[TFN] The new TheForce.net

You're making posts as if this can't be changed and customized. Of course it can. As all the bugs from the switch are ironed out, then they can go in and begin to customize all the areas and give them each their own unique feel like before. It just takes time, that's all. There aren't a lot of people who are working on this.

Yes, but I wonder how many of them are reading this thread. Heck, I wonder how many go into the boards at all.

 

I think the answer to that would be "zero".

I think I'm the only staff member that frequently posts... And that's because I'm a regular user first. The whole staff thing came about from an unrelated angle.

But, I did make it a point to speak with my contact and he did have a look at these threads. So, I know at least one guy is getting the picture.

 

Am I the only one who found this funny, in the latest TF.N announcement regarding the new look. And I'm going to bold the best part.

those involved in the massive conversion of almost 100,000 page and stories can tell you. Based on feedback already, we know some love it and some wonder what we've been smoking. I'm sure there are plenty of reasons for both opinions. You can rest assured we will continue to work to make sure the site meets both your needs and ours.

It sure would be nice if they'd come here and discuss what we actually think is wrong with it, instead of lurking or reading emails.

Oh and another thing anyone know how to check the @fanforce.net email? I can't find the login anywhere in that heap of mess.

 

From the "FanForce Navigation" drop down near the top of the main FanForce page, choose "FanForce Email" (at the very bottom of the list. Or, go directly to:
http://theforce.net/fanforce/fanforce/readmail.asp

 

Thanks. I greatly appreciated that.

 

sucks. donkey. balls.

 

Can't wait to see the response to that ^^ LOL!

 

Uh, not sure the phrase "donkey balls" is here.

 

Yet you still felt the need to quote it, instead of just saying "that phrase".

 

SUX IMHO.

 

Right now, the "new" TFN looks like this:

Safari could not open the page ?http://www.theforce.net/? after trying for 60 seconds.

It'll show up in Mozilla and IE, but all of the sudden, it's broken in Safari. (The "new" site did work for a while in Safari, earlier this week.)

The boards are s-l-o-w, too.

 

Strange. Maybe you should report it.

 

I found out something "interesting".

The drop down menues don't appear to work in Firefox, I believe thats been noted. However I clicked on a link to a story in the Ep 3 section (The M&M's one to be specific) and the browser just sat there. No matter how many times I clicked, nothing.

I could go the Ep 3 section itself, but still not read that story.

Cutting and pasting the URI ito a new tab also didn't work.

So just as an experiment, I disabled the Adblock extension.

Guess what? The link worked exactly as expected.

So obviously they've added code to make the site unusable to people who choose to block ads.

Not cool. What happened to my freedom to not be subjected to advertisement? I guess I'll be forced to take my free choice and get my Star Wars news elsewhere since TF.n apparently cares more about advertisers than content.

EDIT: Well I tried a few other links, and they seemed to work just fine? The M&M's story still acts like a non-link. So OK, there must be something wonky going on. Either they are trying to stop Adblock users from accessing the site, or there is something there that causes the combinatoin of Firefox/Adblock to break, and its the only page I've ever seen do that.

 

Does anyone know if there is any way to get the Completly Unofficial Star Wars Encylopedia to be downloadable kinda like timetales? I used to love CUSWE until it went to this new format, now it is just a pain to navigate through.

Perhaps this is better in Lit, but I figured I'd be redirected here, so might as well save them 5 seconds of their life. I've gotta say that this design really really sucks now as it affects something that I used to use on a regular basis.

 

I agree. CUSWE is very useful to me ALL. THE. TIME. Except now, it's much harder to get around, I think. The layout of the new CUSWE blends in too well with the rest of the layout (which is entirely TOO busy).

I also agree that there's nothing especially Star Wars-y about the layout.

I have to admit, though, that however easier the old layout was, it was pretty worn-out, and the layout was actually kind of messy at times. There weren't enough straight lines.

Now... there are too many straight lines. TF.N needed a fresh look, but this was not the one.

 

Is it just me? Or does this new TFN seem to be moving slowly tonight?

 

Errant, Jaina, if you want the downloadable version of the CUSWE, PM me and we'll arrange some transfer details. I have a copy (the HTML version) from before the big transfer that I can zip and send to you in a variety of ways.

I_F

 

Just because the TFN staff doesn't post in these threads, don't think for a minute they are ignored. Virtually all of the TFN staff has seen this and read every email, especially the technical and design team. Just a note to ease your mind!



JG

 

That's reassuring, but I wonder what their response is to the overwhelmingly negative reaction from the users...

 

The same as usual...nothing.

 

I really hate the new design. Either change it back, or keep the generally ORIGINAL look as it has always been, but streamline it a bit more, like IGN's homepages (isn't that part of theforce.net now, or has been for as long as I've been here?).

 

THank you, sir, it does help at bit.

However, whether they care or not is a different story...

 

I'm getting used to the new design but the one issue I think should be addressed is the font size. It probably looks okay on a big high-res monitor but on my screen the text is hard to read.

 

The only thing I don't like is that in the fan art section the link to 'the Museum' looks so much like the ads on the site that I was going 'Where is the damn fan art museum?'

That would totally confuse me more if I was a new internet user.

The design is nice, it just needs tweaks. And it needs to be scalable somehow.

 

(isn't that part of theforce.net now

IGN definitely isn't part of TFN. TFN just has a business contract with IGN.