[Seattle-editorial] Proposal: SFACTIVE be consensed upon as newcode

[adili at riseup.net]

Wee one at home, so nights are no longer my own. This sort of thing doesn't
sell by remote, but better said than unsaid.

The day-at-a-glance approach to the Newswire explains itself, I think. Being
able to see all posts -good bad and otherwise- all at once gives those of us
who rely on IMCs for broad-based progressive-centric news just that:
broad-based progressive-centric news, in a format which is directly
illustrative of time and place (read: stories appear chronologically, giving
the news of the day a sense of progress). If the portion of the newswire
above the fold deals with local issues only, I have to scroll down for
national news, or world news...in essence I've got to DO SOMETHING to
assimilate all the news of the day (not to mention the chronology...and the
tale it tells...is blown).

The ideal for me would be a sortable but open newswire: a half-dozen
classifications to sort messages out of the newswire addressed toward major
fields of interest (forest news, globalization, local, civil liberties &c)
allows both the broad day-long view and the short, issue-centric focus. SF
active does the work of classification well, but doesn't offer me a
long-view of the day. If I want the long-view I've got to go elsewhere, and
do (which doesn't do SEAIMC any good).

In the end it's you guys who have to do the work of maintaining the site, so
take these suggestions primarily as those of an informed user, not editor.
If support for SF Active is awesome, maintenance features are a breeze, and
coding is elegant, it's darn well worth putting at the top of the list. You
might then consider some of these comments as suggestions for mods,
especially to the UI, to ease usability.

One potential pitfall for MiR is Java...some older computers get intolerably
slow when Java loads. This would be well-worth a test on an old 233 Pentium
MMX or some other equally antiquated CPU.

Can't stress colors enough...our colors aren't great as they are. Much
attention should be paid to colors, specifications for fonts and sizes, and
other eye-easing features. Some of the new IMCs (Oklahoma, for instance)
kill me to view.

Back to the salt mines for me. Be well, lads and ladies...

adili

Quoting Gentry Lange <g at art13.com>:

> Would you be willing to come to the next editorial meeting and explain
> the
> differences.
> 
> I personally love the classification systems of the newswire... and
> most
> people that have been coming to editorial meetings seem to agree. My
> personal preference is for even more classification like Philly's IMC
> Slashdot code.
> 
> Gentry
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: seattle-editorial-bounces at lists.indymedia.org
> [mailto:seattle-editorial-bounces at lists.indymedia.org]On Behalf Of
> adili at riseup.net
> Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 9:15 AM
> To: seattle-editorial at lists.indymedia.org
> Subject: Re: [Seattle-editorial] Proposal: SFACTIVE be consensed upon
> as
> newcode
> 
> 
> I'm not sure I'd concur. SF Active, to my way of thinking, is difficult
> to
> navigate. Legitimate newswire postings disappear into various
> cubbyholes
> without clear reference on the front page. The segmented (pre-sorted)
> newswire is so short that if you drop in morning and evening, you're
> going
> to miss the mid-day posts, whereas a day-at-a-glance gives readers a
> clear
> rundown of what happened in town that day. Besides, pre-sorting the
> newswire
> into sub-headings is more an editorial convenience than a reader
> convenience, which misses the point by a mile, I think. The UI is
> awkward,
> above the fold being a maddening mixture of unreferenced text columns.
> It
> may be easier to maintain, but the UI is shameful.
> 
> I'm a fan of MiR and IMC Oscailt, having seen both at work, and would
> encourage more significant consideration of each.
> 
> Much consideration should be paid to default text sizes, colors to ease
> the
> eye while reading, and sufficient 'white space' to delineate both areas
> of
> interest and the criteria by which they are separated and presented.
> 
> My $0.02...
> 
> adili
> 
> Quoting Gentry Lange <g at art13.com>:
> 
> > I propose we adopt SFActive. If you don't know what I'm talking
> about,
> > I
> > will email you the background info directly.
> >
> > Please object, discuss, or whatever. I will propose this again at the
> > next
> > Editorial meeting, and then take the decision to the General, if we
> make
> > a
> > decision that is.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> > Gentry Lange
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>