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New Splash page

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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Hey everyone -

We're launching another part of the puzzle of the whole re-design to Newschoolers, and that is a new splash page. While in beta it is going to be disabled by default, but after we work out the kinks we're going to put it back up as the default setting. Still customizable for those of you who don't like it of course.

The key concept is that this is a layer on top of the whole sorting system you've all become used to using. The cover of the site is no longer just a photo, its got a single item from each content category that is the top rated item of the day before.

The influence of this idea was taken from print magazines, yet applied with a more dynamic, modern web philosophy and mixed with the whole Content community UGC madness we have going on around here.

Hope you like it, feedback welcome.

Jan 16 2014 5:19PM
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corona
Posts: 12799 - Karma: 32,775
first
Jan 16 2014 5:24PM
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corona
Posts: 12799 - Karma: 32,775
one criticism: when you minimize 'today's top content' it would be nice for it to remember that decision so it stays minimized the next time you visit the splash page
Jan 16 2014 5:34PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Yeah that just literally hasn't been added yet. Was supposed to be in there but we forgot it in the final beta launch. I think you'll like it over time, but we'll put that in next week after we're sure we want to keep this direction.
Jan 16 2014 5:38PM
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icculus.
Posts: 749 - Karma: 3,963
looks really sweet! will the photo of the day be the background?
Jan 16 2014 6:09PM
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DrZoidberg
Posts: 5675 - Karma: 4,268
Ha I saw it on mobile first and I thought my phone was glitching out. It's kind of weird on mobile, iphone 5 for me, but it's cool on a computer. I saw the photo in the background moving and I was like, so fancy.

At least for me, the scrolling around gets all glitchy on mobile. The background sometimes disappears and then news things aren't there until I zoom in, then they pop up. I'd assume since it's beta or whatever you guys are still sorting out stuff. It's an iphone 5, using chrome, latest os if that helps.
Jan 16 2014 6:18PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Yeah we probably actually will have it disabled for phones. Its too big to put on there, and the main homepage is a lot better anyway.
Jan 16 2014 6:22PM
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5432 - Karma: 11,823
It's siiiiiick.
Jan 16 2014 10:14PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
I'm glad you like it... we think its pretty freaking sick too. :)

Anyone else just love it? Please show support if you feel support. That will help with the decision of pushing it out 100%.
Jan 16 2014 10:27PM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,411
I really like it. Pretty nice, fresh change. The only thing that's annoying right now is the, "continues as *membernamehere*" button. It just seems way too small for the space given I'm finding.
Jan 16 2014 10:36PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
FYI - new POTD is up.
Jan 17 2014 12:46AM
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Dirty.Harry.
Posts: 1779 - Karma: 351
I like the change so far...although it was nice that the old page pretty much stayed the same since I joined NS long ago.
Jan 17 2014 12:54AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
it changed a ton of times before that. :) Change is in the fibre of Newschoolers - always love change here.
Jan 17 2014 1:13AM
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Byron_tha_gr8
Posts: 4573 - Karma: 14,299
I would like it better if it cycled through different things from each category, maybe every time you reload, or maybe every 10 seconds, like a news site. Also maybe a customizable link to "my threads" or "media upload", since i feel like thats the 2 things regualr users will want to get to quickly without clicking extra since we don't know what patience is.
Jan 17 2014 11:35AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Yeah but we have most of that on the homepage. This is just a splash page, which is designed to be clicked through rather quickly.

Jan 17 2014 11:46AM
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Byron_tha_gr8
Posts: 4573 - Karma: 14,299
I only have so many finger clicks in a day. You trying to give me carpal tunnel?

But yeah, im just saying it would be cool if there was a fast way to get where you already want. I realize it won't really take longer, but it would feel very streamlined. Aesthetically you would never see anything after the very glossy looking "cover" page.
Jan 17 2014 11:53AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Funny enough, we've had the splash page on by default for about 95% of the last 14 years and everyone has always liked it / not had a problem clicking through. Its only when you type NS, and you can disable by default if you choose.

I'm going to push it out to enable by default, if anyone doesn't like it you can easily turn it off in your "Account Settings".

We'll watch the analytics and listen to opinions and see how this goes.
Jan 17 2014 12:00PM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
cool idea for a certain type of newschoolers. but for ppl like me who just want to get to NSG as soon as possible its kindof in the way
Jan 17 2014 12:51PM
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will_powder
Posts: 3194 - Karma: 5,445
I'm bookmarked on the homepage so I never see it anyways. Looks good though.
Jan 17 2014 1:09PM
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Nieds
Posts: 832 - Karma: 1,926
Looks unreal.
Jan 17 2014 1:17PM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
The good thing is we're not forcing anyone to see it every time they enter -- just head to your profile and disable the splash page. You should be good to go after that!

(or just bookmark NSG)
Jan 17 2014 1:59PM
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grifter
Posts: 933 - Karma: 102
Liking the change Bishop. Nice to see after a few years without really checking the NS vibes
Jan 17 2014 4:53PM
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T-Holt
Posts: 5020 - Karma: 639
I'm not the biggest fan. I feel like the news gets in the way of the photo. I liked it when it was just the photo of the day, it was simpler, there's too much going on all the time with the splash and homepage.
Jan 17 2014 5:46PM
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TheBigApple
Posts: 1169 - Karma: 488
Haha so much this.
Jan 17 2014 9:02PM
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Holte
Posts: 10740 - Karma: 7,816
Super dope. Best NS splash page ever. Obviously there's the possibility that a cool part of the photo could be covered up, but the look is rad.

