Top 5 Changes

Stay... forever as you are
Don't change a thing
Because you're perfect

THE TOP 5 CHANGES

Fulfilling the last of our roles in ensuring that our voices are heard on our website during the Blackout, here is the list and explanation for the top 5 things that I would like to see considered by the powers that be.

The most important thing for me to say is that, given a choice, I would immediately vote to return back to the original layout. Of course, I fully realise that this is not only unrealistic, but probably impossible, but that is really my ultimate wish. I loved everything about the old layout, I found it extremely user-friendly, and (for me) it highlighted the key parts of our site that matter to users: our blogs, the blogs written by our friends, our reviews, and our achievements within the site.

As it is, I am happy to simply state the areas where I would like to see changes occurring. Like most other users, mine cover the same 'problem' areas, so perhaps this consistency may catch someone's attention.

1. The colour scheme. Pale coloured fonts on a white background ARE hard to read, no matter who you are. With no differentiation between different sections of the page, it all blends into one: blogs into friends lists, into personal information, into banners. The layout needs to be easy to read, and highlight the different features of our profile pages.

2. Our blogs. A huge amount of time and energy goes into writing and formatting our blogs. I feel like they are what set us all apart, and are what represent who we are on a relatively anonymous website. They need to be presented on our profile page IN FULL, as we wrote them, with full formatting, pictures etc. If I spend 2 hours writing a blog, I don't want it squashed into a box with no formatting, hidden with other older blogs that are equally impossible to recognise.

3. Listing tracked blogs. As a writer of blogs, you rely on other people commenting on your blogs for confirmation that they are being read and appreciated. With a list of only 4 tracked blogs, it is far too easy for your blog to get missed by the very people you are writing them for. Linked to this point is the need for all comments by users to be shown, as your friends don't spend their valuable time commenting on people's blogs for the comments to be hidden or not shown at all.

4. Forums. Forums need users to exist. Users MUST find them easy to access if they are going to continue visiting. This new layout makes threads much harder to identify and respond to. The old layout really had this feature perfected, and the forums were so simple and reliable. I don't think it is unreasonable to try returning to the old forum layout for a trial period.

5. Our 'favourites'. The new layout makes listings of what the website deems to be our 'favourites'. My list of favourite shows lists "At Home with the Braithwaites" at number one. In my personal info box it lists "Kasey Chambers" as my favourite person. Neither of these are my 'favourites'. I think the concept of listing our 'favourites' is fantastic, as it makes it very easy for other users to identify why we are with the site, ie. what tv show we are 'associated' with, as well as the actors who make it important for us. But it seems absurdly simple to expect that we would get to choose our own favourites, rather than having them selected for us. This very simple feature could really enhance our personal profiles.

I could go on and on about all the things I want changed, but all that is showing is that I want the old layout back, and I'm not going to harp on and on about that. I would be thrilled if the bugs and basic issues are resolved in order to make the site more accessible and more user-friendly again. I love this site and it means so much to me. I will not leave if the problems are not resolved, but I would love to have the acknowledgement by the owners of the site that what we want matters.

Thank you to everybody who has taken part in the blackout. It has given me renewed hope and appreciation for our community and I am so glad to be here with you all.

That's all she wrote.

LLa xxx

'Cos everyone's singing we just want to be heard.