Welcome to Bitchery 3.0!

Bitchin' Blog Posts

by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | November 19, 2011 | Saturday at 3:03 pm | 153 Comments

There was some database mounting and database shifting and some cursing but the new site is built and ready to rock. Taa daa!

I hope you like it. My goals with the redesign were to make content easier to find, from features to book reviews to really active discussions, and to make participating in the site easier, with more options and fewer obstacles to joining the conversations. I've said many times when asked about the website that the content up here is maybe half of the reason people come to the site - the other half is all of you and your conversations.

(Squidgy moment: holy crap I missed y'all).

Some of the new features include:

Subscribing to comment threads by RSS or Email (by request)
A new comments system that lets you log in via Facebook, Twitter, OpenID, Disqus, and possibly your driver's license number
Summaries on the main page, with full entries on their own pages
A calendar of events on the main page
A special area for the podcasts on the main page
The ability to like, share, tweet, flirt with, simmer, dogear, question, and shake your groove thang in the vicinity of the comments. Well, some of those, anyway.
All sorts of upgrades that aren't visible but should make the Bitchery more speedy and lithe, like a Regency heroine dressed in boy's clothing.

There is still little bits of work to be done, but if you notice anything truly and utterly out of whack, please let me know, either in the comments or via email at sarahATsmartbitchestrashybooksDOTcom.

Comments are welcome, too! I hope you like the new design -- and that you read something awesome while the work was in progress!

Filed: General Bitching

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Keri Ford said on 11.20.11 at 12:59 PM • [link]

Very nice and congrats!!!!
HelenMac said on 11.20.11 at 01:01 PM • [link]

Yaaay! I feel an Elton John moment coming on…the bitch(ery) is back! Huzzah!
Rose said on 11.20.11 at 01:02 PM • [link]

Oooh, pretty!
Vixenbib said on 11.20.11 at 01:02 PM • [link]

Welcome back! Very cross, cos now I’ll be spending hours working out how to navigate this new site rather than doing one of the 47 jobs that really need to be done, in order for me to feel I have any control with regard to my Life. Ah well…

Now we’re back in business, I’m looking forward to you posting my HABO, Sarah! Hint, hint! :)
Suzan Butler said on 11.20.11 at 01:04 PM • [link]

Wow. This is spiffy. COngrats on getting it done without strangling anyone. You didn’t… did you?? :P
Vixenbib said on 11.20.11 at 01:04 PM • [link]

P.S. You’ve done a fantastic job - the site looks amazing….!!!!
Shannon Stacey said on 11.20.11 at 01:06 PM • [link]

I love it! So fresh and my fear of the demise of the ladies was totally unfounded. Yay!
Vixenbib said on 11.20.11 at 01:09 PM • [link]

Yaaaay!! I LOVE the new Search function!
Alina said on 11.20.11 at 01:09 PM • [link]

Slick! I like it a lot. Thanks for all the hard work I know you put into it.

Things that seem out of whack:
The “books” choices in the navigation menu at the top of the page are all broken. They lead to some weird URL with a ton of Ss.

The pink column of navigation options such as recent reviews and browsing drop-downs - can we have that on the main home page too? The empty white space on the right-hand side seems perfect for it.
tenthmuse said on 11.20.11 at 01:12 PM • [link]

Hi Alina,

Thanks for pointing that out. The “books” item has been fixed. It was just a redirect loop and was quickly sorted out.

I’m curious about what you’re seeing on the homepage, though. There is no empty white space on the right hand side. What browser are you using?
Gator_trish said on 11.20.11 at 01:16 PM • [link]

You were missed. So glad you are back ... Better than ever.
Kathy said on 11.20.11 at 01:17 PM • [link]

Looks amazing! Joelle did a fabulous job. (and as with any new site launch she is still working out the kinks so hang tight ladies - all will be resolved in record speed I’m sure.)
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 01:20 PM • [link]

Something is amiss in IE7, which I’ll do my best to fix as soon as possible. But if you’re using IE7, I highly recommend upgrading your browser to IE9 or even Google Chrome or Mozilla’s Firefox. ;)
Tina Chaney said on 11.20.11 at 01:47 PM • [link]

Looks great, though it’s going to take me a while to get used to the new format. However, I just went to look at an old guest review, Devil’s Embrace by Catherine Coulter, and it’s all wonky. I’m using Google Chrome at the moment and every word that is supposed to have an apostrophe has weird symbols instead.
Ros Clarke said on 11.20.11 at 01:51 PM • [link]

I’ll just be the grumpy one over here in the corner who DOESN’T LIKE CHANGE.

Sorry. I expect I’ll get used to it.
Anna the Piper said on 11.20.11 at 01:53 PM • [link]

Wow, very, very nice. Well done! :) Looking forward to kicking the tires on this new model of the site!
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 01:54 PM • [link]

Hi Tina,

Thanks for letting us know. Aside from those weird characters, is everything else fine? That may no be something we can fix, as we exported from an old version into a more modern version and sometimes we can’t control every aspect. We do our best! :)
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 01:54 PM • [link]

Sorry you’re not into it, Ros. :)
Tina Chaney said on 11.20.11 at 02:12 PM • [link]

Parts are really hard to read, but mostly it’s fine. I think that it was written before the last big change.
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 02:13 PM • [link]

Yes, I think those characters were converted from an entry dated back in 2008, prior to even the last redesign, and sometimes that happens. We can try to fix them as they arise, but overall, most should be good! :) Thanks, Tina.
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 02:14 PM • [link]

Hi folks! I’m so pleased you like it - there’s still tweaking going on in the back, there, but so far, so good.

