how’s the new layout working for you?

by Alison Green on August 7, 2014

Now that the new site layout has been up a week, I want to know how it’s working for you. Specifically:

1. If you’re having technical problems with the site…

First, if  you’re having any issues with the site, please clear your cache and then try again. That may fix the issue on the spot.

But if that doesn’t work, please let me know below what problem you’re having, ideally including:

  •  the problem (please be as descriptive as possible — whatever you remember about what happened and what you were doing on the site when it occurred — for instance, loading the page, trying to click a link, trying to post a comment, etc.)
  • what browser you’re using
  • if at all possible, what day it started (we’ve changed a few different things but all on different days, so if you happen to know if it started Friday when the new layout first launched or more like Monday/Tuesday, that’ll be helpful)

2. If you’re not having technical problems with the site…

If you had a problem earlier but you’ve noticed that it has since resolved, it would be helpful to know that too (and when you noticed that it was fixed, if you remember).

3. Any other feedback?

For instance, one change we made is that any comments from me in the comment section are now highlighted in blue. Too much?

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{ 146 comments }

{ 146 comments… read them below }

    1. Camellia*

      I read in Chrome so your comments have always been in blue!

      I see one problem when I go to the bottom to enter a comment. The ‘Search this Site’ text and the Google Custom Search box are superimposed over the Submit button and the Submit button does not work.

      I don’t see this when I reply in line, which is why I’m using this reply to post my comments. :)

        1. Darcie*

          After clearing my cache and doing a hard refresh, I still have an ad for Inc covering the Submit button at the bottom of the page. Using Chrome.

          2. Felicia*

            I have that exact same problem, only I’m using Firefox. It happened once last Friday, once on (I think) Monday,, and then it happened again today, even after clearing my cache. It doesn’t happen on every single thread, every single time,, and the 3 times it has happened for me I had been trying to reply to a comment rather than add a separate new one.

      2. Aunt Vixen*

        I read in Firefox at home and IE (ugh) at work and Our Hostess’s comments have always been blue for me, too. … Maybe not all of them; maybe only top-level comments? This didn’t register with me as a change, though, is all I’m saying.

          2. Laura*

            I love your comments being blue! It is super helpful when I am skimming to see if you’ve jumped into an ongoing conversation or had any additional exchanges. And it’s totally unobtrusive if I’m just reading, because it’s such a light blue – dark enough to spot, but not dark enough to interfere with my reading or attention at all. :)

          3. Windchime*

            I like it that all of your comments are in blue. It’s easier to spot your words of wisdom that way!

            1. Windchime*

              PS….I didn’t see the Submit button problem that I was seeing before when I posted that. I’ve expanded my text one more time and will try again with this post.

              1. Windchime*

                Hmmmm. It did it that time but apparently I’ve been clearing my caches wrong. Trying again.

                1. Windchime*

                  It’s still jumping for me on the first click of Submit, but I can live with clicking it twice. Using Safari 6.1.1 on a Macbook Retina, with font enlarged by clicking Command + three times.

                2. Ask a Manager* Post author

                  Hmm, I’m using Safari on a Macbook Retina too and not having the problem — but I have a later version of Safari. Could updating be worth a try?

          4. Cruciatus*

            They were blue for me at work yesterday using Firefox, but here at home they aren’t (also Firefox). I cleared the cache, restarted the browser, tried Chrome. No blue. I tried looking to see if maybe that was changed since yesterday but I didn’t see anything.

  2. Anon and on*

    Love the blue highlighted comments from you. That is prob. my favorite change actually…

      2. Research Assistant*

        Me too! It makes it so easy to skip past discussions that aren’t of interest to me.

  4. The IT Manager*

    No real problems. I like all the new changes. The blue is not too much. I especially like that on both a screen and phone the the content takes up more real estate (3 columns down to 2) than it used to. Makes it much easier to read.

