Thief of Words
Archivist for Hire
Since apparently this is the next step in the run-around I'm being given over where I can actually suggest things to do with the style, I guess this is the place to make my two suggestions regarding what was discussed there:
One: when you make sweeping changes to the site like this, you really need to do a better job to being open to feedback (even criticism) from your userbase. I know you guys come into this from a coding / programmer's perspective, so a lot of times you just think about what'll work the best on the under-the-hood perspective. I come from the perspective of the Library field (I'll have my Master's in it as of this December). When designing a system that exists to provide a service to users, its user-friendliness is a significant attribute. There were a lot of ways you could have done this a bit differently, such as taking feedback from users during the process or even just making little anouncements about the impending changes and making sure before you pushed them through, that they didn't cause significant problems for anyone. Instead, the reaction I feel like people got upon pointing out that they had issues with the site having undergone a change to near the photonegative of its old visuals were largely treated as if they were simply overreacting or as if their concerns utterly lacked validity. That's intensely disrespectful, and frankly, not expecting there to be opinions that might not always be in favor of every change seems a teensy bit naive. Having an admin make light of people's concerns (@Pineapple) only adds insult to injury.
Two: on the subject of those issues I mentioned above: they are there, and they're not inconsiderable. It is to the point that should the current style remain as stark and bright a white as it is, I will probably be spending less and less time on the site as a direct result of the change.
To bring over my explanation in the other thread to this one:
I find the new forced black text on white background for posts to be just as distressing as @Melissia does. Further the loss of color makes the site much less intuitive to navigate. I have to do a lot of reading for my master's program, so what reading I do in my own time for pleasure, I do on a device which displays light text on a dark background to minimize on eye strain. If I lose that option here, and it gets to be as bad of a problem for me as things had been in the past, then I may very well have to take months or longer off from the site simply because I cannot both complete my coursework and do this without it being detrimental to my ability to not get splitting headaches. I do not feel not wanting to spend days with not-quite-migraines is too much to ask for.
So, to the point of my post (or the TLR for lazy gits) :
Suggestion 1: Treat your users with more consideration and respect when you interact with them in an administrative aspect, please. And consider cluing in the user-base to the details beforehand when you plan to make changes as significant as this one, rather than just springing them upon us.
Suggestion 2: Consider finding an alternative to a stark white for a primary background. I know I am not the only person intensely discomfited by this.
One: when you make sweeping changes to the site like this, you really need to do a better job to being open to feedback (even criticism) from your userbase. I know you guys come into this from a coding / programmer's perspective, so a lot of times you just think about what'll work the best on the under-the-hood perspective. I come from the perspective of the Library field (I'll have my Master's in it as of this December). When designing a system that exists to provide a service to users, its user-friendliness is a significant attribute. There were a lot of ways you could have done this a bit differently, such as taking feedback from users during the process or even just making little anouncements about the impending changes and making sure before you pushed them through, that they didn't cause significant problems for anyone. Instead, the reaction I feel like people got upon pointing out that they had issues with the site having undergone a change to near the photonegative of its old visuals were largely treated as if they were simply overreacting or as if their concerns utterly lacked validity. That's intensely disrespectful, and frankly, not expecting there to be opinions that might not always be in favor of every change seems a teensy bit naive. Having an admin make light of people's concerns (@Pineapple) only adds insult to injury.
Two: on the subject of those issues I mentioned above: they are there, and they're not inconsiderable. It is to the point that should the current style remain as stark and bright a white as it is, I will probably be spending less and less time on the site as a direct result of the change.
To bring over my explanation in the other thread to this one:
I find the new forced black text on white background for posts to be just as distressing as @Melissia does. Further the loss of color makes the site much less intuitive to navigate. I have to do a lot of reading for my master's program, so what reading I do in my own time for pleasure, I do on a device which displays light text on a dark background to minimize on eye strain. If I lose that option here, and it gets to be as bad of a problem for me as things had been in the past, then I may very well have to take months or longer off from the site simply because I cannot both complete my coursework and do this without it being detrimental to my ability to not get splitting headaches. I do not feel not wanting to spend days with not-quite-migraines is too much to ask for.
So, to the point of my post (or the TLR for lazy gits) :
Suggestion 1: Treat your users with more consideration and respect when you interact with them in an administrative aspect, please. And consider cluing in the user-base to the details beforehand when you plan to make changes as significant as this one, rather than just springing them upon us.
Suggestion 2: Consider finding an alternative to a stark white for a primary background. I know I am not the only person intensely discomfited by this.