Ok now that I am no longer sick · 4:44pm Jun 16th, 2017
Here's what I really think of the new site updates.
I fucking hate it.
I hate the obnoxious big blue headline when the old greener one was smaller and less eye searing. It wasn't great mind, but it was subtle and easier on the eyes. I also hate the fact I can no longer simply change the username in the URL of my profile page and be taken immediately to another user's page, now instead I need to either have both the user's name and its user number right or I have to trawl through various pages (if said user is not immediately and conveniently available early on in my watch lists) to find that user to find their page. I was also on the fence about the circular avatars, but now that we got the square ones back I am certain keeping them as squares is the way to go.
I am also rather 'meh' about the emojis. Ok yeah we needed some new and updated expression icons rather than the ones we've been using for the past forever. But nah, now we got emojis. Ok cool I guess, but I am probably showing my age when I say I automatically subtract ten years from a person's supposed mental maturity when they use them unironically (and some people do, I admire your sense of Christian Charity if you assume everyone knows they are stupid and use them ironically, but lets be real here). I mean all that's really to be said about them is the fact that the very first one Knighty choose to use when he made his site update post about them was the shit emoji, so there you go.
Also, what really pisses me off is making character tags the same as the genre tags. Yeah ok, that isn't going to make searching for shit way harder. The older system wasn't exactly streamlined I will grant but this was not an improvement. Plus aesthetically the icons at the bottom just looked nicer than big bold tags with words in them.
One thing I do like? I like how the ratings (like/dislike ratio) bar for each story is visible alongside its short description on my userpage. Its a nice little touch I really appreciate.
A simple way to improve things is giving people the option to change the colour of the header bar at the top of the page. You wouldn't have to code much and you can simply tell people who complain to change it to whatever colour they like and to fuck off. Job done. Time for tea and biscuits.
But no seriously bring back the character tags. That'd be a solid move.
Yeah the whole doing away with character tags just seems crazy amounts if stupid. I don't see how it was a good idea.
Well I for one didn't mind the round avatar. Now I just need a grinning like a lunatic emoji.
🤡
Eh, close enough.
I still hate that you can't separate author blogs and group announcements in your feed at a glance anymore and instead have to read through every single one if you are looking for a specific type. That and how they've put more stupid pop up menus between you and basic site functions.
🚀Hop on Handy, we're leaving this place!
🌋🌄
🌆🏢
#AlsoHashTagsAreStupid
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY.
ALSO MY CAPS KEY IS BROKE...
The blurred text was great but they took it away 💩
4573105
Huh, I like that the emoji is actually invisible under the spoiler until you mouse over, so the parts that are actually taller than the spoiler don't stick out until you mouse over them.
I also dislike how replying to people automatically sticks my next sentence UNDER the quoted person's name rather than beside it.
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4573116 Nothing like a good shitpost, eh?
Change never comes without pain. Give it enough time and protest and I'm sure things will be changed for the better.
4573116
Literally the most shitty comment I've ever seen
I hate that my android cant use reply linking.
they did bring back square avatars though.
4573137
...What on earth gives you that impression? With the sole exception of the bookshelves, every change Knighty has made has made this site progressively worse, and the circular avatars is the only change I can think of him actually rolling back.
4573329
What about story tracking.so you can actualy exit a stpry and getput back to somewhat same place you left. Otherwise it kinda sucksmore than it did before
One thing they probly could have added was a 5 story progress that went on after a while for "dead until otherwise" since some people stumble upon a story and read it when its dead or been abandoned for a year ( satelite lovers, is an example)
Ps im using android
Yeah, the new update is ass and there's just about unanimous agreement on that. But knighty is a stubborn asshole and will stick with it just to spite people if nothing else. The behind the scenes changes are pretty good, though. Performance is better.
Also new chapter when.
#fuckyohastags
4573347
That bookmark system has been in place for ages. All he did is add some automation to it, and from what I've seen it doesn't work particularly well so I'd hardly call it an upgrade.
4573329
He didn't need to change it back. The only reason he did was because enough people got butthurt about it. The very fact he did it says plenty. If he can do it for that he can do it for anything else.
💩0🖐👌❤!!!
MM, Handy, that salt. Either way, I'm glad you're okay. Must've been one heck of a flu to keep you down for a week.
It's nice to know you're getting better Handyman, yeah I have a couple problems with the update too. Now maybe it's just my device hiding this or I'm just blind but...
1. The time since an account went online has been deleted, so someone could be gone five minutes or five years and you wouldn't have a clue.
2. The personal data we add to our accounts is gone. We can't really edit our user pages anymore. I used to be able to paste videos or pictures onto their page for others to see outside of blogs, but it's all gone.
Again, maybe it's just me but this is all very irritating. If anyone sees what I'm doing wrong please tell me.
4573462
We had a bookmark system?
