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Survey: ANN 5.0


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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:20 pm Reply with quote
1st off: Congrats of ending the beta an officially launching this version. I know it couldn't have been easy, and I'm sure you worked hard.

While I can only speak for myself, please be aware that I am not trying to be insulting or demeaning in my opinion, but I absolutely hate version 5.0, and hope there is some option or setting to go back to the previous one.

The problem I have with 5.0 is it's usability. A lot more annoying to navigate. The only one I can stand is the list with images version, and I'm not very fond of it either. The worst, IMO is image grid. It looks like facebook, but not in a good way. All in all, it just makes ANN look like an image board.

One last thing, about the survey this time. You should add an option on the last question for those who's tried the layouts, but didn't like any of them. Right now, you can only choose a favorite, but if you disliked them all, you're really just choosing which one you dislike least.

Regardless of how I feel about it, good work on completing it.

PS: Just noticed after I posted this, but the forum looks horrible. Is there any way to remove the annoying bar on the right without setting the forum to the equivalent of a 4:3 video?
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Alph4Xerxes



Joined: 29 Jul 2012
Posts: 37
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:25 pm Reply with quote
I can kind of see what ANN wanted to do with 5.0, but I don't think it really worked. I liked the previous version because it felt compact, structured and easy to follow. With 5.0, I think it just feels a bit cluttered and scattered, and there's a lot more scrolling involved to see the same news, making it more difficult to quickly scan over news. I'm with DmonHiro, I hope there's at some point an option to change it back to the previous version.
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SpacemanHardy



Joined: 03 Jan 2012
Posts: 2509
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:29 pm Reply with quote
I think it's ugly and I don't like it. Confused

It's way too cluttered and messy, and it's hard to find older articles that you may have missed.
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sarroush





PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:32 pm Reply with quote
It's pretty bad. I sort of get what you're aiming for, but that doesn't make it any better.

Not to mention all this white is burning my eyes. I tried messing around with the skins, but that didn't give anything productive. The whole eye burning thing makes me actually want to stop coming here which is a big shame.
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Universe



Joined: 21 Dec 2006
Posts: 8
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:40 pm Reply with quote
I would agree with those above me. I dislike the new 5.0 site. I would like the option to revert back to the previous version.

Until such time as I can go back to the older version or this version get a massive overhaul, I'll be spending as little time on the site as possible.
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ChibiGoku



Joined: 29 May 2004
Posts: 675
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:43 pm Reply with quote
Agreed with everyone above. The layout is absolutely dreadful, and I don't like how, atleast on the forums, it feels like everything is squished.
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Spoofer



Joined: 03 Aug 2003
Posts: 356
Location: NY
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:45 pm Reply with quote
The default "Grid View with Images" view is so bad, that I can't even begin to comprehend how anybody could possibly have thought designing something like that was a good idea. I have absolutely no idea where my eyes are supposed to go when there's that much obnoxious imagery, in so cluttered a layout, on my screen.

The list view seems like the only version of the site that I could tolerate, but it's just the old version's format with hideous new styles and coloring.

If I weren't already familiar with ANN and I encountered this site's layout, I'd probably instantly pass on it and move on. As it is now, my enjoyment of scanning ANN's front page articles has dropped 500%.

I never understand why web devs drop perfectly pleasing and functional simplistic layouts, in exchange for layouts that are designed to overwhelm the user with way too much visual information than anyone has a need for.


Last edited by Spoofer on Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
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joelgundam00



Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 153
Location: Western NY
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:46 pm Reply with quote
I personally like the new layout, but then again I have a large widescreen monitor. Not to mention, I got used to the new layout thanks to the open beta version.
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lhernan02



Joined: 12 Jun 2005
Posts: 194
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:47 pm Reply with quote
I hate to pile on, but this is not an improvement on the old version (I gave it a 3 on the survey because the list without images is at least bearable). Even the forums are worse (although if you need the right banner to make ends meet, go ahead, I am OK with that). And the white background...it BURNS, it BURNS (I am half blind, but I don't need that much contrast, thank you).
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FlamingFirewire



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 461
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:49 pm Reply with quote
If you want to get rid of the sidebar, all you have to do is click the small button on the side of the page to shrink it to the bottom of every page on the site.

Like other's have said though, the layout looks far too much like some sort of facebook rip off and as a result, the website seems that much more cluttered and hard to find things. Of course, if the website stays as is we'll probably "get used to it" but that's really not an ideal situation at all.

The layouts given also seem to give the exact same types of layout. Maybe consider adding the old template as a way to view the main page? It would be nice to have a very clear distinction like their used to be between columns, news, reviews, and press release, that was always nice and easy to use.


Last edited by FlamingFirewire on Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:55 pm; edited 1 time in total
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 6248
Location: Katy, Texas, USA
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:49 pm Reply with quote
Yeah the ANN 5.0 needs lots of improvement. But for now, I hope this doesn't cause me any problem. At least the forum is the same, that's all I care about. Smile
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:50 pm Reply with quote
FlamingFirewire wrote:
If you want to get rid of the sidebar, all you have to do is click the small button on the side of the page to shrink it to the bottom of every page on the site.

Does not help. It moves the banned bellow, yes, but now the forums has giant white spaces on each side, and it looks horrible.
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FlamingFirewire



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 461
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 7:01 pm Reply with quote
The website could certainly use some more optimization for mobile devices though - while the old site was fast and efficient, the new site is a lot slower due to the extra pictures/java, etc. The overhead menus work well enough though.
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Shankusu



Joined: 10 Oct 2013
Posts: 43
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 7:03 pm Reply with quote
I guess it's something you have to get used to but I don't like it much.
An option to use the old layout would be nice.
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Urizithar



Joined: 07 Aug 2013
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 7:11 pm Reply with quote
It's not improvement at all. Now it's much less easy to follow and we need a lot more scrolling to see exactly the same (even in list without images - the only one I can stand). Also too much white on forum.

And you should add to 3rd question "I don't like neither of them". It's just not fair forcing on us to like at least one.
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