I understand the feeling, Ros. I’m not on autopilot anymore, either, since the back end (hur) is just as new as the front end. But I love that it’s faster, easier to navigate and find stuff, and more frisky.

Welcome back, y’all!
redcrow said on 11.20.11 at 02:21 PM • [link]

Welcome back!
Not happy about pale pink background, but I’ll probably get used to it eventually.
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 02:24 PM • [link]

Tina Chaney I can fix those characters in the “Devil’s Embrace” review. No problem. It’s only a handful of pesky apostrophes, I think.
DreadPirateRachel said on 11.20.11 at 02:25 PM • [link]

Looking good. I’m especially loving the new layout of the comments.
Joanne said on 11.20.11 at 02:30 PM • [link]

Love.
I feel like I’ve done some decorating and I didn’t have to move a thing!
In my favs your avi has turned into a heart…. the things I learn from romance blogs, LOL!
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 02:40 PM • [link]

@9b0eca6e88480e33eb44e8de36b67375 That’s called a favicon, and it’s easy to change. And it can be FUN, especially when you accidentally make one that in the favs and the browser tabs looks somewhat… obscene. Not that I’ve done that on another blog or anything, no, not me.
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 02:45 PM • [link]

I fixed most of them myself. But there may be a stray here or there.
Momtojuju said on 11.20.11 at 02:47 PM • [link]

So glad your back. The site looks lovely.
Lily said on 11.20.11 at 02:59 PM • [link]

Very nice, Sarah! I’m always suspicious of upgrades to sites I love because inevitably I hate the “after”, but this doesn’t seem to have any of the features I find annoying in other sites. Well done, ya’ll!
Lisa Sumrall said on 11.20.11 at 03:08 PM • [link]

I dunno. I’m reminded of a Family Guy episode where Stewie says in his English accent, “I don’t like change.” I’m an old woman of *cough cough hack* years and I don’t adapt well to this new fangled stuff the kids are always playin’ with.
Lisa Sumrall said on 11.20.11 at 03:09 PM • [link]

Argh! See? I’ve already done something I don’t know how to undo.
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 03:19 PM • [link]

Well hot diggity. Thank you!
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 03:19 PM • [link]

WOW. Buddy Jesus? That’s awesome! No worries, I’ll fix.
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 03:21 PM • [link]

I haven’t turned on the autoplay music yet. And that cursor that is a picture of Fabio’s hair with trailing waving hair. MWAAAHAHAHA!
library addict said on 11.20.11 at 03:52 PM • [link]

I like the new look.

I don’t like threaded comments, but cest la vie.
Adamandmj said on 11.20.11 at 03:53 PM • [link]

How do I get my gravatar to show up. It used to be automatic.
Laura Vivanco said on 11.20.11 at 03:54 PM • [link]

I only found out that the site was back up because I saw a comment on Twitter: this post didn’t show up in my Google Feedreader. So I clicked on the orange “subscribe to our rss feed” button at the top of the page, to see if that would work and what I got was a message at http://feeds.feedburner.com/sm… which begins

Hey! We’re doing some cool stuff here!

In addition to the new book, we’re getting a new site! Please check back again soon!

In the meantime, please pick up one of our books, including…

Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels

When I tried to subscribe to SBTB via the Google Feedreader, it said “Your search did not match any feeds.”
Scrin said on 11.20.11 at 03:57 PM • [link]

The top’s a little crowded. Takes a bit of a scroll to get the articles. The article leaders themselves…well, maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I liked the old way where I could read a few paragraphs and get a decent idea of what it’s about before I had to hit a button to open more. It looks great, but I just don’t like how the layout hinders my ability to quickly browse through.
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 03:58 PM • [link]

Hey Laura - the feed problem is being worked on. For some reason Feedburner thinks the site is still down even though we’re all here. We’re working on it!
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 03:59 PM • [link]

I see a blue rose - is that the right avatar?
Adamandmj said on 11.20.11 at 04:00 PM • [link]

Is now. All I saw was a shadow guy when I first posted.

Thanks!
Las said on 11.20.11 at 04:11 PM • [link]

Like Scrin, I dislike how crowded it is on top, but overall I like the change. It’s not so cluttered and loud.
Becca said on 11.20.11 at 04:13 PM • [link]

sorry, but I agree with Ros. First, I hate threaded comments - to follow the conversations, I have to re-read the whole thing, just to find where I left off. Much easier to look for comment 79, for example.

And the moving marquee - what is it called? is it javascript? drives me crazy. Before I’ve half read the description of the article, it’s flashed on past. I have no sense of what I’ve read any more.

I think it’s got a fresh new look, but the implementation is going to make it harder for me to read the site, not easier.
Courtney Milan said on 11.20.11 at 04:27 PM • [link]

I mostly like. The new site is pretty, and the pink and white is much, much easier on the eyes. But count me as one who hates threaded comments, too. It makes it so much harder to figure out what is new. That means you miss if someone replies to you.
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 04:32 PM • [link]

Actually, you don’t miss if someone replied to you because hitting reply sends the notice directly to you. It also keeps the reply with your comment. That’s the reason to have threaded replies! So it’s easy to see who responded to you.

