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Site Updates

The title bar along the top goes all the way across the screen and is more consistenly colorful. The 'send message' box is now always open, rather than doing it's little hide thing. The IM page got an overhaul, and on your profile edit page is 'edit advanced' and 'allow another to edit'. Ads have been minimized some, especially the ones shown in contests and comments.
And lots of random bug-fixes as well.

Groups now show the most recent 15 notes sent out to the group on their main page.

There will of course continue to be tweaks, so please be patient with any complaints or suggestions.

I know many of you loathe change, and we try to minimize it. Except for when we don't

Aah, and for the new-smiley lovers out there,

There is a certain level of coordination among the colors, at least currently. Green = Talking (Groups, Ims, chat), blue = items (poems/etc), yellow = forums. Over the next while I'll see how much this limits our choices for site-based backgrounds, and whether the bar color should be customizable when choosing backgrounds/etc.

Updates


  • The 'history' link on ims now loads history right below it, which I find pretty handy.
  • Ads have been made smaller and rearranged in places. The annoying ads in contests and comment lists are now text ads only and fit in better. I'm going to be browsing with ads a lot more, to get a feeling of how annoying it is.
  • Ims page now have the date listed on the left as before, it does work better there for now.
  • Author pages will hide the grey bar when you have a custom background selected. Same with poem pages, contests, addlines, columns, groups, etc.


About site changes


  • The best way to say you dislike something to point out something that looks really ugly. For example, the grey border bar when seen on poems with a dark background. Or how it wasn't centered properly on poem pages that were centered.
  • Just saying "I hate it" won't get you anywhere. Though general complaint shared by many people is worth a tiny bit.
  • Relax a bit. It takes several hours to make some changes usually, so just because it's been up for 5 whole minutes, it still might change. It sometimes takes awhile, but we tend to settle on things that most people can stomach.
  • Change sucks, and things staying the same sucks. So please try not to be too picky and give the minor things awhile to grow on you.

Included in the list

Add a comment

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Comments

1 - 92 of 92

  • LittleAnn
    August 1, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Umm... I tried this "allow another to edit" for the first time... now look what it says...


    Current permissions

    * LittleAnn given on August 1, expiring on Aug 4 12:39 PM. [Revoke?]
    * LittleAnn given on August 1, expiring on Aug 4 12:59 AM. [Revoke?]
    * LittleAnn given on August 1, expiring on Aug 4 12:33 AM. [Revoke?]
    * LittleAnn given on July 31, expiring on Aug 3 5:34 PM. [Revoke?]



    So how am I supposed to know who's who on that list when MY name appears everywhere?
    Could you please do something about it?

    Annie


  • Valley Girl silver member
    July 6, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I really like the mood feature. I do agree with the others by having the motto and the mood as two seperate things on the main page. Also, for the mood feature, is it possible that it could keep a record of what we put in for our custom? Just so we won't have to try and find the right code? Or is that impossible? Thanks.


  • cricketjeff gold member
    June 30, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Not directly comments on the changes, just a couple of observations.
    First on poems with lots of comments clicking on page 2 (I use Firefox and Opera maybe there is no problem on IE don't know don't have Windows) does not seem to get me to page2 in fact it only seems possible to see the first 100 comments even clicking all.
    And second a suggestion, when "featuring" a poem how about a part of the process being a requirement to comment on an already featured poem? The costs of featuring have become very high of late and beyond the reaches of new poets who need this system more than the rest of us. I do notice that quite a few regular featurers are not regular commenters.


    • Wayne Leon Learmond
      July 1, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      I have the same problem as far as clicking on the page 2 is concerned. It does not work. Been broken for ages now.


  • warrior-eagle
    June 29, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    LOVE the "see contests" for that person~


  • Matt Holck
    June 29, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I don't see any ads on this page

    I history for im is useful


  • Rose Dark Thorn silver member
    June 28, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Okay, so, in the middle of the day, AP started showing up strangely on my firefox web browser.

    It is only on firefox. It looks fine on internet explorer.