    One thing I did notice, though, on the open thread so it’s a huge page full of posts. I start by collapsing all threads and reading through. Then when I followed a link and clicked “back” all the threads were expanded again and I did not end up in the same place in the open threadt comments that I had been – presumably because the location info was for collapsed threads page and not the expanded one.

    1. addition*

      In regards to the collapsing feature, would it be possible to have the default be collapsed?

      LOVE the blue–sometimes I just scroll to find those.

      1. Ask a Manager* Post author

        There was a strong majority in favor of having the default be expanded … but you can expand/collapse everything at the very top of the comment section.

        1. addition*

          Ah I see, thanks! I don’t mind it expanded. (just definitely have to collapse for open thread! haha)

        2. RG*

          It’d be really nice to be able to collapse sub-threads as well! Like if someone comments and that part of the thread is great, but then people get in an off-topic conversation stemming from a reply, you could just collapse that part of the thread.

          It’d also be nice to be able to subscribe to replies to your comments, but not a whole post. If I post on an open thread, I’d like to be able to respond to replies, but with over 1000 comments on a lot of them, it’s a bit much to get email for each of them.

          1. Lynne*

            +1 on this. I often do not comment because what I want to know if replies to my comment but if I subscribe I get replies to everything.

          2. Ask a Manager* Post author

            On the list to look into again down the road. (Tried it last year, messed lots of other things up.) Not for the near future because $$, but possibly later.

          3. Karowen*

            Ditto – I’ve gotten into the habit of not being notified, and just occasionally checking back and doing ctrl+f for my handle. Totally understand why you can’t right now, though, Alison!

      1. Persephone Mulberry*

        This kind of defeats the purpose of having collapsible comments, since any time a reader comments, everything unfolds again. If the “reset button” is unavoidable, I’d prefer the default be collapsed.

        1. Ask a Manager* Post author

          The reason the default is expanded is that … well, that’s the real default of the site, in spirit as well as in practice. It’s “here’s the discussion.” But if you see a thread that doesn’t interest you, you have the option to close it.

          (The other reason is that it was preferred by the vast majority of people.)

        2. De (Germany)*

          How about opening a new tab / window for replying? I always do that anyway and it solves that problem.

    3. Holly*

      I second the “clicking back and it’s all expanded again” … any chance we can make the default collapsed?

      1. Gene*

        Rather than default one way or the other, make it a choice by the reader. I know, it requires a cookie be set on one’s computer, but I’m happy with that. Another site I read daily has this. Here are the offered choices:

        User-written Comments:
        Show comments
        Show comment subjects only
        Show comments that have been moderated
        Show expanded view of ALL comments

      2. Colette*

        Personally, I like having the default be expanded, because that’s what I’d want on every post except open threads. And it’s good to know that you can collapse them all at the top – I hadn’t noticed that.

    4. Persephone Mulberry*

      I don’t know if this is possible, so I’ll throw it out there…if the default is going to stay expanded, would it be possible to get a collapse button at the END of the thread? Particularly on Open Thread and Five Question posts, I will skim a comment thread, decide it’s not something I want to follow going forward, then I have to scroll back up to the top of the thread (which can take a while when there’s tens of comments) to click “Collapse”.

      And, FWIW, I realize it’s only been a few days of functionality so far, after discovering on the Friday open thread that everything unfolds anytime the page refreshes, I haven’t even been using the collapse function.

      1. Mimmy*

        Some keyboards have shortcuts that allow you to jump all the way to the top or bottom. For example, on my keyboard (for the iMac), I hit “command + up arrow” to go back to the very top of the page. That way, you don’t have to do all that scrolling.

        1. Mints*

          I think Persephone means just closing the thread, not all the comments (replies to IT Manager in this case).
          Which I would also use, but have no burning need for

      2. Laura*

        Just a note, I use a site – Dreamwidth – that does this, and I have never used it after the first try. Maybe they’ve fixed it, but when it first came on, it closed up the whole cut-tag (not comment thread)…and everything scrolled up my screen, and I had to scroll up and up and up to find the next thing.

