New Home Page Thingy

[icarian]

I do NOT like the new super messy super buisy home page with three update columns. I basicly looks like crap. Just thought i'd let yall know that.

[Disneyland_Wolf]

Well, it is a new updated home page, I really don't care about the new home page. But it looks alright to me. Now it looks better and organized.

[SubmarinemanKevin]

You don't like it either deal with it make your own Disney site or cancel your account...

[Chris]

Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion about VF and the way we present our materials. We welcome constructive criticism (which this may or may not have been). If you're going to criticize something you should make your actions progressive and offer ideas how to make it better or say something a bit more concise.

Your comments have been taken into account.

[.:Adam:.]

I think it makes it easier to see exactly what has been updated! :p

[RU42]

My 2 cents...

I like the layout. Is there a way to make the middle column (currently the multimedia update) a shade lighter. It might help break up the 3 columns a little bit.

Just a thought.

RU

[Chris]

My 2 cents...

I like the layout. Is there a way to make the middle column (currently the multimedia update) a shade lighter. It might help break up the 3 columns a little bit.

Just a thought.

RU

I'm still tweaking it, does it look a bit better now?

[PeoplemoverMatt]

IMO we need something bigger on the main page that gives the idea that this is a Disneyland site. Maybe a picture, bigger logo, etc...

-- PMM :cool:

[RU42]

I like that lighter color. I really think it helps define the columns better. Helps the eye see the divisions.

Excellent!

RU

[SubmarinemanKevin]

Ok, I am sorry for my bad behavior and being rude....To the person who made this...

[Mousekiteer]

IMO we need something bigger on the main page that gives the idea that this is a Disneyland site. Maybe a picture, bigger logo, etc...
Shh! Not so loud, we'll attract more newbs that way!

[brunetteTinkerbell1955]

aww i really like the new hp its really nice and easy to find stuff and maybe a big VF in the back round would really look nice

[Wendy Darling]

I like the way the home page is...I don't have any big ideas to change it, but I think that what has been suggested so far has really helped.

*She salutes to those who could think of any ideas, since her mind is strangely blank*

[WelcomeFoolishMortals999]

Shh! Not so loud, we'll attract more newbs that way!
I know. I don't like the new people either (Sorry. It's nothing personal if you're a new member and reading this.) because it takes away the small community-like feel on VF. I wish they'd close memberships. The problem with that would be they might not get enough support after that, and the VF website would have to possibly be closed down. :frown:

[Chris]

Just remember in the grand scheme of things, you were all new once, too. VF welcomes all new members!

[DisneyResurrection]

I think it looks much better now with that photo on there. I was a little shocked when I first arrived to the site. I didn't know where I was lol. At first it was a bit too newsy like (if that's a word) but with the graphic on there it's back to home sweet home lol. Personally, I never use the main page links at all. I just use the side links to navigate around. I would actually love to see a cafe corner link at the top of the page menus for easier navigation (so I don't have to scroll down for the side link to cafe corner lol) Oh Oh... Plus hehehe... It's no big deal but please please please center the bottom links that are right adjusted . I keep waiting for it to happen but am starting to slowly go insane hehehe. Thanks.

PS: Let's all try and remember that this is Visions Fantastic, not Club 33. I hope (as I am sure the owners of the site do as well) that everyone comes to their site. That is the measure of success and the greatest pat on the back one can receive for all the hours, weeks, months, and years of creating and maintaining a website for the enjoyment of thousands of people worldwide. This site has made the Internet that much more enjoyable for everyone. Once again a big thanks to Chris and Brett and everyone else.

[Chris]

I think it looks much better now with that photo on there. I was a little shocked when I first arrived to the site. I didn't know where I was lol. At first it was a bit too newsy like (if that's a word) but with the graphic on there it's back to home sweet home lol. Personally, I never use the main page links at all. I just use the side links to navigate around. I would actually love to see a cafe corner link at the top of the page menus for easier navigation (so I don't have to scroll down for the side link to cafe corner lol) Oh Oh... Plus hehehe... It's no big deal but please please please center the bottom links that are right adjusted . I keep waiting for it to happen but am starting to slowly go insane hehehe. Thanks.

PS: Let's all try and remember that this is Visions Fantastic, not Club 33. I hope (as I am sure the owners of the site do as well) that everyone comes to their site. That is the measure of success and the greatest pat on the back one can receive for all the hours, weeks, months, and years of creating and maintaining a website for the enjoyment of thousands of people worldwide. This site has made the Internet that much more enjoyable for everyone. Once again a big thanks to Chris and Brett and everyone else.

Thank you for the compliments, and please notice the new changes at the top and bottom of the screen...

-Chris

[DisneyResurrection]

^ Awesome! Thanks!

[Mousekiteer]

I know. I don't like the new people either (Sorry. It's nothing personal if you're a new member and reading this.) because it takes away the small community-like feel on VF. I wish they'd close memberships. The problem with that would be they might not get enough support after that, and the VF website would have to possibly be closed down. :frown:
Sorta like how MiceChat.Com got. Yeah, I know what you mean. I, uh, don't get a long with some of our new members either despite how many posts they've made. Our Disneyland community has since now expanded into a Walt Disney World population where some of the intimacy rubs off and it's grand, vast and impersonal.

I try give them the slack seeing as I was once 'eager' as them but hopefully when the summer season dies down, things might return back to normal.

[Chris]

Sorta like how MiceChat.Com got. Yeah, I know what you mean. I, uh, don't get a long with some of our new members either despite how many posts they've made. Our Disneyland community has since now expanded into a Walt Disney World population where some of the intimacy rubs off and it's grand, vast and impersonal.

I try give them the slack seeing as I was once 'eager' as them but hopefully when the summer season dies down, things might return back to normal.

