Good morning, MetsBlog.com.
Yes, I changed the layout of the blog last night.
It needed to be freshened up; and, though all I did was flip around the sidebars, I believe it makes it easier to consume and break up different types of content.
Also, until I can figure out issues with installing a mobile interface, this should at least eliminate the need to scroll for hours through the sidebar before viewing the the text column when using a BlackBerry.
Additionally, I installed Intense Debate to facilitate the comments section, which will allow you to create a user profile; rank other commenters; custom sort how comments are displayed; and be notified by e-mail when someone responds to you; as well as a whole host of other bells and whistles you can explore.
Lastly, I will soon be installing Facebook Connect as the entry way to the comments section, just like Deadspin, Gawker, TechCrunch, and other popular blogs have done, because it helps create a more responsible and self-sufficient community. I expect to install Facebook Connect in the next week or so.
Thank you for reading MetsBlog.com, and if you have any questions or concerns about the new design please let me know.
Lets Go Mets,
Awesome job Matt
Thanks. There are changes I have planned, but I'm thinking baby steps is the best way to go.
Thanks. There are other changes I have planned, but I'm thinking baby steps is the best way to go.
I like the new logo, and I like that the fan confidence meter is right up there. That meter is one of the unique distinctive features special to MetsBlog. Also, I LOVE that there is no more awaiting-moderation on comments! That was the single most important thing! I also like the fact that we commenters now have our own accounts, and can keep track of our comments and conversations.
However, I enjoyed being able to see all the comments all on one page, but I suppose I can get used to seeing them broken up into 50 per page. Also, I'm not yet on board with the whole shifting of the columns to the right side. It gives to page a sort of dis-symmetry.
I like the logo and the comments set up as well. I also like the way you reorganized the content in the quick link columns, but the dual column format on the right is driving me insane…just looks sloppy…
Matt,____Great job, but you need to keep the site's "Grand Central…" motto. :-)
Agreed. Not too crazy about the new logo but I like the layout.
One day you gotta get a message board, or an official metsblog chat room for weekends or something. Keep up the great work man.
Matt:
Keep it up,…it's been remarkable to see the site grow so exponentially. I'm sure it must be a thrill (and a bit surreal) for you.
Matt, this is great and I really enjoy reading Metsblog. You put so much effort and energy into this site. Can't wait to see Citifield with the Mets on the field! :)
looks like crap.
Not sure I like the side bad on the other side…asymmetry is throwing me off. Love the comments improvments though. Keep up the good work. Also, since when is 2:50 morning? Ugh. Why am I even up?
Check that 3:30 in the morning. FML.
yeah dude a metsblog chat room where people can chat during the games would be great.
long time reader..first post. ..a chat for during the games would be a great thing to have so you dont have to go thru the process of commenting
Looks great. love the new logo
Like the new logo. Not sure of the page being weighted so much to the right…but I'll give it a shot. New comment section is a great improvement.
Great work Matt with the new layout! Great site it has helped me stay in the loop while living Arizona, in the land of the pitiful NL West. Thank you for allowing me to have some REAL baseball coverage on the west coast!
Lets go mets
This comments section is really cool. I'm really glad you downloaded new software that emails us when someone replies to your comment. Awesome stuff.
Nice work Matt. Lovin the site even more…So I'm pretty excited about tomorrow. I live in Vegas, don't have SNY, but MLB.TV is letting you watch the game for free. It'll be great getting to see CitiField with the rest of you guys.
Wow I didn't know it was going to be broadcast on mlb.tv for free. Thanks for the heads up!
Hopefully the weather agrees and we can finally see the Mets in their new digs. Unfortunately it is currently pouring here in WNY and is suppose to rain all day. Would be a nice present to us fans if the weather could avoid moving to NYC.
Not to crazy about the new layout but then again I only care for the info
I like this better .. Though think you should still consolidate all the links on the right into subcategories. Click Other Blogs, then you get all the other blogs.
That would be a great idea. It would really clean up those bars from having 1,000 links.
Nice upgrade, Matt. I'm up for the chat during the games.
Waiting to see if the 'pen upgrades really do work this year (to the team). I, too, can't wait to see just how CitiField plays–will it be a pitchers' park, or will the landing patterns at LaGuardia be affected from the baseballs flying out of CitiField?
Nice upgrade Matt. You make it disappointing to check out Giantsblog because they update so rarely and really have no input whatsoever. This site rocks and I don't think I could get through law school without it. Keep up the good work!! (I also think a chatroom would be awesome)
I like it. Keep up the good work.
-FM
I 've been reading Metsblog for years and I really like the new format. I like the sidebars shifted to the right…it works for me. I DO remember the chat rooms that Matt used to offer on this blog, and although they were sometimes cool, often they would be overrun with trolls who made the experience frustrating. I don't miss that.
viewing the site on my blackberry was perfect before you changed it…just throwing that out there
this did make it better tho
test
Who is pumped for tonight ? I am like a kid on X-mas
It will take some getting used to, but this does seem like a step in the right direction.
