Release Notes: Tada!
When Team Vox isn't busy making elaborate jokes involving candy, shamelessly exploiting the office dogs to win Webby Awards votes and popping over to Honolulu for Vox user meetups, we actually do get a lot of real work done around here. Here's what's new for you today:
[comments are good]
We've
heard your feedback that you want more open commenting, and today we're
releasing the very first step in making that happen. Now an
unregistered commenter can type up their comment and when they click to
post it, they'll be taken to a streamlined version of our registration
form. They'll still have to register, but hopefully this setup will
make it easier.
This is the first step in a longer plan we're working on to make commenting more open, while trying to keep control over comment spam and avoid some of the downsides of anonymous commenting. More details to come!
Post and Asset Links
You'll
notice we shuffled the links around your posts and assets. When you're
viewing your own blog, your admin links (the links only you can use or
see - such as edit, add to group and delete) have been moved to their
own line, separated to show they are not part of the post itself.
Links for readers, such as comment and share, have been moved to the
bottom of the post.
Growing Groups
We've added RSS subscription links for groups, so your feed reader can stay up to date on when new posts are added. Just scroll down to the bottom of any group's home page to find it.
Another addition to the groups home page is excerpts of all the latest posts. We hope this gives you a quick way to skim some of the latest updates, and also a nice way to preview a group before you decide to join.
New Themes
You asked for it, and
you got it: a few themes for new moms and moms-to-be! We've also added the
much-anticipated winning designs from the French banner contest.
New in Beta: Blog Home Dashboard
For those of you who have opted in to be beta testers, there are new changes for you to test drive.
There's a new dashboard module on Vox Home and on your own blog as you are viewing it. It's a dashboard that includes the QotD, a few handy links and some tips about new features. Our stats show that many of you enter the site through your blog, so this dashboard is meant to give you a snapshot of Vox Home right from your own blog. The dashboard is only visible by you (visitors will never see it) and you can collapse it by clicking the Hide button.
This same dashboard is reflected on Vox Home, which means that the columns (including QotD and Vox Hunt) have been swapped. This is just phase one of the feature, and we’re planning on adding more editing controls going forward.
Just as you saw with the navigation strip, your feedback will help us evolve this feature before it's launched to the entire site. Give it a spin and let us know what you think via the Feedback link. If you want to opt in to beta testing, follow these instructions.
Feedback
Remember, the best way to tell us your feedback is by following the Feedback link.
-- Mena
P.S. Don't forget to vote! :)
Comments
=)
feeback coming your way :)
You've got Feedback...
I like the new asset links panel BUT I find the new dashboard to be intrusive and I am not liking it at all. Hiding it is of little consequence.
When I want to know what is being posted from my neighborhood I just click the little VOX icon, top left. I don't always care what the QOTD or the VOX Hunt is for that day and I don't need it being thrown up in my face.
I hope this doesn't sound too curt. I don't mean it to be. If it does, I apologize sincerely.
Thanks for listening.
Haze
I don't like the grey background if it has to stay, I'd prefer the same background as my blog, with a modest border around the dashboard. I also prefer the links to have the same colour as the rest of my links.
Since I checked the beta option a while ago, I was a bit disappointed when I saw NEW Add personal links to your blog sidebar. since I thought I would finally be able to list more than just the 5 additional links, and it would be a seperate 'sidebar module' (come to think of it: I wish we could move the modules we're displaying around).
Still, I appreciate all the time and effort the Vox team puts in developing new features !
however - i do want to agree with everyone: i'm not a fan of the new control window on our blogs. i know everyone enters in different ways, but i usually only go to my blog to see how the layout's working for the post i've just created. otherwise, i use all the internal functions - mostly VoxWatch and Home - to keep up with everyone and post. so, i find this new box kinda intrusive on the layout. perhaps make it an option in "settings?"
but you know what i really dislike ? the FLOATING menus that pops up whenever you hover over someone's icon and "tags". if you're not quick enough, the popup is in the way and you may accidentally click on the wrong link.
The [comments are good] 'first step' isn't a step forward at all. It isn't a change at all. In my opinion Vox is saying, "We hear that you wan't guest commenting, but we're not giving it to you, even though we know it is your number one request." And it boggles the mind, because we already have comment approving functionality. Why not make all guest commenting 'approval necessary'? Wouldn't that take care of most spam problems and nasty anonymous comments? I do not understand the hold up.
The blog dashboard is very distracting and redundant. I'm guessing I could opt out of the beta to get rid of it, but I'd miss the embedding feature too much. I don't need additional buttons for composing, adding photos, looking at my neighbors or answering the question of the day. I will be shocked if they receive any positive feedback about this thing (I refuse to call it a feature). It's like Vox has put a sticky blog post of their own at the top of my blog. I hope they scrap it soon.
Well, everything I was going to has has already been said, pretty much. The new blog dashboard is intrustive and redundant (four "compose" links on one page, three "my neighborhood" links, and QoTD which is already being pointed out to us in several locations including on the front page And in our new-comment emails) and I don't like it. I hide it, but then I still have a bar running arcoss my page telling me that it is hidden.
I also don't like the new anon commenting redirect deal. It is a total fake-out for the non-voxer ("go ahead and leave an anonymous comment! JUST KIDDING you need to register first, ha!") and I think that it would turn most people off. And, with all of our new and lovely comment control features, I really don't see why anonymous commenting should be an issue. Just give people the option to screen anonymous comments?
On a positive note, though, I do like how the admin links on my posts are now seperated. That's nice. upgrade. And yay new themes.
but yeah, as always, thanks for making a great website; the work you put into it is appreciated by many.
I am turned off by outside commenting, so I don't really care if people are turned off by the fakeout that forces them to register. However, I kinda think you should let them know, if you aren't, before they spend a bunch of time composing a comment. I got totally enraged when that happened on Curbly and the comment I'd spent a while composing wasn't saved while it made me register. (Not saying that you guys would do the same dumb thing. I got enraged with Curbly because it lost my comments like three times in a row.)
Like many others, I do not like the new asset handling. The edit/delete bars on each post do not look nice on my blog; they are now visually intrusive. I don't really like the new blog dashboard either, probably because I was very used to where everything was. Moving stuff around isn't necessarily improvement, and making longtime(ish) users learn to reuse the site over and over, after things become intuitive to us, impairs usability for those people. Will also do the feedback.
hi all the people read this,,,
i looking for friend from all the place..
make new friends maybe more ,,,okeydokey
Oh, and please add me to the unhappy list regarding that dashboard. It's intrusive, it doesn't match, and it doesn't offer me any functionality I didn't already have. I agree with the commenter who said it's like Vox has permanently stuck their own sticky post at the top of my blog. :( I searched my account settings, certain there had to be some way to turn it off, and finally came here to find that it's stuck there for good. Please give me a check box to turn this off completely!
That said... thanks for a great site. :)
It's not fair to FORCE people to register to be able to put a comment (you can't fight spam like this, it has more cons than pros)!!! I don't like the web for this kinda treatment, I like it for doing everything I want like everyone else! Please change this and Vox will be much better. Everyone should be able to comment even if he/she does not want to register to Vox. Thank you in advance.
Please I don't want to change of blog platform for something that stupid!!