Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Technical Help and How To's New Archive Look

Just noticed that the Archive site has been revamped. Looks good. Thanks for all the hard work!

The FAQ's been updated, too. And still in the future, with the update having happened in December 2017 So much hard work. You guys are awesome!

Michael

Um... not at all keen, to be honest. I'm sure it works very nicely on a device screen, e.g. an iPhone or something, but I've got a 23" monitor here and it's giving me a screen that's presenting four or five lines of text. Even on the smallest text size I'm only seeing about half of the options when I want to choose a story - and the story button is really small compared to most of the text on the opening screen. People do want to look at other things beside the newest stories occasionally.

If the only way to get to what I want to read is going to be to navigate through a lot of screens like that I'm probably not going to bother.

Most sites I use that do this have two or three different settings - one similar to the old view for computers with big screens, one for smaller devices that can still present quite a lot of data, such as iPads, and one for iPhones etc. See e.g. Twisting the Hellmouth, that does this quite well.

I appreciate that this has been a lot of work, but it's seriously putting me off the site. Is there any way that it can continue to cater to those of us who prefer an older style?

Yeah, I noticed the change last week. Hadn't said anything but now that you mentioned it.... I think it's a good change and I know the site needed some revamping, BUT speaking as a web designer myself and Mobile Developer I'm not that crazy about it. I can appreciate it took a lot of hard work to do and I'd even be willing to offer my services (for free of course) if anyone needs help, but the biggest turn off for me is the presentation you get when you arrive on the homepage.

Pros
Mobile Friendly
Updated Info on the site
Great Look!
You can navigate where you need to on mobile devices

Cons
Search Bar? Where are you Oh Search Bar? Oh, there you are...hidden a few pages down. (Not ideal at all)
Search results pull up broken links to stories
Homepage looks like a stretched out version of the mobile site. (Too Big. Too...everything. It just doesn't read well. Maybe try a slideshow or something instead to scroll through posts)

The copy on the home page requests readers to submit issues including errors to the webmaster via GMail or Yahoo Mail. The webmaster's link is listed twice, both in the copy and further down in the footer. I just submitted an email this AM with my issues.

Thanks - I'll do the same.

I'm on my way out of town, so I'll be brief. I agree the first screen is way to big on my desk computer. What I really like is the quick way to get a story and upload it to my computer.
regards
Artemis

The main screen is too big on the computer. Navigation is good. I know a lot of hard work went into it.

Change is difficult, especially for people still obsessed with characters from a TV that has been off the air for 20 years. I can easily recall the uproar when these Message Boards changed, but we adjusted. We'll adjust to the new Archives, too, once all the kinks have been worked out.

I usually only visit the Archives while using my desktop computer monitor (or on my Nook... which is currently gathering dust, somewhere... I'll have to recharge it to see how the site looks on it.) I know many people use only cell phones to browse, but I can't read on that small a screen, it gives me a headache. The Nook is okay for reading, I guess, but it doesn't keep a charge, so annoying. My school district has a button, so you can toggle between two screen formats -- a desktop version and a travel sized (?) version (or at least you can when looking on the website on my cell phone). One of the things I HATE about the new Windows 10 is that it assumes that it's being used on a laptop or traveling device. You'd think that a company as big as MS would be able to develop a system that could tell the difference between a desktop system and a traveling system. (Off soapbox.)

I found the new look of the Archives is missing something... a hook perhaps. It's a bit bland. It needs something that draws the browser to stay and look around. Photos perhaps? Lois and Clark shoved into the crest are so faint in the red logo, you can't even see them. Although Lois is dark enough to blur the S of the crest, so new readers (and even some old ones) might be left going, 'huh?' What IS this page? Or is that on purpose, so we don't tempt new readers to come and find us?

I miss the quick list off to the left to jump exactly where I want to go (Author, Title, etc...) I did navigate around using the new drop-down menu (hovering my mouse over Stories). The font seems to jump to different sizes with every page switch. Also, a flash of text is visible on screen with every jump, which I found blinding.

The couple of links I tried (under my stories) seemed to work; although, I found the light grey font so light it was difficult to read. We don't have the eyesight we did 20 years ago, either (alas).

And my alias changes between its correct spelling without the space to one with a space. (Or vice versa, as the incorrect spelling is the one used on the author page, but not on the individual story pages). Sigh. You'd think I could look past this oft repeated mistake, but alas... I'm afraid I'm getting persnickety in my old age. At least, I'm not Virgyna as I was recently called by a robo-appointment reminder. /eye-roll/

I appreciate the work that went into updating the archives, and am grateful that after all these years, over four thousand stories still have a home. Those stories represent countless hours of work, the emotional heart of the authors, and the friendships built between a diverse group of people from around the world.

