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Thread: Introducing...

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area

    Introducing...

    As some you may have noticed, we've made a few changes around here.

    The obvious one is cosmetic: we've changed the overall look and feel, and also added a separate front end for smart phones. We'll be tweaking these a bit as we get feedback, especially the mobile look which will probably undergo a complete overhaul or two before we're content.

    We ran into a lot of issues with Internet Explorer 6 - that 10 year old version that was never quite right. If you're still using IE6 (and you really shouldn't be), you'll see the mobile look. If you want the full look and can't upgrade from IE6, try Firefox, Chrome, or some other browser. If you get the mobile look and you aren't using a mobile device or IE6, please contact me via PM.

    And if you notice anything else odd with the new look, PM me. We've done a fair bit of testing, but tests can never replicate the real world.

    Not all of the changes are cosmetic.

    We have a new Posting Guidelines sticky; please take a few minutes to read through it. Nothing revolutionary - the DBR Boards have evolved and the guidelines needed to evolve as well. We reaffirm our commitment to civility and rational discourse while having fun talking Duke, sports, and other stuff too.

    We're introducing a brand new feature, Comments. On posts especially better or worse than average, rather than saying "POTW" or jumping on someone, you can give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down and add a comment for the original poster. There is an icon, :) :(, in the lower, left part of each post for this. When you float your mouse over it, you'll see "What do you think of this post?" Remember, civility apply here, too!

    We're going to play with comments a lot more in the future. For instance, we'll automatically highlight posts that get a lot of positive comments and automatically delete posts that are overwhelmingly panned. For now, give some feedback to the posts as you feel appropriate. Comments are reflected in points, and points are reflected in pitchforks by your username. You can only comment on recent posts, only a few times a day, and you have to spread 'em around between different members. You can see the last few comments you've received on your settings page.

    So, come on in, poke around, and let us know what you think.

    -jk

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    raleigh
    the site looks awesome...i really dig the new style!!


    should we pm you with any little buggys that we run across?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    Thanks, and please.

    Lots of credit to devil84 for a ton of help with it.

    -jk

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by moonpie23 View Post
    the site looks awesome...i really dig the new style!!
    Really? Why?

    I think the new site looks horrible, and putting Google Ads inside posts is just embarrassing.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Quote Originally Posted by Duvall View Post
    putting Google Ads inside posts is just embarrassing.
    Unless you are willing to fund the site out of your own pocket, I think criticizing the revenue model for the owners is not quite fair.

    -Jason
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    Unless you are willing to fund the site out of your own pocket, I think criticizing the revenue model for the owners is not quite fair.

    -Jason
    Is there another message board that does this? I don't think I've ever seen it before, and it's remarkably distracting. And ugly.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Nashville
    Would there be a way to wrap the text of posts around the ads? As it is, it makes threads fairly hard to read because you have to scroll past these long, vertical posts.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Richmond, Va
    The mobile site is really bugging me, I am usually on my iPad and now I have to deal with it on here and my iPhone, is there any way You guys can add a Switch to desktop button at the bottom of the page like most mobile sites do?

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Greg_Newton View Post
    Would there be a way to wrap the text of posts around the ads? As it is, it makes threads fairly hard to read because you have to scroll past these long, vertical posts.
    The ads are horizontal on my view. And not all posts get an ad. How is that determined?

    eta: Never mind - Your comment just finally sunk in. Your ads are horizontal also - which makes the post long vertically. I'm going back for reading comprehension lessons. :-(

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Richmond, Va
    Quote Originally Posted by MisterRoddy View Post
    The mobile site is really bugging me, I am usually on my iPad and now I have to deal with it on here and my iPhone, is there any way You guys can add a Switch to desktop button at the bottom of the page like most mobile sites do?
    Now that I'm on my desktop, I see that it is pretty much the same. I really liked the old site, why fix something that isn't broken?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    WA State
    I like the look and it looks like we may have a few new tools to work with which is nice.

    The ads don't bother me but I'm on a computer whenever I'm here rather than mobile. I have seen other sites place them into the comments threads. Whatever it takes to make a buck and keep the site up.

