30 replies to this topic

[cxwq]

So what do you think of the new portal page?

[Black Wrath]

.:BlueIce:.

Nice one.

I for one like the new portal. It's more cluttered, but now it's easier to see what's going on at the 'Haven. I applaud the new look, and it looks nothing like other sites, it's our special uniqeness. I like how the lastest posts are shown in full, but I dislike how the newest posts are also shown on the side the way they are in the forum... I liked the old way they were displayed. Great job, God.

[Black Blade]

I like the old one it was simpler.

[IronRhino]

It'll take some getting used to, but it'll be better in the long run.

[Chrysophylax]

I liked the old one for asthetics, but for practicality this new one takes the cake. One thing though, you cannot see who wrote any of the articles without clicking on the link. It appears as if you have written all of them.

[Spectre2689]

I like it a LOT. Looks amazing, more professional than before. Keep up the good work.

[NerfManiac]

I like it a lot. It gives me an ego boost for some reason...

[Zero Talent]

The latest discussions dialogue seems a tad far away. I'm not the biggest fan of pictures, but I'm sure visitors, who are most likely to see the portal page, are. However, the text-heavy intro certainly sets the mood of the site. Nice facelift.

[cxwq]

One thing though, you cannot see who wrote any of the articles without clicking on the link.

Future articles will be posted by the author so you will see their avatar and name next to the post. I just posted up all the legacy content to get it in the system.

At some point I may go into the database and edit the poster ID on those so that it reflects the original author.

[ItalionStallion]

I really think that it does alot for the site. Nice improvement.

I do think that you need to move the recent forum posts up a little and move the articles a little bit.

It reminds me of NO a bit.

[cxwq]

If there is no interest in the "Read: xx Comments: xx" row in the Latest Discussions box, I can take that back out quite easily. I like it because the portal is my main view on the forum and it gives me more information. This would result in two lines of text per thread rather than three and shorten it up considerably. Show of hands?

Regarding positioning, we currently have:

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Are there any that are considered by all to be useless? What would you like moved under Latest Discussions to get that up the page a bit? We won't always have a poll on the portal, and most will probably be shorter than this one.

I'm not going to make any changes to this unless there is a very clear majority who favor a particular change.

At some point in the future I will probably make this column user customizable so that you can pick which boxes you want to see, provided that you are logged in.

[Ironman]

.:BlueIce:.

Nice one.

I for one like the new portal. It's more cluttered, but now it's easier to see what's going on at the 'Haven. I applaud the new look, and it looks nothing like other sites, it's our special uniqeness. I like how the lastest posts are shown in full, but I dislike how the newest posts are also shown on the side the way they are in the forum... I liked the old way they were displayed. Great job, God.

Ha ha nice that kid is geting alot of fame, though.

[Ice Nine]

Hey, cx, you missed the very lowest rating: Mad Cow.

[sporkboyofjustice]

If there is no interest in the "Read: xx Comments: xx" row in the Latest Discussions box, I can take that back out quite easily. I like it because the portal is my main view on the forum and it gives me more information. This would result in two lines of text per thread rather than three and shorten it up considerably. Show of hands?

Regarding positioning, we currently have:

Login
PM
Search
Navigation
Online Users
Poll
Latest Discussions

Are there any that are considered by all to be useless? What would you like moved under Latest Discussions to get that up the page a bit? We won't always have a poll on the portal, and most will probably be shorter than this one.

I'm not going to make any changes to this unless there is a very clear majority who favor a particular change.

At some point in the future I will probably make this column user customizable so that you can pick which boxes you want to see, provided that you are logged in.

I'll go ahead and address your question cxwq first and then add my generic comments after. The order that I would like to see things in would be

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I've eliminated navigation as that is already covered on the very top of the page, I think a poll could go into a middle column and take up a little space from the article section. This would be closer to my ideal of having the things that I use without needing to scroll. There was some old data that said something like 75 percent of users only look at your opening screen and if they have to scroll they won't.

