Gathering CONSTRUCTIVE Comments About MGoBlog 3.0
Mates,
So this might be a good time to start gathering constructive comments about the new site. I get the feeling that transferring an entire blog from one platform to another is difficult, in the same way referring is difficult - We all want to complain but we'd be a lot less whiny if we were the ones tasked to do it and we had some experience doing so. Also remember that undoubtedly there has been a significant drop in user traffic this week and I'm sure Brian isn't digging that one bit since its no guarantee that it'll all come back.
I'm about as computer savvy as my cattle and my comments here will reflect that. You coding and computer whizzes should wade in with suggestions and comments though. This might be better as a diary, or mod deleted, or me sent to Bolivia, but in the spirit of constructive commentary lets see what we can put together for the computer crew:
1. For OP's, an Edit function would be helpful. Also think the old visible up vote/down vote for OPs would be good to come back. Lastly, how about any avatar picture for the posting OP.
2. For regular posts, Edit function and the old style up/down vote where both totals showed, not just a 'net' total.
3. Some form of easily visible notation of 'new' posts in any one thread. Makes for much quicker processing of lots of info, convenient when scrolling, etc.
4. Along the same lines, can we get a 'track' function back?
5. If you are on a user's posting history and you want to see where a specific comment is in a thread, when you click on that comment it takes you the top of the thread, not the comment itself.
6. What are the differences with the yellow lines or brackets in replies to OP's, and the dark ones? There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to them but I'm slow, so maybe there is one and I've missed it.
7. The banner pictures are: Robo-Chase + blind Trekkie + Tron with a hockey helmet. How about swapping those out for one of a million more inspiring possibilities of past or present players, the Big House, celebrations, campus pictures, muppets, or just about anything else?
Blaze away with hot takes. I've tried to be gentle about it b/c it would not be surprising if behind the scenes there is crying and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and I don't want to make it worse.
Hope you are all having a great summer weekend.
XM
Where to begin.....
First and foremost I realize two things:
1. I'm 58 so therefor NOT in the target demographic BC designed the site for
2. All changes of this magnitude are difficult for the end user. I've been through multiple system "upgrades" like this at work so I'm well aware that it takes time for users to become comfortable again with a new layout and navigation.
That being said however I'm hard pressed to find even ONE thing I find superior in this version over the last. I tried to respond to your comment on my phone but because I have an Android I cannot do so - since the change I've recieved an error message when logging in saying the password I've used for the past eight years is incorrect and I'm locked out for attempting too many log ins. So I had to wait until I got my tablet to type this.
To find your comment I had to scroll down off the main page, select the board tab, select it again to bring up this thread which was now not one of the top 7, reselect "show 100 comments" (because that isnt saving on my tablet - I just get the first 50) then try and find the comment cause it's buried somewhere now near the back. And because the icons are so small it was difficult to find you.
Based on the comments in this thread and more importantly the number of comments in general in any thread my guess is this transition is not being well recieved at ALL by the user community. Even boring threads in the past would garner 50-60 replies, now it's 10-15 tops. That right there is a clear indication that the traffic here has gone way down - I now my visits have plummeted from virtually constantly being on to only coming once or twice a day tops. I could go on and on with "constructive criticism" cause there's a jillion things I dislike but most have already been posted.
I guess what makes me a bit sad is to follow your building analogy a bit further it's like the builder put the garage door on the roof, decided to not put any toilet fixtures in and painted the whole building a bright pink. Then stood back and laughed at the occupants as we tried to make sense of what was constructed. I had a bad feeling when the "joke page" went up that this wasnt going to be well recieved but that nobody in management really gave a shit because us sheeple are too stupid to realize how awesome it really is.
I will like to up vote you but, in this new and improved site I'm not trusted anymore. I think I don't have enough points to do that, even though I've been a member for almost 9 years, so all I can do is +1.
Your house analogy made me think of an old Simpsons episode where the Flanders house was destroyed. The townspeople got together and rebuilt it for them. As much as Flanders wanted to be thankful for the kind gesture, the work was so slipshod and poorly thought out, he finally lashed out. His neighbors were taken aback, because they really felt entitled to be applauded for their "good intentions".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFAvOcuJyHY
Of course MGoBlog wasn't really broken. It had a few minor issues that didn't really bother me. I bet a large majority of users would promise Brian never to complain about 2.0 if it were restored.