You can also used the dropdown at the top to sort comments by oldest, newest, most popular, etc. :)
Barbara W. said on 11.20.11 at 04:39 PM • [link]

I don’t mind the threaded comments - for a while I had changed my own blog to use them because I preferred to be able to tell who was answering whom, although I can see why some people would think it’s not so easy to use on such a big scale.

That slide show thing on the front page is the only thing that isn’t working for me. It immediately set off a little mini-migraine trigger of mine and my right eye started twitching like crazy. Combined with the nice bright colors of the page, the speed of it was just way, way too much.
shiny said on 11.20.11 at 04:42 PM • [link]

I like the paler pink, and I think in general the new site is pretty. It looks very classy :) But (and there’s always a but, isn’t there?) I’m with scrin in that I liked how I could read multiple posts on one page without having to go into each one separately unless I wanted the comments. Now you have to go in and back, and it’s lots of clicking and loading etc. It would be helpful if at least there were next and previous buttons on each post so you didn’t have to go back to the main page each time.
Karenmc said on 11.20.11 at 04:45 PM • [link]

General liking the new look, but could the scrolling stuff at the top be slowed down long enough for me to read the entire blurb?
Taylor Reynolds said on 11.20.11 at 04:45 PM • [link]

Yay! You’re back! :)
FairyKat said on 11.20.11 at 04:50 PM • [link]

Yes, please do slow down the slide show on the front page, I feel a bit seasick! And, inspite of my speed-reading abilities, can’t seem to read the whole slide before it… slides.
Otherwise, the new site works much better on mobile now!
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 04:51 PM • [link]

Hi Shiny,

Thanks for mentioning that. We should actually have a “previous/next” to go from post to post, but for some reason, it’s not showing up. I’ll look into it. :)
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 04:58 PM • [link]

To those concerned about the speed of the slideshow:

I’ve just slowed it down quite a bit. Hopefully, that’s better for you. :) It’s just meant to be a teaser, not for full reading digestion, but I hope that helps some. We can’t make it too slow or folks will have left the page before the next slide loads.
MarieC said on 11.20.11 at 04:59 PM • [link]

Love the new look! Congrats!
Kiersten Hallie Krum said on 11.20.11 at 05:05 PM • [link]

I like it! Softer colors are much easier on the eyes. It also feels clean and slick, much easier to navigate. Murder She Writes blog has these threaded comments and I actually like them b/c you don’t have to scroll through the entire list to see if someone replies/d to you. I don’t like getting emailed for new comments - too many emails - so the threaded comments make me happy.

Congrats! I’m definitely boogieing for you!!
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 05:07 PM • [link]

I am chasing my own tail on the threaded comments. On one hand, you see specific conversations but then the conversation splinters off as replies stack up.

On one hand, previous comment threads of 50-100-150 comments have managed to get individual people’s attention and address specific comments while also addressing the group as a whole. On the other hand, this method directs comment replies directly to the person who is being responded to.

Why do you like/dislike them?
Aurora said on 11.20.11 at 05:08 PM • [link]

I really wish I could say I love the new look, but I’d be lying if I did. I actually hate a lot of it; like others have mentioned, the slide show thing at the top is annoying and distracting, as is the threaded comments - I liked being able to remember what number comment I’d read up to. I also hate the fact that each post now has a big photo next to it (what is the purpose of this???) , and each one now must be clicked into to “read more”. I liked the other version where most posts could just be read in full without clicking anywhere. I also loved the previous font being used for the headers - this new one is bland.

I’ve been coming here faithfully for many years, but I hate this new design enough that I’m now going to reconsider coming here at all. Which really is a shame, because SBTB has always interested me, but I know I’m just going to be pissed off every time I come here and not going to be able to skim each post in full. Sorry, Sarah. I truly am.
Guest said on 11.20.11 at 05:13 PM • [link]

Previous/Next is all fixed up now. You can find it between the post and the comments. :)
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 05:15 PM • [link]

Previous/Next is all fixed up now. You can find it between the post and the comments. :)
Elizabeth Gunther said on 11.20.11 at 05:19 PM • [link]

I completely agree with you. I love the softer pink and the threaded comments are easier to keep up with.
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 05:22 PM • [link]

Hi Aurora, I should probably let Sarah reply to this, but as the designer, I want to explain some of the features so folks have a better idea of why these changes were made.

The homepage is not meant to be a simple blog layout, as it has been so many years and what everyone is used to. It’s meant to be more of a “portal”, allowing users to access content more quickly. It’s meant to display “snippets” or “teasers” much like most modern web sites with a large amount of content and activity.

Now that there is more to see here, especially promotion of books and calendar events and podcasts, we need to branch away from a more basic blog layout and make it more of a “magazine”-style.

The homepage is showing featured images next to the posts so that you, the reader, can get a sense of what the post is about at-a-glance. Not every post will have a featured image associated with it, so sometimes there will be one of the “bitches” gracing the homepage in its stead.

Not everyone likes change, not everyone is going to love every new feature. :) I can appreciate that and we all have our own opinions and preferences. I think suggesting you’d stop reading because of it is a bit harsh, but hey, that’s my opinion. Objectively, the improvements to the site are many and I think you might consider giving it a chance.

