Critique the new site

[Shirow]

I've still got quite a bit of work left to do on the new site but it's about ready for people to start poking around in.

http://new.digitalgunfire.com

AS OF APRIL 23rd 2010

* Music Database is in the very early stages, nowhere near finished
* Still need to implement request system, wishlist and track listing in music database along with search function
* Everything else should be pretty much working

I am contemplating scrapping the reviews to be honest but I'm open to input here.

Let me know what you think of:

* The layout
* Visual style
* Any bugs/weird things you notice, especially in obscure browser/OS combinations
* Usability, is anything confusing?

Tips/suggestions welcome on other topics but please bear in mind I am trying to streamline.

[faelaenx]

Checking it out now.....
So far just want to say 'so far, so good' as in awesome.
And the real reason for chiming in so early.... Thank you Shirow for keeping the 'Electronic Saviors' in the News


EDIT:

Under 'Community' the link for Chat is not clickable. Is that intentional? Seems like everything else is clickable.

EDIT:

Showing $11.95 for the shirts instead of $9.95

REVIEWS:

On a personal note, i like the idea of the reviews. It's always good to get the input of others, especially if you 'know' them (to me anyway). It can open you up to something you might otherwise not have let yourself experience or it can turn you off to something you prejudged you might like before buying it and being horribly disappointed ( <---- personal experience speaking on both sides specifically due to DG). i know, i know, you can preview most anything on places like Amazon, but frankly i don't spend much time on those nor do i throw much credulity at their reviews, though thought-provoking they might sometimes be. i'd much rather see what peers here think. My only issue with the old system was that the 5-star rating was for the whole album, though there could be any where from one to nearly all song from any given album played on DG. And really, most people tossed a rating on after hearing one specific song, which does not reflect the album as a whole. And without any explanation to accompany, one is left wondering... was it a certain song that was rated, or the whole album? And once rated, you cannot take it back or edit it in any way.

i did a whole album review once, song by song, but it actually took quite a while (as i am no pro-music critique and had to look up a lot of verbiage that some real 'philes' would probably want) and i ended up running out of available space for the post. i would have liked to have done so continually, but it hardly seemed practical. Especially since i can tend to be long winded and hard thinking...

So my suggestion really is to institute an individual song rating, with or without comment (even if kept to a minimum perhaps this is impractical or just plain too much work? i'm not a programmer, so i've no idea the level of effort you must put in Shirow, but i suspect it is beyond substantial).

Well, just putting in my thoughts. You asked, you get. Hope they are of some value.

[Lexus]

If I click on personal messages I get rerouted back to the old site. And when I click home I get redirected back to the old site homepage.

[thinkingthing]

Liking the design & layout, also liking the XHTML 1.0 Strict. Any mobile CSS in the works?

[Shirow]

If I click on personal messages I get rerouted back to the old site. And when I click home I get redirected back to the old site homepage.

Yeah, that's intentional right now.

[Shirow]

Liking the design & layout, also liking the XHTML 1.0 Strict. Any mobile CSS in the works?

Yeah, I've always wanted to add a mobile site. Bit low on the totem pole right now but definitely something I want to add.

[thinkingthing]

The new design is pretty usable in mobile wide view, the smaller header makes it easier to scroll to the meat, imagining the only difference in mobile-specific CSS would be single-column and larger links.

Android
+
unlimited data plan
+
StreamFurious
+
DigitalGunfire.com
=
tasty delicious

[IaikaNeo]

REVIEWS:

On a personal note, i like the idea of the reviews. It's always good to get the input of others, especially if you 'know' them (to me anyway). It can open you up to something you might otherwise not have let yourself experience or it can turn you off to something you prejudged you might like before buying it and being horribly disappointed ( <---- personal experience speaking on both sides specifically due to DG). i know, i know, you can preview most anything on places like Amazon, but frankly i don't spend much time on those nor do i throw much credulity at their reviews, though thought-provoking they might sometimes be. i'd much rather see what peers here think. My only issue with the old system was that the 5-star rating was for the whole album, though there could be any where from one to nearly all song from any given album played on DG. And really, most people tossed a rating on after hearing one specific song, which does not reflect the album as a whole. And without any explanation to accompany, one is left wondering... was it a certain song that was rated, or the whole album? And once rated, you cannot take it back or edit it in any way.

