Some of you may be aware that we've been working on a updated version of the site. While we'd love to just surprise you by switching it over, we're aware that there may be small problems and we'd like people to be able to check it out first. So, for that, we're opening up the new version of the site for you to check out, while the older version is still available.
Click below for the details.
Why did you do it?
Well, the old site was looking a little dated. It's been in place since 2001, and over the past few years, we've recieved a lot of useful suggestions and seen little inconsistencies that needed fixing. The new site fixes all the issues we were aware of, and adds some new stuff.
We wanted the new site to be faster for people on dialup, and support some of the new stuff that has come out in the last few years; like software for the visually impaired.
A rule when building the new site was to keep the interface and different bits of information as close in layout to the old site, so old links will still work, and all the resources (release schedule, reviews, etc.) are in pretty much the same places. There shouldn't be a "learning curve" or anything like that.
Anything in particular I should check out?
We've added label pages for all the labels we cover. So if you click on any of the icons next to a story, you can see lots of label related information, including recent stories and reviews. A lot of the different parts of the site are more tightly linked, like you can click on a persons name to see their favourite reviews, comments, or whatever. Try clicking on different things to see what kind of stuff is in there.
What if I don't like the new site and want the old one to be around forever?
We understand that some people don't like change; you're comfortable with one thing, so why should we change it? Well, you wouldn't be the first person to ask that; Adam and Scott were both scared when the new site was first revealed but since we've all started using it, you can see how much better it works and looks.
Aubin is still a little scared, but he drinks a lot of coffee so he might just be jumpy from the caffeine.
Will all my account stuff, comments, etc. still work?
Absolutely. You will probably have to log in again, but after that everything will be the way you left it. Speaking of which, if you lost your password, or couldn't figure out the horrible mess of the old password retrieval system, try the one on the new site as it's much easier.
Did you drop any features?
No; some things are a little simpler, like posting comments doesn't have that drop down that no one used anyway. There are some little "help" buttons on pages that explain some things a little better too.
What browsers will work?
The site was tested on Mozilla Firefox 0.8, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 and 6.0, Apple Safari 1.2, Omniweb 5.0 beta 4 Mac::IE 5.2, Opera 7, and pretty much any browser we could find.
It works nicely in text mode if you use Links
We've had to give up supporting Netscape 4.0; it still works, but it's not really as nice. Same for Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0. I wasn't even able to find a copy of that browser.
Can I use the old site and the new site at the same time?
Sure, why not. Both the old site and the new one use the same backend, so you can post comments in the new site and they'll show up in the old site; the same for reviews, story submissions or whatever.
Did you just do this so you could cram more ads in?
Absolutely not; we don't have any more ads on the new site than the old one.
What if I have problems?
You can click here to send an email with a report of your issue, and our trained team of web monkeys will get to it as soon as possible. Either that or throw stuff at you.
How long will the test period take
As long as it takes for us to make sure everybody is happy with the new site.
What's the damn link man? calvin.punknews.org