I find this site a useful source of info, but does anyone else feel it's a bit uncomfortable on the eyes??

I like to browse the forums, but the menu bar on the left always stays in place which I find a horrible attraction. Overall for some reason I can't put my finger on, it just makes it damn uncomfortable staying here for too long if your intention is posting, which is something I regret.
I post a lot on mini2, under a different name, and when I come here it seems a bit muddled in comparison.
I'm not implying that mini2 has any more to offer, just that it seems a bit more aesthetically pleasing when posting in the forums.
This site seems to be popular and well managed, so i'm really only posting to see if others feel the same way. It's definately not intended as a put down. Just a suggestion.
If nobody agrees with me then I would be happy to stand corrected, or at least stand alone!!
:???:

 

I tend to see it in the opposite light. I can't stand the look of MINI2.com, I think that it's muddled, and seems just thrown together. This site seems more comfortable (to me at least)

 

I agree with multipurpose. MINI2 is just harder to use, seems disorganized. I love the white-on-black choice of this site, it makes things much easier to read. Yay us! lol

 

multipupose wrote>>'I tend to see it in the opposite light. I can't stand the look of MINI2.com, I think that it's muddled, and seems just thrown together. This site seems more comfortable (to me at least)'

Maybe it's a familiarity thing.
mini2 was just a personal reference, but I wasn't intending a mini2 versus minicooperonline discussion (anyway the guy who owns that site posts here, so there is obviously a mutual relationshio between the two).
Just wanted to know whether others feel the same or not about the fact that 20% of the screen is always occupied by the menu bar.
Your'e a not. Thats fine. Thanks for getting things going. :smile:

p.s - SarcuxKSU, mini2 is white on black also!!

 

So it is. Must have eaten too much Count Chocula. Messed up my perceptions.

 

InSiDeOuT,
As you can see by the number of posts I have made..... It doesn't bother me too much.

 

I second Sfiveten on this issue. Given that I designed the original layout and color scheme I agree with many of the comments I've seen posted. The original intent was to get a site launched and work to improve it over time both visually and functionally. Now that I've had time to live with it and come to understand the nuances of its use I see many places that could be dramatically simplified, improved, added, or removed. While it may take some time you will see improvements coming on a monthly basis from us. Thanks for your feedback....keep it coming!

Best regards,

Mark

 

Being in the field of Web design and I would like to voice my opinion...

I think the navigation is layed out very well. I think navigation is the key to any web site and most designers forget this. Not the case here. Simple clean smart design. Neither is it graphics heavy with needless graphics that hurt download times.

Only detractions are the small text and the use of white text (black is easier on the eyes). But I wouldn't let this count too much against this site. It is a well done site.

 

I like the fact that the threads are simple to navigate.. nothing hidden, or in multiple levels, unlike cruel.com's message area... but my major suggestion is to change the default search selection from ANY to ALL terms... i can never seem to find ANYTHING using the default... try looking for info about a CVT on an MCS, or "CVT MCS", and you'll never find what you're looking for if it looks for ANY term...

Rocketboy_X

 

It's the white and yellow tiny text...drives me nuts and really bugs my eyes. I hope they think about changing it before I go blind :???:

 

I personally think that the white text on black is easier on the eyes than the other way around, I go crazy trying to read anything in Word. But if you must change it, how about Indi Blue and White?
This site kicks serious @$$!!! Keep up the good work
-Chris

 

Please don't make it look like MINI2.com, I have a hard time finding things in that jumble of information, our Florida Mini site has taken to making their forums looks like MINI2 so I already have to look at that setup twice, I prefer yours.

 

Being more of a print designer than web designer, I can attest that the history of reversed-out type, what 'print' designers typically call the white on black scenario, has been proven to be harder to read. This is not a subjective opinion, but more of a scientic fact. If you want to go down the road of 'where is the evidence?', try the NYTimes site, CNN, Salon, WSJ, Guardian, or literally any news site. White on black. It is nice that this site is familial with the MINI site, but their site is image heavy, and thus less likely to give you that tiring sensation.

