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I gave some criticism in IRC and sgrove asked me to post it here, too. So here goes: I think the entire design leaves a lot to be desired. The color scheme is

by sjs382 18y ago

I gave some criticism in IRC and sgrove asked me to post it here, too. So here goes: I think the entire design leaves a lot to be desired. The color scheme is distracting. The green draws your eyes directly to a less-important item. The question should be the most important item. (Possibly followed by whether there are answers or not?) The "answers" should be given at least thesame weight and importance as "votes", "2 days ago" should probably be removed for the near future. Why would someone participate in a community that has such little activity? You could always put it back if things liven up. The icons are completely unclear. You explained that the "tag" icon was a hand, but I still dont see it. And even so, not sure how that relates to "tags". And the word bubble is usually used to represent comments not answers.

sgrove 18y ago
Thanks, and upvoted. 1.) The point about green being distracting is a great point, something we hadn't thought of. We're working on implementing a gray-to-green bit that corresponds to points (similar to hn) and just stuck it at green for now. We'll be sure to make it to the eyes are drawn to the titles, and not the points. And yes, the answers are equally important as the questions. Working on a redesign right now. 2.) Good point about the reference time. It's always there, so I somewhat assumed it should always be there, but it may serve as a deterrent to new people entering into the community. Removed until it's less depressing :D 3.) Icons. Got it. The tag icon was an open hand, just like "tagging" someone. We'll change it to something more traditional (being cute like that probably is a bad idea), and adjust the other icon as well - any suggestions?
- gfodor 18y ago
  Just to play devil's advocate, I'd punt as much as you can on the design aside from a few tweaks here or there. You'll always have people saying they don't like this or that about the design, but at the end of the day if that's all they are complaining about you are doing the right thing. If not, prioritze other complaints first. Content is still king. The main goal of the site should be to get good content in the door and get it distributed to the users. Additionally, before you make any user interface changes from feedback such as the OP, definitely do a few ad-hoc user tests with friends or random people off the street as a sanity check. It's cheap and really helpful.
  - sgrove 18y ago
    We'll, I've noticed that Ask HN often times comes across as "critique our design". Which is fine enough; we have tons to learn on that side. And if being responsive means tweaking this minor things, it's no big deal. We're working on ways to build up the content - because you're right, that's going to top everything in the end. Thanks for the encouragement by the way! :D
  - sjs382 18y ago
    "The main goal of the site should be to get good content in the door and get it distributed to the users." Part of getting good user content is removing friction.
    - sgrove 18y ago
      I think you're right, but gfodor is right as well. The goal is to get good content, and we have to remove anything that stands in the way. It's just a matter of prioritizing and focusing your energy on the right area. That seems to be one of the key ingredients of success.

by sjs382 18y ago

sgrove 18y ago

Thanks, and upvoted. 1.) The point about green being distracting is a great point, something we hadn't thought of. We're working on implementing a gray-to-green bit that corresponds to points (similar to hn) and just stuck it at green for now. We'll be sure to make it to the eyes are drawn to the titles, and not the points. And yes, the answers are equally important as the questions. Working on a redesign right now. 2.) Good point about the reference time. It's always there, so I somewhat assumed it should always be there, but it may serve as a deterrent to new people entering into the community. Removed until it's less depressing :D 3.) Icons. Got it. The tag icon was an open hand, just like "tagging" someone. We'll change it to something more traditional (being cute like that probably is a bad idea), and adjust the other icon as well - any suggestions?

gfodor 18y ago
Just to play devil's advocate, I'd punt as much as you can on the design aside from a few tweaks here or there. You'll always have people saying they don't like this or that about the design, but at the end of the day if that's all they are complaining about you are doing the right thing. If not, prioritze other complaints first. Content is still king. The main goal of the site should be to get good content in the door and get it distributed to the users. Additionally, before you make any user interface changes from feedback such as the OP, definitely do a few ad-hoc user tests with friends or random people off the street as a sanity check. It's cheap and really helpful.
- sgrove 18y ago
  We'll, I've noticed that Ask HN often times comes across as "critique our design". Which is fine enough; we have tons to learn on that side. And if being responsive means tweaking this minor things, it's no big deal. We're working on ways to build up the content - because you're right, that's going to top everything in the end. Thanks for the encouragement by the way! :D
- sjs382 18y ago
  "The main goal of the site should be to get good content in the door and get it distributed to the users." Part of getting good user content is removing friction.
  - sgrove 18y ago
    I think you're right, but gfodor is right as well. The goal is to get good content, and we have to remove anything that stands in the way. It's just a matter of prioritizing and focusing your energy on the right area. That seems to be one of the key ingredients of success.