Swampland Has A New Look!

Yes, we too are all about change. New design; new features; same bloggers — and, we hope, same commenters. We think it will be cleaner and friendlier. Please spend a little time getting used to it, and tell us what you think.

Related Topics: Uncategorized
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  • gysgt213

    KT-Please, why are the comments in reverse order?

  • 53_3

    It doesn’t seem to like the underline tag. So far, ok, just different.
    .
    FYI, KT, thank you for your benevolent decision in re your powers…

  • Karen Tumulty

    Gunny: Am asking the High Sheriffs on that one. Isn’t that an advantage, though? So you can see the freshest comments without scrolling down? I’m agnostic, but I’d love to hear what The Base thinks.

  • gysgt213

    my browser defaults to the bottom of the page when I click on a blog post. So what is the point of the inverse order?

  • gysgt213

    KT-I’m not seeing the freshest comments. I am defaulting to the bottom of the page. The oldest comment. The news comments are at the top? Using Firefox. This happens when I first click into the blog post by you guys.

  • Karen Tumulty

    gunny: good point. mine does too.

  • Mr. Nice Guy

    Why is KT the victim of our wrath over this change? Why not give us MS – our usual whipping boy – or, today, at least, JNS, who’s Palin love-fest has aroused our ire? I actually _like_ KT, and don’t like dumping on her – especially for something that isn’t her fault…

  • Mr. Nice Guy

    KT: while you’re pestering the Sheriffs, can you please, please, pretty please ask them to fix the flippin’ new-lines?

    T’anks…

  • gysgt213

    Nice guy-Because unlike the others. KT makes things happen. All you have to do is ask.
    .
    BTW, I am very happy with all the other changes so far.

  • 53_3

    I agree with the newline issue. I’m really tired of having to put some sort of place holder other than return. Can’t those guys just tweak the code to accept /n? (or whatever the returned newline char is)
    .
    Also, if newest is at top, lets default to top. Put me in for a second on gygst213′s motion.

  • Mr. Nice Guy

    Oh, and before I forget, fix the pagination, too. I _hate_ the 50-posts per page. Or at least make it an option we can enable.

  • http://teacherreaderwriter.wordpress.com/ Shakespeare in GA

    1. Invert the comments, so the first is at the top. That would make it easier to read the whole thread, especially if we come a bit late to the party.
    2. Paragraph breaks would be nice.
    3. Get read of the “50 posts only” per page.
    4. Please.
    5. Thanks.

  • deconstructiva

    I replied in earlier post OT / now on topic: (short version) like clean look, more hot pics of bloggers please (jk), wish for a more risible banner graphic – WH too etch-a-sketchy. More splashes of color, pics won’t muddy up the page. Kudos for highlighting blogger’s reply (reads pale pink or yellow depending on screen angle). Newer comments first ok. Only teeny issue: direct replies to comments good but not indented to right enough to tell apart from reg. comments.

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    It must be my conservative opposition to change, but I rather liked it the old way. Silly traditionalists.

  • gysgt213

    Looks like its fix already. Browser now defaulting to the top. Way cool.

  • trifecta55

    I think it’s purty. I actually like it.
    .
    Sorry, I should be grumpy and critical. I apologize.

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    I see MS got himself a fresh, professional looking picture, though. He now looks too much like a MSM reporter, I prefer the “rustic, on-the-go, in between flights, need more coffee so I can post this blog and then shave” look…What a shame…

  • James, Los Angeles

    It is very hard to follow a conversation when the comments are in reverse order. If all you are interested in is individual comments, then that’s fine. But Swampland is all about the extended conversations in the comments. Blogs that have reverse comments tend to deteriorate into unreadable chaos very quickly — just look at Jake Tapper’s blog. I don’t know, maybe you at Time don’t want the kind of conversations that happen in the comment threads. Many a blog has been ruined by burdensome and unreadable comment schemes. It’s unnatural to be forced to scroll down and then up. Other than that, it looks pretty nice.
    .
    Maybe an option to view newest first or oldest first.

