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New homepage (beta) feedback + bug reporting

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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
Hey everyone!

As a special pre-christmas gift, we're going to open up a public beta of a new homepage design that's been in the works for a while now.

We're excited about it, as its a blend of the community-focused concept we've been pushing for two years now, and a nostalgic nod to the homepages that our more senior members will remember.

Its designed to give a much more list-based view of the world, and to feature the exceptional content that comes out on this site to the max.

Please give it a try in your regular visits and let me know how you like it!
Dec 23 2014 3:03PM
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
NH_OPERATOR


Ive added some pix. The line represents how I read the page. As you can see here, on the old page I scan left to right, giving equal eye time to all stories not about cars.


On the new page, I feel drunk when trying to read everything, as I have to sweep in and out of both columns to see all of it. So instead I do this.


Seeing the sponsored tags, and it being a sidebar that is not lining up with the main bar makes me completely ignore it most of the time.

1337 ms paint skillz.


This is basically how I'm feeling, it seems more like a step backwards than forwards IMO.

Is having sponsored content on NS a new thing, or has that been going on for a while?
Dec 29 2014 3:24PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
Mr.BishopI tallied this thread:

26 people saying they like it
21 people saying they don't like it
8 people not committing either way.

These are actually pretty good numbers, because the people who tend to like something stay very quiet.

So far view counts have been going up on News and Videos in the slider.


Quoting for second page emphasis.
Dec 29 2014 3:49PM
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JAHpow
Posts: 7282 - Karma: 17,176
On mobile, NS crashes my Internet browser every few minutes.

Not sure if this is from the update at all. This doesn't happen on other websites, just NS.
Jan 4 2015 8:46PM
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TNORTS
Posts: 2077 - Karma: 2,754
NH_OPERATOR


Ive added some pix. The line represents how I read the page. As you can see here, on the old page I scan left to right, giving equal eye time to all stories not about cars.


On the new page, I feel drunk when trying to read everything, as I have to sweep in and out of both columns to see all of it. So instead I do this.


Seeing the sponsored tags, and it being a sidebar that is not lining up with the main bar makes me completely ignore it most of the time.

1337 ms paint skillz.


Im going to quote this because this is exactly what I did. I actually didn't even know that right column existed and had to look back after reading this post. I just assumed it was all advertisements. I understand where you guys are trying to go with this but right now its being executed pretty terribly imo.
Jan 4 2015 9:19PM
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wyatttheshredder
Posts: 140 - Karma: 285
I liked the old homepage better.
Jan 5 2015 8:20AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
TNORTSIm going to quote this because this is exactly what I did. I actually didn't even know that right column existed and had to look back after reading this post. I just assumed it was all advertisements. I understand where you guys are trying to go with this but right now its being executed pretty terribly imo.


OK, so ignore the ads. Did you read the left column?
Jan 5 2015 8:42AM
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Afronaut
Posts: 190 - Karma: 558
Mr.BishopWhat don't you like about the new smartphone experience? We actually REALLY tried to keep it exactly the same.

Ok I finally understood the design and you`re right its pretty much the same. :)
Jan 6 2015 7:56AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
Clayton_WilliOk I finally understood the design and you`re right its pretty much the same. :)


I mean its not exactly the same, but we kept it extremely close.
Jan 6 2015 8:20AM
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Mr.softcookie
Posts: 233 - Karma: 713
New home page is sick!!! :))
Jan 7 2015 9:23AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
FaisalHassaniNew home page is sick!!! :))


Booyeah! Now we're talking.
Jan 7 2015 10:28AM
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ZeMagnificentKev
Posts: 618 - Karma: 1,325
Yo Bishop, dunno if anyone else is having this problem but when I click on the continue as user on the homepage it just sends me to a blank screen, also there's no boxes for putting in my user or pass, I gotta click on a video or article to continue. Just started today.
Jan 8 2015 11:03AM
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Luuc
Posts: 14 - Karma: 18
I also got the exact same bug as macinnis mentioned
Jan 8 2015 11:09AM
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WPoch
Posts: 1751 - Karma: 3,831
Homepage as of right now is just completely white. The page is complete loading but nothing is showing up.
Jan 8 2015 1:34PM
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jackdonovan
Posts: 2248 - Karma: 3,079
macinnisYo Bishop, dunno if anyone else is having this problem but when I click on the continue as user on the homepage it just sends me to a blank screen, also there's no boxes for putting in my user or pass, I gotta click on a video or article to continue. Just started today.


