wtf with the new look

it's mad annoying, yo.

please to go back to normal.

kthnxbai

Agreed, it's bizarre. I know the unfamiliar is often initially disliked, but the new look seems counter-intuitive.

Some really helpful posts, guys... if you tell me what exactly you don't like, we can try to adjust. If you just say "it sucks" I can't help you.

Thanks again for your patience indulging us in all this, we're wide open to specific recommendations for how to improve the new setup and have it run as smoothly and intuitively as possible.

The new site here runs much faster, lighter and more secure than the prior (outdated software) version of the site and the key part moving ahead here is to take in your ideas for how it may be improved.

So, as is the case on other threads, keep the specific suggestions and feedback coming. It will really help us to make this a better, more streamlined site for everyone.

The headings for each post look like they belong to the post above (it might be the way the black line is placed). As someone said, it doesn't seem very intuitive in terms of getting you to click through to the post.

I don't care that it looks messy and ugly, design wise (and it does), but it definitely seems a step backwards in terms of quickly checking out new posts/seeing if you want to read more of any of them.

pm wrote 42 minutes ago »

The headings for each post look like they belong to the post above (it might be the way the black line is placed). As someone said, it doesn't seem very intuitive in terms of getting you to click through to the post.

Good point - I just fixed it so the dark line is on top of the post, and the gradient fades out to white. Look better now? http://www.brooklynian.com

PM, you mean on the http://www.brooklynian.com home page?

I totally agree with everything you mention there.

Given the volunteer nature here (pitching in whenever possible but not something everyone has a lot of time to work on and refine up-front, else it would never launch) most of the work has been on installing and customizing the default infrastructure and functionality and worrying about the majority of design and style issues after launch, once all the users (not just a spare few) have had a chance to give input.

Once again, thanks for mentioning specifics as well as overall as you have done.

It may take some time to get through everything, but we'll get there.

I don't see where we can check our messages or send messages to others.

Piano, there were some issues with Private Messages so they're currently turned off and being worked on, under the hood.

I'll update you when it's back and you can find it once again up at the top of the page next to "Welcome, [username]" etc.

i miss being able to see a list of all the discussion boards on one page and then the latest post date/poster next to it-- was always my way of knowing when i wanted to check a board out. Now when I click "neighborhoods" it brings me into a list of the cumulative posts of all boards and if i scroll down eventually i find the listings of the boards themselves.

Definitely not digging the new layout-- no doubt we'll get used to it, but that page is my least favorite part.

I really, really don't like how the landing pages for the neighborhood forums look. There doesn't seem to be a clear indication of which posts have had new topics posted since I last visited. I'm also not down with listing the number of page views right next to the topic instead of in a separate column; it doesn't seem to belong there and just confuses the ability to quickly scan the list of topics.

All in all, it's much more laborious to scan the list of topics. Something about Trebuchet is also bugging me... I think it's too thin and wispy to allow for easy reading.

jeffrey wrote 4 hours ago »

The new site here runs much faster, lighter and more secure than the prior (outdated software) version of the site.

It's really helpful to know the reasons for the change, which from a front user perspective seemed rather sudden and not necessarily better. It's easier to get behind it knowing that it's a more streamlined version on the back end. So thanks for providing that info to us.

Personally, I'm reserving judgement on the interface until the tinkering is done. I suspect some of the issues I'm experiencing will be cleared up as work continues in the next few days. For now, one thing is that I can't seem to preview a post.

I don't like the fact that I no longer can edit my posts. Often when re-reading what I have written I see room for augmenting the prose to better make the point, or simply to correct grammar or spelling. Also, when one creates a thread, sometimes there is a mispelling, or a retroactive need to alter the title of the thread to better reflect the evolving/devolving content. Is it possible to regain this function?