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New UHub look
By adamg on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 10:41am
I've turned on new templates for the site. For desktop users, the site should work pretty much as before, just some of the colors are different. Mobile users, hopefully, will get a better looking site, one with an actual working Search box.
Probably some things I missed, though, so fire away with any problems you find, thanks!
My thanks to Tyson Frantz for the spiffy new logo. He sells a line of Revolutionary-themed products, so please check them out.
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Kudos
WHOA That's clean. How am I the first to say this?
I know - opinions are like....
But I found the old sans serif font easier to read than the Times New Roman. Was that intentional, my browser or something else.
Maybe because I'm just old and stuck in my ways and behind the times. Or maybe just officially old.
And BTW, while I'm at it - stay offa my lawn :-)
Fonts
Not you, me. Yes, I changed them. Caveat: I used a typewriter-ish font for headlines long after that stopped being cool (even after I stopped using dropshadows on logos). But if it still bothers you after a week or so, let me know - it's easy enough to change.
My opinion
Fine on the front page - harder to read in the comments section.
Will deal with it either way Adam!
Another Vote For Sans-Serif Font
Not a dealbreaker, but it would help. (And maybe it's my browser, but knocking the text size up a point would be nice too.) Otherwise, everything looks fantastic. Well done!
Me, too
This is less readable. I'm comparing it right now with what I'm typing into the comment box, and that's way more legible.
Also, I think there's too much white space. The big gaps between comments make for a lot of scrolling.
A not too dark grey background please!
A not too dark grey background please!... easier on the eyes.
You know you can do that yourself, right?
It's F11 and F12 on my laptop. Don't know if that's standard, but every computer I've owned has had a brightness adjustment. Personally, I really don't like gray backgrounds.
Not a universal thing...
Doesn't work that way at all on my computer.
You're saying ...
... there's no brightness adjustment on your computer or your monitor?
No...
... just that F11 and F12 don't work the way you described (on my computer). ;-)
Then thank you for sharing
*
second times
Yeah on a Mac the New Times Roman looks odd.
At least the text is bigger, previously comment text was very very small.
I have filed an emergency
I have filed an emergency petition with the Landmarks Commission to get any and all changes reverted.
This is Boston. One does not simply change.
Phew
Landmarks only cares about things more than 50 years old :-).
In the meantime, though, take a look at Universal Hub in 2005 (note the ultra-cool typewriter-style headlines).
LOL
It looks very reddit like.
Reminds me of Drudge. I think
Reminds me of Drudge. I think I started visiting around 2007.
New look is great, Adam
But I love the old typewriter font.
Personal story:
My Luddite ass was still using a typewriter when I wen back too college in mid- late 90's.
One of my TA's said he loved the typewriter font I was using.
Not sure if he thought I was using White- Out to sell the font but he was amazed when I told him it was written on a typewriter.
Fonts different
As Stevil noted, serif fonts, not san-serif now on desktop (mac os x). Works fine though.
Yesterday - mobile ads
Over the weekend, mobile ads were redirecting from the pages to full-screen adverts. This has not happened to me with the new theme yet.
Grr, sorry about that!
I'd like to say it's because of all the new ad stuff I've done, but I didn't do anything. I'll take a look.
Love it!!
LOVE the new site look, Adam! Much cleaner and modern looking, great job! And of course, thanks so much for the shout out :)
A+
You are The Great One, Adam, everything you say and do is great. I didn’t think Universal Hub could be improved but it is. The new logo is perfect.
As for anyone critical of the changes, I would show them no mercy- automatic IP ban. You are a tolerant and magnanimous Administrator, which is why you should make me a Mod soon so I can be fully unleashed on these bothersome charlatans.
Looks good!
It looks really nice on my laptop. I vote for serifs; they make it much easier for me to read a block of text.
An example of better Boston blogging...
Universal Hub, an example of better Boston blogging. Even better with a definitive statement like at https://libreplanet.org/2019/safe-space-policy
And even better with more Boston compilations or with Boston charts like at http://rwinters.com/elections
Gilding the lily!
Well done. I do prefer the old font, but to quote the late, great Doris Day, "Que serif, serif, whatever will be, will be."
Love the new logo and I
Love the new logo and I appreciate the work you put into this site. Best reporting in Boston.
That said, I’ll +1 the comments on the serif font in comment titles being harder to read. Slightly larger comment text would help too. Also, on iPhone SE the entire site loads half off the screen to the left, with blank white space on the right half. I have to scroll left to get the site centered and I accidentally end up swiping “back” in the process. Some odd div or responsive setting I assume.
