left hand sidebar causing issues
DaveM 13 Jul 2010
eternaltraveler 14 Jul 2010
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 14 Jul 2010
chrono 16 Jul 2010
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 16 Jul 2010
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.
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.Along these same lines, couldn't the user info area be about half as wide as it is now, pretty comfortably?
chrono 20 Jul 2010
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.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.
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 20 Jul 2010
There is a meeting tomorrow:
http://www.imminst.o...showtopic=42190
chrono 21 Jul 2010
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.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).
chrono 22 Jul 2010
nameless 23 Jul 2010
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.