LATEST BLOGS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRONT PAGE?

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TFT
WHOA wow wow. two tails? that is a sexy idea...
445
is anyone else finding it kind of annoying to have to scroll in the middle just to see what new blogs are available? tbh, it's the only most likely "new" content posted regularly and one of the few reasons some people check the website.

latest reviews
latest articles
latest media
and then latest blogs?

i mean, come on, man, let's be fair, most of the side bar stuff is mostly junk that never gets updated on a regular basis. i do not understand the design choice, but i am finding it a little annoying to scroll in the middle for content i check daily.

like, if blogs were up top, i wouldn't ever need to scroll down because even before the new rmn, i never checked anything below that it was just pretty much zzz content for me.

yeah, not trying to say anything bad, cool site-etc-etc but would it not make more sense to have the blog posts somewhere higher?
LouisCyphre
can't make a bad game if you don't finish any games
4523
I guess they're trying to encourage some not-so-zzz stuff in those catagories by pushing them higher? I couldn't say; the reasons behind the layout are murky at best from my vantage.

After a check, we still have this, but I agree that the "Latest" sections' order should better reflect the frequency at which they get content.
No, there's a reason they're farther down the page and that's to do with the big 'shitty blogs' thing we had earlier in the month. Basically, less light shone on the parts that aren't as important. Blogs shouldn't be in the limelight as much as other 'heavier' content and the new page shows that. Not only are they worth less (in terms of MS) but they shouldn't be in the spotlight more than things like reviews, articles and media. We'd rather draw attention to the things that matter.

(In fact, I'd say they should be at the bottom of the list but that's just me.)
Adon237
if i had an allowance, i would give it to rmn
1743
Actually, I find some of the blogs interesting and would prefer it if it were up top. There are some people who actually produce godly blogs I actually find relevant and not just 'I made 50 types of potions today'.

edit:
This could probably be solved with the subscribe to developer's function, in that case one would be able to subscribe to a good blogger.
I didn't say anything before because I had the whole 'shitty blogs' thing monopolized at the time, but now that things have settled down a little I guess I can share my opinion... Yes, reviews and media and are important, but they're aimed at the developer so they don't invite much feedback; they're feedback themselves. And any discussion there usually boils down to "Write your own review, then" xD

Blogs on the other hand, good blogs anyway, are our opportunity to actually take part in the development process of our favorite games. People continuously ask for feedback in them, or ponder about game design stuff, you know, stuff we all should be talking about. And I just think is sad for them to go with zero replies... So as far as things that matter go, blogs do matter, a lot. (MS be damned!)

Edit: Imo, the order should be: Articles, Blogs, Reviews, Media...
Well, blogs will be getting their own spotlight as it is, anyway - or at least the good ones will. Yes, the return of the "This week in blogs" is upon us.
author=liberty
but they shouldn't be in the spotlight more than things like reviews, articles and media. We'd rather draw attention to the things that matter.


Except no one ever makes those.
The page isn't that long. When did scrolling 2 page lengths become such an annoying chore? If you only want to see blogs, I'd suggest using a bookmark to go directly to that section instead.

author=TFT
tbh, it's the only most likely "new" content posted regularly and one of the few reasons some people check the website.

On the flip side, some people don't care about blogs at all and they come here for the other content that is definitely posted regularly. It doesn't seem like a good enough reason to change something as trivial as this.

author=Darken
author=liberty
but they shouldn't be in the spotlight more than things like reviews, articles and media. We'd rather draw attention to the things that matter.
Except no one ever makes those.

Except that they do.

There have been lots of reviews(cause of the event) and media(let's plays) lately. There isn't a whole lot of articles, but the content of these three things are generally more substantial that a blog. There's like, 1 excellent blog for every 20+ blogs written. Maybe more. And yes, I pulled those numbers out of my ass.

Writing a blog takes very little effort, so naturally there will be many more. There are so many being written that you would have to check the front page like every 12 hours just to see them there. Even less on a busy blog day. So either you check the site that often or you would have to browse to the Blog section anyways to see all the blogs. Most of which, are still crap/meaningless, and out of that most of which are about games you don't like(not directing this at anyone). So the Latest Blog section itself is limited in it's usefulness.

If you are subscribed to a game that you like you are going to get a notice for a new blog. Sometimes you might find a new good game, or new good dev, from a blog. But you are, maybe, more likely to find out about this new game/dev from the new game profile, new download, new screens, or the buzzing section. Unless of course you never look there, then blogs suddenly become more important.

