Seriously, why are some people so annoyed by 1 extra column on the screen...

[phleshdef]

Maybe I can understand it if you have an older monitor or video card that doesn't support more modern resolutions (I can see like 20+ thread titles at once on my screen). But cmon, its 1 FREAKING EXTRA COLUMN ON THE SCREEN. Its not some HUGE change in the format to the forums.

I think everyone should give it a few days and see how well it works in regards to taming down trolling posts or posts that are just counter-productive. For me personally, if I see a thread that has been rated as disruptive or something I should ignore, I'm not going to bother with it. If other DUers follow suit, then the trolls will realize they aren't getting the attention they desire. That will make them get bored with it all and hopefully go away.

I just can't believe such a minor addition has gotten under the skin of some other posters and caused some of the overreaction I have witnessed.

[seabeyond]

1. just a matter of getting use to. a distraction that after time will no longer be a distraction

WHY are there people that cant understand that others see and think differently than them? wink

[flpoljunkie]

2. It's definitely a distraction-the first thing you see, rather than the content of the subject line.

[Sodan]

5. maybe a coincidence - but isn't the page slow?

[phleshdef]

9. Not for me...

As a web developer, I can tell ya that if done properly, I don't think it should have any noticable effect on the performance of the site. I won't get into the technical details of why because it would bore you to death.

[phleshdef]

6. Well, maybe move the rating column to the right of the subject?

I get what you are saying about the first thing that draws your attention. But is it seriously preventing anyone from using DU as normal?

[Whisp]

14. to the right and just a small colored square

with a legend somewhere on the masthead to describe each. or abbreviations.
right now that bar is taking up way too much real estate from the title column.

[seabeyond]

12. yes, but in one day already i am beginning to ignore the side and just see subject line again

i decided not to say anything at first and give it time. i have found that with time, i can generally adjust to change. but i know when i first saw the change, i was a bit jolted too.

[flpoljunkie]

24. I don't think ignoring the distracting ratings labels is what Skinner had in mind.

[seabeyond]

39. bah hahha. i dont think skinner will send me to a corner if i chose not to pay attention

to his labels. lol lol. i think he will be just fine if i ignore, dont complain and continue to enjoy his site

lordy, your post sounded funny

[Captain Hilts]

57. It discourages people from reading some worthwhile threads. nt

[regnaD kciN]

51. Disagree with the "after time"...

...when I first saw the new format, I thought it would be fine, but every time I returned over the past day, I found it more and more distracting.

It doesn't "get better" with familiarity.

[seabeyond]

52. you know

i wasnt on much yesterday and today when i wrote that. have spent time since on du....

and ssshhhh, dont tell, but still bothering me. lol lol. but i am trying ot look at the subject line.

kinda funny

[maseman]

3. I agree

If people on DU have as much passion to get Obama elected as they do getting worked up over a new column on a blog site then we are good to go in November.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. the same reason that some folks won't vote for Obama

change, something new, something different can be a scary thing, especially in tough times. The old, the familiar, the devil you know, is almost reassuring, even if the devil really is a devil.

[Ganja Ninja]

7. I feel threatened by change. n/t

[arcos]

8. Because website users hate change...

It is kind of ironic, considering everyone is hoping for change here.

It seems to me some DUers would love to have an equivalent to Free Republic, a website that looks 10 or 15 years old. :eyes:

[npincus]

15. unfair assessment... change is great if the change means improvement...

but I for one think this particular change is not an improvement- the "Recs" column was a more precise and unobtrusive way to measure the "must read" factor.

No, I won't be labeled "anti-change"... the critics deserve to be heard.

[Arkansas Granny]

10. Like you, I don't find the extra column to be a problem. I think I'm going to

enjoy the rating system after I get used to it. I don't have the time to read every thread, especially those who give no hint of their content in the subject line, and to have some idea which ones are considered really worth reading or not may turn out to be very helpful.

[npincus]

11. it's a graphic nightmare, totally unnecesaary.... the "recs"

column was an unobtrusive way to measure the "must read" factor. If it's got to stay, it should be on the right side of the screen with the page views.

Often substantive threads are the ones that sink the fastest. I think DUers can assess on their own which are the "must reads", without color coding. This is what color coding reminds me of:

[riverdale]

19. I love the chart

Have you noticed that the only two colors to ever get used are yellow and orange? I fly a lot, and have never seen it set at any other color.
I agree that DUers can assess on their own which topics are worthy of reading. Personally, I think the whole concept of "recommendations" is useless. You can judge by the number of responses whether a good conversation is going on or not.
No thanks to DU Moderator Tom Ridge for introducing this clutter into our formerly clean web site.

[RichGirl]

31. I love that chart too.

I love it because the american people didn't take it seriously, therefore, they are not, as a whole, nearly as stupid or gullible as I had thought

[pnwmom]

13. I can ignore it, but I think it's unfortunate anyway.

I think it is more likely to scare away shyer posters than to discourage disrupters.

And it reminds me, personally, of being graded in school. Yuk.

[QC]

22. It does add to the playground mob atmosphere that this place has taken on.

So I guess it's appropriate, if you think about it.

[Lilith Velkor]

55. It certainly is.

Also, instead of a tiny little number which, if it's 50+ lets me know it's probably crap, there's a nice bright blue bar to more easily let me know it's probably crap.

[GoneOffShore]

16. K&R

And welcome to DU!