        I don’t mind this idea, as long as it doesn’t end up doing that, but re-scrolling to the right spot without reloading the page (and thus undoing actions) might be a pain.

  5. Carrie in Scotland*

    I just went on to the previous post about new employees – the mobile view worked perfectly but doesn’t on this page (looks like a normal web page) and I haven’t done anything different in between. I use a samsung galaxy ace 2 and whatever internet browser it comes with.

  6. Carrie in Scotland*

    Oh and add me for another vote to keep your blue comments – very clear to see your comments. And thanks for the ongoing hard work on the website :-)

  7. super anon*

    I love that the site is mobile friendly now – much better than the last layout! It makes reading on my daily commute so much easier.

  8. M*

    No major issues for me. LOVE collapsible comments. Seriously, best idea ever. It makes reading all the comments so much better.
    Keep your comments in blue. I definitely want to read any responses you have and this makes it so much easier.

  9. Ask a Manager* Post author

    Update:

    If you aren’t seeing italics in the reader questions, please view this page on the device and browser that is having issues:
    http://askamanager.org/test-formatting.html

    In each set, you should see the first line in italics, the second in bold, and the third in normal text.

    If you DON’T see italic or bold in one (or both) of those sets, please let me know which set you’re not seeing it in, and what browser/device you’re on.

    1. Elizabeth the Ginger*

      On my Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.3:

      I see both test sets as they should be, but I’m still not seeing italics on reader questions. I do see other formatting – e.g. bold text and underlining. However, the font being displayed on my phone is not the same one that’s displayed on my laptop or iPad. It’s a sans-serif font – I think it might be Roboto, Android’s default font. I’ll email you a screenshot.

      2. RCB*

        I am having the same problem as well, same phone, same version of Android, using the phone’s default browser.

    2. Apple22Over7*

      I’m on a Samsung Galaxy S4, using the Chrome browser, and I can’t see the italics on either set. I can however see the bold in both sets. The same happens if I use the default browser on the same phone.

  10. Jack*

    I love the new layout – I do most of my reading on my phone, and it’s definitely well-optimised for that.

    The only problem I’ve encountered is that the page will suddenly close itself, usually when I’m reading the comments, and dump me back on the desktop. This only happens on my mobile (Sony Xperia T, default browser), and I suppose might not be caused by the site but my phone – it’s very annoying as you can imagine! When I open the browser again it loads my home page, as if that whole session has been cancelled. Any ideas?

    2. Nina*

      I think that’s a phone thing. I get the same problem (I have a three year old Samsung Galaxy) when I go to websites that usually have a lot of images to load on the homepage (think Buzzfeed, anything with a gif, etc.). I don’t think AAM is the issue because there’s no video/audio or any pictures. It’s all text. Sometimes the open threads take longer to load, but again, my phone is considered ancient. Otherwise, my browser doesn’t crash when I got to AAM.

      1. Jen RO*

        My old Galaxy S 1 did that all the time – it seemed to be a browser problem (Opera, I think) – the default browser never crashed.

        1. Research Assistant*

          I also use Opera on a Samsung and find that crashes often. I still like it better than the default browser, so I put up with it.

    3. Alicia*

      My old(er) iPad does that. It’s an operating system problem rather than a site problem. Mine tries to work too hard, and then shakes its head, lands back on the main screen and then everything is fine.

    4. Persephone Mulberry*

      My phone does the same thing (Galaxy S3, less than a year old, default mobile browser (I think it’s Safari based?). Doesn’t matter if I’m on 3/4G or wifi.

      I’d assume it’s a hardware issue, but it doesn’t happen when I try to bring up other sites, even photo-heavy sites like Buzzfeed.

      1. Sunshine*

        I have the same phone, and noticed the same problems. I think just since Mon or Tues this week? I thought it was just my phone, but since others are seeing it, thought I would mention. Just on the default browser, though. When I switch to Firefox on the phone, everything works fine.

