Green Room - Week 30 - Day 1

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Last night was busy - so it's a good time for a recap:

There were eliminations: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/811064.html
There was a topic, with a twist: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/811500.html
There was a Home Game/Killing Floor: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/811580.html
and a Work Room to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/811782.html

There were also some questions, and since I have the forum right here - and assuming that you are actually paying attention to the Green Room - I'll answer them here. :)

- Do we submit two entries? Yes. One of them is your Favorite entry you have written (so far) this season, and one of them is a new one based on the topic.

- Does it matter which one we submit to the Topic thread and which one we submit to the Home Game/Killing Floor? No. That's entirely your choice.

- Can I just link both of them to one thread? No.

- Can I edit the Favorite piece? It's up to you. If you want to do it, go ahead.

- Does this mean there is twice as much to read? Only if you are admitting that you didn't read their Favorite entries previously. ;) Serious answer: You should probably go back and reread them anyway. Of course, that's still not as many entries to read as there were a few weeks ago.

***

People have been emailing me asking for how they did in the Contestant Only poll. I have been responding to them. Oddly enough, this time has broken the usual pattern. In previous seasons, I have heard more from the "High" vote getters and got to give them good news. This time it seems to have been turned on it's head. I hate giving the bad news - So someone who has good news coming email me! :)

***
Cutting and pasting from yesterday's Green Room, because I would love some more input:

Is there anything from any of these designs that you can see that jump out at you as:

Man, that would be useful to have on Idol!

http://philips-matters.livejournal.com/
http://aprilhenry.livejournal.com/
http://hills.livejournal.com/
http://runaway-408.livejournal.com/
http://therealstanlee.livejournal.com/
http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/

Also - is there anything in general that you have ever thought "Man, I wish we could do that" (from a technical standpoint).

I have the ear of someone who can make it happen. So this is your chance to speak up. :)

Obviously, this isn't a democracy - but pretend that I'm just waiting to hear how bad your ideas are! :P

So far the feedback has been that people like the "Top Commenters" widget and prefer a simpler style.

What are your thoughts on "Tag clouds" and (looking at the Stan Lee one) shifting the links, etc from the left side to the right? (Shifting things to the right seems to be the trend, but it's always kind of bugged me, since it seems to draw your visual attention there instead of what is being said in the most recent post)

The "Featured post" widget could have some merit, if used to highlight Topics and Voting threads. Not sure yet though, which is why I'm soliciting input on this and any other thing you've seen out there that might be "doable" for the site.

Comments

[theun4givables.livejournal.com]

I am writing my entry for the new topic and I am just shaking my head at myself.

I am so not prepared to post anything like this. xD

Oh, and FIRST.

Also also, I think a "featured post" widget would be great. I am not a fan of shifting the links from the left to the right, though.

And one question you did not answer was whether the rules of gifting immunity still count -- ie, since we're all gonna be forced to comment on the Killing Floor with an offering, if we do crit, do we get to vote for immunity?

Because if so, that can get interesting real quick. ;)

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

I look forward to reading your head-shaking piece! :)

And YAY FIRST!

Oh, and good question with the Immunity votes!

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Weird. I didn't answer that question.

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Does this mean there is twice as much to read? Only if you are admitting that you didn't read their Favorite entries previously.

The problem isn't with not having read them in the first place, the problem is remembering who wrote what and all that. :)

I have to keep remembering to switch back from "view in my style" when going to look at those other links, otherwise they all look oddly alike, LOL!

[rattsu.livejournal.com]

I am watching everything in my style anyway :).

And I for one will LOVE to go and see what people have as their favorite post, especially since I did not read anything after I dropped out this spring and then came back with the second chance thingy...

So looking forward to it!

I am however in a pickle. My fave entries are very recent ones, which people probably have a decent memory of. But there was one from early in the spring that I also like, and would be fun to see what people thought of because it's a bit experimental.

So, do I go with my true favorite? Or my favorite that fewer people are likely to have read, and which I might want some concrit on?

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

What are your thoughts on "Tag clouds" and (looking at the Stan Lee one) shifting the links, etc from the left side to the right? (Shifting things to the right seems to be the trend, but it's always kind of bugged me, since it seems to draw your visual attention there instead of what is being said in the most recent post)

I like the Tag Clouds. I don't like the links on the right, but that's probably because English is read left-to-right so I prefer my information in that order. My least favorite layout of the above is the Hills one, and my favorite is ONTD with a close second being Stan Lee's.

[ryl.livejournal.com]

I like the links on the right because that forces the post to the left where they're more visible. But I admit to being prejudiced as someone who's left-side-dominant in a right-dominant world.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

I'm all about simplicity so my vote would be for aprilhenry, Stan Lee, and ONTD. They all look like they're based off one of the templates from a Russian LJ layout community. I'm not sure if that template is available in the "change layout" section of our LJ's. It looks like it might be one of the new Minimalism ones, but I'm not completely sure.