LuucI also got the exact same bug as macinnis mentioned


WPochHomepage as of right now is just completely white. The page is complete loading but nothing is showing up.


north korea?
Jan 8 2015 2:13PM
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DUCKS
Posts: 97 - Karma: 240
The slider on mine is messing up, its really thin so only the very top of the content is visible...
I would post a screenshot but my photo upload isn't working. Also I'm on safari with Yosemite
Jan 8 2015 4:39PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
macinnisYo Bishop, dunno if anyone else is having this problem but when I click on the continue as user on the homepage it just sends me to a blank screen, also there's no boxes for putting in my user or pass, I gotta click on a video or article to continue. Just started today.


LuucI also got the exact same bug as macinnis mentioned


WPochHomepage as of right now is just completely white. The page is complete loading but nothing is showing up.


DUCKSThe slider on mine is messing up, its really thin so only the very top of the content is visible...
I would post a screenshot but my photo upload isn't working. Also I'm on safari with Yosemite


Whoops guys sorry... we had a slew of problems with Safari which we just fixed.
Jan 8 2015 5:46PM
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DUCKS
Posts: 97 - Karma: 240
mine is still doing this...



Screenshot is from yesterday but its still doing it. It only happens if I click on the home button in the top left
Jan 9 2015 4:49PM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
Not sure if its related but I suddenly cant scroll down at all in any thread.
Jan 10 2015 8:06AM
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,029
NH_OPERATORNot sure if its related but I suddenly cant scroll down at all in any thread.


came here to post the same
Jan 12 2015 3:24PM
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pattyWhack
Posts: 685 - Karma: 1,521
I liked how the homepage used to work like a porn site (thumbnails, very little text)... which is pretty much exactly the same way i use newschoolers... at a glance I could see 4 rows of new content. It was nice before how you could see a video climb to the top... also, new design requires more scrolling, which i am not fond of.

Not saying that I hate it, but i prefer the thumbnail/tiles from before.

On the contrary, I do like how there is a little more information about each item...
Jan 12 2015 3:26PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
Not sure if it's been mentioned but I miss being able to sort by threads, videos, news, photos. Sometimes I want to see some cool photos, sometimes I'm looking for video, sometimes threads, sometimes news.
Jan 13 2015 4:50PM
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s-hand
Posts: 1334 - Karma: 1,800
Little thing, but I preferred the little pictures as opposed to the text differentiating between the different types of media (picture/video/thread/story). Otherwise, I like it a lot!
Jan 13 2015 8:18PM
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freeskibum82
Posts: 6355 - Karma: 5,055
With all the improvements to the forums and whatnot, the header is still too large. it takes up 1/3 the screen on a laptop. id love to see a thin menu bar at the top and the username info in the upper right like most sites these days. just a thought.
Jan 13 2015 9:14PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
freeskibum82With all the improvements to the forums and whatnot, the header is still too large. it takes up 1/3 the screen on a laptop. id love to see a thin menu bar at the top and the username info in the upper right like most sites these days. just a thought.


Don't worry, we have a header re-design well up on the list. Needs to happen, but it definitely won't be connected to the new homepage.

We just pushed out a series of layout changes, and we're going to be setting the new layout as default with the ability to opt out.
Jan 13 2015 9:35PM
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bigbromskier
Posts: 1175 - Karma: 330
Personally, slideshows in general are an inefficient means of presenting content. the assorted grid of previous was much easier to see the options and what I liked about it was it like a constantly updating grid of popular content. Now it feels stagnant, losing the feeling that it is a re-updating --community--based overview of skiing news.

I think this is a major step back from the achievement of the previous grid-based homepage. rating arrows were great!! I've been on reddit like twice and I like how the rating arrows were implemented on ns but in our own way. the grid was more content. now, the slideshow is limited and, frankly, archaic. I hate to be the millennial, but all eight or so slides side-by-side at once would be better. or the grid of previous, not just because change is difficult, but because it was objectively better.
Jan 13 2015 10:12PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
bigbromskierI hate to be the millennial, but all eight or so slides side-by-side at once would be better. or the grid of previous, not just because change is difficult, but because it was objectively better.


