Reminiscing the \"old\" ATS

Nyiah
Why on earth would anyone get rid of something that concise?

That referenced search was from back when our database was one-third its current size, and our traffic about half.

Searching a large database directly is a very intensive process, it's why lots of big-sites work with third parties.

Solutions that would give us the same functionality are well beyond our ability to afford. We lost the Google search for two reasons: it was going to start costing us over $1,000/month, and the privacy issues were becoming something we were concerned about.

baddmove
How do we add a photo now? I don't see my "tools" button?

This new thread: Using the new features and and functions of ATS.5/3, has everything you need to know.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

Night Star
I hate all the wasted space at the top of every thread where you have to scroll down just to see the first post

That complaint/comment is one I simply can't understand...

I believe that the people reporting this problem may be using old web browsers. I tried viewing the new ATS in EI 8 and it was really a mess. There was a huge gap at the top of the page and a lot of other things were buggy. I assumed it was just because IE 8 doesn't support a lot of the modern HTML components. I didn't bother mentioning it because hardly anyone uses IE 8 anymore. Although when I build a website I do try to make sure it looks good in IE 8, but that's the oldest browser I will support.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

Nyiah
Why on earth would anyone get rid of something that concise?

That referenced search was from back when our database was one-third its current size, and our traffic about half.

Searching a large database directly is a very intensive process, it's why lots of big-sites work with third parties.

Ok I didn't really know why the old search function was replaced, but that is a fair explanation.

Do you have any comments on the removal of the live feed? I haven't read anything about that.

Will we get some sort of live feed functionality in the new version of ATS or did I just miss it?

ChaoticOrder
I didn't bother mentioning it because hardly anyone uses IE 8 anymore.

Even Microsoft doesn't recommend developing for IE8 any more.

The last-in-life version of IE8 on an old netbook here didn't look too bad. At least not as bad as you're describing.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

ChaoticOrder
I didn't bother mentioning it because hardly anyone uses IE 8 anymore.

Even Microsoft doesn't recommend developing for IE8 any more.

The last-in-life version of IE8 on an old netbook here didn't look too bad. At least not as bad as you're describing.

I think the version of IE 8 that I'm using is the one that came pre-installed with Windows 7. That's probably one of the main reasons why some people still use it, especially considering the fact that so many people dislike Windows 8.

The main reason I try to at least make my sites look decent in IE 8 is because I find that if the layout looks fine in IE 8, it's going to look fine in just about any other web browser out there (except of course for even older IE browsers).

it was great before the DoD got on here with their 40:1 (or whatever the number was) account to user programs.

or the constant British shilling that seemed to spike sometime around 2010.

yes before that ATS was a great place, and far less political. i use to come on here and learn things other than trivium argument techniques.

now its just a contest of who can sit here going in circles the longest.

ChaoticOrder
I think the version of IE 8 that I'm using is the one that came pre-installed with Windows 7.

I just did a test of IE 8 on Win7 using Browserstack (don't have the netbook), and the site was a solid 98% as expected. So I don't think IE 8 played a role in the spacing issue.

IE 7 was another issue. The HTML/CSS was oddly rendered, and some surprising spaces in odd places, but the site was still fully usable.

greavsie1971
I loved the podcasts. they were great.

So did I. In fact, I did several dozen myself. By audio-only podcasts fell out of favor across the Internet -- it's not just us.

Here's a look back in history, to late 2006 when the site-wide redesign introduced our, then very small, user base to essentially the same color scheme used on ATS.2010, called ATS DarkMater at the time. For those who have been around, you'll recall the gnashing of teeth as many people decried the layout (early version of what ATS.2010 is now) and colors to be the most horrible and hard-to-read thing they've ever seen.

This thread, authored by member psyopswatcher, was created solely to bash the new ATS Dark Mater...
Give it a Bash, the new Look

I started this thread to start giving members a heads up to the heavily skeuomorphic design featuring the first-ever consistent user experience for ATS based a dark (not pure-black) background and light (not pure-white) text. In fact, the colors used are exceptionally close to what we have on ATS today.
Project "ATS Dark Matter" -- The Evolution Continues.
The thread is full of threats of never visiting ATS again, unreadable pages, too gloomy, and predictions for the end of ATS.

And a long lost former staffer who contributed on several levels, started a bug hunt thread:
NOW you can help Dark Matter evolve - Problems? That also became a bitch-fest of calls to revert to the old design.