    However, I do not use internet explorer.

    Everything on AP is showing up in a bad way. Everything on the page is pushed down, things are resized, comments on poems, forums, columns, etc are all smushed together.

    Is there any way this can be fixed?


  • thelordreigns gold member
    June 28, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I love the addition of the group notes to the group page. EXCELLENT!

    Thank you Kevin.


  • Cannonsfire
    June 28, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Really like the change where 'next by (user name)' appears all the time instead of having to click options. Great move!


  • PerfectImperfection
    June 28, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Kevin,

    For a change, I am leaving a note to say it all looks and works great! I appreciate the time you put into this. My only quirk was the reply on im's and that was already fixed. No complaints lol!!!


  • Dienush
    June 28, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Hmm... You know, just got back and read the additions here. I know it may sound odd since I was one of the folks rather upset about the gray bar, but on the other hand I do appreciate the work you put into this and, perhaps more than the work itself, that you make it so we can say things we dislike. Sometimes I see things about other sites I'd like to suggest or complain about or whatever much more serious than just aesthetics, but it seemsother site creators make it much harder to say stuff like that. In my opinion, of course. So, yeah, just thought I'd mention it.

    Oh, and I love the new emoticons. Love them.


  • SeptemberFaith
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I'm not sure how I feel yet, so I'll give it some time..

  • warrior-eagle
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I wanna be cheerleader too!


  • Little Eagle Greeters member
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply

    Kevin

    I love the changes Just love, love, love the new messaging and notes. Looks way more steamlined. I love the bar that really shows off my poem title, lol, though almost always I have a custom background but still... I also love the most recent notes on the group pages. When I saw that I had to run to one of my groups to see, then I had to send a group note on some just so I could see it show up on the page

    Awesome job. Keep up the changes and updates.


    volunteers to be the cheerleader if no one else will lmao

    a I love it love it love it!!!!


    Tammy

  • Vera Rich gold member
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I am most distressed about the removal of the "reply" facility from Notes.

    It has been my custom if someone comments on my work to send them a note of thanks by using the "Reply" button. I do NOT want necessarily to "return the favour" by commenting on their work just then... I am often under considerable time pressure, and/or feeling far from well. And I believe that one should only read someone's poetry with a view to commenting on it if one has the time and well-being to give it one's full and appreciative attention. Like most editors, I was warned at the beginning of my career that an over-harsh or unappreciative comment on someone's work could be the last straw that drives that person to suicide. (Even rejection notes should be phrased gently and with some window of hope!)

    I do not want people to feel obliged to comment on my poems - indeed, I put a note to that effect on them all. However, if someone DOES comment, I like to send a brief note of thanks. Yes, I know that this is possible as a "Message" - but switching from "Notes" to "Messages" and back again several times wastes time... and time is something that at present I greatly lack...


    • Kevin Moderators member
      June 27, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      Thanks for the suggestion, I've added it back.

      It is a bit confusing sometimes, as 'replying' to a group note will only send a message to the person who sent the note, rather than the whole group.

  • Frodofan
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply

    IDEA

    Would it be possible to have a "next contest by author" link on contests for other open contests we have running (as with poems)?


    • Kevin Moderators member
      June 27, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      There's now a 'see all contests by kevin' link shown just under the categories list on a contest. I think this makes a bit more sense than a 'next' link, since it lets you choose between them yourself...

      Thanks for the suggestion!

    • Kevin Moderators member
      June 27, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      Are you sure it should only be open contests?

      • Frodofan
        June 27, 2008
        Edit | Reply
        Well, no. I think that would probably be more useful though. Because, say a person likes someones contest and they want to see more, they might be taken to an old contest (not helpful to them really) but if the person has more than one contest running and they are currently viewing the oldest open one posted, when they hit "next by author" instead of being taken to the other new ones they would have to go through all of the old ones first. Isn't that how it works?


  • Rose Dark Thorn silver member
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    While updates are going on, I thought I would mention this.

