition, users will be able to take advantage of more customization options such as widgets that will offer them easy access to areas of the discussion forums that interest them most.
A discussion thread on the changes suggest that the new format has been in beta testing, although it is unclear just how widespread the testing has been.
