Dec 4 2008
Dear Author Changes
[poll id="126"]Just wanted to apprise everyone of some minor, but hopefully helpful, changes here at Dear Author. First, we’ve deployed a Google Custom Search engine for DearAuthor so that you can get better search results. I’ve had many complaints about this (and rightly so) but I think that the Google search engine is the answer. Let me know what you think.
Second, I moved our RSS/Atom feed to Feedburner a month or so ago. One of the features of Feedburner is that it can control a subscription service. If you subscribe by email, you’ll get one email a day featuring the posts here at Dear Author. Please feel free to take advantage of that.
Third, Loonigrrl is going to be an official reviewer, rather than a guest reviewer so she is going to get a “J” name. Look for that change sometime soon. (And feel free to contribute your own suggestion. Loonigrrl’s name is Leslie but I don’t think that Jeslie is a very good “J” handle).
Fourth, WordPress 2.7 is launching soon. One of the features of WordPress 2.7 is “threaded comments”. This is where the “reply” comments are indented after the initial comment. The DA group has been debating this and we are on the fence. What are your thoughts?
Finally, DA is going to run some sort of ads in 2009 in order to fund ebook reader purchases for the entire DA reviewing crew. We are not going to turn DA into a profit center but I thought it would be nice for those who review for DA to reap some benefit. My goal is to have the ads be tasteful and geared toward our readership. They might not be ads of books. We haven’t decided that yet. But all the ads will be clearly marked as ads and ads will not affect the content of the site. Once we receive enough revenue to fund the ebook reader purchases, we will turn off ads and submissions of ads.
Please feel free to leave any kind of feedback in the comments even if you are “holy crap, this is the only ad free site I have on the internet, please don’t sell your soul for that.”
Send to Kindle
Dec 04, 2008 @ 12:57:15
Joonigrrl? =) Or just Joon. Like Benny and Joon.
Congrats to Loonigrrl. I like her reviews.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 12:57:46
How about Jessie for Leslie?
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:02:26
Congrats Loonigirl! I agree with the Joon/Joonie/Junie J names.
I voted keep the comments like they are, I’ve never been a fan of the threaded ones especially when people reply to comments up the line and you have a bunch of different indents and time stamps etc to make sense of.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:04:18
I can’t stand threaded comments. It really kills discussion by leading things off into dead ends. Please leave as is!
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:21:54
Congrats Loongirl!
I agree with Kalen. Those threaded discussions…they alienate me.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:27:29
What about Jaine? Or Jainn? or Jaynn? Or Janie? Or Jenny? Although i liked the person who suggested Joon.
I like the reply to comments idea. So many times you give up reading the thread because it goes off on tangents. Although I’m sure the reply indenting could get a little weird.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:29:09
Janelle?
Threaded comments can be useful for tangents, but I’ve seen some threading that’s very cumbersome to expand and contract. And, like rebyj said, it could be very easy to miss new comments that were made up the thread.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:30:41
We were throwing Joonigrrl around, too.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:35:59
Congrats! I absolutely love what you girls do on this blog, so keep going. The ads are a great way to fund ebook readers, what a brilliant idea. But please, don’t accept too many animated ones, because they make me crazy when I want to read a longer entry (like over at SBTB), and eventually I quit because because of the distraction. I am not quite sure about the threaded comment section, I can only say that as you handle them currently works very well for me…
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:37:51
I’m very fond of Joonigrrl myself, but Joon’s a good one too.
I was originally on the side of threaded comments but after some thought, I think it would be cumbersome for a site of DA’s size and for the types of discussions we have. And from an aesthetic point of view, the layout and comments can get very odd-looking after multiple indents, even with expanding and collapsing.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:41:36
I’m another one who was originally in favor but am being swayed by the arguments against threaded comments.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:42:34
Oh, and I really like the changes/upgrades you’ve been making. Feedburner should work really well for me – subscribing to comments has been a problem because my at home computer isn’t on during the day.
I don’t mind ads as long as they’re handled well, and it sounds like you have a good plan. Using ads to fund ereaders for the DA reviewers is totally acceptable to me.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:45:43
I’d prefer unthreaded comments.
You didn’t ask, but I’ll offer an opinion anyway: I don’t think you should turn off ads after paying for the e-reading devices for reviewers.
