Tell Us What You Think So Far

Hit & Run regulars know that we upgraded Reason Online over the weekend, with an eye toward providing a better reader experience. We've added new technical capabilities, switched to faster servers, and recast the look of the site to make it easier to navigate.

All such changes have tons of problems and glitches that need to be worked out. Which is exactly what we'll be doing over the next few days and weeks. (We'll also be posting all old material to the new site; currently, some back issues and articles are not yet available.)

In the meantime, tell us what you think.

And help us identify problems by dropping a note detailing the issues to [e-mail].

Thanks for your readership--and your feedback.

And check out the cover gallery already if you haven't yet.

Comments

[dbcooper]

Good stuff so far, perhaps narrower columns of text would be good.

To be really picky, and duller background color perhaps?

[thoreau]

I like it. You guys have been good about responding to suggestions regarding URL's for commenter handles, the "Remember Me" option, etc.

[GILMORE]

Looks clean - will need to see how it shapes up in coming weeks. but overall, i think it's great you're upgrading the site, it needs it.

JG

[thoreau]

Actually, one minor complaint. Maybe this is just something in my browser settings (FireFox) but it only happens to me on one or two web sites. When I press the back button to go to the previous page, if the previous page is the H&R front page it sends me to the top of the page. If I'm reading through the page one thread at a time I have to scroll down to where I was before and then down further.

It's a minor thing, but with most sites hitting "back" takes me to my previous position on that page, not the top of the page.

[dead_elvis]

The covers are interesting, but are we going to get the content from the older issues? I'd like to be able to read them so I can complain that Reason used to be so much better 😉

[Sandy]

I like it. The 100-150 pixel-wider columns don't bother me, and the text is readable. The related stories are nice, though it would be super slick if you could do that in the blog posts, too.

I noted it elsewhere, but getting authors back in the blog's RSS feed would be nice, too.

Someone else made the suggestion that the Brickbats should have many on a page, and I agree; it's faster for the reader to view something like 10 at a time and reduces the number of requests they make to the server.

But all that stuff is pretty minor. Bottom line is I like it. The expanded RSS feeds are fantastic. Cyberstalking a single author used to be so much work.

[Buckshot]

I have the same problem as thoreau, I use FireFox and I get sent back to the top of the blog main page when I hit the back-up button. Too much scrolling and I lose my place.

[PintofStout]

I like the changes, especially the one-column format on the front page.

On H&R I noticed what Thoreau had said about going back and doing a lot of scrolling.

I particularly like the font everything is in. I'm not sure it is new, but that was was stuck out the most to me.

Bravo.

[Off-topic] If I order a gift subscription now, any chance of getting a December or January issue?[/off-topic]

[Jason Ligon]

I can post. At all. It makes me happy enough that I can come back and play again.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

I haven't had that effect in IE, thoreau-though for certain reasons I suspect it may be widespread. Anybody else noticing this?

[PintofStout]

In Firefox.

[steveintheknow]

Its alot better so far. I can actually load the site at a rate higher then 50% now. Now if I could only get a speed rush on my new print subscription...

[Mith]

It's been mentioned before in the thread over the weekend (which seems to have been eaten by the cats you used to get rid of the server squirrels), but setting the previously clicked links to a different color would be really great.

[jf]

I have the same problem in Firefox as Thoreau, and I second the suggestion made by Mith regarding clicked link colors.

[highnumber]

I have the same problem as thoreau, Sandy, Buckshot, etc. with the back button in Firefox.

Offtopic: Firefox 2.0 is cool.

[Jennifer]

Very minor quibble: since the Hit and Run archives now show only the titles of posts, rather than the first paragraph or so of them, maybe y'all could avoid titles like "New at Reason" in favor of a title that would hint to a bored person strolling through the archives what the post is actually about.

[dhex]

very excellent! and no issues with firefox 1.5 so far.

[Jammer]

Not bad at all, though the black letters on a grey background is kinda hard on my eyes.

[martin]

Nothing wrong with the new layout.

In Opera the problem thoreau reports is not present.
However, using the new IE 7 in the default configuration, the ads from the right side of the page appear over top of the ones on the left. Tested with 2 different systems.
Any confirmations of that?

Now I have to post this using IE. Using Opera I consistently get:

Please enter a name before submitting.
Please enter a comment before submitting.
Your IP must be visible in order to post.