Inserting URLs for Links -- Added Because I Still Don't Know How to Edit Posts in MGoBlog 3.0
It took some time before I figured out that the way to post links in MGoBlog 3.0 is to (a) copy the URL for the link, (b) click the link icon at the top of the message box, (c) paste the URL in the box and (d) click save. That's how you can insert the link in your post so that it takes just one click to connect to the YouTube video.
Also, if, like I do, you prefer to insert the link into some text like Hurricane Neddy - Rebuilding Ned's House, so that the lengthy URL doesn't appear in the body of your post, (a) copy the URL for the link, (b) highlight the text where you'd like to insert the text, (c) click the link icon at the top of the message box, (d) paste the URL in the box and (e) click save. The link then should be inserted in the highlighted part of the text.
Hoping that some day soon, we'll get the MGoBlog 3.0 Instructions Manual. Hope that I've helped.
Thanks!
So . . . why isn't this kind of information posted somewhere like FAQ, so that each person does not have to figure it out themselves each time through trial and error.
List all of the common frequently used functions like posting videos, images, links, etc., and explain how they are done now in 3.0.
Why in the world would you not do that?
I’m in wait and see mode like many people here. I’m sure there are plenty of wrinkles to iron out, and it will take some time to do so. My only complaint about 2.0 was the poor hamster crashing during busy time, but I loved the functionality of 2.0.
One of the things I miss early on regarding 2.0 was the ability to access the user profile and check prior posts. If I asked a question and wanted to come back later for an answer, it was easier to do so. I generally don’t have the luxury to sit around and wait for an answer to pop up. Maybe that still can be accessed here and I haven’t learned where it is, and if so, sorry, not really computer savvy.
I’m sure I’ll learn to love it here in 3.0 once some bugs are squashed, and I do appreciate the efforts of those involved in the project. However, as others have stated, my addiction of visiting here 15-20 times a day has been cured. I might be down to 3 visits a day, because it was easier to get in and out quickly with 2.0
Have We All Missed Something?
I’ve re-read Brian Cook’s Welcome to MGoBlog 3.0 and find it eerie that he ended his comments with this: "Human Element develops websites, usually well and sometimes very very badly but on purpose."
Has this been some cruel joke? Was MGoBlog 3.0 purposely designed “very, very badly” to determine where the problems lie with the website before we’re given some new and improved MGoBlog later in the summer? Could it be that this version of MGoBlog 3.0 was intended as the beta-test version without letting us know that we'd be the testers?
That would be nice but I dont think that's it. I think that's referencing the "joke page" that went up during the transition to 3.0.
This is our new world. But like you said (and I totally agree with you) this version has cured my MgoBlog addiction. What was once a constant is now something I check once, maybe twice per day and feel little need to comment on cause what was once easy is now hard.
I don't really care for the new layout, like, at all. I didn't think that I would, given what the descriptions were when it was being discussed. I never liked Eleven Warrior's layout, at all, even a little bit.
Too much white space. I liked the old layout far better, as far as the feel goes.
I haven't used the new site enough to offer more.
I fear change.
Proof is in the pudding. Curious what views are before and after the change. I know I haven’t been been on as often.
These are just a couple suggestions, some have been mentioned previously:
- Eliminate the space between "Joined" and the points tally. Seems unnecessary and expands the display artificially. I'm thinking this spacing could have something to do with the size of the 'Reply' button.
- Too much white space. Any ads shown on the right should be slim vertical ads and you can increase the comments portion potentially 20%. Perhaps this is just an issue with formatting trying to make it to where it is more mobile-friendly, but I think it has more to do with the formatting of the fixed items (donate, message board, diaries). Maybe for these three fixed portions, instead of having them on the side taking up space, stick them up top using a expando-box feature with selectable hyperlinks inside.
- As mentioned by others, bring back the "new" label for new comments in the post for those returning to it.