  • pintortwo

    The new format looks professional.
    Agree that it should run from oldest to newest, top to bottom.
    Also, needs color differentiation for hidden links (for example). We may otherwise miss some links.

  • Karen Tumulty

    Yes, gunny, High Sheriffs did that fix for you.

  • Karen Tumulty

    Wow. We can now comment in response to individual comments. I think that’s a big improvement.

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    Yes, the indentation is not very visible, however replies to specific comments are not numbered, while all the standard comments are, so it is very easy to distinguish comments from replies based on which has a number beside it.

  • deconstructiva

    Echo the thought about color needed for links, maybe red? I was used to easy-find blue hyperlinks. Really tiny complaint, sorry.

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    Oldest on top – Please!!!!!!!!
    Otherwise – I like it.

  • Matt

    Great new look. Maybe a little too bland out front, but pl;acing the latest comments on top is a plus.

    http://www.political-buzz.com/

  • http://robwolfe.blogspot.com Rob Wolfe

    I will add my “me too” to the folks that are not in favour of newest first commenting.
    I find it very unnatural to page up.

  • dunedweller

    My initial reaction is that there’s little contrast between photos, blogs and comments (kinda boring), but cleaner I guess. It should definitely read top to bottom, and I prefer the names at the left above the comment so I can skim over them quicker if need be, but I’m sure I can get used to this.

  • ohiolib

    ummm….WTF just happened???

  • ohiolib

    Amen!!

  • http://robwolfe.blogspot.com Rob Wolfe

    Although I will say that I like the layout as a whole.

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    Wasn’t I talking the other day about real-time interaction?
    .
    Now I’m impressed!
    .
    Still need the doublespace dots though…..

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    And now ‘newer comments’ points to the old ones and ‘older comments’ to the new ones.
    Steady progress……

  • http://robwolfe.blogspot.com Rob Wolfe

    it looked like the tag works

    I stuck one in between the and tag

  • http://robwolfe.blogspot.com Rob Wolfe

    OK, I lied, only preview likes the BR tag

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    You can now adjust whether you want older/newer comments first. Cool deal.

  • deconstructiva

    I guess comment timelines are currently like fashions: what’s new is old and old is new (the earlier HC / abortion debate comments are scrambled), sorry for pointing this out.

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    Hold, up. Something’s awry. “Newer comments” goes to the older ones, although in the proper older to newer/top-down format. But….Now there are a few isolated comments on the first comment page…Odd.

  • johnfree

    I do not like your new layout. The content should be on the left, where ones (western) eye starts, and all the nav-junk should be on the right.

    Or if do you put the nav-junk on the left, it should be unobtrusive and not take your eye away from content, which is after all the point of having such a site, yes??

    also, your ads are QUITE a bit more prominent, it seems to me – no doubt to “serve us better” hmm….

  • bobcn1

    Looks good.
    .
    I agree with the others about the sort order. I’d prefer oldest at the top as well. I’d also like the option to see all of the comments without having to page through them by pressing ‘Newer/Older Comments’.
    .
    If we still have to page through the comments, could we have the numbering of comments be continuous and not reset back to one at the beginning of each page. It makes navigation a bit confusing.

  • gysgt213

    Okay. I’m really either confused or too drunk. The older comments start at 1 and the newer comments start at 1. WTF?

  • gysgt213

    Okay. I seriously don’t know now where to start or end.

  • FlownOver

    The picture series re-sets the window every time you go to the next pic. That means, at least on my laptop, I have to scroll down to see the entirety every new pic. That kinda sux.

    We’ll see how the rest of the new “features” work out as we get used to them. Since I doubt you’ll launch another thread about this, is it fair to assume format comments will always be “on topic,” at least for a while?

  • pirate wench (demwoman)

    Now tha’ the oldest be back on top, I be likin’ it better.
    .
    If ye could be gettin’ some paragraph breaks, tha’d seal th’ deal fer me!
    .
    Arrgh!

