Usability issues

Starting from the top of the home page:

1.) The line, "BlogHer's new site: You're invited to blog here!" looks like it should be a link (at least it does to me because of the similarity of the words "blog here!" to "click here"), but it's not. The proximity to the "MORE" link is too far to see them as connected.

2.) The button "create content' is ambiguous and unconventional. More actionable wording, like "add post" would be clearer.

3.) Clicking on a comment link doesn't take me to the comment, it takes me to somewhere in the middle of the post to scroll. For example, the link for Virginia's comment "Finding a forum post" doesn't work (at least in Safari and Firefox on Mac) - http://www.blogher.com/essential-html-blogher-posts#comment-24438

Thanks,

-Bob
http://www.bobafifi.com
http://www.usedviolins.com
http://www.fluteplayer.net

‹ Test test Ads covering submit, preview buttons and other pages too ›
Submitted by bobafifi (view blog) on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 08:33
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Comments (67)

Comments

 

Good points...

1) I thought it was just me. One thing though, there will be times when we've got a longer headline post so the proximity of "more" will make more sense. But agree, I always feel like it should be clickable.

2) I like Create Content because at BlogHer, everything the community member adds to the site IS the content. But, maybe we can do this better somehow. I'll think on it.

3) We're aware of the comment issues and they are actually improving as the hours pass. We do want comment links to take you to the exact comment and not to the original comment in the thread or the comment you've replied to. Agree, problem, working on it.

Thanks Bob

~Denise
Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 10:13
 

Re: Good points...

> 2) I like Create Content because at BlogHer, everything the
> community member adds to the site IS the content.

Jakob Nielsen in his book "Priotizing Web Usability" discusses the logic behind using conventional words vs. unconventional ones for things like search buttons and the like. The book is 400 pages long but I found it to be a very fast read because it made a lot of sense to me:
http://www.amazon.com/Prioritizing-Usability-VOICES-Jakob-Nielsen/dp/032...

anyhow...

Thanks Denise! :-)

-Bob
bobafifi.com
usedviolins.com
fluteplayer.net

Submitted by bobafifi on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 11:21
 

Issues

1. Bring back the "Track" button on the editor's profile!
2. Bring back being able to see what the latest blog additions are to the blogroll. I've never found the alpha list to be as useful as seeing the latest additions.
3. The difference between Latest and All is unclear to me. Maybe it should be Active vs. All? Related - If a post isn't active, it doesn't show on the Latest tab, so it might never get viewed. Too bad, really. Maybe All should be the default because that way, what's newest is always on top, and the other tab should be below it. There are first rate posts that don't always generate comments, it's a shame to bury them.
4. Wow, the text got tiny. I gotta get new specs. OH, that's a personal issue.
5. I'm still seeing some text wrap issues in Firefox. Just FYI. The skin buttons draw weird and the long tags bleed over in to the post bodies.
6. The BlogHer Topics feed list truncates. A bunch of topics are missing, including, HEY, where's TRAVEL?

Don't mistake this for bashing. I think the new looks is SO much better. Just my 02 on stuff that's buggy to me.

Nerd's Eye View

Submitted by Pam on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 11:08
 

Pam

1) I've indicated that we're working on that issue.

2) Hmmm, I thought that link was still there, I'll track that issue down and get it resolved.

3) Latest editor posts means the newest editor posts only. All posts is a combination of the latest editor posts and the latest member posts. As you know we are having problems with the old content being edited and floating up. This will be resolved soon so everyone gets a shot at appearing on the main page of each tab. (Remember, this is why I asked CEs not to edit their older content right now?)

4) The small text issue has been brought up a few times today, it's on the list of issues to discuss next. Have you tried the font size over-ride in your browser, do you know if that works? (I haven't tried it, no time yet.)

5) This has also been addressed, we're having a wrap issue based on how bloggers code their blog posts. It will be resolved soon.

6) Also as mentioned, the RSS feeds are not performing as they should.

~Denise
Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 11:36
 

Thanks Denise!

That's WAY more than I was expecting in response. I TOTALLY trust you all to ignore the comments that you're already on and evaluate the stuff that's news to you. I was just marking bugs the way we do at ye olde software ranche out of habit.

And yeah, increase text size does work. But I also scheduled an appt. with my eye doctor. :)

Nerd's Eye View

Submitted by Pam on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 11:47
 

Pam - Most recent blogs

That link is available on the Blog List page - click Blog List in the top horizontal nav and you'll see "What's New etc..." You scared me.

I don't see a feed working for this page yet, so I've added it to my list of feed page fixes.

~Denise
Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 11:51
 

Problem?

My sidebar content is now at the bottom of the page. Oddly enough, it wasn't yesterday, and it only happens with my laptop, and possibly just with IE. (I haven't checked Firefox yet.)

