Dear Escapist: Board looks even uglier. Please fix.

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

I like it... it works properly on the IE6 at work!

(I never actually complained that the old lay-out didn't because it still functioned, and seriously... IE6!? If anyone was using that outside of their job I would just tell them to man up and upgrade already! :/)

Or drop Internet Explorer all together!

Safari. Firefox. Chrome. These are all respectable browsers.

As I said... it's work...! Trying to upgrade the entire MoD's system would be a battle not even worth starting! :/

I only use Chrome at home though!

 

[FalloutJack]

Pretty sure you know what it means, you're doing a fantastic job of acting like one here?

Cut the crap already and answer the damn question.

If he had done then he likely wouldn't have been suspended.

He did just that and yet he was still suspended.

If he'd just posted in the actual thread already set up for talking about this, even better.

And that should be a bannable offense because?

None of those quotes are mine.

People are getting suspended for blatantly insulting the staff, as they would be warned for blatantly insulting one another.

 

[Goofguy]

I guess we should be thankful for the new badge slot...?

NOOOOOOO!!!!

I mean that is the only thing I didn't like about this! (and that's not worth mentioning)
I mean I have 4 candy badges and now I had to figure something out for the fifth place!

WHY GOD WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!????

So on a serious note, yeah the extra badge wasn't for me but I don't mind them changing the layout.
People complain now in a week no one remembers what the old one looked like (hell I already forgott).

I guess if you're that neurotic about badges then yes, it kind of sucks. I was being mildly facetious, I am very much indifferent about the 5th badge.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Crossposting this from the other thread because, well, Nasrin and Susan are both reading and posting in this one, but not so much the other one.

I think it's okay, but I agree that the gray would be a bit better if it were blue. Also, all of text on the left side of the screen (post count, join date, and posting title) is now too small to match the rest of the text. It's completely dwarfed by the user name, and also significantly smaller than the rest of the text. Make it the size of the text for the date posted, or even the default size of the regular text, and it will look better.

Now, so far it's been personal preference, but this last bit is a serious case of "the current design is going to have unintended consequences, please fix it": the report button. It's right next to the post and quote buttons. That's going to lead to a lot of accidental clicks in the long run. Personally, I think it should either be swapped with the current position of the PM button, or put down on the lower right corner, but really any of the other corners will be better than where it is now.

Other than that, the current design is fine in my book. For once, this is an alright change. It's a change to something that didn't really /need/ to be changed, but it's essentially a neutral change, especially since the report button was easy to accidentally click on the old design too (though not /as/ easy.)

A couple of other things that came to mind after initially posting this: the gray bars could almost stand to be a dark red, if the bars on the sides were more blueish and less black. But the point is the site needs a bit more color, as it's too gray at the moment.

I also agree with the poster who said the avatars look weird now; there's too much blank space surrounding them.

 

[Bloodstain]

The new layout is okay. I actually do like the bars being grey (although I do support the notion of being able to change colours, having more options is always a good thing), but they should be of less height. Actually, the spacing/padding is too much in general -- I would like to see more of the posts, less of irrelevant space.
Oh, and can you please move the QUOTE/etc. buttons to the bottom of the posts again, or at least include an option for that?

Apart from that, I do like the layout. Make it thinner, move buttons, and it will be perfect. Right now I can't decide whether I prefer the old or the new one.

Regarding the OP's prosecution -- I too think that it was unjustified, but I reckon this matter has been discussed long enough.

 

[McMullen]

Lot of people getting into fights with the admins over this. Some are even daring the admins to bring the banhammer it seems.

You know what? I change my mind. I think I like my problems. They're big problems, and they cause me a great amount of stress, but I'm glad to have my problems instead of the ones being complained about here because it means that, in my life, a new layout for a website I read is not that big a deal.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

You know what? I change my mind. I think I like my problems. They're big problems, and they cause me a great amount of stress, but I'm glad to have my problems instead of the ones being complained about here because it means that, in my life, a new layout for a website I read is not that big a deal.

Feeling superior, are we? There's absolutely nothing wrong with criticizing a layout change on a website you use regularly. Newsflash: it's not a huge deal to any of us, but it should be to Themis Media, because a bad enough design can and will drive their customers away. We're actually helping them by criticizing the design. What have you done aside from belittling everyone here?

 

[Argtee]

It doesn't look too bad...

Could we get a way to make it darker though? My eye's aren't used to this much brightness.

 

[fenrizz]

Dear Escapist, the new look is much cleaner and once we get used to it will make the site easier to navigate and read.

Thanks for the hard work you did on the redesign.

I agree.

This is much better than the other designs we have seen the last year.

 

[Luna]

I agree with OP, and the fact that he was suspended for this is a bad look for the site and its inability to take criticism.

It's been stated over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over that you need to disagree agreeably.

If you're snarky and abrasive, then you're breaking the catch-all "Don't be a Jerk" rule regardless of WHAT you're saying. Lots of people are criticizing it pleasantly, and there's no problems for them.

Jack was warned in the other thread to be nice, so he makes his own thread and snarks. What did you THINK would happen?

Seriously, have people forgotten the grand art of "tact"?

The don't be a jerk rule is very very bendy.


Oh you asked me a rhetorical question, that means you think I need to think about something so you're being condescending and thus a jerk so you deserve a warning.


^of course I don't think this. But the don't be a jerk is really subjective IMO.

 

[Argtee]

Could we get a way to make it darker though? My eye's aren't used to this much brightness.

There's already a way to make it darker. Hover over the cog wheel icon at the top, next to the message icon, and choose one of the four background color options in there.

If you mean still darker than that, well it would seem that's not really possible.

Whoa, I didn't even realize that. Thanks!

 

[McMullen]

You know what? I change my mind. I think I like my problems. They're big problems, and they cause me a great amount of stress, but I'm glad to have my problems instead of the ones being complained about here because it means that, in my life, a new layout for a website I read is not that big a deal.

Feeling superior, are we? There's absolutely nothing wrong with criticizing a layout change on a website you use regularly. Newsflash: it's not a huge deal to any of us, but it should be to Themis Media, because a bad enough design can and will drive their customers away. We're actually helping them by criticizing the design. What have you done aside from belittling everyone here?

There's nothing wrong with criticizing the layout, but it's truly bizarre how people are attacking the admins and getting themselves banned over it. I was trying to comment on how much RAEG there was in this thread and how many insults were being leveled at the admins over a simple layout change.

 

[Susan Arendt]

You know what? I change my mind. I think I like my problems. They're big problems, and they cause me a great amount of stress, but I'm glad to have my problems instead of the ones being complained about here because it means that, in my life, a new layout for a website I read is not that big a deal.

Feeling superior, are we? There's absolutely nothing wrong with criticizing a layout change on a website you use regularly. Newsflash: it's not a huge deal to any of us, but it should be to Themis Media, because a bad enough design can and will drive their customers away. We're actually helping them by criticizing the design. What have you done aside from belittling everyone here?

There's nothing wrong with criticizing the layout, but it's truly bizarre how people are attacking the admins and getting themselves banned over it. I was trying to comment on how much RAEG there was in this thread and how many insults were being leveled at the admins over a simple layout change.

Anyway, you're both right. In the grand scheme of things, a website layout isn't remotely important, not when compared with things like health or the mortgage or something. But it's also the small pleasures that make life bearable, and visiting a favorite site is one of those. So we do want to make the experience as enjoyable as we can for people, and feedback about design changes is part of that.

So you both have the proper perspective.