Minor Missives

as always - you guys ROCK!

Personally I like it a little less busy.  I don't necessarily want a picture but in this set up, I my eye is distracted with all the colors and different graphics and the comment gets a bit lost-which I think is the most important.

Jorgen, What a week this has been!! Thanks for the update and neat extras!

Wow - lots of changes! It's getting a little complex, don't ya think? I like the look now, but if we keep up at this pace, there will be a crazy amount of info to look at!

Jorgen, it is lovely really. I liked the photos with the comments though. It made every one of them seem so personalized. Enough people must not have liked them for you to make yet another change. I like the boxes too. Go back to having the photos. It all made better sense then.

Thank you for working with the site to add the improvements. I spend much too much time here and it's great to see it getting better and better.

Later in the rain~Deb

Hi Jorgen - What happened to the Authors comments being in a different shade ?? (blue)

That was REALLY helpful so that if you were looking for a reply from the poster, you could find it very easily when scrolling down.

...this new way, the authors comments/replies are lost in with the others ?

Anyway to distinguish the posters replies ??

Cheers Jorgen !

Sheldon :o)

...oh and I liked the photos there a lot too :o)

Thanks for working so hard all the time (all of you guys) so we can have a great site here.  We really, really do appreciate although I am sure ya'll here a bunch of moaning and groaning all the time! KM

Looks interesting...lots of new bells and whistles.

I think all of the pictures and icons are getting distracting.  Instead of being able to just read a comment I find myself gravitating to all of the little icons around a photo.  Now a date and time stamp too.  Sorry it is a bit much.

Why all the fuss about with a comment, I used to just like to read the comments!  Too much to look at and know what it all means.

Jorgen -- The photo/avatars in the newly redesigned comments are not showing for me with Internet Explorer.  They show just fine with Firefox.  Just an FYI.

Jorgen: I cannot see the photos anymore - The date and time to right are distracting. I think less is more -

Since the comments are now so purdy, I really think we ought to earn more points for each comment.  :-)

Jorgen. 

Looks good.  Of course when one is old and crotchety, change takes time.  But, but, but, I can't edit my comments for bold or anything else.

I also very much liked the different color for blog owner comments.  Made them quick to find. 

Oh well.  Someone told me that change is good.

all the new changes are really neat! I don't know which ones I like best. The comments really stand out though. Are you taking the pictures off? What other ideas have you not implemented but are thinking about?

I don't think I remember often enough to just say thank you and appreciate all the thought, brainpower and energy it takes to make Active Rain what it is!  I appreciate you (all).

I like the set up very much. Keep up the great work!

Jorgen - I love that the comments are numbered now, but liked the author comments a different shade.  Seems every time I log in I see something new, changed. For example, I like the photos but do not like the avatars. I don't think it matters to me or to the public if someone has subscribed to listing router.

Perhaps you can create five different combos, place them in a post and let us vote.

Jorgen - thanks for all of your work to continue to improve AR. I like the comments are numbered, but I did like seeing the photos of each person who made the comment.

I like it but I do miss the blue shaded blogger reply box.

Also, it looks like the commenter pictures are not working. :)

So maybe I'm the exception who LOVES change. Thanks for always making it a little different on a regular basis....helps those of us who get bored easily ;-)

does numbered comments make them linkable? Just wondering...

This looks great.  Thank you for all of your hard work.

Jorgen...

Well that just cracked me up :)

TLW...ROAR!

I think we need a few more do dads.  I think we have to stop somewhere

You must have the hamsters on steroids to produce this many changes.  :)

I like it!

Too cluttered. It's hard to simply read the comments now, with so many colored icons and distractions dragging the eyes around. Like the photo, but the date/time stamp should revert to the old style, and the icons under the photos are too much. Just my $0.02

I do enjoy the author replies in the blue boxes.  The pictures too me feed the commenters ego of being able to see who they are, I do feel it is a bit distracting, but I think the overall effect is positive, more polished, more interactive and engaging, more incentive to sign up for an activeblog, or localism sponsor!

I have not had a chance to speak with Jorgen this morning but I believe that not including the blue shading for the authors comments was just a minor oversight and I would bet that it will be back in within 24 hours.

If the pictures are not displaying in the comments it is because of a bug or browser issue.  I will alert our development team of that possible bug and I am sure they will have it fixed very soon.

Lastly, we will continue to tweak different sections of the site until we are happy with them.  Our design method goes like this: design, develop, release, listen to feedback, design, develop, release, listen to feedback, until we come out with a winner.

