Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. Please keep the feedback coming. Suggested changes will happen overtime, but I wanted to release something so I could get more feedback.
One of the things I had in mind going into this is that our community is relatively small, but it super super interesting. Pretty much everyone I've ever met is intrigued at least slightly by cubing. However, if you tell someone to go to speedsolving.com, they show up and are confused. The old homepage wasn't welcoming, nor exciting, and really provided little value when you think about it. The old homepage was out of date, and not scalable. While it did have the recent threads module, that was it, really. And that is simple to replace as there are already solutions for that.
While speedsolving is a community, there is so much more that can be done with the site than just a forum. Obviously you can use the forum as you did before and it will continually be improved, but I really think the community needs an outlet for news, stories, photos, videos, etc like most other communities have. The idea of this homepage isn't to make the forum go to dust, but actually grow it. Many people show up to the old homepage and say "what's this site about, I'm not sure". What is posted on the forum is only a fraction of the puzzle related stuff out there, and many people would prefer to look at something like the homepage rather than read a forum (hence why you see sports sites similar to this). As I said, the old homepage offered nothing really other than a recent threads module, which wasn’t welcoming, and wasn’t versatile at all which restricted future development. Additionally, vB (the software which runs the forum) has been going downhill for years, and the past homepage relied on it. Future plans would be to upgrade to a more modern software, but it has to be taken 1 step at a time.
In terms of content: right now it's just records/videos/interviews because that is all that was on the old homepage (which was horribly arranged and setup btw). The plan for the new piece of the site would be to provide more stories, articles, photos, etc. But it will take time and it will be a community project. It provides an outlet for cubing media, which really doesn't currently exist if you think about it, and I think it's one reason why cubing hasn't got more exposure. With an outlet done correctly, it could really change the community and lead to more competitors, more ideas, more sponsorship, etc. People wonder why cubing isn't getting as much sponsorship as other "sports", and I think part of it has to do with the lack of exposure to our community. At the end of the day the goal is to create a site where people can connect, learn, and share this hobby that we all enjoy.
As for change: you're not alone, it's human nature. Every time something big changes, people complain because they aren't used to it. Note that the goal with the new homepage is to better the community overall and for the future.
2. Same thing as above. Right now many people are probably seeing the Pochmann interview and therefore it is "popular", but that will change over time.
As mentioned in another comment above, hopefully over time more people will contribute content and it will be interesting to read for both new members, and current forum members. The older homepage really offered nothing for current forum members either.
Over the last few years, the forum hasn't grown much at all, and we can only speculate as to why. Part of this is due to the culture of the forum, or people changing hobbies, etc. But also part of this is due to the lack exposure that the site gives newcomers. Back in the day everyone was welcome. Today people are often afraid to post. It is something that needs to be worked on.
I would like to make a final note in that while I do think this will help serve the community better in the long run, if it doesn't work it can always be changed or undone. You often never know until you try.
Think of it as an addition to the site, not at all replacing the forum. The old homepage offered little in terms of welcoming people to the site, introducing people to what it's about, and provided little in terms of content for the forum. The recent threads module that everyone mentions only listed the last few threads (from select forums), so it was hardly a good way to see what's going on. What's New and Today's Posts are far better, and we encourage people to use those. If those aren't sufficient, I will create whatever is needed to be sufficient, just give me feedback on why those don't work.
One of the things I had in mind going into this is that our community is relatively small, but it super super interesting. Pretty much everyone I've ever met is intrigued at least slightly by cubing. However, if you tell someone to go to speedsolving.com, they show up and are confused. The old homepage wasn't welcoming, nor exciting, and really provided little value when you think about it. The old homepage was out of date, and not scalable. While it did have the recent threads module, that was it, really. And that is simple to replace as there are already solutions for that.
While speedsolving is a community, there is so much more that can be done with the site than just a forum. Obviously you can use the forum as you did before and it will continually be improved, but I really think the community needs an outlet for news, stories, photos, videos, etc like most other communities have. The idea of this homepage isn't to make the forum go to dust, but actually grow it. Many people show up to the old homepage and say "what's this site about, I'm not sure". What is posted on the forum is only a fraction of the puzzle related stuff out there, and many people would prefer to look at something like the homepage rather than read a forum (hence why you see sports sites similar to this). As I said, the old homepage offered nothing really other than a recent threads module, which wasn’t welcoming, and wasn’t versatile at all which restricted future development. Additionally, vB (the software which runs the forum) has been going downhill for years, and the past homepage relied on it. Future plans would be to upgrade to a more modern software, but it has to be taken 1 step at a time.