The trouble IMO with the others is that they scream "I'm advertising a product". Which is fine if you're Hill's Science Diet or Philips. I think it's overkill if you're not.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

The Livejournal staff created these layouts and are using them as some of the examples of their work, so that you can see some of the options.

I definitely am a fan of a simple but clean look to the page.

[gratefuladdict.livejournal.com]

I tend to agree with Ro - I like the tag clouds, like links on the left, and generally prefer the more simple layouts.

That said, I view everything in my own style, so you won't bother me if you start tinkering. :)

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. I view everything in my own style, too. :)


Also, good morning - how is your day going? :)

[gratefuladdict.livejournal.com]

Gary, I have a question. I read your topic post as a directive to repost a favorite entry, either in the Killing Floor or the topic thread, and then to write a totally new entry based on the prompt and post that wherever the old entry was not posted.

Is that right? I have seen a couple of people allude to continuing the theme or story from their favorite entry into the new entry. Is that a requirement, or just an option? Thanks!

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

You read it correctly.

If people *want* to do that, they certainly can. But it's certainly not anything that I have asked them to do.

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

My Holiday Card Poll (http://roina-arwen.livejournal.com/1671641.html) is still open for handmade card requests (the cards are already made, just FYI - I have leftovers from the craft fair I participated in a few weeks ago). The first 16 are all addressed and ready to go out in today's mail, and I've got plenty of cards left for more requests. I am happy to send overseas if desired. I just want to spread the love around! :)

[anyonesghost.livejournal.com]

Seems like I'm alone in this, but I actually prefer links and tag clouds on the right-hand side. When I go to the Idol page, I'm there to read the day's post / vote in the polls. Sidebars are useful ephemera, but I don't use them every day. And since I usually don't have a window taking up the whole screen (when using something larger than phone or tablet), real estate is at a premium. (Not quite so big a deal with mobile devices so far.)

Something that might be useful, and it's on a few of those pages, is a header that provides links to common reference pages. Not just the Entries / Profile / etc header, mind, but links to the Idol FAQ, Rules, etc.. There aren't many FAQ pages compared to "day 01" pages, so hunting for that teeny-font "FAQ" in a tag cloud seems a little annoying, given its relative usefulness.

The featured post could be interesting, though I'm not sure how the mechanics of it work. But it would still be an in-comm post, rather than a highlighted contestant entry, so I suppose it's all the same to me. :-)

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

See - that's why I ask. Because I know people view the page on different devices.

I think the left side links provide a better full screen view. BUT I can see why having them on the right side might be better from a mobile POV. (which is probably why it's become so common)

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I was actually just looking to see if we could switch up the menu bars, so that one of them could lead to a FAQ. (or the Idol Store/donation page - you know something that I would want people to see! :D)

Alas, it appears the current set-up is hardwired to those pages. You can just change the names.

However, looking at some of these news styles, it looks like a lot more is possible.

Definitely something worth talking to them about.

I'm not sure how useful the "repeats" section is to most people. (the archives calendar page. But it's a livejournal default)

I'm just going to leave this here:

[lostin-thestars.livejournal.com]

(http://imgur.com/FyYj2V1)

Re: I'm just going to leave this here:

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on your upcoming pastry! :)



"Idol" is a terrific baby name. Just saying!

Re: I'm just going to leave this here:

[theun4givables.livejournal.com]

Congrats! :)

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

not to ask the dumb question, but what's wrong with the current layout?

i like the tag cloud if there are an excessive number of tags, just because it takes up slightly less space and is a little easier to read, altho i'm not a fan of the tiny text that only gets bigger if that tag is used a lot. i don't like having to squint at my screen. i really like the idea of using the featured post widget for the current topic/voting post and work room, and maybe the killing floor.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Nothing - and no plans on changing it before the season is over.

But the design changes every season, and this is literally a time when Livejournal has come calling and said "We are opening up the toy box for you to come in and play". Which is why I'm trying to figure out what sorts of toys people are interested in having!

[favoritebean.livejournal.com]

None of those layouts particularly call to me, but then again, I like the current LJI layout.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I'm a minimalist when it comes to layout. Always have been. :)

Which is why all of the past designs for the site have reflected that.

Right now I'm looking more at the toys than a wholesale change-up... unless something comes along that completely wows me!

[dmousey.livejournal.com]

Hey peeps,

I just wrote a piece I'd like to submit as an editorial to my local paper... can I have some feedback...

It was brought on by today's Eric Garner verdict.


http://dmousey.livejournal.com/16877.html

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

I don't much like any of the other layouts either-- especially because most of them are just forums for ads!

As for this week's story, I'm feeling crack coming on... :O

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Well, some of them *are* forums for advertising their products. :)

Idol's "product" IS Idol itself! :D

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

I've always preferred a journal layout with top-style actual links to stuff and left-style tag clouds and widgets. There were statistics behind this at some point -- viewing styles, average clicks, etc -- but at this point people are using so many devices that I don't know that it makes a difference. *shrug*