  • deconstructiva

    Are you getting numbered comments per page? I’m not seeing them here. I’m now reading oldest at top to newer bottom, then hit “older” comments for next (new )page. No numbers, though. Is is a browser issue?

  • http://elvisberg.wordpress.com Elvis Elvisberg

    Wow, Karen snaps her fingers, and the world goes upside down.

    It really does look a lot sharper. And thanks so, so much for being so willing to engage here in the comment threads, Karen. And that’s a pretty snazzy TIME logo next to your comments! A fine idea to keep bloggers’ comments standing out from everyone else’s, though it does ruin my fun if I ever want to create a second account and claim to be Mike Murphy or Dick Armey.

  • Cliff

    I was going to say I like the new comments on top, if only for how I don’t have to click past to the next page for more recent comments.

    .
    But the numbering system makes it all weird.
    .
    And for hell’s sake, why can’t I just put a break between paragraphs?
    .
    Microsoft Word has mastered paragraph breaks! Every other comment system in the world has mastered paragraph breaks!
    .
    How is it beyond WordPress’s grasp?

  • dunedweller

    I’m sure they’ll get the older/newer order figured out. I’m just hoping the comment pages aren’t going to end at 25 each. Fifty was bad enough. Is the reason they can’t all be on one long page because ads can’t be placed that far down the side? In other words it would take too long to load?

  • Cliff

    But now later comments are at the bottom?
    .
    I feel like I’m floating in some weird, formless comment-void, where there are no directions, and all conversations are three dimensional clouds.

  • Karen Tumulty

    will ask about putting paragraph breaks in. and we are working out the bugs here in real time, with help from all of you guys.

  • Karen Tumulty

    and, yes, cliff, you are floating in a weird void. welcome to my world.

  • FlownOver

    Can’t find my last comment. No indication of mediation purgatory – just not here.
    .
    Oldest first, please – it’s often a conversation, and those are hard to follow in reverse.
    .
    I like the direct response feature, even if it’s a little anti-chronological.
    .
    Has anybody posted a link yet? I can’t see any.
    .
    Ditch the separate pages and re-started comment numbering, please.
    .
    “Older comments” link still points to newer comments. Whisky tango foxtrot?

  • gysgt213

    KT-Thanks for all your hard work. You truly rock!

  • jcapan

    My ideal set-up(s):
    ~
    1. All comments on a single page.
    2. If not, at least in increments of a 100
    3. If 25 or 50, I still say newest-first is best. If folks are late to the game, the burden can be on them to pg. back and get up to speed.
    ~
    And I envy the cream highlight of the overlords’ comments! We should be able to select colors for ourselves, or avatars!
    ~
    And I apologize in advance, but “holy large cranium” Mr. Scherer. You must be smart.

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    I concur, maximize number of comments per page, without loading issues.
    ~
    I really do prefer chronological discussions, even if not late the game, it is much easier to check back and review how issues evolved when responding
    ~
    I do like the individual replies, however it is been my experience that they do not function well because some people hit “reply to comment” and others just post, therefore the discussion may well be located in two different places

  • donovong

    Not bad. Can we get rid of the writers we don’t like? Also?

    Present company excepted, of course.

  • dunedweller

    KT, I think your 1,000 Words photo should display on the main page. It usually provides a little comic relief between the blogs, and it’s more enticing to comment if you see the photo without having to click through.

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    And of minor consequence, but why is there a flashing advertisement on the Swampland main page in the middle of the list of blogs?

  • deconstructiva

    Can we keep Jay and Amy? I’ll forgive Jay for the Palin interview.

  • jcapan

    2nd Dune’s pt. about the photo. And there’s the “Most Popular” between “Hair Shirt” and “A 1000 Words”? Plus, KT, your Twitter stream is not listed though MS & JNS’ are.
    ~
    I’m sure the geeks are at work on all of this.