In terms of content: right now it's just records/videos/interviews because that is all that was on the old homepage (which was horribly arranged and setup btw). The plan for the new piece of the site would be to provide more stories, articles, photos, etc. But it will take time and it will be a community project. It provides an outlet for cubing media, which really doesn't currently exist if you think about it, and I think it's one reason why cubing hasn't got more exposure. With an outlet done correctly, it could really change the community and lead to more competitors, more ideas, more sponsorship, etc. People wonder why cubing isn't getting as much sponsorship as other "sports", and I think part of it has to do with the lack of exposure to our community. At the end of the day the goal is to create a site where people can connect, learn, and share this hobby that we all enjoy.
Right now the current (new) homepage isn't super useful for active forum members, but that will hopefully change. I want to make it a community project where anyone can contribute content, and if it is worthwhile and good as decided by the moderators, it will get posted.
As for change: you're not alone, it's human nature. Every time something big changes, people complain because they aren't used to it. Note that the goal with the new homepage is to better the community overall and for the future.
1. Yes, those will get fixed as time passes, people use the site, and more posts are added. Right now those 5 are showing since it hasn't been used much yet.
2. Same thing as above. Right now many people are probably seeing the Pochmann interview and therefore it is "popular", but that will change over time.
As mentioned in another comment above, hopefully over time more people will contribute content and it will be interesting to read for both new members, and current forum members. The older homepage really offered nothing for current forum members either.
Better late than never, right? Technology changes, how we share changes, and it's important to adapt. Note that the wiki and forum will remain mostly the same. The new homepage simply allows for an outlet of media that is produced through cubing, and makes it exciting to new people. The purpose of a forum is to discuss things, the purpose of the new homepage is to share things. I think having both is important. For example, MacRumors has done very well with it.
Good tips and suggestions on the layout. Much appreciated. I can implement a recent threads piece on the homepage, but I'm unsure what the purpose of this is. It isn't useful for seeing all the latest posts, only the ones within the last hour (depending on the activity at the time). I want to encourage people to use better tools like the Todays Posts and the Whats New. They are made for that purpose.
If you click on the forums link, it already goes to the forum home. What do you mean exactly?
For new users, if they browse the new homepage it will be clear there is a big community behind it. Time will tell I suppose.
You saw new posts, but only the latest 20, neglecting certain forums. It was not at all a good way to see the latest posts on the forum. Many people seem to have issues with this, but it seems that most of those people don't use Today's Post or What's New, which are far better solutions.
Simpler and cleaner layouts are often better, I agree. But sometimes they aren't. We should try both and see. I am a big fan of the PhysicsForums site, and their Insight page for articles. However, cubing is quite different than just informational discussion. People are now becoming more known, people inspire others, and it's more like a sport than anything. Look at how finals are organized at competitions. Something with more visuals I think is more exciting for cubing (hence the new homepage).I do think it's a bad thing, actually. I'm one of those people who think simpler and cleaner layouts are better. There is a lot of space wasted in white space, borders/margins/padding, unnecessary "0 Comments" links (remember, this is a forum, not a new media company), big "Read More >>" buttons, and of course images. Even the menus contain large images, which makes them take up a solid third of the screen when deployed.
Points taken. Note that saying the goal is to maximize page views makes it sound like I'm trying to make money regardless of what the community thinks. That isn't at all the case, and in fact, the site has made little profit over the course of 10 years. The goal is to bring more exposure to the community and allow us to more easily share our community with the world, but it is not financially driven at all.
As I quoted someone above, this is because it was just released. Long term is to have anyone in the community contribute articles, stories, ideas, thoughts for the community. The reason why right now you only see the above is because I can only do so much alone. Just like with the forum and the wiki, I've setup a platform which allows people to share.
If the new homepage makes the forum shrink, I will change it. In fact, the end result of having an outlet for media would be to make the forum grow and bring more exposure to it. I'll do everything in my power and listen to everyone in the community to help the forum be what the community wants.
Over the last few years, the forum hasn't grown much at all, and we can only speculate as to why. Part of this is due to the culture of the forum, or people changing hobbies, etc. But also part of this is due to the lack exposure that the site gives newcomers. Back in the day everyone was welcome. Today people are often afraid to post. It is something that needs to be worked on.
That is a nice idea. If you're interested in creating something like this, please let me know and I'd be glad to work with you on it.
I would like to make a final note in that while I do think this will help serve the community better in the long run, if it doesn't work it can always be changed or undone. You often never know until you try.
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