As you may have noticed I’ve been tweaking the layout of text on the main page. I’m still playing with ideas (for example), so feedback positive or negative is being accepted. My goal is to cleanup the layout and integrate trackbacks and comments more tightly. I’ve also got a plan for the individual page, but that will have to wait a few days.
Update: As you can probably tell I’ve reach a point where I’m satisfied with the current layout. As much as I would like to move the author line to the top of each post, that would require some CSS coding that I’m not inclined to mess with. All of the previous functionality has been retained, it’s just been rearranged. Hopefully you find it more reader friendly…
Update 2: I took a few suggestions. Comments and trackbacks are below the tagline. All icons now have TITLE and ALT tags so all browsers will see tool-tips. The bullets for the trackbacks were a little much, so I’ve replaced them with indentation only.
I like the author credit at the top of the entry and while I LIKE the IDEA of the category at the top, I’m finding it as it is now a tad confusing as placed on the example you provide (maybe include a space or set category underneath on separate line after author, at least try that to make for greater clarity).
Another thing I noticed is that when “Permalink” link is selected from the main page, you get the comment template (this one I’m now using) that’s displayed on the permanent thread page so you have the thread itself in front of you as you comment (and/or previous comments), which makes commenting a bit easier particularly when writing with other happenings occuring simultaneously (so seeing where you are after interruptions as you’re commenting is helpful).
And, this permanent page comment template place always rememebers my cookie-set information, while the comment popupbox that appears via selecting “Comment on this…” does not (it never shows my information and I have to retype it if that approach is used…subsequently, I rarely use that approach).
Long story longer…I was just wondering about the two variations and why both don’t “remember” user registration information (perhaps that’s to accommodate visitors who don’t want a cookie, I now realize).
I like the Permalink information at the end of the thread, along with all the other information, however, since when it’s displayed in-line/with the contents themselves, they tend to be easily overlooked. I’m sure I’d get accustomed to it, however, whatever you decide to do.
Sorry I haven’t sent you those sketches…been busy, still will but I’ll email rest of this.
Only problem I see with any information at the top underneath thread title is that there’s a visual interrupt if/when you include a graphic or other image/reprint content.
Maybe a compromise…
TITLE
AUTHOR, time
Category….
THREAD CONTENTS….
……
…..
……….
Comment on this…permalink
Trackbacks
As long as you’re redesigning the site… how about shrinking the left-hand column so it takes up less than half the screen?
(driveby)
Little icon thingies = GOOOOD.
~:-D
Couple of small things.
1. The wing-dings don’t matchup with the trackbacks.(but that’s just a minor observation, they didn’t matchup last week, or last month either)
2. I don’t like the amount of space that the trackbacks takes up. I feel it detracts from the piece over all. It’s almost like: Look, doesn’t matter what my piece is about, but all these people tracked back to me. Also, when you get a really big piece, that’s 20+ something trackbacks, that’s going to be really spammy, and again, further detract from what the piece is about. Only my opinion, but I would rather see a fold for the trackbacks. Then you can just expand it to see them. Much like the reader comments section.
3. I think the Reader Comments and then Show all comments Right Here, is a bit redundant. Remove the link for “Show all Comments Right Here” and replace it with “Readers Comments” I mean, no need to tell people twice what it is.
I loce the new published, date and time, comments icon, I really like the puppy paw for the trackback, and the Filed under second. That looks really sharp.
I’m gonna disagree with Suzy here about the little icons. Whenever I see symbols used in place of words, my first thought is that it’s a concession to the illiterate. And as someone who puts a great deal of weight on words and their meanings, it annoys me a smidgen. I have to deliberately translate the picture of a page into “permalink,” the word balloon into “comments,” and the footprint into “trackbacks,” and it throws me off.
That being said, I also wondered if it would get too complicated if there was a little cartoon of a spinal column next to the footprint, to complete the “trackback” idea…
Maybe I’m just being a bit too crotchety and resistant to change. I confessed recently in an e-mail to suffering from POF Syndrome (Premature Old Fart); maybe this is just another symptom.
J.
The one really strange thing about your site is that when highlighting a section to copy/paste, the selected section is always significantly below the mouse. It’s really hard to get what you want.
As far as Noumenon’s comment about the left navbar, I think his screen resolution might be 640 x 480… 🙂
Eric.
