The long-anticipated move by the popular Diehards.org to sever the last of its most visible ties to Morningstar.com has finally taken place.

The Bogleheads site, which started as the most well-read discussion forum at the Chicago-based funds research giant a decade ago, over the weekend dropped its split-screen policy. In the old format, Morningstar's existing Diehards discussion forum shared equal billing with the new Bogleheads forum.

But as of the weekend of June 1, when visitors go to the independent diehards.org, they'll only see one main forum - that of the Bogleheads.

The redesigned site also has dropped the "Diehards" moniker. It's now simply calling itself the "Bogleheads" in honor of indexing maverick and Vanguard Group founder John Bogle. The site's address has also been changed to www.bogleheads.org.

The site always had a "Bogleheads" teaser at the top. Now, it's official - both in address and name.

"When we decided to break off and start our own independent site, one of the original ideas was to call it Bogleheads," said Alex Frakt, the site's administrator. "The reason why we switched it now was to avoid confusion. It better reflects our investment philosophy."

The Saga Continues...

Perhaps the most interesting change, however, is that now viewers can't compare for themselves how many more discussions are going on at Bogleheads compared with Morningstar. That's an ongoing saga which continues to sever any lasting ties between indexed investors and Morningstar. (See related article.)

"It would appear that after a 15-month trial separation, the divorce is now final. Visitation rights are provided via a link to the M* site," wrote a Bogleheads poster named Stebul.

But another, calling himself Petrocelli, disagreed. "As one of the very first people to join this forum, I always enjoyed the ability to ‘one stop shop' by logging in to Diehards.org," he said.

Murfields pointed out that a link to Morningstar's Diehards site, along with several other places of interest, were still listed to the side. "I think the page and the creators should be praised. My only suggestion would be more use of black print," he said, referring to the more colorful new layout.

Longtime Diehards member Michael gave a resounding thumbs-up to the revamped Bogleheads site. "Outstanding update, IMO. Why take up half the screen with a dinosaur when a simple link to it is more than sufficient?"

He added: "The fat lady is warming up at the old M* site. Will the last Boglehead to leave please turn out the lights?"

In a post, Frakt explained the decision more fully.

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