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AfterDawn redesign goes to beta
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The following comments relate to this news article:
article published on 19 February, 2010
After nearly a year's worth of work, the new version of AfterDawn's backend and layout is almost ready for the prime time. Still some minor bugs need to be fixed, a few mysterious issues need to be addressed, etc. but it is almost ready (we'd say 99% done) and you can test it now.
So, please visit AfterDawn "v4" at:
http://www.v4.afterdawn.com/
or click here to view this news article ... [ read the full article ]
Please read the original article before posting your comments.
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plaz1966
Newbie
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25. February 2010 @ 06:19 |
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I like it....good work to everyone involved!!
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light2030
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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25. February 2010 @ 07:20 |
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I have no problem with the new design
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wilnol
Newbie
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25. February 2010 @ 11:30 |
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Great new look and so easy on the eye
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Senior Member
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25. February 2010 @ 12:03 |
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UMMMMM If it Ain't broke Don't fix it.
It's been fine for how many years why mess it up?
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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25. February 2010 @ 13:39 |
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it looks great, as previous post stated it is easy on the eyes..
just one question. where is the tab for the personal post? what threads you/me have posted in? i cant seem to find it anywhere??
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lxfactor
Senior Member
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25. February 2010 @ 15:21 |
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i agree with if it aint broke nay fix.
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Oldaussie
Newbie
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25. February 2010 @ 16:49 |
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Like it! easier to read articles, in one large Page
go for it !!!!
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Attreau
Newbie
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25. February 2010 @ 19:38 |
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This looks very nice.....my first reaction is.....this is a great improvement.....job well done!
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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25. February 2010 @ 21:51 |
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All my thread emails are now the new type, and are blank URLs (hyperlinks with no address). Please fix, I can't access threads via the update emails any more!
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Senior Member
2 product reviews
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26. February 2010 @ 00:45 |
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I find the new changes interesting and will take some getting used to for sure.
Originally posted by dRD:
Now, as evident in your screenshots, this means that one line can contain more text. But even though it is fine for some people, for most people it isn't. According to tons of studies, a limited line length is actually better for reading, rather than a long one. One industry that is about 400 years older than Net, has tried and tested this issue several times -- newspapers and magazines use certain column length for a reason and the reason is that shorter lines are easier for eyes and easier to read.
I'm curious on this; could you link to (even if it's via PM) some articles that go more in-depth on this?
I've been debating the fixed-vs-dynamic width issue for my own website and it's interesting for me to see aD, which is a very popular website, switch from being dynamic for so long back to a static display.
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I hate titles
35 product reviews
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26. February 2010 @ 03:05 |
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Originally posted by Pop_Smith:
I'm curious on this; could you link to (even if it's via PM) some articles that go more in-depth on this?
Can't find the resource list now (different comp - I'll PM them to you when I have a chance), but essentially, the research suggests that 95 characters per line seems to be the most ideal length for text (people read it faster than shorter or longer lines than that). And as the screen resolutions have gone up quite rapidly, also the font size needs to be adjusted to bigger pt sizes (again, taking Joe Average in account, who can't and wont use CTRL+'plus' to zoom the page). Using this font size and width, our news articles seem to contain 85 - 105 characters per line, depending on the text - putting the average line length quite close to the "ideal" of 95cpl. In discussion forums, the length is slightly longer, as the sidebar is missing (but offset by the fact that the "nick area" takes some space).
To basically sum the design approach we took:
1) Make the text as easy to read as possible, for majority of users. Keeping in mind that widescreen monitors, 1920x1200 resolutions, etc are getting much more popular.
2) Make the site look more "modern" and organized, specially for people who come to the site for the very first time.
3) Improve the rendering speed of the page by tweaking the HTML, JavaScript, etc (extensive use of Y!Slow and Google Page Speed..).
4) Organize each section individually, to make each section as independent as possible -- allowing each section to be built for its own purpose, without having to worry that "we need to have same sidebars across the site", etc. Now software section focuses on software, product comparison focuses on finding right products easier, etc.
5) To lower the bar of participating, by making "participation options" as readily available as possible (quick reply boxes, easier registration process, etc).
6) To finally drop the support for IE6, Netscape 3, etc and take advantage of Web standards rather than hacks.
7) Include AJAX/dynamic options to the site where it makes sense ("don't add AJAX because its trendy, add AJAX where it makes sense") -- good example being the "Latest user comments" box on the news section's sidebar - click the bottom link and it'll load more comments.
Originally posted by sammorris:
All my thread emails are now the new type, and are blank URLs (hyperlinks with no address). Please fix, I can't access threads via the update emails any more!