I liked that there was minimum info on topic links, just the thread name and name of the last poster. I also think that a bit much space is dedicated to the articles, things that people would only read once yet the things people use daily are smushed to the side of the page. If the forums will be used for articles does that mean that anyone willy nilly can post articles such as “So and so is a douche bag: a 5000 word essay by me”. This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy a good douche bag story from time to time, it just seems that you will lose your quality control. If some jerk posts something offensive and it goes dirrectly to the front page then it will make the site look bad. I do like that people can comment and hopefully the original article poster will be able to make changes.

I do however like that my inbox link button is now conveniently located. Sorry if my words came out a little on the harsh side, it's been a rough day so far. I would like to ask a question though; on the poll you mention, "Super 133t", what the heck does that mean?

[Blue Ice]

ouch

[cxwq]

I've eliminated navigation as that is already covered on the very top of the page

Excellent point! I've been working on this for a week or so and I didn't get the nav bar into the header until this morning so I didn't catch the duplication. Done!

I liked that there was minimum info on topic links, just the thread name and name of the last poster. 

OK, that's another vote for getting rid of the extra info in latest discussions.

I also think that a bit much space is dedicated to the articles, things that people would only read once yet the things people use daily are smushed to the side of the page.

I agree, to an extent. I think it's nice to have some recent articles featured prominently on the portal because that's the first thing new visitors see.

If the forums will be used for articles does that mean that anyone willy nilly can post articles such as “So and so is a douche bag: a 5000 word essay by me”.

Try it. <g>

[Langley]

Speaking of articles, how does one submit an article with the new system?

Edit: Adding something to the articles section on the main page so that lengthly titles are preceded by an elipsis instead of just getting cut off would probably be good.

Edited by Langley, 23 February 2004 - 11:14 PM.

[Famine]

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I liked that there was minimum info on topic links, just the thread name and name of the last poster. I also think that a bit much space is dedicated to the articles

... that pretty much sums up my feelings on that.

I'd like to see how the Latest Discussions look after you pull all that other crap out of there, the name of the topic and the last person to post is really all the info I need. The main forum navigation is always there if someone wants to be able to get more info at a glance.

Also, about the way that articles are handled now; is there any way to make it so that they can't be replied to? I know that whenever a new article gets posted a forum discussion about it inevitably ensues but can we keep the two seperate? I dunno, my 2 cents.

... the whole thing does look nice though, very... us.

[VACC]

I can honestly say, in regards to the new portal page, that I've never orgasmed so hard without the aid of cool-whip...

[cxwq]

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I liked that there was minimum info on topic links, just the thread name and name of the last poster.  I also think that a bit much space is dedicated to the articles

... that pretty much sums up my feelings on that.

Alright, since I happen to think you two are on to something I went ahead and did that. Definitely looks less 'busy' with the search box and online users off the (typical) screen.

[Grinch]

I liked the old one. The new one seems much to cramped, and not as organized and neat.

[Famine]

Alright, since I happen to think you two are on to something I went ahead and did that. Definitely looks less 'busy' with the search box and online users off the (typical) screen.

Thanks CX, makes a huge difference in my opinion.

[sporkboyofjustice]

This morning’s version is much better. I will try posting an article when I have a little longer break and see how that works. I do agree that some articleness is important for new users are important. I know when I first visit a site I don't jump into the forums right away, they can be intimidating, especially with this group. I do think that the article snippet might be a tad long; a concise opening paragraph would be nice.

I know I can’t control how someone writes but seeing more titles and less content would work better for me. In this way someone can find an article that interests them with minimal scrolling and reading. Thanks for taking my suggestions into consideration. Perhaps a guide to good article writing is in order, I may be able to come up with something for that with some input from the masses.

[cxwq]

I will try posting an article when I have a little longer break and see how that works.

Perhaps I was a little too oblique.

Only admins can post in the News and Articles forums so you won't see any random crap there.

[Langley]

So how do we lowly members get our articles submitted? And if we do become contributors after the obligatory 5 good submissions, then do we get to post in the articles forum?