 Jessica Jenney |
Opinions on the new Basic Gallery So far, I'm not happy about the new look! I've tried every layout and color scheme. Where are the finalist and winning badges? To me it looks like it would difficult for a visitor to navigate! I'd like to hear your thoughts about it!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Deb Koskovich |
Jessica, so far I'm in the same boat as you. I had posted this on the other thread, but I'll copy it here: I was able to see my new gallery this morning, but after seeing it, I've switched back to Classic -- at least for now. No badges are visible -- no EP's, finalists or winners. Also, the thumbnails are really tiny and the images are 'scrunched' and distorted in the them. You cannot resort the order of your photos -- once you add them to a category album, that's the way they stay. I had picked one image as the cover of my car album because it's my favorite, and it was a finalist. When I realized that picking an image as the cover of an album does not actually put it IN the album, I then added it -- but it went to the end of the album and I could not move it. Also, you have to search for images one at a time to add them to a category album, you cannot select multiple images. This will be a major project, if I decide to use the format at all.
|
|
|
|
||
- Ken Smith Contact Ken Smith Ken Smith's Gallery |
I'd like to know if BP has fixed the glitches. Otherwise, I think it's premature to comment. I know some folks will applaud the decision to exclude the buttons...not me because I like them. Hopefully, BP will give users the option to display/undisplay them...otherwise, many will retain the classic design, which in my opinion, works just fine..
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica Jenney |
Yes I prefer the classic version as well! BUMMER! Now we just pay for more for the same thing! I think the changes are too drastic. Why not just change the background color, the font etc. With this new version it seems we have even less control over our images!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Marianne Fortin |
The new design looks too much like a Deluxe website. So why pay for the website? In fact some features are better. On the deluxe website vertical images display smaller than horizontal ones. One the new gallery they are both large - maybe they need to address this issue on the deluxe websites. It will definately be a bummer for anyone whose gallery is about to expire. I guess part of the reasoning behind this is to compete with other photo sites whose galleries look more like websites.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Marianne Fortin |
Just found another glitch. When you click on a gallery from within the forum it comes up the old way. When you select it from your member center (view gallery) it comes up with the new one.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Marianne Fortin |
Just to clarify my last comment - if you have changed to a "new" gallery it still comes up with the "classic" gallery when selected from within the forum.
|
|
|
|
||
- Erica Murphy Contact Erica Murphy Erica Murphy's Gallery |
I'm just plain confused at this point. I hate to be a complainer either, but I worked hard for "the badges" that I do have and now they're all gone. I'm very sad about that. I know some people don't like them, but with all the talent that enters the contest here and with the number of entries, I have felt very honored to get a few pohtos noticed.
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Erica Murphy Contact Erica Murphy Erica Murphy's Gallery |
Sorry about the typo. Are they doing away with EP's too? I love going through those. Without the banner how will we know if we have one? That's my favorite place to browse at BP.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Barbara Waldoch |
I had to change my gallery to the old version, as everybody can use it in my name. The comments I got appear to come from myself. This is open to mischief! I have seen the same in other people's galleries.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica Jenney |
Yes, Barbara! The same thing happened to me! I changed mine back to the old version too!:-(
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica Jenney |
Another problem is that when you click 'discuss this photo' you can't click on that person's gallery to comment back!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sandy Hawkins |
I am also staying with the older/better version. I don't like anything about the new version. I agree that if we are confused I can't imagine how friends would be able to navigate the new galleries. I like that it's simple to share my gallery with people....I mean anyone can easily get around the old version. I like in the old version seeing more pictures on a page...I don't care for those little thumbnails.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Wendy Moghadam |
Aside from the gallery change- did anybody notice you can't see the photographer name under new contest entries? I like some of the new gallery parts but I don't like: That you can't see the badges because I like to learn from the efp and winners and now this is harder I don't like that it is harder to comment on a photo- you have to search for the comment button. Sometimes I like to read what others are saying and not necessarily comment. I don't like the distortion of the mini pics And I wish you could just change the pic by rolling your mouse over the pic rather than clicking I do like the look in general and I still think it worth $40-$50 per year- after all its not just the gallery but also being a part of the BP community. Hope they are listening to all the comments and a few more changes and tweaks are to come.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Bill Knaps |
I hate it Jessica.