        Thanks, Alison, for all the hard work!

    5. BritCred*

      Had the same on a blackberry phone around Tuesday. But the phone tends to do that on any large sites anyway….

  11. LouG*

    I love the blue! I admit to scrolling through posts with longer comment sections to see where you have commented. The blue makes it so much easier!

      1. Tanja*

        Me three.
        The whole layout is easier to read now, I like it.

        No tech problems for me, but I only read on my laptop.

  12. snarkalupagus*

    I love both the blue highlighting and the collapsible comments. I use Chrome exclusively across all devices (Windows laptop, iPad, iPhone4S) and it works well and easy to read/navigate on all. The wider column format makes reading easier, too. Overall fave is being able to collapse the comments. LOVE that.

  13. Jill-be-Nimble*

    I’ve had issues with viewing from my phone. I have a Samsung Galaxy s3, and the mobile site always cuts off a couple of letters at the end of each sentence. Even worse, though, when I go into the comments section, it crashes the internet on my phone! I’ll look at one or two comments and then it will disappear and say, “The internet had to shut down” or something similar. Then all of my windows I had open are lost.

      1. Arbynka*

        I had the same problem at first, anytime I would go to comments, I would be there about 10 seconds and even before page finished loading, I would get kicked off the site and browser would close. All the tabs openened closed. Only happened on this site and only when going to comments. It works fine now. Did not have to do anything. Btw, I am on Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, running Android 4.2.2

        1. Arbynka*

          Darn, spoke too soon. Was just kicked off when posting previous comment. But, at least I can read comments now. I will try to clear cache.

        2. Persephone Mulberry*

          On both of my mobile devices, using the default internet app (which I believe is Safari), the right edge of the text in the posts is getting cut off. I’m looking at the mobile version on my phone (Samsung Galaxy S3) and the desktop version on my tablet (Samsung Note 10.1). Both of my devices are set to clear the cache every time the application is closed.

          1. Persephone Mulberry*

            Geez, I am having terrible luck posting lately – I keep thinking I’m starting a new reply and end up commenting under someone else. I don’t *think* it’s the site’s fault, though!

              1. Sunshine*

                Same problem here, and also Samsung Galaxy S3. Only on the default browser, and only when I try to go to the comments. Firefox works fine. (Sorry for duplicating my previous post… this one sounds more similar to the problem I’m having). But I feel like mine just started in the past day or two; although, I’m on vacation this week, so time is a bit lost for me. :-)

    2. Elizabeth the Ginger*

      I am also getting crashing issues (as I mentioned on today’s short questions post). This is the default browser for a Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.3. The browser occasionally crashes anyway, but it’s happening a LOT with AAM. Sometimes when I relaunch the browser it goes back to the page I’d been viewing, but other times it goes back to my home page. The crashes happen when I’m trying to open a new page – unlike Jill-Be-Nimble, I don’t get to the point where I see any of the new page; it crashes when the page is about 70-90% loaded according to the progress bar at the top of the screen.

      I noticed this first on Tuesday but I don’t know if I’d looked at AAM on my phone for a few days before that. Maybe not since the site change.

  14. Robin*

    In my Samsung Galaxy S3, in the default browser, if I opened a post with a lot of comments, it would often crash the whole browser. I since installed Chrome on my phone, and have had fewer issues.

  15. Nina*

    Also love the blue highlighting. Blue is very soothing on the eyes (as opposed to yellow, which is the highlighting default) and it helps to draw my focus to her comment. Even with her picture, it can be easy to lose Alison’s comments, especially when there are a lot of comments in the post.

  16. Adam*

    No complaints, and the ability to expand and collapse comment threads is MUCH appreciated. If I could wish for anything in the future it would be the capability to be informed if anyone replies to my comments. I’ve tried subscribing before but it seems to just tell me when anyone replies to your posts at all.

