Bitchin' Blog Posts
Welcome to Bitches 2.0
by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | April 15, 2008 | Tuesday at 12:54 pm | 124 CommentsWe’re still working out the little things, but the big picture is in
place. Didja miss us? We missed you.
Filed: Mobile Bitches!
SB Sarah said on 04.15.08 at 02:01 PM • [link]
Me: Wow, it looks great!
Me: Thanks!
Me: Did you do all this?
Me: HAH! Not! We have massive moxie in the hizzouse.
Me: So what are you doing?
Me: Testing the comments. I’m done now.
rebyj said on 04.15.08 at 02:17 PM • [link]
colors are great.. new font seems kinda small but that’s ok I’m over 40, all fonts are small without my spectacles on. It looks wonderful!
Welcome back ! you were borderline obsessively missed LOL.
The navigational tabs on the comment page are very welcome !
jennifer echols said on 04.15.08 at 02:31 PM • [link]
It’s so pretty but I’m having that Windows Vista feeling. The world has turned upside-down!
Darlene Marshall said on 04.15.08 at 02:32 PM • [link]
I agree the font’s a tad small, but otherwise it looks good. I like the contrasting red. Same color (“Carnival Red”) I painted one wall in my office to liven things up and stimulate writing. Hope it works for you too.
SB Sarah said on 04.15.08 at 02:54 PM • [link]
I’m glad you dig it! And thanks for the feedback re: Font. Will take it under consideration.
Victoria Janssen said on 04.15.08 at 02:56 PM • [link]
I was never going to marry, after my traumatic experience being sold into marriage with the ancient Duke of Sleazy to repay my mother’s and father’s and precocious seven year old sister’s gambling debts, but I’ve realized I can’t live without you, Smart Bitches, so please, please save me from this drab existence and take me away in your carriage!
Rachel said on 04.15.08 at 03:04 PM • [link]
Ooh… pretty! Nice job, Bitches!
MeggieMacGroovie said on 04.15.08 at 03:11 PM • [link]
Ya’all are back! I went through withdrawls….not kidding!!!!
Loving the new layout! Especially the Napoli expansion.
I’m another one not too keen on the font though. I keep wanting to bold it or something.
Jane said on 04.15.08 at 03:19 PM • [link]
Love it. Love the colors, the organization, the icons, graphics, and fonts. It works together very cohesively.
Ann Bruce said on 04.15.08 at 03:23 PM • [link]
Ooh, I have blog envy!
Mel-O-Drama said on 04.15.08 at 03:26 PM • [link]
Thank God you’re back! Seriously, I don’t do well with withdrawals…
Becca said on 04.15.08 at 03:29 PM • [link]
The site looks great! I love the adorable font on the header and the menu sections.
azteclady said on 04.15.08 at 03:32 PM • [link]
Lemme see if this time I can comment—‘cause earlier? Y’all hated on me *sniff*
And I’‘m with Mel-O-Drama, the withdrawals were awful.
Joelle said on 04.15.08 at 03:34 PM • [link]
La la la, I’m just testing something. Don’t mind me. ;-)
Mellie said on 04.15.08 at 03:36 PM • [link]
Delurking to agree- GREAT new design! I was starting to get the shakes yesterday- Hooray! The Bitches are Back!
StephB said on 04.15.08 at 03:40 PM • [link]
I find it a bit harder to read the text on the entries now - I think it’s because of that small font, which makes me squint (and I’m 30, so still in denial about eyesight problems! ;) ) - but otherwise it’s absolutely gorgeous. I love the colors!
SB Sarah said on 04.15.08 at 03:43 PM • [link]
We upped the font size (or Joelle did) so let me know what you think now, k? Thanks!
Mel-O-Drama said on 04.15.08 at 03:49 PM • [link]
font size better, sugar-bean. :)
Erin said on 04.15.08 at 03:50 PM • [link]
I love the new colors and everything, but with so much going on the right hand side, I find it a little hard to read. I’m sure a lot of it is just getting used to the new layout, but I’m definitely a fan of the single side column.
Oh, and please don’t leave teh internets again. I was actually forced to do work yesterday. For shame, making me be productive!