I've had the same problem with a couple blogs, so it might just be me.

  • Five Dollar Camera
  • Hypnotizing Chickens

    • Submitted by kperfetto on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 11:21
     

    sidebar...

    This is a problem related with how bloggers are coding their blog posts. Everytime I see one, I go in and edit it but I'm just not able to stay on it at this point - too much email, too many posts.

    We are working to resolve this and I'm going to send a formatting email to CEs to try and eliminate this in at least their posts.

    Thanks

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 11:33
     

    How we're coding our posts?

    I just cut and paste from Typepad; I hardly know how I'm coding my post. Eek!

    Liz Rizzo

    I blog at Everyday Goddess and On The Lot.

    Submitted by Liz Rizzo on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 11:53
     

    I've sent mail, Liz

    I'm sorry! Let me know if I can help in any way.

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 12:04
     

    Thanks, Denise!

    Wow, sounds like a lot of hard work is going on - Thank you!

    BTW, I *love* "Add Content."

    Liz Rizzo

    I blog at Everyday Goddess and On The Lot.

    Submitted by Liz Rizzo on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 12:15
     

    Suggestions board like Yahoo! has?

    Hi Denise,

    I wonder if your troops could put something like the suggestions board Yahoo! up for the BlogHer community? It has a voting system (similar to Digg) and works surprisingly well. Might help give you a break fielding all this incoming info too! :-)
    http://suggestions.yahoo.com/?prop=upcoming&viewmode=numcomments

    Also, is the 'Most Viewed' page stuck?
    http://www.blogher.com/viewed-posts

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 15:32
     

    Maybe

    I'm not a huge fan of the whole ranking/rating thing, though I know a lot of people are. It's definitely a topic we'll discuss for the future of BlogHer.

    Having a board like that won't ease my work load, I'd still be in there answering questions. It's my job, and I like it. Heh.

    As for most viewed, no. I'm happy to say that post is getting huge traffic from some pretty great bloggers and from Stumbled Upon. I'm thrilled, not because it's my blog post but because it's a really important topic and it featured an excellent book.

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 15:35
     

    Re: Maybe

    > I'm not a huge fan of the whole ranking/rating thing, though I know a lot of people are.
    > It's definitely a topic we'll discuss for the future of BlogHer.

    OK, I can agree with that - it can be gamed somewhat (precisely why I don't like 'tag clouds' - totally meaningless fluff).

    BTW, I just noticed that the comments links seem to be working - is that right?

    Thanks Denise, :-)

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 15:40
     

    Yes!

    Comment permalinks were fixed today and so was a topic/taxonomy issue - among other things.

    We're getting there.

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 16:33
     

    Re: Yes!

    Great! :-)
    I don't know if this is just a mac thing or not, but the little "New" icons don't look right - text is too big and overlaps:
    Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
    Shot at 2007-07-25

    How about just red text?
    <sup><font color=red>New!</font></sup>

    Thanks Denise,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 16:43
     

    It's not just a mac

    It's everyone. It took me about 10 days of looking at the site to realize they were new icons. Couldn't figure out why they kept disappearing. They just don't work right now. But, they are low on the list of things to resolve.

    :-)

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 16:45
     

    Re: It's not just a mac

    > But, they are low on the list of things to resolve.

    No problem, I understand - "bigger fish to fry" and all that!

    anyhow...

    Meant to include this earlier:
    Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 16:58
     

    Re: Comments Links?

    Good Morning Denise!

    I noticed last night that the comments links had stopped taking me to the actual post. Did something change? They were working great!

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 06:16
     

    Yes, comment permalinks working

    Much better, isn't it?

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 06:38
     

    Re: Yes, comment permalinks working (update)

    They don't seem to be working for threads spanning more than one page. For example, http://www.blogher.com/usability-issues#comment-24897
    Also, I notice that when I click on the NEXT link below the comments it paginates to http://www.blogher.com/usability-issues?page=1 (not page=2). Perhaps that's where the problem is.

    Thanks,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Wed, 08/01/2007 - 09:07
     

    Re: Yes, comment permalinks working

    Seem to be working fine again now, thanks! :-)

    Thanks Denise,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 06:41
     

    Profile pics?

    Bit of a funny with my profile pic. I had changed my pic the day before the site changed. Now, on my profile, the new pic appears (although oddly stretched). However on forum posts it seems to be the old pic. And I can't seem to find where in the profile to upload a picture...?

    ThreeSeven... attention deficits at work.

    Submitted by zchamu on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 08:07
     

    We're working on this issue...

    We're trying to get two different programs to talk to each other and more importantly, listen to each other. It isn't always a success right now. Heh.