Lets go Mets!
VERY nice job Matt.
I concur.
The comments look great, but it seems strange with the two sidebars on the right hand side. I'm sure I'll get used to it, however, so keep up the awesome work!
Oh, and one comment: I agree that using dropdowns or grouping for your links would alleviate the need for two sidebars
This is important for MetsBlog in that you get quite a bit of commentary, so the space would be better utilized.
during games Matt sometimes posts a link to the Hotfoot chatroom. Check it out next time
Being able to track responses to our posts is huge! It is the main reason I haven't spent more time replying.
Hmmmm…..
Love the site!
Very nice, Matt.
By the way, do you ever sleep?
Can't wait for the new season!
As someone who does most of his Metsblog reading/commenting discretely at work, I think it's great that the main content is at the extreme left. It makes it much easier to hide the non-text content from the higher-ups :-) . It'll take some getting used to, but I think it's gonna work out nicely. Plus, if this comment goes through, it means it now works with Firefox, so bonus!
Let the games begin!!!!
Interesting
I don't know if I like the two columns together thing….but to be honest, I never really looked at the columns anyway.
But if the comments section revamp means that there would be no more awaiting-moderation stuff – then I'm all for it!
test test test
Well lets see. This year should be a classic. I wonder what will happen with Griffey? Will he eat cheese with managment?
Hey, no more needless moderation. Nice.
so i assume I can say assume now…
lol
can we still say dick?
assume the dick…
LOL, nice. I was going to test that myself but you took care of it. The "ass" being hung up all the time was so annoying and such a waste of time. Having the reply form field underneath the actual comment you are replying to is also nice instead of doing it at the bottom of the page..
LOL. I see you got all the previously banned words in your sentence.
Very nice, Matt.
By the way, do you ever sleep? LOL.
Not sure about the 2 columns just based on clutter, but always give time to let things sink in. Comments look great and love the new logo. Best of luck with it Matt.
Obviously, I don't know what I'm doing on this new format since I've posted the same comment twice. I'll eventually figure this all out.
Tried to update the picture but I can see that didn't work for me either. I'm sure it's user error – lol.
This is gonna take some getting used to…
cocky
Does anyone see this? Testing, cocky pee pee, 1,2, 3….repeat, cocky pee pee, 1,2,3.
check 1 2 3 check check 123 – yeah it works. Nice Matt, this is much better than the previous comment interface.
cool
Not a fan of the two side bars on the right. I LOVED the content in the middle of the page like it was before. It felt framed and was easy to read. This layout makes your eyes immediately look to the right where all the links and ads are. In any case, thanks for your work Matt, just my humble opinion. Let's go Mets!
As a BlackBerry user, this is music to my ears! Thanks, Matt!
Matt, this new site layout is great! I also love how the users can moderate themselves – I would imagine this blog will soon return to the great conversation it had when it was first starting up now that we can filter the trolls off this site.
Great job Matt. Keep up the great work. MetsBlog has become part of my morning routine (and distracts me throughout the work day).
It looks great!
looks great
Yippie.
Rain, rain go away.
are you going to tonight's game?
this is going to take a little while to get used to but whatever
Wow gonna take some getting used to.
No more imagery in the title header. Looks a little generic.
Comments section looks much better – Nothing will ever be like it was around here in the beginning but keep up the good work just the same.
i really like the new format. looks good matt! it'll be nice to actually have baseball conversations again…
I like this much better
Whats up with the top header of the blog? I liked the ones with the sweet pictures of Shea, or the Spring Training field, or maybe even CitiField. . .
The new logo is nice, but I think the menus on the right are a bit clumsy. I'd suggest condensing them and collapsing them into flash menus under the main logo of the site. That would cleanup the page and make things more streamlined.
Overall, I think this new design is a step in the right direction. Keep up the good work Matt.
i almost jumped out of bed when i realized how much better it worked on my bberry! I kinda liked the panoramic stadium background, but all in all definitely a positive change.
Nice!
this is perfect!! this is the simple tweek you had to do all along.. move over a couple of bars and thats it!! it opens up great and no scrolling down for hours on my Palm Treo!!
test
IMO it looks too overloaded on the right.
ok this is better. Anything is an improvement over the old comment section. Im interested in this intensedebate feature. Not too crazy about having the comments shifted to the left..will take soem time getting used to. All and all, good job matt. Any chance of having a chat room like hotfoot?
on a side note, this game doesn't look like its going to be played tonight
Hey, Matt. Great job with the upgrades. I always held back commenting cause they would be always "awaiting modification" so well done solving that problem. Also, you had a contest on the blog last night about the first 100 people to email Pepsi would win 2 tickets to watch the Mets Reds game on the 6th from the Pepsi Porch. Can you give us any updates on that contest? Would the winners already been notified?