And there are 37 threads from that time in our Trash Bin that were angry calls and lamentations of all varieties. The policy at the time was to close the thread with a link to one of the above threads, leave it available for a couple hours, then put it in the trash.


What's my point?


Change must happen. In 2006, we were on the cusp of either fizzling away. Something serious needed to be done. The feeling that the discussion board using online population was getting fatigued by the sameness of nearly all discussion boards. So we took a big bold step at being different, and our traffic quadrupled in just 3 years since the launch of the "highly controversial" ATS DarkMater.

We took an even bigger step away from ho-hum discussion board cookie-cutter sameness with the ATS.2010 redeployment. In both cases, nothing was arbitrary. The designs were based on contemporary sensibilities combined with research and analysis of how people were using the site. Such is the case now, except that even more time was spent on research and comparative designs.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


Really? I just got into them. I can't believe it's going away that quickly. People still drive places and listen to things. Not just driving but exercising and, not that I do this) kill time while questing for fat loots on the pc.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

ChaoticOrder
I think the version of IE 8 that I'm using is the one that came pre-installed with Windows 7.

I just did a test of IE 8 on Win7 using Browserstack (don't have the netbook), and the site was a solid 98% as expected. So I don't think IE 8 played a role in the spacing issue.

Hmmm, well I definitely noticed the spacing issue at the top of the page when I viewed the new ATS design in IE 8. I was viewing a thread and I wasn't logged in (since I never use IE). Is there a link which can allow me to test the new ATS? I could get a screenshot if you like.

ChaoticOrder
I was viewing a thread and I wasn't logged in

Just like the current ATS.2010, that space is occupied with Google AdSense ads.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

ChaoticOrder
I was viewing a thread and I wasn't logged in

Just like the current ATS.2010, that space is occupied with Google AdSense ads.

The space didn't have any adverts in it from what I can remember, it was just a blank gap, and it was very large, much larger than one would expect for an advert. I had to scroll down quite a bit just to reach the posts.

reply to post by ChaoticOrder


If you didn't see ads, then you're blocking them.

I am still in the old ATS...one day its the new one then like today it looks like it did b4...Why is it going that???

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
reply to post by ChaoticOrder

 

If you didn't see ads, then you're blocking them.

I checked but my IE 8 doesn't have any ad blocking add-ons installed. Unless IE 8 has an inbuilt ad blocking function? I don't believe it does...

Yay! The old site is back up. Thank God. Please leave it this way or give the user the option of choosing the format they desire. I am sure that the new version works great for phones and tablets. I will never own a tablet or access sites like this from my phone. This version is much more PC friendly.

Originally posted by AshleyD
I don't expect many to agree with me or understand but this is how it went for most of the staff (who have been using ATS53 longer).

Some of us weren't sure at first and found ourselves going back and forth a lot. However, after using ATS53 and seeing just how much better it is, it is now torture for some of us to have to use ATS 2010. lol

It DOES grow on you once you realize how much better it is. I can't use ATS2010 without wanting to curl into the fetal position. lol

ATS 53 rocks once you get a hang of it and you'll never want to go back. As ALL site changes do, we all feel a reluctance to change at first.

For what it's worth (and I'm sure it isn't much) I can confirm this is how virtually all the staff feels. Remember, we're not 'employees' or compensated in any way. There's no reason for any of us to 'suck up' to the ownership. We collectively get quite vocal behind the scenes about any number of issues. There's a mutual respect, and we have the ability to disagree without being jerks about it.

I'm probably one of the most change-averse people you could ever meet, but I've been forcing myself to use the 5/3 version for a couple of weeks, and at this point it isn't necessary to force myself. Now it's painful to use the 'old' version, which only happens for me when I follow a link. I've toggled extensively between the light and dark themes, and to my surprise, the light version has grown on me.

So there you go. The mission is to have members' content as widely available as possible to the maximum number of potential viewers. After farting around here for 8+ years, I'm highly confident The Overlord knows what he's talking about. Plus, he's one of the few with skin in this game. So his vested interest is significantly greater than any of ours.

One thing that has been asked more then a couple of times on this thread (and has yet to be answered) is;

Why was the live feed/new topics removed and is there going to be something similar to it. If it is just ad revenue, I wish ATS would give us the option to pay before removing something that so many people enjoy and use.