To the guys just trying to get to a particular forum, just go to
https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/forumthreads/cat_id/1/ or
https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/forumthreads/cat_id/2/
Come on, you know which ones they are. It's pretty simple.
Jan 17 2014 9:31PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Its hard to dynamically render something and be sure that absolutely every time its going to be perfect. However, we can get pretty close and as well that is what both the scroll and the ability to collapse the news/video icons is about.

I think this will serve to give a lot of exposure back to some of our absolute best content.
Jan 17 2014 9:38PM
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DrZoidberg
Posts: 5675 - Karma: 4,268
What happens if the picture is a gif? Will it slide around and play at the same time? Will the universe collapse?

The page is cool though.
Jan 17 2014 9:45PM
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,027
I've noticed that now it logs me off of NS as soon as I leave the site. I am keeping the same window open though. Usually I can come back without retyping my name and pw..
Jan 17 2014 11:10PM
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,027
If I hide the splash page it keeps me logged in though when I move between sites.
Jan 17 2014 11:52PM
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Dhane
Posts: 3866 - Karma: 1,722
I like it! However, I'm not a huge fan of the moving background. Its just one more thing to distract ya
Jan 18 2014 1:27PM
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~~~~~~~~
Posts: 2345 - Karma: 2,104
picture of the day takes a minute to load for me which is kind of awkward, and I'm not really into the animation, but the sidebar is sweet!
Jan 18 2014 7:06PM
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~~~~~~~~
Posts: 2345 - Karma: 2,104
also, do you guys still maintain a changlog? the one at the bottom of the page hasn't been updated in 2 years.
Jan 18 2014 9:19PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Is it like this every day? The load time is an issue, and we're playing with that.
Jan 19 2014 1:33PM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,411
This is all I'm seeing for today's page:

Click for larger image

Both on my iPad and desktop. Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. Anyone else getting it or? Here is the actual POTD:

Click for larger image
Jan 19 2014 1:48PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
How do I turn off the moving splash page? it's ruined every potd so far, so fucking stupid.
Jan 20 2014 9:24AM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
You can't.
Jan 20 2014 9:30AM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
Any plans to make it possible? Idk if it's just on my screen or not but it's just such a drawback
Jan 20 2014 9:31AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
What is your screen? This was born of trying to figure out how to incorporate all screen sizes and both vertical and horizontal - while having the full page Background. Note, you also can't know where the rider is in the image server-side.
Jan 20 2014 9:33AM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
Definitely! Even though it's already launched, we're still considering it as in beta.

The initial concept took a while to come up with, and we actually had another super long conversation today about scrolling. Conclusions:

a) Without restricting the aspect ration, it's proving difficult to find a way to display the image both properly and large enough to do it justice.

b) We're going to leave it the way it is (minus a few minor design & photo size tweaks) for at least another couple weeks. The more feedback we can get before going back to the drawing board, the better -- that and we're about to dive into some forum upgrades next and want to get those done before spending more time on the splash page. Hope that makes sense & you guys understand where we're coming from.

What's your screen resolution? And were there any photos in particular that looked exceptionally bad? Can you elaborate a bit on what you mean by "ruined"?

And as always, suggestions are more than welcome!
Jan 20 2014 9:51AM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
1366x768 I believe, Chrome set to 100%

Yesterdays was noticeably bad, today's was also -

Click for larger image
Click for larger image

It may just look especially bad to me today as it cuts out the landing and the physical frame though, the newschoolers large logo itself is actually not a concern of mine, nor is the banner on the left with top of the day(which is awesome to have)
Jan 20 2014 10:50AM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
Unless we go back to the old splash, restrict aspect ratios and skier position, or put in a mechanical turk... we wouldn't be able to avoid that happening with some photos.


Jan 20 2014 3:03PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
Aspect ratio is off for me too. I have to zoom way out on my browser to the point I can't read the login information anymore to see the whole picture.
Jan 22 2014 3:15PM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
Is it not scrolling?
Jan 22 2014 3:24PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
Couldn't tell you. I'm getting the "Opps... not found!" 404 page instead now instead of the homepage but to my memory, no it was not scrolling. I tried on both firefox and chrome.
Jan 22 2014 6:35PM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
Very strange, can you screenshot it for me when you get a chance?
Jan 23 2014 10:34AM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
Sorry, I meant instead of the splash page.

Click for larger image
Jan 23 2014 2:36PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
It's working now, but having the image scrolling is really annoying. I just want to see what the Llama is doing without having to wait 10 seconds to see it's sliding a barrel!
Jan 23 2014 3:10PM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
Then click the photo credit -- it'll take you to the photo in question.
Jan 23 2014 3:11PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
Just saying, I think it looks better to have the whole picture there rather than a scrolling, zoomed-in version of it. But that's just like, my opinion man.
Jan 23 2014 3:13PM
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corona
Posts: 12799 - Karma: 32,775
a photo like today's kinda sucks since it's so large it's scrolling for 20 seconds before you can even see the skier. maybe they should be automatically resized when the go on the splash page?
Jan 24 2014 10:58AM
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corona
Posts: 12799 - Karma: 32,775
actually I guess that wouldn't work since then the sides would just be blank.

maybe have it start 1/3 way down the photo for vertical pictures?
Jan 24 2014 11:00AM
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