11 replies to this topic

[DaveM]

Don't know if the developers realize this but the left hand sidebar makes reading the site on a small screen like a smartphone (definitely on Android, possibly on iphone) impossible as it overlaps the forum posts. I don't see that it adds anything to the site anyway.

[eternaltraveler]

there is a smartphone version of the site that should detect your smartphone. It works great on my blackberry...

Perhaps you have your phone set to identify itself as something other than a phone?

Edited by eternaltraveler, 14 July 2010 - 01:27 AM.

[unregistered_user]

I find it to be a little obnoxious myself. It also takes me to back to my early web development days when people liked fixed container elements because they were trendy.

[chrono]

This feature lessens the available content area on every page of the site. I use a firefox plugin (tab kit) to arrange tabs vertically in a panel on the left side of my browser. And my monitor is pretty small to begin with.

I don't think that any of the links are things that will be used so frequently that they're worth taking up such a comparatively large portion of real estate, or need to be visible at all times. I feel like they're the types of items that would be more appropriate in another tab bar at the top.

Along these same lines, couldn't the user info area be about half as wide as it is now, pretty comfortably? The max avatar size is only about 1/3 the width of this area. And if we just put Groups: and Member/etc. (for example) each on a different line, it wouldn't even look that pinched.

[caliban]

Ok,

You can navigate the ImmInst forums and be completely oblivious about everything else that is going on other than the section you are looking at. Links in the header are one option but a) there isn't too much space and having two or three rows has proved inefficient, and b) from experience, many people ignore the the header.
YOU may know exactly what you want to get out of ImmInst, but new visitors heading straight for a particular thread may remain entirely unaware of other content.
Therefore, since 2008, the plan was to have a sidebar, and some people will have seen us experimenting with it for a few minutes off and on in the old forums. Ideally (trembling and gnash your teeth here!) I would like to move the right hand sidebar to the left, and have it appear not just in index view. However, there are technical difficulties with that atm. So the left hand sidebar is a stand-in, that will likely be populated with other links over time and probably an odd advert if we don't get enough clicks from other locations.

Now, the content therein can either be stuck to the top (so you have to scroll for it) or stay in place so that it is always to hand. I happen to think that the latter is more efficient and user friendly, but of course, secretly I am only it for some evolutionary reason or because I think its 'trendy'.

Now, the sidebar is causing real 'issues' that is obviously a cause for concern.
Frankly, the fact that it is new, in-your-face, or irrelevant in your eyes is not a real issue.
I accept the point about screensize and that is why the sidebar does not exist in the mobile phone skin. So, DaveM, your issue seems to relate to the fact that your Android isn't recognising the mobile skin. I have tested the forums in a 10' screen netbook, and, yes, if you are using a 800X600 resolution things become very tight, but everything else seemed entirely workable. That does not mean that it will work for everyone but with respect chrono, we can't accommodate every browser plugin - but you can make TabKit disappear with a single click and pull it back up with a mouse gesture.

Along these same lines, couldn't the user info area be about half as wide as it is now, pretty comfortably?

Yes that is right and I have taken 20px out of that frame. However, even on my laptop, text now runs on for quite a while - don't forget that some things that help on small screens can be detrimental in a different setting.

[chrono]

You can navigate the ImmInst forums and be completely oblivious about everything else that is going on other than the section you are looking at. Links in the header are one option but a) there isn't too much space and having two or three rows has proved inefficient, and b) from experience, many people ignore the the header.
YOU may know exactly what you want to get out of ImmInst, but new visitors heading straight for a particular thread may remain entirely unaware of other content.

This kind of functionality makes a lot of sense. We get very good google rankings, and it's nice to give new users a quick way to get a better idea of what goes on here. And I tend to ignore the header options unless I'm looking for something specific, so that makes sense too.

As it stands now, the sidebar provides general navigation, with a few specific examples like the book and film. But none of the links really provide the kind of overview that would draw new people into the site very quickly. The 'about' page is very general, short, and a little dry. I think it would be good to have a kind of "welcome" article linked here (in addition to the factual ImmInst 'about' page), that would provide a more verbose description of what we're about and what is discussed in the different sections of the forum. Especially useful would be a more engaging description of the Institute and the movement, current technology and research (including ImmInst projects), and what people can do here (discuss, get involved in teams, raise money, research health choices, etc). Also maybe links to other movement sites, like Longecity, SENS, MPrize, etc.

On a technical note, there seems to be a bug: after I reply to a thread, and it brings me to my new post, the side nav bar partially overlaps the userinfo box. This doesn't happen at other times. Maybe because I have the sidebar, and my screen is smaller than the assumed size for 1024x768? (EDIT: it didn't happen just now, but did with the last 2 threads I replied to. I'll see if I can figure out any common factors when this happens).

Edited by chrono, 20 July 2010 - 10:00 PM.

[caliban]

Chrono if you want to help on these and other matters, you are more than welcome to join the editors (content management).
There is a meeting tomorrow:
http://www.imminst.o...showtopic=42190

[chrono]

On a technical note, there seems to be a bug: after I reply to a thread, and it brings me to my new post, the side nav bar partially overlaps the userinfo box. This doesn't happen at other times. Maybe because I have the sidebar, and my screen is smaller than the assumed size for 1024x768? (EDIT: it didn't happen just now, but did with the last 2 threads I replied to. I'll see if I can figure out any common factors when this happens).

This has happened a couple more times tonight, when replying, and also in my messenger window. If I close the side pane I have open, it ceases to overlap, and does not do so when I re-open the pane. So it might be a peculiarity of my browser setup, after all. But I thought I would mention it, in case it has a tendency to do this on other small-width setups.

[chrono]

Another technical question: might it be possible to fix the position of the sidebar horizontally, so it doesn't follow you and obstruct content if you scroll to the right?

[nameless]

I find the left sidebar an annoyance. I have both a netbook and a smallish monitor, and it just takes up valuable screen space for no real reason. And yep, on small screens, when scrolling it overlaps the actual content people are trying to read.

An option of a horizontal sidebar would be much preferred, or better yet, an option to disable the sidebars entirely.

Edited by nameless, 23 July 2010 - 12:49 AM.

[jackdaniels]

Shockingly awful design, does not render properly on my phone either.

[chrono]

Regarding the mouseover pic for the conference, you may want to bring it up 100-200px, if you can. The bottom gets cut off on my screen, and so probably on some laptops/netbooks/phones/etc.

Attached Files

•  ImmInst - Left Sidebar Conference Cutoff.png   257.47KB   15 downloads