    When you enter a contest more than once, is it really necessary to get the contest end message or a contest message for as many times as you've entered? It's very annoying and causes clutter. Can that be changed?


  • LadyDementia gold member
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Hey,
    I'm really not fussed with the changes, I think they're ok, either way. No way will you please everyone, don't envy you! I do have a problem tho, I run my browser tho firefox and none of the drop down tags are working, every time I send a message I get redirected to the message page and a few other things are going wrong. I spoke to a couple of others who use firefox and they to are having the same problems. It was fine yesterday. All other sites are fine, it does say something about java script in the corner but it is all working fine except for on AP...how can I fix it?

  • Starz of Heaven gold member
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I will say things are getting better the only problem that I find now is that if we center a poem the title is not centerd if we use a theme or pattern background

  • Page Deleted.
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    When I visit certain pages, a popup tells me that "Additional plugins are required to display all the media on this page."

    It seems to be mostly just the advertisements that I'm missing out on, but this wasn't happening before the updates - is there anything in the updates which could trigger this reaction?


    I really like the blue when you go to edit your page and stuff, but the colours in the forums look "really ugly". No offence meant, but the mustard yellow border contrasts rather badly with the blue/black text and also the background.

    And just to put this is dummy terms for my simple mind: when you say "Yes, you need to have a gold membership to have advanced mode features on your profile." - you mean that even if I allow a gold member to edit my profile, I still can't get spiffy text?

    Thanks,
    Keira


  • Moons Lunar Angel
    June 27, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I don't like how the messages aren't separated with a line anymore. I think they were easier to read. Everything else seems good

  • Shadow Darkstar
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I'm not sure why this is Kevin, but when I tried posting a poem, the first letting in the title won't capitalize, even after I've made sure it's capitalized in my settings when typing.


    • Kevin Moderators member
      June 27, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      Hmm... I added something to change titles that are THIS IS THE TITLE to 'This is the title'. I hate caps. Perhaps there is something wrong with the way this is working? Looking on your author page, your latest poem is capitalized properly...

      • Shadow Darkstar
        June 27, 2008
        Edit | Reply
        Well I was going to use initials, but when it wouldn't work I had to change it. That's why it look sfine now. :'( But I didn't want to use his full name if I could prevent it (as this is the internet).


  • ArtFullyMe silver member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply

    Thank you for losing the nasty gray gif on poem titles.


  • grannyeri gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    We all need to get used to change, or be left behind. Keep progress going - or get trompled on.

  • Amarige
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I like the changes..Thank you guys for the job well done!


  • Pamela A Lamppa silver member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Thank you so much for hiding the gray bar on poem, contest and author pages (etc) much much better.

    Gee you guys work fast. Thanks so much. ~Pamela


  • Rose Dark Thorn silver member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I think there should be an option under the author's page settings to hide the message box along the right side, seeing as I don't generally use it...I go to my message page because I find the right side message box doesn't work right for me, and it also pushed my favorites online list down, which I don't like.

    Also, instead of having a set color for the bar that going across the poem and contest pages, can there be an option to choose whether or not we want to make it transparent or even a certain color?

    I still don't like how the messages look smushed together in the message page, because it looked bulky and messy to me.


  • Long Road Home
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply

    When?

    When oh when will you ever be implementing the much-requested and long-awaited automatic car wash plug-in? My truck is getting pretty grungy...


  • a.changed-soul.
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply


    * starwars *


  • Cat gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I always find it funny when folks who change things suggest that folks who don't like the changes loathe change - rather than the obvious that perhaps it is not change they find distasteful but the particular changes specific to the objection that they find distasteful.

    i suppose
    we all need
    to believe it can't possibly be us - it has to be the other guy



    m


    • Kevin Moderators member
      June 26, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      It's not really that, more the despair/frustration that there's no way to make everyone happy. Whenver you're talking numbers of passionate (and loud) people like we're dealing with, you're just a bit screwed


      • requiempoet gold member
        June 27, 2008
        Edit | Reply
        ha ha. We all appreciate your work very much...and did I mention I LOVE the fact that the message box is no longer hidden!!!! YAY! plus the new emoticons!!


