Questions about the Scripting News blogroll

[scripting]

It's new so people might have questions.

Esp if you're having problems with the software or network.

Remember to say what you were doing, what you expected to happen, what actually happened.

If you know how, look in the JavaScript console for error messages.

Screenshots can be helpful.

http://guidelines.scripting.com/

[Atypical-Typist]

Hi Dave,
I'm a former journalist who is returning to blogging in order to document my progress through an ambitious novel and maybe even build a bit of an audience for it. I am delighted to see you developing a WordPress plug in for your Blogroll and have a question about your choices.
For me, it feels like the primary practical purpose of a Blogroll is to give the reader a quick and easy path to information I believe they might find useful.
I love the 'latest posts' feature and find that truly useful but was surprised by how non-intuitive your actual linking to that external source is.
Clicking the wedge beside the source name expands the info I get about the source - this is expected and great!
But then, glancing at the summaries, I decide I want to go to that blog (otherwise, why tell me about it?). But none of the straight forward click actions (on either the source name or the blog post title) take me there - instead they toggle off the expansion. I found that very counter-intuitive and frankly frustrating.
(Eventually I looked up the documentation I knew YOU would provide and learned the two more actions I must take (hover and click on the date or final words of the summary.)
So, perhaps my expectations are different or I am some outlier -- you have spent more time wrestling with UX (and sharing those struggles) than anyone I can think of.
But I would still like to understand you thinking on what feels like an odd extra step you've built into this aspect of the Blogroll.

[scripting]

I didn't know what would be intuitive there. Or didn't take the time to try to figure it out. This is all very new, therefore some parts of it will need fixing. ;-)

[Atypical-Typist]

Thanks for the quick reply - not sure the link method is broken or needs fixing, just wanted to give you a piece of maybe useful feedback. I do love integrating the feed with the blogroll, however it shakes out! Thanks.

[scripting]

@Excess -- thanks for the feedback. there are a million details in something like this and just one person working on this and a bunch of other things and trying at the same time to have a life. it would be nice if people found a way to help, btw. thanks.

[scripting]

By popular demand -- my blogroll now makes it more clear that the permalink to each item is the date of the item. This is a convention in blogs and social media apps that the timestamp doubles as a permalink. And I think this is more distracting, and cluttered, but let's give it a try. It's possible that people missed that they could go to the website from the blogroll. Now it should be more obvious.

[scripting]

Sorry this is not a place for discussions like this, this is for support. I should have been clearer about that.

And you also crossed some of lines about personal comments in your previous post.

You should have a blog and use it for stuff like this, imho.

http://guidelines.scripting.com/