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Erica Murphy Contact Erica Murphy Erica Murphy's Gallery |
I agree Bill. I'm glad I subscribed to this topic Jessica. I just changed it back to the old version. Thanks.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Kitty R. Rodehorst-Hanna |
I also changed back to the old version! I like the look of the new one but not the navigation of it...so it's back to the better older way! :-) k
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sam Britt |
I think the only thing I like about the new version is the increase in the number of images we can display. If we continue to use the Classic version at the increased price, I think we should be able to display 1000 images. I like having 30 images on my first gallery page. I also like the Discussion links, Camera information, and EFP/ Finalists/Winner emblems appearing below the images.
|
|
|
|
||
- Evy Johansen Contact Evy Johansen Evy Johansen's Gallery |
For the same reasons as above I changed to the old version too.... :)
|
|
|
|
||
|
Donna La Mattino Pagakis |
I had mine all set up, then I noticed what Barbara had mentioned about the comments appearing to come from myself. Major glitch. So it's back to the basic for now!
|
|
|
|
||
|
A P |
I agree 100% with Sam. The only thing I like about the new version is the increase in the number of images that can be displayed. And if we aren't using the new Gallery but still paying the same price we should get the same amount of photos. RIGHT?? It's only fair!! I didn't need to switch back because once I saw the EP's I worked so hard to achieve weren't there, I didn't want to use the "new" version.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Colleen Farrell |
"I also like the Discussion links, Camera information, and EFP/ Finalists/Winner emblems appearing below the images." Yes, I like this better, too--the way it is in the Classic version. I'm not crazy about the links saying "Get your BasicPholio" and "Get your Deluxe Website" mixed in with the links to "discuss this photo" and "add to your favorites" ... At this point I'm pretty confused about how much of all of this is glitches and how much is intentional. Definitely the issue with other people's comments showing up as your own is a big glitch. I was excited by the look of the new "Basic" galleries but there are so many unresolved issues that I'm also going to stay with the "Classic" look for now.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Deb Koskovich |
I just tried to add one of Doug Pignet's images to my favorites from his new gallery, and couldn't do it. Doug, go back to Classic so I can add it, LOL!! The only link I could see there was "Sign in to add this to your Favorites." First of all, I WAS signed in. Second, even when I clicked on that link, it didn't work. So from what I could see, there is no way to add a photo to your favorites from a new gallery.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Donna La Mattino Pagakis |
Speaking of favorites, we used to be able to click our member center's favorites link. Then go back to view gallery to see the number of favorites above each image. Well not anymore!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica Jenney |
Yes, Wendy I see that the photographers names are gone from the contest entries! And if you look up finalists the names are also gone from there too! It occurred to me that maybe BP doesn't want us to click on a contest entry image because we know the photographer, but because we like the photo.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Deb Koskovich |
Donna, yes I tried that last night too -- you can no longer see how many people have picked your own photos as favorites. And this is speaking of the Classic gallery, not the new one.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica Jenney |
I forgot to mention that in the contest entries we can no longer click on the photographer's name to get to their gallery!
|
|
|
|
||
- Carolyn M. Fletcher  Contact Carolyn M. Fletcher Carolyn M. Fletcher's Gallery |
That's not their call, Jessica. It should be up to us how we want to decide what to comment on. I'm not at all happy about no names showing up.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Deb Koskovich |
What I've been doing this morning is clicking on people's galleries from within the comment threads in Friendly Praise using the links under their mini pics. Starting tomorrow I will add my name to my own images like you did, Carolyn.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sandy Hawkins |
I just looked at the galleries of people I knew had switched to the new version, and they too have switched back already...seems almost no one likes the new version. I'm just pleased we still have a choice to keep the original!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Susan Fox |
Ok now why take away the ability to see if our photos are favorites??? I know another way to see. Type in this link and then add your ID number after the = sign at the end. You can get your ID number for your current gallery link. It's at the end of link. http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/free/gallery.php?mem= As with before, you have to click each photo to see if it's a fav or not. Hope that all makes sense :-)
|
|
|
|
||
|
Deb Koskovich |
Hey Susan -- it worked like a charm! Thanks!