4573529
So why hasn't he fixed any of the other epic site layout fuckups then? People got pissed about loosing the banners at the top, site color pallets, and plenty of other things that he has refused to bring back. The site used to look great back in 2012 when I first joined, but now it looks like complete garbage and every change makes it progressively worse no matter how much we complain about it.
4573675
Because he's going for a more dull and corporate 'general fanfiction' site. That's why he's been sucking all of the color and life out of it and why he's been removing literally everything pony related.
4575229
Oh I know, but it doesn't change the fact that he's being a complete idiot about it. The same back end technology and even servers can easily power two very different looking front ends after all, so there's no reason at all he couldn't have the old pony look and a separate general look, especially considering the color and style options that used to be available. Even without that, he's made the site look absolutely appalling by the standards of more general sites, so he definitely doesn't deserve a pass on the look since removing ponies didn't force him to use that awful background color or make any of the other changes he's made.
At the end of the day, this really all boils down to his habit of ignoring what the users want and generally terrible site management, and you can bet that people considering joining his hypothetical general fiction site (assuming it ever launches) will be scared away by stories of his stupidity and go to one of the many other options out there instead.
I get drowned in work for a few weeks and come back to everything being different. Doesn't Knighty know that Shocks like these could kill an old cartoon-horseman like me?
Hit me up with the chapter when some edity stuff needs to be done, Handyman. I am actually still alive and you been super quiet.
I too hate change.
This change far more than others as I was here when the site went down reading clop.
Came back to see the monster before us with a slowly softening penis as I realized what had happened.
4573111
I was very annoyed Handyman.
4572884
I dunno, My only conclusion is it probably resulting in cleaner coding or something? I don't code so I can't really judge on that matter, but it's my guess.
4572897
Just appears as a square for me.
4572917
That is something of a hassle now, but I usually distinguish by the avatar of whatever group or author shows up in my feed, a bit of a hassle but I can deal with it. But I'd rather the way it was.
4572923
...Where did you get this spaceship?
4573064
A question, Hans, why is it you always use Seal images?
4573074
Well they objectively are. I will brook no argument on this as my unsubstantiated logic is absolutely flawless on this point.
4573086
Dude lay off the cruise control.
4573204
Sometimes you just cant help it.
4573226
HUSH
4573268
Also for some reason the phone version of this website is still green. It was actually jarring when I first opened the site up on my phone to look through my stuff.
4573455
I agree, things do seem to run a lot smoother on the backend and Knighty needs to be given props for that. I just wish he went with better aesthetic decisions.
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4575229
4575327
To play devil's advocate, on some level, hatred, dislike, or amusing stories of incompetency are part and parcel to life as an admin or site overlord, so if Knighty is planning on launching a general fanfiction site, so new users won't be terribly intimidating.
But in case Knighty, for some reason, ever reads my blog, I have a nice idea that can give him absolutely everything he wants for a general fanfiction site AND gives him a nice starting base from which to jump off from. Building on D48's idea of the backend powering two front ends, have it so that a button at the top of the page can be clicked to switch between Fimfiction's pony related stuff and this more general fanfiction website, complete with aesthetic colour swap.
Bear with me, for this accomplishes many things.
1) This allows, with a single flip of a switch, a user to effectively filter away everything pony related, so that one second there is a front page with stories all about ponies, and the next there is a general fanfiction page for everything else with different front page stories.
2) Inbuilt userbase, this same filtering allows Knighty's general fanfiction website launch with an inbuilt userbase made up of the fimfiction users many of who do, or want to, write stories without any ponies at all, and encourages them to remain and write and publish their works here rather than move to another site. Pony fans of an author can choose to only see their pony stuff, while non-pony fans can choose to see their non-pony stuff painlessly. I'd also include an option that allows a user who simply doesn't care to choose to see both story types if they wish.
3) URL redirect - This is old hat since its possible to have a URL link to a site with a different name, so it is possible for both URL's to effectively link to the same site, but a Fimfiction link links to the Fimfiction filter version of the website, and whatever name Knighty chooses for the non-pony fiction section will redirect to that filter setting. Though this may be irrelevant if he decides to keep the name, up to him.
4) Two different frontends actually allows him to give the fimfiction fans the site layout they want aesthetically while doing what he wants for the general site layout as well. So a win-win in that sense.
The only possible downside is the non-fimfiction side of the site outgrows the fimfiction side, which is bad, dont get me wrong, but its the best way to evolve the site without destroying the community.
4573461
#fuckyouJBL
4573554
To be honest it was flu and a large case of procrastination. Also three of those Emojis didn't load for me.
4573569
Seems to work fine on comments, lets test it out:
nineplanets.org/images/thesun.jpg
Yeah that works, keep trying on the page layout see if it works now.
4573621
It was that little thing that hung down the side of the chapter progress bar that followed your screen while reading I think.
4575338
Sorry about that man, I've been letting shit get to me.
4576939
...That is certainly information you are sharing with us.