|   I loathe the new format | Slosh
Nov 13, 2003 3:05 PM | | Just what I was afraid was going to happen happened. I <i>hate</i> having to open a thread to find out who replied to it. Waste of my time. For example, I might open a thread based on a promising topic header and numerous replies just to find out it morphed into a Flower Kings discussion or other such nonsense I have absolutely no interest in.
I'd rather use Rocky Road but if no one else does...
I poked around a bit and it seems Rave Recs is the <i>only</i> BB here getting any use. I wonder if it's because now this site is <i>even slower</i>!?
I admit the new format has several advantages but they don't even come close to making up for what we lost. |
| And I bet our parents said the same thing about the last format | Davey
Nov 13, 2003 5:11 PM | | You old curmudgeon, hehehe (or should I say <img src=http://forums.audioreview.com/images/smilies/smile.gif> ).
To be honest, I haven't poked around all that much since I haven't been able to login yet, but I think some of the layout could be improved a little once they get going. Things like dropping that rating column and shrinking the others in order to expand the subject box. And getting rid of underlining on all the linked items so it doesn't look so cluttered. Have you tried the threaded view yet. I think it at least will let you see who has participated in the thread, but of course most people won't use subject lines since they don't show up in the normal view. It does seem really slow right now, especially considering the pitifully small amount of traffic there seems to be now. I'm sure it will pick up some. I've never liked the vB style all that much but it works good on some sites once you get used to it and makes it easier for people to have fun without any HTML smarts. One of the problems though is the big ad on the side which robs a lot of screen space. Oh well, it's really the only alternative these days except for a custom setup like The Asylum but I like the way Head-Fi is layed out much better. Of course they don't have that big ad on the side either .....
I don't mind it that much although I do really miss the subject line interaction you talk about. Not having that does take away a lot of fun (and kind of cramps my style :-)) and makes for more time loading posts that might not be of any interest. But on the other hand, there are many people that never even use that feature here and just respond with a re: so I guess all of them won't really care. I'd hold on to some of the complaints for awhile though and give it more of a chance :-) |
| threaded view | Rae
Nov 14, 2003 7:47 AM | | For some reason, when I put it in the threaded view, about half of the poster names show up as "Guest." Weird.
I think the new thing that is bugging me most is the "green link advertising." Any idea how to turn this off? It really incenses me that they can insert advertisements into something <i>I</i> wrote without my consent.
~Rae |
| Sorry, but the green links cannot be turned off | Chris
Nov 14, 2003 9:44 AM | | Some people will not like the green links, but others don't like pop up ads. And others complain about banner ads. We'll never please everyone with our advertising, but we wouldn't be around without it. Bottomline is, we have to make money to stay in business. The reason you see new forms of advertising is because the other forms aren't being clicked on by the users as much as they should be. Our only recourse is to introduce new forms of advertising in order to stay in business. If there is no advertising, there will be no AudioReview - it's that simple.
A website as large as AudioReview requires revenue to cover the operation costs. I'm sure that isn't news to anyone. And since we offer our service to our users free of charge, we have to make the money somewhere else - like displaying forms of advertising that is likely to appeal to our users.... or in some cases, annoy them. We try our best not to do the latter, but it's tough. Many users want it all - they want an advertising-free environment, yet they don't want to pay to use our website. It's gotta be one or the other, and since our model has always been to offer a free service to users, advertising will likely be the route we stick with. The bills have to be paid somehow. |
| re: I loathe the new format | J
Nov 13, 2003 5:15 PM | | I can't get past the fact that it won't let me post yet. It said something about me not having to re-register since I was already registered here, but then that didn't seem to be the case & I was told I did have to re-register. So I tried, then it said I had to have a name that was at least 3 characters long. Went through the process with a name I didn't really want to use, clicked on the link in the email they sent me, and...NG. Can't 'activate' my registration. Went through this several times. I guess I'm going to have to email the administrator. |
| yeah, well | Stone
Nov 13, 2003 6:11 PM | | I can't log in as Stone over there, and for the life of me I cannot get an avatar to actually work. I'm not wasting my time with it any more until someone convinces me I can actually log in and do the things the site supposedly offers. |
| my favourite thing about the new format | ForeverAutumn
Nov 13, 2003 7:00 PM | | I think that I'm going to like the new format, if for no other reason....the
i ignore list.
Guess who's gonna be the first (and probably only) one on
i my
ignore list.
:-)
Now if only I could get access to post there..... |
| Me???? | Finch Platte
Nov 13, 2003 7:24 PM | | Was the Gay Men's Choir comp a bit much?
And why didn't you respond to my Joss offer? Seems like it'd be right up yer alley.
fp |
| How do they get their voices that high? | ForeverAutumn
Nov 14, 2003 5:56 AM | | I didn't respond to your Joss offer for two reasons...
1. I didn't see it. Sorry, but I've been busy lately and have had to skip a bunch of posts. Sorry I missed it.
2. Even if I had seen it, I don't know who Joss are/is. But if you think that I would enjoy it, there's no need to ask if I want it. Just send a copy my way, if you don't mind. Unsolicited comps are always welcome.
Cheers! |
| Maybe I'm just lucky, but | JDaniel
Nov 14, 2003 6:05 AM | | I've not had one single problem with the new site. I didn't have to register. I just followed the link Chris (administrator) provided, and I went straight in. I added an avatar, modified my profile etc.
You'd think those types of issues would be global - either work for everyone, or no one.
Don't get too bogged down on the format once they get it working. What makes this place cool is the people, not the format. We are all a bunch of musical misfits anyway.
JD |
| Some people just can't live without the OLD threaded view | Chris
Nov 14, 2003 9:58 AM | | We all knew as a company that it would be the biggest hurdle to overcome with the new software. We knew it was what made these forums what they are.
The problem is, the lack of administrative features have left these old AudioReview forums for dead. The traffic and participation is nowhere near what it used to be, and a large part of that has to due with the security (or lack thereof). So that alone was enough to sell us on this new system. There are a ton of other features that sold us, and you can see them here:
http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?threadid=69
The AudioReview forums have been taken over by trolls and many of the veterans have left. We're working to restore the magic that made this site the best Audio resource on the web, but we'll need our members to get used to a new format of message boards in order to do that. We simply cannot achieve that goal with these old forums.
We actually waited until a newer version of the software was available with a threaded view (not the same as this threaded view, but it's something) so that we could have something the users could relate to. If you look around, you'll notice that most of the larger community websites on the internet use this new format, and that it does quite well. There's no reason why we can't do well.
We know we have a few bugs to work out, but we are working on them. It may take a little while, but soon we'll have everything optimized. It's a necessary change, and you'll see before long that it was for the best. Please, if you're having trouble logging in, post in the old General Forum to get it worked out. |
| I don't like the way MP3s sound, either (nt) | JazzHead
Nov 14, 2003 1:16 PM | | |
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