  • http://twitter.com/ktumulty Karen Tumulty

    i hope they are. my eyes are bleeding.

  • http://theblindspotsofgod.wordpress.com lawyermommy

    I would like my post to be at least investigated. I am a Lawyer and have had a very difficult time triggering an investigation of Internet Hoodlums who have criminalized me and for NINE years with absolute disregard of the law.and a certainty that they will continue to outwit everybody including law enforcement and reporters.

    It is amazing how much coverage an issue gets just because it involves or involved a celebrity even tangentially YET for NINE years, I have been illegally wiretapped by Shay Riley of the “Black Female Interracial Marriage blog” and not ONE investigative journalist has had to the courage of ability to uncover these digital hoodlums, these cyber fiends, these crass online Psychopath, Shay Riley aka Evia Moore aka Halima Sal Andersen.

    Shay Riley of the “Black Female Interracial marriage blog” is a serial Predator who has illegally wiretapped my phone for years. This woman activates the microphone om my cell and home phones and uses it to listen to the conversations in my life. This woman runs very many interracial marriage sites pretending to be interracially married and using the lives of legitimately married women like me as fodder for her PREVARICATION.She is married to a BLACK NIGERIAN CROOK NAMED AKBAR SHABZZ of the “Project 21 site”-.

    Why should the ability of these FELONS to access hundreds of legitimate websites and alter information enable them stay free. They continue to elude law enforcement and commit felony after felony.

    This woman is a VILE PREDATOR who in all probability molests and abuses her own children. Why can this matter not be persistently and continuously investigated by an elite journalist and the truth found out???

    Screaming BLACK POWER and running many various black power blogs should not be cover for this vile REPROBATE.

    The FBI and the US Secret Service have not been able to route this woman. See her on ww.akbarshabazz.com. When people say they look ordinary, I say WHAT DO YOU EXPECT??? A sign on Shay Riley which reads, “I am a Felon and illegally wiretap and Send Trojans and spy ware to innocent law abiding citizens computers so that I can criminally stalk them, steal from them, co opt their lives experiences and oh, yes since I am a psychopath, I probably molest my children too.”!!! NO, she has to appear ordinary to lure and assault unassuming people online and elsewhere!

    WHY SHOULD THIS WOMAN who runs hundreds of websites under numerous aliases, a fiend who listens to and records my calls even activating my microphones to follow my life and uses Trojans/spyware for my computers BE FREE?????

    Must a crime INVOLVE A CELEBRITY FOR IT TO BE RIGOROUSLY AND CONTINUOUSLY INVESTIGATED???? WHat happened to truth in journalism. Can these CYBER Bots Shay Riley, her husband Akbar SHabazz and their accomplices be capable of deceiving the slew of so called ELITE TECHNOLOGY AND CRIME INVESTIGATORS???

  • gyrfalcon7

    Slower loading, incompatible with the Mozilla browser so that sidebar boxes layer over the blog post texts, requirement to click to another page to read the whole post– hey, what’s not to love about that?

    Yech. One would think a company with the resources of Time Inc. could manage to do this more intelligently.

  • deconstructiva

    Word to jc about most popular list (move to side?) and jc / dune about “1000 words” photo on main page. Maybe later there could be an eye-candyish “fun daily photo” at top of page picked by the bloggers? Such as MS drinking shots with foreign press on Obama road trips, Senators nodding off during health care hearings, or a typical day shot inside the office at someone’s cubicle, right down to the half-eaten tuna sandwich? But fixing newer / older comments first, please?

  • http://twitter.com/ktumulty Karen Tumulty

    i’m using mozilla and not having the layer over problem.

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    Of course the real object of the game is to make the rest of the site’s content and ads easier to see.
    .
    I’m OK with that.
    .
    Still newer vs older should be relabeled properly and the ability to skip to either end of the thread would be really handy (akin to the multiple page links in the old format)

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    And why do my browser menus keep disappearing!!!???

