Change the (Lit) world by voting

[Hester]

I'm puzzled about this. Sometimes, I go to a forum, for instance AH, and look over the threads. If there is one that looks interesting, I click on it and read the posts. If I want to, I leave a comment of my own. When that happens, I become a subscriber, and when a new post is added to the thread, it is listed on my CP. After a few days, if no new posts are added, it becomes inactive but I can find it easily enough.

I like that idea because I can come online, go to the CP and click on the thread and see what has been said lately and add another comment if I want. When I lose interest, I unsubscribe to the thread.

Before coming to this site, I stop at my mailbox. The new postings are listed there also, as are feedback, info on a PM, SPAM, etc. If I feel like it, I then come to this site.

i don't subscribe to threads either

if i'm interested in checking back on a thread i just go back to it

 

[Stella_Omega]

The new design is so much better, as far as usablity goes. Now, I hope that youwill sex it up a little with a unifying color scheme. The biggest problem with it now is that it looks like one of those google-trap sites- that actually have nothing in them but fake links. You know what I mean? I suppose that when the banners are operational, that will make it look better, really.
go for it!

 

[wildsweetone]

Understandably, most sane people ignore my posts in the other (Announcements) forum, so I thought I would bring the noise directly to the noisiest place on Lit.

We have been working on some major stuff on the back end of Lit for a while. Actually, we're always working on something, but this time some of it might actually make it out of beta. That's all that I will say right now because there is still work to be done.

Part of that work is that we are considering a redesign of the main part of the site. Wait - don't freak out just yet. We are considering it, nothing is set in stone.

So, I wanted to throw out (not throw up) one of the design ideas that we are working with to see what interested parties here on the forum think.

This is the original Lit page:
http://www.literotica.com/stories/

This is the redesigned mock up Lit page:
http://www.literotica.com/design-ideas/1/

So, the million dollar question is - better or worse and why? We want to make the site easier for readers and authors to use and make it look a bit nicer. Let the comments fly, bad or good!

This is only one of several potential design ideas, so I might be posting more in the coming weeks. Again, we aren't even sure how soon the redesign would happen, but we are definitely working on it.

Thanks in advance for all of your feedback on this!

these are simply my thoughts, my own opinion...

are the majority of readers of this site, also writers or artists? if so, what appeals to them? (apparently we ALL have the ability to be creative, it's just that some let it out and some don't.)

to me the new version (whilst being clear to navigate) is very left-brain orientated. it's stark without the banners and therefore, unappealing.

the orange is in-your-face without the banner colours to balance out. the gap at the bottom right is a waste of space - maybe put the Lovely Lit Lady silhouette in there also - or at least something more appealing than the old repeated 'erotic stories' in white on blue.

perhaps balance it out by using the portion of the bottom in the gap instead, i.e. move the bottom two banners to there. or, it could be utilised as a focus for some special thing happening on Lit i.e. a contest in the poetry forum (just a little dig there ) or the latest monthly 'winner' from the new Visual Artists Corner? why not make use of the incredible talent and skills that are here?

the size of the boxes doesn't seem to change (i am using mozilla as a browser) so the Erotic Stories section looks a little messy with numbers sometimes at the right edge and sometimes under the title - maybe make it consistent for ease of eye co-ordination.

the grey background looks flat (maybe change it to the Lit Blue that is behind the repeated 'Erotic Stories' area. I'm not sure if that's because I am using a grey background Lit profile or not.

is there a reason the 'F.A.Q.' is in blue?
is there a reason the "Fun shopping for couples' is in purple?
is there a reason 'Non-Erotic' is under the heading 'Erotic Stories'?

the subtitles in the Erotic Stories section virtually disappear among the waffle... they need to be bolded or coloured or enlarged. ...and the Poetry part needs to be double sized and posted at the top of the page. *wicked grin*

the only colour that has appeal on the page is the pink. the orange and yellow are gaudy. but that could be because the page is devoid of banner colour.

i think i've said more than enough. hope something in here is of use to you.

thanks for doing a wonderful job on our behalf.



wso

 

[Halo_n_horns]

these are simply my thoughts, my own opinion...

are the majority of readers of this site, also writers or artists? if so, what appeals to them? (apparently we ALL have the ability to be creative, it's just that some let it out and some don't.)

to me the new version (whilst being clear to navigate) is very left-brain orientated. it's stark without the banners and therefore, unappealing.

the orange is in-your-face without the banner colours to balance out. the gap at the bottom right is a waste of space - maybe put the Lovely Lit Lady silhouette in there also - or at least something more appealing than the old repeated 'erotic stories' in white on blue.

perhaps balance it out by using the portion of the bottom in the gap instead, i.e. move the bottom two banners to there. or, it could be utilised as a focus for some special thing happening on Lit i.e. a contest in the poetry forum (just a little dig there ) or the latest monthly 'winner' from the new Visual Artists Corner? why not make use of the incredible talent and skills that are here?