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Ken Smith Contact Ken Smith Ken Smith's Gallery |
You have to be a detective now to track down your favorites... :-) It's too bad we can't simply click "View Gallery", then click on an image (be it my gallery or someone else's), to see how many people chose it as a favorite.
|
|
|
|
||
- Nikki McDonald Contact Nikki McDonald Nikki McDonald's Gallery |
Checking in and sitting back to watch and read. With all these new display and discussion issues, I am not even tempted to change. The fun of spending time on BP comes from the ease with which I can see and comment on my friends' and others' recent images and the ease with which we can exchange opinions, reactions, and suggestions. I participate in one other contest where you can enter a contest daily but none of this takes place. I check in, look at the POTD's, vote (it's a member participation site), enter my photos for the day, and am out of there--usually in less than 10 minutes. No comparison to BP where I spend way more time than I should. Sounds as if my husband will LOVE the changes LOL
|
|
|
|
||
|
Suzanne Colson |
I understand that any new, major upgrade is going to have some glitches, but these go beyond glitches. Having to add photos one at a time to an album is not a glitch in my opinion, just bad planning. Navigating is terrible. I created 2 albums and one of the cover images doesn't even show up so there is no clear way to even get to the album. Back to the classic for now too!!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ross Throndson |
Think they're just working out the kinks right now......sure BP will get it all right in the end... I too would like to see LARGER VERTICAL PIC'S for the Deluxe Sites! :-)
|
|
|
|
||
|
Karen Rahlf |
Ugh! The new gallery is awful. We can't see winners, and it's harder to navigate. I like having an option to change the background, fonts, etc. but for now I'm sticking with the classic version.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sam Britt |
I hope BP is reading all these comments!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Suzanne Colson |
I would love to know who tested this before launching it?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Christie R. Bielss |
Ok - I'm a red-head and now I'm cranky - so watch out! I've been trying to send a reply to several emails that came in through my BP mail and it just keeps giving me error messages. It's been doing the same thing in the club websites as well when you try to post to the "discussions". You can't tell if it's going through (and gee you've just posted the same message 15 times before you figured out that it went through), or if it really is an error and nothing is going through. This new system just plain sucks right now. Couldn't someone have tested this before launching the dadgum thing??? This is a massive pain in the derriere!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Karen Celella |
Mainly I just want to tag here and read but I'll also say that I'm sure BP is trying hard to fix all the problems. I'm not making any changes until things are fixed.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Colleen Farrell |
"It occurred to me that maybe BP doesn't want us to click on a contest entry image because we know the photographer, but because we like the photo." Or maybe they've removed the names because it helps them be more objective in their judging? I don't know; I don't know how they judge photos without seeing our names. But it's hard to keep up with my BP friends, and one way I'd do it is look at recent contest entries. I could immediately click on a friend's photo to comment, but that didn't prevent me from also commenting on other photos I liked. I sure hope the names will come back!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica Jenney |
Colleen, I have a feeling that the absence of names under the photos is a glitch, because names are also missing on the finalist images! What would be the point of that??
|
|
|
|
||
|
Christina C. Moore |
Well, I know that the new system is a little clunky, but I have to say that I like the new look and am willing to wait out any technical clicking all of my images off display and then created albums. This seems to work much better than simply leaving all the images up. Also, I am glad that all those stickers are gone. While I like them, I think that not having them displayed makes for a cleaner more professional looking gallery. I would like even more customization in terms of color schemes and am excited to see what other features develop out of this change. Way to go BP!-C2
|
|
|
|
||
|
Cary Rogers |
(my nickel's worth on some of the changes) I'm with you about the photogs names, Colleen! After I would enter a photo into the contest, I would then check the Recent Entries, to make sure it got entered and to see how it looked among other photos. I would then click on other thumbnails on those pages--if they especially caught my eye, AND/OR if I recognized the member's name. Whenever I had the time, I'd ALSO visit several other Recent Entry pages and do the same thing. I am HOPING that the member's names NOT appearing on the entry pages (and Finalist pages) is just A GLITCH that will be fixed! ["We" members are not judging the contest...so what's wrong with "us" (or first time site visitors) being able to see the name of the photographer under the thumbnail?! Photographer names NOW don't display under the thumbnail images on the FINALISTs pages??? That is a HORRIBLE change to make! WHY DO THAT?!] Although, the ability to organize my gallery images into different "category" albums, and change the BG color (and layout) of the gallery is very appealing, I think I will keep the Classic style, if there are so many navigational and sorting issues with the new version. EFP/Award badges no longer appear under the thumbnail images in the NEW galleries??!! What's up with THAT?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Christina C. Moore |
Ha Ha! Teach me to complain, now all of my finalist and winning images have been downgraded to EPs.... I really wish there was a way to surpress the display of this feature!!! I guess I lost my stickers!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Wendy Moghadam |
I also noticed the counters are gone- I wonder if you can put it back in without changing the count. Christina- your gallery really looks nice, I'm still waiting for the wrinkles to be ironed out
|
|
|
|
||
|
Christina C. Moore |
Thanks Wendy. I would like the image to be contained within the screen.... I will give it a shot and see what feedback I get.-C2 P.S. You've got some super neat flower macs....
