Preview new shuushuu site

[anonymous_object]

Hey guys and girls
We've been working on a new site theme and layout and would like to get some feedback from the users before it goes live.

You can see the new site at http://testing.e-shuushuu.net

It's not using the same database as the current site, but if you had an account before June you should be able to log in. The images and posts there will be older ones.

Take a look at the new theme, navigation links, and other changes. If you see something broken (bug), let us know.
If you see something you think can be improved, let us know how we can make it better. We would like to hear from our users to determine how we can make the site better.

P.S. This is still in testing so it's not finalized. Keep that in mind

[A.Dantes]

Even if you didn't have an account in June, registration needs testing too. You should be able to go through registration and create a new account on the testing website without issues. If this is not the case though, we need to know.

[Nine_Lives]

I tested registration. It sent me my e-mail, I clicked the link, and it told me my account was activated. Upon tyring to login, as it suggested, it told me I had an invalid activation key. And of course, I could not log in. <_<

[A.Dantes]

We found the source of Nine_Lives issues and while it isn't actually a bug, it is something to be aware of. The main Shuushuu website sets a cookie for all domes of e-shuushuu.net. Testing sets a cookie specifically for testing.e-shuushuu.net. Certain browsers (I'm looking at you, IE) will incorrectly return to the server the cookie for all of e-shuushuu.net instead of the one meant for testing. This is not a defect with the testing site and is just something that we'll have to live with.

Short answer: If you're having issues logging into testing, clear cookies and then try again.

[LilFlow]

I'm having the same problem.
Seeing as I registered before June I tried logging in and couldn't, I've cleared my cookies and still nothing =\

[A.Dantes]

That isn't enough information to work from. Drop by the IRC channel and we'll see if we can get it worked out.

[LilFlow]

I've managed to log in now, so no worries.

[anonymous_object]

Just an update:

The new site is very close to being finalized. I plan to have the new site go live by the end of the year. In other words, within a week or two.

If you haven't yet tested the preview site at http://testing.e-shuushuu.net, I suggest you give it a try. We are still open to feedback and suggestions before having it go live so if you notice something that could be improved, let us know.

Thanks

[Ran]

A few things I noticed.

[boele]

noo why change it ?
this new version sucks..
the one we have now is much better

[AiKaze]

noo why change it ?
this new version sucks..
the one we have now is much better

I agree T_T the present version is way better and warmer

[Smithy]

With the current testing site's user's avatar, user name and title being next to each other instead of on top of each other, a horizontal alignment instead of vertical, it does not seem as easily readable as it is now. Especially the title text has become redundant.
If you compare current and new below.

I would be as bold as to suggest removing the user title (since we have colors to identify users, admin, moderators, tagging team anyway) and perhaps even removing the user avatar as well as in the current proposed markup they seem to have little visual use and obfuscate easy view of the user name.

[BakaNeko]

I have no problems logging in and testing but overall the concept of the new site is what I'm guessing to be more simpler. I still prefer the present style of style though.

[Starra]

Is it possible to have both styles, so people can choose? I personally like the new one, but I can see people complaining.


Like, make the new style the default one but have an option so that members can change back to the old one?

[anonymous_object]

A few things I noticed.

1. The title on the main page is present to maintain consistency throughout the site. If you go to other pages, such as the search or profile page, you will see how it is used.

2. Avatars take up too much space in the left nav menu and don't really provide any useful information. The current nav menu is way too crowded and this is one way we cleaned it up. When you have new PM, you will see a notification at the top of the page.

new-PM.png (179.49 KiB) Viewed 25291 times

3. Images are centered vertically. That looks better when the image box is taller (due to more tags, characters, etc).