Article: Welcome to the new Twins Daily!

[Craig Arko]

Have to figure out how the MultiQuote works. I should be able to offend more people in parallel that way.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I looked at the two July blog entries I wrote in July. The first is unreadable due to missing tables. The second is missing with the exception of the comments. Perhaps this isn't the kind of thing you want to read after weeks of hard work and I do appreciate the effort it must take to manage a site.

 

That BBCode issue is something that reared its head up today. I'm going to look into a fix, not terribly hopeful that one will be found.

 

But I'm going to look into it for sure.

[jorgenswest]

That BBCode issue is something that reared its head up today. I'm going to look into a fix, not terribly hopeful that one will be found.

 

But I'm going to look into it for sure.

 

That's too bad. A lot of lost content. I think content trumps looks and ease of use, but probably not the revenue.

 

Doesn't matter for those who want to banter endlessly in the forums though. Perhaps that is where you need to focus and get the most ad revenue.

[Brock Beauchamp]

That's too bad. A lot of lost content. I think content trumps looks and ease of use, but probably not the revenue.Doesn't matter for those who want to banter endlessly in the forums though. Perhaps that is where you need to focus and get the most ad revenue.

Content is the focus but there's very little permanence in news content. Most content that is older than a few days doesn't get read.

 

Big transitions like this always have some problems but in the end, they're mostly temporary. We try to retain as much as we can but ultimately, the focus needs to be on the articles that have yet to be written, not those that are two years old. Changing things so that new articles can be better are always going to cause issues with what came before... We just try to break as little as possible.

 

Honestly, I can say that revenue played virtually no role in this redesign. The change was driven by technical and usability reasons.

[steve]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SvU7-t5Fa0w/UGFVdy3tYYI/AAAAAAAACRY/1JoAfPyBQeg/s1600/waynes_world+%282%29.jpg

[Jeremy Nygaard]

I just had a lot of fun telling Brock exactly what I wanted to see if he could make it happen. Sometimes I asked for things that I didn't even want... just to see if he could make it happen. The R&P page and organizational chart will always be a work-in-progress... but this is going to blow the roof off the old one.

 

Big thanks to Brock for, well, being awesome.

[Squirrel]

Big thanks to Brock for, well, being awesome.

I tried to 'like' this but I couldn't. 

[Bark's Lounge]

I dig the new look of the site. It's 100% professional and pleasing to the eye.

 

When you are use to something for awhile it can often be a pain in the rear to deal with changes, but it is good to have to figure out the ins and outs of something new. Change is good.

 

Great Job Brock and the rest of the team involved in the changes of the TD website.

[Brad Swanson]

The new site looks amazing!  Excellent work to everyone who contributed and big thanks to Brock for all the hard work.

 

One quick question - how do I accumulate "warning points?"  BECAUSE I HAVE TO HAVE THE MOST!!!!!!

[beckmt]

Looks great.  Have lot of navigation work to do when I get time.  Great job fellows. Still have problems with IE11 interface, but that might just be IE11.  Will see if I have any contacts over that way to help.

[PseudoSABR]

Great job, Brock. I'm sure you're proud.  The site looks professional and distinct.  It's clear the design is organic and not some pre-fab grab bag crap.  I really like the static banner at the top, it's functional and frames the site nicely.  The site's aesthetic is consistent and effective, not overbearing; the thought and effort that went into its design is clear. Congratulations. 

 

I do have some questions about tailoring the experience. How can I adjust things like posts-per-page? I guess that's one question.  I know, you guys want me to click, but I want to limit my clicks... 

Edited July 27, 2014 by PseudoSABR

[iastfan112]

Might just be me but I find that part of Twins Daily logo being located partially below the red banner to incredibly irritating when reading threads. It covers up poster names as well as slighting running over into the posting box itself. Even if it were more left justified it would be irksome just due to its distracting nature when scrolling down a thread, its like having a rollover ad follow as I browse.

Additionally, some minor things that bother me- font size and spacing in posts themselves seems a bit large, don't like how little information fits on the screen because of this. Site would still be readable if you knocked it down a notch. Having the gear represent advanced search is an odd choice, more typically associated with settings. I'd also love the site to be a bit wider(not a new complaint for me) lots of grey around the edges on the two desktop pc's(22 and 24 inch monitors).

[Brock Beauchamp]

I do have some questions about tailoring the experience. How can I adjust things like posts-per-page? I guess that's one question.  I know, you guys want me to click, but I want to limit my clicks... 

 

Posts per page is one of the things on my list. I'm still not entirely clear on how this interface lets you choose that option.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Additionally, some minor things that bother me- font size and spacing in posts themselves seems a bit large, don't like how little information fits on the screen because of this. Site would still be readable if you knocked it down a notch. Having the gear represent advanced search is an odd choice, more typically associated with settings. I'd also love the site to be a bit wider(not a new complaint for me) lots of grey around the edges on the two desktop pc's(22 and 24 inch monitors).

 

Welcome to the world of modern web design. The two most popular resolutions on Twins Daily are polar opposites of one another: 1366x768, which pinches content (and is a terrible resolution, don't buy hardware with that junk resolution) and the iPad at 768x1024.