You can always subscribe via RSS feed, if that styling is more appealing. As soon as Feedburner allows us to update the feed, you’ll have that option, too.

Thanks for your feedback! :)
Becca said on 11.20.11 at 05:27 PM • [link]

I can’t express my deep and abiding hatred for threaded comments. Even sorting by “oldest first”, they’re threaded, and in order to see where I’ve left off, I have to re-read the entire stack of comments. I’m likely to do that once - after that, I’ll abandon the conversation as not being worth the headache.

It’s so much easier to remember that I left off at comment number whatsit, and go on from there.
shiny said on 11.20.11 at 05:27 PM • [link]

thanks! Much better now :)
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 05:29 PM • [link]

Woot! :) Good, good.
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 05:29 PM • [link]

Your wish is my command-ish. ;-) I slowed it down. Hope that helps!
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 05:33 PM • [link]

Hey Aurora.

I’m sorry you really dislike the new design. I can understand not being able to easily skim the entries is bothersome, since it used to be a extend/contract option on the main page. Unfortunately, that also made load times somewhat cumbersome.

That said, this page:

http://smartbitchestrashybooks…

has more summaries in line without images, if that’s more appealing. I can also try to extend the summary content on that page so there’s more there.

One of the reasons we moved the home page all around was that in the previous version, there were four entries on the main page. If I update the site three times in one day, which happens because people do things that are interesting or there’s a new book out every .03 seconds at this point, then content that was active falls off the main page and the discussion tapers off. People who like specific features, like HaBO or the reviews or the random discussions of man-titty, had to hunt further into the site to find the entry they wanted, and after two or three pages that’s a pain in the tuchas. I’d done it a ton of times myself when I couldn’t recall a URL for a specific entry, for example.

The new page allows more active content to be featured, and allows discussions to continue longer, if folks want them too.

Regardless, I’m sorry you’re disappointed and that you don’t like it.
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 05:35 PM • [link]

OH, I see what you’re saying. So if the comments were flat (i.e. not threaded), it’s easier for you to track where you left off, vs. having to peek at several different points of a thread to see if new comments were made. It’s easier to follow one long conversation instead of a conversation with branches.

Am I getting that right?
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 05:57 PM • [link]

I’m trying out some numbered comment solutions here, so if you see anything weirdo, it’s just me trying to fix it.
Antje said on 11.20.11 at 06:01 PM • [link]

I like it, but I miss the “More, more, more!” and not having to “commit” to a post- you read it, and you scroll down to another one.
Taryn Elliott said on 11.20.11 at 06:03 PM • [link]

Glad to see you back in fighting form! Love the tweaks….and love even more that you kept most of it the same. ;) Love the look of your blog/site
Ladyof Lostshadows said on 11.20.11 at 06:05 PM • [link]

Can’t say I’m thrilled with the new design. I liked going to the front page and seeing the most recent entry just there. I don’t like the scrolling thingy. It takes too long to load over dialup. (I redirected my bookmark to the blog page. I don’t know if I’ll miss anything important, but it seemed like a good fix for me.) Also, not a big fan of pastels.

Getting to the comments, telling which are new, and just posting comments is harder. I’m just glad I was bored and made a facebook page, or I wouldn’t be able to leave this comment. I do like threaded comments better though, but it does have its trade offs.

And the RSS feed may be screwed up. Clicking on the button just takes you to the feed, but doesn’t give you subscription options. (It’s always offered me them on other sites, even if I already had a feed.) It’s also just listing it as failed to load rather than the new posts. (This problem could be at my end. RSS is unreliable on my browser.)
I can't remember said on 11.20.11 at 06:06 PM • [link]

Is there a way to login with our old bitchery account? I must admit that I do not like to log in using other accounts- but that’s probably just me and my desire to make it harder to stalk me in cyber space.

The new site is ... different - but I imagine that I will get used to it. I’m curious if this version will get through our work firewall where it has been blocked.

My only upgrade desire is to change the direction of the top scroll bar thingy. I’m completely discombobulated because it is going backwards. I always expect things to switch / flip like a book page - so going from right to left, not the way it is now.
Carolyn said on 11.20.11 at 06:20 PM • [link]

If I’m remembering correctly, the old Bitchery didn’t have numbered posts. I never knew where I left off and if I came back, I’d start from the bottom and work my way up. I like this much better. The only threaded comments I hate are the ones that just show the title of the replies. Very frustrating.

It’s looking good, Sarah and Joelle. Congratulations!
DarleneMarshall said on 11.20.11 at 06:21 PM • [link]

Very nice! I too especially like the numbered posts, and I’m still checking out the other bells and whistles.
Ladyof Lostshadows said on 11.20.11 at 06:25 PM • [link]

Oh yeah, I miss the reference to man titty in the title. Much classier than bullshit. ;)
Alina said on 11.20.11 at 06:29 PM • [link]

You know what, it was my ad-block, I only recently started using it and forget it’s there sometimes. I now see the book adverts where they’re supposed to be.

