We’re still working out the little things, but the big picture is in
place. Didja miss us? We missed you.
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I’m fine with the new layout, but the red background is hard on my aging eyes. ๐
I miss the trademark pink. I really do. There was just something so in your face about it, not that the red on red stripes aren’t nice. The combo of the word bitches and in your face pink was a bit of a statement. Does that make sense, or am I a complete dolt?
The avatar image file size make them so small that you can barely tell what the images are. I know that’s done intentionally, but I wonder why bother?
The order of items in the first column is interesting, some of those things struck me as odd to be so high in the column. Just an observation. Overall I have to say nicely done, and count me among the crowd who was going into withdrawl at your absence.
Ah, I see you fixed the quoteblock thing now. Nicely done!
Testing my gravatar. Hee. Much fun!
Just playing, sorry. Wanted to see what happens when you change gravatars – if the previous one’s stay as they were, or if they all change…
Change is good … BUT …
Please accept this only as coming from a graphic designer of a good many years experience and totally my own opinion, but I *really* don’t feel the “Bewitched”-like font keeps with the overall impression of the site. It’s too “cutsy”, if you get my meaning. It would be okay for certain recurring features (ie. HABO), but in your masthead, I say no no NO! Again, JMO.
I do like the comments not being a pop-up box anymore, plus the three columns make for more information on the page, which is good. I am currently redesigning my work website, so I know how much work it can be!
And I MISSED my bitch updates, more than I can say … ;p
รขโฌโ Bonz
Behold the degree to which I had NO Idea: popup comments were pissing y’all off? I am so sorry! I had no idea it was bothersome. I’m so used to it, I never questioned that it was not as accepted. So, my bad. Sorry it’s taken us this long to change that around.
I like the new look, esp. how the comments look!
Okay, treading equally gently, as I too am a graphic designer and a web designer. But this comment really made me realize what the new title font reminds me of.
Chic lit and those flippy silly covers like the Avon one we were snarking.
I like the red stripes a lot. I also loved the pink but it was SO bright on my digital monitor it kind of hurt. I love all the other changes you’ve made and can definitely live with the title font, but it’s not my favorite.
The font for the titles is … hard to read. To put it mildly. Interesting new look.
I like the clear LARGE grades of the books that you have at the side.
The overall look feels “busier” to me. I like the colors. The title font is okay. I’m kinda wishing that the three columns were a more “boring” wide-column-in-middle narrow-columns-on-either-side format, but we’ll see; I’ll likely get used to it. In any event, it isn’t making me run screaming from the site!
First of all, welcome back! You were missed!
As to the new look, I really, truly like it. Especially the masthead and overall color schemes. It makes my quilter’s heart leap to see how all the colors of the masthead have been incorporated into the site, and I also like the texture in the pink.
I have a lot of focusing problems because of an old injury – and that solid pink was tough to take. I’d often have to leave the site because my eyes were straining to squint past all of the pink – especially in that skinny column of comments w/ the massive pink borders. This is MUCH more ‘readable,’ IMO. I can kindof see the point about the font being a bit ‘chicky,’ but I like it anyway! LOL Maybe you need a ‘serious’ font for serious headers, an ‘angry’ one for the more irate moments, and and a ‘girly-er’ font for other things.
My one suggestion, and I don’t even know if it’s possible in your format, has to do with that focus/leave/return thang I mentioned… it would be ever so much easier for me to keep up if the individual comment posts were numbered somehow—especially on the monstrous threads that grow so quickly. It would be a lot easer to stop/start at ‘post 42’ than it is to scroll down to ‘Nora’s post at 3:42 pm’ in the itty bitty reference fonts.
Overall, it’s wonderful. I love the new look. Great job, bitches!
Diane
OMG, Bewitched! I kept thinking it reminded me of standing in the Krispy Kreme store for some ungodly reason, but it’s totally Bewitched.
Oh, shite, now I have that song in my head.
Anyway, because it takes me a while to adjust to major change, I’ll focus on two things I really like: no pop up comments (and the placement of the avatars) and the way the grade is posted so nice and big and clean next to the reviews. REALLY like that.
Love the look!
In case anyone is wondering, my gravatar is a mojito.
Looks great – I like this current combination of fonts for subject titles and body/comments. It’s both fun & easy to read.
And I’ll put a defense in for the old pop-up comment box. It made it easy to read comments with that smallish box that could be sized around and (ahem) read while at work without it being TOO obvious that one was reading comments.
Oh and also, testing the gravatar…I had forgotten I even had one of those!
Oh, and now that I’ve commented I see I can EDIT my comment! That is made of awesome – thanks for that feature.