the size of the boxes doesn't seem to change (i am using mozilla as a browser) so the Erotic Stories section looks a little messy with numbers sometimes at the right edge and sometimes under the title - maybe make it consistent for ease of eye co-ordination.

the grey background looks flat (maybe change it to the Lit Blue that is behind the repeated 'Erotic Stories' area. I'm not sure if that's because I am using a grey background Lit profile or not.

is there a reason the 'F.A.Q.' is in blue?
is there a reason the "Fun shopping for couples' is in purple?
is there a reason 'Non-Erotic' is under the heading 'Erotic Stories'?

the subtitles in the Erotic Stories section virtually disappear among the waffle... they need to be bolded or coloured or enlarged. ...and the Poetry part needs to be double sized and posted at the top of the page. *wicked grin*

the only colour that has appeal on the page is the pink. the orange and yellow are gaudy. but that could be because the page is devoid of banner colour.

i think i've said more than enough. hope something in here is of use to you.

thanks for doing a wonderful job on our behalf.



wso

THAT is probably the most informative post in this whole thread. Nice commentary WildSweetOne!!!

 

[Shaq]

I don't like it.

 

[@}-}rebecca----]

Has Literotica always had the 'Language Options'. If not , ease of use , aesthetics aside which appear to be enhanced , its a vast improvement for that reason in itself.

kind regards

@}-}rebecca----

Edited to add ~ Any chance the makeover will include some ability to get rid of the Klu Klux Klown I have just noticed has several Threads on the General Board.

 

[Dillinger]

Almost 500 posts Manu... way to go dude! *grin*

I voted to keep the old design. My vote is mostly based on gut reaction to how it looks and I feel that in terms of esthetics the old design just looks better. I do realize that the 2 column approach to the new design is potentially more organized and "cleaner" but it just doesn't look as good.

If you could find a way to keep the old look and make the page better organized then you'd have something.

 

[Holly Delight]

"who are you?"

Over 6,000 posts and you ask who Manu is?

I believe the prize for you is a

Thank you for playing.

 

[JammieDodger]

"who are you?"

Over 6,000 posts and you ask who Manu is?

I believe the prize for you is a

Thank you for playing.

Thick cunt.

 

[Holly Delight]

Thick cunt.

No, it's of average size.

Thank you for your interest.

Oh, and have another

 

[Ezzy]

Personally I think the new, would be part of the way to go.

But I would go to a three section layout instead of a two section layout, to shorten the page a little more.

The other thing I would do would be to make the menus, either rollover or pop out, and just have the title of each section on the front page.

By doing this you could have the additional info pop, like the thread details do when you mouseover a thread title.

I agree that the font choice and some additional back ground images would be a good idea as well, and would add more zing to the site.

 

[Wrong Element]

"who are you?"

Over 6,000 posts and you ask who Manu is?

I believe the prize for you is a

Thank you for playing.

I was going to say the prize is the Ignore list, but your idea will work too.

 

[Ezzy]

...

who are you?

He is the joint owner of the site and does/did most of the background work to get this (and other) sites up and running, he had help from friends over the years, but he does not spend his time in here posting on the gereral board, he just doesn't have the hours a day to do that.

 

[Sean]

He is the joint owner of the site and does/did most of the background work to get this (and other) sites up and running, he had help from friends over the years, but he does not spend his time in here posting on the gereral board, he just doesn't have the hours a day to do that.

Jesus H. Christ. He was JOKING!

 

[JammieDodger]

No, it's of average size.

Thank you for your interest.

Oh, and have another

"Yeah, you're gay"

"Yeah, I'm happy"

"Yeah, you're happy to be gay"

"Yeah, I'm happy to be happy"

"Yeah, you're happy to be happy to be gay"

..that takes me back..

..or is it your idiocy?

The latter, thick bint.

Jesus H. Christ. He was JOKING!

Logic and reason is telling me she is too, Sean.

 

[Sean]

Logic and reason is telling me she is too, Sean.

We're talking about yanks here Jammy.

 

[Black Tulip]

Hi Manu,

I agree with a lot of others. The new design looks ... well, "new".

But the colors are awful!

You do deserve a and a for keeping this place running.

 

[BooMerengue]

these are simply my thoughts, my own opinion...

are the majority of readers of this site, also writers or artists? if so, what appeals to them? (apparently we ALL have the ability to be creative, it's just that some let it out and some don't.)

to me the new version (whilst being clear to navigate) is very left-brain orientated. it's stark without the banners and therefore, unappealing.

the orange is in-your-face without the banner colours to balance out. the gap at the bottom right is a waste of space - maybe put the Lovely Lit Lady silhouette in there also - or at least something more appealing than the old repeated 'erotic stories' in white on blue.

perhaps balance it out by using the portion of the bottom in the gap instead, i.e. move the bottom two banners to there. or, it could be utilised as a focus for some special thing happening on Lit i.e. a contest in the poetry forum (just a little dig there ) or the latest monthly 'winner' from the new Visual Artists Corner? why not make use of the incredible talent and skills that are here?