Yes, once school begins the site community will drop off quite a bit. There's actually been a big drop-off this week so far and I anticipate more will happen once all the schools are back in session.

The 'ignore' feature of VBulletin works very well if there are certain people that annoy you. This will block their posts, PMs, etc.

[Mousekiteer]

The 'ignore' feature of VBulletin works very well if there are certain people that annoy you. This will block their posts, PMs, etc.
Now why didn't I think of that? Thank you for the tip!

[Stephen]

yeah, the homepage thing startled me half to death. I wasn't used to it, but by looking at it longer I relized what it was.

[brunetteTinkerbell1955]

Just remember in the grand scheme of things, you were all new once, too. VF welcomes all new members!
yeah i remember like for a week i didnt know how to get an avatar under my name! now i can make my own lol

[DisneyResurrection]

yeah i remember like for a week i didnt know how to get an avatar under my name! now i can make my own lol

I still don't know! lol j/k :tongue:

[protostars]

The layout is alot more reader friendly.

one suggestion is to put the bottom of the page links:
"Corner Cafe Discussion - Gallery - Contact Us - Visions Fantastic - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top"

at the top as a second row under the existing links:
"VF Home Page - Discussion - User CP - FAQ - Members List - Calendar - New Posts - Search - Quick Links - Log Out"

& repeat the full set of links at the bottom.
It might be redundant, but It would make site navigation easier.
Specially when viewing the threads, when you scroll down a long page then have to scroll all the way back up it can be a pain.

(Just a suggestion) :wink:

[Chris]

The layout is alot more reader friendly.

one suggestion is to put the bottom of the page links:
"Corner Cafe Discussion - Gallery - Contact Us - Visions Fantastic - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top"

at the top as a second row under the existing links:
"VF Home Page - Discussion - User CP - FAQ - Members List - Calendar - New Posts - Search - Quick Links - Log Out"

& repeat the full set of links at the bottom.
It might be redundant, but It would make site navigation easier.
Specially when viewing the threads, when you scroll down a long page then have to scroll all the way back up it can be a pain.

(Just a suggestion) :wink:

With the Gallery and Mod links (which are not visible to everyone) there isn't much room down there to squeeze in all of those links. Also, those links would then be appearing throughout the site (in the ride and show pages, etc). We could add maybe 1 or 2 more important links, but not the whole set.

-Chris

[icarian]

I would have replied sooner... but i went camping on a whim... so yea.

It appears ive angered people that i dont even recognize... sorry, didnt mean to and welcome to VF. I also realize that i should have been more precise and constructive with what i meant... my bad.

I really just dont like how buisy it is, and a lot of text right on a homepage generally doenst appeal to new visitors. I do see how from an upkeep standpoint, just modifying text on a page could be tons easier than having to work with images, at least for me it would because im lazy....

And to go with the off-topic string of conversations we have going here... yea, i feel like VF has lost its cozy welcoming family of fanatics feel to it... now it just seems over run by new ppl. Which is another reason why my post count is low, and by no means am I a newb. Rarely do i ever venture into the forums now, simply because of the amount of people here that annoy me.... Ignore feature here i come!

[Chris]

I would have replied sooner... but i went camping on a whim... so yea.

It appears ive angered people that i dont even recognize... sorry, didnt mean to and welcome to VF. I also realize that i should have been more precise and constructive with what i meant... my bad.

I really just dont like how buisy it is, and a lot of text right on a homepage generally doenst appeal to new visitors. I do see how from an upkeep standpoint, just modifying text on a page could be tons easier than having to work with images, at least for me it would because im lazy....

And to go with the off-topic string of conversations we have going here... yea, i feel like VF has lost its cozy welcoming family of fanatics feel to it... now it just seems over run by new ppl. Which is another reason why my post count is low, and by no means am I a newb. Rarely do i ever venture into the forums now, simply because of the amount of people here that annoy me.... Ignore feature here i come!

Mat, I meant no disrespect to your opinion, and as a longtime visitor to VF (and I'm sure disneylandsource.com before it), you realize that things never 'stay the same' very long here. The sheer amounts of updates VF has now (with the videos, DaddyB's weekly photo updates and general site updates), it's become increasingly difficult to keep it on a page that doesn't require massive amounts of scrolling to find both the current information, and still find updates from only a month or two ago. VF is ALWAYS a work in progress and we strive to find ways to make the site both visually appealing and user-friendly. As I stated, your comments are taken into account and we will be 'tweaking' that homepage forever. The comments help immensely.

However, the new-found popularity of VF warrants us to begin thinking like a bigger website than we are right now. Right now, VF is a very accessible website with a friendly community for people of all ages, from the youngest to the youngest at heart.

The 'cozy' feelings you remember from months ago are still there, but you'll find yourself going through a lot of repeated subjects, questions that have been asked numerous times and several 'newbies'. If you want the site to keep it's identity, the answer is to become a leader, begin the topics you want to chat about and politely steer the 'newbies' into these topics.

Several people have 'stepped up' and become leaders of VF. People like PeoplemoverMatt, Mousekiteer and many many others. If a particular user is annoying you, put them on Ignore, but don't try to filter out the boards because eventually you'll find yourself leaving entirely.

We just added a new forum, "Disneyland Trip Planning" and we will be moving some of the more basic questions about Disneyland there.

We are also in the process of sitting down with some of the newer members of VF and will be discussing such issues as 'flooding' and 'bad grammar/spelling' or 'needlessly posting'. These are big issues, but I'm confident our Staff will be able to alleviate some of the issues and I'm counting on the leaders of VF to assist as well.

At this point I'd like to close this thread. Please post additional topics about the layout of the homepage in the 'New Software New Challenges' thread.

Thanks all,

-Chris