[Commanderloochy]

 Growing the cake at the expense of how good it tastes.

That's the first time I've ever heard that saying, and I must say it's brilliant. Personally I like the new look of head-fi, but I never was too frequent a user so maybe I'm not noticing the drawbacks to the new layout. I do agree though, that you should at least have the option to use the old layout.

 

[Spareribs]

I think some headfiers leave because the site has a tendancy to be a tad over corporate and sponser hungry. Also, some of the moderators tend to be emotionally over reactive and delete posts and even emotionally close threads. Not a big deal though because it's still a great site though. I love head fi and no system is perfect.

 

[Duggeh]

Quote:

I think some headfiers leave because the site has a tendancy to be a tad over corporate and sponser hungry. Also, some of the moderators tend to be emotionally over reactive and delete posts and even emotionally close threads. Not a big deal though because it's still a great site though. I love head fi and no system is perfect.

 
Firstly:
 
Head-Fi is a business and businesses exist in order to generate money. A business which does not do so is A) a startup yet to move into profit, B) badly run, or C) a charity. This is why, for example, I draw a distinction of terminology between what is used here and that which actually should be used. People do not "donate" to this site when they send money. They pay for additional services from the business (PM space etc). It is only natural that in the interests of advancing the business model, progressions are undertaken to generate revenue from the large database of information and the large userbase which exists here.
 
The difficulty is in balancing those changes against the desires of those to form that userbase and generate the content. From the ongoing dissatisfaction with the Huddler transition, it would seem that, thusfar, it continues to be against the desires of many. This would be unavoidable with any change (think back if you can, to when the advert sidebar was first introduced) that change was originally made under the statement that it was a temporary measure and was done in order to aid the effort of promoting Head-Fest/Canjam that year. It never went away, then later it moved to the left hand side of the screen, causing navigation problems for those on resolutions lower than 1024 pixels wide. Much later still, users were able to select which side they preferred to have it on. I forget if when one payed for perks, it dissapeared.
 
Secondly:

The actions of the team of mods who look after the running of this place in the face of a large workload created by people not obeying the forum rules or elsewise being fools are the single most important factor in continuing to hold this forum together. I dread to think what would happen if the existing moderating team retired. They would be replaced, but I cannot think of any people who could A) so well replace them and B) if good enough to be replacements, would be apt choices for other reasons.

 

[Duggeh]

I have been linked to posts from the time of adbar flip change (I tried searching but was unable to locate what I was after). And my facts on the matter are not wholly accurate. I do not know where my certainty in the right sidebar originally being temporary originated. It will have been from reading as gospel someone elses assertions on the matter years ago. I was incorrect. And it was the side change, not the introduction of the bar which was done for Headfest/Canjam. I just wanted to create a comparison to a previous layout alteration.
 
Here is the post/thread in question.

 

[Lazarus Short]

All I seem to see these days are complaints against the new format.  I really do not care a flying rat's rear end about that.  I rarely post here nowadays because some of the most interesting people are gone, gone, gone.  Head-Fi is boring.

 

[grokit]

Cake is good, but this is a depressing thread...
Head-fi is in danger of being consumed by its own javascripts, and getting "Lost in the cloud"

 

[Born2bwire]

Quote:

All I seem to see these days are complaints against the new format.  I really do not care a flying rat's rear end about that.  I rarely post here nowadays because some of the most interesting people are gone, gone, gone.  Head-Fi is boring.

Bah, it happens every single frickin time something like this occurs.  It's always the same.  Head-fi is becoming corporatizationized, the community is too big and alien, I don't like the way things look.  I'll never understand it personally and I've been here almost since it started.  But in the end, people will keep coming to the site, meets will keep happening, and the forums will grow like it always has.  It's the content that matters, and superficial appearances or a small reduction in real estate for an ad doesn't change that and that's why the website hasn't failed but florished despite the doom filled precognitions of many unsatisfied forumnite that came before.
 
As for the current layout, I find it better because with widescreen monitors becoming more prevalent, I feel that horizontal real estate is not as important as vertical.  With most of the superficial stuff placed on the sidebar I feel that the vertical space is better used.  The only complaint is still that the avatar and name is using up vertical space instead of being relegated to the side.  But that was a change that was done a while back.

 

[Spareribs]

Duggeh rocks as he is argueably one of the most popular head-fiers of all time.

 

[Duggeh]

Quote:

Duggeh rocks as he is argueably one of the most popular head-fiers of all time.

There's no shortage of people who would disagree with that sentiment.

 

[BIG POPPA]

Quote:

There's no shortage of people who would disagree with that sentiment.

Yeah, all the Noob's who have no respect for anyone!

 

[Happy Camper]

When the expertize leaves, this will just become a whinefest between idiots and tards. Progress?????

 

[Kirosia]

 
 
Quote:

this will just become a whinefest between idiots and tards. Progress?????

Our Age will soon arise! 

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

There's no shortage of people who would disagree with that sentiment.

Well it depends on your definition of popular. Most "popular" (in infamy, erm not the right word, but you guys hopefully know what I mean) is probably Patrick, but I (and I'm sure many others, I'll say that joined before this year because your posts have decreased recently) do respect you as much as the Mod squad for quite a few reasons such as having epic reviews and being THE Float guy. I in particular have really liked your ventures with SFI drivers and such.
 
There have been a few people that have come that annoy me, but I'm pretty sure the feeling's mutual about my post whoring at times, so I can't complain.

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

 
 
Our Age will soon arise! 

Yeah, so I've been told. As long as there are some good ones in the mix, there's hope.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Wow - got called out in a thread! Yes, I miss you guys, too.

A brief explanation: I post 90% of the time from my iPhone. It's an old 3G that really struggles with the new site. The good news is that I preordered a 4G iPhone the other day. The A4 chip in it does alright with the new site (I have an iPad with the same), so that will be dealt with in the next 7-10 days.

Second, I had mt first vacation (in conjunction with CanJam) in something like 14 months. I cmpletely
disconnected from the Internets, work, et al. and spent some quality time driving arount the Great Lakes and getting inordinately drunk at every opportunity.

Third, the frightening work schedule has appeared around the trip. There was a major arbitration for a few weeks before CanJam that was devouring 80-90 hours a week and another smaller one coming up in three weeks. It's busy, to say the least, and not having adequate mobile access has made getting here tough.

But I will be back. A speedier iPhone will arrive next week (hopefully) and my schedule should return to normal in a few weeks, too.

Yes, I do miss this place and wish I had been able to get here regularly. I will do what it takes to get here often again.

CanJam was great! It was good to see some familiar faces again and even better to meet Duggeh and Skylab!