Will You be Using the New Yay or Nay Polls?

Greg

Use this topic to try out the new poll feature. If you are logged in you will see the "Yay" and "Nay" buttons alongside the title above.

Try both Yay and Nay to see how you can change your vote.

I described the feature in more detail in the backstage blog post here: http://youlookfab.com/backstag.....ylf-forum/

13 years ago

General

46 replies

Latest reply was from medusa

Polly (thunalata)

Veteran

What fun! I like that you can change your mind. I change mine a lot!

13 years ago

Queen Mum

Veteran

LOVE this I will definitely be using it.

13 years ago

RoseandJoan

Veteran

This will be a great feature, will it be used on the blog posts too?

13 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I will use this feature for sure.

13 years ago

stringy

Veteran

Wheeee! This is fun, I like it.

13 years ago

Barbara

Veteran

Absolutely, Greg. What fun!

13 years ago

Greg

Administrator

RoseandJoan, not yet.

13 years ago

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

You better believe it! Thank you for implementing this, Greg.

13 years ago

Debbie

Veteran

Of course!

13 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Interesting new feature. Once you vote, you have to have a vote right? (ie there's no way to unvote?)

13 years ago

Elly

Veteran

Sure, the only thing that I don't like is that the indicator of read or unread is now to the far right-- which is unnatural when reading.

13 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Am I missing a feature? How do I tell if I've read a post or not?

13 years ago

Greg

Administrator

Lisa, the color around the number of replies tells you whether the topic has unread posts.

Green = new topic you haven't read at all
Dark grey = topic you've read before that has new posts
Light grey = topic where you have read all the posts

There is a key down at the bottom of the page below the list of topics.

13 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Aha! Thanks Greg!

13 years ago

Kate

Veteran

AWESOME!

ETA: I know I'm being picky/whiney here, but I liked having the green and gray have you read this post indicator on the left. I used it as a kind of stoplight to decide which thread titles to read (if I had already read one I could just look down to the next one). I'm so disoriented with it on the right side, and it takes me longer to read through all of the posts. Do other people feel this way?

13 years ago

Maya

Veteran

I think you just need to get used to it, Kate. It's new, and new things take some time.

I have mixed feelings about the Y or N feature. I like the fact that it encourages more honest responses through anonymity, but I hate that people can vote without offering any explanation or input about their response. I doubt I'll be using it, just because the thoughtful, intelligent feedback is what I value most on YLF and replacing it with a button does not do it for me. I realize a lot of people will do both, but a lot won't.

I guess when I think of what I feel is necessary or nice to have, this is one of those things i could happily live without.

13 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Kate, Maya is right about getting used to the new position of the grey and green notifiers. You won't even notice the change in a day or so.

What I really like about the new voting feature is being able to see an instant yay or nay preference on the "latest page". I like to absorb "straight to the point" information fast and this achieves that goal.

13 years ago

Louise

Veteran

I think it will be handy when you dis/like something but can't say why, but like Maya I hope it doesn't take the place of the comments which are so valuable in helping to decide why something works or doesn't x

13 years ago

Kate

Veteran

Oh, Maya, I wasn't saying that I couldn't get used to it. Humans can get used to anything.

The concern for me is that I like having the green vs. gray info before reading the title (so that I can skip the title). But reading from left to right is so deeply ingrained that it slows me down to look to the right for the info I want and then go back and read the title. I completely acknowledge that this is a very minor issue and a change that I can definitely deal with.

13 years ago

bella

(website)

Veteran

I wonder if the new format will be alienating to new comers. The page is very crowded with signifiers that may look to a newcomers as info only insiders have privileged access to.

13 years ago

MsMaven

Veteran

I just used it. I've used similar polling features on other forums and think it adds to the overall usefulness.

13 years ago

Louise

Veteran

Kate I'm struggling with the un/read tag on the right, my eyes have to keep darting across to right to look for unread posts then back to left to read the title it's sending me cross eyed!!! Hope we get used to it soon x

13 years ago

Greg

Administrator

The position of the indicator is very easy to change, so after we have spent a few hours with it I will switch it to the left to see whether that makes a big difference.

FWIW, the position changed because I've now integrated the unread indicator and the number of replies. I put this combined field close the latest replier on the right because it is a nice logical grouping. But I think I agree with Kate and Elly that there is an eye tracking issue with this position. I find that I am glancing at the indicator on the right, then to the subject on the left, making it harder to scan down the list of topics. It is subtle, but definitely noticeable.

13 years ago

Steph

Veteran

I like these changes! I love that you have integrated the indicator and the number of replies. I'll be interested to see whether I prefer it on the left when you move it.

I like the idea of polls as well. The one thing I wonder is whether it will end up being a way for people to be negative about something without posting in the comments, because they don't want to hurt someone's feelings by being negative. On the one hand, it would be nice if people explained why they didn't like something. On the other, I know there is a tendency on the boards not to post if you don't like something, so it might be nice to see polling numbers that show negative responses, so the poster has a fuller idea of people's preferences. I particularly like that once you have voted on the poll you can see the results on the main forum page next to the thread.

13 years ago

Greg

Administrator

Bella, that is an interesting question. In general, I worry about clutter and complexity in a user interface so it is something that I have thought about a lot.

One thing to bear in mind here is that a lot of this information doesn't appear to someone who isn't logged in (they don't see polls, favorites or the unread indicator).

Once someone has signed up and logged in, I hope the information helps them to discover features rather than frighten them away. It is a trade-off though.

13 years ago

(website)

Veteran

I agree that moving it to the left again may be easier on the eyes but I can adjust if it stays on the right. Not sure the photo icon on the thread listing helps me any. Maybe just underneath with all the other icons is enough? ETA: or does that mean there is a pic in the thread and not attached at all to the poster being a photog??

13 years ago

Greg

Administrator

Mo, yes, it means that there is a photo in the opening post of the thread (regardless of whether the poster is a Photog).

13 years ago

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Greg, I have just noticed that I can no longer identify the posts with new, unread entries. I realize this may be a screen-reader issue, but thought I'd raise it in case it's connected to the new integration you just put in place. In the past, I was able to see a link labelled "to next unread post" just before a thread title. That link is now gone when I browse through the forum. Did it disappear because of the new format? Im not complaining, just asking and trying to understand a bit better.
Re. the polling feature, one thing I do quite like is that only forum members can take part. It is my hope that most members will have absorbed the spirit of the forum and continue to conduct themselves accordingly. I think the feature would be more risky and open to misuse if it were available to stray newcomers. To that end, can the feature be used by new members or just active ones and veterans?

13 years ago

Maya

Veteran

I agree with Steph about the Y or N feature. It gives a free pass to be negative without any explanation. That would drive me mad.

That said, as long as it's an optional feature, I'm fine with it. I just won't be using it. I'm the opposite of Angie. Quick and to the point does nothing for me.

13 years ago

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