So my suggestion really is to institute an individual song rating, with or without comment (even if kept to a minimum perhaps this is impractical or just plain too much work? i'm not a programmer, so i've no idea the level of effort you must put in Shirow, but i suspect it is beyond substantial).

Well, just putting in my thoughts. You asked, you get. Hope they are of some value.

::BUMP::

I like the colors of the older site. They are easier on the eyes, at least my eyes.

Why change the site at all? Are there any big problems with it?

[Shirow]

Yeah, the old site is a mess. Too much stuff all over the place. Hard to work on. Don't think it looks very up to date.

[creepster]

REVIEWS:

On a personal note, i like the idea of the reviews. It's always good to get the input of others, especially if you 'know' them (to me anyway). It can open you up to something you might otherwise not have let yourself experience or it can turn you off to something you prejudged you might like before buying it and being horribly disappointed ( <---- personal experience speaking on both sides specifically due to DG). i know, i know, you can preview most anything on places like Amazon, but frankly i don't spend much time on those nor do i throw much credulity at their reviews, though thought-provoking they might sometimes be. i'd much rather see what peers here think. My only issue with the old system was that the 5-star rating was for the whole album, though there could be any where from one to nearly all song from any given album played on DG. And really, most people tossed a rating on after hearing one specific song, which does not reflect the album as a whole. And without any explanation to accompany, one is left wondering... was it a certain song that was rated, or the whole album? And once rated, you cannot take it back or edit it in any way.

So my suggestion really is to institute an individual song rating, with or without comment (even if kept to a minimum perhaps this is impractical or just plain too much work? i'm not a programmer, so i've no idea the level of effort you must put in Shirow, but i suspect it is beyond substantial).

Well, just putting in my thoughts. You asked, you get. Hope they are of some value.

::BUMP::

I like the colors of the older site. They are easier on the eyes, at least my eyes.

Why change the site at all? Are there any big problems with it?

i second the remark on the colour scheme, i like the old site's one better as well
actually i do like the old site much better than the new one ... maybe just mangle the old stuff into the new layout

however i also agree that i do not like the whole 5-star review thing on the whole ablum either and would prefer song individual ratings, most of all since not all songs of one album are in the database anyway

[eEL]

i think it's coming along great, Shirow! loooks like it's stilll being tweaked, but on its way to working much bettter.

keeep up the goood work!

[creepster]

i think it's coming along great, Shirow! loooks like it's stilll being tweaked, but on its way to working much bettter.

keeep up the goood work!

*giggles* having jittttery fiiiingers from tooooo much caffeeiiiinee??
q;

[Drewthetexan]

The Layout: Looks clean. It's hard to give it a fair shake because I want to compare it to the old layout, which I'm familiar with. I think I like it.

Visual Style: You are a fan of grey, aren't you? :) I love the brighter blue banner and links, and I think the grey background really lends itself well to it.

One thing I did notice is that there is nothing that says that song/album on the banner is 'now playing'. I don't know if you need to add that; I don't know if that is immediately obvious to people, or something they'd pick up quickly. Just a thought.

Honestly, I think it looks good; let us know when we can poke through more stuff.

[Shirow]

Yes, grey goes good with everything ;)

Yeah, there is no 'Now Playing' - I'm trying to decide if I want to add that or not. I have been going backwards and forwards on it.

The music database has been updated a bit, shows song lists and the 'play' button now.

[synthetik]

:o neatly new site! good work Shirow. It's easy to use and all seems more organized than the old site.
:thumbsup: