Quantcast

Can we get rid of the "latest news" section?

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
It's relatively annoying that when I click on a forum, the header, the ad and the "latest news" takes up the entire screen, pushing any posts off of the page...

Or maybe allow people to get rid of it if we really don't care?
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
it can be collapsed, but that's it. and that setting isn't being saved for me, so every time i open my browser i have to close it.
 

crohnsy

Monkey
Oct 2, 2009
341
0
T Bay
I use Remove It Permanently in firefox to get rid of ads and extra stuff I don't want to see like latest news. :)
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
A) this is a work in progress. We're experimenting, but the reality is that nobody seems to know we have news (the front page gets very few hits compared to the forum) so we're trying to drive traffic.

B) I deliberately enabled it to be collapsible. Why that setting isn't being saved, I'm not sure - I'll look into it, but it saves for me.

C) I removed it from the showposts page so it's not quite as intrusive, just shows up in the threads listing, and finally...

D) We may be able to allow page customizations in the future, but not now.

All that said, keep the feedback coming guys, we need to hear it. Would it be better if we knocked a couple lines off (i.e. latest 3 articles)? We might be able to knock the "News" title bar off to shrink it one more line. All told, it would knock an additional 3 lines off the bar. Whatcha think?
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
Knocked two lines off it. In the process, we are losing the ability to collapse it but the goal is really to not have it collapsed anyway ;)

Closer to acceptable? It's new, of course, and new stuff always needs adjustment so I don't want to be too quick to cut it as a problem or make giant changes - nor do I want to ignore usability concerns.

It's obviously still getting polished, I'm just talking about the physical size.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
Having been part of the change process here for several years now, I am well aware of how this community handles change :D
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
A) this is a work in progress. We're experimenting, but the reality is that nobody seems to know we have news (the front page gets very few hits compared to the forum) so we're trying to drive traffic.

B) I deliberately enabled it to be collapsible. Why that setting isn't being saved, I'm not sure - I'll look into it, but it saves for me.

C) I removed it from the showposts page so it's not quite as intrusive, just shows up in the threads listing, and finally...

D) We may be able to allow page customizations in the future, but not now.

All that said, keep the feedback coming guys, we need to hear it. Would it be better if we knocked a couple lines off (i.e. latest 3 articles)? We might be able to knock the "News" title bar off to shrink it one more line. All told, it would knock an additional 3 lines off the bar. Whatcha think?

Response to point B - I am using Chrome browser on Vista if that helps any.

response to point D - pretty please? Could it be rolled into a paid membership level feature (if those ever come back)?
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
Also, I think the "latest news" bubble would be a little less obtrusive if it were moved to the side of the page (column format) below the buddy list.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
That's what I mean. It was there. For months. Nobody saw it. It's not exactly in a noticeable place there, and you're wrapping substantial text blocks in a narrow column - terrible for readability or grabbing attention.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
BV, I do remember seeing it on the sidebar, but it was at the very bottom. Maybe give it a higher priority in the column? Or have it as a drop down menu (not unlike a list of RSS feeds) so if people want to check it they can?
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
I get what you're saying but you may be conscientious enough to check for news daily, most people aren't - and too many don't even know that we have news at all. Our front page just doesn't get hit. People come right to the forums, both from direct hits and searches. The bar is only three lines long now, with no title bar, so it's about 50 pixels high.

I don't think that's too onerous. Give it a shot, see if you guys all get used to it.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
BV, I do get where you're coming from. Its probably harder than I can imagine making those kinds of decisions, seeing as how balancing methods to make a site profitable may very well completely contradict what the user base wants. I'm just trying to throw out some constructive input.
 
Aug 6, 2006
349
0
Denver, CO
I did notice when you made it shorter, this is much better for me.

When it was collapsable I felt like I had one extra click between me and the forums I wanted to see. Now Its no worse than a banner ad, oh wait, they suck too. But I get it, gotta pay the bills.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
I'm just trying to throw out some constructive input.
Yep, and I'm listening to it and keeping track of it - anyone with input should share, as it's the only way I know what you guys want. To be honest, personally I like the news bar - I like having minimalist ways to keep track of other parts of the site and I'd probably be good with the original 5 articles + title bar. So that's me, and clearly some other people don't like it, so we'll work through to a happy medium.

This particular thing isn't really driving much profit, but I'm sincerely hoping to continue to push the site towards a more content-focused place. We know and love the forums - those aren't going anywhere. What I want to see is more articles, reviews, interviews, editorials, that kind of thing. But there's no point in it if people can't see it or don't know it's there.
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
Personally, i only come here for the forums so they bother me. I will add that although this is MY PERCEPTION, i come here for the social atmosphere. I think that it is the same way with alot of people. In my opinion (i dont run this site) if people wanted to see the news and homepage, i think that they would go to it. I have my home page to the forums and ill admit i have only seen the homepage 3 times. (ever) It will be hard to get this to be a "pinkbike" style website, i feel most people are here for eachother and the forums, as opposed to getting news and reviews.
 
I had not even noticed the news header until I tripped across this thread. I sampled three or four articles and found exactly nothing to give me reason to try again. Machine builds dirt pile, person jumps with bicycle? Seen it before. We rode more than two miles and wish to hype it up? ditto.

The section comes across sort of like news.google.com - a random selection of content with no order, theme and no stylebook. This is why successful newspapers and magazines and their e-equivalents have editors.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
Well, JBP, cut us a little slack in that actually maintaining any kind of level of content is a tall order when we don't have any kind of network of writers. This is new. We have what we have right now and it's obviously going to be cultivated into something better.

That said, my guess is you don't like the content on most mountain bike websites. If the content isn't what you want to see... want to write some? We could certainly use more writers.