Hey Jorgen, saw these little extras first thing this morning...The little drop to the top and the date on the side. How cool is that? Fun stuff. ;-)

AND I love the headers and edit stuff at the top of the page. ;-) Ohhh, AND the new number 200,000...when highlighted shows how many points.

You've been very busy...;-)

Q: Why does Jorgen always leave such short and criptic posts, and then never comment?

A: Usually Jorgen will leave a post like this after a marathon session of developing. You'll notice this post went live at 8:55am; that isn't because he is an early riser. I've also noticed another pattern is that he will leave a post when the other AR team members have the day off (like a weekend). 

He isn't replying to comments because he is sleeping now after pulling an all-niter.

This platform continues to morph, which is always a good thing, but may intimidate newbies who may feel overwhelmed and never being able to catch up if they look at this as a horse race, not that they should, as the SEO, education and social networking aspects should be driven home so a newbie can see the instrinsic value of this platform.

This is starting to look like an NAR convention with all the 'stuff' people stick on their ID badges.

Frankly I find it a little busy but YMMV

Hi Jorgen, This week has been full of great changes, I like the photo's and badges (thanks for the new 200,000). Any chance of displaying a badge for business (new clients/closed transactions) due to Activerain? It might be helpful for new members to see others are being contacted and gaining clients thanks to AR.

Debbie, We are planning to add a few new badges. We will keep them mostly under wraps until they come out but a clients/closed from AR indication is a possibility as well as # of featured posts.

Jim, I think the comments section has a little bit more tweaking to do before we finish.  This iteration might be a bit busy.

I agree, Jonathan... it is a bit busy... I much preferred a simple dividing line to separate the comments.... instead of the bounding box... it takes up so much more space... also the photo and icons could be smaller (ala Mike Mueller's suggestion), which would take up even LESS room, and memory, I'd imagine.  I think the name should come AFTER the comment, more like a signature line.

I, too, would like to see the blue of the author's comments to return (as yours is yellow)... I love the new linking number... I love my new 100,000 badge (thank you)... and I love having the date and time stamp in the corner...although, not to beat a dead horse, it could be smaller.

Hi Jorgen...Get as much sleep while the rest of the crew is out having fun.

Now, here's one more vote for photos.  I really like them.  I'm older than Lenn (but hopefully not as crotchety...or at least I'm trying to hide it) and I find the photos to be a good reinforcer (please disregard the fact that this may not be a word, it suits my purpose).  It really helps putting a face to a name especially those I haven't interacted with that much.

Maybe the raindrops could be smaller.

What do they signify?  I'm losing track already...it's that age issue again.

Thanks for your hard work, creativity, and your willingness to listen to us.

Nigh, nigh.

Kate

Hi Jorgen, the badge in the upper right corner is so big, it covers My Home button, which renders it unusable.  The comment box is gone as well.  Jonathan, does he do this to you on purpose ;-) 

Yes, overall a bit too busy, the raindrop could go away and I wouldn't mind, seems like everyone has one.  The staff icon is fine, but the yellow box says it all.  Time is OK, comment # is a bit redundant.  No opinion on  the bounding box.  Can hardly wait to see what we have tomorrow.  How about allowing 20 comments a day for points....now that would be something!!!!  How 'bout a vote :-)

How many badges do we have to collect in order to become an Active Rain Eagle Scout?

Thanks to Jorgen for the hard work. i really like the change, but would also like to see the blue authors comments returned.

It's not that I don't appreciate the skill and effort ... but why is so much time being spent on badges and comments when Localism is still in beta? ActiveRain already was a nice looking site. Improvements in functionality and further connection with consumers is what will take it to the next level.

I do enjoy change - is the color pink in the future - I love pink :)

Jorgen,

I like your changes alot. Keep up the good work!

John, I predict Localism will be fixed this coming week. My crystal ball is hazy but the outcome looks positive.

Change is good. I like the new format. There is still so much to learn and the more active I am, the shorter that learning curve. Thanks for all you do to keep improving ActiveRain.

By the way, Mozilla Firefox displays the pictures in the comments and Internet Explorer 6 does not.

No photos yet in Internet Explorer 7, either.  But as Catherine says, Firefox shows them just fine.

In IE right now, just did a refresh and everyone's image showed for about 3 seconds, then disappeared again.  :-)

Maureen ... the numbers do add a little linkability

http://activerain.com/blogsview/945650/The-Sun-is-Rising#4175895

Jorgen,

I know you are busy and want to make improvements and I for one appreciate all your efforts! I feel you are getting away from the content of the comments..way too busy now and needs to be toned down so not so distracting! Remember what this site is for!