On the very very plus side, I do appreciate that now going to another page of posts works and doesn't provide strange output (saw this behavior on Firefox, Chrome, and IE).
You need an app. How anyone in this day and age doesn’t think so is either lazy or delusional.
Pretty disappointed to be honest. No mobile app is pretty much a deal breaker. When I do view the site on mobile, I can barely see one story. Getting to the board takes too many clicks, and isn't nearly as clean as the android app was. Only time will tell if I'll continue to come here for information.
I put together a little browser script to adjust the formatting of the board. Here's an example.
Here are instructions if you want to install it yourself: https://github.com/pkfrank/mgocomments
It's probably pretty buggy so no promises...
Looks a lot better! Nicely done.
Two quick things I noticed:
- It's cutting off mgopoint totals if the poster has five or more digits in their total (i.e. XM has 40,100 points but it shows as 0100).
- Join date for the poster isn't incorporated. Not a huge deal but it's nice to know to identify possible trolls, etc.
That should be "e.g." and not "i.e." -- Hey, if you could create an "Edit" button while you're at it that would be great! ;-)
Cool, fixing the MGoPoints and adding the Joined date should be pretty easy. I'll take a look at that soon.
Will have to investigate the Edit request, might be a bigger pain. Thx for the feedback.
Oh, I was being facetious on the Edit thing! I just mentioned it as a joke as I imagine that Brian and company will be implementing it (and some other small changes) in a round of future tweaks, or at least that's what I hope.
Your script looks like a very promising start to making the UI of the message board much cleaner! Thank you again.
Just a heads up that I fixed the points bug, but I'm noticing some other issues. Will give this fresh eyes over the weekend.
Latest MGoBlog 3.0 Problem -- Temporarily Suspending Account
Regardless of when I log in, when trying to connect from a PC using Chrome, MGoBlog 3.0 forces me to change my password because it has temporarily suspended my IP address due to too many failed attempts to log in, despite my having used the very same password that I've used when I last logged in.
Here’s the message I get: Too many failed login attempts from your IP address. This IP address is temporarily blocked. Try again later or request a new password.
This forces me to log into the email account that I used when I first requested an MGoBlog account nearly eight years ago (an email account that I haven't used in many years), so it's not an account that I keep open on my computer. Then I'm forced to re-set my password in order to log into MGoBlog again.
When I open the message in my old email account to get a new password, the message I get is this:
This is a one-time login, so it can be used only once. It expires after one day and nothing will happen if it's not used.
After logging in, you will be redirected to https://mgoblog.com/user/19698/edit so you can change your password.
I suspect that there may come a time when this nuisance will become so frustrating that it won't be worth the effort to request a new password.
Need:
1) Edit functionality
2) New post indicator
3) Main page MGoBoard list ordered by thread most recently commented, not most recently created
4) Way, way, way less whitespace
5) Way to set user preference for number of posts and order that are sticky
6) Much smaller banner on main page
7) Smaller line spacing/pics/whitespace so you can get more than 1/4 of one article per page on Mainpage
Took a day to get used to it but I'm all good with the change. I'm thinking anyone who really appreciates this site for what it is will be fine with it also.
It's mostly the look and feel of it to me -- just the same stuff everyone is saying with the need to scroll so much further down to read comments and the whole indentation thing and the like -- I don't necessarily see any positives at all with the new site other than that they can now make the front page "magazine style" or whatever it is and that that is somehow a positive other than just the old way.
I am trying to figure out how to upvote/downvote. Are others still not seeing this or am I just stupid?
Also cannot seem to find a place to edit my profile, again, maybe I am just missing it.
The layout needs some work. Like others, the excessive whitespace and lack of actual content in most places is decreasing my desire to stay here and keep hitting page-down every other sentence.
The problem with the existing "sidebar design" (which, to be fair, existed in the old site too) is that the sidebar lists are much shorter than the content they frame. This is exacerbated by having popular topics with lots of comments, which tend to showcase the literally glaring design choice as we scroll and scroll through sparse, centered text amid acres of white background.
I would suggest that you remove the sidebars and put those lists in a menu accessible from the floating banner instead. Use your real estate for the things that matter - the content, and the comments.