the size of the boxes doesn't seem to change (i am using mozilla as a browser) so the Erotic Stories section looks a little messy with numbers sometimes at the right edge and sometimes under the title - maybe make it consistent for ease of eye co-ordination.

the grey background looks flat (maybe change it to the Lit Blue that is behind the repeated 'Erotic Stories' area. I'm not sure if that's because I am using a grey background Lit profile or not.

is there a reason the 'F.A.Q.' is in blue?
is there a reason the "Fun shopping for couples' is in purple?
is there a reason 'Non-Erotic' is under the heading 'Erotic Stories'?

the subtitles in the Erotic Stories section virtually disappear among the waffle... they need to be bolded or coloured or enlarged. ...and the Poetry part needs to be double sized and posted at the top of the page. *wicked grin*

the only colour that has appeal on the page is the pink. the orange and yellow are gaudy. but that could be because the page is devoid of banner colour.

i think i've said more than enough. hope something in here is of use to you.

thanks for doing a wonderful job on our behalf.



wso

Most everything she said. I like the old; the new is too plain. And there has to be a way to make the poetry forum appear a little sooner; perhaps an alphabetized name change.

Thanks for keeping it free, most of all.

 

[FastFastr]

A SHOW MY POSTS link would be good so we don't have to track our own posts thru the SEARCH function.

 

[BooMerengue]

A SHOW MY POSTS link would be good so we don't have to track our own posts thru the SEARCH function.

All you have to do is click your name, choose profile and look down. It says Show all posts by FastFastr. Click it.

 

[rydia57]

I think more spaces make it easier to read, so I still like the original one better... of course you said you have more ideas so I'm glad to look at them. Nice to see you Manu!

 

[dagdag]

I usually get paid for this kind of research!!!

I looked at the new desing for not more than 5 seconds, but it is more contemporary and looks more professional. The original compared to the new one is more traditional, simple, straigtforward and looks homegrown.

If this thread is here when I come back from out of town, I'll try to look at it more carefully and the invoice is going to be in the mail!!!

 

[Shagly]

Understandably, most sane people ignore my posts in the other (Announcements) forum, so I thought I would bring the noise directly to the noisiest place on Lit.

We have been working on some major stuff on the back end of Lit for a while. Actually, we're always working on something, but this time some of it might actually make it out of beta. That's all that I will say right now because there is still work to be done.

Part of that work is that we are considering a redesign of the main part of the site. Wait - don't freak out just yet. We are considering it, nothing is set in stone.

So, I wanted to throw out (not throw up) one of the design ideas that we are working with to see what interested parties here on the forum think.

This is the original Lit page:
http://www.literotica.com/stories/

This is the redesigned mock up Lit page:
http://www.literotica.com/design-ideas/1/

So, the million dollar question is - better or worse and why? We want to make the site easier for readers and authors to use and make it look a bit nicer. Let the comments fly, bad or good!

This is only one of several potential design ideas, so I might be posting more in the coming weeks. Again, we aren't even sure how soon the redesign would happen, but we are definitely working on it.

Thanks in advance for all of your feedback on this!

The redesigned mock up Lit page is faster to load and is quicker to read over so it gets my vote, and as long as there are no pop-ups and un-necessary sound files to download it is even better, keep is simple without bells & whistles.

 

[White Warlock]

New look

I Like the New Look... Easer on the eye...

 

[Manu]

Thanks for all of the comments, everyone (almost everyone at least!)

The general vibe that I'm getting is that the design is possibly a bit better, but too boring or maybe just too much the same as other sites on the web. I know that's not what each of you said, but reading all of the posts, that's what I got. Sound right?

One thing that we will probably do while working on the new design ideas, is to convert the current design over to CSS. That should make it load faster and in doing those conversions we can also fix a few small things here and there that might need to be tweaked - without changing the whole look of the site.

The blue background is an issue that we've come back to time and again over the years. Should it be removed or just made solid blue, or something else? As we've gone away from showing images in the ads on the site more and more, the blue background is still screaming "erotic stories", which some people don't like, I guess because they want to be able to view the site when other people might see the screen or something along those lines.

As far as making the size of the site scale with the browser, it's possible, but if you have a big monitor, it's almost impossible to read text when the column is too wide, so I think there does need to be some fixed width or at least a fixed maximum width. Our current design was made for 640x480, which is really old - obviously it needs to be scaled up to at least 800x600, but beyond that, we're not sure what will work best for column widths. Even if you look at sites like Yahoo and major newspapers, they generally fix the width to some sort of maximum so you can actually read the text without turning your head.

My comments are sort of disjointed (run on sentences anyone?), but I was just reading the thread and a lot of different people said different things. Hopefully this response touches on a bunch of those comments.

As far as not posting the thread in multiple forums, sorry about that. I just wanted to get some early feedback. When we actually get to the point of making the changes, we'll make sure everyone knows about it!

Thanks again and we'll keep working on this.

I am also working on some new features for the volunteer editor program and the contests and a bunch of other stuff, but more on that later.