The sb-tb.com redirect not working, is that due to the redesign or just a coincidence?
Adamandmj said on 11.20.11 at 06:32 PM • [link]

That’s how I feel, too.
Plus, non-threaded comments seem more inclusive to me. And if someone wants to respond directly to a previous comment, the way we did before (@name or @name #xx) works just as well I think.
Laura Vivanco said on 11.20.11 at 06:36 PM • [link]

I like the idea of being able to subscribe to comments without actually having to write one myself (that’s the way things work at Dear Author). At the moment, though, I’m not getting notification of any of them (not even of the one that was a direct reply to my previous comment).
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 06:42 PM • [link]

Oh good! I just checked sb-tb-.com and it’s redirecting. Will you give it one more go? :) Thanks!
cleo said on 11.20.11 at 06:43 PM • [link]

Overall I like the new look. The main thing I miss is the list of recent comments on the homepage. I found it on the other pages, but I miss it on the homepage.
Becca said on 11.20.11 at 06:45 PM • [link]

yes, exactly. If there was some way to indicate which posts have been read already (as my husband, who loves threaded comments says that usenet does), that would be better, but still it’s a pain to have to re-scan everything every time, just to see new comments.
Becca said on 11.20.11 at 06:48 PM • [link]

oh, and it’s hard having threaded comments be numbered, because anytime someone enters something upstream, all the numbers change, so you can’t even make reference to a post by the number.
Courtney Milan said on 11.20.11 at 06:52 PM • [link]

Sorry, I’ve used threaded comments enough to know this isn’t true. I think they are death for convoluted conversations. Yes, you can see when someone responds to you—but it’s not easy to tell when someone else is responding on some other thread that you’ve already read. You skim right past it, and miss someone’s answer to something else.

The only time I’ve seen threaded comments work as a discussion forum is when there is some easy way to tell that a comment is new since last you visited. As it is, I’m going to have to read the ENTIRE thread to figure out if someone has commented on something new that I’m watching, instead of just going to the end and finding the comments I haven’t read. I can watch *my own* comments, but even I am not solipsistic enough to think that those are the only comments worth watching!

Threaded comments make it very, very difficult to avidly lurk on a conversation.

And this would all be okay if the dropdown trumped threading, but it doesn’t. If I sort by “oldest first” it’s still bringing things up threaded, and not in the order they were posted.

Also: the numbering now is going to be more confusing than helpful. If I refer to comment #38, it won’t be the same number if someone has sorted by “newest first.” If someone comments to a comment above that, #38 becomes #39.
Courtney Milan said on 11.20.11 at 06:54 PM • [link]

Yes, this is exactly the issue. Threaded comments only work for avid discussions, where you’re not participating in the whole, but are interested in everything being said, if you can tell what’s new and unread through some easy way.
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 07:11 PM • [link]

Ok, I’m going to unthread the comments. That means this discussion will make crazy sense. Like madlibs only without random references to peens or Ionic columns or both.
Sally said on 11.20.11 at 07:15 PM • [link]

I like pink and all, but the new design is too bright for me. Bright pink background against another white bg. I wish there was some balance between the two…
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 07:15 PM • [link]

@ I Can’t Remember
I’m not using the old comments module any more, as it gave too many people problems with the captcha, and there was a big ol’ mess of spammers creating accounts then attempting to send messages to people. It was ridiculous. So with this system, there’s less spam, but also a lot more options to log in from user/pass combos you already employ. @ Laura
I am sorry the RSS for that isn’t working - I’ll look into it!
Courtney Milan said on 11.20.11 at 07:18 PM • [link]

SB Sarah Yay! Thank you! Is there any way you can make it so that when you click “reply” it automatically says who you’re replying to? Now that I’m being greedy. :)
Alina said on 11.20.11 at 07:41 PM • [link]

The sb-tb.com redirect is working for me now. All is in order!
Keziah Hill said on 11.20.11 at 07:58 PM • [link]

I must admit I only come to your site when I want to read the comments. Otherwise I read it in Google Reader.
Keziah Hill said on 11.20.11 at 08:02 PM • [link]

OK I can’t get the feed going properly now in Google Reader. Several posts are not showing up.
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 08:07 PM • [link]

I *think* that if I click reply and type an “at-sign ” and then your name, it attempts to reply to you. Am testing it now.
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 08:09 PM • [link]

Keziah - I know the feed is being persnickety, as Google seems to think the site is still down. Which, it’s not!
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 08:09 PM • [link]

@17cb270851698d4456de89ba461d0a95 Hm. Let me see if I can make that so.
Char said on 11.20.11 at 08:41 PM • [link]

RSS Feed is not working right. You click subscribe and it just goes to the feed page but does not give you a choice to subscribe to the blog’s feed. :(
FishWithSticks said on 11.20.11 at 08:53 PM • [link]

I’m liking the new design quite a bit. Like the colors, the layout, the nice clean look to it. I’ve poked around some of the menus and was able to get where I wanted with no problems.

My only problem is this: The scrolling banner on the main page? Too fast. I know you guys have slowed it down considerably, but it literally makes my eyes cross. I’m the third generation in my family to get kicked out of a speed reading class for reading too fast, and I couldn’t get through the entire snippet on this post before it moved to the next one. And I didn’t see anything to get me back to it so I could either finish reading or click on it. I sat and waited for it to cycle through again so I could get to it and click and every time it changed, my eyes would cross. LOL. Something about the images/timing/text combination that I just can’t handle.