I find it hard to see the reasoning behind moving the short list of recent blogs up. If it was the only way to access blogs, maaaybe.
TFT
WHOA wow wow. two tails? that is a sexy idea...
445
like i said, it obviously doesn't apply to everyone, and yeah, i am pretty lazy, i won't deny that. all i'm saying is i find myself not going out of my way to scroll down to look for the latest blogs i might or might not check.

i mean, it's not hurting me too much, but from my perspective i am just user 495853 stumbling on someones blog because it just happens to be on my screen and i might or might not find something interesting i wouldn't have found otherwise.

i mean, all it has done for me so far is check blogs less(which is bad for a developer i guess), and from the person who created a blog, might miss out on a comment or sub because i am lazy, and other people are probably lazy as well.

i mean, it's just my two cents. i'm not going out of my way to step on anybodies toes, it just feels like a step back and sort of bad design.
Thiamor
I assure you I'm no where NEAR as STUPID as one might think.
63
You know if you do CTRL+F you can easily type in BLOG and it take you right to it.
Actually, having just looked through the recent blogs there have been about 5-7 really good ones in the last thirty days - two of them from the same game. So, yeah, I do believe more spotlight be given to reviews and media instead of blogs.
On the flip side, some people don't care about blogs... It doesn't seem like a good enough reason to change something as trivial as this.
On the flip side, some people don't care about the Latest Post feed... It doesn't seem like a good enough reason to change its functionality.

You know if you do CTRL+F you can easily type in BLOG and it take you right to it.
You know if you press the Back button you can easily get back where you came from.

Just sayin ;9
_
On the subject of blogs being at the top because is the most often updated section, or at the bottom because they're not as important as reviews... Both are good arguments, I think, but I guess we'll never agree. The ideal thing would be for these sections to run side to side to each other so they don't compete for precedence, but I doubt that will be possible. xP

One thing is for sure, the site is a tad long. I guess I number of things could be done about this. Maybe the 'spotlight' and 'games to play' sections could be given the same 'slide' treatment that the main banner. Or maybe the 'games to play' section could be entirely moved to the Games portal. Both options would free some room to lift the side column a bit...
TFT
WHOA wow wow. two tails? that is a sexy idea...
445
I would also like to note, that I heard somewhere that you guys would be policing shitty blogs. And it seems like a waste/feeble attempt. Maybe you can reward the good bloggers instead of trying to stamp out the bad ones, because so far I have seen absolutely no change in this.

I have read a few good blog post here and there, but now I really doubt I will be able to stumble on something good. It's hard, because I cannot favorite everyone on this website on the offchance they write something interesting or insightful.

It's like a lotto, be at the right place at the right time.
Yes, yes, yes. We have our eyes out for shitty blogs, but at the same time are bringing back the weekly blog-thing to give kudos to good blogs.

Worry not, you'll be able to find the good blogs. They'll be pointed out for all to see.
Late to the party, but I'd be inclined to agree with TFT. At least that blogs have lost some visibility since the update (which I otherwise enjoy).

Most (decent) blogs are either status updates or announcements regarding a particular game's progress, or some discussion-raising post around a particular topic to do with game dev (which arguably sometimes could be better off as an article, depending on the context) - Yet on the "Developement Portal" main page, there is no space for development blogs as far as I can see, they're pretty low down on the front page and totally absent on the community page also.

Does "latest blogs" have no home? :<
Latest blogs is the middle child of the updated content family.

Seriously, at the start of September we'll be reinstating the 'This week in blogs' articles. Go take a look at some of the past ones to get an idea of their layout, if you haven't seen them before. They'll show the blogs from each week, but especially the better ones. Under separate headings, even!
Max McGee
with sorrow down past the fence
9159
there's just too much crud on the frontpage overall, not seeing this topic, I just made a topic about this
TFT
WHOA wow wow. two tails? that is a sexy idea...
445
author=Liberty
Yes, yes, yes. We have our eyes out for shitty blogs, but at the same time are bringing back the weekly blog-thing to give kudos to good blogs.

Worry not, you'll be able to find the good blogs. They'll be pointed out for all to see.

when? all i am seeing are one liner derp blogs as usual.
>.<;
Sorry, I've been busy. I'll try to get it done today or tomorrow.
you could write one, TFT
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