CMS2 RC1 - Sunday March 14th, 2010

[garionhall]

We're testing abbywinters.com CMS2 currently. A bunch of users have been randomly selected to have access, and are encouraged to play with our new system. This is the first time we have tested it with thousands of real users, so it may break, go slow, or perform excellently.

Please read the known issues list befoe submitting a bug report (linked at the top of every page).

Looking forwards to your comments!

[ElizaTheTroll]

Well, first of all congratulations to getting this going! I'm a web developer myself, so I know how much work this kind of thing involves. I've only had a quick peek so far, but my first impression is very good. A clean, modern look and, from what I can tell so far, good usability. One little thing I miss are the preview pictures for videos. Since I don't have the fastest internet connection, I really appreciated those on the 'old' site.

I'm looking forward to seeing and testing more. Cheers!

[pjsouth]

A clean, modern look and, from what I can tell so far, good usability. One little thing I miss are the preview pictures for videos. Since I don't have the fastest internet connection, I really appreciated those on the 'old' site.

Yes well, the first sentence says it all - change for change's sake and to keep web developers happy! I think that the whole thing is far too complicated, too many links to click on, etc. Why must part 1 and part 2 of a video be on different pages for example? The present format is simple, presents most of the information on one page including tags and yes, I also have a slow connection and appreciate the preview pictures.

Not impressed!

[Frans]

Why must part 1 and part 2 of a video be on different pages for example? The present format is simple, presents most of the information on one page including tags

You can click on the other parts of a video in the upper-right corner. That is actually faster compared to using flash preview on the current site. You don't have to stop the player on the current page, just click on whatever part you want to view

If I recall correctly we'll get an option to choose to auto-start playing flash files on the video pages. That will make it all less click-intensive as well. Right Garion ?

Can't say I used the video-thumbnails much once Flash was introduced. Easier to preview that way, which is prolly easier for me given that I've got a nice network connection.

[bookmanz]

Why must part 1 and part 2 of a video be on different pages for example? The present format is simple, presents most of the information on one page

If you look at the SHOOT page all the video parts are there with the stills. Seems to me the new format has the same amount of information available.

[Puma99]

Well, it's different, and some of the features may take a bit of getting used to, but so far it seems good.
Two quibbles, however:
1- shoot pages no longer have a 'comment' tab. If I want to comment on a shoot I would have to go back to the main page, to the forums, then to that shoot's thread, whereas the old site would take me there with one click.
2- clicking on an thumbnail takes me to a page with a medium-sized image, and I have to click that to get the full-sized image.
Not MAJOR issues but those are two things that strike me as less simple and direct than the old site design.

On the plus side, I like the video previews.

[Frans]

Well, it's different, and some of the features may take a bit of getting used to, but so far it seems good.
Two quibbles, however:
1- shoot pages no longer have a 'comment' tab. If I want to comment on a shoot I would have to go back to the main page, to the forums, then to that shoot's thread, whereas the old site would take me there with one click.
2- clicking on an thumbnail takes me to a page with a medium-sized image, and I have to click that to get the full-sized image.
Not MAJOR issues but those are two things that strike me as less simple and direct than the old site design.

On the plus side, I like the video previews.

1. Yes they do, the newest shoots on the beta site just aren't linked up yet. Check out this shoot as an example of properly linked shoot. You want the 'discuss this shoot' icon left-bottom.

2. The pic gets resized to fit inside whatever size browser-window you are using. If you view AW in a really large window the resizing is lots less Without resizing you would have to scroll up/down, would you prefer that? (honest question, I'm wondering about this myself)

[garionhall]

One little thing I miss are the preview pictures for videos. Since I don't have the fastest internet connection, I really appreciated those on the 'old' site.

ah - is even the 120kb flash too high bandwidth for you? What IS your internet connection?

Maybe we should add an option, have previews as a still images OR flash?

[Puma99]

1. Yes they do, the newest shoots on the beta site just aren't linked up yet. Check out this shoot as an example of properly linked shoot. You want the 'discuss this shoot' icon left-bottom.

2. The pic gets resized to fit inside whatever size browser-window you are using. If you view AW in a really large window the resizing is lots less Without resizing you would have to scroll up/down, would you prefer that? (honest question, I'm wondering about this myself)

1. well, that's good to know.
2. I see your point, but personally, of the two choices below, I prefer the first.

[penur70]

ah - is even the 120kb flash too high bandwidth for you? What IS your internet connection?

Maybe we should add an option, have previews as a still images OR flash?

Keep in mind that a image preview and a flash video preview serves different purposes. 4 representative hand-selected images are very useful for getting an idea of the action in a video, and can be seen at a glance. The flash video is full-length, and while it can be moved around in fairly quickly, that's a much more mouse-intensive action. You could keep the current layout by swapping between preview images for videos, either on mouseover or on a timer...

On the other hand, the flash previews of upcoming videos are nice. You could keep those as a video preview on new shoots where they have been produced.