 

There simply isn't a great way to accommodate these two vastly different hardware designs so I tend to defer to what works best for the iPad, as its numbers are increasing while the smaller desktop resolutions are either steady or decreasing.

 

Because devices are getting smaller - not larger - I've gone with the approach of increasing font sizes in my designs over the past 4-5 years.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Great stuff Brock. Also fun to see your old Rocket Pig monicker on the thread.

[stringer bell]

Brock, I tried to comment on the "Welcome to the new Twins Daily" article last night and couldn't.  Now that I am able to comment I do have several questions:  First, I went to the blog section and received an error message that I don't have permission to view the blogs.  I blog occasionally and I am an active poster, so sure I want permission, please inform me how that is done.  Secondly, I couldn't "like" posts last night.  I tested by liking a post this morning and it worked, but I don't know if I have a limited number of "likes" per day.  Third, I noticed that many people have changed their "Member Title" and tried to do so, but I couldn't edit that page.  Finally, when I log on to Twins Daily through my favorite places, it goes to Articles and issues an error message of "We can't find that!", which is solved by going to Forums, but it is another small annoyance.  You can send me a PM if you please or just respond.

 

The new improved site is very attractive and I'm sure it took too many hours to count.  Your work is much appreciated.  Thank you for all you do!

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Brock, I tried to comment on the "Welcome to the new Twins Daily" article last night and couldn't.  

 

I was having many of the same questions, but I think Brock has now fixed them.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Stringer, both of those problems should be corrected (they were permissions errors during the migration). If they're still not working, shoot me a PM.

[Seth Stohs]

I hate change as well... this will take some time for all of us to adjust to, but I do believe that in time, this will be a positive thing for writers and readers.

 

My only concern this point is that I miss the way the Forum postings were shown on the front page before. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

My only concern this point is that I miss the way the Forum postings were shown on the front page before. 

 

They're still on the front page. Could you elaborate on what you don't like? I removed images to display much more relevant content. Now you see not only the thread title but you also have the forum in which it was posted and an excerpt from the post.

 

It used to display the image, thread title, and last poster name.

 

Now it displays the thread title, the forum name, and an excerpt from the post.

 

A vast improvement, IMO.

[JB_Iowa]

DELETED until we figure out the real question.

 

But by the way, is there any way to delete a post?

[hvs]

I was hoping to fix my one blog entry (and article) as the chart image I posted was an important part of the article. Looks like the image management doesn't seem to be working (it fails when I try to delete the broken image or upload a new one). I also can't edit the article, so the image is just broken in that one. Obviously not your highest priority.

 

Nice work with the redesign. As a web developer, I know what it's like to roll out migrations of new sites.

[Squirrel]

DELETED until we figure out the real question.

 

But by the way, is there any way to delete a post?

Try going into edit ... and deleting from there.

 

Edit ... or better yet ... click on delete under the post. 

Edited July 27, 2014 by ChiTownTwinsFan

[curt1965]

I was watching snepp's video post, and one of the entries said, " you do not have permission to watch this."

What's up with that?

[Seth Stohs]

They're still on the front page. Could you elaborate on what you don't like? I removed images to display much more relevant content. Now you see not only the thread title but you also have the forum in which it was posted and an excerpt from the post.

 

It used to display the image, thread title, and last poster name.

 

Now it displays the thread title, the forum name, and an excerpt from the post.

 

A vast improvement, IMO.

 

On the previous, it showed the lats 8-10 forums that had been posted in. In this current one, all 5-6 of the last entries could be from the same forum. I think that giving visibility to more forums encourages discussion on more topics.

[curt1965]

Thanks ChiTown and yes, Brock ... ChiTown did answer my question about getting to the last post in a thread  .... just click on the star at left.

 

The trick is that when you first get on the revamped site, the star will always take you to the first post so readers either need to mark the thread as read so that the star will then take you only to the first new post or just mark the whole forum as read and get a fresh start.

I'm obviously a little slow, but where is the star, and where do you go to mark as read? Thanks!

[hawkiconk]

it took me 45 minutes to get in

4 times i was told, because the server didn't recognize the username/password that i eventually got in with, my account would be opened automatically in 14 minutes

after the count went to 1 minutes

it went back to 14 minutes for the 2nd and 3rd times

 

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[JB_Iowa]

I'm obviously a little slow, but where is the star, and where do you go to mark as read? Thanks!

 

Curt,

 

At the top of forum pages is a small clickable statement "Mark this Forum as Read".

 

On the left of each post in a forum (on the forum index page for each individual forum) is either a star or a circle.  They will both take you to your last unread post in the forum.  The star means you have posted in that forum.  The circle means you haven't.   (But when everything transferred yesterday, it made it look like you (or me in this case) hadn't read anything.  That's why I just went ahead and marked all my forums as read so I could essentially start fresh with new posts after I had done that.)

[JB_Iowa]

Try going into edit ... and deleting from there.

 

Edit ... or better yet ... click on delete under the post. 

 

 

I'd do that except that I don't have a "delete" button under the post -- even if no one has posted after me.  And I went through all the advanced editing and can't find a way to delete there either.

[biggentleben]

So were all warning points removed?  I still seem to have a 7-month old one...