fandomsecrets | (no subject)

The new commenting system on LJ sucks, I think we can all agree (and all the other prospective design changes seem to be speeding it down the path of no return). Knowing LJ, it's probably not going to change no matter how much anybody complains, and as this comm is heavily based on user comments, it's probably time to consider moving. Dreamwidth is the closest to LJ's old format and has a large fandom base, and seems the best alternative for now.

So -

[Poll #1804842]

Other thoughts?

(As a note, I'm completely willing to either stay or move. Updating the comm is easy enough for me either way.)

ETA - It's not only about subject lines. Others have written up potential problems better than I could:
http://lj-releases.livejournal.com/71858.html?thread=7005874#t7005874
http://lj-releases.livejournal.com/71858.html?thread=6261682#t6261682
ETA 4 - http://lj-releases.livejournal.com/71858.html?thread=7952050#t7952050

ETA 2 - For those worried about possibly needing to make DW accounts to comment, if a move happens: you don't need one! OpenID will let you comment as an LJ user (in the same way Facebook users can comment on LJ).

ETA 3 - For those worried about missing updates: I can crosspost to LJ to let you know a post is up, I don't mind that (it's like a minute of extra work, no problem) - if the DW move happens though, the comments would be over there.

ETA 5 - Apparently, this is what we're getting next year.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There ARE things I like about the new design, like the "new comment" box. Still, I think the site should have been beta-tested more heavily on different browsers before being implemented, and that the changes should be voluntary instead of a a requirement. For example, google and yahoo gave months of advanced notice about changing their email system's layout design. Even twitter gave option to switch back to the old layout, iirc. Why couldn't LJ have done that, have a header at the top saying something along the lines of "this is our new layout, it will be implemented on 'this date'. If you do not wish to observe the change right now, click here for the old layout system."?

Yes, there are workaround for the subject line/commenting/comment thread/comment expanding problems, and I'm not decrying that. For example, I should have logged onto my DW account to preview my comments for html and spelling errors before sending it out. That's my work-around for the lack of comment preview and lack of rich-text editing function. It's not something I like, but I can live with that. Maybe I'll send something to LJ staff later regarding bringing back at least the preview function. Either way, it doesn't annoy me enought to make me scream at the LJ staff in rage.

However, what I am absolutely, ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY, not okay with, is how users had been so affected negatively by the unannounced changes that they required medical attention, or how the entire site suddenly became inaccessible to many users. Until the medical and accessibilty problems are fixed, I will not be able to think of the new changes as anything less than horrible, no matter how "spiffy" and "shiny" it is or how many new features it has. I just can't bring myself to say "I support the new changes!! It's great!" or even "I support the new changes even though there are some problems with it!!! =D" when I know there are people negativily affected by something as simple as the new layout's colour scheme. =(

These are just my 2cents on the subject, of course. I hope some of the major problems with the new changes will be address soon. *crosses fingers*

Hmm, then the biggest step forward would be returning the subject line which will fix things like the trigger issue. Can't be that hard for them to add it... So lets keep our fingers crossed.

Although I'm not sure how people are negatively affected by the colour scheme? o.O Could you enlighten me?

F*%&. I just lost my comment when I clicked on "Expand" of my previous comment. G#*@#$()) D=

Alright. 2nd time attempting this. Hopefully I won't do something as stupid as clicking on "Expand" again.

Regarding the headache issue, some users are discussing this on page 3 of this post. One of the issues is the the vast expansion of white background+light blue comment headings. There's just too much glare. I myself had to turn down the brightness of my monitor. The old scheme had a slightly darker blue than the current one for each header comment. Then, when expanded, the comment heading of each nested comment alternate between the default darker blue and a subdued, more purple blue.

Also, if you notice, with the exception of comment text and dates of collapsed comments, all other comment text is BLUE. Variations of blue. All, with the exception of bolded usernames, are a lighter shade of blue than blue used before for links. The lighter blue on white is not much of a problem, but I imagine the blue-on-light blue causes eye strain for those with vision difficulties. Thereby, headaches.

I think someone else had problems with scrolling and large numbers of collapsed comments. I don't know much about that as I am not affected. Sorry.

(A little off-topic, but you can prevent losing your comments by downloading Lazarus for Firefox if you use that browser. I just tried it out, and it works for this site, too.)

You know, that makes sense. I hadn't even realized I was squinting my eyes reading this and had no idea why I had a headache all day even after taking T3s. Thankfully I'm not prone to migraines!!

This blows. I'm migrating to DreamWidth. I've had enough of
lj's arrogant bullshit.

Oops, it was on page two. Link's here.

Apparently several elements of the new layout is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. See this LJ support ticket for details. http://www.livejournal.com/support/see_request.bml?id=1434019

Sorry about the multiple comments =/