The DW Homepage shows duplicates and isn't useful.

[rproffitt]

It seems everytime I visit the homepage of daniweb.com I get a screen that is modern in design but is missing the mark so much so that others and I are bypassing it and going elsewhere.

On top of that it shows duplicates of the same topic (see image) which I've seen it push up 3 or more that lead you to the same discussion. What makes it even more a place I may stop looking at is I can't click on the reply date and get to the answer or new content. Instead I have to either page through it all or use the Latest link and that works as expected.

The only reason I'm posting about this is this is screaming at me as a lost opportunity. Just fixing the page so I can get to the latest answer would be a big upgrade. I don't know why it would show that many boxes on the same discussion but hey, it's trying.

Let's hope you get some user testing done on this soon.

[rproffitt]

Image upload failed again. This was a screenshot using the Windows 10 snipping tool and saved with defaults to a file. Having to bounce it throught Imgur is going to get old.

The upload to imgur and download trick didn't work this time. The image is at https://i.imgur.com/FM2i65g.png

[Dani]

Currently on vacation for Thanksgiving. Will take a look at this next week.

[rproffitt]

Here's today's results: https://i.imgur.com/KovCftB.png
That's the same discussion 3 times on the homepage but no way to get the most recent reply. This is a real ding against using the home page. That is, duplicates for same object of interest and no link to get to the recent update. Instead the fast(?) way to get to the new content is to click Latest and then you can get there.

I don't want to tire you on this but the Home Page in my view should be the place to go, not the place to avoid.

[Dani]

Yeah, the homepage algorithm seems to work really well for people who visit any amount less frequently than once per week (which is 99.9999999% of traffic). Once you start visiting more than once a week, we simply don't have enough new content to keep up. I agree DaniWeb needs to make more sense for regulars, so it's something I'll work on once I return from my trip.

[pty]

While you're at it Dani, I think there should be a preference somewhere to hide (or group, maybe) the "began watching a topic" and "viewed a topic" cards. Am more interested in posts and replies.

The data can still be presented I think, just maybe a little less promenant. Maybe the watcher avatars like on a GitHub ticket?

[rproffitt]

Have some good vacation time and hopefully some new ideas will gel.

Today I look at the homepage and now I see two cards about "Endorsement". Not at all interesting and no way to dismiss them or control what is on that homepage.

So my question is, why does these endorsements show at all? And how to control what is on that homepage? If there is going to be no member control of the homepage, this reminds me of Microsoft's Windows Mobile homepage fiasco. They forbid the user from changing the Windows Mobile homepage. Only Microsoft and cellular carriers were allowed to change the homepage. Then Apple phones happened and Microsoft still didn't give up that control. The history is there in many places about giving control back to the users, members and the public.

[Dani]

Does the homepage seem a little bit better now? It's still a work in progress.

[Dani]

And how to control what is on that homepage? If there is going to be no member control of the homepage, this reminds me of Microsoft's Windows Mobile homepage fiasco. They forbid the user from changing the Windows Mobile homepage.

An algorithm controls what is on the homepage. It's based on your usage across the site, and is similar to your Facebook feed, Reddit feed, Quora feed, etc.

[rproffitt]

I see some changes to the homepage, but what it is trying to do is a mystery. Hopefully some user testing will help find a direction.

It's great to see the sign up is fixed. Marking as answered. Changing my DW link to land on Latest which works for me.

[Dani]

It's great to see the sign up is fixed.

Sorry, not sure what you mean?

Changing my DW link to land on Latest which works for me.

Could I convince you to try using the homepage as your landing page for just a couple of days as a user study?

[rproffitt]

Sorry Dani. I shouldn't write about the past. Also I know how much work we put into our creations. The new user account sign up system you have now is great. Very easy for folk to get onboard.

As to the homepage, it's fundamentally broken for me. I see the date of the new reply and it's unusable. I find that it's better to just hit Latest and I'm at a page that works well.

I can land at the homepage if you wish, but as it stands, I look at it, wonder why it is that way and then click Latest. I don't want to frustrate you so I'll change it back and wait.

[Dani]

Oooh, you mean compared to using Dazah OAuth. Got it!

The homepage isn't designed for regulars who want to make sure they see every latest possible bit of content. (That's what Latest is for.) It's meant for lurkers to use as a landing page when looking for interesting things to read. Or for regulars to use as a starting off point when they have a few minutes and are looking for something interesting to read.

[rproffitt]

"Viewed a Topic" is an example of a filter for the home page that should be under user prefences. If I ran a site this would be interesting to me but for me I want to see new and unanswered posts. Still don't see why Endorsements need to be on a home page. If there was traffic on a normal scale and what I think the home page is doing, this would look like noise.

My advice as little weight it has is to hand some control back to the members. And fix the homepage so we can click on the date+time and be taken to the discussion exactly like it works in Latest.