You are feeding a time-consuming, demanding blog. (I’m reminded of Little Shop of Horrors – like Audrey II, Dear Author just keeps getting bigger.) You could use ad revenues to fund trips to romance conventions for reviewers, or to buy books, or even for a once-a-month giveaway of an e-reader to a randomly chosen commenter.
Or, hey – for pedicures. Who here would say you don’t deserve it?
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:46:54
Love “Joonigirl.” Don’t mind ads, although thanks to my manky browser the ones with lots of flash and stuff cause loading problems.
HATE threaded comments. They kill conversations and make them difficult to follow. One of the fun things about comments here is watching the conversation grow and feeling like it’s okay to respond to replies made way back in the beginning; threaded replies always make me fee like the time to respond has passed, and I miss stuff anyway.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:48:30
Jess, Joon, June.
Non-threaded, I think. Threaded is only really effective when there are a small number of comments, and people are pretty good at blockquoting or @ing to make it clear who they’re responding to.
But, of course, you should do what you want! Including ads. Ads don’t bother me.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:50:18
Threaded comments suck, no two ways about it.
Half the time I give up on discussions on LJ because you can’t see which comments are new and you end up reading the same comments over and over again trying to find where the new ones are.
Once a certain number of replies accumulate, you then have to click on ‘expand’ to read them, which takes extra time. It’s a giant pain in the ass and I sincerely hope you won’t go there.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:50:21
Add another vote on the “no threaded comments” side. People here are pretty good at block-quoting the person they’re responding to. I used to really like the old AAR boards, which had threads, but that format took up the whole screen so it gave you more information. The threaded comment systems I’ve seen lately I find much harder to read.
Glad to hear you will all be reading with ebook readers soon! You work so hard on this site and provide such a wonderful service that ads seem like a small price to pay.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:51:19
Not thrilled with threads, either. And ads don’t bother me, but I agree with the poster who said that the animated ones are a pain.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:52:14
Congratulations to Joonigrrl… or whatever name is chosen… she does great reviews… which I thought were being plagerized on Amazon until the lightbulb went off in my dull, dark, brain.
Regarding advertisements; Whatever keeps your balloon afloat works.
I can’t stand the threaded comments for all the reasons Jia mentioned.
Thanks for asking!
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:57:31
I agree with Hortense. I really think you ladies deserve a little something for all your work and dedication, and I wouldn’t be upset if you kept ads up and running after you’ve bought your e-readers.
How else would I know to look for a new, non-publishing job if it weren’t for you ladies at Dear Author? (Just kidding. Kinda.)
Dec 04, 2008 @ 13:58:09
The worst threading I’ve seen is on Alternet.com. It drives me crazy. Otherwise, on sites with less than 50 comments on a thread, on average, I find it very helpful.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:06:38
I’m no fan of threaded comments for the reasons listed.
I’m perfectly fine with ads as long as they are labeled as such, although when I’m on a book-oriented site, I prefer ads that having something to do with books. And I have no fear DA content will be affected by advertising.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:09:41
Yay, loonigrrl!
I’m a fan of Joon, Jooni, Joonigrrl.
I voted for threaded comments. But I haven’t had problems following conversations here, so if they don’t change, it’s all fine, too.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:14:36
How about Loon Jirl? :P
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:18:00
To be honest, I didn’t notice you were ad-free! :P I use RSS so I won’t notice it there until you include it in the feeds. I think you should monetize your site – I’m sure you’ll keep the content true and unbiased like it has been.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:20:10
Congrats, loongrrl.
I don’t like threaded comments, but I can manage.
As to ads, as long as they aren’t flashing and blinking or those stupid pop-ups, I don’t care.
:)
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:23:24
I like Joonigrrl as well! Congrats! I don’t have a problem with ads, but I hope that you don’t have threaded comments. I’m not a big fan of them.
~ Popin
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:26:11
I will be the lone pro-threaded comments voice. I’ve seen them on other blogs and after some initial “whoa, what’s this,” I’ve gotten used to them and begun to prefer them.
The only example I can give about why threaded comments work better for me is a recent discussion I had with a few folks on another site. We went back and forth about, eh, the hotness of Eric the vampire in the Sookie Stackhouse books and how they better damn up his hotness HBO’s ‘True Blood.’ (Gad, is that a FAKE NOSE on beautiful Alexander Skarsgard? Halp!)