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    Mozilla works fine with this format. Thanks for tweaking out the old/new comments tab…
    ~
    However, adding page numbers so we don’t need to click our way through multiple pages would be great (like the old system).

  • deconstructiva

    Thanks for new / previous tabs, work great. Main page topics / categories list at left side is good. For wish list, while in a post (like this), could we have brought back a “daily list” of most recent posts (at right side) in addition to most popular posts of all TIME? (bad pun) The immediate above / below posts links at top of page is okay for that, but to jump around posts I have to go back to home page. gracias!

  • ohiolib

    I’m sorry, but I can barely follow conversations for now. Maybe I’ll get used to the new look…….

  • kbanginmotown

    Groups of 25 comments, with each clump being numbered 1-25 is annoying. (Am I on page 2,3 or 4?)
    .
    Line breaks would be nice.
    .
    Links? TIME.
    .
    Now different font styles .
    .
    Embedded video:

  • kbanginmotown

    The word “TIME” in my last comment is a link. Hard to tell.

  • Mr. Nice Guy

    KT: I can’t help but feel a sense of “guinea pig” about this whole thing. Generally speaking, we software developers write the code, test it internally, fix bugs, rinse and repeat as necessary before we unleash the hel!-spawn on the unsuspecting masses. It seems, in this case, that your web guy (non-sexist connotation intended) is making this up as he goes along. That’s Ok for a “parent’s basement” operation, but I’d figure Time was a big enough entity that you could afford a proper development / test / release cycle.

    I know, it’s all free, so I shouldn’t b!tch. But I must; it’s in my nature.

    So how ’bout them line feeds, pagination limits, etc.?

    See, this is why I’d rather MS submitted this one. Now I feel bad that I’m ragging on KT…

  • Mr. Nice Guy

    Yes, I see. They need better highlighting for it.

  • http://twitter.com/ktumulty Karen Tumulty

    Would it feel better to think of yourself as a Beta tester?

    The High Sheriff Known As Shefik Macauley has also fixed the paragraph breaks issue that has been the source of so many commenter complaints. Just hit the return key twice.

  • Mr. Nice Guy

    Mr. Macauley deserves a beer – or whatever refreshing beverage he prefers – my treat.

    Actually, one of my old managers used to say, “It’s all beta.” At first, I thought it was funny. Then, when I considered it more fully, I realized he was right. Unless you’ve completely given up on a software product, it will always be, effectively, “beta.”

    Again, sorry for taking it out on you. If it’ll make you feel better, kick Mikey in the shin for me, next time you see him.

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    return key?

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    Interestingly enough, I was unfamiliar with the return/enter key relationship.

    Sorry.

  • Mr. Nice Guy

    Without casting judgment, if you didn’t come across as a spammer – an online Billy Mays, may he rest in peace – people might take you more seriously.

  • Mr. Nice Guy

    With page breaks every 25 comments, though, I think enclosed replies will get lost as people jump to the last page expecting to see new comments last.

    Not saying I don’t like it, but I can foresee problems with it.

  • Joe Bftsplk

    NOOOoooo!!!
    Need photos!

    We can’t have “1,000 Words” or caption contests without main-page photos!

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    Next up:

    Color Links…

  • http://phd9.blogspot.com Paul Dirks

    Trying again

  • 53_3

    Ok, Let’s see here

    Newline

    ?

  • stuartzechman

    KT:

    Thanks so much for coordinating; this is definitely an improvement.

  • 53_3

    Newline works!

    YAARR!

    Sorry Pirate Wench!

  • rose83

    I love…

    paragraph breaks!

    I don’t love the lack of page numbers though.

  • glancep

    KT – can I put in my request for a minor site change? The new design looks great, but while they’re messing with things, can they fix the RSS feed to stop cutting off after a couple of sentences? It used to work great, but now I have to go to the full blog for every little post (I usually end up going to read the comments anyway, but I like to have the option). Thanks a lot!
    .
    Gideon

  • Exiled_At_Home (formerly neo)

    Indeed, in my experience there are many problems with the reply to a specific comment tab, because some people use it, others just post. So you have a group of replies right below the comment, but you also have people just posting who are commenting on that specific discussion, so the discourse gets all spread around. It can cause confusion.