        One day Kevin you should do another HUGE radical change, take it down for like a week...ok maybe not a week because I'd be ripping my hair out but maybe like two days and do a HUGE WHAMMO kinda change. move stuff around, change the color...you know...really screw with our heads.



        Did I also mention I want the raven/crow thingy to be named murray. So could we maybe have an emote named murray?

        Also...can AP be a corporation...I wanna work for you. ( kidding...sorta)


      • Cat gold member
        June 26, 2008
        Edit | Reply
        yes, i would think it would be very frustrating-

        i do believe that... but i think given your job- as frustrating as it may be- i think you gotta keep the sarcasm to a minimum (at least to our faces- because i would be ripping everyone of us new assholes behind our backs all the time) -


  • AJ Morelli gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    good to know that a general complaint shared by MANY people is worth a TINY bit...lol


    • AutoPilate
      June 27, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      That shocked me. I'd have guessed that they would be worthless to him.


  • February Moon gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I don't mind the title bar now that it centers, but for some of my shorter poems I don't have a title. I just put a ~ or something like that. Those poems look really bad, so I was wondering if it would be possible for us to remove the title bar? (Just in the circumstances that it makes the poem look bad.)


  • Chrysalis
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    title bar looks good. makes the poems title too noticable... though, I don't really mind. Embrace the changes...

    The smiley: AWESOME! 10/10
    lol.


  • blur
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    i'm not at all opposed to change, although i do prefer improvements more than change for change sake...

    there is good reason to "hate" or be very displeased by the addition of the "box" that now has separated the title from the poem and altering the careful thought of many of us about the look and function that a title plays in a poem... i think Cvillelisa explained in one of her comments how the use of the title as the first line of the poem is now rendered impossible...

    in addition, my poems are always posted on a solid black (custom) background, the bright grey or white bar that now appears on my poems is a complete distraction and truly impacts the over all effect i was trying to achieve...

    do i hate the title bar, yes... do i have a good reason to, i believe i do and judging by the percentage of people expressing a similar opinion i am far from alone...


  • stylization
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Just a comment... I've noticed that when you centre a poem, sometimes the title and/or pictures don't get centred as well. Not always, but sometimes.
    Personally, I also think that the bar above the poems/comments/whatever looks kind of ugly, especially the way it randomly ends partway across the page. It's kind of annoying how, if you don't have a "themed" background with a left/right border, everything gets smushed up against the left-hand side of the page and there's an inch or two of blank space where everything just gets cut off.


    • Kevin Moderators member
      June 26, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      If you see the not-centering problem again, please send me a link so i can take a look.

      With wide monitors, I also agree with your frustration with the left-smuched alignment. I'd prefer to center align things on the screen (like storywrite/etc), but that causes extreme problems with the left-justified background options. I'm working on fixing this eventually though, especially as more and more people have wider monitors.


  • luna-midnight gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    hahahaha...well i wondered what was wrong, but idk..its annoying me when i press history for the messages, would that happen to be because of the changes? i hope not, and i hope it changes because that is frustrating. lol

  • requiempoet gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    lmao I think Kevin is getting angry with us telling him we hate stuff.



  • FifthDove
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I am all for it, change away

    And thanks

  • Frodofan
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I think the colored bar looks a bit tacky. Don't know what the point of that is... but the other stuff is looking pretty good.


  • x-Black-Butterfly-x gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Im not to fond of the coloured bar...=x but the smiley kicked arse and made me chuckle


  • Chemical Muse
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I LOVE THE NEW NOTE PAGES!
    things look much neater. ^^ and the message on the side that's open al the time i think is better. because your browser doesn't get stuck in the case that it has to load the little box separately. ^^


  • Lost Vampyre Angel
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    could you change the message box back to the normal message box, it looks really messy and clumped together now, i preferred it the old way, it was neater and easier to see, and i want the new smiley
    and also whats the cloaking for

  • Lost Vampyre Angel
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    yeah how do we get the smiley i like it


  • Ana-Andrea
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    What I want to know is, how can I get the smileys???


