[Dan Millheim]

I have tried to keep and open mind on the recent changes to the site but this new layout is killing the enjoyment of being here and I now find myself spending less and less time on head-fi. I'm all for change normally but this is a total FAIL.

 

[unlimited]

I would prefer the old site but oh well, it already changed..

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Regarding the ads - if you subscribe, you can get zero ads - even LESS ads than the old site.

Subscribe to what?  You mean be a contributor?  I'm a contributor.  I'm getting ads for Network Solutions, mobile phones, Good Year, etc. all the time.  Or is there something else you are referring to that we have to pay additional for?
 
My main issue is with the lack of sponsor visibility.  They are not present on the right side anymore or easy to find and in my opinion that will hurt their sales significantly.  I have other issues that I posted in another thread, but that is my chief complaint.  I'm real curious to know how the sponsor's feel about the new layout, and if they knew what was coming in the new layout.

 

[LevA]

not a contributor but from what I understand there are different levels that allow you to have access with no ads.. Level 3 or 4?

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

not a contributor but from what I understand there are different levels that allow you to have access with no ads.. Level 3 or 4?

I guess that is correct - you have to contribute at a certain level to get no ads. 
 
But I am looking at this page right now and I can assure you there are ZERO ads.  I mean ZERO.  All I see at the right is "Recent Reviews" and a box called "What users want" which a text list of products that users must have indicated they have interest in.
 
I was a little freaked out at the new site at first, but I am used to it already.  It's fine with me.  There are some cool things, and some irritations.  Such is life.

 

[Jubei]

Just logged in this morning (over here) and the text size seems to have been fixed - i.e. downsized. Thanks!

 

[Doorbell]

I don't like the new layout. I find it way to bright. Before the change I used to love to come on here and read threads even when i'm not looking for new headphones but because of the new layout I don't care much to check up on here.

 

[jude]

 
Quote:

Subscribe to what?  You mean be a contributor?  I'm a contributor.  I'm getting ads for Network Solutions, mobile phones, Good Year, etc. all the time.  Or is there something else you are referring to that we have to pay additional for?...

 
IPodPJ, there were four levels in the old system, and 3 and 4 had no ads.  All of the subscriptions carried over into the new system.
 
I haven't put anything new up yet (as far as a Contributing Member system goes), but will likely go with just two levels, the second one having the ad-free option.
 
Quote:

My main issue is with the lack of sponsor visibility....

 
If you think you're concerned about it, the Sponsors are even more so.  I haven't yet put the Sponsorship links up.  I will likely put those (for now) in areas at the top of each sub-forum, as text links.  This setup is likely going to change soon, but that will be the initial installation for those Sponsors still not signed up to one of the newer Sponsorship arrangements (as well as those who are newly signed up).  Those links are scheduled to be put up tomorrow.
 
Quote:

....I'm real curious to know how the sponsor's feel about the new layout, and if they knew what was coming in the new layout.

Some were more familiar with it than others, and several not at all.  It was my fault it occurred this way, because I thought that, the way we were tracking with the sandbox (testing) setup, that the transition was going to happen later.  I thought there would be more time to go from Sponsor to Sponsor, but I was wrong.  The feedback I've received from several of the Sponsors has already re-shaped things that are going to happen and things that aren't.  More details about this will be coming soon.
 
Quote:

Just logged in this morning (over here) and the text size seems to have been fixed - i.e. downsized. Thanks!

 
Yes, it was shrunk to a more standard default size.

 

[ssavage]

this new layout is scaring my eyes away

 

[IPodPJ]

Thanks for the update, Jude.  You have alleviated some of my concerns.

I also posted in the Feedbag/bug forum area.  I mentioned several different things I noticed.  You just addressed the major one.  If you could address the others when you have a chance, I would appreciate it.
Thanks.

 

[Otakusound]

Hey there, I'm not a hugely active member here as far as posting goes, but I have been visiting on a daily basis for nearly a year to read up on any interesting new threads or researching a particular pair of headphones. Anywho, I just had a few concerns which have been bugging me about the new site and since this seems like the place to put them I figured why not.
 
First of all, have all sticky threads been thrown out permanently? There were a few very useful stickies, such as the headfi guide by boomana which really helped me when I first visited this site, and imo should still be up there. A few of the sticky threads were desperately outdated with links to dead websites and recommendations for products no longer sold, but most of them were a wealth of information and really didn't need to be cast into obscurity.
 