Maybe the solution isn’t slowing it down more, but maybe having less text show up?
Adamandmj said on 11.20.11 at 09:05 PM • [link]

Thanks for unthreading the comments. :)
SB Sarah said on 11.20.11 at 10:00 PM • [link]

Fishwithsticks: if you move your mouse over the slider, it should stop moving. Does that help?

Char: I know the RSS feed is all bonky. Google thinks the site is still down, but we’re working on it. I’m sorry!
Joelle said on 11.20.11 at 10:14 PM • [link]

RSS feed is back in business.
Ladyof Lostshadows said on 11.20.11 at 10:46 PM • [link]

Yay!

Okay… All my other RSS feeds are something called LiveFeed. Any suggestions on what to pick from this mass?
Darlynne said on 11.20.11 at 10:54 PM • [link]

I love it! After all the changes, all the suggestions, as of Sunday night, I think the hot pink palace is looking really good. The banner works for me and I like that it lets me know what’s new or what I might have missed, without having to scroll all over the place. It’s great to be home!
Jules said on 11.20.11 at 10:57 PM • [link]

Hey Ladies! Very pretty in pink here. (Just have to remember to dim my screen a little :) )

Three things:

1. When I click on a comment link from the blog page, for example the 98 comments on this blog, instead of opening up the full blog post and jumping me to the comments, it just opens the page. Once I am on the page and click 98 comments, it sends me to the comments like I would expect from the first one. Not sure if this is working as designed or not.

2. Is there an easier way to find all the HABO then the “More Topics” drop down? I am assuming those are the catch all tags from the other site so there are quite a few of them. Not too big of a deal, but if there is an easier way, like a link somewhere, i’d love to know.

3. Now it is pretty prominent on the home page that newbies can “Check Out the Best of SBTB” but it looks like we have been pretty lax in the past two years. If I were new i would think that .. well that it was lame that nothing awesome has happened in two years.

Overall though, nice job! I think I will really grow to like it!

Also, side bar: I am running this on Safari and it looks good. Don’t know if you checked that browser (as sometimes websites woefully forget it…)
Darlynne said on 11.20.11 at 10:59 PM • [link]

In the weird but true category, my comment initially appeared as #81, right after one of Courtney Milan’s comments from four hours prior. When I chose “more comments” or whatever the button is, my comment moved to 98, which is where it should be. That could be confusing, especially when comments are coming in fast and furious. Shouldn’t the most newest comments automatically appear at the end, regardless of where I’m looking in the comment stream?

Also, will we have an edit button?
Darlynne said on 11.20.11 at 11:03 PM • [link]

“Most newest.” *sigh* Seriously though, now I’m replying to my new comment, something like #101, and I am again numbered 81.
Jules said on 11.20.11 at 11:07 PM • [link]

I wonder if this is happening because they only autoload 80 comments initially. I am doing a test (since i have 101 open and am signed in to boot) to see if it mis-numbers me. (Also would love an edit :) )
Jules said on 11.20.11 at 11:15 PM • [link]

Sorry for the double post. But I just noticed two more things.

1) After I posted my reply comment above, it a) appeared nested until i refreshed b) at the top of the comments it listed showing nan of nan comments. As i am typing this it says nan of 102… does this mean i am 102 in line for nan? Delicious!

2) I have no idea if this was my shady connection but when i went to type the first comment i had a never ending ellipses looping and i couldn’t type a comment at all (couldn’t get focus in the box) until i refreshed.

Hope these are helpful and not just pains in the butt things :)
Emily said on 11.20.11 at 11:21 PM • [link]

I can’t read the numbers of the posts, and I using this post to figure out post using the new system.
Diatryma said on 11.20.11 at 11:37 PM • [link]

I liked that you had Expand buttons that didn’t lead to a new page. It made it easier to read everything—I didn’t have to have a lot of open tabs, I could just scroll down when I was done. But I seem to be alone in this preference.
SonomaLass said on 11.21.11 at 03:55 AM • [link]

Comments are showing up oddly for me. In “oldest first” mode, the comments don’t seem threaded. Many comments have a “hide x replies” tag below, but when I select it, nothing changes, except that it says “show x replies” instead. Mind you, I’m on the iPad; it might look different on a computer.
Sonomalass50 said on 11.21.11 at 03:57 AM • [link]

I also don’t see any comment numbers.
Sarah Taylor said on 11.21.11 at 06:48 AM • [link]

Le Test… so pretty! Posting as Google profile eats my picture. So sad.
Flo_over said on 11.21.11 at 06:57 AM • [link]

Test again! Huzzah.

The load time is very nice. Love the colors and setup. Much cleaner and neater.
Pam Regis said on 11.21.11 at 07:04 AM • [link]

Beautiful. Congratulations!
Mary Anne Graham said on 11.21.11 at 07:51 AM • [link]

A smart site for the Smart Bitches. It takes a while to load but that’s only b/c my PC isn’t as smart as y’all.

Congrats!
JanLo said on 11.21.11 at 07:55 AM • [link]

I have to add to the number that I don’t like the threaded comments. I’d much rather be able to scroll to, say, number 79, then go off about my business and come back later and pick up at comment 80. I realize some of the linked comments would not be connected that way, but it’s much easier for folks who have to come and go to read rather than starting at the top of the messages each time to see what’s been added - and then not being sure what’s new and what’s been read before.
Milena Benini said on 11.21.11 at 08:53 AM • [link]

Not much to say except I like the new design, but I do miss the man titty.
Kelly S. Bishop said on 11.21.11 at 09:06 AM • [link]

It’s just before 9 am Eastern Mon 11/21.