Thank you for all you do. Keep up the great work!
Thanks
Thanks to all for the kind words and the comments so far.
The comments do look a lot different from before. When I get some time this week, I'll work on reducing the white space and boosting the readability.
a more well-defined user
a more well-defined user submission process.
subscribe/reply buttons on the bottom ?
Thank you
Adam, the site looks great. I visit daily - it's been a tremendous resource for years and sincerely appreciate the work you do.
Comments look cleaner and on mobile it fills the screen edge-to-edge. I like the serif fonts.
Keep up the outstanding work.
Perfect as is but wouldn’t mind
Posting statistics:
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Good Posts/Total Posts
An intermission! A coffee break, housekeeping, fan club.
And from time to time an open post for off-topic and general interest subjects! For example, as at Parterre, please scroll past 3 items at https://parterre.com/tag/intermission-feature
Thanks, but ...
There are places to discuss more general-interest stuff, but not that many to discuss Boston-specific stuff (granted, mainly stuff that I find is Boston-specific, as opposed, to say, Boston Reddit), at this point, I'd like to keep it that way.
Nice
Clicking on the new comments link takes me to new comments again on mobile.
Best change ever.
There’s seems to be an increase in whitespace on mobile now though. Between comments between titles, etc. I’m sure it’s all just to be hammered out though.
Or open a new tab for
Or open a new tab for clicking on a Link. UniversalHub can remain open in its tab.
Hold control when you click
The modern general consensus on this is it's better left to the reader and their browser software than to add it to the links (since you don't know how every browser will interpret the code used).
For most browsers, if you want a link to open in a new tab, hold control and click the link. If you want the link to open in a new window, hold shift and click the link.
How to submit to Universal Hub?
Thank you!
How might contributors submit an item for Universal Hub?... in addition to a Comment.
Post!
Scroll to the top of the page after you're logged in.
Find the link that says "Post!" and choose Article on the next page.
That will give you an editor to write up your story, then Adam can decide if it goes on the front page or not.
"Article"? Or "Blog entry"?
Many thanks!
What differences are there for "Article. Post Boston-related news and comment." or for "Blog entry. Add a blog entry." at https://www.universalhub.com/node/add
Really isn't any difference
It's from back in the days when I first set up the site and thought people might actually use it as a blogging platform. Currently, I think just one person does, but the system treats them the same, so at some point, I should do the work to merge the existing articles and blog posts into a single content type and then delete whichever one I don't use.
Question for folks on phones
Is the logo scrunched into the search box? If so, you're actually getting the desktop version, which means the mobile-detect module isn't working (fortunately, more an issue for me than you).
Nope
I see:
Hi, Kaz
Search box
Logo
Ad
Recent Posts
In that order on my iPhone (Safari, iOS 12whatever)
Thanks
OK, so it's maybe working for logged-in users, but not anonymous folks ...
LG G7, Android 8.0
Looks great and I'm not even logged in on that phone. I like the old fonts for the desktop though (Windows).
Ads are back
Just realized that I'm seeing ads again along the top and side. Not a big deal, but thought you'd like to know!
miscellaneous Mac stuff, maybe
On my desktop at work (iMac, Firefox but not the latest one), everything's fine. On my laptop at home (Macbook Pro, Firefox 66), the boxes on the right side (Support Universal Hub, Crime, etc.) are overlapping the content on the main page. On my phone (iPhone 7, iOS 12.3), I'm getting the loading with half the page off to the left. This morning the phone also had the logo scrunched into the search box, but it seems to be OK now.
Mobile site looks nice;
Keep up the great work, Adam.
Appreciate all the efforts to
Appreciate all the efforts to improve the site, thanks. I do miss bylines on the main page. Dumb, but I always glanced at them before clicking in.
I like this new look!
It's so cool! Thanks, Adam.
Looks good but...
There's an empty line on the frontpage in each article where the byline used to be, which I find mildly unsettling somehow.
Byline added back
There's still a space between the headline and the dateline, though, but I think that was there before the template change.
But, in general, yes, I need to work on tightening up some of the white space.
Color grey area easy on the eyes!
At the bottom of each page is a color grey area easy on the eyes, easy on the brain! It would be great for the whole page.
Right-Side Box Issue
Looks good overall Adam! My only issue is that the boxes on the right of the page now float over content. This means that if I'm splitting my screen in half between two windows, the boxes block the main page and the text does not realign to avoid them. Not sure what the best solution is - maybe make the boxes disappear at a certain width?
I shrank my text one step...
... and it made it come out okay.