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Giant banners on encyclopdia pages linking to anime episodes


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Calathan
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Joined: 27 Aug 2005
Posts: 9112
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 1:27 am Reply with quote
I just noticed that the encylopedia entries for anime that can be watched from ANN now have giant banner images at the top linking to the video page for that anime. Though I know you want to make it readily apparent that you can watch an anime on ANN, those banner images just seem too big to me. When I go to an encyclopedia page, I generally want the encylopedia content, so having a big image linking to the video content just clutters up the page and distracts from the content I'm actually looking for (for video content, I would go to the video section or the episode listing page). Might it be possible to have an option in the encyclopedia preferences to turn those large image links off?
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 2:09 am Reply with quote
I don't see a banner on any of the titles I know are available in the Video section, just a decently-sized "WATCH IT NOW!" button. Perhaps only subscribers can see it?
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egoist



Joined: 20 Jun 2008
Posts: 7762
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 5:03 am Reply with quote
Try this anime#6134.


I don't really mind that, but then again, I just visit the encyclopedia once or twice a day.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 6:04 am Reply with quote
Ah, okay, I see what Calathan is talking about (hard not to see it).

Yeah, that banner is just too large, and it comes across as dickish. Ya ya, I know, it almost certainly wasn't intended that way, but that's the impression you give by making a self-promotion banner that big.

So far I haven't actually ran into one in the Encyclopedia, so I haven't been affected personally. But I would certainly welcome an option that turns the thing off.
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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
Posts: 6712
Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:22 am Reply with quote
If you're going through the encyclopedia aren't you scrolling down anyways? I mean, as soon as you scroll down to "Related Anime" you can't see any of it anyways. It shocked me to...for about two seconds and then I went on down to the cast section and didn't see it again. It doesn't mess up the page setup either since everything else is still in the same spot, so I don't know what you mean by "clutters up the page". Maybe if it was flashing I'd understand your annoyance, but it's just sitting there doing anything.

Actually, the more I look at it, the more I kind of wish all the entries had those big, high quality pictures.
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egoist



Joined: 20 Jun 2008
Posts: 7762
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:37 am Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:
Actually, the more I look at it, the more I kind of wish all the entries had those big, high quality pictures.

Agreed. Besides Higurashi really deserves that. Razz
Ergo Proxy looks good, too. anime#5115

I just noticed it, but the image that's usually on the right was the sacrificial lamb. Not that I really mind that exchange.

Ya know, this is like giving a boy a PSP and taking it away right afterwards.
Quote:
Sorry, but our licensing agreement does not allow us
to show this video in the United Kingdom Sad

Not that I mind since I own both series. Wink
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Kimiko_0



Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Posts: 1796
Location: Leiden, NL, EU
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:53 am Reply with quote
Hmm. High-quality pictures are good, but not so much if they're slow-loading Flash objects. They're also a little too big to my taste.
And, like Egoist pointed out, it's rather disappointing to have a big "Click Me!" button that leads to a "Sorry, but our licensing agreement does not allow us to show this video in the Netherlands Sad" message.

So, please change the nice pictures to images instead of Flash, and remove the button if it's not going to work anyway. Or allow everyone to view the anime, that would be even better of course. *mutters* Mean USAians, keeping all the good stuff to themselves..
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Calathan
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Joined: 27 Aug 2005
Posts: 9112
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 9:21 am Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:
If you're going through the encyclopedia aren't you scrolling down anyways? I mean, as soon as you scroll down to "Related Anime" you can't see any of it anyways. It shocked me to...for about two seconds and then I went on down to the cast section and didn't see it again. It doesn't mess up the page setup either since everything else is still in the same spot, so I don't know what you mean by "clutters up the page". Maybe if it was flashing I'd understand your annoyance, but it's just sitting there doing anything.

Actually, the more I look at it, the more I kind of wish all the entries had those big, high quality pictures.


It just happens that the content I most often want to view on an encyclopedia page is normally visible without scrolling, but with these banners I have to scroll down. I know that only takes half a second, but I'd still like an option to turn them off, since I'm not planning to use these links. I also just really like things to have a uniform layout, so it just bothers me for no good reason that these images are above the other content and not in the normal image location.

Another issue I have with these images is that subscribers get an option to set a maximum image size or to fit all images to a certain size. These images ignore those options, so even if you have set in your preferences that you only want small images, you get huge images on these pages.