Not only that, the error page appears with the entry fields empty.

Ugggh, don't want to use that crappy IE.

[Jarod Pranno]

Seems less clean and more busy. Harder to scan for items of interest and a bit hard to read. Not crazy about it.

[jb]

One complaint--It no longer, when I press "back" after commenting, brings me to the post I was commmenting on. I have to scroll down from the top.

Otherwise, superb!

[Mustafa Shag]

Overall much better. The only tweak I'd like to see is when I'm viewing a H&R post, a list of the last 10-20 recent posts linked on the right (or wherever else you deem a logical fit) would be very user-friendly. Also, the H&R logo should link to the blog, not the Reason home page.

And bring back Reason Pillow Girl, she was such a great mascot.

[Timothy]

That back button issue in FireFox is going to be a problem, I think (yup, I'm having it too). I didn't know there were people who still used IE.

[martin]

opera test

[MP]

Navigation links would be nice at the top of a post page (i.e. Previous Post, Next Post, & Main Page).

[Eric S.]

There should be a link at the bottom of each article that takes you directly to the H&R comments discussing said article. I'm a subscriber, but don't check H&R daily. Sometimes I see an article up on Reason.com that I read awhile back and want to read the comments. I have to scroll through H&R to find it. Usually no big deal if I'm here right away to see the article/comments appear online, sometimes an inconvenience.

[martin]

My apologies. Trying to find the offending setting.

[martin]

Hmm, looks like it works after I clear the cookie cache. What gives?

[Number 6]

I like it, although there is something about the combination of background color and text that is hard on my eyes; I can't pinpoint the issue, but it's there. Of course, that could just me an individual problem.

All in all, it's great to see H&R upgraded and functional. Some long-missing regulars may start showing up again.

[Number 6]

One other minor complaint: It would be nice to see a "Main Page" button that will take the reader back to the H&R index.

[KipEsquire]

This is de minimis, but the RSS feeds no longer indicate the specific author of the post, just the generic email address.

[Patrick]

Any reason why the orange R logo no longer appears in the left corner of my URL window in my browser?

I've noticed this in IE, Firefox and Safari.

I use a script to show such logos next to my del.icio.us links on my website. (See here for what I mean) and now it no longer shows there either.

[martin]

To those looking for better readability:
Might want to take a look at IE 7. It has a feature called clear type which considerably improves contrast. A great idea, Opera and Firefox take note!
I hate to hand it to M$, but IE 7 is not bad. Fast, easily customisable search settings, looks nice.
Of course, it remains to be seen how secure it is and nothing has changed to make it easier to turn scripting on and off. It still is virtually impossible to understand all of those advanced settings.

[PJ Doland]

The scroll positioning/back button issue in FireFox should be corrected now.

[Rimfax]

Looks great and mostly works great.

Now, how about working on spicing up the merchandise? I'd love to wear a Reason t-shirt and I'm a big fan of understated design, but the Reason design t-shirt is intolerably blah, for lack of a better word. Perhaps now that you've Suckified the magazine and the website, you can Suckify the merchandise?

[thoreau]

Back button does indeed work now! Thanks!

[The Server Squirrels]

#$@%& you, Gillespie! You ain't seen the last of us yet!

[Eric the .5b]

The site is great, but Bloglines claims something is wrong with the new Hit and Run RSS feed and can't display it.

[Ken Shultz]

The latest Firefox version, 2.0, spellchecks my comments as I type. Maybe my posts are still drivel--at least the drivel's spelled correctly. ...and it seems to do that within a pretty thin program. There's no goin' back to bloatware now.

A few observations.

*To my eye, italics aren't as prominent, so it's harder to differentiate between a commenter's quote and comment.

*Maybe it's just the settings on my primary machine, but the blocks of gray used to separate comments could be darker--my eye is still looking for a line to separate comments.

[FinFangFoom]

Are you going to add Hit & Run posts to the staff pages?

[Eric the .5b]

I had a brainstorm and went to http://feedvalidator.org - it doesn't like a few things about the main H&R feed, particularly some relative references. That might be throwing Bloglines.

[Buckshot]

You guys fixed the FireFox Backup problem, good work, no more complaints from me.

[Thomas Paine\'s Goiter]

Can you guys dump the orange hyperlinks and possibly find a lighter/duller color for the background?

