Wednesday marks two years since the first Middletown Eye post, introducing this newsblog to Middletown readers. On Wednesday we'll have more to say on that topic.
In the meantime, since blopspot has coincidentally offered some new, and more flexible design options, we've (the editorial we), have decided to upgrade the logo (thanks to Scott Kessel), and provide what we hope will be a more attractive, easier to read, and easy to use, site.
As always, we welcome comments and assistance in trying to make the Middletown Eye an aesthetically-pleasing service to our readers.
The most welcome improvement for me would be captions on the photos. Identifying the people you picture would edify your readers and raise the level of the Eye's journalism.
ReplyDeletefix 'blopspot'
ReplyDeleteI hope you continue with the larger font. If it's any smaller we won't be able to read it.
ReplyDeleteI'm old and I don't like change. Where is the button to go back to the old view?
ReplyDeleteI like the look of the new logo. However, there is a lot of blank space all around it, and the logo and blank space take up over 1/2 of my screen's real estate, with no other functionality. It's a little boring, and means that right away we have to scroll down. This could easily be changed in Blogger, there are a lot of layout tools available.
ReplyDeleteHave a look at The New Haven Independent for an example of another local blog: http://newhavenindependent.org. Note the amount of useful links and info in the top part of the screen, all the way across the page. I like this site for a lot of others things besides design.
Type size and face/font issues: It looks like every post here on the Eye is in a different font and size. It's a jumble, and some are hard to read. Is this a feature, that the Eye allows each poster to pick their own type size? Or was it overlooked? It is possible to impose a style here, Blogger interface has a place to set fonts and sizes for posts. Please consider implementing a standard here, to keep it readable and attractive.
I would not like to see our blop get too busy like the example from Joseph. I think it is nice only having the links and extra stuff on one side. Ultimately, the content is what is most important, the content is what makes this blop what it is, and the content is what gives people the appetite (apatite? , apetite?) to read it. So in conclusion, I intentionally wrote "blop" so all the spelling commenters need not reply. One thing that is nice about having an online forum is that we can easily and quickly fix mistakes, but in my mind they are so unimportant I am always surprised when someone takes the time to point them out. Mistakes appear in print media too, but I doubt anyone writes a letter to the editor about it, unless, of course, it relates to an error in content. I think that was a fortuitous error as blogspot can be very testy. Blops away.
ReplyDeleteGo, Karen! I'm all for introducing "blop" into the language. I dedicate this neologism to the mighty Eye founders and reporters. "Blop" is what those valiant folks are doubtless tempted to do, many nights, rather than blog. They would rather blop on the couch, and let the Anonymi sit through a long, tedious, aggravating meeting after their regular work day, and then spend hours more writing reports, not editorials, so that the rest of us can stay informed.
ReplyDelete(In case fellow Eye devotees who know ancient Greek feel compelled to write in to tell me that the correct plural ending of an adjective ending in -ous is not -i, I must inform you all that "anonymous" is Late Latin, albeit based on the ancient Greek word that means "nameless.")
Where was I...oh yes, the Anonymi could get t-shirts, and march in the next Memorial Day Parade, dogging the heels of The Eye contingent. Their logo? An eye with an eye patch. The matching Anonymi masks would get kind of warm, but hey, anything in the service of free speech, yes?
Anonymi, in all seriousness, consider this: in the time it takes to write in about what is obviously a typo, you could go to The Literacy Site, click on a button, and donate books to kids who don't have any, with no cost to yourself whatsoever. Almost every word in any book so distributed is likely to be spelled correctly.
Or you could try to get those pesky Kit-Kat crumbs off your keyboard, and then post instructions for the rest of us. I could use the help.
Why is it that since the change, some computers are able to view the entire site and on others you can only see the logo and no web content?
ReplyDeleteAnon. 11 AM: I haven't had that experience yet, and I'm curious if others have.
ReplyDelete