Also, the width of the main text area is slightly too wide for the type size used. A column of type should be about 65 characters wide (including spaces)- I counted about 85 on my browser settings. The wider you get, the more you induce eyestrain (which is a physical condition, not mental), causing you feel tired because your eyes are tracking too wide a distance while trying to comprehend the symbols (letters). Again, see the major news sites for examples.

And, if the code uses CSS, spec the line spacing as well as type size. If you are using px values, figure on 10/13 or 11/14 (font size and line height). If you post the css code here, I will give you a mark-up.

I don't mean to belittle the effort to date; I too suffer from eyestrain reading the site, which is unfortunate, as I picked up my MINI last week and have been reading the wealth of really useful information here. I just wish it were a little more legible.

And as a matter of style, I hate the animated emoticon things. That's just a contrary opinion I wanted to voice.

 

username,
Thanks for your feedback. I'd appreciate you assistance since you obviously have more design background than I do :smile:. I'll contact you via email to follow up. Thanks again!

Mark

 

Are we ever going to have a choice of background color and typestyle? Thanks. Ron.

 

Ron,
Some options will hopefully be available in the not so distant future. I've been heavily involved in some feature development for the site and once complete I will be focusing on the "look" of the site. Thanks for your patience.

Mark

 

Most of the time reading this site I end up laughing
and haven't given much thought to technical improvement.
I do like this setup better than Mini2 though. Mark makes
nicer tee shirts as well .

 

I just wanted to add that monitor quality makes a HUGE difference how easy/difficult it is to read this site.

I have viewed MCO from no less than a dozen different monitors, including both LCD and CRT. With a good monitor this site is not difficult to read. I won't deny the legitimacy of the information that username posted - I've read that elsewhere as well - but I'm just saying that monitor quality makes a HUGE difference.

PS. This layout is much easier to navigate [read *nicer*] than the, albeit feature-laden, muddled MINI2.

 

There are things I like about the two different enthusiast sites, but I do think that it is a bit difficult to read the the tiny fonts here.

 

I have been using the site for a few weeks now and really enjoy the amount and quality of information here. I would really like the site much more if the color scheme (white text on black) was changed or changeable. With the small font the site uses, it is only viewable at 1024x769 or less. I have a 19" monitor and feel it's a waste to run at such a low resolution, but anything higher and the text quality suffers. Any chance of a color change or option? Or am I totally in the minority here?

-Richard

 

i like the site. just wish the newest post was first to read then the old ones would go in order of the next older and so forth. like the style and the spirit. thanks

 

I find it funny that people complain about the forum colors at MINI2 but love them here. They look pretty much the same to me, both follow simlar forum layouts, both are black backgrounds, fonts are pretty damn close. Not saying I prefer one verse the other, I use them both.

I do agree with RJBMINI's comments about resolution. I run my resolution extremely high and both sites can be hard to read a very high resolution....but typically the second my eyes start to hurt I take it as a hint to get off the computer and go stare at my car instead - hehehe...or better yet...drive.

 

Richard,
You're not in the minority at all. I designed the current look and after living with it and getting feedback on its good and bad points I want to introduce some options. That said it will be some time before this will be fully implemented as I've been working on a number of features should prove to be valuable to everyone. In the meantime if you find some web sites where you especially like the interfaces and are easy to read, etc. please email me (mferguson@northamericanmotoring.com) with the URL and what you like about them. Other sites will certainly help guide us in the color scheme, text size, and layout design. Thanks again for your feedback!

Mark


>>I have been using the site for a few weeks now and really enjoy the amount and quality of information here. I would really like the site much more if the color scheme (white text on black) was changed or changeable. With the small font the site uses, it is only viewable at 1024x769 or less. I have a 19" monitor and feel it's a waste to run at such a low resolution, but anything higher and the text quality suffers. Any chance of a color change or option? Or am I totally in the minority here?
>>
>>-Richard
>>

 

I'm late to the party, but yes I do. For some reason (at least on my monitor) it's difficult to read. Small type with a white on black just isn't as readable as the reverse.

I noticed some comments comparing this to Mini2, and they use white on gray, and what looks to be a larger font.

Were it up to me I'd experiment with different combinations before changing. Overall I like the aesthetic of MCO, but just have difficulty reading it if it's late and my eyes are bleary!

Jeff