    You can upload a new photo by clicking My Profile, in the top right corner. Then click edit my profile. Then click Account Settings. What has worked for me is to delete the image that exists now. (Fill in the radio button that says delete photo, click submit.) After deleting the image, go back in there again and upload the new photo. I should note that it does often take time for the field to populate with the image, so if you don't see it there for awhile, don't worry - it should appear. If you don't see it after a full day, send me a note at denise@blogher.org

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 08:10
     

    The New Layout Is Great...

    Hi there,

    I love, love the new layout and concept for Blogher. I am confused though about how to connect the feed for my blog, (It's a Typepad blog with a Feedburner feed) and how to know when my profile shows up.

    I relisted my profile in the new profile section, in addition to relisting my blog. Neither one comes up in a search however.

    I know you guys are working hard to get the bugs out and I appreciate all your efforts to make this site a really great one.

    Megan
    www.megansminute.com

    Submitted by Megan Smith on Fri, 07/27/2007 - 13:05
     

    All Posts is not

    Hi Denise,

    I'm not sure why, but whenever I post, I have know idea where the post goes - it doesn't appear in All Posts. I can only find it using my profile search. Is that right?

    Also, my vote would be to call it Other Posts and not include the editors posts there (Dept. of Redundancy Dept.).

    Thanks,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Fri, 07/27/2007 - 15:48
     

    Hmm have you actually blogged?

    I haven't actually seen a blog post from you, Bob. And, I think I've seen them all. The all posts tab isn't for fourms, it's only for blog entries... Go try and write a blog post and then send me the link so I can take a peek at it, please.

    And I've added your suggestion about that tab to my list for review post-conference.

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 05:44
     

    Re: Hmm have you actually blogged?

    No, I don't think so. I never did in the past here, I'd just post on BlogHer and it would show on BlogHer. I take it that's changed? Now to post on BlogHer, I have to do it via my blog?? Not sure my blog (http://www.fluteplayer.net) is even set up to do that - is it?

    Thanks Denise,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 10:29
     

    Bob

    Did you read the "How this site works" link in the top nav? It explains how to go about blogging on BlogHer (so that your blog posts appear in the "all posts tab".) If you want your posts to appear there, you have to blog on the site.

    You can add your blog's rss feed to your profile and that will pull in the last few posts from your blog.

    These are two different features on the site.

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 14:54
     

    Re: How this site works

    > Did you read the "How this site works" link in the top nav?

    Do you mean the "Using This Site" link? If so, then yes. Just to be clear, I can no longer post to BlogHer as before and have my posts show up in All Posts, only via my blog? That seems odd. Why disable the forum aspect of BlogHer??

    My blog is primarily on the flute - to have to use it just so I can interact with BlogHer doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

    anyhow...

    Thanks Denise,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 22:01
     

    Blogging vs Forums

    Forum posts have never been featured on BlogHer except for a one line pull linked to the full post. Yes, that no longer happens on BlogHer. Instead, you can now actually BLOG using BlogHer's blogging platform.

    Forums and blogs are two different things on BlogHer.

    Click Create Content, choose "personal blog entry" and write a blog post. This post will appear in the "all posts" tab on the home page and will appear in the "all posts" tab of whichever "topics" you selected when writing the post.

    As for your personal blog, the only way to bring content from that blog into BlogHer is to add the RSS feed for it to your profile. This will pull in a line or two from your post recent posts.

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Mon, 07/30/2007 - 06:48
     

    Re: Blogging vs Forums

    This is perhaps the point that I've been most frustrated with. For whatever the reasons, the forum aspect of BlogHer is personally what I'm most interested in and is what I'd hoped was going to be improved upon with the redesign.

    I belong to several Yahoo! Groups as well as sites that use vBulletin type bulletin board software, and it's the posting of a topic and the subsequent replies that make those sites so vital. I see important topics everyday on BlogHer, but because of the way the site is set up, relatively few replies to them. This I think is unfortunate as it is the comments that I often find most interesting and educational. Take for example a site like Sax on the Web and look at the discussions taking place:
    http://forum.saxontheweb.net/search.php?do=getdaily

    Why BlogHer doesn't have a forum is something I don't understand as it certainly has the membership and wide range of topics to warrant it.

    anyhow...

    Thanks Denise,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Mon, 07/30/2007 - 07:17
     

    Yep, some good points

    Though I'm not a fan of Yahoo's groups or its forums, I agree that we can do better and we are. We've expanded the forum offerings, that's the first step. We do have other ideas on the table and we are discussing tweaks to the site that will make forums a bit more visible.

    Are forums our highest priority? No - because this is a blogging community first, and forums are support tools right now. :-)

    Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Mon, 07/30/2007 - 07:27
     

    RE: forums on BlogHer

    I spoke to a couple BlogHers at BlogHer '07 who mentioned that they were dismayed that they couldn't find the forums on the new site. I agree that "forums" is an understood concept that people enjoy and expect from an online community as something separate from blog posts.