That shit is rough on the eyes.

[Lee]

Opera works great for me.

[mediageek]

Have only been perusing, and haven't hit any issues that have caused me problems in Firefox 1.5.

I have to confess to going through the cover gallery, and really liking it.

One minor suggestion, though:

Would it be possible to duplicate the Issues by Decade: menu at the bottom of each page as well? That way a person browsing the covers wouldn't have to scroll back to the top to click on the next year's gallery.

[Mike Laursen]

The remodel is great! Just one thing: on the page for each post, please link to the previous and next posts.

[P Brooks]

I was going to whine about the Firefox "back" button thing, but I got caught by that "name, email address, IP must be visible" thing.

Back button works now, and I was successfully able to make a typically snarky post on another thread- maybe that "IP visible" thing was related to a "fix in progress" thing.
So I'll whine about this: on my machine, an IBM Thinkpad running Knoppix linux (Windows refuseniks, unite!) and Firefox, text appears as a low-contrast blue. Not especially easy on the eye or fast reading, especially in conjunction with the wider columns.

[Joseph Majsterski]

The speed is shockingly fantastic. I barely blinked before my comment appeared.

[CharlesWT]

Making text black, instead of dark gray, would be a bit easier on the eyes.

I had to post using IE. I getting

* Please enter a name before submitting.
* Please enter a comment before submitting.
* Your IP must be visible in order to post.

using Mozilla 1.7.13

[Ken Shultz]

Logging back in, it looks like you guys did something since my last comment about the lines?

...I think it's much better this way.

[Eryk Boston]

With the new format I keep thinking I'm reading the Volokh Conspiracy website.

[thoreau]

Testing...

[NoStar]

My only gripe is that the comment font is so stark and austere. Sanserif fonts are harder to read, especially with words like Illuminati where capital I and lower case l are nearly indistinguishable. Given reason readers love of conspiracy theories this is a major design flaw.

So, why did you do it? Hmmm?

[MUTT]

I sorta miss the squirrels....they were demented little goal keepers- kapow-there went your brilliant analysis, flying down the ice to who knows where. You had to WANT to post, you had to WORK for it sometimes. Try, and try again!
Now, its effortless. And thats Reasons job- to ease away any impediments, any tough going that will discourage the unworthy & build character in the deserving.....no, no. No reason for THAT: someones self esteem might start to snivel....someone may not quite MANAGE to add the title H&R Commenter to the rest of s/he's collection, like "Showed Up" and "Ate All His Carrots Today" and other presentations & emoluments for tying you shoes or washing your face that make up inclusive, supportive, nurturing society.
I understand the print version is high in approved fibre, too. And fireproof.

[zeiner]

I mentioned this in the last thread and has not been fixed so I will mention it again. The new website does not display properly in Opera 9.01 Other websites that I visit work fine in Opera. I'm not quite sure if it works in recently release 9.02 version. In Opera 9.01 there is text, pictures, and links but no color text or the fancy layout. It looks plan and boring.

Again, only a fraction of people use Opera but I think it should be fixed. If anybody out there uses Opera, please correct me if I am wrong.

Now, I using firefox 2.0 so it is that much of an issue with me but some people only use Opera.

[Windypundit]

I'm liking it, but I have a few readability nits. There's something hard to read about the font-and-background combination. Can the font be darker or bolder? Also, the wide columns make it hard to track back to the beginning of the next line. So, a little narrower, a little darker, and I'll be fine.

[Eric the .5b]

I like the borders between comments, now.

I work on this sort of thing for my job, and for some reason, it's rather fun watching someone else tinker on a site for a change.

[PJ Doland]

We can't replicate any of the errors you are reporting in Opera 9.01. Could you please send a screenshot of the error to [e-mail].

[Ken Shultz]

Um, if you're still takin' requests--how 'bout some more of the Reason Pillow Girl? With Halloween here, seems to me like there were some missed opportunities. ...but it's not too late!

I'm seein' a Reason Pilgrim Pillow Girl for Thanksgiving--or better yet, a Reason Pocahontas Pillow Girl! ...'bout time Jamestown got some equal billing.

