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NEWS: Anime News Network Gets a New Layout


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DriftRoot



Joined: 20 Jun 2003
Posts: 222
Location: NH
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:13 pm Reply with quote
Frames are helpful for those not operating on huge screens, but now I'm forced to read columns that give me about four words per line. I hope it isn't that Coyote Ragtime design screwing things up.
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PatrickD



Joined: 03 Dec 2003
Posts: 95
Location: California
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:15 pm Reply with quote
Yesterday's blue layout was nice and a big improvement.

Today's ad-filled red layout is not nice at all. It's not safe for work. Sure, it's not porn...but I am no longer able to quickly head over to ANN at the office and see what's up without people seeing that I'm obviously not looking at a work-related site...unless my co-workers have run off to lunch like they have right now.

Please tell me there's a way to change to another skin or else I'll just have to stop looking at the site during the day.
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cirith



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:52 pm Reply with quote
Wow this is just..... BAD. It's like the information on the site is now secondary and a afterthought to the ads. It's really disappointing, I know you guys have to generate revenue, but this is too much.
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hashihime



Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 20
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:57 pm Reply with quote
I'm sorry, but the new layout has one HUGE problem: I have to maximize the window to 1024 (my laptop) to see the data in the Encyclopedia entries. This is extremely inconvenient for the way I work.

I like the overall look all right, but the new design reduces the site's usability. As others have said, the layout commits what to me is the great sin of having too much decoration at the top and driving the content down the page. I'm not here for pretty pictures, but for information. I will accept the need for banner ads to be large, but when that is necessary, the titling, etc. above it has to be reduced to a total minimum. I'm afraid this seems to me like another example of the need for ad revenue reducing the quality of a site.

What's good? The tabbed and pop-up navigation.

Sorry for the caps in the first line, but I needed to shout.
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sandra monte



Joined: 29 Mar 2003
Posts: 33
Location: São Paulo - BRASIL
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:58 pm Reply with quote
I liked so much of new appearance.

But, one of the computers that I use, website doesn´t open. And closes my navigator (Windows 2000, IE 6.0)

Now, I´m in other computer, a Windows XP, IE 6.0... And, I´m in Brazil...

Right? ^__^x


Sandra Monte
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Calculusman



Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 309
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:43 pm Reply with quote
DriftRoot wrote:
Frames are helpful for those not operating on huge screens, but now I'm forced to read columns that give me about four words per line. I hope it isn't that Coyote Ragtime design screwing things up.


I'm not sure where people are getting the frames idea...there aren't any frames in the layout (though there are divs) unless they're spitting out different layouts for different browsers. It looks fine to me on a 1600x1200.
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[M!L@rK!E]



Joined: 11 Feb 2004
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:11 pm Reply with quote
Im not sure if this has been suggested or not, but a link to My Collection under [u]m[/u]y ANN, would be nice.
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Tempest
I Run this place.
ANN Publisher


Joined: 29 Dec 2001
Posts: 10461
Location: Do not message me for support.
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:56 pm Reply with quote
Regarding the Coyote Ragtime skin, we didn't know exactly how it would turn out, since the regular layout was so new.

Overall, I'm quite happy with the CR skin, I find it nice to look at, it get it's job done (makes Coyote Ragtime very visible to the visitors) and it doesn't present any significant inconvenience to the readers ("I don't like it" isn't an inconvenience, "The menus don't work" and "the layout is broken" are inconveniences (big ones)).

The one thing I'm not terribly happy about with the skin, is the amount of space we allowed them to use at the top of the page. At I felt this was okay because it just moved the content down, but as long as you scrolled down, everything was where it belonged, just a bit lower on the page. The problem I have with it, is that it looks like a page title. From now on I don't think we will allow advertisers to use that space, or at least not quite in that manner.

We will continue to allow advertisers the opportunity to skin the site every so-often. At most you'll see 1 skin a month or less. I actually like doing the skins, in addition the very good revenue opportunity, they shake things up a bit, which makes running the site a bit more fun and interesting. I just don't want the skins to be a "regular" occurrence

Some people think that ANN is "selling out" (fortunately not that many people have made this comment). I can tell you that this isn't the case. Our content remains 100% independent of our advertising. The only affect that advertising has on content is that it makes more of it possible (because content costs money). As long as the advertising doesn't dictate or affect the content, I will be 100% satisfied with the fact that we haven't sold out.

We have another advertising related skin coming up in about a month, and another one a couple weeks later. After that we're committed to a 6-8 week break with no skins (but it could be much longer).

Aside from these, we will have a minimalist Holiday skin as we do every year (the details of which will be announced very soon) that will run from December 18 to January 1.

I hope everyone enjoys these skins and the layout, but I know that some people will not enjoy them. Hopefully those of you who don't like the skins & layout will still appreciate ANN for its content, which is of course, what is most important.

I also hope that you enjoy the new layout-related features that we will be adding to the site in the coming month.