    Site continues to be fantastic. Excellent work!

  17. Steve*

    I’m on a Windows Machine, using the Chrome browser, and when the browser is zoomed in specifically to 200%, all of the links on the page become unclickable. It’s the weirdest thing. The screen resolution of the monitors that this happens on is 1200 x 1920. (Vertical monitor.)

    Otherwise looks good!

      1. Steve*

        To be honest I’m not certain, I just noticed it a couple days ago completely by accident and thought it odd. (I can still make it happen now, if that’s helpful at all!)

  18. Meg Murry*

    The new layout looks good to me, however, I have noticed that it seems to take a long time on my phone to finish loading (it will load the question, and then most of the comments – the hangup seems to be loading the expand/collapse part as that doesn’t show up until its fully loaded). Its not a problem on smaller threads like these, but the weekend open threads with tons of comments appear to get “stuck”.
    Also occasionally my browser freaks out when I flip it to landscape and then back to portrait (usually by bumping it) and I wind up with words on only 1/4 of my screen – but I think that’s related to my phone and how many browser tabs I have running at once, not just this site.

    Using Chrome for Android 36.0.1985.131

    One other formating request – is it possible to put the links for the next and previous threads at the top of the comments as well as the bottom? Sometimes I just want to read the post and response from you, then go to the next one without going through all the comments.

  19. Katie the Fed*

    I love the changes – I like being able to read on my iPhone more easily. The collapsible comments are good too. I haven’t used them yet but it’s nice to know they’re there.

    One odd thing – I’ve noticed more of my comments going to moderation than normal. is that something with the new layout?

      1. Katie the Fed*

        Yep – it’s been a couple in the last week. I thought I was on your shit list for a bit and I was sad :(

          1. Katie the Fed*

            Oh yeah – one post got my blood boiling really bad :) Thanks for letting it through!

        2. Victoria Nonprofit (USA)*

          I actually had the same experience! Just a couple, over the past couple of weeks. I’m pretty sure I never cursed. :)

      2. MousyNon*

        I noticed it too (just for one comment, not for many like Katie). I’m used to things going into moderation when links are included, but that wasn’t the case for the one comment I noticed it on (I want to say on Monday or Tuesday?). I figured maybe you’d refined your spam filter and I used some disallowed word–but maybe not! Either way, I only noticed it the one time, when I first commented shortly after the switch. Haven’t noticed it again today, and I’ve posted a few times in the five answers post.

        1. Windchime*

          Huh, yeah, I’ve had several go into moderation recently, too. I thought maybe there was some “secret word” that was sending me there. Most of mine don’t go to moderation, though. I think they all eventually get published.

  20. Rebecca Too*

    I’m finding the changes great. It’s much easier to read on a phone, and the menu buttom makes naviagation fairly easy.

    One small suggestion, it might be useful to have a “back to top” button at the end of the comments, and not just at the end of the page, just to reduce the amount of scrolling you have to do, especially when there’s a lot of comments.

    But generally it’s great, and nice to see a site redesign that genuinely improves a site, and the user experience.

    1. Yes!!!*

      Maybe my iPhone 4 is outdated, or I’m ignorant about how to use it, but when I want to scroll back up, I have to keep swiping, and swiping, and swiping up….. Is it the page or am I missing a feature on my phone? Thanks!

  21. Ash (the other one!)*

    Reading through the open thread on mobile was dificult since I can no longer zoom out and have to scroll through everything. Not sure there’s a way to fix that but it was a little frustrating since I was away from my computer…

  22. MeUnplugged*

    I love the new layout! I usually read this in my mobile so having it all fit is great. I also like being able to collapse/expand comments. Also, your comments in blue are great! So easy to find!

  23. littlemoose*

    I like the changes. The readability only slightly improved on my phone (iPhone 4S, Safari browser), but it was excellent before, so no worries there. It also plays nicely with Feedly, both when I am in Feedly as a reader and when I click through to the website itself (which I usually do to read the comments).