I usually use Chrome as my browser but apparently Chrome doesn’t like your new design. The slideshow on the home page doesn’t appear at all - there’s just a big blank space where it should be. Also, when I tried to click on the comments link for this post, nothing would happen. It wouldn’t show me the comments.

Both of these problems disappeared when I used IE instead, so I assume it’s some kind of interface problem with Chrome. Just thought you should know.
SB Sarah said on 11.21.11 at 09:20 AM • [link]

@Milena Benini - what man titty do you miss? The title of the site, “...stay for the man titty?”

@Kelly - I’m using Chrome too and noticed the same thing, though it’s picked up in speed now. I’m looking into it. It’s weird - but thanks for letting me know!
SB Sarah said on 11.21.11 at 09:21 AM • [link]

Also, fear not, everyone. I’m going to be adding the autoplay music and the streaming cursor of Fabio’s hair trailing across the screen later on today. WOOO!
Melissa Connolly said on 11.21.11 at 09:32 AM • [link]

Love the new design. It’s fresh and easy to navigate. Joelle you did a fabulous job!!!

@Becca - I’m not having any issue with viewing it in Chrome. Are you on the latest version?
cayenne said on 11.21.11 at 09:35 AM • [link]

Liking it! Congrats on the successful update!
Becca said on 11.21.11 at 10:32 AM • [link]

That’s Kelly at 114 who is having problems with Chrome. I use Firefox and have no problem.

Thank you so much for unthreading the comments. I do like the new site and look.
Becca said on 11.21.11 at 10:35 AM • [link]

ARUGH! reply puts the comment right under the comment you’re replying to, and the numbers all change, so it’s still threading.
Milena Benini said on 11.21.11 at 10:40 AM • [link]

Yes, the title. It was always fun when someone looked over my shoulder while I was reading something here. Also… well, man titty.
SB Sarah said on 11.21.11 at 10:53 AM • [link]

CRAP MONKEYS.
SB Sarah said on 11.21.11 at 10:57 AM • [link]

I am working on both the site title and the threading. I’ve turned it off, but somehow you can still reply. ARGH. Disqus, why are acting this way? Perhaps it needs coffee.
Lisa said on 11.21.11 at 11:29 AM • [link]

For what it’s worth, I’m using Firefox as a browser and know nothing of this mysterious speedy slideshow people are mentioning. I too am death on threaded comments, especially when you get reply after reply and the thread is literally one word wide. So, I’m glad they’re gone.

I love the new design! I love that the meaty content takes up the middle two-thirds or so of the screen and that it’s all clean and easy to see. I know there’s the whole “people view web pages like capital Fs” deal, but I like exiling the ads to the right and little snippets to the left. Anyhow, change is stressful all around, but I think this particular change is for the better - at least for me.
Sessarego1 said on 11.21.11 at 11:48 AM • [link]

So! Much! Pink! Also, Death to the slideshow! Other than that, welcome back, SB Sarah, the Internet missed you!
Sarahtq said on 11.21.11 at 12:17 PM • [link]

Love, LOVE, Love the new website! It looks great. And I really like the new tagline.
nurcat said on 11.21.11 at 12:38 PM • [link]

OOH Shiney !
Guest said on 11.21.11 at 12:55 PM • [link]

Nice design for the most part. Now that comments aren’t threaded anymore (every site I’ve seen go to them ends up switching back) the only somewhat complaint is the big honking rotating marquee at the top of the home page and the stuff directly below that (Bitchin Books, Dear Bitches…). It makes for too much scrolling before getting to the meat of the site, which for me is the blog posts (I know there’s a menu option at the top, but it was nicer when they were the focus of the home page).

Also having some serious load time lag on images in IE9 at the moment…
cleo said on 11.21.11 at 02:17 PM • [link]

I’m enjoying watching the final site tweeking. I’m glad you got rid of the threaded comments, but I’m sorry you got rid of the Reply button on the comments. That was nice - so you could easily see what the original comment was. They have a similar feature on Dear Author, and I like it.

Also, I’m going to expand on why I miss the recent comments sidebar on the homepage. Sometimes, when there’s a meaty discussion on SBTB and I’m working on something that’s really dull, I will check back regularly - like every 30 minutes, like do 3 more whatevers and then I get to check SBTB, and I’ve been in the habit of just pulling up the homepage and looking at the comments to see if anything’s changed since my last visit. I suppose I’ll get used to pulling up the blog page instead, but sigh, change is hard.
CK said on 11.21.11 at 02:46 PM • [link]

Like it…except for the Pepto pink background.
sarah mayberry said on 11.21.11 at 05:06 PM • [link]

It’s lovely to have you back, and looking so young and fresh! Having just fiddled with my own site, I know what a huge process this is and your site has a million more moving parts than mine. I think it looks great, clean and easy to navigate. Thanks so much to you and Joelle for putting in the time and energy and $ to renovate the place we all come to and to congregate and talk about the stuff we love.
Cindy2paw said on 11.21.11 at 05:07 PM • [link]

Bah, Google Reader’s subscribe says it can’t find a feed at all. I didn’t know you were up and running again, only clicked through by accident.
Kathleen O said on 11.21.11 at 09:40 PM • [link]

Very nice… I look forward to some great things to come from this blog….
shel said on 11.21.11 at 10:47 PM • [link]

I’m liking the cleaner feel and looks, congrats.

