Creating a cleaner and faster AboveTopSecret.com -- member input requested.

Since I've posted a few times on this thread, just one comment. When I'm reading the posts of all the people who are distressed about losing so much of the spirit that makes ATS great I want to add stars, stars, and more stars. So spiritual stars to those folks (twinkle twinkle little spiritual stars).

Creating a cleaner and faster AboveTopSecret.com

The key is to return to the origins where everything began.

Because there is a certain innocence where everything was born.

I like the current themes colors. I find them easy to read and navigate. White backgrounds are harder on the eyes and not good for me and a lot of other members.

Is there another way you can speed up the site without changing/taking away the colors?

Maybe add another server...add some awesome pay content as a bonus for those member that would want to or can afford to pay to see it?

Remove Chat. Give the members some ways to support ATS like with clicking advertisers links etc. That we can all do on a daily basis (A list at the top right of the home page that says. support ATS by clicking here) or something to make the added server affordable. Just throwing out ideas.

Please don't do the white background. I'm okay with whatever changes you make but ATS is so easy to read for me right now.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


That would work for me. Though ideally, I'd rather be able to selectively turn off avatars of folks who's avatars I find . . . irritating to uncomfortable.

It's not a deal breaking issue . . . it's just that sooo many of them seem to be well over the line into some sort of demonized blood lust aggressive violence sort of set of memes.

Here's a look at the thread page, preserving all existing functionality, under the new streamlined/clean user experience:

scaled down example:


Click here for the full-size version.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


Looks good to me.

Maybe make the stars a different color than dark grey.

Originally posted by Zarniwoop
Maybe make the stars a different color than dark grey.

We'll see.

The important driving force for this visual upgrade is to remove as much extraneous "stuff" as possible so that the content (posts) stand out much better.

Only change I like is the new board home. I am still disgruntled about the lack of color for the BTS icons btw.
If I am in the mood to read about a certain subject topic,lets say science, the first thing I do is go to recent posts and look for the blue icon. If I am in the mood for Philosophy topics I look for the green icon. I am lost with out the color system.


I use my ATS many times a day but I only use my favorite forums one or twice a year because I have my favorites bookmarked.

My only suggestion is please get rid of the ribbon at the bottom of the page because it slows down the loading time quite a bit. Everything else is pretty good. And maybe better quality advertisements: the government sponsored ones *ad council* are boring.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


Assuming the commitment is solid to keep the darker background etc. for at least one version--that new cleaner page looks great. Congrats on wonderful work.

I was wondering . . . for those of us who do not use avatars for ourselves at all--the personally chosen colors are our distinctives that make finding our posts etc. easier. Perhaps that could be a consideration--if there is no avatar chosen, then the personal colors and mini-profile could replace the no avatar in that spot.
.

Originally posted by calstorm
Only change I like is the new board home. I am still disgruntled about the lack of color for the BTS icons btw.
If I am in the mood to read about a certain subject topic,lets say science, the first thing I do is go to recent posts and look for the blue icon. If I am in the mood for Philosophy topics I look for the green icon. I am lost with out the color system.

edit on 7-6-2013 by calstorm because: (no reason given)

. . .

I realize I have a preference for color that's above average. I DO USE IT just for such things as you mention. It makes fast scrolling etc. and identifying sought items much quicker and much easier. MUCH so.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


after seeing the new page layouts for the different sections on the site i am excited for THAT change however,
i will admit the contrast with lighter shading on the pages is already a bother....
please please please make it very easy to switch it to format more closely resembling the current color contrasts(light text/dark background)
insert emote of me groveling at your feet....

I'm glad you're giving an option of dark-on-light or light-on-dark... that's a big issue for those of us who have "old fart" eyeballs.

Losing avatars would be a shame because, quite frankly, that's how a lot of people can quickly distinguish who's who in threads without having to read each and every poster's name along the way.



With that said, I do have one question which might give some food for thought:

What if these drastic changes in order to accommodate mobile devices is all for naught ? Don't most electronic devices come out with improvements year after year ? Better graphic capabilities, better navigation capabilities, etc etc...

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm of the belief that these mobile devices will be operating at somewhat the same capacity as a desktop PC within the next couple of years.

It's commendable that you guys are bending over backwards and putting a lot of work into trying to accommodate as wide of an audience as possible... But at the end of the day, could mobile users in the very near future be able to have the same surfing experience as PC users anyways ?

I use myATS page every time I log in and would miss it if it were gone. But like everything here, all the features. It's a message board and I'll adapt to anything.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
We'll see.

The important driving force for this visual upgrade is to remove as much extraneous "stuff" as possible so that the content (posts) stand out much better.

I was actually thinking that the ads stand out much better too.... Then i thought maybe this is what he's aiming for. Make the ads stand out more which possibly gets more clicks.

And yeah the contrast is a bother. Really like my dark theme.

I love the background stuff we have now....the one of the first three I would hate to give up

Signatures...I would not miss them

Love custom colors...but....

myATS....one of the things I use daily!!!!


ETA
And, I have old eyes, so would be using the dark option

PS If you want to make Amstrad users feel nostalgic, you could go for a green screen.

I actually really like the new proposed design. It's very smart, clean cut and stylish. Looks much easier on the eyes to read and has a more "2013" appeal to it. I can see it being widely used by the mobile crowd (like myself).

I do a lot of browsing more than I do posting, but I would love to see the background pictures kept as it shows the more expressive, individual side of every member (at least those with background pictures).

To add,

Some may disagree, but if I were to change anything, I would probably change the ATS with that silver gradient and remove the back to front ATS on the other side. It doesn't sit right with me lol I like the current one already being used, maybe change it to a grey or something.

The dark theme is good and worth holding onto.
Avatars are a distraction as they are too big, I have them hidden for this reason.
Signatures should be hidden if you wish as some are beyond terrible, hence my own.
Colourful profiles are even more pointless.
The new topic icons we have recently got are not welcome, makes spotting quickly the topic content in "recent posts" view a nightmare.

What will happen is that as time goes by we will forget the nice green colors, the nice clean "Edit" "Quote" and "Reply" tabs, the color of the stars, what Phage's avatar looks like now (and everyone else's) and we will all be downgraded and adapt into the "thumb world" lived by mobile users (who've forgotten what the word 'telephone' meant), and then the "new and improved" ATS will seem normal. You know what guys? You are now living in the last of the "good old days" here, and the things we are used to right this moment will be changed at some point soon. So I urge everyone to just take time to look at all the colors and icons and actual words instead of semi-literate symbols, because soon they will be gone. And as the bardess says "We don't know what we've got till it''s gone." And then we will forget it was ever as good as it is now. Mood: Sadness.