    I LOVE the collapsible comments, especially for open threads and the short answer posts, when more than one topic is being discussed. I like seeing your comments in blue too; it’s helpful if I’m skimming for something in particular.

  24. New Commenter*

    I like blue and the new layout as well. Is there anyway to highlight or otherwise draw attention to when the OP responds?? I frequently scan the comments are interesting posts to see if the OP provides updates and its hard to find usually. Maybe even requesting people to standardize their names when providing updates on a letter they sent in would help.

  25. Ali*

    I’m glad to see the spam/comment filter has been improved. I was going to moderation constantly for a while and now my comments are getting posted right away. Much appreciated!

  26. Eclipse*

    I commented on the other post that I got an advert with background music I couldn’t turn off. That hasn’t happened again so must have been a one off.

    1. Ask a Manager* Post author

      If that happens again (to you or anyone), please take a screenshot of the ad that’s showing when it happens and email it to me. That makes it super quick to track down and stop!

  27. Sif*

    When viewing the site using Internet Explorer, the scroll bar keeps disappearing now unless I actively hold it with my mouse. Maybe some prefer that, IDK, I just prefer it to stick around!

  28. Emma the Strange*

    The new font is is significantly smaller on my Motorola Droid 4 (Android 4.1.2), to the point where it strains my eyes to read unless I hold the phone fairly close to my face.

    Zooming in via pinching does not rewrap the text, so I would have to constantly scroll side to side to read that way (this was true on the old version of the site). Moreover, Chrome’s text scaling feature (see here) has no effect on the font size for this website (IIRC, text scaling didn’t work in the old version either, but I cared less because the default font size was more comfortable to read anyway).

    Also some way to search for comments by a particular user in a thread would be nice. It used to be that I could do Ctrl+F and search for ” ” to find comments easily. This was especially useful when searching for comments posted under user names like “OP,” since it would filter out other comments merely containing the word “OP” (or just containing words like “stop” or “open”). Now, though, that doesn’t work.

    Other than that I like it, especially the collapsible comments.

  29. Mimmy*

    So far, no major complaints; any glitches were quickly resolved. Joining the crowd on loving the collapsible comments and the blue highlighting when Alison posts. For open threads, I tend to collapse all and skim through to see which threads I want to go back to later. I try to resist commenting right away (since it re-expands everything when the comment is submitted), but sometimes, I just can’t help it :)

    At first, I was having trouble with the submit button, sometimes having to hit it twice. The page would jump down a tiny, tiny bit–I’ve learned to wait to see if my comment takes on the first click because before, I would hit the button twice, then the system would tell me I have a duplicate comment. In Sunday’s open thread, I had posted a second time because I thought the system ate my first post, but then noticed later that it’d posted after all. Thanks so much Alison for cleaning that up for me! (deleting my second, redundant post).

    FTR: I use Safari on an iMac. I have not tried the new layout with my iPad yet, but I’m sure it’ll be similarly fine :)

  30. Jeanne*

    I like the blue. Everything works fine. It’s just weird to me that there is no left hand margin. Text is right up against the left of the screen. I’m adjusting slowly. I use my ipad air.

  31. eemmzz*

    The only thing that I dislike is sometimes when I on my phone the adverts I am receiving are obvious malware such as “Your phone has no antivirus! Install now!” has appeared I think twice in an obnoxious popup.

    I feel it does have a negative impact on the overall professionalism this site otherwise has. I am all for adverts, as they provide you with extra income for the site, but when they pop up in your face that’s when it becomes an issue for me personally.

    I know they come from an ad server so you have no ability to curate them but it’d be nice if the leaderboard advert was none intrusive. Can this possibly be discussed with the provider?

    Otherwise I like all the other enhancements. I think all sites should be responsive in this day and age so it is good to see this site getting into good design practices. :)

    2. Ask a Manager* Post author

      Whoa. That is NOT supposed to be happening. That is not good at all. If it happens again, would you take a screenshot and email it to me so I can send it to the ad network?

