Dinosaur Toy Blog changes

[The Atroxious]

Bird is a subjective definition, some draw the line at Avaialae but others prefer to draw the line at Ornithothoraces, and others still (myself included) draw the line at Aves.

If you were to ask my opinion I would tell you that Archaeopteryx is not a bird, but someone else might tell you that it was (though I should hope because they actually knew what they were saying and not because "it's the first bird!" ).

Agreed. I'm definitely in the "bird was initially intended to be used as a term to describe Aves, so labeling anything outside Aves as a bird is stretching the term a bit far" camp but it really should be noted that the word "bird" was never meant as a definitive classification so much as shorthand for certain animals with certain features. The fact that said features turned out to be far more prevalent throughout Earth's history than ever expected just made the issue a lot more convoluted than before.

You can say the same thing about fish. It's more of a descriptive shorthand for a certain type of animal than it is a scientific classification.

It's funny that this issue comes up here since I had a debate with someone in real life about the exact same issue not long ago.

[DinoToyForum]

If we are making all the categories monophyletic, I'm afraid I must insist that all tetrapod reviews of any kind be moved into "fish"   

Oh, I'm not making all the groups monophyletic, I'm just being strict with the groups that are. Everyone knows there's no such thing as a fish. Perhaps I should put it inverted commas, along with 'other reptiles' (if I create a category for them).

[Halichoeres]

If we are making all the categories monophyletic, I'm afraid I must insist that all tetrapod reviews of any kind be moved into "fish"   

Everyone knows there's no such thing as a fish.

[DinoToyForum]

Added Starlux page: http://dinotoyblog.com/companies/starlux/

[DinoToyForum]

I've installed a new responsive theme for the Dinosaur Toy Blog that should look good on all devices. Feedback welcome! http://dinotoyblog.com

[Ravonium]

Looks much better than the redesigned forum page. I don't like it as much as the old design, but it does look like I'll get used to it.

[Josh]

I've installed a new responsive theme for the Dinosaur Toy Blog that should look good on all devices. Feedback welcome! http://dinotoyblog.com

I've been a member of the forum for about 3 years now, and I love it, but I've never really posted because I don't have internet at my house and always browse from my phone. It just takes too long (by the way, private messages also take forever on the phone). So I'm excited about the change to the blog and hope that a responsive theme for the forum is coming soon.

[DinoToyForum]

I've installed a new responsive theme for the Dinosaur Toy Blog that should look good on all devices. Feedback welcome! http://dinotoyblog.com

I've been a member of the forum for about 3 years now, and I love it, but I've never really posted because I don't have internet at my house and always browse from my phone, and it just takes too long. So I'm excited about the change to the blog and hope that a responsive theme for the forum is coming soon.

Hi J @Josh, thanks for the comment, which I'll certainly take on board. I'm sure you're not alone.

I'm looking into responsive possibilities for the forum but my options are currently limited. Hopefully the next update to the forum software will provide new possibilities.

[DinoToyForum]

Looks much better than the redesigned forum page. I don't like it as much as the old design, but it does look like I'll get used to it.

Thanks for the feedback. Is there anything in particular you don't like? It will depend what device you're viewing on.

[Josh]

I've installed a new responsive theme for the Dinosaur Toy Blog that should look good on all devices. Feedback welcome! http://dinotoyblog.com

I've been a member of the forum for about 3 years now, and I love it, but I've never really posted because I don't have internet at my house and always browse from my phone, and it just takes too long. So I'm excited about the change to the blog and hope that a responsive theme for the forum is coming soon.

Hi J @Josh, thanks for the comment, which I'll certainly take on board. I'm sure you're not alone.

I'm looking into responsive possibilities for the forum but my options are currently limited. Hopefully the next update to the forum software will provide new possibilities.

Thanks! And thanks for the great forum as well. It has increased my enjoyment of this hobby significantly.

[DinoToyForum]

I've installed a new responsive theme for the Dinosaur Toy Blog that should look good on all devices. Feedback welcome! http://dinotoyblog.com

I've been a member of the forum for about 3 years now, and I love it, but I've never really posted because I don't have internet at my house and always browse from my phone, and it just takes too long. So I'm excited about the change to the blog and hope that a responsive theme for the forum is coming soon.

Hi J @Josh, thanks for the comment, which I'll certainly take on board. I'm sure you're not alone.

