Rob_J
Joined: Sep 29, 2007
Posts: 500
Sacto, CA
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Posted on Mar 02 2011 09:02 AM
Thanks Brian, and you are right - it couldn't be any easier. I should have figured it out. I'm not used to the convenience of the new editor box yet, but now that you've pointed it out, it's pretty obvious. I'm still getting used to the new look and feel of the site, but overall it's a nice improvement.
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Ruhar
Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
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Posted on Mar 02 2011 02:57 PM
Brian,
One other thing I've noticed about thread subscriptions: When I subscribe to a thread, I receive an email after the first post after the subscription, but then never receive subsequent emails for all other posts. Anybody else experience this?
— Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19251
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 02 2011 03:36 PM
Ruhar wrote:
One other thing I've noticed about thread
subscriptions: When I subscribe to a thread, I receive
an email after the first post after the subscription,
but then never receive subsequent emails for all other
posts. Anybody else experience this?
Ryan, I tried to be smart and not flood the user with emails. The algorithm is supposed to be doing this:
If someone replies to a thread you've subscribed to, and it has been more than 1 day since we last notified you of a new post, or we have it on record that you visited the topic since we last notified you, then and only then we'll send another email.
So the notification really means "Hey 1 or more people have replied to a thread you are watching since yesterday or the last time we notified you. We won't bug you about this again until tomorrow or until you visit the topic."
However since I now include the text of the post in these emails, I can see why it is confusing.
What behavior does everyone prefer? A pseudo-smart "hey check this thread, it has been updated one or more times" or a dumb "send every message that gets posted, no matter what" scheme?
Thanks.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
Last edited: Mar 02, 2011 15:50:30
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Ruhar
Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
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Posted on Mar 02 2011 03:45 PM
Thanks Brian.
Makes sense now. Just my opinion/preference: I actually like the "dumb" algorithm. Email subscribers as soon as the thread is posted in. I don't really like the daily digest email, and I don't necessarily want to visit the thread. That keeps me looking for just stuff I'm not subscribed to already. But again that's just my personal preference and my habits of using the site. Please do whatever you think is best for the site.
— Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19251
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 02 2011 03:52 PM
That makes sense to me Ryan. I was trying to avoid spamming people. On the other hand, it is supposed to be an email subscription in case you can't get to the website, and you opted-in for the mail. It's actually easier to do it the dumb way.
Any other thoughts / preferences?
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19251
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 02 2011 04:00 PM
BTW, I've noticed a subtle problem in displaying unread forum topics. And I'm seeing sporadic 500 errors when people are searching. I'll look into these.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Ruhar
Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
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Posted on Mar 02 2011 05:20 PM
Brian wrote:
Any other thoughts / preferences?
Brian, not sure if this is related, but emails are no longer sent out when you receive an IM.
— Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook
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Fady
Joined: Mar 07, 2010
Posts: 2247
North Carolina
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Posted on Mar 02 2011 05:35 PM
I'll discount my own answer here... I don't subscribe to threads to turn on email notification - the new since last visited works well enough for me.
That said, if I did turn on email, I'd prefer the smarts - know if I have likely not seen the latest posts (ie: I haven't signed on in the last day), and send me a one-a-day reminder that one or more responses have been posted to the thread I've subscribed to.
More likely than not if I was posting a hot topic that I was really passionate about, chances are I'd be back here again in pretty short order, if I left the site at all. So, I'd really likely only get one-a-day reminders on the more casual stuff, which seems appropriate.
But like I said, no subscriptions for me, so my vote prolly shouldn't count
— Fady
El Mirage @ ReverbNation
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19251
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 02 2011 06:13 PM
Ruhar wrote:
Brian, not sure if this is related, but emails are no
longer sent out when you receive an IM.
Do you mean a PM?
I just tested PM notification and got one. One thing that is different than the old site: the email is sent asynchronously from the event that caused it (it's queued up and sent every 15 minutes).
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Ruhar
Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
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Posted on Mar 03 2011 09:53 AM
Brian wrote:
Do you mean a PM?
I just tested PM notification and got one. One thing
that is different than the old site: the email is sent
asynchronously from the event that caused it (it's
queued up and sent every 15 minutes).
Yep, sorry, I meant PM. Getting to many IMs at work
Ok, I may have read my PM before the 15 minute interval. Makes sense. Thanks!
— Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on Mar 04 2011 09:26 AM
Brian. well done, it didn't long to get used to the look of v.2.0. I have a observation for you. The sunrays layer looks cool on some pages but causes a lack of definition/separation on others. For instance, on the forums page keep your eye fixed on where it says Suggestion Box and scroll down. Where the sunrays blend out at the top, it becomes easier for the eye to see the text.
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19251
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 07 2011 02:12 PM
I could experiment with putting a solid background behind post text. That would block out the rays.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19251
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 07 2011 02:48 PM
I just remembered that an early version of this site did have alternating solid background colors behind the posts (blocking out the rays). This behavior broke at some point. I'll play around with it, perhaps as soon as tonight. Please let me know if you think it helps or hinders readability.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Fady
Joined: Mar 07, 2010
Posts: 2247
North Carolina
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Posted on Mar 07 2011 03:25 PM
Brian - I don't think is so much the alternating background blocks, or even the "rising sun" as it is the font used.
I personally like the font as-is, but also admit to being someone who maxes out screen resolutions on the laptop (MacBook Pro), and regularly does the Command (⌘) and minus sign (-) on web pages to make fonts even smaller.
Maybe keep font size, but consider one less condensed / m o r e _ s p a c e d ?
— Fady
El Mirage @ ReverbNation
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19251
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 07 2011 09:35 PM
If you clear your browser's cache you'll see an alternating background color behind the posts. Let me know if this is better or worse.
As far as the font goes, I'm no font expert. If you have specific suggestions, let me know.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19251
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 08 2011 08:18 AM
I like it but I think the color of the darker one needs tweaking. HTML color code suggestions welcome.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Ruhar
Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
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Posted on Mar 08 2011 09:58 AM
Brian wrote:
If you clear your browser's cache you'll see an
alternating background color behind the posts. Let me
know if this is better or worse.
I like it much better Brian. Much easier to read!
— Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook
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MadScientist
Joined: Jan 17, 2008
Posts: 2188
Atlanta, GA
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Posted on Mar 08 2011 10:25 AM
Brian wrote:
If you clear your browser's cache you'll see an
alternating background color behind the posts. Let me
know if this is better or worse.
This really is a world of difference. Much better.
—
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19251
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 08 2011 10:43 AM
Yeah, I think I will do that in a few more places too.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Fady
Joined: Mar 07, 2010
Posts: 2247
North Carolina
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Posted on Mar 08 2011 12:54 PM
Nice work on colors actually, Brian. I think the dark one looks great. To my eye, it appears to be a perfect match of the lightest band of the wave banner.
On fonts, it's always going to be subjective/personal preference. In the old PC environment, I always messed with fonts, never happy. 2+ years now with a MacBook Pro as my daily driver, and I've not once felt compelled to tinker w/ Fonts. The default there is Lucida Grande. That may be Mac-centric. I believe Lucida Sans Unicode is virtually identical, perhaps more commonly available.
Nice short set of common "web safe" fonts here.
I don't know how best to show an example of these, so I've just done a screenshot of the welcome page text in Lucida Grande for funzies.
image
Again, fonts are SOOOO much a personal preference, may be worth "letting that dog sleep" since the alternating color background seems to have made an immediate, positive impact. But if you do decide to monkey with it... I'd cast a vote for one of these Lucida family fonts.
— Fady
El Mirage @ ReverbNation
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