Announcement Layout Update Feedback

[StevenHXF]

You will have noticed that things have been changing around ICMag as we massage and reorganize the site after the change to XenForo earlier this year.

Our goal is to make it more welcoming to casual visitors and easier for members to navigate. Since we are a grower’s forum, we moved the growing section to the top and we have taken special care to organise it in a fashion that should make it simpler to get – or to give – information about growing our beloved plant.

We will continue to tweak things but we thought that it would be a good time to hear some feedback. Please take a second to cast your vote in the pole and respond with any feedback or suggestions you have relating to the ordering, naming or structure of the forums on ICMag.

Please only comment in regards to how the forums are organised.

Thanks,
Steven

 

[flylowgethigh]

The best thing that happened to ICMag was the speakers corner posts do not show up in the "new posts", and that growing is at the top of the front page.

Edited by SteveHXF, whilst I agree I want to keep this totally on topic.

 

[Jellyfish]

FOUR whole votes for "better" SHOULD tell you something, boneheads.

 

[Cvh]

It's much better!

 

[spigolaro]

Much better than before even if I liked the old graphics more, personal tastes however nice come on.

 

[Mitsuharu]

I wish i could get to the new posts directly again when i tap the flash icon... looks like today it has changed, so now i always have to scroll down and tap 'view more'. I'm a heavy reader and used this for months, now i'm confused.

And it would be nice if the site page buttons are on top too, i knew this is possible from other forums with this software and it would not harm anybody. Always have to scroll down forums and thread to go to another page.

Btw, the smily window is extremely slow in scrolling and it's sometimes slowing the whole browser down in my google chrome, that's totally not 2022 with my 12GB RAM Smart Device.


Thanx.

 

[bibi40]

I'm really happy with the new layout , intuitive for me ,
i would like to see the autoflower section more visible ,
but since i did grow and like auto's quality , it's perhaps too much subjective opinion ...
Anyway that' a great work and i thought Icmag can recover his owned place now !

Thanks Steven and Gypsy for that

 

[goingrey]

I was fine with the old layout and I'm fine with the new layout

 

[Cvh]

I agree with bibi40, I think it would be a great idea to make the Autoflower section much more visible.

 

[tobedetermined]

i would like to see the autoflower section more visible ,

How?

It is visible from the main menu in desktop and mobile so just 1 click takes you there . . . which gives it equal billing with anything on the site.

Steven can also put a link in the new Quick Links button on the top menu bar but that would be 2 clicks . . .

 

[Ca++]

'Strains and breeding' doesn't really work as an umbrella over advanced growing and perhaps auto flowering. Both of which sound like growing topics

Looking at the 'new posts' link (top left) I today get a differently formatted page. My results have been moved away from the left margin. Making space for a box containing other navigation choices. It's called a 'whats new' box. I don't like this boxes position and it goes against the general convention of putting such boxes on the right.
Putting it on the left, makes this the primary information on the page. Ahead of what I asked for. It's just not how menu's work. Even at the local takeaway. The extras go on the right.

Edit: I think this shuffling to the right, to gain the left column, has removed the right column? Wasn't there adverts there before? Something like the main page, where you see who's in chat and stuff.

Incidentally... the chat participants list isn't who's in the room. Also people never leave, they only enter. The tally isn't working.

 

[tobedetermined]

Also people never leave, they only enter.

Welcome to Hotel California . . . I mean . . . ic mag . . .

Sorry for the OT Stephen . . .

 

[KingCobra66]

this new layout is a lot better than before much easier to browse to all the hard work you guys ave put into it

 

[bibi40]

How?


View attachment 18728882

Simple ...
with an autoflower section , at the first sight
but it' s just my opinion ,
certainly not objective , as i mentioned ,
but Steven asked for comments , so i answer ...

 

[Ca++]

That's what I mean. I asked for new posts, but they are all displaced to the right, by this 'whats new' box. That box should be on the right margin, with adverts below it. This displacement means I'm not getting what I want put first. I'm now exhibiting learned behaviour, that I must divert my eye from the widely accepted position of reading from the left. It's idiosyncrasies like these that can make things feel difficult, when it's just on one page of one site.

 

[tobedetermined]

but it' s just my opinion ,
certainly not objective , as i mentioned ,
but Steven asked for comments , so i answer ...

All is good bibi. The way I look at it is that if you make Autoflowers a main heading, then the Landrace crowd would demand the same. And then there are the Outdoor crew. And the Organic soil fanatics. There are a lot of headings that people feel should take precedence but since IC caters to every grower, Stephen’s job is to average it out, so everyone is happy. I think the new layout makes a lot of sense as is.

 

[Ca++]

All is good bibi. The way I look at it is that if you make Autoflowers a main heading, then the Landrace crowd would demand the same. And then there are the Outdoor crew. And the Organic soil fanatics. There are a lot of headings that people feel should take precedence but since IC caters to every grower, Stephen’s job is to average it out, so everyone is happy. I think the new layout makes a lot of sense as is.

Is is suited to strains and breeding though, or is it better suited to growing cannabis. Where we already have about a dozen sub divisions. Making the growing cannabis umbrella the most stretched out heading by far. Covering more topics than most top tier areas. Yet it's not top tier

 

[StevenHXF]

View attachment 18729116

That's what I mean. I asked for new posts, but they are all displaced to the right, by this 'whats new' box. That box should be on the right margin, with adverts below it. This displacement means I'm not getting what I want put first. I'm now exhibiting learned behaviour, that I must divert my eye from the widely accepted position of reading from the left. It's idiosyncrasies like these that can make things feel difficult, when it's just on one page of one site.

This is being replaced by the original tabs that were on that listing last week and a right hand column. It was only left on for some testing. The left hand nav block is going.

To add, this What’s New box is a nav element like you see on profiles rather than an actual sidebar that you see on the homepage. In Xen the nav blocks are usually on the left and sidebars on the right.

It was never intended for it to remain.

 

[StevenHXF]

Simple ...
with an autoflower section , at the first sight
but it' s just my opinion ,
certainly not objective , as i mentioned ,
but Steven asked for comments , so i answer ...

@tobedetermined is correct, the second Autoflower is changed to a parent people will complain and ask why their favourite isn’t. It’s a balancing act because we need to keep things easy to find but at the same time keep page length down, looking at heatmaps people tend to want to stay above the fold.

 

[bibi40]

i understand that , no problem ...