I do very much like the look and fonts. Very pretty and size doesn’t bother me (then again, 21” widescreen monitor… not much is an issue with it).
The font in the comments is far bigger, though!
Wow, very pretty! Love the new layout.
I have to agree with the person who said that I feel that some of the things in the right hand column are perhaps higher than I would put them. Also…so. much. Cassie. Edwards.
Also, as much of a pain as it was, I really think you need the spam blocker word back. Unless there really is someone named “buy cialis” posting such tidbits as
under several entries.
(So I posted this already, and if it shows up double, I’m sorry, but it didn’t seem to take, even though it showed up in the little feeder bit on the right side.)
I have to agree with the person who said that I feel that some of the things in the right hand column are perhaps higher than I would put them. Also…so. much. Cassie. Edwards.
Also, as much of a pain as it was, I really think you need the spam blocker word back. Unless there really is someone named “buy cialis” posting such tidbits as
under several entries.
Either I’m going insane, or there’s some kind of limit to the number of comments that show up on the comments page. I know my comments are sticking, because they’re showing up in the newly expanded right hand comment feeder thingy, but they don’t show up on the main page.
Mark me down as another person who’s glad that the comments aren’t in a pop-up box any more! Now I can actually read and post comments from work again—during the few times I’m not being extremely productive and work-like, of course! But as I’d told Sarah, the net-nanny-type software that the IT Department installed had declared the comments pop-up “porn” and wouldn’t let me access them. Not the site, mind you, just the comments.
That said, please bring back the some security thing and/or kick “buy cialis” and his/her spam off. Pretty please. With whipped cream on top. (And if you can lash him/her with wet noodles on the way out the door, so much the better.)
We’re still working out the kinks. Patience is a virtue. ๐
I like the new font, and mostly I like the new design…. but. There are so MANY bright colors crowding the page now that it’s hard to focus. Take a look at the top of this post’s page: the actual content is the least visible thing. I’m sure your advertisers are happy, but my head hurts.
Is it just me, or did the feed break when you launched the new design?
Another lurker flushed out of hiding to say: WOW! Nicely done. The colors are gorgeous. As for the pop-up comments, I didn’t know they bugged me until you did away with them. Much better now.
Re the title font: This NAILS it (and made coffee shoot out my nose, no less). And yet, I LIKE the title font. So go figure.
Which feed are you using Stephanie? They all should still be working, but we are working on migrating them all to ONE feed. If what you’re using isn’t working, try subscribing to the new feed by clicking the link in the sidebar or the RSS icon in the address bar of your browser. I hope that helps! ๐
Actually… the font is called Chicken Basket by Font Diner. The font on Bewitched looks like this. hee!
Joelle: I had this URL in the reader. I see the new one, but you need to put some redirects in; that one hasn’t updated since April 10.
Thanks, Stephanie. Yes, I already know about the redirects. As I said, I’m working on those. However, I just checked the direct path to the link you sent me you and it is current. I’m not sure what you saw, but it seems to be ok!
Just had a bit of display weirdness when I loaded up the main page; it stuck the sidebar area at the bottom of the page, pushing some of the text and headers around in strange ways.
I just had the same problem that Brandi had, Joelle. I clicked on more, more, more for the cover snark post to read everything and then clicked back and low and behold the two sidebar columns appeared at the bottom of the screen below the posts in their column. They stayed there until I clicked on this post, they seem to have returned to their correct location now the pesky things. I’m running IE 7.
There is nothing about this redesign that I don’t like. I didn’t even know that was possible.
Can you give lessons to all the other sites I go to?
Note to Joelle…it’s happening again. The columns didn’t get the memo that they are to stay on the right side of the page at all times.
hmmmm…. that’s certainly suspect! Let me go see what’s goin’ on in there. I was mucking about in the code this morning…
thanks for letting me know! ๐
OK! All fixed.
I like. Although some of the book covers are a bit too big for my liking.
I like everything else though.
It all looks pretty nice. I only have one minor complaint. The comment boxes are not handling long URLs, or anything else without spaces, very well. (Not that I have any ideas how to fix the problem.)
For example, check out comment #1 & #34 from GSvSTA: Ninjas, baby! YEAH!
Now if only I could preview my comment before submitting… ๐
Because I never notice the typos until after I hit submit. ๐
@mischab: Professionally speaking, there’s no real easy way around the issue other than to post the link as a link instead of as a URL. Lines without spaces generally won’t wrap because… well, there are no spaces! haha!
The buttons above this contact box will allow you to highlight a word, click the ‘a’ button and voila! it’s a link. ๐ Hope that helps!