This little chat wasn’t really on the post’s original topic anymore, but I felt less like I was jacking the thread because it was somehow ‘encapsulated’ in one spot. Also, I know that as a reader, threaded comments have become easier for me to read — or not read: If I see something I’m not terribly interested in (how hot vampires are affected by Eastern European nations shifting to a free market economy or whatever), I can just skip that in its entirety and move on to something juicy.
Congratulations, Leslie.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:27:35
Threading usually slows page load time, so I vote against it. Plus I like how open unthreaded posts are.
Congrats to loongrrl.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:31:34
Threaded comments kill discussion. You end up with the original poster holding forty different tiny little one-on-one conversations, most of which duplicate each other and only about .01% of which ever take off into something interesting. Ick.
Angie
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:33:29
I voted against threaded comments, too. While they worked for me on the old AAR boards, that’s how it was when I started going there, so I just adapted to it. But the times that I’ve visited places like Fangs, Fur, and Fey, the threaded comments have made me crazy (the word “fractured” always comes to mind when I try to sort through the various threads). So while I would probably adjust to threaded comments here, I personally don’t think any of our conversations become so unwieldy that they require threaded comments. Plus I like that the discussions become so comprehensive from the different points that are raised along the way. I think we’d lose that with threaded comments, even while it might be easier for reader to pick and choose their sub-topics of discussion.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:35:29
Regarding animated ads, yes, please don’t ever use them. They irritate my peripheral vision to the point where I can’t read anything else on the webpage. I’ve gotten to the point now when I click on a site that has an animated ad, I just click away from the site immediately. It’s just too uncomfortable.
I also vote for non-threading. I find comment post conversations easier to follow at Dear Author than at LJ or any other place using threads.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:40:35
Congrats, loonigirl! How about June or Joon (as in Benny and…) or Jennie?
And, as long as the ads are tasteful, go for it.
And doesn’t Google Custom Search rock? Love Google Webmaster Tools! I actually use it a lot at work.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:52:15
Okay, another opinion that pretty much matches with everyone else..
Love any version of the “Joon.” Very clever and fun! Congrats!!! Love her reviews.
I think threaded comments are a bummer and can make “conversation” clumsy. I don’t care about ads – if it keeps the place up and running I am all for it. Ya gotta do what you gotta do.
Peace.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 14:53:36
For what it’s worth, I’m not a big fan of threaded comments.
And congrats Joongirl….er, I mean Loongirl!
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:01:45
HATE threaded comments. They are annoying and so hard to read!
Threaded comments were designed for content organization of multiple topics, not as a communication tool for a single topic.
Joon or Joongirl are great names, but that is a minor issue. Her reviews are what counts. Welcome aboard!
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:03:01
Okay, I have a question for you guys re: the ads. When Croco Designs revamped the site’s layout, in exchange we agreed to run some ads for her. We have ads in the sidebar right now. Does anyone find those obtrusive or annoying? That would be useful to know since we’ll have to come up with requirements and such for the ads once we open up submissions.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:07:31
Great news, loonigrrl will be a regular reviewer!
For name suggestions…the J’s are currently: Jane, Jayne, Jia, Janine and Janet. The ‘a’ is also a constant, so perhaps a similar spelling for Leslie aka loonigrrl: Jackie, Jasmine or Jade.
I voted no threaded comments, for the same reasons GrowlyCub mentioned. And no matter the reason (reviewer purchases or blogger pedicures), ads are absolutely fine.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:11:24
We also have Jan, Jennie and Joan on the crew…
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:12:55
@Jia: No, I think they are well done. Not annoying at all (and I like that they are clearly marked “Ads” at the top.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:14:06
Regarding ads… I don’t mind ads at all except for those “adwords” or whatever they’re called, where a word is highlighted and if your mouse goes anywhere near it a box pops up with links. I HATE that.
Sidebar ads or header/footer ads, not a problem at all.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:14:36
Jia, upon reading the advert policy, the first thing I did was note the ad displayed. It’s perfectly acceptable and not intrusive.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:16:11
The Croco ads look nice! They don’t jump all over their assigned space either though. And they’re sharp ads.
Those types are great and I too think you should continue them. You all work very hard here and deserve a little treat!
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:16:21
Ah, need the list of contributors back!
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:17:28
I like June, Jordan, Janey, Jamie.
