Groups »
Forums »
Answers »

Featured Groups

  • Bare Conductive
  • Drawing and Art
  • Sustainability
  • 123D
  • Fenix Intl, Ready Set Off The Grid
  • Kollabora
  • 3D Printing

COMMUNITY : HELP : FEEDBACK


most recent should be on the home page

I recently posted an instructable but I don't think anyone saw it. I didn't even see it appear. The problem is that the home page for instructables.com shows Featured and Popular. I thought the most recent used to appear on the home page. Am I wrong about this? To get to the most recent ones, i have to create the following link: http://www.instructables.com/tag/type:id/?sort=RECENT

It seems like new instructables don't get noticed easily. If I am wrong, tell me what I need to do.


sort by: active | newest | oldest
143
ewilhelm says: Feb 22, 2009. 9:34 AM
The homepage is our editorial voice, and we so we want to have control over what appears on it. We exercise that control by featuring content and allowing content become popular algorithmically.

You'll note that recent Instructables do appear on the channel hompages, for example:
http://www.instructables.com/art
10
11010010110 in reply to ewilhelmFeb 24, 2009. 2:08 PM
then atleast provide them in other places where folks just do visit
9
kelseymh in reply to 11010010110Feb 25, 2009. 12:12 PM
EXPLORE.
12
BeanGolem in reply to 11010010110Feb 25, 2009. 8:47 AM
I think they're telling us nicely that it is not in our best interest to see EVERY single Instructable released. I don't know the numbers, but I imagine that these would cycle quite rapidly, effectively negating the point of showing them in the first place. A new I'ble would only be on the front page for a small time, which means that it is highly unlikely that a new user (who doesn't know how to sort by "recent") will get something useful out of it.
10
11010010110 in reply to BeanGolemFeb 25, 2009. 8:51 AM
ok. but then i'd suggest to give option to users to vote for instructables to become featured
4
xACIDITYx in reply to 11010010110Feb 25, 2009. 10:05 AM
Then we'd have the front page spammed, so to speak, with "teh bestist knxe gun evarr"
10
11010010110 in reply to xACIDITYxFeb 25, 2009. 10:13 AM
you can require an inst to be voted by 2 - 3 different users to become featured and featuring (including the featuring used today) should expire after some time. featured - been there - attracted folks - task completed - free ur place for new stuff then i'd suggest option to choose how much an inst is featured when voting. then it can determine for how much time itll be featured
10
rhackenb (author) in reply to 11010010110Feb 25, 2009. 11:19 AM
I think what started my discussion was that I didn't see my submission on the home page. Two previous submissions had been marked as featured right away by the editorial staff and they appeared there. I guess I assumed that every submission appeared there. My most recent submission would only appeal to a niche group in software and I assumed it would not be featured. I think what Skate6566 says about the home page being spammed would be true if the editorial staff didn't filter them.
16
Lithium Rain in reply to rhackenbFeb 25, 2009. 11:49 AM
I think we should all drop the subject, since Eric was very clear it's not going to happen.
12
BeanGolem in reply to Lithium RainFeb 25, 2009. 4:04 PM
I disagree that we should just "drop the subject." There is nothing wrong with an open-ended discussion as long as we don't beat a dead horse. Every solution needs a problem. We've determined that not having most recent I'bles on the home page is not a problem, therefore needs no solution. But that doesn't mean that it isn't worth exploring what the home page's purpose is. While Instructables has final say, it will not completely ignore its users. That's what these Feedback threads are for. Perhaps we need an all-encompassing "what should be on the home page" thread. Perhaps we needn't such a thread.
16
Lithium Rain in reply to BeanGolemFeb 25, 2009. 5:40 PM
You are beating a dead horse. The CEO has indicated he likes the front page the way it is. I feel confident that if he needs our input, he'll ask for it. He's replied to the topic, so any further discussion of the point is moot.
10
11010010110 in reply to Lithium RainFeb 25, 2009. 5:54 PM
its not like ewilhelm = battery ane every1 else = mesh of resistors

if we come up with something better nobody will say no just cause it was not suggested by the instructables team