MaryKate said on 04.15.08 at 04:00 PM • [link]
Nice! I like the look alot. Way to go, bitches! (I don’t get to say that near enough in my job)
Darlene Marshall said on 04.15.08 at 04:02 PM • [link]
Much better. We old bats thank you.
Lorelie said on 04.15.08 at 04:14 PM • [link]
Phew. I thought you’d broken the site. :D
I like the new look, very much.
Gennita Low said on 04.15.08 at 04:16 PM • [link]
I sorta miss the candy pink. Are you using a different font? Hey, looking forward to my BEER in Pittsburgh, SB Sarah and SB Candy!
robinb said on 04.15.08 at 04:16 PM • [link]
I agree with Erin! It takes a little getting used to with all that on the right, but I *do* like it.
And, you know, that whole not being there yesterday? Not cool, man. Not cool. Didn’t realize how much I rely on ya’ll to lighten up my day!
December Quinn/Stacia Kane said on 04.15.08 at 04:16 PM • [link]
Oooh, me likey! Especially now the font is bigger. It works now, before it was a little small for pitifully nearsighted me.
It’s really gorgeous, ladies. It makes me happy just looking at it, it’s so cheerful and fun.
Darlene Marshall said on 04.15.08 at 04:17 PM • [link]
I was tweaking my account, trying to add a photo or my SB Title avatar, but it wouldn’t take it. The file is the right size and format, so I’m not sure what I’m screwing up. Any suggestions?
Laura Vivanco said on 04.15.08 at 04:19 PM • [link]
I can’t see the adverts in the third column unless I scroll across to the right. This doesn’t bother me, really, as I don’t mind missing the adverts, and perhaps it doesn’t affect anyone else. Maybe my screen is a bit small?
SB Sarah said on 04.15.08 at 04:28 PM • [link]
Darlene - this is a guess as I’m still figuring it all out on my end, but my image is from gravatar.com, which may work for you. I’m looking into the ways and means of image management on the EE back end. Or something like that.
The file size, I do know, is 30 x 30px.
I’ll find out and give instructions. Stay tuned.
And Laura - it could be you’re on an 800x600 which is smaller than the width of the page.
Janet Mullany said on 04.15.08 at 04:29 PM • [link]
Love it! And I am so, so glad you’re back.
Laura, you need to look at it full screen to appreciate its beauty.
SB Sarah said on 04.15.08 at 04:33 PM • [link]
Ahoy! the answer! From Joelle who appears to not need sleep, ever. Perhaps she and Jane are long lost ninja twins. Anyway: images? From Gravatar.com. Login and upload your image there. Avatars here and images are not enabled at present.
Chicklet said on 04.15.08 at 04:33 PM • [link]
LOVE. IT.
I really like the vertical division, too; makes the site look very clean. But only Sarah and Candy get the pink comments? Not fair! I want pink comments! *pouts like a four-year-old*
snarkhunter said on 04.15.08 at 04:33 PM • [link]
I love the new font, but I feel a bit disloyal, because I’m not sure I totally love the redesign. :/
Libby said on 04.15.08 at 04:39 PM • [link]
I’m totally loving the new look! I can’t wait to get the mobile thing figured out so I don’t have to go without my Smart Bitches when I’m on the road :)
StacieH4 said on 04.15.08 at 04:39 PM • [link]
Love the new site…especially the polka dots in the top banner.
Anyone else have Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back” earworm today or is it just me?
Libby said on 04.15.08 at 04:41 PM • [link]
Oh, um, he he…Mobile Bitches are Bitches blogging from their mobile phones and not text updates…I get it now. I’m going to go hide in my non-technie hovel over here. See you all later *facepalm*
PlainJane said on 04.15.08 at 04:42 PM • [link]
Love, love, love it! I actually like the new colors better than the old pink. And that title font is great. My sister & I live on opposite ends of the U.S. and Smart Bitches is one of the ways we stay in touch…we’re always emailing each other with “Did you see what was on today?” I can’t wait to email her and ask what she thinks about the new look. hee hee
Smart Bitches….bringing families together. :)
SB Sarah said on 04.15.08 at 04:44 PM • [link]
Mobile bitches are indeed the moblog entries I do from a cell phone BUT BUT BUT we are going to have a mobile browser interface that will look spiffy on the nearest web-enabled cell phone. Coming soon, so hold onto your tractor seats. We’re in for an awesome ride. Or something.