  • blur
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Why can't the ugly grey bar be removed on poems that are using a custom background?


  • blur
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply

    the title bar of the poems...

    looks terrible, i haven't complained in over a year but this it such a bad idea. it disconnects the title from the body of the poem which is awful... PLEASE change it back...


  • Pamela A Lamppa silver member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Much better with the author pages hiding the gray bar. Now, most importantly, can you do the same for the poetry pagest and contest pages?

    The lines going across the whole page are awful. They distract from the entire presentation of the poem and a contest. Thanks so much.

  • Shadow Darkstar
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I just have a problem with the advance author page settings. I don't undertsnad how it's supposed to work at all.


  • Pamela A Lamppa silver member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Oh my, the new bar is really ugly and distracts from the presentation of the poetry. Looks really tacky.

  • Kari gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I can't stand the new bar, it misses up my im's makes the box really small, and looks tacky whenever I've done anything in html on the poem.


  • lively banter
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Do you know how to even design a site? What were you thinking with that nasty gray bar everywhere? It doesn't help anything, and gray is a very ugly color on a computer screen, it hurts people's eyes. What purpose was it supposed to serve? Can you please get rid of that bar, it is totally unwelcomed and uneeded.


  • StarEyes
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I have to agree with many of the others, I really don't like the gray bar on the titles of the poems, and had to really look to find the "reply, history, delete" on my messages. I liked it better the other way.

  • Dienush
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Better


  • February Moon gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I really don't like how the gray bar is off center for the poem. If it's going to be like that, maybe we could have the option to remove the sidebar on the poem?


  • StormGoddess Greeters member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I think the colored bar makes everything look too generic. I can deal with most change, but I much preferred the time stamp under the user name in IM rather than at the end of the post. It is rather difficult to quick reference things, which I DID quite often. The messages now look chunky and bulked. Has no appeal anymore.

    Can we have a lightning bolt smilie???? Please?


    • Dienush
      June 26, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      Wow, I agree For some reason I thought the way IMs look was a glitch. They looked neater the way they were.

      I do like the emoticon though, I guess...


      • Lost Vampyre Angel
        June 26, 2008
        Edit | Reply
        i agree with you!! they looked neater before when i came online i thought it was my laptop messing up

        • Frodofan
          June 26, 2008
          Edit | Reply
          Ha ha. I thought my computer was messing up too.


  • Dienush
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I too rather dislike the gray bar. Perhaps an option to turn that off could help, since I see I'm the third one saying this.

    Also, IMs aren't working properly, and I've been unsuccessfully trying to comment on this column for like 5 minutes.


  • Rhyming from Rehab
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I appreciate wanting to upgrade and change, however I do find the title bar to be distracting, and bulky looking, hopefully you will reconsider this change. Also I did prefer to have messages hidden, for it was easier the way it was before. Now it seems when I send a message it isn't sending correctly and hangs up and pops open an older message...another item I hope you will reconsider changing. other than that I will look forward to the tweaks and changes to hopefully wonderful ones

  • AutoPilate
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Particularly exemplary is the big beautiful gap in the AP logo.


  • Rose Dark Thorn silver member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    I agree with Angelina Avarita...I do not like the new bars that go across the author pages, poem pages, contest pages, and etc.

    Also...the messages on the message page look messy clumped together and condensed like that.

    And for my last pet peeve...I liked when the message box was hidden because I didn't have to scroll down to see my favorites online list.


  • jantastic gold member
    June 26, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Any updates on the cloaking/uncloaking mechanism for gold members?

    • Lost Vampyre Angel
      June 26, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      waht is the cloaking and uncloaking for


      • LadyDementia gold member
        June 27, 2008
        Edit | Reply
        It so your name doesn't show up when your on-line...people can't tell if your here or not...comes in handy sometimes

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