    But perhaps we just need to transition how we think about it.

    SO nice meeting you on Sunday!

    Liz Rizzo

    I blog at Everyday Goddess and On The Lot.

    Submitted by Liz Rizzo on Mon, 07/30/2007 - 08:07
     

    RE: forums on BlogHer

    Thank you Liz. Glad to hear it's not just me! :-)

    Essentially what's going on here is a MySQL database and how that data is displayed and interacted with. vBulletin takes the data and makes a forum, BlogHer does something else. I don't see why there can't be both - the backbone (MySQL) of each is the same.

    Thanks again,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Mon, 07/30/2007 - 08:31
     

    Finding forums

    Making it a bit easier to find forums is on the list of things to do - they aren't going to be added to the "all posts" tab because that tab is for blog posts. But, we will make it easier. :-)

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Tue, 07/31/2007 - 12:02
     

    Where are the forums?

    > Making it a bit easier to find forums is on the list of things to do -
    > they aren't going to be added to the "all posts" tab because that
    > tab is for blog posts. But, we will make it easier. :-)

    I can't find them at all, sorry. I've posted several times to a forum here, but can't find the post listed anywhere except in my profile:

    For example, where are these on BlogHer?
    http://www.blogher.com/biodegradeable-cutlery
    http://www.blogher.com/world-and-way-it-would-be-without-bob

    Thanks Denise,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Tue, 07/31/2007 - 17:22
     

    To find forums, right now.

    You click Community. At the top there is navigation that says "member directory" "blog lists" "forums".

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Tue, 07/31/2007 - 17:36
     

    Re: To find forums, right now.

    Thanks Denise! :-)
    I could not find that link anywhere. For those interested, here it is:
    http://www.blogher.com/forum

    BTW, what is the significance of the envelope icons preceding each forum? Are they supposed to be hyperlinked to email sends? If so, I can't get them to work.

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Tue, 07/31/2007 - 17:44
     

    None and I hope they will disappear

    They are the default icon Drupal included to indicate a new forum folder. They are on the list to remove and replace. :-)

    (FYI Forums are also linked in the "using this site" page.)

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Tue, 07/31/2007 - 17:46
     

    Re: None and I hope they will disappear

    > (FYI Forums are also linked in the "using this site" page.)

    Yes, I just saw that. The link is in the middle of a paragraph in the the third section as a hyperlinked lowercase word. Somehow I missed it.

    The problem I've been having is that I'd click on the links in the left sidebar 'Topics' expecting those to take me to the forums. But they're not there, right?

    Thanks Denise,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Tue, 07/31/2007 - 18:14
     

    Re: All Posts is not

    > Also, my vote would be to call it Other Posts and
    > not include the editors posts there (Dept. of Redundancy Dept.).

    Maybe "All other posts" would be better?

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 10:34
     

    "other posts" or "all other

    "other posts" or "all other posts".

    How about Featured Posts, for the CE posts...and Member Posts, for everything else?

    Wheat Among Tares

    Submitted by Terri987 on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 14:07
     

    Missing comments?

    Hi Denise,

    One of my comments just disappeared - or at least I can't see it anymore:
    http://www.blogher.com/watch-these-videoblogs-blogher-07#comment-24673

    Thanks,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 14:21
     

    marked as spam

    The comment issue has been reported and the tech team is working on it.

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 14:55
     

    Re: marked as spam

    Does that mean it's been deleted and I need to redo it?

    Thanks Denise,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 16:50
     

    No it's there....

    Comments are there, and some of us are seeing them. Please don't repost them, I'm hoping we'll have this problem solved - the spam filter is learning its new environment and not quite up to speed yet. It's a little over-agressive in some areas.

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 20:57
     

    Posted to Forum

    Bronwen Davies
    http://www.flights-of-fab-fashion-fancy.com/

    I posted to the forum and I've discovered that I should have posted to the blog area. The forum postings do not come up under "All Posts" so no one's going to see my post.

    Help! If I post the same thing in the blog area will I be labeled a spammer? Don't want this to happen.

    Submitted by bdavies on Sun, 07/29/2007 - 00:39
     

    Why won't they?

    What's important is for you to decide if what you are going to write is a forum topic or a blog entry.

    People certainly do read the forums - many people subscribed to the forum RSS feed (which is working nicely).

    We would prefer you not duplicate your posts, in two places but if you want to give it a go, nobody is going to point fingers at you. :-)

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Sun, 07/29/2007 - 05:08
     

    Re: Why won't they?

    >We would prefer you not duplicate your posts, in two places ...

    Along those lines, having the editors posts also showing up in the All Posts section seems unnecessary - yes?

    Thanks Denise,

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com
    usedviolins.com
    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Sun, 07/29/2007 - 23:51
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