  • dunedweller

    For the record the new format sucks on the iphone! I’m bummed because that’s how I read Swamp a lot. Now I have to touch-scroll right to see who made each comment rather than having it right above the comment and only having to scroll down while reading. Sorry to complain, but I think hand-held device display is an important piece of media communication.

  • sacredh

    OK, first things first. KT, AS, MS,JNS and JK’s bios are all on the LEFT now instead of the right. I smell a conspiracy. Instead of TIME being a center-right news organization, they have become a center-left outfit.

    Coincidence? I think not. What caused this sudden shift? It couldn’t have been Jay’s interview with Sarah could it? Obama leaces the country and bam! Time flips to the darkside.

    BTW, if you feel you’re being stalked and think we can do anything about it…I have 2/3′s of a bottle of Vicodin ES’s left (back’s feeling better). They won’t help your stalker problem, but three of them and a couple of wine-coolers will let you get a good night’s sleep.

  • Tracer Bullet-PI

    Don’t really like it, too much clutter, not enough room for text, but boy, isn’t it a lucky happenstance that there’s all kinds of room now for links to other TIME stories and the benign advertisers!

  • jcapan

    Sacred, no sh!t, I hadn’t thought of that. Total subliminal dilly-o. And I always said they were part of the centrist cult (Joe Klein = David Koresh?)

    Anyway, back home for lunch (curry, if you must know), and find some improvements. No more of this “~” for the rest of my f’ing life!!! And “next” actually, meaning, like “next.” But I’m still gagging for page #s (if we can’t have singular streams)–and in lieu of us scrolling downstream through pages of comments, why not put the pg. #s at the top. Rockin’ idea eh?

    Though someone earlier mentioned a “See old/new comments first” self-inversion? And that’d be the bomb diggity. Mind you, I’m pushing 40 so my slang may not suffice.

  • jcapan

    Add, I do like that now after I comment it doesn’t revert to pg. 1 of comments.

    A few hours hence, when I tip back my Sapporo Dark, I’ll raise a toast in KT’s/said geeks’ honor.

    Where the F is Zech BTW?

  • Mr. Nice Guy

    When having trouble getting to sleep, I usually just take a diphenhydramine-hydrochloride – aka. antihistamine that makes you drowsy. Works pretty well. Of course, always be careful around dihydrogen-monoxide. It’s a relatively common substance, but it can be very dangerous – possibly fatal – if improperly used.

    The preceding was an intentionally farcical public service message. However, it was still more useful than anything that’s come out of Congress, lately.

  • sacredh

    Try pushing the double nickel. My slang includes far-out.

  • zerdull90

    The new look is great – just one major design flaw, its built for viewing on a PC.

    With the title and author far left and text far right, instead of just scrolling down (as you do on a phone or pda or some netbooks) – now you have to go down, left, back to the right – down, left, back to the right…

    Irritating.

    Sorry!

  • Paul-no not that one

    Miss one stinkin’ day…

    Cleaner look, I think.

  • kathy

    I’d rather have the names at the left. This is a conversation, and you usually know who’s talking to you before, not after, you listen to a comment. So this necessitates looking to the right to see who’s talking. It would also make it easier to skip over the trolls.
    .
    I’m ripped that Amy Sullivan is listed at the top of the bar on the left, and Karen and Joe are stuck in the middle. Either seniority of time here, or even alphabetical, but this gives the impression that Amy is the senior blogger here, and that must not stand.
    .
    I’m ambivalent about the “reply to this comment” ability. In a conversation you’re often responding to many comments, not one. For instance, should I have gone back and replied to a previous comment? How would you all know that I’d done that without reading through the thread again? I hope we’ll only use this in real time replies. I often go to an “old” post and check up on the last few comments, to see what’s been added. I am not going to read through all the comment replies.

