Creating a cleaner and faster AboveTopSecret.com -- member input requested.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

1) Mini-profile background images

I don't use it, but hopefully the current "avatar" will stick around -- the fluffy dog is a cue used by many to ignore my posts

2) Signatures

Many of us, including me, use the area to advertise other ATS threads, which seems like a good idea.

3) Profile custom colors

I don't use this either.

4) MyATS favorite forums

As others have noted, "myATS" is my ATS home page. Keeps me connected to my favourite subjects, as well as threads I'm subscribed to. Is there anywhere else to see a list of subscribed threads?

The profile background is the avatar for many of us. The avatar itself is a blank transparent screen created by a user here, and is used as a template to place the background (the real avatar) on. I believe that this is how it is, although someone with more avatar knowledge than myself could explain this better. So removing the background will remove the longer avatars (or, again, am I wrong?)

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


1. So long as we can keep some kind of profile picture to help differentiate between users in thread, I'm good with whatever.

2. Signatures?....meh. I could live without those.

3. Custom colors are cool, but again i could live without it.

4. I like the idea of new activity in favorite forums list.

You could get rid of the Japan Forum. Seems unnessasary to still have a whole forum devoted to one disaster?

I like my avi, but all else?

*meh*

As long as it is easy for this old man to navigate, it won't be an issue anyway that it looks.

I would say the "future" may be right here in front of us.

Too many changes might make ATS just another generic forum site.

ATS is unique as it is.

I say it should stay that way.....Unique

Make changes slowly and one at a time.

But Why change things just to accommodate a few ?

possibly been mentioned or not relevant but anyway a skip to page would be nice as sometime you leave a long thread in the middle of it and its a pain to get ack to that page.

The only thing I would miss is the custom colors, but I think I will miss all the colors. That's really how I navigate the recent posts page.

But this,

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
Would a better option, for those who use it, be to display new activity in your favorite forums in a list-view similar to that of recent posts?

would be wonderful!!! I very much like this idea!

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


I know what you mean about white screens, I find them very difficult to read. The grey screen is one of the things I love about ATS.

I pretty much only use myATS now. I find a lot of the Recent Posts page to be outside my areas of interest so the Favorite Forums list makes things a lot more efficient. Now if you could integrate favorite forums into recent posts I would have no problem with that.

Also, even though I doubt it'll ever happen, I would love to see a Jump to Last Read Post button instead of Jump to Last Post. A lot can happen while at work and it can sometimes take a while to figure out where you last left off in a thread.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


when the membership of ATS has pissed me off, and I find myself struggling to not be a total jerk, i withdraw into the art forum. There is a whole subculture there. It is a real value add for me.

I have wondered how long till the whole mobile device world started to take its toll on my user experience here. It is happening everywhere else, too. I wish smartphones were eradicated from the planet. They are dumbing down our computing experience. Just look at Windows 8, for crying out loud. WTH is that?

RE: MyATS....i do use it as my primary browsing method. If I have picked over it completely, I may go to Recent Posts and browse through it, before going back to MyATs. Not saying a change can't be an improvement. Only that it is something that, as it currently stands, is my primary browsing portal for the website.

Originally posted by woodwardjnr
You could get rid of the Japan Forum. Seems unnessasary to still have a whole forum devoted to one disaster?

Whh would you even mention that. Is it blocking your path or something. Why do you consider this an issue?

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


The only thing that I love the most is my ATS favorite listing, I could not survive without it, I like it the way it is, anything else I don't mind at all.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

Keep the mini-profile pictures! (this is the thing we call 'avatars', right?)

I also think that "clean" display is not as great a feature as windows 8 wants to make everyone think. I like having a sig, and I like being able to click on links in sigs that take me to pages that other interesting users find interesting.

I came here to ask (and wow, a thread was already created!) what happened to my daily top topics emails (several months ago), and are they coming back?

reply to post by seamus


Windows 8 is just another step in creating a media device to replace the computer. The difference being, a computer empowers the user, while a media device empowers the media marketplace owner. It is the technological worlds equivalent of the Fast Food Trap, where people become so used to having garbage fed to them that they forget how to prepare it for themselves in a higher quality manner.

I use MyATS as my primary browsing home. I would be sad to lose it.

I would really be sad to lose backgrounds. Isn't there a way to cut the fluff for smartphone users and leave it for the rest of us? I hate to think we are going to lose our color and uniqueness. I don' think it is right for one group to dominate the rest of us. I love my backgrounds, they were created by other members and I love looking at everyones elses. Real shame to lose that.

I understand the need for accommodating them, but why should they change everything? In stead of changing everything have a 'phone' view version and keep it how it is now for everyone else.

Originally posted by Tribunal

Originally posted by woodwardjnr
You could get rid of the Japan Forum. Seems unnessasary to still have a whole forum devoted to one disaster?

Whh would you even mention that. Is it blocking your path or something. Why do you consider this an issue?

Just thought by doing away with a forum would clean things up a little. No biggie.

I like the new style, and that we can change the light/dark, dark/light scheme....but I think you will have a mutiny on your hands of you take away avatars and sigs.

Say in aint so....SO.

I don't use the My favorites and could care less about the colors.

That's my opinion for what it's worth.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


1) don't use them, turned off avatars a long time ago, but understand why people want to profile themselves.
2) Sometimes funny, but 99% of the time I dont even read them
3) wouldn't miss it, but I can understand some like to use it as 1)
4) use it a lot, if it would be like recent posts I would definitely miss the option "newest threads" of my fav forums on one page.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

The more it looks like a newspaper the harder it is for me to see.

It does look really busy. What ever happened to if it ain't broke don't fix it?