And dude, I want to own a tractor seat SO badly.
DS said on 04.15.08 at 04:48 PM • [link]
In Foxfire click control + and the font gets bigger without stretching the page horizontally. Good job, Smart Bitches!. My vision fluctuates so I use this method to move change font size. Also if you have certain keyboards, like a logitech cordless Wave, there’s a key that you can tap that will do the same thing. I had this keyboard for three months before finding that particular function.
Lorelie said on 04.15.08 at 04:50 PM • [link]
This comment is for two reasons:
To see if my Gravatar’s showing up now. (It appears to be.)
And to say that the new design makes it much easier to find reviews by grade and as a result I just went back and read the Cassie Edwards Savage Moon entry (with the little popups) again and holy effin gawd it’s just as funny as it was the first time. If not more so, considering the whole scandal.
Libby said on 04.15.08 at 05:07 PM • [link]
I’m going to stand up and cheer now…YAY!!!
And you should totally get a tractor seat. This girl grew up in the country, where they actually attach old tractor seats to the old-fashioned butter churns so you can sit on them anywhere. Like at your desk ;)
MeggieMacGroovie said on 04.15.08 at 05:07 PM • [link]
PlainJane: My sister and I do that too! She’s in Portland, OR and I’m in Perth, AU.
Checking on my avatar…
Larger font, much better!
SB Sarah said on 04.15.08 at 05:09 PM • [link]
Libby - me, too. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do a mobile browser for SBTB for awhile now, so I am very very excited to have it. It will probably make my lust for the iPhone ascend to near-flammable, explicit levels, but I’ll try to keep that to myself.
PlainJane said on 04.15.08 at 05:15 PM • [link]
Meggie, we’re not quite that far—I’m in Nampa, ID and she’s in Buckhannon, WV (hi Nancy!) but she introduced me to this site last year and now it’s a daily staple.
Catherine said on 04.15.08 at 05:21 PM • [link]
Oooh the red is very pretty! I really like the new design. Maybe I’ll get less attention when I’m trying to be sneaky and read it at work. It’s hard to be sneaky when everyone notices the pink and wants to know what the hell I’m looking at.
Darlene Marshall said on 04.15.08 at 05:22 PM • [link]
Checking to see if my Gravatar is rockin’...
Hmmm…I’ll tweak it one more time. But it’s a cool site, thanks for the tip, ladies!
SB Sarah said on 04.15.08 at 05:24 PM • [link]
HI Darlene - I see you & your gravatar. Nice pic!
Darlene Marshall said on 04.15.08 at 05:27 PM • [link]
My son (who used to be in my will) calls that my “Lesbian Elf” shot. But I like it.
Love the new look here. And like the others, I was going through withdrawal yesterday. Glad y’all are back.
Tina C. said on 04.15.08 at 05:28 PM • [link]
Everything is all spiffy and shiny—I love the new colors and the font! There is a lot going on to the right, but I’ll get used to it shortly, so no biggie. Congrats!
Mel-O-Drama said on 04.15.08 at 05:29 PM • [link]
snort.
Darlene, I can see other gravatars but not yours. Did you remove your lesbian-elf-self?
Darlene Marshall said on 04.15.08 at 05:38 PM • [link]
No, it’s there, Mel. One correction—my son said “lesbian leprechan”, not “lesbian elf”. He said it was the green eyes with the green jacket and red hair thing. If you want to see me in all my LL glory (and let me just add that my other son is bragging that now he’s getting all the china teacups), go to my website and look under “About the Author”.
Mel-O-Drama said on 04.15.08 at 05:41 PM • [link]
It’s there now. I had to refresh a couple of times.
I’m still chuckling. “Lesbian Elf” I like your son. tell him I’ll put him in my will—but he may only inherit debt and dustbunnies.
MeggieMacGroovie said on 04.15.08 at 05:58 PM • [link]
Hmm, avatar still not there…
Lorelie: Noted the SB props on the Edwards Wikipedia page. Noted SB does not have a wiki article of their own…
*larf* @ lesbian elf!
Darlene Marshall said on 04.15.08 at 06:02 PM • [link]
Meggie—as they warned me at the Gravatar site, it takes at least 5-10 minutes for the avatar to show up.