I think it looks great!  I like seeing peoples photos and the date/time standing out more.

Jorgen - Great work! Take a break. You've been doing great things here. I think he deserves a raise. What do you say? Can't wait to see what happens with localism also. Great job! Hey where's my picture gone too? Oh there it is.. No now it's gone... ?

Jorgen - Wow!  You guys never stop when it comes to creativity.  I very much like the date and time stamping along with the # of comments.  I found it much easier to follow when reading other members posts and comments today.  I also like that our names are showing above our photos in the comment section rather than below. 

It does add quite a bit to this. It looks nice and really makes comments pop.

Just love it! Thanks for all the great improvements!

Jorgen-  I don't know if this comment will post, because the "box" is misssing.  Since you're busy "tweaking", one more item you might look at - the Rainmaker and Staff medallian, in the top right hand corner, blocks the "My Home" link.  Can it be made smaller or the links all take 3 steps to the left? 

While things are being fixed....could we PLEASE stop getting notifications of everything.  The box is not checked...so it's just a bug!  I would place a funny bug here right now...except there is NO comment box, no taskbar, no image icon, no spell check.  Bugs, bugs.....everywhere!!!  I'll send you one later....a cute bug that is :-)  At least there is a Submit Comment button.  Have a great weekend.

Fix it 'til it breaks.....

Break it 'til its fixed .....

:-)

Jorgen - I like the way the new comments look, but are there any plans to ever fix the group stuff?  They are still not displaying correctly, and it seems to be tough to get a featured group post to "stick".

I like them.  I think they look pretty cool... and I'm still waiting for my hot rod badge. 

Jorgen...

This is a nice enhancement. I especially like the comment counter!

I like this too, lots of glitches right now but I'm sure yoouse guys will figure it out.  Pics aren't showing for me in Internet Explorer either.  I like knowing the date of the post.  Makes the blogging much more time relevant.

Love the new comments section  2 thumbs up.

are we getting the IE kinks worked out anytime soon?  Most of my consumers are using IE and it still looks quite broken in IE

I like the addition of date and time stamp, especially on the right hand side since the photos now, are so busy. I'm hoping you guys will decide to move the lovely (and they are) icons to our name link line.  But either way, I love Active Rain.  You guys ROCK!

Jorgen: I noticed this tonight when I logged in and started my comments.. Looks great ! I see you have the 1K and 2K points badges too...  Things are Rocking in the Rain

Loving the new comment boxes. Great job on that Jorgen. You do a lot of great work for AR and should get recognized for it. Thanks for all you do.

I second Jason on that notion to doublecheck why featured posts within groups are dropping off daily or when someone edits a post. Mirela Monte is who you want to talk to about that, she was the first to notice it and has dealt with it being a group founder.

Jonathan, i like your ideas of design, release, feedback, repeat cycle till a winner comes out. We really appreciate that you guys listen to our ideas. Makes us feel we are able to add to the conversation. Looking forward to the Localism Release. Get some sleep you 2, you deserve it. 

Thanks for all of your hard work and efforts to make this a better forum.  I have no idea how the A/R staff handles so many diverse opinions in such a diplomatic manner!  I love the photos in the comment boxes and feel it makes the comment much more personal.

Jorgen - I like the 'date bar' much better than including the date in each individual comment. Also appreciate that the comments are numbered now. This will make it much easier to follow the conversation on popular posts. The only other change I would make is to change the color of the signature line text when we mouse over it to help people understand that it's a link.

great job AR, this is the place to be!

Rock on !!!  I was away just for a few days and come back to all these newe features and cool stuff.  Active Rain rocks !

Jorgen- Tweak, tweak. Practice makes perfect - The comment boxes are looking great.  The comment is again taking center stage.  The raindrop, name and time are no longer diverting attention and (drum roll please)  the blue highlight and the pictures are back :-)

We rant, a bit, but we do appreciate your hard work.

Love the look guys! Thanks for making AR better and better.

Love all the improvements Jorgen. I have an idea for you. How about some kind of symbol that lets you know if a commenter is a subscriber to your blog or not?

How do you get 75 comments from that?  You are amazing........

We are grateful.  Thank you.

I am a little slow to this party, but wanted to say I am liking the new pretty comment threads....but now I need to recrop my pic so my head isnt cut off!

Better late than never.  I'm a creature of habit so the new stuff takes a while for me to warm up to it.  Is it difficult to allow the original poster to choose their comment box color instead of always being blue....  I know, I know, we're never satisfied :)