Is it possible to add the grade for reviews to the snippets on the main page?
SB Sarah said on 11.22.11 at 02:08 PM • [link]

Shel: you mean to have the grade for the book on the main page summaries? Let me see if I can do that.

Also: if you click reply, the comment will appear temporarily under the comment to which you are replying. BUT upon page reload, the comment will line up in the order in which it was received and be numbered accordingly - it won’t screw up the numbers after refresh.
Ros Clarke said on 11.22.11 at 03:08 PM • [link]

Hey, Sarah, is there any way to have the comments numbered in the order they were posted? I don’t mind seeing the newer comments at the top, but it really throws me out of whack to have the newest comment be number 1, and the oldest comment changing its number every time a new one is added.
SB Sarah said on 11.22.11 at 05:06 PM • [link]

Hey Ros: That is strange. The 1 comment should be the oldest one, and the comments should be running oldest to newest at the bottom. Is there a dropdown box on your browser that allows you to change the order?

Thanks for the heads up.
Ros Clarke said on 11.22.11 at 07:46 PM • [link]

I have them running oldest at the bottom and newest at the top, with the newest one numbered 1. I have no idea whether there is a browser setting that relates to this but it seems unlikely to me. I’m in FF.
shel said on 11.22.11 at 08:51 PM • [link]

Yes, the ability to see the grade on the main page, to help determine clicking through to the whole post.
Ros Clarke said on 11.23.11 at 09:18 AM • [link]

It seems to be working now! I don’t know whether you fixed something or my browser did, but hooray!
SB Sarah said on 11.23.11 at 09:34 AM • [link]

AWESOME. Glad it’s happy now!!
Lynda Ryba said on 11.23.11 at 02:55 PM • [link]

“Fishwithsticks: if you move your mouse over the slider, it should stop moving. Does that help?”

OMG Yes! Thanks! LOL. I also found the little hearts I can click on to go to another snippet.
SB Sarah said on 11.23.11 at 03:23 PM • [link]

Yes! The hearts too - they correspond to the posts in the slider. Lots of ways to bend it to your will!
Kate Frowzy said on 11.24.11 at 11:08 PM • [link]

Looks great! So glad to have you back. Can’t wait to poke around.
Anne A said on 11.25.11 at 01:11 PM • [link]

There is something seriously wonky going on with the RSS feed, now that Google read has managed to find it again. I keep getting the same posts showing up as new over and over again, and none of the links to the posts themselves actually work (even to the new posts that aren’t dulicates).

Eg: My feed reader currently shows (‘posted’ in the three days) two ‘The Power of Julie Garwood’, two reviews of Shades of Grey, two November 15th podcasts with Sarah Mayberry, three news articles about ‘Penguin, Amazon and the Kindle Library’, five(!) Bitchery Glossaries… Maybe it’s updating the reader every time you edit a post, or something?

Also, every time I hit ‘load more comments’ (I’m in IE 9), it breaks off the comment numbers and starts at 1 again. It seems to load 40 comments at a time, so it keeps going 1 2 3 .... 40 1 2 3 ... 40 1 2 3… etc. Refreshing doesn’t fix, as I have to hit ‘load more comments’ multiple times again.

I am another who’s not really (by which I mean ‘at all’) a fan of having to use one of my non-book-blog-affiliated IDs/log-ins to participate in comments here.
SB Sarah said on 11.25.11 at 04:01 PM • [link]

Oh, boy. I thought I’d fixed it! I’m looking at it now - I’m sorry.

You shouldn’t have to use a non-bookblog affiliated ID. You should be able to login as “guest” and enter whatever name/email you like. Is that not an option for you?
Kcardascia said on 11.25.11 at 08:35 PM • [link]

Hey—I like the new look a lot, but I really miss the old way that you could expand to see the whole post without navigating to an entirely new page. Any chance you’ll bring that back? It’s so much nicer than ending up with a dozen post teasers started and half a dozen extra tabs open.
SB Sarah said on 11.25.11 at 09:56 PM • [link]

Thanks for the compliment on the look!

Alas, the ‘more more more’ is gone, but there is a similar version of the old index here:

http://smartbitchestrashybooks…

It doesn’t expand but there is a lot more preview content there. Part of the problem was that the expand/contract (hur hur) wasn’t nicely playing with every browser. You should be able to open one entry and navigate between them using the sidebar or the links at the bottom of the entry text, though.
bookstorecat said on 11.27.11 at 12:37 AM • [link]

Where…how…what? My gravatar is gone, where do we sign in to get it back? My original login doesn’t seem to work with DISQUS.
bookstorecat said on 11.28.11 at 06:15 PM • [link]

I can’t figure out how to log in on this new site. I tried DISQUS—but it didn’t recognize my username or password. What happened to Gravatar? I used to be automatically logged in.
bookstorecat said on 11.29.11 at 10:38 PM • [link]

Still trying to figure out how to log in to the new site. It used to just recognize me. What happened to Gravatar? My previous login info does not work with Disqus. I keep posting as Guest, but I miss my pic. Do I have to create a new account, because I can’t see how to do that either.