    Seems to load faster too.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    Quote Originally Posted by MisterRoddy View Post
    The mobile site is really bugging me, I am usually on my iPad and now I have to deal with it on here and my iPhone, is there any way You guys can add a Switch to desktop button at the bottom of the page like most mobile sites do?
    I said in another post we would make it optional. We just have to work it out. It might take a day or two.

    -jk

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Towson, MD
    I like the old board layout much, much better.

  14. #14
    For me, one of the most useful features had been to go to the last post read in a particular thread. Does this new format also provide this function? I haven't found it yet.

    My immediate reaction is that I'm not overly fond of the look . . . in part because the font is smaller and I'm an old fart with failing eyesight.

    But I'll get used to it so no problem.

  15. #15
    Haha. To the site staff & moderators let me just say: buckle up. People hate change and will complain to high heaven when this sort of thing happens to a site they visit every day. Take suggestions with a grain of salt, especially this early on. Some are no-brainers, like adding an option on the mobile site to switch to the main view, but for general "I HATE IT AND IT'S UGLY" stuff, people just need time to settle down and adjust. If the level of discussion stays high, people will get used to the new layout in no time. Good luck.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by dw0827 View Post
    For me, one of the most useful features had been to go to the last post read in a particular thread. Does this new format also provide this function? I haven't found it yet.
    It's still here. On both the regular and the mobile version, note the blue "NEW" button next to the thread heading. On the "Blue" style (for regular old computers), when viewing the thread, there's a menu bar just under the thread title that has a "View First Unread" link with the NEW button next to it.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Taco View Post
    Haha. To the site staff & moderators let me just say: buckle up. People hate change and will complain to high heaven when this sort of thing happens to a site they visit every day. Take suggestions with a grain of salt, especially this early on. Some are no-brainers, like adding an option on the mobile site to switch to the main view, but for general "I HATE IT AND IT'S UGLY" stuff, people just need time to settle down and adjust. If the level of discussion stays high, people will get used to the new layout in no time. Good luck.
    While I agree with your premise, I'd say the board was overwhelmingly positive when the last major change occurred in 2007 using new board software that allowed additional functionality. So, it's not always true that "people hate change."

    I do like the ability to comment/agree/disagree with posts with this new software. I'm not the biggest fan of the new layout/look, but we'll all get used to it. The font is definitely smaller, though. And I am a bit confused about the # of pitchforks. 1 = highest? Looks like some really frequent posters have 3 and others have 1. Not that it really matters, just interesting.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    ninety minutes west of Cameron
    I, too, find the ads distracting when embedded in a reply. Not only are they distracting, but they detract from the message.

    Case in point: On both my work and home computers, in the "Decorum and Posting Guidelines" thread, next to the Category X warning description, is an ad for "DateMrsRobinson.com". I don't offend all that easily, but I found this quite offensive.

    I know you must have ads to run. I know your control over Google ads is limited. But good grief! "DateMrsRobinson.com"? What's next? PimpsRUs?

    I have been reading DBR for ages and have been reading the forums for long before I started to post. It seems to me that the demographic here is NOT 18 year old lads seeking sugar mama cougars. It would seem if you want your board to be PG-13 and nothing you would want your mother to experience, this is the type of thing that is completely inappropriate.

    I was frankly embarrassed to be on DBR at my work this afternoon when I saw this.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedog View Post
    While I agree with your premise, I'd say the board was overwhelmingly positive when the last major change occurred in 2007 using new board software that allowed additional functionality. So, it's not always true that "people hate change."

    I do like the ability to comment/agree/disagree with posts with this new software. I'm not the biggest fan of the new layout/look, but we'll all get used to it. The font is definitely smaller, though. And I am a bit confused about the # of pitchforks. 1 = highest? Looks like some really frequent posters have 3 and others have 1. Not that it really matters, just interesting.
    Your pitchforks are somewhat relative to the comments you have received. They'll be fairly meaningless for a few weeks until people comment on enough posts. As time goes on, and people comment on others' posts, they will take on meaning. So comment away!

    -jk

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Connersville, IN
    I have a Mac and the site looks 100% different. Nothing is the same. I don't know if this is what it's supposed to look, but I don't know if I like it

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