Thursday, May 01, 2008

Post Ratings and Template Changes

I've just added this cool widget to my blog and RSS feed, which lets you rate each post (out of 5 stars). It looks like a fun and convenient way to get more reader feedback...

Update: I just realized this won't function properly with my custom template, since the sidebar navigation lets you read posts other than the original page that the widget thinks you're still reading (rating). So, only those who read my blog via a feed reader will get to use this.

P.S. Perhaps I should revert to a more conventional template? I know that many readers were displeased by the change last year. Now that you've gotten used to it, what do you think?

Update II: Okay, I've fixed my template and reinstated the widget -- rate away!

I've also (1) added fade-in expandable posts, with thanks to Ramani; (2) restored author comment highlighting, as before; and (3) made various cosmetic tweaks (colours, borders, etc.). Do you like the new style?

12 comments:

  1. I like the old way better as it makes getting a permalink a tad easier.

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  2. The old, static way also makes it possible to search for comments using Google.

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  3. Nick - can't we do that already? (I think the Google spiders see the permalinked post page, which includes the comments in the same way as the main post. Or am I missing something?)

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  4. If you view the source of a permalinked page, you'll see that it in fact doesn't include the comments; and if you search for some text from a comment on that page, no results.

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  5. (I picked an old page to eliminate any possibility that Google just hadn't indexed that comment.)

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  6. Ah, I didn't realise that. Thanks.

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  7. Also I think the old static better in terms of web apps out there which help with tracking comments like co.mments and coComment.

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  8. I liked the old way better. I liked it better visually, and I also liked the commenting elsewhere section, which seems to have disappeared, although perhaps I'm just blind to it.

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  9. The 'Elsewhere' links now only show on the main page (below labels, above favourite blogs).

    Aesthetically, this new template is starting to grow on me. (I especially like that the main area is wider, allowing more space for text.) But any suggestions for further improvement are welcome...

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  10. Two thoughts from my point of view:

    1) I found it better when "elsewhere" appeared on all pages. I read via thunderbird, and always click through to individual posts to see comments. I have no reason to go to the main page. I would think that I'm not alone in this.

    2) I had actually thought that the main section was too wide. I thought that the optimal column width was somewhere around 10 words per line (a quick search suggests 12: http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/em/, the book in my lap has 9.)

    Alex

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  11. Okay, I've restored the 'elsewhere' links (and will think about narrowing the main section slightly).

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