Ok,ok, this is likely to disappearing into the maw — the very white page maw— of the site, but I need to get this off my chest: the redesign is making me crazy.
First, the site is loading like a giant bloated pig. Jeez, Nordstrom’s site loads faster. I’m spending way too much time waiting and then scrolling. I usually read on an iPad. You have to make this site lightening fast or folks will get frustrated and go away. The new font is too light, has too much surrounding white space, and is a nightmare for older eyes. We like comment titles for many reasons. Many of us collapse large threads and dip in and out based on comment titles. Many dKos titles were themselves works of art — perfectly crafted to form smooth or snarky transitions in an argument. I can't find my way to a comment on my comment without scrolling forever. Dumb. Front-page white space is crazy. Yeah,yeah, i’ve read all the arguments for it — it makes the site slicker, more au courant, more we’re-a-news-powerhouse-not -just-some-lefty-blog kinda thing. But what keeps people coming back? The comments and diaries, not the front page news. There, I said it. (Disclaimer: Meteor Blades diaries excepted from this rule). Those floating alerts in the lower left corner announcing the arrival of new comments? Beyond annoying. I feel like I'm in a foxhole and someone keeps screaming “Incoming!"I’m not a Luddite, just a practical person. And this is only my second diary in eleven years, so I guess my dander is up (and I’m not even sure I know where my dander is located).