heck after all all of us are the instructables team
16
Lithium Rain in reply to 11010010110Feb 25, 2009. 6:41 PM
Ewilhelm is teh awesome. More to the point, he trumps all of us put together. I'm saying he's expressed that he's happy with the front page, and they have quite a long list of other things to do. So I think we should stop whining about how everything needs to be different and have more features after a while. I think there's been plenty of discussion on what the front page should look like. The team doesn't appear to be looking for something better. No, not all of us are the instructables team. The instructables team are those members listed on the about page.
10
11010010110 in reply to Lithium RainFeb 25, 2009. 6:50 PM
you can allways say that X is sufficient and no need in more. bill gates said that once about pcs with 640 K ram. man was he wrong we are the instructables team in the sense that without everyone here the site would be empty with no instructables to show on the home page. normaly it would be called instructables community though
10
rhackenb (author) in reply to Lithium RainFeb 25, 2009. 12:52 PM
Totally agree. Let's end it here.
10
11010010110 in reply to Lithium RainFeb 25, 2009. 12:17 PM
he is not going to drop the entire featuring system if we can come up with better way for the system to work i'd expect it to be accepted
10
gmoon says: Feb 16, 2009. 1:14 PM
While browsing (Explore), just click sort by: recent.

As a frequent visitor, I also prefer recent. Thankfully, the staff has made the shortcuts at the upper right customizable. I have Recent as one of my custom choices.

It's not really difficult. I think you'll need to make a better case before the staff changes the current setup.
10
rhackenb (author) in reply to gmoonFeb 16, 2009. 7:04 PM
I didn't realize that you could do that. I now have Recent in the upper right. I think my point is still valid. When I post something new, I would like all visitors to see it on the front page for as long it takes to scroll off. I don't hear any of the staff arguing with my idea yet.
9
kelseymh in reply to rhackenbFeb 24, 2009. 1:10 PM
I presume you've seen the I'bles CEO's response by now. Just because you would like everyone to see your stuff doesn't mean that is how the world should be.
4
xACIDITYx says: Feb 16, 2009. 8:08 AM
However, what if somebody posted an inappropriate instructable that didn't get caught in the filters? It would go up on the front page, and more people would see it. Or even just an Instructable in bad taste.
10
rhackenb (author) in reply to xACIDITYxFeb 16, 2009. 11:45 AM
That's not the point I am making. Of course each incoming instructable should get screened for inappropriateness or bad taste. However, if it's acceptable, it should appear on the home page. Most first time visitors wouldn't even know to search for new posts. Didn't they do this before? There isn't even a link on the home page for new posts. All they see now are those that have been deemed featured or those that have been visited often. Maybe recent postings should be on the left hand side of the home page and featured items on the right side and there should also be a prominent link to popular submissions.
4
xACIDITYx in reply to rhackenbFeb 16, 2009. 12:16 PM
But why should they show those instructables that are potentially sub-par? If it's a great instructable, it'll be featured.
10
11010010110 in reply to xACIDITYxFeb 16, 2009. 12:58 PM
go to the home page and see how much of the featured instructables interest you

now go here and see how much of them are superior to the featured ones but are not featured

in fact i'd replace the home page with the one i linked to
10
rhackenb (author) in reply to 11010010110Feb 16, 2009. 1:42 PM
I just realized that you gave the same link I gave originally. This link is for the recent arrivals and, yes, that's what I think should be on the home page.
10
rhackenb (author) in reply to 11010010110Feb 16, 2009. 1:40 PM
It's not an issue of how much they interest me or even how good they are. The featured ones I probably have seen before. I just want to go to the home page fore the new one coming in. If the new ones are not in that location, most people will not become aware of them coming in. Right now they only get on the home page if the editors deem them to be especially good. The editors are good at this but it really is a judgment call. I'd like to see the Instructables editors weigh in on this discussion.
4
xACIDITYx in reply to 11010010110Feb 16, 2009. 1:06 PM
Ah, so you mean This, this, this, this, this, and especially this all deserve to be on the frontpage?
10
rhackenb (author) in reply to xACIDITYxFeb 17, 2009. 2:23 PM
Now you are being obtuse about what I am trying to say. My point is that if the staff approves a submission, it should appear in the recent section that should be on the homepage. For every stupid submission there are 20 good ones. The stupid ones will scroll off quickly as new ones are added. Most people only see preselected ones if they depend on what's on the homepage. Let's drop the discussion. If the staff doesn't agree with my idea, that's their choice. It's not worth discussing anymore. I'll simply follow my link to the recent ones.
9
kelseymh in reply to rhackenbFeb 25, 2009. 12:13 PM
I think you probably have your statistics backward. For every good submission there are 20 (usually 10) stupid ones. Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap.
10
11010010110 says: Feb 16, 2009. 12:59 PM
agreed to any word
Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

PDF Downloads
As a Pro member, you will gain access to download any Instructable in the PDF format. You also have the ability to customize your PDF download.

Upgrade to Pro today!