You can absolutely not make the statement that it was objectively better. Only the data would do that, and we'll simply have to see how that plays out. Objectively I can certainly tell you that the grid layout did not do a very good job encouraging clicks - so if you were using that as the main metric then the new homepage is looking like its performing dramatically better.

Sliders sure are a throwback to the old, and millennials certainly think that they want a barrage of shit splattered across their screen... but I don't think they're right. I think that the new layout is going to be rad as shit for a lot of casual users, and those who want more are going to learn to scroll down and appreciate the reddit-style information/text focused approach.

I mean do more millennials go on reddit or Pinterest?
Jan 14 2015 12:09PM
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,029
still have no scroll bar on desktop.. gotta use the wheel
Jan 14 2015 3:36PM
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bemery
Posts: 180 - Karma: 327
What I really liked on the old homepage was that popular forum threads would show up alongside articles, videos, and photos. That appears not to be the case in the new one.

Or am I totally unobservant and that does still happen?
Jan 14 2015 11:11PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
bemeryWhat I really liked on the old homepage was that popular forum threads would show up alongside articles, videos, and photos. That appears not to be the case in the new one.

Or am I totally unobservant and that does still happen?


Still happens, but the hot list is dynamic so there isnt always threads up there.
Jan 14 2015 11:52PM
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CashmereCat
Posts: 2211 - Karma: 2,394
This is something that I've noticed and it kinda annoys me but is also kinda my fault. I clicked on hottest of all time thinking it'd be interesting to see, and now the homepage won't load at all on my phone. It won't even load enough to change the sort, I just had to disable beta
Jan 15 2015 8:18AM
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gnarballsianm
Posts: 621 - Karma: 703
Not a fan of the beta, too much going on, the orginal was very easy to work with and simple to navigate. I almost feel like I am buying something now everytime I go on ns with the new version. Bishop, don't make this a new thing of recreating the website, lets not turn this into Facebook where their is a new annoying update every month.
Jan 15 2015 11:22AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
gnarballsianmBishop, don't make this a new thing of recreating the website, lets not turn this into Facebook where their is a new annoying update every month.


People always say this every single time we make a change, and every single time they grow to like it over time.

We're tracking usage stats and click data against both pages, so we'll see which one performs better.
Jan 15 2015 11:45AM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,409
I'm liking the little aesthetic improvements made to the page a lot. It looks a lot more polished, and it definitely seems like it belongs on the site now compared to the original beta.

Functionally I like it a lot to. The sorting is nice, the 1:1 scroll for sponsored content is a hell of a lot better, and the slider is all time.
Jan 15 2015 10:09PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
NinetyFourI'm liking the little aesthetic improvements made to the page a lot. It looks a lot more polished, and it definitely seems like it belongs on the site now compared to the original beta.

Functionally I like it a lot to. The sorting is nice, the 1:1 scroll for sponsored content is a hell of a lot better, and the slider is all time.


Yeah we had a designer help us put a coat of polish on it, which was the plan all along - maybe we should have done that earlier but we wanted to get the concept done before going too far.

There will be a lot of onice now on the Journalists to start upping their game, as its going to give a lot of exposure to the top rated news.

We're watching the usage data closely, and will see what it tells us, but I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.
Jan 16 2015 9:27AM
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Ryaneburgess
Posts: 191 - Karma: 85
So far after looking at the design from the old home page I think it is an improvement for an online community such as NS. It may not be polished all the way but from my design background I think it's a step in the right direction for a growing community.

Everyone loves looking at the highest rated photos or videos of the week, but actually reading some of the articles and stories is just as enjoyable. Until the design layout is fully polished I still enjoy the beta myself because change is good. Change in the ski community has been great so keep it up Mr. Bishop & Co.

Be wicked awesome this weekend.

-Cheers
Jan 16 2015 11:23AM
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a_burger
Posts: 5235 - Karma: 20,715
I liked the grid way more, you could cover a huge amount of content very quickly. I dont really understand why you guys seem to want to remove thumbnails from the whole process. Why not expand on them instead, and allow custom ones? There's a lot more room for content creators to get their ideas across with a picture instead of words.