  • kathy

    So if I forget something can I add to my own comment this way?
    .
    I like the format. Easier to read, cleaner, spiffier.
    .
    Agree that the ads seem more prominent. It would be really nice if the swampland banned ads that tried to get our attention by flashing, moving, etc while we’re reading.

  • plukasiak

    much prefer the new look, but having to click through three pages of comments until I can read the latest ones is a real pain — at least let us click through to individual pages…

  • plukasiak

    Oh, I also miss the links to other Time bloggers (like Justin Fox and James P.) I’m assuming that’s an oversight….

  • kathy

    agree with pluk. especially with the comments newly numbered on each page, there’s no way to tell where you are, or go back to an older comment, without having the pages numbered.

  • http://twitter.com/ktumulty Karen Tumulty

    Will ask High Sheriff Shefik Macauley about adding links to other TIME blogs. Did we have that on the old page? Also, will ask him if, along with “next page,” we could have something that gets people right to the end of the comments.

  • henqiguai

    Hmmm. Guess I’ll just have to be ‘one of those people.’ Just don’t like it. Of course, I’m just sneaking in a peak before getting down to work, but —
    Here in the workspace, I use IE; the UI is garishly bright.
    Absolutely no indication that there are comment numbers to be seen.
    Y’all are referring to controls that I have never seen, but I’ll check with Firefox this evening.
    Definitely go with oldest_to_newest; this is a ‘conversation’, ain’t it ??
    And, at least in Preview, this unordered list isn’t…

  • kathy

    Karen, thanks for commenting.
    .
    The post says there are 104 comments, but there are 9 on this page. That’s challenging. Some pages are much longer than others because the comments are, so I’m not sure why the decision was to change pages at 25 comments instead of 50, as it used to be. Any rationale for this?

  • kathy

    I like the easy access to the archive. Nice.

  • tantef

    For the life of me I cannot see comment numbers.

    I would like to have page choice other than clicking thru all pages.

    Other than that it’s the bee’s knees.

  • Paul-no not that one

    I agree-there are going to be replies that will never be read by the replyee.

  • plukasiak

    Some pages are much longer than others because the comments are, so I’m not sure why the decision was to change pages at 25 comments instead of 50, as it used to be. Any rationale for this?
    _
    “number of page views” is an important metric vis a vis advertizing for determining traffic on web sites. (why do you think Time does all those ‘Top 100″ lists, then makes you click through the entries one at a time?)

  • stuartzechman

    Oregon JC:

    Where the F is Zech BTW?

    LB happened. Also, I’m getting major work.

    I’ve been happy just to be able to read the great commentary here (THIS MEANS YOU).

  • stuartzechman

    KT:

    adding links to other TIME blogs

    Thanks so much for all of your help making this transition a success.

    Yes, linking to Justin Fox and James P. is a good idea (even though you’re still the best blogger of all).

  • grape_crush

    The layout is a hot mess…Takes too long to figure out what you are supposed to be looking for.

    As for the rest: Nice typeface, good enhancements to user functions, with the exception of the paging. I understand the rationale for increasing page views, but from a usability angle, it’s not optimal.

  • stuartzechman

    KT:

    “number of page views” is an important metric

    This would be pretty cynical and gross way to increase page views at the expense of commentary, if this were the rationale. People aren’t stupid, and can see that this sort of thing is going on….

    …on the other hand, if this is some sort of logical move having to do with the new comment/reply/reply/reply… threading (in which only the top level comment is “counted” using the numbers, and replies are not), the user-oriented rationale will also be apparent soon.

  • http://www.inworldstudios.com jayackroyd

    So do we now have carriage returns that insert a paragraph break?

    Test

    Test.

  • http://www.inworldstudios.com jayackroyd

    Ha!

  • repzak

    Wow… So different.