I’m not sure I understand the implications of threaded comments. I often reply to a general idea in a thread rather than a specific person. Would I have to choose one or the other? And would the replies be hidden? I can imagine the first could inhibiting, and the second bothersome.
I liked the “recent comments” feature.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:18:13
And for some reason, the board didn’t like my post!
Hate, hate, hate threads. I’ve left two blogs that I used to really enjoy because suddenly, I had to search through everything to read them and I never felt comfortable touching on more than one subject in one post. I ended up dividing comments and it got to be a total PITA.
Much prefer this format. But, that’s just me.
Ads…fine, but I agree with the others. The pop-up/flashy/scrolling/animated ones distract from my ability to read what’s going on. My eyes are drawn to the ads and not to the content.
And congrats Loonigrrl!! I like anything Joon too :D
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:24:28
Threading drives me bonkers. Ugh. Very distracting and confusing.
I think you need a Judy. Judy, Judy, Judy (a la Cary Grant . . . I think). It’s got that girl-nextdoor sound. I’d happily have an alter-ego named named Judy!
Dec 04, 2008 @ 15:32:57
Joonie gets my vote – congrats to Loonigrrl, I look forward to reading more of your reviews.
No threads gets my vote as well.
As for ad – I don’t mind them, but am in the camp of no flashing ones. I find them distracting when I am reading. And I agree also, keep them up and use the resulting spoils to spoil yourselves – you deserve it.
Jia – to answer your Croco Design question. I don’t mind that at all. In fact, I was quite excited to see that the new Lauren Dane book was out. I knew it was coming, but didn’t know when. That the ad came with an excerpt of the book was lovely!
Fabulous job on this site ladies. It is on my “must visit daily” list. Not only for your reviews which I find to be well written, informative and usually spot on with my reading likes and dislikes, but I very much enjoy the discussion threads on items relevant to the book buying/reading public. (example – the ereader reviews and comments was especially helpful and timely; the discussions on author bio’s and pictures were interesting.)
Dec 04, 2008 @ 16:00:15
My first thought was of “Jessie,” but having read others’ comments, I think I prefer “Joonigirl.”
On the subject of threaded comments, I don’t care for them, and would most likely end up reading only the parent comments on any high-traffic discussion.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 16:32:42
I like both of these!
Dec 04, 2008 @ 16:55:51
@Jill Sorenson: It’s still there. There’s a box on the right with “Industry News,” “New Comments,” and “New Posts” tabs. Roll over the tabs.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 17:48:36
As a relative newcomer and now twice daily visitor, I have to say the lack of threads here is one of the many, many reasons I like this site. While I see comments go off on a tanget once in a while, the current way it is set up seems to naturally minimize that tendency without curbing anyone’s freedom to comment. I find threaded comments cumbersome and stay away from sites that use them.
I don’t have a problem at all with the ads (although, I agree flickering ads are very annoying). I think if the ads are successful for you, continue them after you’ve reached your goal. Not only may there be future reviewers to supply with readers, but who knows what is on the horizon for ebook formats?
Dec 04, 2008 @ 17:51:31
Being an LJ-user, I will happily read threaded / non threaded.
As I also have AdBlockPlus, I don’t give a monkey’s about ads either, so you go right ahead – I didn’t even realise till I read the comments that you had an example ad up!
As long as you maintain your scrupulous impartiality as regards content / comments, I think you should do whatever it takes to maintain and defray the costs (in time, and dinero) of running the site.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 18:07:57
Also throwing my vote in for no threads. I like the way the comments are structured here to engender discussion. One of my favorite timesuck websites, Jezebel, switched to threads, and it’s just not the same anymore. Of course, that doesn’t stop me from wasting yet more time there…when I’m not on DA, of course. :)
Dec 04, 2008 @ 18:22:40
Welcome to loonigirl
How about Junie Moon, as in Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon.
And I vote no threads. I like the randomness.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 18:40:16
The ads are appearing in my friends list page through your LiveJournal feed. I can understand why you have them, but I’m going to unsubscribe if they stay.
Which probably doesn’t mean much, since I’m a full on lurker, but I thought I’d speak up.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 18:44:23
Flickering ads give me a headache, so I tend to avoid sites that use them. Still, I don’t mind you having ads, whatever the reason. Why not? As to threads, don’t like those either (started to sound crotchedy here) so I’d probably just read the contents and not the comments if DA went to that.