As for the beta homepage itself, a couple things bother me about it. The little buttons that control the slideshow are pretty small, if they were a bit bigger navigating through that would be a bit easier. Also, "View Photo", "Read More" and "Watch Video" being bright orange is a little distracting and generally take away from whatever is actually there in the slot. (this may also be because im tired)
Jan 16 2015 10:13PM
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gravel
Posts: 5518 - Karma: 42,202
I think that the splash page should still have the VOTD and NOTD, it feels very bare right now.
Jan 21 2015 1:06PM
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C.DeJohn
Posts: 499 - Karma: 579
Not a huge fan the old style was simple and clean
Jan 21 2015 7:21PM
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toastyteenagers
Posts: 1834 - Karma: 6,793
the banners up top counting down to whatever edit they find cool is kinda annoying
Jan 21 2015 9:15PM
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El.
Posts: 221 - Karma: 845
Mr.BishopI'm relatively confident that even though a lot of people don't realize it, what they crave out of newschoolers is to read text in a list.


As respectfully as I can say this, no, no, no, and a thousand times no. When I want to read text I go to forums and read news, but the homepage was the perfect splurge of distraction from work. I was immediately greeted with a heap of choices, from which I picked the coolest looking thing and clicked on it. I understand the more scroll depth and wanting people to actually click on things but making the homepage more text based makes it more boring in my opinion and less likely to click on anything. Its the reason that I find pinkbike to be so boring.

I've had the beta enabled for as long as it's been around, so its not just the change thats got me going.

On a totally separate note I really do like the top content box. However its about all I look at on the homepage. Now my standard visit to NS goes: look at one or two things from the top content box, scroll down not find anything I really want to look at, and then scroll back up to the top and head to the forums.

The format for the "photos" and "videos" tabs really doesnt appeal to me, so the only way I really looked at content in those categories is with the current homepage. The beta homepage just doesn't get me looking at photo and video content.

Don't get me wrong I love NS, but maybe look into changing the photo and video tabs before changing the homepage that everyone seems to really like.
Jan 21 2015 9:50PM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
El.As respectfully as I can say this, no, no, no, and a thousand times no. When I want to read text I go to forums and read news, but the homepage was the perfect splurge of distraction from work. I was immediately greeted with a heap of choices, from which I picked the coolest looking thing and clicked on it. I understand the more scroll depth and wanting people to actually click on things but making the homepage more text based makes it more boring in my opinion and less likely to click on anything. Its the reason that I find pinkbike to be so boring.

I've had the beta enabled for as long as it's been around, so its not just the change thats got me going.

On a totally separate note I really do like the top content box. However its about all I look at on the homepage. Now my standard visit to NS goes: look at one or two things from the top content box, scroll down not find anything I really want to look at, and then scroll back up to the top and head to the forums.

The format for the "photos" and "videos" tabs really doesnt appeal to me, so the only way I really looked at content in those categories is with the current homepage. The beta homepage just doesn't get me looking at photo and video content.

Don't get me wrong I love NS, but maybe look into changing the photo and video tabs before changing the homepage that everyone seems to really like.

Agree
Jan 21 2015 10:50PM
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UFOsarereal
Posts: 2285 - Karma: 1,132
NH_OPERATOR


Ive added some pix. The line represents how I read the page. As you can see here, on the old page I scan left to right, giving equal eye time to all stories not about cars.


On the new page, I feel drunk when trying to read everything, as I have to sweep in and out of both columns to see all of it. So instead I do this.


Seeing the sponsored tags, and it being a sidebar that is not lining up with the main bar makes me completely ignore it most of the time.

1337 ms paint skillz.


I agree with this guy 100%. The current layout is top-notch. The new one isn't nearly as attractive and I feel like it's more like everything else on the internet.
Jan 22 2015 3:54PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
BirdmanBurgersSo far after looking at the design from the old home page I think it is an improvement for an online community such as NS. It may not be polished all the way but from my design background I think it's a step in the right direction for a growing community.