As much as I would like to move the author line to the top of each post, that would require some CSS coding that I’m not inclined to mess with.
Moving the author line is a matter of editing the Main Index template, and the archive templates. Look for the “posted” class in the templates… Posted By blah blah blah. Cut/paste from where it is to just above <$MTEntryBody$>
Definitely looks sharper. -S- as always has some great ideas [er, examples?].
Lissa, I should have been more specific. Moving it is not the problem, as you point out. Having it not look like shit is the problem, which is a font style and positioning CSS problem. Since a major redesign is forthcoming I’m just tweaking…
It’d help to have title attributes for the links around the little images. I couldn’t tell what some of them were for, and for some reason Mozilla isn’t showing the alt attribute from the img tag.
I like the paw. Everything the JT says or writes is wrong.
I agree with Jay Tea, I think the comments symbol and etc. are ridiculous. The reason being that you have to be more diligent where you place the mouse to launch the comment box and I like being lazy.
Maybe I’m just being a bit too crotchety and resistant to change. I confessed recently in an e-mail to suffering from POF Syndrome (Premature Old Fart)…
You know, I once thought I had that.
Then I looked in a mirror…
Little icon thingies = BAAAAD.
Icons are a whole new language. Everyone who designs icons has his own version of that language. They’re “cute”, but they’re not “better”.
It wasn’t broken and you didn’t fix it.
I just like efficient use of display space, combined with vacant space (it’s called, “white space” in design but unfortunately SOME people — moonbats come to mind here — presume that means something racial and/or theological, while it simply means [“white space”] vacant areas of PAPER that is/used to be ordinarily white, unused, areas that rest the eye visually on any display) (similar to “open sky” thought pauses for reflection visually, like that)…
Anyway, I like the use of white space in display and that requires grouping together related type functions and visuals also…you just group together whatever functions/information relate psychologically to the reader/viewer so they/we/anyone doesn’t have to search out what they want…
Issue is that most readers/viewers don’t have a present understanding of what they want to find (don’t know what they’re looking for until they find it), so you arrange information in such a fashion as to map out or lead visually a reader/viewer to what it is that the site/a display offers.
…thus, grouping of information by format or recurring design (translated later in the realm of blogs to “template design” via CSS commands, etc.) but also by including sufficient rest space visually that a reader/visitor subliminally recognizes areas and categories and such.
So, I DO prefer the entire issues related to a thread all together in one area and at the top, it’s a problem becuase it interrupts visually with what else is to follow (particularly when you display graphics and/or reprints).
I think the author credit might be great just beneath the thread title, as with most journalism, but that sets into motion other display problems — but it’s still worth exploring, perhaps later.
In the interim, the information grouped together at the bottom works best for me and the icons utilize the available space more efficiently…while I realize that they pose a hesitation/problem for some (even for me but my visual pleasure in seeing them overrides any extra milisecond required for me to figure out their functions), they make for a far nicer organization at the bottom of the thread.
I agree that lengthy Trackback information is interruptive but I so far haven’t thought of a solution for that. When there are two, three or so, fine as is but when the list grows to many then it is a problem…but it’s a small problem so not something that I feel any sense of OUTRAGE about, not shaking with anger, not experiencing decrepitude onset…ha.
The trackback display issue is unusual because most sites default to displaying trackback information on the dedicated thread/with comments archive…and because Wizbang is so nice and displays them on the main page, it poses a unique problem. Mypetjawa does the same thing and it’s the same problem to the reader when the trackback list grows…what I think it is is that to complain about the display problem you have to overlook gratitude for the main page trackback display, so I opt for the latter and take the former in stride.
~:-D
You can always just use a smaller typeface, consistent with the linkage/credit information area, for trackbacks to reduce the display displacement by lengthy trackback information.
You could also run together the trackback information, separated inline by a bullet or other icon, whatever, some graphic symbol…
trackback * trackbackhere * trackback * trackback * trackbackhere * trackback * trackbackhere * moretrackback * etc……
Um, don’t like it much.
Which one is the trackback???
Cindy
kevin:
how about flipping the right and left columns to make it easier to read the content when accessing from a slow loading PDA?
Or, as an alternative, give us a PDA version?
kevin:
re: my request for a pda version of wizbang. either you do great customer service in responding so fast or I have just missed up to now that it already existed. in either case, thanks.