MeggieMacGroovie said on 04.15.08 at 06:02 PM • [link]
Ekk! Avatar is there…however, CE homepage shows as “under construction”. Is this new? Were you all talking about that and I missed it? Have her other publishers said anything yet?
rebyj said on 04.15.08 at 06:14 PM • [link]
the font IS improved..thanks!
rebyj said on 04.15.08 at 06:15 PM • [link]
Lauraif you are having to scroll sideways , in IE7 go up to the top of your IE page and you will see a “PAGE” option with a drop down menu, if you choose “text size” and reduce it to medium it will fit to your page.
if you’re using anything other than IE7, I have no advice LOL
Mary Stella said on 04.15.08 at 06:47 PM • [link]
Love the new look!
Have fun at RT!
Mary
Lorelie said on 04.15.08 at 06:55 PM • [link]
Not that I’ve heard of, Meggie. However, I have recently seen her books in both Barnes and Noble and a grocery store.
StephB said on 04.15.08 at 07:06 PM • [link]
Ooh, the font is much better now! Thank you! :)
Karmyn said on 04.15.08 at 07:48 PM • [link]
Yay! The Bitches are back! Missed you guys so much. Had to get my fix at Dear Author and thus only got half a fix as I’m used to getting my fix here and there. Now, christen the place with new cover snark.
Brandi said on 04.15.08 at 07:48 PM • [link]
I find the font a little pinched-looking (it’s narrower than your old one), but I like not having comments in a pop-up window anymore.
A quirky thing, though: the
Brandi said on 04.15.08 at 07:50 PM • [link]
Oh, now that was interesting: I tried to use square brackets around “blockquote” since I thought it would want angle brackets, and instead it formatted like a blockquote—and THIS time I can see the whole pink quotemark graphic.
So apparently the display quirk is only when a post *starts* with BLOCKQUOTE.
Lorelie said on 04.15.08 at 08:35 PM • [link]
Brandi, I think it’s more about how many lines the quote is, rather than starting the comment with the quote.
That one should be cut off. While in this I’m betting we’re gonna see the whole image:
Carrie Lofty said on 04.15.08 at 08:45 PM • [link]
Aeiii! Newness! Can’t… cope…!
Naw, iz lovely. Congrats on successful housecleaning.
Shiloh Walker said on 04.15.08 at 09:20 PM • [link]
Love the new look~
Joelle said on 04.15.08 at 09:22 PM • [link]
@Lorelie and Brandi: I’m working on the quotes right now. Thanks for your feedback! :-)
closetcrafter said on 04.15.08 at 09:24 PM • [link]
Testing for my avatar
DianeH said on 04.15.08 at 09:40 PM • [link]
Thank you, dear, sweet book-reading, computer-loving SBes. All this sleek artness… for us? Wow. Almost speechless, yet still I post.
THANKS.
Candy said on 04.15.08 at 09:44 PM • [link]
I have nothing substantial here to say, just:
1. Joelle, it looks FANTASTIC.
2. Is my gravatar showing up? *suspense*
Kaitlin said on 04.15.08 at 09:59 PM • [link]
I like the new site. It’s going to take awhile to get used to it, but it’s easy to read, which is always good! :) I went thru a change on my blog too. Much simpler, but I like it! :)
Missed you dreadfully!
Laura Vivanco said on 04.15.08 at 10:29 PM • [link]
Thanks, Rebyj. I’m not using IE7 but I’ve worked out that if I close down my sidebar (where my bookmarks are) then I can see the whole page. I like seeing my bookmarks, though, so I’ll probably just keep them where they are and manage without seeing the adverts on here.
Marie Brennan said on 04.15.08 at 10:37 PM • [link]
I agree with the commenters above who said that the right side feels a little cluttered, with those two columns. (I’m not sure whether the colors are contributing to that—the sort of periwinkle next to the red and under the pink.) Functionality is great, but the look feels messier to me than the old one.
Plus, I kinda miss all the hot pink. :-)
Joelle said on 04.15.08 at 10:39 PM • [link]
Thank you, thank you! I’m still tweaking things here and there, but it’s coming along!
