What do you think of the new Japan Today design?

Tuesday 18th March, 01:31 PM JST

Latest 15 of 434 Total Comments Show All

Hikozaemon at 03:29 PM JST - 17th April
JT and Yongfook - I take it that this thread was more of a bug-fixing survey, and now that the technical bugs have been worked out of the site, and the odd improvement like the Recent Comments Page was restored, that the policy is now simply to wait and expect that people will just get used to and adapt to the new format.

Well, I've been trying. But I still find it hard to navigate efficiently and really keep up with which topics are being discussed, and it's causing me to not bother to come back and check as often, and to just go to Mainichi instead for news.

Let me explain a bit about how I look at the site. Maybe I'm the only one that navigates in this way, but here it is. I used to look at the main stories, then look at stories that were commented on recently. Then I might make a comment or two on one or two threads, and then later that day or evening, I will look back at

http://archive.japantoday.com/jp/bbs/last
- and see if any comments were posted after I posted mine that imply that there were responses. Or I'll see that other topics were commented on during the day that I didn't notice in my sweep of my headlines, so I will go in, check the article and check the comment, and then when I come back the next day, see if comments have been added. This was the kind of "magic formula" of the site that for me, made it kind of addictive, and keeps people like me coming back, reading comments, and adding new ones.
Under the new format, I can scroll down and see at the bottom of the page which threads have how many comments. But it is next to impossible to tell whether those comments are new or old, or whether the last comment made was one I added or not. The "Recent Comments" page is a nice way to go in and quickly see what people are talking about right now, but it gives no overall idea of where the interesting discussions on the site are and whether they have been updated or not.

As a result, I feel like I am missing out, but knowing that other people are probably frustrated in the same way I am, I also suspect that discussions are not being contributed to as proactively as before, because people like me just find it harder to find and follow those storie.

I could be wrong about this - I might be the only person who uses the site in this way, and the discussions may indeed be more subscribed and bountiful with insiteful comment than in the past. People might just be adapting to the new format better than me - but I can't help but feel that having lost the ability to track movement on the site in the way we could before, a bit of the magic that made the site work so well before is gone.

And that's a shame, because I think that the site is due for an overhaul of the type given, and it looks a lot nicer. It would be nice to get some feedback on whether any of the suggestions made here are still in the pipeline to be implemented, or whether JT has just decided to commit to the new layout and interface and hope that everyone will get used to it and accept it.

Peace
Hikozaemon at 03:32 PM JST - 17th April

Apologies for the frequently appalling spelling in that by the way...

Peace
keech2 at 05:58 PM JST - 17th April

MOderators and/or editors,

A question that may or may not be related to the new design but I thought I'd ask?

What the hell is with the Scientology advertisements? Are you going to start accepting ads from the Unification Church, the Catholic Church or other denominations or religions? I come here to get news and discuss topics. Not to have to view calls to check out the facts of a cult.
WhatJapanThinks at 10:05 PM JST - 17th April

keech2: what Scientology ads? I don't see any, but I've got some of the ads blocked. Are they Google ads? Are you in the USA, not Japan?
keech2 at 10:27 PM JST - 17th April

WhatJapanThinks,

They are on several of the threads. As a matter of fact, I'm looking at one right now. They're probably Google ads, but it still pisses me off. They're big and blue and state that we should get the facts from the Scientology Video Channel. I'm sitting at m computer right here in Kanazawa, Ishikawa.
WhatJapanThinks at 10:34 PM JST - 17th April

keech2: do you get them in the top left between the title and the comments? All I ever see there is an image ad for a Kyoto Ryokan.
WhatJapanThinks at 11:05 PM JST - 17th April

Ahh, finally see them - my other PC has Flash disabled, so I didn't get them
GlobalNomad at 11:11 PM JST - 17th April

Bring back Popvox - it gives the non-Japanese reader an insight into the Japanese's views on current events.

"Have Your Say" is so-so but if you asked questions relevant to Japan or Japanese current events then it would be a lot better.
kinniku at 05:29 PM JST - 18th April

keech2 and WhatJapanThinks,

Yes, I first noticed them yesterday.

It is a large blue advertisment that says, "Get the facts Scientology Video Channel".

Moderators and Editors,

Seriously, is this one of your sponsors or one of the owners of this site? If so, I think you should reconsider the type of ads you have on here. This is one that should not be supported.

Thank you.
kinniku at 06:21 PM JST - 18th April

I have noticed these Scientology ads are on almost every page. What is going on?
kinniku at 11:30 PM JST - 19th April

Editors and Moderators,

I continue to notice you erasing messages here. Yet, as of yet, there is no answer to the question about the ads. Our questions are quite simple and only require simply responding. Personally, I feel a greater lack of respect toward readers of this site on the part of the moderators and editors. This is a shame. This site was a lot of fun. We deserve more than we are getting, especially when you consider there are certainly other internet options for information and entertainment.

As for me, I will get away from this site for a while. Hopefully, when I visit again in the future, editorial policies that seriously take readers into consideration, consistent moderators and moderation policies (there are none that I can see and I have better things to do than have my words erased at the whim of people who don't even seem to read the articles, threads and comments they are moderating).

kinniku
sailwind at 11:45 PM JST - 19th April

"Get the facts Scientology Video Channel".

Fact you should be ashamed JT.......Get the facts, Seperation of Church and State is why we post here. I have to agree with Keech and Kiniku you only care about dollars?

JT Editor: The Scientology ad is just when one of many Google ads appearing at random on the site. They are not something we can currently control, anymore, for example, than when an ad for retailers of knives and axes shows up in a story about a stabbing murder. Please don't worry about them. I assure you we haven't been taken over by any religious organization.