I also vote for Joongrrl.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 18:51:15
Congrats Loonigrrl! Talk about timing- “ebook reader purchases for the entire DA reviewing crew”- you hit the perk-o-meter jackpot! ;-p
I’m liking the different versions of Joonigirl because they are associated with your current identity- Joon/June, Joonie/Junie, Joonette/Junette, Joonelle/Junelle, Joona/Juna.
In THEORY, threaded comments seem like a great idea. However, my only experience with them is on Yahoo Groups and LJ– both of which I stop following after the first few comments because it just gets way too confusing. I thought I was the only one, but after reading the comments here, I realize that I’m far from alone.
Go for the ads, Jane! I don’t even mind the animated ones if they change SLOWLY- like a gradual fade out/in. But please no rapid fire screen shifts. And for Pete’s sake– go ahead and keep those ads up indefinitely!
Dec 04, 2008 @ 19:20:58
Just in case this info is new and helpful to you — Yahoo Groups posts can be threaded or not threaded, according to how you set them.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 19:57:02
@Harry: We have a livejournal feed?
Dec 04, 2008 @ 20:02:09
Ads are fine, threads suck, and Junie (and Joonie) makes me think of Junie B. Jones. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 20:02:42
@Jane: The ads that were added to the feed went live today. I know you announced this a couple months back but the actual ads didn’t appear until today. I certainly didn’t see them in Google Reader until today.
(The LiveJournal feed is basically just a syndication of the Feedburner feed. It’s here: http://syndicated.livejournal.com/dearauthor_com/.)
Dec 04, 2008 @ 20:05:52
@Jia: I just figured out how to get them working. Wow, some are really annoying. I think I’ll change it to text ads only.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 20:08:26
I just went and looked the Adsense account. We’ve made a whole 57 cents today. I can see that this is going to take a while to fund an entire ebook reader going the Adsense route. :)
Dec 04, 2008 @ 20:28:20
Not necessarily, Jane. You’ve just started this. Give it some time.
And unless you just now changed the ads to text, I wasn’t seeing them on the LJ feed either, though I use Firefox and that could be why…
Dec 04, 2008 @ 20:54:25
@Jane:
A lot of people, including me, with Firefox, use Adblock – I didn’t even realise you were using Google Ads. It’s a fact of life, unfortunately. I suffer from it as well – Uniquely Pleasurable has had google ads for three years and I have yet to reach the $100 threshold to receive a payment.
Why not *sell* ads to authors, like those you have for Croco designs? It works for the Smart Bitches, and WordPress has some plugins which should make management easy. A bit of a pain from the account keeping side of things, but since you’re expanding your team so much, maybe one of them could help?
I vote for no threads and Joonbug :)
Dec 04, 2008 @ 20:59:54
Honestly, I have no desire to do ads on a regular basis because I have heard it is a) very time consuming and b) there are the clients to deal with who can sometimes be difficult and c) the content can be bad. One great thing about Adsense is that I don’t have to deal with any of the above issues.
So that is why I won’t do ads in the long run. Too many complications etc. I’m happy to do it for a good reason which is to fund the purchase of ebook readers for the reviewing crew because Dear Author wouldn’t be DA without all the great content that the others provide, but it’s not worth the hassle at this point to keep it ongoing.
I may change my mind but that’s where I am now.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 21:27:36
@Jane:
Understandable. I think you’ll do much better at Google Ads than I have because your web traffic is a billion times greater. Hope so, anyway.
Dec 04, 2008 @ 22:55:13
Mary K,
Thanks! I didn’t see the New Comments hiding over there. : )
Dec 05, 2008 @ 00:12:57
I think I can _withstand_ads if it’s for a good cause.
Honestly, I hate ads and avoid sites that have them but if it’s temporary, I think I can live with that or at least if you decide on a permanent change to use them, please don’t use anything animated. I beg you.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 00:51:56
Thanks everyone!!! And thank you for all the great suggestions!
I love all the variations on Joon. I’m probably leaning toward Joonigrrl or Joonigirl- I just really like the sound of it. Although I like Joon/Joonie a lot too. Must decide!!
:)
Dec 05, 2008 @ 03:06:17
For some reason I thought threaded comments meant the ability to quote people without comments collapsing into one-line summaries, which I DO hate.
So…take one vote off of the threaded comments side and put it on the NO, I like it the way it is side.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 03:44:29
Congratulations Loongrrl!
