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Featured Content on the Main Page


BowhunterNJ

Do you want to keep the Featured Content slider on the Main Page?  

38 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you want to keep the Featured Content slider on the Main Page?



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I hate it :-) It takes up a large amount of screen real estate, and sometimes when the site renders slowly, the content below it "skips" down once the featured content starts to render. So I think it takes up too much space and makes the site 'jumpy" when loading the page. It was the one thing that I noticed when I started watching this site - I did mean to ask you about it, but never did. I'm glad you asked! :) My vote - get rid of it.

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Hmm.. taking a closer look, I think the problem with the "jumpiness" of the main screen is also due to that top third of the site (which, BTW, is another bug-a-boo I have :) that top banner area is about a third or more of the site's height (not counting when you scroll - I'm talking actual screen real estate before scrolling down) - IMO way too much real estate being used for that) and it "jumps" because the images there are slow to load. Once those load, the entire bottom 2/3rds of the page content gets pushed down (that's the "jumpiness" I mean). I'm talking about those three white text bubble areas (the countdown clock, and the two other white text "bubbles" to the left of it). If you moved or got rid of that area (which looks to be Flash like the recent content - maybe my Flash is slow to load in my browser?) I would like it better. Again, just one person's opinion.

 

FWIW I see this on both Firefox and Google Chrome, running on Linux (Fedora 23).

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I don't care either way but it does make this site a little different than others, and catches your eye when you first log in. Maybe just keep it with pic's as a slide show etc without stories attached. And as members submit different pic's in various threads change them out every couple weeks or so which may make them feel more involved or part of the site jmo

I really like that idea.
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Here's an example of what I mean about too much screen real estate being used. See attached image... this is a screen snapshot of my browser window - notice I can't even see the list of forum threads until I scroll down - I can only see the top-third header area (which is closer to almost a half of the height), the ad area, and then the featured content which is about another third of the page. Only when I scroll can I even begin to see the forum threads. It is a little better when going to the "View New Content" page because that doesn't have the featured content - but that top header area is fixed on the website - so you always lose almost a half height of the site due to that header area; seems like wasted screen space. That's why I say it is using too much space - I would rather use most of that space to see the list of threads.

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Maybe I can move those header portions on a sidebar.

They are really meant to be quick/useful info links like:

- Upcoming season countdown

- NJDFW links to rules/regulations for what's in season (hunting, fishing, etc)

- NJDFW deer check-in links

 

I agree that it seems most members are interested in the forums primarily, and namely the "Recent Topics".

So maybe making that more of the "top real estate" would have more appeal.

I can also see if there's a way I can add user customization to show/hide the Featured Content so those who like it can keep it and those who don't can hide it.

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I use those features all the time, please don't get rid of them. To me they are part of what makes this nj forum better than any other.

 

I can access tax maps, regulations, etc all right from here. Love it...leave it or someone gets hurt! :letsparty:

“I have always tempered my killing with respect for the game pursued. I see the animal not only as a target, but as a living creature with more freedom than I will ever have. I take that life if I can, with regret as well as joy, and with the sure knowledge that nature’s way of fang and claw and starvation are a far crueler fate than I bestow.” – Fred Bear

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I use those features all the time, please don't get rid of them. To me they are part of what makes this nj forum better than any other.

 

I can access tax maps, regulations, etc all right from here. Love it...leave it or someone gets hurt! :letsparty:

 

I like the map links, too - I even asked BowhunterNJ to put a link to the pheasant stocking maps there (notice that one yet? :)

 

My problem is the amount of space it all takes up. The top header that takes over a third of the on-screen space is too much - shrink that. Give me the option to hide the featured content, and keep the very small horizontal menu (with the links to Mapping Tools, Hunting Resources, View New Content, etc) the same (notice how small in vertical space that menu takes? concise, easy to get to and use, and leaves room for other things).

 

BTW: BowhunterNJ (since we are evolving this thread to a "wishlist" :)) since you disabled the shoutbox, you should remove that from the menu bar and IMO replace it with a "Mark Community Read" menu item. Right now, the only way to mark everything read is to scroll allllll the way to the bottom to get to that. Having that in the menu (or somewhere close by rather than all the way at the bottom) would make things easier. I assume a lot of people are like me and use that feature to clear all threads as read (or filter out things - I like that Mark Community Read menu, very handy filtering features - but its hard to get to, having to scroll through all the content to get to it at the footer).

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I do notice that "jump" that you or someone mentioned mazzgolf. It has caused me to click on the wrong thing several times. Though that's what caused me to find Palawmans buck in the featured content so....lol maybe the jump is intentional. I click on random threads I may not have seen. lol

 

I can live with moving all of that stuff, as long as it's easy to access still.

 

I do like the countdown too....but if that's what causes the jump, maybe theres somewhere else to put it or something. I know absolutely zero about this stuff so...I don't want to make more work for Matt either. I'll use the forum regardless.

 

I was just re-watching the wounded warrior video and I got to thinking about how glad I am that Matt created this forum and thinking about how generous he always is in so many ways. So I just try to show support in the stupid little ways that I can by trying to post what I can or help with info. I can learn to live with anything, so you could make the site in chinese and I'd get a translator. So ultimately, it's up to you guys that know more about this stuff. 

“I have always tempered my killing with respect for the game pursued. I see the animal not only as a target, but as a living creature with more freedom than I will ever have. I take that life if I can, with regret as well as joy, and with the sure knowledge that nature’s way of fang and claw and starvation are a far crueler fate than I bestow.” – Fred Bear

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