I'm looking into responsive possibilities for the forum but my options are currently limited. Hopefully the next update to the forum software will provide new possibilities.

Thanks! And thanks for the great forum as well. It has increased my enjoyment of this hobby significantly.

Then my job is done. No problem!

[Ravonium]

Thanks for the feedback. Is there anything in particular you don't like? It will depend what device you're viewing on.

To answer your question: When I first saw this design, I didn't like how there was no 'Recent Posts' sidebar, especially considering the fact that I assume most regular readers use that sidebar more than the 'Popular Posts' sidebar, but I see that you've added it back in.

As for device, I do like this design more when viewing from a mobile phone, but it isn't a strong preference.

[DinoToyForum]

Thanks for the feedback. Is there anything in particular you don't like? It will depend what device you're viewing on.

To answer your question: When I first saw this design, I didn't like how there was no 'Recent Posts' sidebar, especially considering the fact that I assume most regular readers use that sidebar more than the 'Popular Posts' sidebar, but I see that you've added it back in.

As for device, I do like this design more when viewing from a mobile phone, but it isn't a strong preference.

Thanks, yes, I've been making tweaks to the sidebars.

[Dilopho]

Well, personally, I don't like it  But it's not bad.

IDK how to phrase this in a way that doesn't make me sound stupid.... but the old design felt more..friendly? And approachable?
The blocky feel, solid red areas and huge blocky fonts feel like the new one is yelling at me.

[Takama]

I took one look at the new design.

And i Do not Like it .

Everything was so clean, and acessable, as well as not all over the place. Now its a bunch of things listed everywhere.    Personally i liked it the way it was

[Reptilia]

Yes, a bit chaotic indeed. Might be we just need to get familiar with it.

[ceratopsian]

My first impression is that is terribly random and chaotic. I want to see the most recent reviews, yes. But most often I search either by genus name or else I browse by company. There seemed to be a lot of wading around to get to that information. I also don't much like the text obscuring the photos. I am more inclined to be attracted by the look of the toy rather by "shouty" text obscuring it. But maybe it's just a matter of familiarity and adjusting to a new way of presenting things.

[DinoToyForum]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It would be helpful if you could specify whether you're viewing on desktop, tablet, or mobile, because the appearance is different for each. I don't understand some of your concerns so maybe that's why.

@ceratopsian, in terms of browsing by company, that functionality is still there. All functionality is basically unchanged in the desktop version (the changes are superficial). Mobile view is different, but the top menu can still be accessed via the three horizontal lines button, and all of the menus (on the right sidebar in desktop view) also appear at the bottom in mobile view. The search bar in mobile view is also at the bottom. Is the position of the search bar the problem? The search function itself should be better because it previously only showed three results per page, but now it shows 20+ per page.

Edit - The text only obscures the photos in the previews, in the reviews themselves the images are unobscured.

One aspect of the new design I'm not sure about is the slider on the front page.

I think some of you are right that the new appearance and layout might just take a little bit of getting used to.

Edit 2 - This is what a review page looks like for me on desktop. Is this what you're saying is too chaotic?

[ITdactyl]

Checked.  2 seconds of "woah... what the...?"  - probably because it looked like a mobile site on my computer screen.  Not a complaint, but I'm probably too used to this format seeing that a number of other sites I visit have also switched to something similar.

The text size seems too loud (i.e. they seem to be occupying more space than some of the pictures) - and this is probably complicated by the fact there's so much white space.  The 2 columns at either side also seem to be occupying more space than they should - the important content in the middle column is too compressed, for lack of a better word.

Would it also be possible to replace the red with something easier on the eyes?  Though, if red was a deliberate choice, please ignore my previous request.

[Simon]

I agree that the text is too large, and that the overall effect is indeed "chaotic", upon first glance.  Too much stuff, too BIG, everywhere you look, with no order to it, nothing to indicate where you should look first. (Maybe it was MEANT to evoke "Chaos Theory" as a tribute to JP?    )

There is no order to it that I can pick up, its like it was just thrown out there.  It looks DISORGANIZED.

With EVERYTHING on the page being as LARGE as it is, the brain just doesn't know where to look, so the result is "sensory overload", the eyes darting and scanning back and forth - look, its not nearly as bad as some of the things I posted about earlier, but its still "too busy" looking.

Think "BORING", rearrange, and you'll probably improve it.   

Or ... you can just go back to the old "comfortable" layout.  "It it ain't broke, don't fix it." - old American proverb