And the Reason Pillow Girl for the holidays opportunities are legion. Obviously there's Santa Pillow Girl, but I'd go big--I'm thinkin' The Twelve Days of Reason Pillow Girl. "On the first day of Christmas, Reason Girl gave to me..." Obviously, there could be a Reason Kwanzaa Pillow Girl, a Reason Dreidl Pillow Girl...I'm just thinkin' aloud here.

Even without holidays, I'm sure everybody would like to see Reason Zombie Pillow Girl, Reason Cthulu Pillow Girl, Reason Stoner Pillow Girl...

[Syd]

I miss the links directing me to the next post so I can go straight to it without going to the main page.

[Stevo Darkly]

Lately my posts aren't going through. Test post.

[martin]

zeiner,

Check the following Opera settings:

Menu bar View > Style > High contrast (B/W) as well as (W/B) This setting should affect all sites and pages though.

Right-click on the page and select Edit site preferences... > Display tab Enable everything.

Hope this helps

[Lazlo]

Martin, Cleartype is a Windows feature, not an IE feature. If it's enabled, it's enabled throughout Windows. I'm in Firefox right now and it's working fine.

Like the new (larger) comment font size, miss the previous/next article links that used to be at the bottom of each page. Overall it's a win. Well done!

[martin]

Lazlo:

Thanks much for the hint. Enabled it globally and it works fine in Opera as well.

[Buckshot]

The FireFox squirrel that sends the back-button to the top of the blog main page is back, somehow you guys unfixed the fix.

[AC]

Using "back" is sending me to the top of the page again. I'm using Firefox 1.5, and it was working earlier today.

[firefox]

I have having the same problem as thoreau. I have a Mac with firefox, and when I hit "back" it goes to the top of the Hit & Run page. Didn't do that before, and doesn't do that with most other blogs that I recall

[Stevo Darkly]

Sometimes when I attempt to post, I get an error message telling me that:

- I must include my name (I did).

- I must include my e-mail (I do, except it's not my real one.)

- My IP address must be visible. (I have no idea what this means. I'm not doing anything with my IP address.)

Aside from this bug, assuming it goes away, I am provisionally thrilled with the new site.

[P Brooks]

Sometimes when I attempt to post, I get an error message telling me that:

- I must include my name (I did).

- I must include my e-mail (I do, except it's not my real one.)

- My IP address must be visible. (I have no idea what this means. I'm not doing anything with my IP address.)
__________

I, too have encountered this, and it seems to correlate to some sort of fix in progress.

I am very impressed- you guys solicit comments/ complaints/ suggestions, and ACT UPON THEM. I'm quite pleasantly surprised (if not amazed). Don't hold your breath waiting for the Harvard Business Review to contact you any time soon.

[P Brooks]

I take it all back- the "back" button issue seems to have reappeared.

[Mith]

Thanks for changing the clicked links color. Much, much better.

[highnumber]

With the redesign, since so much is changing anyway, perhaps a new ground rule for commenters: Banned for life if you make any statement like, "For a magazine/website called "Reason"..." No second chances, just gone forever.

[Buckshot]

I just wrote a masterpiece, I sweated and slaved and re-wrote and did some heavy thinking and changed it around, and the squirrels ATE IT! I've been sick for a week, I feel like shit, and now this. Boy, when things go wrong.....

[Mike Laursen]

Shit! Same thing just happened to me!

Here it is again: When I try to bookmark the Hit & Run RSS feed in Safari, it isn't recognized as an RSS feed. It seems to be caused by the http://reason.com/blog/index.xml URL redirecting to http://reason.com/blog. The other RSS feeds work fine.

Also, the text in the URL field seems to get dropped when I check the Remember Me checkbox.

[P Brooks]

I'm back to getting shipped to the top of the main page when I go back out of a comment thread; am I the only one? It was fixed for a while yesterday afternoon.

And- I was writing a comment earlier and decided to jump back to the article to check a fact- when I came back to the comment, it was GONE. Before, the name and email boxes would be empty, but the text in the comment box would remain.

Am I going to have to put everything in a separate tab?

[Kwix]

Testing FireFox 1.07

[Kwix]

Testing again

[Kwix]

Last time. I suspect a DOM bug in the form checker.

[Kwix]

I lied. One more time.

[Kwix]

Testing italics

Both with paragraphs

blah blah

Now without closing them

[Kwix]

Now to see if the italics continue

[Kwix]

Now closing them.