On the other hand, you do have a point that these high quality pictures are good. In the past, when an image had a large picture, I think it was displayed at a reduced size (in the normal picture location), and you could click on it for a larger copy. These pictures would be great like that, but I don't really like them the way they are.
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PetrifiedJello



Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 3782
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:23 am Reply with quote
Enlightening. Here I was about to start a post on this very thing, and turns out someone already beat me to the punch.

In short: I do not like those banners. More importantly, what the hell's up with removing the other images within the page for those having banners?

Ad-blocked. Simple as that. Granted, the page may appear a little bland without the side images, but I can deal with that. Generally, I'm after info, not pictures.

Thank goodness the banner ads are in a completely different location than the side images so the rest of the Encyclopedia remains unmarred.

Well, ANN did say they were making a few changes. I can't wait to see what comes next.
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Dan42
Chief Encyclopedist


Joined: 02 Jan 2002
Posts: 3782
Location: Montreal
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 6:17 pm Reply with quote
Obviously part of the reason we added those images is because we wanted to promote the fact that these series can be watched right here on ANN. Especially for people who come straight from Google. But also another large reason is because these images are simply gorgeous. Waaaay better than the previous picture in most cases. So I see them not as a banner ad but as a higher-quality replacement for the picture, which happens to link to the video page. Otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to put them in the Encyclopedia.

Kimiko_0 wrote:
Hmm. High-quality pictures are good, but not so much if they're slow-loading Flash objects. They're also a little too big to my taste. And, like Egoist pointed out, it's rather disappointing to have a big "Click Me!" button that leads to a "Sorry, but our licensing agreement does not allow us to show this video in the Netherlands Sad" message.

Well, then it's a good thing that those images are *not* Flash objects. But the "Watch It Now" button was only supposed to show up if you can watch the video; I'll look into that bug.

I'll give it a week or two so everyone can get past the initial shock and then if everyone is still up in arms about it I'll add a way (for subscribers) to control that image.
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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
Posts: 6712
Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 6:38 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
But also another large reason is because these images are simply gorgeous. Waaaay better than the previous picture in most cases. So I see them not as a banner ad but as a higher-quality replacement for the picture, which happens to link to the video page. Otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to put them in the Encyclopedia.

Since you like them so much, what are the odds of the whole encyclopedia getting revamped with high quality banners?
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Dan42
Chief Encyclopedist


Joined: 02 Jan 2002
Posts: 3782
Location: Montreal
PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 10:37 pm Reply with quote
Literally about the same odds as suddenly finding a stack of high quality pictures for all the titles in the Encyclopedia.
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PetrifiedJello



Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 3782
PostPosted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:04 am Reply with quote
Dan42 wrote:
Well, then it's a good thing that those images are *not* Flash objects.

Granted, they may not be Flash objects, but they are incredibly large links which emulate the Flash "play" button on rollover.

While I do agree the images are nice, they're too large. I use a laptop and its maximum height resolution is 800px. This doesn't take into account the browser's menu bar and the top of the web page itself. Imagine for a second where this image now lies for us: near dead center.

I don't have a problem with the image. I've a problem the image is turned into a link upon mouseover. I use my scrollwheel every single time, and in order to set focus on the page, I have to click somewhere on the page. This banner removes nearly half the real estate for this clicking area.

I could accept a compromise if the banner itself is still visible, but not turned into a link. I can't click the thing, Dan, without being taken away from the very page I'm trying to hit.

There are many, many users who use the scrollwheel vs. the side-scrollbar, especially on a laptop due to the easier way to navigate a page.

The size of the image just makes this task a bit more tedious than it used to be for us non-PC users (I use a PC at work and have no problem with the image size or that it's a link thanks to the extra 400px height).

So maybe extra coding isn't necessary, but just a revision of the page to have the link to the video separated from the image?

Otherwise, I'll no choice but to leave AdBlock's current filter in place. Sad
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Kimiko_0



Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Posts: 1796
Location: Leiden, NL, EU
PostPosted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 11:29 am Reply with quote
Oh I see. My mistake.

I think the reason I thought they were Flash objects is because of the button that was there (seems to have disappeared now, as it should), and because of their somewhat slower loading than the rest of the page. Might this be because they have to be scaled down from 900×350 to 800×311 pixels? My screen's vertical resolution is 1200px, but only in full-screen mode are the new images unscaled.
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Hentai_JP



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 605
Location: Toronto, ON
PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 12:20 pm Reply with quote
Don't scale pictures down please. They are fine as they are, and the video button everyone complains about appears only on mouseover so normally viewer can simply enjoy the art. For those who don't want to see it Adblock Plus for Firefox is what you want, otherwise press "CTRL" and "minus" keys and the whole page will scale down so it fits your screens.
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