I am disappointed by the loss of the Kerth Award graphics. The ribbon permanently attached to the story in the archives is the one tangible thing an author wins, but it has now been stripped away. The ribbons were marked with the year in which the stories won; that historical context is now gone. Viewers no longer have a sense of how an author developed over time, can no longer easily see when they were actively writing. The thin boxes that now mark winners are easily overlooked and lack explanation. For example, Wendy Richards has several stories with two boxes - what did they represent? Why do the boxes look like Chinese characters on my phone?

I took a great deal of pride in my virtual ribbons, and must say that I was hurt when I saw they were gone.

Having taken a lot more time looking over the update version of the archives this is my additional take:

I agree with Groobie completely. All the writers in this fandom have worked very hard on writing our stories, sometimes getting up early in the wee hours to finish a scene that pulled the entire fic together.

We want to encourage other readers and writers to visit the archives and enjoy the wealth of stories proudly displayed there. But sadly, this revamp is rather sterile. There is not a single picture of our favorite reporting duo.

It is hurtful that all our awards have been stripped down to something less than an emoticon.

I like seeing the awards. They tell me that this is a good story, one I can settle down and enjoy at the end of a long day.

I agree with groobie and Morgana on the Kerth Awards.

I liked the little statuette icons. When my 'winner' one first went up, I took a screenshot of it and sent it to one of my betas. Those little ribbons were a source of pride. The new icons appear bland and meaningless, and I miss the year marker.

I do also miss the little pictures of Lois and Clark.
Other than those two points, I do like the new look; I think it needed an update, and I'm happy it's been made more mobile friendly.

I really appreciate all the time and effort that must have gone into the new design, but I, too, prefer the look of the old web site. There are so many stories on the site that it can be a bit overwhelming, especially when someone first visits it. The awards information helped me to choose whose stories I would try out. I also liked seeing the years with ribbons.

My big problem, though, is with the font colour. The lightish grey makes it harder for my aging eyes to see. Also, if given my druthers, I would prefer Times New Roman -- yes, the font is boring, but that is precisely its strong suit -- it doesn't draw attention to itself, so the focus can be on what is written and not on the font itself.

I am definitely in favour of making the site easier for mobile users to use, but please don't make that ease at the expense of those who still use a desktop.

I feel almost guilty airing my thoughts on this one, given how much time others have volunteered making the changes, but since the changes were made to enhance the user experience, I am hoping that honest feedback would be appreciated and would help shape the next round of changes, whenever they may be. Once again, my thanks to all who have put in countless hours to make the stories continue to be accessible.

Joy,
Lynn

I'm completely enthusiastic about the fact that the site is now mobile-friendly, since I loved using it from my phone. Overall, I like the redesign fairly well (though, I'm not actually sure I like it more than the old one - it was more "old-fashioned" but very charming and gave you quick access to whatever you wanted to look at, while this one feels a bit too expanded/"decompressed"), but there are several complaints I agree with.

I don't think the text style is really that good for reading something as long-form as fan fiction. The font strokes are a little thin and there's a bit too much space between lines. A more traditional serif font with little line-spacing seems a bit more appropriate. This is more notable on desktop than on mobile for me. Thankfully, this should be a pretty quick and easy fix.

I agree that it doesn't look the same with nondescript ribbons rather than actual Kerth Award graphics, and there's a severe lack of images (though, to be fair, this is a problem with many fanfiction sites, including the previous incarnation of this one, to some extent). What's a website without pictures? Especially a fansite for a show starring a beautiful couple! Because I'm learning web development skills myself right now, I was actually thinking that maybe I could help to make a carousel or something that shows latest/featured stories accompanied with a screenshot from the show which matches that story, or something like that. Not sure if that's a good idea or not, but it's what came to mind.

Overall, I support the efforts to add features, give the site a nice new look, and make it mobile-friendly, but I also hope they continue to fine tune.

I just visit the Archives with my Nook and noticed that I can download some of the newer stories but some of the older stories weren't available in other formats. Is this something that is being fixed? I only ask because my Nook stays charged longer if I'm not online. WiFi is a total battery drainer and I'd like to be able to read and bookmark stories.

If you're looking for suggestions, I was trying to download the C. Leuch series that goes with her Gotham Nights story. The first story, from 2000, "The Dawn of Discovery" isn't available in other formats and neither is "How I spent my Summer Vacation" (the next story, also from 2000).

Also, when I click (or tap as the case may be) on the title of the story, listed under the author's name, it opens the story in the middle, instead of at the beginning, so I have to scroll up to the beginning. A minor annoyance.

If a story you want to read isn't available in a format your e-reader can use, you can use an online file converter. There's a number of them available; I have found that Zamzar works well for me (I have a Kindle).

Not all the stories have made it to epub etc on the Archives but there's a separate source here: http://www.lcfanfic.com/wiki/doku.php

Michael

Thanks, Michael! I thought that site was connected to the Archives. It has the stories I'm looking for in epub. You're the best! /endless hours of distraction ensues/