Everyone loves looking at the highest rated photos or videos of the week, but actually reading some of the articles and stories is just as enjoyable. Until the design layout is fully polished I still enjoy the beta myself because change is good. Change in the ski community has been great so keep it up Mr. Bishop & Co.

Be wicked awesome this weekend.

-Cheers


Fuck yeah dude! Super stoked you like it.

El.On a totally separate note I really do like the top content box. However its about all I look at on the homepage. Now my standard visit to NS goes: look at one or two things from the top content box, scroll down not find anything I really want to look at, and then scroll back up to the top and head to the forums.

The format for the "photos" and "videos" tabs really doesnt appeal to me, so the only way I really looked at content in those categories is with the current homepage. The beta homepage just doesn't get me looking at photo and video content.

Don't get me wrong I love NS, but maybe look into changing the photo and video tabs before changing the homepage that everyone seems to really like.


Trust me, not everyone doesn't like it. Its only the angry people that are posting here - I'm receiving rave reviews left and right on the new homepage from the casual NSer that doesn't post a lot. Trying to get them to post support, but I guess they don't usually post and don't want to start.

Our biggest challenge is to support the 90% of people that visit the site and never log in. That is the reality of the website - its the members creating content and displaying it to the world.

Yes, we absolutely need to change the photo page display. Totally agree, and we will. As for videos, tell a die-hard NS video junkie you want to change the video page display and you'll get crucified. Trust me, we've tried to do it.

As for your description of how you now use NS, I'm afraid that was exactly what we're going for. Your eye will catch something you like as you're scrolling, and if it doesn't you'll check the slider for that one hot article and one hot video that was added. You already viewed a photo on the way through the splash page so big win for everyone.

I hear what you're saying, and honestly I was a massive fan of the tiled layout. The main issue was simply that every piece of data we looked at showed us that it was only good thubmnails that got clicks - and not everything that deserved clicks had a good thumbnail.

UFOsarerealI agree with this guy 100%. The current layout is top-notch. The new one isn't nearly as attractive and I feel like it's more like everything else on the internet.


Its more like a lot of news / content sites. The old homepage wasn't original though, the layout was taken directly from Pinterest. Works great as an image sharing site, but again it pulls back to the issue that with it if you had a bad thumbnail and wicked content it got completely ignored.
Jan 24 2015 1:39AM
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Bloom.
Posts: 3540 - Karma: 13,300
Came here to say I think the new homepage took a step backwards. The information isn't as well displayed as the old homepage in my opinion.

As pointed out by someone above, scanning the old page was a lot easier on the eyes. The new page seems a little cluttered
Jan 24 2015 4:30PM
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John18_6
Posts: 7313 - Karma: 49,163
New homepage is great for videos that get big, they will get more views. But it sort of drowns out those videos that get 6-12 up votes that used to get on the homepage, then get further attention. The new page doesn't show enough videos so smaller videos (according to upvotes/views) don't get nearly as much attention as videos that get really big really quickly. I think the new page should show as much content as possible in the given space just like the old homepage.
Jan 28 2015 11:52AM
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gravel
Posts: 5518 - Karma: 42,202
john18061806New homepage is great for videos that get big, they will get more views. But it sort of drowns out those videos that get 6-12 up votes that used to get on the homepage, then get further attention. The new page doesn't show enough videos so smaller videos (according to upvotes/views) don't get nearly as much attention as videos that get really big really quickly. I think the new page should show as much content as possible in the given space just like the old homepage.


This this this this this. I feel like you didn't have to go too far down the old homepage to find videos/photos with
Jan 28 2015 1:09PM
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bemery
Posts: 180 - Karma: 327
I don't know if this has been suggested already, but I would love to see some more options added to the filter. Specifically, videos, news, threads, and pictures. That way you can see all the most popular content of only a certain type.
Jan 31 2015 7:17PM
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extravert
Posts: 1112 - Karma: 3,174
After using the beta homepage since the start of the year I went back to the old layout today. I forgot just how good it used to be. The focus was on the content itself, not text about it. Much more content could be fit in a smaller space, making it easier to find things. I rarely scroll down past the fold with the new layout. I'll keep using the Beta but for now, but so far it has felt less engaging.
Feb 5 2015 10:00AM
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