Front page changes
I did some changes to the front page this evening. If things look wonky, be sure to do a refresh so that your browser picks up the stylesheet changes.
One big change is that "Latest Forum Topics" now lists the latest created topics, not the topics with the latest comments on them. The "Latest Comments" box gives you the latest comments and also has the thread they are on listed. Both include a "More" jump at the end that allow you to go see the 100 more recent comments or threads posted.
I think the new layout is cleaner and easier to read. I've checked it in Firefox, Safari, and IE 6, and it looks OK in all of them.
If you have serious display issues, I repeat, REFRESH THE PAGE a couple of times to see if it is just that you had the old stylesheet. If that doesn't fix it, please let know what the problem is and what browser/platform you are on. I'll try to address it as quickly as I can.
If you want to compare the new layout to the old, the old is still available here.
The layout it much better however the images in the Product Review & Seasonal Favourite boxes aren't lined up correctly for me using Firefox 1.5.08 on Linux. Also I believe a different coloured background for the titles and not as many posts in the Latest Forum Topics & Latest Comments would look better. And those rounded boxes would look good in the threads too ;-)
Blast. I was cutting down the number of threads from 20 to 12 and try to fix the floating images and somehow I blew away the entire left column. I've got it back now, sort of. I need to head into work, then I'll see if I can get the other blocks like Lessons and Baker Blogs back.
I am seeing two "In The News" sections, one each on the left and right side of the page, with slightly different content. And no "Recent Blogs" section.
Firefox 1.5.0.10 on XP. I cleared cache and did 3 shift-refresh.
sPh
PS Personally I liked the previous layout better.
half the column is temporarily missing: it'll be back!
"Do not adjust the settings on your TV - this station is experiencing temporary technical difficulties" ;)
(see other comments in thread)
Floyd,
When I click on a message in latest messages it always flashes the message I have click on and goes immediately to the top post in the thread. So if someone has posted a new message in the middle of one of the long threads I have to try and scroll through and look for the new post. Is this normal or the result of my settings?
Eric
That's not a new problem - it *usually* works but on some threads that went wild the browser doesnt have a chance to load the zillions of comments before it tries to jump to them new entry. The hope is that the new layout will give folks a sense of which thread they are going into. It usually works, the only one I've consistently had problems with was any comments made to that "Care and Feeding of Sourdough Starter" thread which is now insanely long and going on for three pages! I'm clicking on the other "recent comments" though and it's sending me to the right place. Are you having issues all the time or just on the longer threads?
I think it happens all the time. It's just a pain on the really long threads like, care and feeding...
Eric
If it's just to go to recent posts, then you can sort by time, most recent first. It usually finds it then, since it would be on the first page of that topic in that case.
Floyd
I get two of everything past the messages and forum columns. I use IE6 on XP.
Eric
yes - our daughter was being a real pest this AM and when Floyd was trying to get a last touch up on the site she managed to distract him at *just that moment* and somehow he managed to blow away the entire front page!
He got the "Latest Forum Posts" and the "Latest Comments" to at least show up on the two columns at the top, but all the nice stuff like the seasonal favorites and such are still needing to be put back - but he had to drive in to work!
I am sure that when he gets in he'll spend a few minutes fixing it up so that it's back up to speed... Sorry about that!
Two of everything in Firefox 2.0.0.3, Seamonkey 1.1.1, Opera 9.10, and Internet Explorer 6 using XP SP2. Incidentally there are no doubles in Netscape 4.78 on Win98SE, except that the page background is white, the message boxes are black with french blue text but that is another story :<
update: looks like he's got the front page doubled-columns thing fixed now.
And now I'm going to go drink the coffee he forgot on the counter here as he rushed off to work :P
I fixed the doubles issue.
I don't think I can support Netscape 4 without seriously rolling back the technology used on this site.
IE 6+, Safari, and Firefox are the target browsers. Opera, IE 5, or old Netscapes are nice to have but combined make up less than half of a percent of people on the web, so I'm not really targetting them. Of those, only Opera's market share is growing, so it is the only one I'm keeping an eye on.
I also get bumped to the top of threads almost every time when I click on a new post, not just on long threads, which don't bother my computer at all. Do I need to change my settings to avoid this?
Also, the font color has changed and now there is very little distinction between a thread that I've read and one I haven't. Is that just me? I'm seeing brown or dark maroon and light maroon or brown. I use IE 7 if that matters.
If you raise the number of comments you view at a time it should help the bumping. Basically you are getting to the right page but your browser cannot find the anchor for the proper comment (since it is on the next page).
I did change the link colors: the blue and orange was too much on the new front page. I'm still tuning it... I agree the distinction is too subtle now (though before it was too much).
I suppose purple is out of the question! (VBG)
PS...I can adapt to anything - I appreciate your taking time to work on this.
great, neat & tidy! Thank you both for everything you do to please everyone on the site!
I'd noticed the changes before I found this thread. Seems clearer - very good, Floyd! Incidentally - you mention Safari - do you use a Mac?
Floyd,
I'm beginning to understand the logic of your suggestion about a separate area for "advanced" or "other" topics where we could have discussions that either go too long, are too specific, very technical, or whatever else might make it not so great for the front page. Although I like your all inclusive approach, which may mean limiting some of the very technical or overly specific discussions to avoid turning people off or intimidating people, I also have seen there are some very capable, experienced, knowledgable bakers on this site, and being able to pick up on some of the more technical aspects has been a a big plus, at least I think so. The only thing I would ask, if possible, is for an easy way to get to that area from the front page, so people know it exists and can go check it out. For example, maybe there could be a link to the area at the bottom, or even a small frame similar to the others showing the traffic in that area - but way at the bottom somewhere.
I also realize you may not have time for this, so it's just another idea/suggestion based off your previous comments when we were trying to figure out what to do with long threads like the L_M/bwraith starter troubleshooting thread.
Bill
Yeah, I wasn't even thinking of totally pulling it off the front page, but I could create another comment block on the front page below that only showed comments from the "Advanced Topics" section. The idea isn't to toss you guys out, shut you up, or make it difficult to converse; the hope was that it'd make it easier for everyone to carry on conversations with their peers and ignore conversations that they aren't interested in.
Floyd,
Sounds interesting to give it a try, especially if there is a little area below with a frame in it. If it's easy to move threads, something I haven't tried, then it seems like at any point, participants in a thread could suggest moving it to the "conference rooms" (might even be a good name for it).
If you have time and want to give it a try, let me know.
Bill
Hello Floyd,
I was wondering if only I am having trouble with this, or is it intended....
The new/visited link colors used to be orange/blue. Now I am seeing light brown/dark brown :( It is not easy to figure out the difference between the new and old links as the colors are so similar.
I refreshed my browser quite a few times. I am using IE6 on an XP Pro.
Thanks for everything
Srishti
PS:
OOPS SORRY, I MISSED THE THREAD ABOVE WHERE YOU ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE COLOR ISSUE.... SORRY FOR THE BOTHER :D