I don’t mind the ads – they don’t bother me at SBTB.
As to the threaded comments – no thank you.
Other than that, the website looks great Jane – well done! I really appreciate the efforts of you and the other DA “J”s.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 05:22:31
I find threaded comments in forums extremely irritating, I steer clear from them in the forums I manage, including my kinship’s forum (which I co-admin with my husband) in Lord of the Rings Online. Other than that, the other changes sounded fine to me.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 08:31:39
Nothing to do with threads or new J names, but did you know the link for the comments feed at the bottom of the page is fubared?
feed://http//dearauthor.com/wordpress/comments/feed/
And is there any particular reason that all of a sudden the Dear Author comments feed stopped working yesterday?
And yes, google text ads started popping up on google feedreader too, just the last few days
Dec 05, 2008 @ 08:47:50
@Anne Douglas: I did “burn” the comments feed. I’ll see if I can’t fix that.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 08:57:05
Jane – I might have been premature, that link might be right (although when I tried to enter it manually on google reader it didn’t like it), I followed it and used the link on the feedburner page and it worked. Not sure why my original one stopped though?
Dec 05, 2008 @ 09:22:06
I have no problem with ads. I use them on my site — not for profit, but to pay the costs of the site.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 10:25:23
@MaryK: Well, looks like Feedburner doesn’t work for comments after all. Bummer.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 10:28:30
@MaryK: I’ll fix it tomorrow. Have alot of stuff to do today though.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 10:55:19
@Jane: Oh, you mean this isn’t your real job? ;)
It’s no big deal. I’ve waited this long. I must say, Jane, you’re amazingly productive – lawyering, reading, blogging, sewing, not to mention mothering and wife-ing. It makes me tired just thinking about it!
Dec 05, 2008 @ 11:01:38
Ads are fine if they’re low-bandwidth and static: no animation, no Flash, no popups, and please please please, nothing audible. (PLEASE do not ever accept book trailers.)
I dislike threaded comments.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 11:07:19
I’m fine with ads, on a temporary or permanent basis, but please — no animated ads. Smart Bitches takes forever and a day to load on my work computer because each animated ad has to load before I can navigate the page in order to, y’know, read the entries.
I voted for threaded comments, mostly because I want to have the option to post a comment that is not-quite-germane to the entry without feeling like a threadjacker. Also, I’ve been using LiveJournal for 5+ years and have no problem posting multiple comments to the same entry, depending on whether I’m responding to another commenter or to the original post. It’s like being at a party and moving in and out of different conversations. *g* Just please don’t go the Jezebel route in terms of format — I’m already weary of having to click-to-expand any comment longer than one line or any thread longer than one comment.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 12:10:54
I’m not quite sure how the threaded comments would be structured, so it’s hard to vote yea or nay. My one reason for liking threaded comments would be that some of the discussions would stay alive longer. My brain being as slow as molasses in January, I sometimes think of things to say a few days after a post appears. By that time there’s often little or no point, as the discussion on that topic is complete and everyone else has moved on. So it can be a bit frustrating, even if being somewhat behind the times is not a new experience for me so I should be used to it by now.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 13:16:44
Loonigrrl + Jane name = Jester, of course! ^^
Oh and re: threaded comments – as a WordPress and LiveJournal user I’m fine with whatever you do.
Dec 05, 2008 @ 14:08:15
Jane,
any chance you could move the feedburner subscription window to below the comment window on the page? I understand why it’s there, but it’s really in the way when I’m trying to get to the new comments and causes me to scroll. Since I have a bum shoulder, the less I have to scroll the less pain is involved in feeding my internet/DA addiction. :)
Thanks.
Dec 06, 2008 @ 17:28:27
Can’t vote for some reason, but I like the comments as they are.
As for the ‘J’ names, I understand it’s one of the site’s foibles, but they confuse me. I visit most days, but my clapped out brain refuses to differentiate between one ‘J’ and another – I’ve no sense, for example, of whose taste in books I share – because I don’t retain an idea of who reviewed what.
Joongirl would be great, because it’s memorable (Jo, Jezebel, Jeremiah – anything that doesn’t have a Jane/Jayne/Jaana look to it.)
May 16, 2011 @ 13:59:08
Your site looks good, and I do like to be able to scroll through comments quickly after I read a post. A Google search bar never hurts, but will take people away from your site (unless you set it to search within your site only).