this site is so badly laid out

I enjoy reading and occasionally posting on ATS, but I have to make known my gripes with it 2 incase u all find these things as annoying as me and maybe the mods will take notice!!!

The site is badly laid out as far as, finding buttons u need , ie- how to start a new thread in a perticular subject, it took me ages to work it out, maybe its me but I dont have any trouble anywhere else!!
I tried to add and avatar pic and even after reading the faq'sfailed, it says "go to members centre" but theres no button on any page i can find that says members centre!!!!

last but not least, the animated avatars the moderators have enrage me. not only are they all pulling faces that a 5 year old would find imature but they look over 100 years old!!!
amazing what sum peeps consider cool!!!!

You can't see this button at the top of the page?

Does my avatar actually enrage you? I don't understand the issue.

EDIT: (Do I really look like I'm over 100? Note to self, purchase Oil of Olay)


[edit on 12-10-2007 by dbates]

I find ATS site design, and user friendly layout to be one of the best forums I have ever seen. The U2U alert covers up Member center button, that is all I found to be a little tough to figure out at first.
DWT



[edit on 12-10-2007 by dntwastetime]

Perhaps it's my Avatar that's the problem. I apologize. The Sacred Pug doesn't have the prettiest mug in the world.

Yes, ATS can be a bit over-whelming in the beginning. But once you get busy posting/replying to posts, etc. you quickly forget that you "struggled" in the beginning...
There's always the ATS Handbook that's worth the read, and if you still can't find what you're looking for you can always post a thread in the Freshman's forum. And once you get the hang of things you'll realise that ATS is an extremely well designed site.

It must be my new Halloween themed avatars that is scaring you off, don't worry we only a few weeks left in the month

and yes the board can be overwhelming, but take the time to get familiarized with the layout... go ahead, click on all those tabs and links, you'll get the hang of it eventually.

[edit on 10-12-2007 by worldwatcher]

I've seen the rest, but I only post on the best.

ATS might take a little while to get used to after being dumbed down by the basic layout of so many other community sites, but give it time. As you post, read, explore, and interact, it will all become second nature.

If you do need any help, or have a question, feel free to send me a U2U, I'll do my best to give you a hand.
I think that goes for most members on the boards, and certainly the Mods. We are always willing to help anyone find their way around the maze.

I know the skin on my ancient face is pockmarked with deep craters and tectonic wrinkles, but what can I say?

The truth hurts.

The reason behind the complexity of this website is the, well... vastness of it all. This is a cyberworld floating within the limitless 'Netiverse', warmed by the light of reason from 120,000 seperate suns.

Navigating may be daunting, but a good captain will learn eventually.

reply to post by anxietydisorder


Well said AD as usual.
I couldn't agree more. Once you get a feel for the land here at ATS, it is extremely well laid out. The Amin staff continually upgrades and makes things easier to navigate.

If you ever have a question, do not hesitate to contact me or any of the other staff members to get an answer.

Enjoy being a part of the best board on the internet!

lombozo

I'm a fairly new member. I'm not partial to the colors but I'll handle it.

I have a cable connection so it's somewhat fast. There are times it seem to take several seconds to load the buttons. If I was on dial up, it could take minutes. Is this the problem you are having? You see the default button waiting for the "real" button to show up.

I struggled with the avatars also. You will find the ATS handbook within the member center. It explains this very well with screenshots of what stuff looks like as you do the installation.

Some members have very interesting avatars. There are guidelines for these and you can find that by searching for avatars in the search feature within this site. Simon - site owner?- wrote a very good and basic article about this that clearly explains what is and what is not allowed.

Have fun with the trolls and see you in the forum.

*yawn*

Nothing to add, just wanted to show off the best avatar on ATS

reply to post by elevatedone


Well thank you for pointing out my avatar!

By the way what is the significance of that, that, that..........whatever it is that you call an avatar?

Everyone knows that an Eagle soars above a Steeler......

(Although our records might not show it!)

Originally posted by rikmono

last but not least, the animated avatars the moderators have enrage me. not only are they all pulling faces that a 5 year old would find imature but they look over 100 years old!!!
amazing what sum peeps consider cool!!!!

I have to say that whatever amount of consideration your first complaints may have garnered were lost when you revealed that you consider your personal opinion of other people's choices of avatars as being at such a level of importance that sharing your disgust at the mismatch in personal taste should be publically enumerated as if it would make some difference in some one's life.

Hopefully, after this encounter and you finding out your personal choice of the matter concerning some one else's avatar selection doesn't mean spit will, in fact, change at least one person's life - yours. No - we don't really care what you think.

[edit on 10-12-2007 by Valhall]

Originally posted by elevatedone
*yawn*

Nothing to add, just wanted to show off the best avatar on ATS

While the avatar comments took away the real issue made about the user friendly complains about ATS, I will say that even I that has been a while around and that have seen the new and improved faces of the site overwhelming sometimes.

It take a while to get use to finding your way around.

Now about the avatars well you are stepping on a personal issue there now.

Originally posted by hinky
I have a cable connection so it's somewhat fast. There are times it seem to take several seconds to load the buttons. If I was on dial up, it could take minutes.

With as busy as this site is, it is going to lag a little once in a while. Just check out how many members are online the next time you are and you'll see why!

One thing I do find rather odd is that when you go to site home, then click on a forum, there is no "start a new topic" at the top of the forum pages like I would expect. I almost always end up opening up an exisisting thread and started the new one from there.

Also I was playing with the friend foe buttons and is there anyway to turn someone just back to neutral? It seems they only can go from foe to friend or vice versa?



Overall I like the whole layout, just some quirks I have noticed.

well lets give him a break guys we dont even know how old this user is cuz he sounds real young and imature but i agree with him that the menu could use a little tweaking

for staters the bts ats and pts need to be emphasized a little more, then the user specific buttons should not have search member in between them maybe at the side by ats chat submit news ahould defenetly be on the other side of this menu those are my two cents in all this peace

reply to post by rikmono


OK...So the site is so badly laid out....I don't agree, but for the purpose of the exercise...

What suggestions would you suggest the powers that be make to fix this ?

Its all very well saying something is broke, but what's the point unless you have constructive ideas on how to fix it ?

Peace

Originally posted by pavil

One thing I do find rather odd is that when you go to site home, then click on a forum, there is no "start a new topic" at the top of the forum pages like I would expect. I almost always end up opening up an exisisting thread and started the new one from there.

Also I was playing with the friend foe buttons and is there anyway to turn someone just back to neutral? It seems they only can go from foe to friend or vice versa?

Go here and click the red X next to the members name on the left.

I cant say i agree with you there. I think ATS has a good layout once you get to know it. The only thing i didnt find in the beginning was the "member center" button. It should have been a clear link in "my profile" for editing it. But hey.. i just had to look for 1 minute extra.

When it comes to the avatars I think everyone should have their own unique avatar, and express themselves as good as they can. The avatar says a lot about the personality of the person who posts.

When the moderators have "childish" avatars just shows that they are not as radical as you are ..

Happy ATS-foruming