I’ve changed the font and put it back to the exact same size it was before for your viewing pleasure.
Esri Rose said on 04.15.08 at 10:40 PM • [link]
It’s good! Is the double sidebar new? It seems both more information-heavy and attractive somehow. I like the wider column. The whole look is more fun (which certainly reflects the vibe of the site) and very fresh. The title typeface doesn’t go straight into the brain the way the old boring one did. I have to actually read it, because it’s visually more complicated. But we may get used to it and familiarity will bring ease of interpretation.
I definitely like that the comments aren’t in a separate window anymore. That bugged me.
Kudos!
Robinjn said on 04.15.08 at 10:45 PM • [link]
Overall, me likes. yes, the two-column format looks a bit cluttered. OTOH there’s a lot more pertinent info that’s very easy to find right up top, which is a good thing.
For those of you who have your display set to 800 x 600, what the heck is wrong with you????? (sorry, just joking!) Seriously, most displays are now at least 1024 x 768 and many are much larger. So most website design is going broader so the site doesn’t look like a tiny island in a sea of nothingness. If you’re on a Peee Ceeee, right click your desktop (just the background). Go to Properties, then Settings, and in most cases you can up your resolution. You can increase font size to compensate if needed, though now that the font has gone away from trebuchet and back to verdana, that’s not a problem at all for me.
Joelle said on 04.15.08 at 10:55 PM • [link]
Just a little background on why a double-sidebar was chosen: Advertisers want their spaces as high above “the fold” (the part before you have to start scrolling) as possible. In order to keep those AND the most important content for readers to navigate up top, 2 columns were needed.
And those that mentioned the site being too wide, like Robinjn shared, the standard for marketable site design now is 1024x768. :)
Joanna said on 04.15.08 at 11:14 PM • [link]
Lurve it—mostly. But come on—you guys are too smart for the article headline font. You put the words “Clinton” and “Feminism” in that font, it just looks like a intellectual-ironic sit-rom-com. It’s Bewitched! With presidential candidates!
Pai said on 04.15.08 at 11:25 PM • [link]
Wow, it looks amazing! I love the colors!
Aubrey said on 04.15.08 at 11:49 PM • [link]
De-lurking to say I love the font. And the polka dots. I lurv polka dots.
KCfla said on 04.15.08 at 11:56 PM • [link]
Looking very good! I like the whole layout actually.
sherry thomas said on 04.15.08 at 11:59 PM • [link]
I’m fine with the new layout, but the red background is hard on my aging eyes. :-(
Qadesh said on 04.16.08 at 01:18 AM • [link]
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.
Brandi said on 04.16.08 at 02:18 AM • [link]
Ah, I see you fixed the quoteblock thing now. Nicely done!
Soni said on 04.16.08 at 02:42 AM • [link]
Testing my gravatar. Hee. Much fun!
Soni said on 04.16.08 at 02:45 AM • [link]
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…
Bonnie said on 04.16.08 at 02:59 AM • [link]
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
— Bonz
SB Sarah said on 04.16.08 at 03:12 AM • [link]
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.
TracyS said on 04.16.08 at 03:26 AM • [link]
I like the new look, esp. how the comments look!
Robinjn said on 04.16.08 at 03:34 AM • [link]
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.
Emily said on 04.16.08 at 03:55 AM • [link]
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.
Castiron said on 04.16.08 at 04:02 AM • [link]
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!
Anonym2857 said on 04.16.08 at 04:20 AM • [link]
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
Robin said on 04.16.08 at 04:31 AM • [link]
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.
Julie Leto said on 04.16.08 at 05:54 AM • [link]
Love the look!
Julie Leto said on 04.16.08 at 05:55 AM • [link]
In case anyone is wondering, my gravatar is a mojito.
fiveandfour said on 04.16.08 at 06:27 AM • [link]
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!
fiveandfour said on 04.16.08 at 06:28 AM • [link]
Oh, and now that I’ve commented I see I can EDIT my comment! That is made of awesome - thanks for that feature.
harrellj said on 04.16.08 at 07:22 AM • [link]
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).
Charlene said on 04.16.08 at 08:13 AM • [link]
The font in the comments is far bigger, though!
Ana said on 04.16.08 at 02:23 PM • [link]
Wow, very pretty! Love the new layout.