// penur

[penur70]

Aspect ratio

2. The pic gets resized to fit inside whatever size browser-window you are using. If you view AW in a really large window the resizing is lots less Without resizing you would have to scroll up/down, would you prefer that? (honest question, I'm wondering about this myself)

Two things:
1. I very much prefer scrolling a full size image to resizing it to fit my screen, especially when it doesn't get near full size due to interface elements. The old system has one click from overview to full-quality picture, the new has two. I have a widescreen 1920x1200 monitor that shows landscape pictures completely, and portrait pictures only need a quick flick of the scrollwheel to be viewed.

2. The resizing of landscape pictures doesn't always preserve aspect. When shrinking the width of my browser, it goes from correct at full width, then only the width is reduced, then height and width is reduced.

Example:
1090x727 (1.50 / 3:2) - correct
1023x727 (1.41) - wrong
911x647 (1.41) - wrong
646x439 (1.47) - almost right, acceptable
548x365 (1.50) - correct again

I'm guessing this is intentional and a setting in the image scaling algorithm. In my opinion, there is a simple rule for changing the aspect ratio of images: don't. I hate the stretch modes for viewing 4:3 TV on 16:9 screens, I hate it when TV producers squash or stretch video to fit, give me black bars or cropping any day. And I prefer to see the models in their natural aspect ratio ;-)

// penur

[penur70]

Oh yeah, a few more things:

The handwritten bios used to be readable straight from their page, in CMS2 it goes to an image list with small thumbnails. So more clicks to get there, and you can't see more than one at a time. Can you set the thumbnail size in an imageset large enough to read directly?

Also, they are listed along with normal photos in the browse/images list. Is that intended?

You probably know that behind the scenes just links to the images, with no way (as I can see) to get to the comments.

On the main page, the latest updates list is kinda redundant, as the same information is in the center of the page. Is this intended to show all updates to people with subscriptions to justs some sites? The schedule on the old site is more useful...

Collapsing elements helps clean up the page, but it's not remembered when I navigate back to the page. I assume it's supposed to do that when it's done?

// penur

BTW, just because I'm pointing out flaws/issues, doesn't mean I don't like the new site. A few fixes, and it will be much better than the old one.

[garionhall]

1. well, that's good to know.
2. I see your point, but personally, of the two choices below, I prefer the first.

You can have the former in CMS2, but it won't be embedded in a HTML page, it'll be in a bare blank page, and you can have your browser resize it, or not - that's an option in your browser. you can choose to set AW CMS2 to show you images in a blank page or not in the prefs.

[garionhall]

Two things:
1. I very much prefer scrolling a full size image to resizing it to fit my screen, especially when it doesn't get near full size due to interface elements. The old system has one click from overview to full-quality picture, the new has two. I have a widescreen 1920x1200 monitor that shows landscape pictures completely, and portrait pictures only need a quick flick of the scrollwheel to be viewed.

As I posted above, this is an option in preferances.

2. The resizing of landscape pictures doesn't always preserve aspect. ... I'm guessing this is intentional and a setting in the image scaling algorithm. In my opinion, there is a simple rule for changing the aspect ratio of images: don't. I hate the stretch modes for viewing 4:3 TV on 16:9 screens, I hate it when TV producers squash or stretch video to fit, give me black bars or cropping any day. And I prefer to see the models in their natural aspect ratio ;-)

I totally agree, and this is not intentional, it's a bug! In future, please do report these things (if they are not in the Known issues list).

[garionhall]

The handwritten bios used to be readable straight from their page, in CMS2 it goes to an image list with small thumbnails. So more clicks to get there, and you can't see more than one at a time. Can you set the thumbnail size in an imageset large enough to read directly?

Godo idea - please submit a feature request.

Also, they are listed along with normal photos in the browse/images list. Is that intended?

Hm, they are not for me - can you link to an example?

You probably know that behind the scenes just links to the images, with no way (as I can see) to get to the comments.

ooops, tyhat shoulda been on the known issues list. It'll be fixed shortly.

On the main page, the latest updates list is kinda redundant, as the same information is in the center of the page.

I tend to agree, but that's the same as the old site. It's a quick way to get to something if you know you have not been at the site for a few days, I guess.

Is this intended to show all updates to people with subscriptions to justs some sites?

Yes, tho this is an option in prefs, called "don't tempt me".

Collapsing elements helps clean up the page, but it's not remembered when I navigate back to the page. I assume it's supposed to do that when it's done?

yes - that's a bug, please submit a bug report?

[frontfoot]

A couple of quick notes from a belated and brief look..

a) The link to the boards doesn't work from CMS2 - I had to go back to the blue realm to get here..

b) I liked being able to just click on a video screenshot and the mpg would come up for download automatically.. do I now have to explicitly choose the "quality" every time? Sorry as this is probably addressed elsewhere..

*enjoys holding his Linus blanket back in the blue area while he still can*

[tom2c7777]

Also, they are listed along with normal photos in the browse/images list. Is that intended?