|
|
|
|
||
|
Colleen Farrell |
"Colleen, I have a feeling that the absence of names under the photos is a glitch, because names are also missing on the finalist images! What would be the point of that??" I think you're right, Jessica--it has to be a glitch. Maybe it's somehow connected to the glitch that puts our own names on comments made by visitors to our galleries! :)
|
|
|
|
||
|
Christina C. Moore |
That's actually kind of funny Colleen....
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica Jenney |
I see now that the medallions are now under the photos in the new version!!! All of them! EPs' finalists and winners!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sandy Hawkins |
Jessica...the photo discussion thing is fixed too! Whew...your new gallery looks wonderful by the way. I'm still afraid to venture into the new...LOL
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sam Britt |
Christina, your albums look really nice and well organized. I also noticed that the EFP & finalist emblems appear when you click on a thumbnail to view the larger image. However the first page of the new Basic galleries aren't very attractive in my opinion. I like the the BIO on the first page with a link to the gallery. I also like 30 images displayed per page with their emblems. If you don't want emblems, that should be optional. I think most of us like them. Also, like Colleen & Cary, I like to keep up with my BP friends recent entries and miss the names appearing with the images. However, I don't restrict my comments to BP friends only. I can understand why BP might want to suppress names for judging purposes, but what's wrong with us seeing names - we aren't the judges!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Christie R. Bielss |
Ummmm, not to be a party-pooper, but when I went to Jessica's lovely gallery - only half the pictures were displayed on the page. The other half only had the names of the photos - but not the actual photos. Weird. They must be actively working on the problem - and I look foward to them fixing it with great anticipation!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sam Britt |
Jessica, we must have been posting at the same time. Your gallery looks great too, but I still like the older version better.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Marianne Fortin |
I also checked Jessica's gallery and several images were missing. Also there is a strange jump when the photos first display - as if they are changing from the old framed format to the new one. The EP buttons, etc. are only on the large images so you can't see at a glance if an image has an EP - you have to click on them individually.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Carol Teal |
LOL I am glad to know that other people has the problem of a visitor's comment coming up as if they made the comment themselves. I just couldn't figure that out last night!! And I still don't know who to thank!! Now for the changes, I really like the new look; it looks much more professional. I suppose the only things I would like to see change with the new format is the ability to add your images to an album in an easier way, a way to easier see if your photo is a favorite (in both classic and the new format), the choice to turn off EFPs, and for the thumbnails not to be distorted. Oh, and to be able to have 1000 photos if you do choose to go with the classic view. However, many visitors don't look past the first 2-3 pages. It would take a long time to view 1000 images! I am not mentioning the fact there are no finalist/winnders badges because I believe this is a glitch! Oh, and there is one other thing I noticed that I suppose is a glitch. I went into photo sort and changed some photos around. I usually try to keep only 6-8 new photos in front of my finalists/winners. After changng the images around, in the new format, the photos show up in order on the page where there are 8 photos (the bigger thumbnails), but when I click on one of the photos to enlarge it, the thumbnails at the top are still in the old order and do not reflect the images that were just seen on the page. I think that is strange! I hope they fix that so when you click to enlarge one image, the others at the top (or side if you choose that layout) correspond to the images on that page.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Marianne Fortin |
I agree that it looks more professional and more like a website. In fact, it is so similar to a Deluxe website that I hope they will be making upgrades to the Deluxe websites or what is the point of having one? One problem with the Deluxe websites is that vertical images display smaller than horizontal ones. This is not the case with the "new" galleries.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Nadya Johnson |
