Yet another change to the UI?

When are the powers that be going to finalize the UI? It is a real pain in the tush to come here and find that, yet again, the site has been revamped (how many times in the last couple of months???), leaving the user to grope in the dark just to find that their usual link(s) has (have) disappeared. Take a cue from the big boys and only completely redo the layout (especially navigation) once every year or two, and don't change it completely. Familiarity keeps the customer coming back. Confusion drives them away. That way, people won't get pi**ed off and leave. I mean, how would you feel if you went to drive your car and the control layout changed from the day before. It'd drive you mad, wouldn't it?

(See, this is what happens when you have a multitude of volunteers working on the website, no clear direction.)

Qa

Comments

[mikeasaurus]

I understand where you're coming from with your comment, however regarding:

"this is what happens when you have a multitude of volunteers working on the website, no clear direction."I

I think you're mistaken that volunteers 'work' on the UI of the site, the guys who work at Instructables have staff that handle updates and site appearance. For updates and such make sure you keep an eye on the site updates forum.

[Quercus austrina]

Thanks mikeasaurus.

I must be mistaken, but I remember last year when they were looking for volunteer graphic designers and web designers (job section). 

To the site managers/owners.

Another word of advice: just because you can change something doesn't mean that you must change it. Weigh the ramifications of the change before you implement it.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Qa

[Re-design]

You're speaking to deaf ears.

[kelseymh]

They have a new UI Engineer ("Dave") on staff. As you are probably aware, the new guy always likes to, er, "fix" things. The rest of us get to deal with the consequences. Blargh.

[trebuchet03]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Where does that leave the better mouse trap?

[steveastrouk]

If the old one kills enough mice, is it faulty ?

[kaddyshack]

From my exploring, the new UI isn't vastly different; rather, it's more layered. Everything that used to be at the top of the homepage has been grouped into folders. The folders being "create, explore, contests, and more". The overall design of the website hasn't felt vastly different, although this is the first revamp I've been around for.

[Quercus austrina]

Yeah, it's been alot more stable here for some time. Back when I wrote this, it seemed that the UI was changing at least once a week (probably an exaggeration, but not by much). You'd just get used to it and things would be different, not work, sometimes they'd change the CSS 2 or 3 times in a day. It was frustrating. Hopefully, they'll now leave the major overhauls for when the technology actually requires it.

The only things I would like to see is a link or a section for the current challenges. As of right now, all I see on the front page is the April Fool's Challenge and Scoochamaroo's Egg Challenge. I know there is at least one other going on, but I can't find it. If I hadn't seen it earlier in the week, I'd never know it was there. It just makes sense to be able to find them all easily so more people can join in. As it stands, the challenges get lost in the new/recent 'ibles.

That, and the ability for a person to edit their post (be it to an 'ible, answer, group, bug report, etc.). I belong to other sites that use BB software that allows this feature. Can't the gurus here do something similar? It bugs the heck out of me when I see an error I made and I can't go back and fix it (unless I delete the post and put a new one in its place), especially when someone has already replied to my comment.

Qa