Bug Reports · Legacy archive
Annoying formatting issues
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Annoying formatting issues
#1Alright, by and large I can appreciate the changes that are being made to the site. The layout is generally cleaner and the graphics have definitely been spiffied up.
That said, the comments section on a submission is now a confusing mess. Why does every name need to be a drop-down? The information that is being hidden that way should either just be displayed or should be omitted -- a drop-down makes it look like we have something to select.
Next, is there anything we can do about the ideas (the ones added to a submission)? Take a look at The Keep Beneath the Dusky Star. The author uses ideas to make an easily navigable table of contents. However, this nice bit of formatting is defeated by the silly javascript "bouncing" effect that we get when we mouse over one of these ideas. For the sake of hiding the timestamp, link ID and reply button, we get this drunken bobbing effect when we scroll down this masterful work. It detracts, rather than adds to the site.
I mean, I like javascript as much as the next bloke. But really, there is a time when it just becomes too much. We don't need the mouseover effect on the "All Latest Submissions", "Featured", etc boxes on the front page, either, because they don't add anything.
/rant -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#2Good rant!!
In the attempt to hide all the crap nobody usually needs or wants to see and make them easier to read I had the opposite effect. Dusky Star is displaying crazy behavior that I need to fix. (Not the bouncing if you have your mouse over it as you scroll but many other formatting issues that seemed to have cropped up with the update. Upon looking it seems like there is some broken HTML in the sub somewhere that is driving a ton of errors. Will work on that now.)
I thought the information in the ideas really disrupted the flow more than the occasional bounce (that can be stopped by keeping your mouse on either side of the content when scrolling). Compared to having the jarring line of information that breaks up the flow, I still like the annoying bounce. I am open to other ideas on how to handle it of course. I did have a click button at one time but then you have to place a button or text link somewhere on each submission and then try to explain that it is used for opening extra information...and that was even worse and more confusing than the bounce.
I am not an uber fan of the buttons on the comments, but I like it more than displaying the other crap. Yes, I had a new toy and thought I found a good use for it. I can probably do some css work on the buttons and maybe make them less buttony, but I like the idea of hiding all that other information unless I need to see it. I wasn't going to use the bounce again! For admins their might be much more in the list and it might have been a selfish decision but I like the comments more compact. For me, there was useless white space in the comment area because of the large left info section and it annoyed the hell out of me. I bow to your observation though and it is on my list to play with to find a more happy medium!
Bounce effect on the headers I don't think is too obtrusive or over the edge and was trying to make it more obvious they are links. Combined with the other bounce and the drop down I can see how you are being annoyed. Just be glad I haven't started putting up all the animated gifs I have set in my queue for updating. :)
It is a good rant and completely valid. Now if we could get some solutions from this conversation maybe we can keep us all happy!!
(going to see if I can bugfix that sub!) -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#3HTML code explosion in the idea comments for some reason. Just cleaned up the html in the idea additions.
I continue to look for a better editor for subs that don't take over the textbox and are more predictable. This one does some whacked stuff to the code.
If I had a dollar every time I nearly moved to this: http://nicedit.com/demos.php or some other simpler system I would have, like, a lot of dollars.
However, with that move we would lose the ability to upload graphics into the post. We could still link to them with some annoyance, but not upload them to the site and plop them in from the editor. If only we could find something else or we were willing to sacrifice the ease of inputting pictures I would change it tomorrow!
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Re: Annoying formatting issues
#4Does the nicImage portion on the download page not have an upload functionality? -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#5Well, this is just my ¢2, but I don't think anyone would be too put out if we lost the ability to put a picture in a submission. truthfully I can't remember the last time I saw anyone use that functionality any ways. If anyone is vehemently opposed to losing that feel free to call me a retard. :P -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#6Not that I can say much, having submitted so little lately, but I really would prefer to have the ability to imbed pictures and nice formatting. I think more images is the direction of the future.
I'd also like to be able to drop in HTML5 too, but I'm not holding my breath :)
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Re: Annoying formatting issues
#7I like putting pictures in my subs, actually. I just submitted one with a graphic that probably took me more time to create than the sub itself :P Would be a shame not to have that feature.
That said, I'm sure there's a WYSIWYG editor somewhere that is reasonably good. I remember using FCKeditor in the past with some success. -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#8The one I use is supposed to be a better fork of FCK. They are all too big and bloated for my taste.
I would be willing to purchase a WYSIWYG editor with upload capability of anybody finds one. Two features that I really want is HTML5 compatibility so we can use local storage and to upload pictures through the interface.
Nicedit would be great, but not updated in years so I am not going to sink time into it even though I still like the idea of it. -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#9Are you using CKEditor, then? It's supposed to have HTML5 support (since June of 2011, actually). http://ckeditor.com/blog/CKEditor_3.6.1_released -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#10
Are you using CKEditor, then?
CKEditor wasn't a fork of FCKEditor; the latter was designed as a non-commercial replacement of the former. Their codebases are completely different. -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#11
CKEditor wasn't a fork of FCKEditor; the latter was designed as a non-commercial replacement of the former. Their codebases are completely different.
Oops, my mistake. -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#12
Yes, it supports HTML5 but not all the cool goodies that come from it. HTML5 is such a broad stroke, I should have been more specific saying local storage. It had some rumors and some things to follow to make it work but I couldn't make it happen. I am updating to the most recent version right now and am trying to see if it supports it but it is still a monster.
Fork/replacement -- Microsoft Word / Libre - Tomato / Tomato ;)
http://www.tinymce.com/index.php
hmmmm
easy plugin for autosave with local storage.
32euro cost for the image part which, if it all works is worth every penny.
Must do a little research! -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#13Will put tinymce on the comment pages and we will see if we like it. It is super small!
Generic unscientific comparison:
ckeditor filesize minus source and examples: 2.5MB
tinymce same: 1.7MB
Almost half. :) -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#14Got rid of the dropdown thingy on the comments. Still like being able to see, at a glance, author comments and then my own so that will come. I still need that information available so opted for a more unobtrusive symbol that you can click on and reveal all the other information about the sub.
Getting there? -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#15Got cocky and did the same to the scrolls. No more bouncing!!
Also fixed it so you can vote on the scrolls as well...ajax enabled so no reloading on that either.
Find me some scrolls with replies so I can fix that portion too. It is still looking the old way and might be broken. -
Re: Annoying formatting issues
#16Any further thoughts on the layout. Better? Still parts you don't like?
Starting a new thread would be best, easier for me to keep up with.