    Love the paragraphs – finally!! Someone deserves a massive thank you for that (assuming said person wasn’t responsible for it not being fixed before ;)

    I am someone who loves the reply underneath posts – it makes for a better replication og conversation, which is what this should be about.

    A few critical issues still:
    1) Numbering MUST be total – not per page. It’s incredibly frustrating for each page to number form 1-25 instead of eg. 26-50 og 51-75
    2) Needs a list of pages at the bottom instead of just Prev/Next page. I’d prefer more comments than 25 per page too – but a list of pages you can click on directly is the most important
    3) Color of links must be different than text – otherwise they are pretty useless. Should be an easy 10 sec fix too.

    But better than the old layout by far :)

  • repzak

    Aiiiiii. Picture-replacement smileys…. Ok note to self – no smileys!

  • http://www.inworldstudios.com jayackroyd

    FWIW I do not like threaded comments (“Reply to”). In principle it seems like a valuable feature, but in practice it doesn’t really add anything except distracting tabs.

  • http://www.inworldstudios.com jayackroyd

    Hmm. so the reply thread is only one reply deep?

    Test.

  • http://www.inworldstudios.com jayackroyd

    Indeed it is. Weird design decision. Or was it unintentional?

  • grape_crush

    Testing formatting:

    italics
    Code to format is: <italics>italics</italics>

    bold
    Code to format is: <bold>bold</bold>

    Test Link
    Code to format is: <a href=’http://www.google.com’ style=’color: blue’>Test Link</a>

    Code to format is: <blockquote>text here</blockquote>

    blockquoteblockquoteblock
    quoteblockquoteblockquoteblockquote
    blockquoteblockquoteblockquote

    No lists

  • grape_crush

    Meh. Style attribute in anchor tag works in preview, gets stripped out in publishing. Same with underline. Strikethrough is still in, apparently.

    Shouldn’t be too hard to add that color formatting to the style sheet used by the comments section…but then again, it’s been a few years since I’ve taught a web development class.

    Until then, I’m doing links in brackets:

    [linky]

    in order to set them off fro the regular text.

  • pirate wench (demwoman)

    KT – I know ye be doin’ a lot o’ work wi’ this, an I appreciate yer willin’ness t’ muck it out wi’ us!
    .
    Thank ye, lassie!
    .
    Arrgh!

  • http://www.inworldstudios.com jayackroyd

    Also, threaded comments mess up chronology. Leaving replies unnumbered helps, but it is still disconcerting to have comments ordered first by whether it is a reply and then by timestamp.

    Again, this may not be a widely held view, but long experience with comment threads has convinced me that flat, unthreaded comment streams are better than threaded comments.

    And, IAC, setting threads to be only one reply deep is just silly.

  • kathy

    thanks pluk

  • kathy

    Ads for credit scores, or whatever, between posts are worse than useless.

    That’s a pretty good way to ensure commenters (and probably other visitors) ignore those companies.

    I find that comments don’t have the same numbers they had the last time I was here. A comment of mine that was 109 is now 107. Especially without numbered pages that’s a nuisance, as we sometimes refer to comments by number.

  • kathy

    Is anyone else finding comments submit very slowly? Could be my computer at the moment.

    Also the comments that reply to others get counted. There are 126 comments listed, but I’m on page 4 at comment 23, which should be 98.
    .

  • kathy

    Very nice that when you got to “next post” at top of page you’re already in comments. very helpful.

  • dalybean

    Swampland’s new layout is brilliant.

  • sacredh

    The new format is very promising. Still some bugs to be worked out, but I think I’m going to wind up preferring the new look.

  • http://smoothlikeremy.blogspot.com/ sgwhiteinfla

    My head is spinning right now. Imma come back in a few days when the High Sherriffs have done all the fixes. Seems like it might take awhile.

  • fourlegsgood

    Love it!

  • senecadoane

    I had to scroll all the way to the right to see the columns. Did Michael Scherer design this?

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