I have yet to try the new format (think I'll wait until I'm hearing better news!). I did just check however, on the contest Entry Page - and still no names. I doubt if it's a glitch. I agree with Cary 100%! The feeling is that I've been "hoodwinked," as my mother used to say! Deprived of something - in the middle of the night - without a warning or a say. I don't like it! Sure, I can comment anywhere I like, to anyone I want, by going to their individual galleries. Nor did I limit comments only to my friends, before! The point is, it became a comfortable, familiar sort of "ritual" among us -- checking in with certain friends at certain times of day or night. There they were - we usually knew who we would meet - we could chat and check eachother's entries. It was Fun. We can still do that of course; just more time-consuming now. It was never a case where "other" photos were ignored! I have always commented on stand-outs, whether I knew the artist or not, or whether he or she responded. I think the point (and this has been mentioned elsewhere, too) is that they're leading up to something here: namely, letting MEMBERS VOTE on photos like they do on many other sites. I hope not. This in my opinion, would no longer be a photography contest but a POPULARITY contest! The fact that the names aren't showing isn't going to change that, either. Some may be objective - others won't. Just a quirk of human nature! Some work is readily identifiable without a name: and it's easy to discover whose is whose, in either case. I hope I'm wrong on this and they aren't going there! To me, the judges of any particular contest should not be among the contestants! Also, they should have credentials of some kind... "know their business," so to speak: not just pick out those they like, as many members might. Just speaking for myself, I don't believe I'll be going into Recent Entries anymore at all. Maybe we should just scrawl our names across our photos! Some already have... I think I've said this before, but "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" NOW it's broke (again, in my opinion).
|
|
|
|
||
|
Colleen Farrell |
"It was never a case where "other" photos were ignored! I have always commented on stand-outs, whether I knew the artist or not, or whether he or she responded. " Right! And I'd bet 99% of the people on this site who do comment, make comments on photos they like, regardless of whether it's someone they know or not. After all, we're all photographers, we all love photos, how could we not? :) "I think the point (and this has been mentioned elsewhere, too) is that they're leading up to something here: namely, letting MEMBERS VOTE on photos like they do on many other sites. I hope not. This in my opinion, would no longer be a photography contest but a POPULARITY contest!" I totally agree. I'd be out of here if BP did that. There are plenty of other sites that do, for folks who want it. I just prefer having professionals in a variety of subject areas judge my photos.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sam Britt |
I just tried out the new version again to see if some of the glitches had been cleared up. The first thing I noticed was that the thumbnails are all in square format, so only my images that actually are square look right as thumbnails. I hope this is just a glitch, too.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica Jenney |
Well, I just reverted back to my old gallery. Still some glitches to be worked out. Another thing is that if people create albums then there's no way to tell which is today's entry! I also would like the medallions to be under the thumbnails. I definaitely feel that the older version is much more user friendly and easier to navigate!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ulysses A. Villamin |
I don't want to be a "hater", but I just HATE the new gallery!!! Its so 'amateurish', I guess --- too many colors :(. The older version is simple and clean; more professional looking; besides, its easier to navigate! I also learned that friends of mine who only owns a free gallery can not join the contest anymore... Isn't it just plain RUDENESS?! They could have just limited the free gallery owners to, let's say, 10 entries per month or something like that; but to totally exclude them from joining is RUDENESS to the max!!! I know a lot of people who are very talented, but can not afford to have a paid gallery; and I feel for them. People behind BP should think this over or else they're going to loose a lot of members. Obviously, this is a MAJOR setback for BP. Everybody definitely wants some better changes than what they've done.
|
|
|
|
||
- Les Rhoades Contact Les Rhoades Les Rhoades's Gallery |
I sepent "3" hours this morning setting up my new gallery only to now find that there is no way to comment on my pictures!! (No link) >>>BP needs to fix this ASAP.<<< I can live with the tiny thumbnail images, but I would like people to have the option to comment on my photos.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ulysses A. Villamin |
Im sorry, Les, but there is NO excuse for the distorted thumbnails :)
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sandy Hawkins |
The names are back on the "recent entries."
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Nikki McDonald Contact Nikki McDonald Nikki McDonald's Gallery |
This thread has been hidden. The continuation is at http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=32595
|
|
|
|
||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||