Hm, they are not for me - can you link to an example?

Garion,
This may be what Penur means

http://beta-www.abbywinters.com/browse/images?page=1

tom

[satan1972]

I think the site looks a lot more professional and better organized in CMS2. I especially like the upcomming shoots list on the left of the new members front page.

The only problem I have with it is the white background, tends to burn the eyeballs after staring at the page for a while. Any chance of taking it a few notches back towards blue.

[ElizaTheTroll]

Keep in mind that a image preview and a flash video preview serves different purposes. 4 representative hand-selected images are very useful for getting an idea of the action in a video, and can be seen at a glance. The flash video is full-length, and while it can be moved around in fairly quickly, that's a much more mouse-intensive action. You could keep the current layout by swapping between preview images for videos, either on mouseover or on a timer...

// penur

What he said.

To be honest, I hadn't noticed the option for the 120K flash preview. That's definitely useful. But I still liked the hand-picked images for getting a quick impression.

[Frans]

Collapsing elements helps clean up the page, but it's not remembered when I navigate back to the page. I assume it's supposed to do that when it's done?

yes - that's a bug, please submit a bug report?

Already done last weekend (ticket# 2010031110000285 )

[Frans]

A couple of quick notes from a belated and brief look..

a) The link to the boards doesn't work from CMS2 - I had to go back to the blue realm to get here..

b) I liked being able to just click on a video screenshot and the mpg would come up for download automatically.. do I now have to explicitly choose the "quality" every time? Sorry as this is probably addressed elsewhere..

a) where exactly did you see that link ? (the ones from the shoots to the shoot-threads should work fine)

b) right-top of the page 'My Account' -> 'Preferences' set the 'desired video quality' and it will remember it for all shoots. If the selected quality is not available for that shoot, a lower one will be selected.

[Frans]

You can have the former in CMS2, but it won't be embedded in a HTML page, it'll be in a bare blank page, and you can have your browser resize it, or not - that's an option in your browser. you can choose to set AW CMS2 to show you images in a blank page or not in the prefs.

Really? 'cos I can't find it in the new preferences. It was/is in myAW on the current-site, true (the 'Display images' option) but I don't see it on the beta-site in prefs?

[Frans]

The handwritten bios used to be readable straight from their page, in CMS2 it goes to an image list with small thumbnails. So more clicks to get there, and you can't see more than one at a time. Can you set the thumbnail size in an imageset large enough to read directly?

Or just go to the first handwritten-bio when entering such a set?

[tom2c7777]

a) where exactly did you see that link ? (the ones from the shoots to the shoot-threads should work fine)

Not all the shoots have the link "Discuss this shoot", I agree that those which do, work fine, as do the links in the "Talk to models directly"; "Staff posting" and "Discourse" widgets. The "View this shoot on our old site" link also works fine.

I think the link FF refers to is:- Community - discussion boards at the top of the members page and/or the "Visit the Boards" link on the Community page both return PAGE NOT FOUND (bug filed)

tom

[tjsunray]

I also love the new CMS2,but if given a choice,i would choose the blue backround for the Forums (if possible)
I find that reading is much more relaxing and easier on the eyes. I feel better now...Just needed to say it!

WILL the Forums backround remain Blue?

[garionhall]

initially, the forums will remain styled as they are now. In the near future, they will change to match CMS2.

[FloridaRob]

Is there a thread to report minor grammaticals, typos, etc.? If not, on the section about Donations, I read, "We chose to donate to Charities regularly." Did you mean, "We choose..."

As we say, I know you have "bigger fish to fry" at this moment!

[Puma99]

You can have the former in CMS2, but it won't be embedded in a HTML page, it'll be in a bare blank page, and you can have your browser resize it, or not - that's an option in your browser. you can choose to set AW CMS2 to show you images in a blank page or not in the prefs.

I'm not seeing that option, I'm afraid.

[garionhall]

Is there a thread to report minor grammaticals, typos, etc.? If not, on the section about Donations, I read, "We chose to donate to Charities regularly." Did you mean, "We choose..."

As we say, I know you have "bigger fish to fry" at this moment!

please submit bug reports for everything, small and big.

[garionhall]

You can have the former in CMS2, but it won't be embedded in a HTML page, it'll be in a bare blank page, and you can have your browser resize it, or not - that's an option in your browser. you can choose to set AW CMS2 to show you images in a blank page or not in the prefs.

ooops, I was wrong, sorry. That's an option we have in CMS1, because we did not have time to make a thing to resize images in an HTML page, and browsers did have that feature at the time. In CMS2, we can resize images in a HTML page, and in fact that is what we do. We never ever considered that anyone would ever want to scroll an image, rather than seeing it all on one screen (and I do think it's a bit weird wanting to, IMO).

I have added this feature request to the list, but it's unlikely to be high priority. In our FAQ we talk about how web browsers are designed for viewing web pages, NOT images, and really recommend you use an image viewing app on your local machine to do this (eg, ACDsee, iFranView (free), etc).