Thanks,

Christopher Macdonald
Editor in Chief
Anime News Network
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Elchfaenger



Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 12
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:19 pm Reply with quote
Some strange bug just appeared (or maybe I just noticed it now, so sorry if I post something already known):
The ANN Logo right here in the forum links to admin.animenewsnetwork.com/ which I of course can't access... I think it should link to the homepage, right?

/edit: It says something like animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/posting.php?mode=editpost&p=356832 in the adress bar of my browser right now too. Why is that? How did I get there? Shocked
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SomeWhiteGuy



Joined: 06 Sep 2006
Posts: 8
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:32 pm Reply with quote
lol, Ahahaha. How much did the CR owners pay to have you guys do this? Because this dosnt even look like ANN anymore - there is more CR characters space than space saying "Anime News Network"
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patch



Joined: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 677
Location: New York, NY
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:40 pm Reply with quote
bluepita wrote:
I don't mind the ad being so huge but the fact that it is so bright. I don't normally visit sites that are this over the top. Of course I love ANN, so I'll give it some time to see if it changes.


This was one of the most insightful comments (but there are many in this thread) -- this in one particular because the user didn't even notice what it implies and its the genuine reaction you would get from an average person. Bottom line is I can guarantee that you lose many potential new regular readers with the intrusive over the top nonsense, obviously the ones already here will deal with it for a little while hoping it will go away soon.

I just sincerely hope you guys consider the integrity of your news site a little more instead of just considering the size of your wallets. I think this short term sacrifice will help you in the long run and pay off for you.
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red stranger



Joined: 26 Dec 2004
Posts: 184
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:56 pm Reply with quote
This "Bloody" new layout is too big for my tiny 14" screen. Everything is all scrunched up in the center column. I also can't stand the tabs - I'd prefer plan old HTML links.

But other than that (and the "Bloody" Coyote Ugly theme), the site looks great.
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Tempest
I Run this place.
ANN Publisher


Joined: 29 Dec 2001
Posts: 10461
Location: Do not message me for support.
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:03 pm Reply with quote
red stranger wrote:
This "Bloody" new layout is too big for my tiny 14" screen.


Not sure if I mentioned it in here yet, but I did in the other thread: We will be creating a slightly different layout for less than 1024 pixel screens. This layout will be the default (javascript detection) for people who visit the screen with a resolution lower than 1024, however it will be available as an option to others (for example people who like to browse with narrow windows with several open at a time (I do this, but 1024 is narrow for me since my screen is 1920 wide)).

I hope to have this layout available to you soon, but I don't want to promise any sort of date just yet. Our first priority will be to work all the bugs out of the current layout, then to create a couple variants (such as the < 1024 layout) and add some features, then to get on with other projects.

-t
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Heike-sama



Joined: 12 Sep 2005
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:38 pm Reply with quote
Why must "Latest Articles", "Recent Press Releases" etc. takes so much space (f.e. in the Encyclopedia)? Left side 1/3 CRS, right side 1/3 ANN-Latest + sales promotion an in the middle a very slim 1/3-part for the Anime/Manga-Infos I want.
I like it functional and so (for me) the new layout looks to disproportionate.
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Keonyn
Subscriber



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Coon Rapids, MN
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:36 pm Reply with quote
patch wrote:
bluepita wrote:
I don't mind the ad being so huge but the fact that it is so bright. I don't normally visit sites that are this over the top. Of course I love ANN, so I'll give it some time to see if it changes.


This was one of the most insightful comments (but there are many in this thread) -- this in one particular because the user didn't even notice what it implies and its the genuine reaction you would get from an average person. Bottom line is I can guarantee that you lose many potential new regular readers with the intrusive over the top nonsense, obviously the ones already here will deal with it for a little while hoping it will go away soon.

I just sincerely hope you guys consider the integrity of your news site a little more instead of just considering the size of your wallets. I think this short term sacrifice will help you in the long run and pay off for you.


How does it really effect their integrity? The site advertizes, something many sites do, what kind of person would see that and suddenly assume that the content on the site will lose quality because of a skin? Not a very bright one, more likely one that doesn't understand that ANN is a business and would rather whine about the fact that the ANN staffers have to pay money to keep this site up and use ads to do so than consider the fact that this is a service that is provided to them at no charge that they obviously take for granted.

The size of their wallets? Are you that ridiculous? You actually think this site is likely padding their wallet with anything? If they cared about their wallet so much they probably wouldn't even be running this site. A temporary skin isn't going to kill you and I think some people really need a bit of perspective and to take a step back for a second. It's a new layout and a new method of skinning and there's a learning curve, cut them some slack or maybe offer to help pay for the site if keeping ads off is so important. I come to ANN because the forums and the content are head over heels above the rest, and you know what? That hasn't changed because of a silly temporary skin and a new layout that's still being tweaked.
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