I hope someday we'll meet and I can get your pitch on this as well as my war story about Microsoft Windows Mobile and its home page lockdown and then the dawn of the Apple iPhone that was a game changer. Microsoft missed the boat by very little here. If only they had allowed the phone owners to do what they want with the home screen, the outcome would have been different. I'm talking Windows Mobile days, not Windows Phone which was another story as well.

[Dani]

"Viewed a Topic" is an example of a filter for the home page that should be under user prefences. If I ran a site this would be interesting to me but for me I want to see new and unanswered posts

No offense, but don't you see how this seems a bit hypocritical? On one hand, you're complaining that the homepage is not customizable, and I'm forcing people to see what I want them to see. But on the other hand, you're saying that content that you don't find interesting should not have a link off of the homepage. Davey wrote in last month's newsletter that he thinks that Viewed is a good starting point to pick up where you left off by looking at content you've recently been looking at. The idea is that different people prefer different starting off points ... whether that be Latest or Viewed or whatnot.

I hope someday we'll meet and I can get your pitch on this

You can always find me on Skype at DaniAtDaniWeb or Google Hangouts for a video call. :)

[rproffitt]

I'm for trying out new things but this is a missed opportunity from what I see at the homepage. As to the apparent conflict of seeing viewed, and wanting a way to quickly get to the new reply, I may have to write about it more but I think to fix the biggest irksome thing about the home page is to make the date+time link work just like it does on Latest.

The next thing would be to give members control of what to see on the home page. This is deja vu to me. I was there in the Microsoft meetings with cellular carriers and developers and watched what happened. The developers all wanted Microsoft and the carriers to give up control of the home screen. I learned a lot during those years and felt sad when Microsoft didn't budge.

We knew the carriers didn't want to give up control of the home screen and used their influence with Microsoft to maintain that position. I'm sure you watched Apple swoop in and give this screen back to the consumer. This is why I have the deja vu feeling all over again.

Thanks for the contact methods. I'm under the gun on a factory test app for a few more days.

[Dani]

This is deja vu to me. I was there in the Microsoft meetings with cellular carriers and developers and watched what happened. The developers all wanted Microsoft and the carriers to give up control of the home screen. I learned a lot during those years and felt sad when Microsoft didn't budge.

I don't see it as a parallel at all. I don't think the content on the home screen of your PDA / phone can be compared to the algorithm that powers a landing page feed on a tech forum. I'm much more interested in feedback on the feeds / landing pages / homepage of Facebook, Reddit, Stack Overflow, Quora, etc., which I think are much more relevant, and what you like or dislike on those. Those are parallels that make more sense to me.

[rproffitt]

If I dismiss my Microsoft mobile story then I have to write that the current feed is showing things like Jane viewed this article. X endorsed Y. Very few new posts if any and rarely a reply to a discussion. If there was any interest in X viewed an article it would be one I wrote at least if you are striving to match something I wrote about. I checked the top left card's discussion and I don't see or feel any connection. Many cards note "viewed a topic" 2 months ago.

I saw you changed the algorithm recently and instead of a nearly blank page, seemingly random stuff shows up. But right now it's feeling like rummaging around a trash bin. If only one could filter and links would work.

I think everyone wants this to catch on.

[Dani]

Very few new posts if any and rarely a reply to a discussion.

I'm under the impression that this is a reflection of DaniWeb's activity level, as opposed to being a comment on the algorithm itself. The homepage originally just showed the cards we thought you'd have a keen interest in, but it was barely any. So then we changed the algorithm to show seemingly random cards, but at least populate it with something versus nothing.

What would be most helpful is if you were to link me to a few forum threads and say, "Hey, I stumbled across these, they weren't shown on the homepage, and I wish they had been."

[rproffitt]

Thanks for the new homepage. At least I'm not getting "what is that?" when I show daniweb.com to others. This is much better.

As to the cards, maybe this works for others but for me, I'd rather let it run its course and see where it goes. Just like a newspaper not every section is read by all.

[Dani]

As to the cards, maybe this works for others but for me, I'd rather let it run its course and see where it goes. Just like a newspaper not every section is read by all.

I guess my question still is, though, if not cards, then what? Whether it's cards, or a list, or an activity stream, if no new content exists since your last visit, what can we show?

[rproffitt]

For me, my first stop is https://www.daniweb.com/articles/latest and if I get an email, I go to latest rather than click on the email link. No, it's just force of habit to never click on any email link. Because I heard you were working on the homepage I did take a look and much better as folk that I show it to start to look around rather than wonder what this site is about. That's progress.

As to the cards, I'll write it's a nice experiment that may work for some out there. You can see how badly tiles (these cards look like that) worked out for Windows 8 back then. Kind of reminds me of that.

You covered what the homepage intent is at https://www.daniweb.com/community-center/meta-daniweb/threads/518667/homepage-content and now it seems to be doing that. Without the headline and forum titles I was getting well, what I've shared above.