  33. Jeff Woods*

    I noticed that the new topics under the month column were not expanded anymore, and sometimes when I am not reading the comments, I have to expand it each time to got on, but the link at the bottom under the comments is very useful.

  34. Schmitt*

    Reading from a desktop browser, love the new wide layout and the collapsible comments. You’d tried out a grey/patterned background a while back; have you decided against it? I find my eyes get tired on Fridays and Sundays after a while of open thread ;)

  35. Ask a Manager* Post author

    Thank you for all of this feedback!

    My excellent technical wizard mentions that some (not all) of these things may be quirks of older phones. If you’re on an older phone, a different browser might help.

    In any case, we’re looking into all of this. If you’re reported problems and find that they’re fixed in the future, would you let me know?

  36. Lanya*

    I love the changes. I have to be honest, I have not been commenting as much in recent months because it was such a pain to keep scrolling down, but I like the collapsible comments a lot. Keeps everything more tidy.

  37. Lisa*

    I *love* the new expand/collapse feature! It makes it so much easier to determine which comments are replies vs. a new question, as well as allowing me to skip past any questions that are not pertinent to me. The blue posts were not new to me, but I do find them very helpful. I utilize Firefox and haven’t had any technical difficulties – it was a smooth transition. Thanks for the superb quality of life upgrades!

  38. Jennifer*

    I love the new layout. Thank you.

    I like that we’re now able to expand/collapse threads. I agree with a few who noted it would be nice to collapse/expand sub-threads as well (for those subthreads that go down a rabbit hole I’m less interested in).

    One bonus about the new layout: I sometimes use Flipboard to access your site. For the past several months the headline has been stuck and repeating (i.e., every new post had the same headline, but when I tapped into it, I went to the most recent article). It was annoying and only happening with your site, but I figured it was my phone. Since the new upgrade, though, the headlines once again match the new posts. :)

  39. bkanon*

    I like the blue comments for you and I have no complaints about most of the layout changes. The only thing that bothers me is something I mentioned in the ‘some changes’ post – I use a Samsung Android tablet with Firefox to view AAM on the go. Previously, I was able to doubletap on the content column and have it zoom to just that column. Now it no longer does that. I can’t doubletap to zoom, I can only pinch-zoom. That’s rather disappointing to me, as the pinch involves a lot of fine-tuning where the doubletap was a quick automatic fit.

    Still happening, and still disappointing.

  40. vox de causa*

    I love that your comments are all highlighted now. The collapsible feature is much appreciated also, and I vote with the majority to leave them expanded as the default. The layout is a lot easier to read on the go, so thanks for that. Really, everything you did is an improvement.

    I’m using Chrome, and I don’t have any problems with ads or anything else covering the “Submit” button on the “Leave a Comment” section.

  41. Grey*

    Collapsing all of the comments would be most useful on the mobile version, but the option isn’t there.

  42. Finny*

    I like that the site now works better on my Nexus 5. However, while I do like that the text fits on my computer screen better now, I don’t like that I can no longer enlarge the text without having it run off the side of the screen (and thus involving much scrolling). This is particularly annoying as the default font size seems to be smaller than before–I am legally blind, so the ability to easily enlarge fonts is rather crucial.

    Other than that, I quite like the new layout, and I absolutely love the collapsible comments–makes things so much less confusing!

  43. Ruffingit*

    Love the new layout, but it would be really nice if the search would allow sorting by date.

  44. linguaignota*

    Only in the last 1-2 days, I’m having trouble with the site on my tablet (Google Nexus 7, 2013 version). I use Chrome. The home page loads, but when I try to tap on individual posts, nothing happens. I can tap on the links at the top (About Me, Books, etc.), but not the posts. I restarted my tablet, but that didn’t fix the issue. The site worked fine when the new layout first launched, but not in the last day or so.

