Signal-to-Noise Ratio Not Good
Dear Instructables.com:
Look, I respect Instructables.com's right to make a buck as much as that of any other site that proffers user-supplied content, so please don't misunderstand this comment. I'm not decrying the presence of ads on Instructables.com.
I'm bothered nonetheless. Until recently, when I landed on the Instructables.com home page, I would see two columns of fascinating, deliciously creative projects. When I visit the site now, I find that the page is dominated by ads. Dominated? Yes. Now I have to scroll before I see *any* actual Instructables. Now in the interests of full disclosure, I'll confess that I've got a mere 800 pixels of vertical resolution to work with, but come on folks, no Instrucables above the fold? Really? And I've noticed with some dismay a growing number of featured projects from external commercial sources like This Old House (of which I am a *huge* fan, btw).
I'm not calling for a moratorium on ads on Instructables, or anything absurd like that, but I do feel that the kind of projects that make this site truly great (those from individual makers, crafters, and builders) is beginning to get crowded out. Keep the ads, by all means, but please keep the spirit of personal creativity in focus as this amazing site evolves.
Thank you.
Look, I respect Instructables.com's right to make a buck as much as that of any other site that proffers user-supplied content, so please don't misunderstand this comment. I'm not decrying the presence of ads on Instructables.com.
I'm bothered nonetheless. Until recently, when I landed on the Instructables.com home page, I would see two columns of fascinating, deliciously creative projects. When I visit the site now, I find that the page is dominated by ads. Dominated? Yes. Now I have to scroll before I see *any* actual Instructables. Now in the interests of full disclosure, I'll confess that I've got a mere 800 pixels of vertical resolution to work with, but come on folks, no Instrucables above the fold? Really? And I've noticed with some dismay a growing number of featured projects from external commercial sources like This Old House (of which I am a *huge* fan, btw).
I'm not calling for a moratorium on ads on Instructables, or anything absurd like that, but I do feel that the kind of projects that make this site truly great (those from individual makers, crafters, and builders) is beginning to get crowded out. Keep the ads, by all means, but please keep the spirit of personal creativity in focus as this amazing site evolves.
Thank you.
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Not if we're counting the gigundous in-house announcement marquee directly under the search bar as "ads". That is there regardless of Pro status, and the skinny banner at the top only changes in content for Pros, not layout.
The site is just not laid out for low res display settings. Since good web designers will optimize the layout for the most commonly used displays & settings, this makes perfect sense. Not much to be done about it except ask the admins to redesign the home page, which they won't do unless it can be demonstrated that a majority of the user base uses low screen resolutions.
Personally, I think the marquee takes up a little more vertical space than it really needs to, but since I am running a higher res than 800x600 it's just an aesthetic gripe.
The site is just not laid out for low res display settings. Since good web designers will optimize the layout for the most commonly used displays & settings, this makes perfect sense. Not much to be done about it except ask the admins to redesign the home page, which they won't do unless it can be demonstrated that a majority of the user base uses low screen resolutions.
Personally, I think the marquee takes up a little more vertical space than it really needs to, but since I am running a higher res than 800x600 it's just an aesthetic gripe.
May 15, 2010. 6:03 PMjdtwelve12 (author)
says:
Amen on the aesthetics.
Just to clarify, I'm not running at 800x600. I'm using 1280x800, which sucks just a little bit less.
Just to clarify, I'm not running at 800x600. I'm using 1280x800, which sucks just a little bit less.
Oh... that's much better. I reconfigged to 800 x 600 just to see what it looked like, and wow was that hideous. The laptop I'm on right now is 1024 x 768, but the desktop machine sucks much less.
So basically, good "web designers" are crappy designers. A good graphic artist will design to reach the maximum audience possible. That includes young, old, high vision, low vision, everybody.
Your description of "good web designers" is probably quite accurate, and merely defines them as self-centered. If it works on their local machine with the 23-inch home theater display, it must be good enough for everyone.
Your description of "good web designers" is probably quite accurate, and merely defines them as self-centered. If it works on their local machine with the 23-inch home theater display, it must be good enough for everyone.
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