Thanks, this is a bug I spotted yesterday. We'll fix it asap.
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Bornies
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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26. February 2010 @ 05:43 |
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EeeeAhhh.............Looking Goood.
Any new display needs a little getting used. But nice clean lines with a somewhat sophisticated look.
I Like.I Like.
Well Done Everyone.
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light2030
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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26. February 2010 @ 13:03 |
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Its good
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scum101
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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26. February 2010 @ 13:46 |
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What Daves after is a proper word filter, and I killed spammers outright on my site by disallowing link posting until 10 posts had been made... they just can't post.
wordfilter (simple stuff gets most of the spammers) and a link post ban until xxx posts.. same with the word filter actually.. same number should do. 10 seemed like a decent number in my experience to see off all but but most determined real human spammers. They try a few times then give up when nothing posts and look for an easier target.. Plus.. no escape.. just doesn't post.. no opportunity to modify/edit any made posts.. same thing 10 or more for the edit feature to become available.
just thinking out loud and popping in what I did to get rid of spam on my site.
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ispy
Member
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27. February 2010 @ 09:54 |
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Nice "fresh" look, I like the new line spacing, easy on the eyes. It will take a while to get used to the new page width but after reading the reasons from dRD it makes sense. Shorter lines do read easier. I didn't notice the arrow next to the member name till it was pointed out.
Keep up the good work...looking good.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 27. February 2010 @ 09:57
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jlrm365
Member
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28. February 2010 @ 10:25 |
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This will be sent via the feedback form and posted.
"Completely new look and feel to the site".
Why? You don't need to.
Do redesign the back-end, tweak the functionality and improve load speeds, but keep the colour scheme, image(s) and layout.
It looks fine, it's easy to use and it's not broken - so don't fix it.
At the very least, please offer a skin, that makes pages look and feel as they do now.
The new "v4" looks barren and without anchor. Be sure that you'll lose users, if it's adopted without alternative / cover.
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Senior Member
2 product reviews
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28. February 2010 @ 12:26 |
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Originally posted by jlrm365:
This will be sent via the feedback form and posted.
"Completely new look and feel to the site".
Why? You don't need to.
Do redesign the back-end, tweak the functionality and improve load speeds, but keep the colour scheme, image(s) and layout.
It looks fine, it's easy to use and it's not broken - so don't fix it.
At the very least, please offer a skin, that makes pages look and feel as they do now.
The new "v4" looks barren and without anchor. Be sure that you'll lose users, if it's adopted without alternative / cover.
jlrm365, I actually like the new layout. The sides maybe "barren" but the color seems neutral to me so it's not distracting.
Also, the site's user base may dip a bit while people get used to the site but I believe they'll see an overall increase in active users in the long run due to better readability of the site.
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I hate titles
35 product reviews
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28. February 2010 @ 13:26 |
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I think I mentioned about it in our 10yr anniversary post -- every time we have changed our site's layout, we've received complaints about it :-) However, I think that if we'd bring the original "v1" back, most people would have serious issues with its look & feel ;-)
But then again, all change -- inevitably -- meets resistance. However, as majority of our site's users seem to be more than happy with the new layout (based on the response here, emails we've rceived through our feedback form and most notably, from 3 month experience on Finnish side), we're more than happy to roll out the v4 once the bugs have been squashed.
Once the v4 goes live, hopefully by mid-March or so, we'll focus on improving page load speeds further and to fix inevitable bugs that'll appear after the launch.
We have tons of coding stuff (about 14 months of work to be exact) scheduled after the v4 launch and sooner we get this online, sooner we can focus on bringing new features to the site (say, instant in-site notifications for PMs, etc).
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joel2006
Inactive
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28. February 2010 @ 21:12 |
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I like the new look. good job!!!
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hkbeginer
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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1. March 2010 @ 10:06 |
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It is 100% correct that afterdawn.com not open properly in IE 6 and its take long time...
My request to the modrator that only one thing we want on thread board that we share picture easly for our problems. not in url..
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AfterDawn Addict
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1. March 2010 @ 17:13 |
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nice new look
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Newbie
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3. March 2010 @ 17:52 |
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IT LOOK BEAUTIFULL
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scum101
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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3. March 2010 @ 17:58 |
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Originally posted by hkbeginer:
It is 100% correct that afterdawn.com not open properly in IE 6 and its take long time...
My request to the modrator that only one thing we want on thread board that we share picture easly for our problems. not in url..
tough.. pics take hosting space
for what it's worth I like the look.. don't like all the java.. might be an idea to learn to code html5 properly ;)
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