The other concern I have is with the new forum search. This was one of the functions I used most on the old site, and this new format seems like a step back to be honest. For one, when you get search results, instead of getting a list of 30-50 threads (I never counted how many results I got per page on the old forum) we get 10 threads at a time now. I know this sounds nitpicky, but before you could scroll through the long list and pick out the threads that looked like the best bet for what you were looking for. Now you get 10 over-sized thread links to choose between with 5x the pages to sift through. It just slows down the whole process and I can't see why it was changed at all. On top of this I'm also sorely missing the "seach thread titles only" option in the drop-down search box, since I'm getting astronomical results when searching now. Having 10 threads a page doesn't help with seven thousand results.
 
Ok, enough complaining from this user, I've only one more issue with this change, and that's the M.I.A. status of Duggeh's TakeT H2 review. (you know, the one that made Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace look like a novella) I had this awesome post bookmarked, and somehow it is now gone. Can anyone else account for it?

 

[jellojoe]

 
Quote:

... The other concern I have is with the new forum search. This was one of the functions I used most on the old site, and this new format seems like a step back to be honest. For one, when you get search results, instead of getting a list of 30-50 threads (I never counted how many results I got per page on the old forum) we get 10 threads at a time now. I know this sounds nitpicky, but before you could scroll through the long list and pick out the threads that looked like the best bet for what you were looking for. Now you get 10 over-sized thread links to choose between with 5x the pages to sift through. It just slows down the whole process and I can't see why it was changed at all.
 
...

More search result pages means more ads.

 

[jude]

 
Quote:

Hey there, I'm not a hugely active member here as far as posting goes, but I have been visiting on a daily basis for nearly a year to read up on any interesting new threads or researching a particular pair of headphones. Anywho, I just had a few concerns which have been bugging me about the new site and since this seems like the place to put them I figured why not.
 
First of all, have all sticky threads been thrown out permanently? There were a few very useful stickies, such as the headfi guide by boomana which really helped me when I first visited this site, and imo should still be up there. A few of the sticky threads were desperately outdated with links to dead websites and recommendations for products no longer sold, but most of them were a wealth of information and really didn't need to be cast into obscurity.
 
The other concern I have is with the new forum search. This was one of the functions I used most on the old site, and this new format seems like a step back to be honest. For one, when you get search results, instead of getting a list of 30-50 threads (I never counted how many results I got per page on the old forum) we get 10 threads at a time now. I know this sounds nitpicky, but before you could scroll through the long list and pick out the threads that looked like the best bet for what you were looking for. Now you get 10 over-sized thread links to choose between with 5x the pages to sift through. It just slows down the whole process and I can't see why it was changed at all. On top of this I'm also sorely missing the "seach thread titles only" option in the drop-down search box, since I'm getting astronomical results when searching now. Having 10 threads a page doesn't help with seven thousand results.
 
Ok, enough complaining from this user, I've only one more issue with this change, and that's the M.I.A. status of Duggeh's TakeT H2 review. (you know, the one that made Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace look like a novella) I had this awesome post bookmarked, and somehow it is now gone. Can anyone else account for it?

Can you PM me the bookmark?
 
Regarding the stickies:  There are no more stickies.  Frankly, we received more complaints about them than blessings.  I'm going to move a lot of what was stickied (including boomana's post) to the wiki section, and then link to those from the top of the sub-forums.
 
Regarding search:  Thanks for the feedback on that.  I know it's not as easy as having it in the drop-down for now, but you should be able to solve most of your search needs via Advanced Search.  I suggest you do as I do, and put this in your browser's bookmark bar:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/search.php?action=advanced
 
Also, here's a primer on the search function, as it is now:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/wiki/search-and-advanced-seach-tutorial
 
Again, please PM me the bookmark URL you've got.  That would be helpful.
 
By the way, guys, I'm not going to be monitoring this thread as closely, as it has several different topics, recommendations, and bug reprots covered, which makes them all hard to track.  We're trying to keep them on a per-issue basis in the Feedback & Bug Reports forum.

 

[dweaver]

Thanks for clearing up the prfiling thing Jude. I suspected as much and have to say I really like the lists and head gear section. I think they will help users from a review perspective as well as deternining FOTM products from products that are bought and constantly used. I have put 1 review so far and will be converting all my reviews over to  the new sections as I have time.

 

[grokit]

Do we still have the ability to "permalink" to individual posts? That was a convenient referencing feature that seems to have gone away, but maybe it's just changed?
 
I have noticed a lot more scripts running under the hood in the Windows version that the Mac version, both running Firefox. Not that there's anything wrong with that