Site changes - 01/05/09

[anonymous_object]

As you can tell by visiting the image board, there have been some big changes to the site.

I'll try to summarize the major changes.

-New navigation layout. The navigation menu has changed significantly with new main sections Search, Community, and Profile. Clicking on one of them will bring up a dynamic menu on the left side of the site with additional options.
-New theme. Updated colors and streamlined image and comment display.
-Users can report images as spam, repost, or inappropriate. Mods will be receive notices of these reports and will be able to take action.
-Added thumbnail view for all users. You can enable thumbnail view after logging in and checking the option in the Sort By section near the top of the site.
-Improved search options. The image search page has been simplified. You can still access the full search form by clicking on the "Advanced Search" link. An improved tag search page is also available in the Search section.
-Clicking a spoiler image will now load the thumbnail image for a preview. Clicking it again will load the full image.
-Various action links have been replaced with icons. For example, the comment quote link is now an icon as is the add to favorites link.
-There are a few new options in the profile editor. You can disable spoiler warnings if those annoy you and you choose to always display all image metadata (so you don't have to click "See all info").

Much of the code for these changes was done by ADantes. Thanks goes to him for all his work.
As always with big changes, there may be lingering bugs. If you find anything wrong, please post here or PM one of the mods.

[AiKaze]

One little thing: after posting an image, if I edit tags/source/characters/artist, after I press update the page is the same as for editing. Pressing "Update" doesn't take you to the image with the new changes. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing but it was confusing at first.

Oh and about that button for adding to favorites...isn't to close to the Report button? I almost pressed Report a few times >_<

[V_Phantom]

So far, the changes and updates are looking awesome!

Being able to navigate through thumbnails is great for quick searches, and the new Board Setting options are really useful; I've really liked the option to reveal spoilers without having to open the link.

And the Report button is a god-send function. By the way... Is it appropiate to use this option to notice missing sources / artists / characters / etc.?

[anonymous_object]

One little thing: after posting an image, if I edit tags/source/characters/artist, after I press update the page is the same as for editing. Pressing "Update" doesn't take you to the image with the new changes. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing but it was confusing at first.

Yeah, the redirect location after editing an image has been changed. If users would prefer to be redirected back to the image list instead, we could change it.

Oh and about that button for adding to favorites...isn't to close to the Report button? I almost pressed Report a few times >_<

As for the icons, there very well may be future changes in display and locations. I'm open to suggestions on how to improve them.

And the Report button is a god-send function. By the way... Is it appropiate to use this option to notice missing sources / artists / characters / etc.?

Hmmm, I didn't anticipate it being used for that purpose but it think that makes sense. For now, we'll let the Report feature be used for reporting missing information. If we find that we're receiving too many reports of that type, we may need to modify the system to accommodate.

[V_Phantom]

Hmmm, I didn't anticipate it being used for that purpose but it think that makes sense. For now, we'll let the Report feature be used for reporting missing information. If we find that we're receiving too many reports of that type, we may need to modify the system to accommodate.

The last point is exactly my biggest concern about it, since it would led to a flood sooner or later, and that might be troublesome.

On a totally different matter... Did the last board version had a way to see which users had an image in their favorite list? I think it didn't...

If that's correct, I have to say: That new function rocks!!! It's exactly what I was looking forward.

I apologize for the memetic reference, but a "reaction" is better to describe it:

[Fhant]

Call me a stick in the mud but I prefferd the old site better..Just an idea for diffrent styles like on forums you can choose from 2 styles or is that too much work to put in?

Maybe I just have to get used to it and get over it...

[Ran]

Under the "Admin" functions, if you click on "Reviews Pending" it just takes you back to the mainpage. A minor bug. I've posted other recommendations in the other thread regarding the new site.

[kawaii-star]

A personal gripe i have with the new layout is that I have to click the community tab to access the forums. I really did like just going to the main site and having instant access to the forums.

[Nine_Lives]

I have a couple of issues with the new layout.
1. Since we've used the misc metadata section in the past to put in artists or sources that need to be added, this should probably not be hidden under the show all function. ^^; Personally, I think it's a pain to have to press show all on every image on the off chance that there will be an artist tag under misc metadata.
2. As far as tagging goes, the update an image option not leading back to the page you were previously on is also a pain, because you have to reinput your search and make your way back to the page every time. -_-

[AngelLily]

A personal gripe i have with the new layout is that I have to click the community tab to access the forums. I really did like just going to the main site and having instant access to the forums.

I have this complaint as well.

Other than that... The board just lost a lot of its soul, to my view. But I take forever to adjust to new things, so this is just a pet peeve. In a more objective view, it's looking good. I love the heart by the images that you've favorited ^^

[Hakuryu]

I have a couple of issues with the new layout.
1. Since we've used the misc metadata section in the past to put in artists or sources that need to be added, this should probably not be hidden under the show all function. ^^; Personally, I think it's a pain to have to press show all on every image on the off chance that there will be an artist tag under misc metadata.

If you go under board settings on the image board you can check a box for "Always show all image information?" and that solves that problem...but I found that by chance. ^^;

[anonymous_object]

I have a couple of issues with the new layout.
1. Since we've used the misc metadata section in the past to put in artists or sources that need to be added, this should probably not be hidden under the show all function. ^^; Personally, I think it's a pain to have to press show all on every image on the off chance that there will be an artist tag under misc metadata.
2. As far as tagging goes, the update an image option not leading back to the page you were previously on is also a pain, because you have to reinput your search and make your way back to the page every time. -_-

Under Board Settings, you can choose to always show all information. It will make pages slightly longer, but you won't have to click "Show all Info" anymore.

As for the redirect after editing an image, I think being sent back to the image list would be better. I have updated the redirect to do this.

[Nine_Lives]

Ah, thank you anony and Hakuryu for telling me that. ^^;;
And thank you anony for changing that back. ^^

[anonymous_object]

A personal gripe i have with the new layout is that I have to click the community tab to access the forums. I really did like just going to the main site and having instant access to the forums.

I have this complaint as well.

Yes, it is now one more click to get to the forums. However, we needed to clean up the link menu on the main page so we consolidated the Forums, Wiki, Chat, Memberlist, etc under a Community section as that seemed to make sense. If we moved only Forums out to the main page, it would be a bit out of place.

Other than that... The board just lost a lot of its soul, to my view. But I take forever to adjust to new things, so this is just a pet peeve. In a more objective view, it's looking good. I love the heart by the images that you've favorite'd ^^

I realize that not everyone will like the new changes. The previous theme was in place for over 3 years. Everyone, including myself, was pretty accustomed to it.

However, the site has changed a lot in those three years. We've added many new features and the previous layout was just getting too crowded. The new layout is designed to streamline navigation and functionality. I recommend that everyone fully explore the new site and learn what changes have been made. After having the same look and feel on the site for so long, major changes like this will seem awkward at first.

Of course, further changes may still come. I am still open to constructive criticism on how improve the looks and functionality of the site.

[Smithy]

Yes, it is now one more click to get to the forums. However, we needed to clean up the link menu on the main page so we consolidated the Forums, Wiki, Chat, Memberlist, etc under a Community section as that seemed to make sense.

Yes, but might it not be a nice idea to have the forum link more prominently visible in the 'community' page?
The most visible part of the 'community' page -basically the whole center area- deals with the IRC channel, people may not notice at a glance there's a forum link in the left navigation bar. Unless if the idea is to have mor epeople move to IRC instead of the forum? (Which would be ironic considering your initial reluctancy against a shuushuu IRC channel.)