Thanks
LETS GO METS
just tryin' out the new comment system (and my new username)
I like this new format.
interesting layout cerrone…only negative is my old username "foul bunt strikeout" was too many characters so it had to be changed
how do i log into intense debate. It keeps saying my username is already used?
The new comments features and fixing up the moderation issue for the innocuous words is awesome. But I do prefer the original design art for the header with the stadium outline in the background. Having the comments on the left is also disorienting — like driving on the wrong side of the road, but maybe that's something that just needs to get used to. Nice work overall, Matt.
New format looks great on my Windows Mobile phone. Thanks Matt. One layout suggestion: make the sidebar boxes expandable rather than constantly open — e.g. I don't need to see the Categories unless I'm searching for someone.
hello? I can't log in for some reason… do I have to create another account?
Change…is good
The one thing I always wonder about (and I'm sure Matt has usage stats, so he knows best) is why bother with all the links on every page? How about eliminating the link bar and have one single link for a page that has all the links? This way it removes it from the homepage and all comment pages.
I love the new comment vehicle!
This rain does not look like its going anywhere anytime soon…
interested in seeing the ojeda-carlin duo at work for the 1st time. I'd think regardless they'll have soime sort of studio show regardless of a rainout.
really digging the new layout…i am proudly wearing my metsblog.com t-shirt at work today
hello?? does this thing work?
What is this +1 stuff? and what is this 1p 2p stuff?? confusing…
test
nice… we can even edit stuff…
David Wright Choke Unclutch Assume Dick …
testing my avatar
yea mine isn't being displayed as well…
you guys see it or not?
Nope. I definitely uploaded one too and it's on my "profile." Not sure if we're doing it wrong, or if it's something else though.
same here.
It is vital that the laughing "soda popinski" be displayed with the comments
Looks good Matt, though from reading this blog for so many years my eyes tend to look to the middle. I'll get over it. :)
Kudos to Matt for braving our rabid fanbase and making changes.
The left-slant is a little disorienting (I think I have a neck crink), but I understand this is likely to be temporary until Matt finds a mobile interface (it did turn out nice on the Bberry this morning.)
The comments are nice….
Let's Go Mets!
I love that I can actually read the site on my blackberry now w/o scrolling forever. Nice work.
This is a terrible layout. The wilpons and metsblog went in reverse. Wilpons figured it out that the seats should be turned towards home plate. Metsblog moves the articles away from the center of the pg. Thats like having the seats face towards the apple, it makes no sense!
First, this is a test.
Second, "…though all I did was flip around the sidebars…". Matt you modest, modest man. Great job again. Lovin the format, though I've never been choosey.
Last, regardless of who tells me otherwise, Mets fans are the best most passionate fans in baseball and I look forward to reading all your comments during the season. Let's get this thing started with no rain tonight, wishhful thinking, and seeing our boys in action in our new digs.
not sure if i like this…
Always enjoy the blog!
Love it, great job!
nice
I don't like the new layout. The two bars on the right are clunky and make my eyes want to always go there due to the slightly off center nature of the posting area. Definitely like the idea of collapsing all the other blogs into a sub-page.
holy typing skills batman! we can edit old posts! sweet! no more fose reyes!
dang… that name was always one of my favorites… too bad
Re: Blackberry: the main page looks great but specific articles still show the links bar.
Matt, sorry, but I'm not crazy about the new logo. The "G" looks odd at the end like that, pressing down on the ".com". Quite honestly, I don't think you need ".com" in the logo name on the site.
I love using Intense Debate. It just makes it so much easier to comment. That's really great. The new layout is pretty good, though I have to admit that I catch 90% of the stories in Google Reader so this doesn't affect me too much.
Matt,
I think the changes are great.
Keep up the great work
The new layout makes it harder to read. When the main section is about the posts and comments, you shouldn't have to look to the left when you already had it dead center where it really pops out at you. Not a good layout at all IMO.
awesome work Matt, keep it up.
Matt, you should do a poll and see what fans think..
I personally don't like the new Logo and the layout change is not a big deal.
The comments section I already don't like that I have to go to last page to see latest comments when in the past it would automatically take me there.
I like that you are now notified for followup comments.
The rest we will play it by ear.
I like it. I am not a big fan of having both columns on the right side and such a small window for the comments section but it does look MUCH cleaner. What can I say, I am a traditionalist and like the original comment section. Not the most recent one for sure, it was a mess. We shall see how this plays out. Especially with the ability to rank posters. Should give Mr. Bill and Alex something to do.
Oh my goodness it has an edit button. That is incredible for some of the posters like me.
Can we edit other people's posts to fix their grammar and spelling errors?
(just kidding)
Thanks Matt – I especially like the changes you made for reading on a BlackBerry!
test
I like the right hand column, but that new banner looks like it came from a 90's bargain bin of web logo deisgns. I really think you should rethink that.
Good stuff Matt!!!
love the new look!
Good, crisp new design and layout. Good job.