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. I don't like it. I don't see any movement in the threads everytime I

jump into the greatest. And that's how I step into DU. Jump in several times a day when I need to clear my mind of something else I'm working on on the computer. Sometimes I'm here for only a minute somethings it feels like I never leave, but the key is that I can just see the first screen and in an instant, know what's come up since the last time I was here.

[grantcart]

18. We are against change lol

[Zuiderelle]

23. That's what I was going to say. Pretty funny.

No CHANGE!!!

[1corona4u]

20. I dunno....I have a widescreen, so it puts the topics right in the middle

instead of on the left side, as before....I like it. Maybe they could put a "collapse" on that column though....for all the whiners.

[riverdale]

21. I just had the idea to adblock those images

Now that's better!

[SmokingJacket]

25. It's a long column of mostly white space.

How about just a dot or small square.

It offends my sense of space! :)

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

26. Bingo. Dots would be sufficient.

[Cha]

54. As in..

too much wasted?

[DCofVA]

27. I think it's perdy!

:)

[LynneSin]

28. Actually it's not one extra column - they got rid of one

I like it because it'll be easier for mods to see disruptive thread and get them locked

[RichGirl]

29. Interesting isn't it...

The same people clamoring for change...can't seem to handle even the slightest change. Any psychotherapists out there to figure that one out????

Me...I like it. More color is always good.

Instead of complaining, go to freerepublic and see what the less fortune have to endure....plain old black and white text, no emoticons, no pictures (sniff sniff, sob) with NO options or ability to rate. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

[DCofVA]

30. But, will I get kicked off the board if I don't read all the MUST READs?

[slackmaster]

32. Some people are afraid of "change"

:D

[paparush]

33. I likes it! We must has the extra column..yesss precious!

[SmokingJacket]

34. Also, why are the colors backwards?

I can't remember if the green or the blue is more important.

Seems to me that RED should be for the HOT stories, down to blue for the cold ones. Ya know?

[DCofVA]

36. Red is a very bad color on this board!

Don't ja know? :)

[SmokingJacket]

42. oh... yeah... nt

[Moochy]

35. Because DU is full of fuddydudds

:yoiks:
Oops I said it! What's interesting is the high degree of correlation between people who hate the new design and people who typically post "skip-it" messages. Just sayin...

[stuntcat]

37. I've already noticed ..

I've already seen threads getting rated up and then rated back down again :eyes: yeah, just what we need, anonymous ways to measure popularity.. and stuff.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

38. It's in the wrong place. Move it next to the replies and views columns.

The topic column should be the most prominent.

[PufPuf23]

40. There is a reason to have some empathy for those "annoyed"

I like the concept in general and appreciate the effort by Skinner.

The graphics are the problem for some of us and our eyes.

For example, posters with animated gifs for avatars or siglines are similarly bothersome and distracting to me and this does not go away when one becomes accustomed. I tend to scroll past such posters at DU and elsewhere on the internet or else make an effort to focus away from the graphic if I want to read the posts.

I have no idea of the physical mechanism but I am not that young and have some vision problems. "Annoyed" no, but the new graphics reduce the comfort of my reading here (and while I don't post much, I read here several hours daily and DU is my favorite internet site). I do not think it is an overreaction but an unfortunate physical reaction with eye sight problems some bear.

Tweaking the new layout in some manner for the less fortunate would be nice for me anyway. I think it is the brightness, size, placement, and irregularity combined with scrolling that bothers some of us. My nature is not that of a whiner.

Maybe the OP and others can understand the problem better now?

[cliffordu]

41. Fucking people in the democrat party are afraid of change.

:rofl:

[Overseas]

43. I like more room for the thread titles. Ditto with my email.

I like a long subject line.

[Cosmic Charlie]

44. some folks just don't want their trollish tendencies called out in public

[Moochy]

46. ding ding ding

We have a winner!

[Abacus]

45. I like it, but all labels should show -- just make the negative ones always grey

or undersaturated versions of what they are now. I find the uneven nature of the column more distracting and less informative than if all the labels were present.

[JuniperLea]

47. I love change!

Some people might say I have the typical, mercurial Gemini personality. I welcome change with open arms, treating it as a new toy to fiddle about with and learn what fun might be gained from its presence. Once I become bored with something, I don't even notice it anymore. I'm about to that stage already after only an hour or so living with the new function. I know, however, I'll remind myself of it when someone posts something I really like.

My b/f and my daughter, both coincidentally Virgos, must have a plan, a script, a template for all they do. Pft! It's a wonder we can deal with each other:)

This is just a bunch of pretty colored buttons:) Nothing to get our knickers in a wad about.

[Balderdash]

48. I can see trolls using the new format to make posts

hard to find. I can decide for myself which posts I find important, I don't need anyone on this forum doing that for me.

[regnaD kciN]

49. Because...

a) it's too big, and
b) the colored boxes pull one's attention away from the topic headers.

[Vinca]

50. It's kind of insulting to have to be hit in the head with the fact

a post is important or not important. Let me figure it out for myself. It worked perfectly fine before with just the number of comments and views indicated. It reminds me of the color-coded Homeland Security "how afraid we should be" signal.

[ContinentalOp]

53. For 5 1/2 years we didn't have ANY columns on our screens! -nt-

[Meshuga]

56. The new column is helpful

It let's me know which threads to read and let's me know which to ignore. I love the new system.