Strongly agree with 1. I have a plan for a separate thing at the top of the frontpage for logged-in users that takes up much less space and is actually useful for multiple visits. Here is a screenshot of my current UI mockup for the frontpage:
The emphasis continue to be on historical instead of recent content, with the frontpage emphasizing reading for logged-in users. If you don’t have anything in your reading-queue the top part disappears completely and you just have the recent discussion (though by default the HPMOR, The Sequences and The Codex are in your reading queue)
I think it’d be nice to have one main view that everyone visits, organized as a list of posts sorted chronologically or by magic. Writing my mathy stuff on a website and showing it to friends would be easier if the website didn’t have a big banner saying go read this Harry Potter fanfiction or that social issues blogger (much as I love both HPMOR and Scott). Maybe you could put these links in a sidebar instead?
Also as a longtime user I don’t really care if people have read the Sequences. I don’t see much correlation between “this person has read the Sequences” and “this person is interesting” that isn’t screened off by “this person was interested in stuff like the Sequences to begin with”.
So … a new LW2 participant will by default be presented with a front page suggesting to them that they’re supposed to read all of HPMOR and that not having done so means they haven’t yet done their duty? I strongly advise against this.
Better, if feasible: (1) by default a new user has an empty reading queue; (2) by default a new user is presented with a thing saying “Go here to set up your reading queue”; (3) making that go away without actually adding anything to your reading queue is easy, but (4) adding things like the Sequences or HPMOR to your queue is also easy.
I, too, recommend avoiding the “Continue eating your veggies. You have eaten 4 out of 25 turnips. Your progress in eating turnips is 16%” nagware, especially at the top of the front page.
I think an important thing is that the first screen of the first page should contain the most important things both for the newcomers and for the regular readers.
For newcomers, it’s the links to HPMOR, The Sequences and The Codex (and anything else that may be later included). Should be at the top, but don’t need to take much space vertically.
For regular readers, it’s the new articles and featured articles. Perhaps in two columns. This way the whole first page could fit on an average monitor.
The “progress” part feels quite forced. Having the links displayed, either people will read the stuff, or they will not. If they decide not to read it now, no need to rub their faces in it.
EDIT: For people who are logged in, the part for newcomers could be collapsed. If they have an account, they have already see it. But there should be a way to show it again.
Will logged-in users be able to switch off this “top of the frontpage”?
It looks quite condescending: Continue eating your veggies. You have eaten 4⁄25 turnips. Your progress in eating turnips is 16%. Or start eating another veggie… YOU WILL SEE MESSAGES ABOUT TURNIPS EVERY TIME YOU LOAD THE PAGE UNTIL YOU EAT ALL OF THEM.
Strongly agree with 1. I have a plan for a separate thing at the top of the frontpage for logged-in users that takes up much less space and is actually useful for multiple visits. Here is a screenshot of my current UI mockup for the frontpage:
https://imgur.com/a/GXjTY
The emphasis continue to be on historical instead of recent content, with the frontpage emphasizing reading for logged-in users. If you don’t have anything in your reading-queue the top part disappears completely and you just have the recent discussion (though by default the HPMOR, The Sequences and The Codex are in your reading queue)
I think it’d be nice to have one main view that everyone visits, organized as a list of posts sorted chronologically or by magic. Writing my mathy stuff on a website and showing it to friends would be easier if the website didn’t have a big banner saying go read this Harry Potter fanfiction or that social issues blogger (much as I love both HPMOR and Scott). Maybe you could put these links in a sidebar instead?
Also as a longtime user I don’t really care if people have read the Sequences. I don’t see much correlation between “this person has read the Sequences” and “this person is interesting” that isn’t screened off by “this person was interested in stuff like the Sequences to begin with”.
So … a new LW2 participant will by default be presented with a front page suggesting to them that they’re supposed to read all of HPMOR and that not having done so means they haven’t yet done their duty? I strongly advise against this.
Better, if feasible: (1) by default a new user has an empty reading queue; (2) by default a new user is presented with a thing saying “Go here to set up your reading queue”; (3) making that go away without actually adding anything to your reading queue is easy, but (4) adding things like the Sequences or HPMOR to your queue is also easy.
Concur.
I, too, recommend avoiding the “Continue eating your veggies. You have eaten 4 out of 25 turnips. Your progress in eating turnips is 16%” nagware, especially at the top of the front page.
I think an important thing is that the first screen of the first page should contain the most important things both for the newcomers and for the regular readers.
For newcomers, it’s the links to HPMOR, The Sequences and The Codex (and anything else that may be later included). Should be at the top, but don’t need to take much space vertically.
For regular readers, it’s the new articles and featured articles. Perhaps in two columns. This way the whole first page could fit on an average monitor.
The “progress” part feels quite forced. Having the links displayed, either people will read the stuff, or they will not. If they decide not to read it now, no need to rub their faces in it.
EDIT: For people who are logged in, the part for newcomers could be collapsed. If they have an account, they have already see it. But there should be a way to show it again.
I, too, would advise against doing this.
Will logged-in users be able to switch off this “top of the frontpage”?
It looks quite condescending: Continue eating your veggies. You have eaten 4⁄25 turnips. Your progress in eating turnips is 16%. Or start eating another veggie… YOU WILL SEE MESSAGES ABOUT TURNIPS EVERY TIME YOU LOAD THE PAGE UNTIL YOU EAT ALL OF THEM.