News New homepage and how to use it

[Art]

If the homepage of the site now looks a little different to you, you're not seeing an error. We are trying to improve how to consume content here at ScapeCrunch.

Why the change?​

We always want to bring best practices to ScapeCrunch. This is an attempt to bring forum technology more in line with "most" people's understanding of using the Internet that is mostly based on social media. It's a balancing act that we think strikes a balance between the benefits of the forum structure while bringing some of the benefits of social media tech.

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to see new, search for, and add new content.

How does it work?​

Thanks for asking. It's super easy and should be natural for you if you give it a few days with an open mind. Here's how it works.

As most of you visit ScapeCrunch via your phones, I will visually show the steps on an iPhone. However, the same applies even for the desktop version.

What you see the first time you land on our homepage​

This is the first thing you see before doing any changes. The great thing about the new system is that it gives you the power to adapt it to what you want to see.

Right under the navigation bar and my pretty face, you will see a drop down list with the icon for Hot. To the right of that is the green button called Create.

If you want to create something new, you hit the green Create button and you get an option for:

• Start a discussion thread
• Ask a question
• Create a poll
• Upload a resource
• Share media
• Share a social status

If you are simply looking to consume content, this first page "Hot" will show you the threads that are really active. This will populate over time as the system will monitor activity. Keep an eye on this feed to quickly find what is trending and jump in on the conversation.

By clicking the drop down triangle next to Hot, you will get the menu of the following:

• Threads - latest threads
• Latest activity - all latest activity
• Posts - latest posts
• Social - posts from those that you "friended"
• Forum list - the old homepage showing all of the forums just the way they were
• Questions - list of questions posed

Continuing to progress down the page, you will find, starting from the left right below the Hot, is a button to just show the thread titles. The button to the right of that shows the thread title plus some of the first paragraph. Move further right is the "Set default" button. This is important. Once you find a feed that you like, you can hit this button and make it your homepage feed. When you come back another day, that is the first page you will see.

Finally, you will see filters. This button allows you to select the forums that you want the above to apply to. Simply click on the box and only the threads in those forums will show.

Customization will allow you to see what you're interested in quickly and easily. If you just want to see everything like normal, just hit Forum list and you're back to "as if nothing happened."

Here some more visuals to help:



I hope these changes do improve your user experience here at ScapeCrunch. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them as a reply to this thread or, if you prefer, send me a private message to discuss. We really do appreciate any and all of your feedback as this site is built and maintained for you.

Be well,

Art

 

[*Ci*]

The function I used to use exclusively was (i believe) called “new posts” which gave you a list of the threads, and those with new posts in them were in bold. When an older thread had a new post, it was bumped to the top of the list (in other words the threads were ordered based on the date of the latest post, not the date the thread was created). Can that be changed?

The closest thing to that in the new configuration is “threads”, which is similar but the ones with new posts are not bumped to the top. So, if I look at it I will miss new posts on threads from a long time ago.

I don’t see any improvements with the new configuration over the old, but I don’t use a phone to access the forum, I use an ipad. Personally I vote to go back to what you had before which worked perfectly.

 

[Art]

Hey, THANK YOU for giving me some feedback. It's very much appreciated.

I use New Posts frequently too. It is still there and you can use it like before. If your iPad view is large enough, it will show "Forums" on the navigation bar with a drop down triangle. Click on the triangle and then click on New Posts. You will see the page you're looking for.

If your iPad is the smaller version, you will see the three bar sandwich icon to the left of our logo at the top navigation bar. If you click on that, you will see New posts there as well. Click on it and you are back to the page you like.

You vote is noted. I think phone users will see the most improvement, I believe, as well as, those that are used to social media navigation. I know it's a compromise but trying to strike a balance between the two designs. Will wait to hear from others on this.

Have a great weekend!

 

[*Ci*]

Ah, I see it now! Yes, that is just what I need, but buried one level down in a menu instead of right in the bar. Luckily, I just keep the Scapecruch tab open all the time, on the “new posts” page and can just hit the refresh button : )

 

[Art]

*bumping* this back up and asking for feedback.

The "new" front-page has now been up for a week or so. In YOUR opinion, is it better or not than the static forum list we had before?

Here are both versions on a phone:



Please let me know your thoughts!

Thanks,

Art

 

[RainbowRob]

Looks good, I like it

 

[Immortal1]

I guess I am a bit old school and exclusively use my laptop for access to Scapecrunch. With that said, I can still learn

 

[*Ci*]

This is what I see on my ipad. Under “Forums” I use “New Posts” 99%of the time. “New Posts“ used to be in the menu bar, same as “Forums” so it is slightly less convenient now, but no big deal.


I like having “Your Threads” and ”Threads with your Posts” here, as well, usually those are hidden under the profile tab.

Under “Whats New” I see “New Posts” again! Redundant, but ok. I would not use anything else in that menu, nor the ”Media” menu, but others might. I really just get everything I need from “New Posts”, lol : )

 

[Art]

Looks good, I like it

Hey thanks, Rob! Appreciate the feedback. Hope you're doing well.

 

[Art]

I guess I am a bit old school and exclusively use my laptop for access to Scapecrunch. With that said, I can still learn

I use my laptop almost exclusively too. I only go on my phone when away from the house. However, exactly 75.1% of visitors to ScapeCrunch are on mobile. Android leading the way but iOS not too far behind.

As an old timer, that is always something I have to remind myself about. "How does that change look on mobile?"

 

[Art]

This is what I see on my ipad. Under “Forums” I use “New Posts” 99%of the time. “New Posts“ used to be in the menu bar, same as “Forums” so it is slightly less convenient now, but no big deal.

Thanks! I appreciate your patience and understanding. It's a compromise to find what works best for most community members given how different people consume information.

The New Posts is a great button to select because it gives you a total picture of the posts made since you last visited. I think when the site gets busier you will see more activity with Media and Articles. I am doing away with the Resources section.

Keep the feedback coming. It's like voting. You can only affect change if you speak up!

 

[Art]

@*Ci* one example of some things you miss when you only use the New Post button is @Hasan Pektaş uploading of a beautiful "power of Red!" photo to the Dutch Style section of the Media.

To make sure I don't miss anything, my routine is 1) Unanswered Posts (pet peeve of mine! no one will be left hanging at ScapeCrunch!), 2) New Posts and then 3) Latest Activity. This way I make sure to see everything happening including somebody stealthily uploading an awesome aquascape. Hope that helps!

 

[Immortal1]

I use my laptop almost exclusively too. I only go on my phone when away from the house. However, exactly 75.1% of visitors to ScapeCrunch are on mobile. Android leading the way but iOS not too far behind.

As an old timer, that is always something I have to remind myself about. "How does that change look on mobile?"

And thats the kind of information I was expecting...
75.1% are mobile users. If the site is to continue to grow you have to cater to the larger group without alienating the remaining 25%. Seems you have some tough decisions - but I suspect you are going in the right direction.