Erin said on 04.16.08 at 03:12 PM • [link]
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.
Erin said on 04.16.08 at 03:13 PM • [link]
(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.
Erin said on 04.16.08 at 03:17 PM • [link]
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.
Tina C. said on 04.16.08 at 03:27 PM • [link]
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.)
Joelle said on 04.16.08 at 03:56 PM • [link]
We’re still working out the kinks. Patience is a virtue. ;-)
Stephanie said on 04.16.08 at 06:06 PM • [link]
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?
Christine Fletcher said on 04.16.08 at 06:36 PM • [link]
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.
Joelle said on 04.16.08 at 07:24 PM • [link]
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! :)
Actually… the font is called Chicken Basket by Font Diner. The font on Bewitched looks like this. hee!
Stephanie said on 04.16.08 at 07:41 PM • [link]
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.
Joelle said on 04.16.08 at 08:04 PM • [link]
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!
Brandi said on 04.16.08 at 10:24 PM • [link]
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.
Qadesh said on 04.16.08 at 10:47 PM • [link]
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.
Laurie said on 04.16.08 at 11:02 PM • [link]
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?
Qadesh said on 04.16.08 at 11:08 PM • [link]
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.
Joelle said on 04.16.08 at 11:18 PM • [link]
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! :)
Joelle said on 04.16.08 at 11:42 PM • [link]
OK! All fixed.
Karen Scott said on 04.17.08 at 12:23 AM • [link]
I like. Although some of the book covers are a bit too big for my liking.
I like everything else though.
mischab1 said on 04.17.08 at 01:17 AM • [link]
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… :-)
mischab1 said on 04.17.08 at 01:18 AM • [link]
Because I never notice the typos until after I hit submit. :-(
Joelle said on 04.17.08 at 01:49 AM • [link]
@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. :) Hope that helps!
Invisigoth said on 04.17.08 at 02:19 AM • [link]
WOW! I go away for a week and come back and whoa!
Looks Great!
Tina C. said on 04.17.08 at 03:41 AM • [link]
It’s probably just me, but is there something new about the site would cause me to get a pop-up box that says “Attempting to configure Microsoft Office 2000” every single time I come here from my home computer? This is only happening on this computer on this site. I hit the x to close the box, but it just crashed my browser this last time. (And I don’t have my disc for Office anymore—it’s been missing since my last move. So whatever is missing is going to stay missing, unfortunately.)
1. I have pop-up blocker and it looks like the auto-thingie that pops up whenever I’m loading a program, so I don’t think it’s spam of some kind.
2. I’m running Windows XP. Sorry, I’ve looked all over and can’t find what version of IE I’m running.
Joelle said on 04.17.08 at 04:37 PM • [link]
@Tina C: Hmmmm… I’ve never seen that or heard of that. It’s entirely possible it’s specific to your computer. Unfortunately, we can’t account for every browser on every computer in addition to everyone’s other unique software, plug-ins, add-ons, settings, etc. The site is designed to web standards, has been tested on all the latest browsers and isn’t spitting off any errors that I can find, so… I’m not sure!
I realize that’s not a big help, but without actually being in front of your computer to see what the error is, I couldn’t say. :)
To help determine what version of IE you’re running (and I suspect it’s IE6 if you’re running XP)... does your browser have tabs? can you view your websites in multiple tabs in one instance of your browser or do you have to open a new window. If it’s got tabs, you’re using IE7. Otherwise, it could be IE6, which in that case… update your browser or better yet, get Firefox. It’s a better browser.
Hope that helps! :)
Robin said on 04.18.08 at 05:54 PM • [link]
Okay, one more thing I really like: the search function. OMG SO MUCH BETTER. And also the list of recent reviews. Like that, too. And I already said I like the comments format, but will repeat that, since I like it a lot. In general the blog reflects the fact that it was professionally designed, which is a very good thing.
The thing I dislike the most, after a few days of adjustment, remains the same: the position and prominence of the advertising. Yes, I know this is what the ad buyers want, and therefore I know it will never change, and I struggled with even saying anything, but since the point of advertising is to get me to look at it, I have to say that I’m studiously avoiding doing so because it feels soooo in my face. Sorry about that.
Care to comment?
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