    Otherwise, I love the new layout! I’m mostly a lurker, but I read the comments. Having collapsible threads is aces.

  46. Josh S*

    I’ve been reading on my phone in my RSS reader (Feedly), which gets me through the articles but not the comments. When I *do* click-through, it’s well optimized for the phone from the headline through the comments.

    The few times I have the chance to read on desktop…well, I love it.

    Everything has worked just fine for me, and I’m thrilled with the upgrades/changes. Thanks, Alison!

  47. De (Germany)*

    I haven’t seen anyone else mentioning it, so I suppose I am either special or nobody else is bothered by this… I now have to hit the submit button twice to have the comment submitted. The first time does absolutely nothing.

    2. eemmzz*

      Yes I just noticed this now on my S4 as I mostly post on my laptop. I use the latest Android and Chrome.

  48. Elkay*

    I love your comments in blue but the change to comments layout means it’s more difficult to find out if an OP has posted. I can search for OP but there are so many words with OP in it or comments which reference OP that it makes it difficult to check quickly. My old trick was to type OP and the beginning letter(s) of the month but this no longer works with the new comment format. Given how great it is when an OP jumps in on the comments it would be nice to be able to easily ID them. I don’t know if it’s an easy fix for the comment format or not. I’m using Chrome on a PC.

      1. Elkay*

        Unfortunately that pulls up every word that ends op :(

        It really is super minor and I love the changes (the collapsible comments are great on open threads).

  51. Violet*

    I enjoy the changes to the website. My only suggestion is to add a collapse button at the end of the threads. Sometimes I’ll skim a thread and realize it’s not something that I’m interested in. It’s annoying having to scroll back to the top, especially if there’s a ton of comments, to collapse it. Keep up the great work on your site.

  52. Cautionary tail*

    My company only allows access to https websites. Since askamanager.org (and many other websites) doesn’t use https I need to go through a proxy to get to you. I use https://ninjacloak.com. To kill the many floating ads that ninjacloak has I need Adblockplus and Ghostery installed on both Firefox and Chrome on my Windoze 7 PC.

    With this configuration on Firefox I just timed the Accepted a promotion page with 105 comments and it took a minute and a half to load. With this configuration on Chrome I just timed the Accepted a promotion page with 108 comments and it took two minutes to load. It used to take about 30-45 seconds so this is much slower.

    For a while using Firefox wouldn’t let me post comments but it seems the button issue is fixed, at least in Chrome through Ninjacloak, as that’s how I’m posting this. I’ll test Firefox later and if there’s an issue I’ll let you know.

  54. Tris Prior*

    You know, until I saw this post I didn’t realize that AAM might be the reason my browser has been locking up and giving me the spinning beachball WAY more often since the site update. It’s not unusual for my browser to crash or freeze up since I’m on a really old macbook, but it’s been happening a lot more when I have AAM up.

    (Firefox 16 on Mac OS 10.6, if that helps.)

  55. Rin*

    I know this isn’t technically related to what you’re asking, but is it possible to have links open to a new tab? That way, I won’t lose my place if I want to view whatever else is posted.

  56. Becky*

    I love the collapsible comments and the new layout works well for me. I usually read the post within The Old Reader, then hop over to the site if I want to check out the comments, so it actually hasn’t changed too much on my end.

    One big wish: There are many questions that I specifically want to see if the original poster has replied in the comments with further clarification or updates. There isn’t any way to find these easily — sometimes I’ll visually scan down the page for a comment by “OP” or even do a text search in the browser for “OP” (doesn’t always narrow it down much!)

    I realize it’s probably impossible to have comments from the OP show up in a blue box like AAM’s, but could we maybe have a standard format that AAM requests for a user name for comments by the original poster(s)? This would make finding them on the page a lot easier!

    I know there’s really no way to enforce what user name people choose when leaving a comment, but even if some letter writers followed the requested format it would be helpful.

Comments are closed.