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Comments on second redesign attempt


john_shriver

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OK, this time it is usable.

Being able to watch forums is an improvement over nothing of that sort the first time around.

 

But it still needs work.

 

Simple things. Like making the selection of how to sort threads in a forum be sticky. I prefer sorting by start date, not latest comment.

 

I miss the Unified view of forums. I understand it was a huge load on the underlying database, but it sure let me see what was going on in the forums I follow quickly.

 

Just trying to edit this post I discovered an issue. You can't remove a line break from a post you're creating. I tried to make the lines starting OK and Being into one line, and could not deleting in either direction. (Safari/MacOS.)

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Agreed that it's better, though I wish that was saying more.

 

Glenn et al.: Please test the mobile view on chrome on Android. That is, the default browser on the most common cellphone OS in the world. Because the layout is currently badly broken (including "write your reply" still being visible behind the text as I write this).

 

Other observations: we're not getting correct screen names, I don't know why we have a massive personal photo/avatar (usually blank) for the contributor above every post, and the second page of any thread doesn't seem to appear (not that I'd asked for a paged view). It's hard to tell how many navigation issues are from the chrome browser layout, though (e.g. there seems to be a top left menu that's hidden under a photo.net button). I'll try to list more when I've tried more browsers.

 

Before the last failed roll out, I suggested that we be given a warning before any new update so we could all test it before it went live. I guess that didn't happen for... reasons? I know people are trying, but I'm not surprised there are teething issues if there wasn't a site-wide request to test it.

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Have we lost the unified forum view again? I hardly ever used anything else. How annoying. And what's this about showing usernames rather than real names on our posts?

 

The accounts seem to have taken user names but real names didn't carry over. Putting in my screen name as my real name had no effect, though.

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Apparently (from before the previous attempt) there was significant feedback asking for improvements, especially to attract new members. I suspect it's always going to be painful for those like me who were happy with the old design.

 

But I'm quite weird - I have a Firefox open with about 2400 tabs loaded, with JavaScript off so it didn't die. I usually have about 30-50 photonet forum threads open. I'm expecting this to stop working, but fingers crossed...

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Ok, after playing around with the site I see good things and some not so good things.

The larger viewing image is great but the gallery cover images really are not so nice as it cuts your image off.

Hopefully, this can be fixed? I will have to use the new look more to get used to it. Right now it is still pretty alien to me.

GR

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It seems the photo engine is better and with the larger pictures they seem clearer and the blacks pop in B/W and the colors ring true. It seems with the old version, colors and b/w images would lose contrast, pop and sharpness. The "write your reply" is a little glitchy when you are posting but I'm sure you'll get to that. I have some trouble navigating within my own image collections, it doesn't seem to naturally want to take you out to the beginning so you can see the whole collection. That happens when you click the arrows on an image to take it to the next image. You have to back out as many steps as it took to get you there. would be much handier if you could get out to the whole collection level with one click from any image in the collection. but so far its much better than the first attempt. Thanks for the efforts. I think the new look is better and shows the images better.
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Much better than the first rehash. Thanks for everyone's efforts.

 

I too thought the unified forum view had disappeared until i dug a bit deeper and found that it was "New Posts". Does that suggest that a user guide or FAQ is needed to help people find their way around before becoming disillusioned?

 

I still think there's too much wasted space in the home page, I prefer to see at least a good percentage of what is available without scrolling downwards.

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"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Why do you keep trying to change something that works so well and is so easy to use? Looks now like every other photography forum on line and requires studying to figure out how to use it. Really dumb.

 

+1 This is a total regression in regards to simplicity. It seems as of late, websites love to solve problems that don't exist. It now takes three times as long to access what only took one click before. It's like using mobile device solutions for a desktop operation..........doesn't work!!! I guess I need to take a break from this website for a few weeks or at least until they can make it usable. Later my friends!!!

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Agreed that it's better, though I wish that was saying more.

 

Glenn et al.: Please test the mobile view on chrome on Android. That is, the default browser on the most common cellphone OS in the world. Because the layout is currently badly broken (including "write your reply" still being visible behind the text as I write this).

 

Other observations: we're not getting correct screen names, I don't know why we have a massive personal photo/avatar (usually blank) for the contributor above every post, and the second page of any thread doesn't seem to appear (not that I'd asked for a paged view). It's hard to tell how many navigation issues are from the chrome browser layout, though (e.g. there seems to be a top left menu that's hidden under a photo.net button). I'll try to list more when I've tried more browsers.

 

Before the last failed roll out, I suggested that we be given a warning before any new update so we could all test it before it went live. I guess that didn't happen for... reasons? I know people are trying, but I'm not surprised there are teething issues if there wasn't a site-wide request to test it.

The site does not work on my iPhone. The menu won't open up so I can't do anything except on my laptop.

Sam
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Wow, how much are these new guys paying the "500PX" webmaster for this new website?

Glenn seems to think that we're too dumb to figure out their wondwerful new creation:

"Most if not all of the features you seek are here - I grant you this is not the old photo.net - things are not where they once were, but if you give it a little time you might find that you will get used to it" Glenn Palm "Admin"

Well Glenn, where are the "Wedding Photographer" & "Camera Repair" etc. reviews?

Is this site no longer interested in what the community has to say In Lieu Of staff written reviews?

Does this new "500PX" style reveal that your staff isn't interested in the folks who seek equipment technical questions being asked & answered?

This site should re-populate member recommendations & reviews into the "Site & Community HELP" portion of the "Community" drop-down tab.

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Initially I was disappointed as I always started with the old unified view. After discovering the "New Posts" area, it moved me into the positive viewpoint, although I'm still trying to learn how the other functions work.
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