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We answer questions about our new site—plus a design update

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The new SCI FI Wire is live, and we're excited about the possibilities. But we know some of you have questions about what we've done and where we're headed, so we've cobbled together some answers to the most frequently asked questions about the new Wire.

Thanks to all who wrote in, and please keep the e-mails and comments coming!

I'd like to be able to see more stories on the main page.

We agree and are working on a revised layout. Here's a screen shot of what it will look like.

We answer questions about our new site—plus a design update

How come you are publishing fewer news stories?

We're publishing as many news stories, if not more, than we used to, and we plan to add even more. That will be easier to see with the revised layout.

Why did you add opinion pieces to the Wire?

We had opinion pieces in our old format, and readers liked and responded to them, so we're experimenting with more and different kinds. (Although they receive the most negative comments of all the stories we do, they also receive more positive comments, are the most widely read stories on the site and have the most comments overall, so taken as a whole the message from our readership is clearly in favor of them. For those that don't and will never like them, see the next answer.)

Can you separate the opinion stories from the news stories somehow?

Great idea. We're working on it.

What happened to the content I used to read in Science Fiction Weekly, such as reviews and columns?

New content that would have gone into Science Fiction Weekly will be added to SCI FI Wire, although in some cases the format may change.

Will you still be publishing columns by John Clute, Wil McCarthy and Michael Cassutt?

Yes, their columns will appear in SCI FI Wire. We're working on making their new pieces easier to find. For now, Wil can be found here, while Michael is here.

Will you still be doing Top 10 lists and polls?

We're discussing bringing both back in some way, though the format will likely change.

Why did you become a blog?

We don't consider SCI FI Wire a blog in the traditional sense of the word. (Boring technical note ahead: SCI FI Wire is a news site that used to be run using a homegrown content management system that had grown outdated and was not worth upgrading. We're now running the site with blog software because it does the same thing in a better way, it's more flexible and it's easier to use. But SCI FI Wire is first and foremost about news and will continue to be.)

I've been having some trouble with the RSS feeds.

The RSS feeds had a few bugs we found after we launched. Most of the bugs have been fixed, and we're working on the rest. If you're still having problems, please send us a note and we'll look into it. You can reach us here.

Some of the categories don't have content in them yet.

They will soon, as we add stories that fit into those categories.

When is your iPhone application going to be available?

Very soon. We're just waiting for Apple to approve it, and then it will be in the Apps store.

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(49) COMMENTS

kosh iii:
Please bring back the very good book reviews that you had Above here you replied with some examples, none of which ...More »


Comments

By Michael Sacal at 11:38 AM ON 01/14/09

Test

By Ran at 11:42 AM ON 01/14/09

Will you have anime, book and movie archives as well as new reviews of these items. I miss the art work and the overall "Omni" feel....

By Thogar at 11:45 AM ON 01/14/09

The new layout is better, but do you have to go with a BLINDING WHITE BACKGROUND?!

That's the worst part of this redesign!

By Ran at 11:46 AM ON 01/14/09

Will you continue to have anime, book and movie review archives...as well as current reviews. I also miss the old artwork and that "Omni" feel...

By scifire at 12:00 PM ON 01/14/09

I look forward to your continued "fine tuning" of the site. I like it so far. I would also like to add that I to would like to see the polls and top ten lists return.

By Forrester at 12:04 PM ON 01/14/09

Agree re: the white background. Not a fan of overwhelming amounts of purple either.

By darthbono at 12:04 PM ON 01/14/09

i don't mind the change but i did like the site better when the pictures of the stories did not take up half the page mabye you could make them smaller like they use to be and then when some one clickes on the read more option they could then see the full picture i know i would be happy with that not to mention it would allow you to have more sories on one page.

By fireladie at 12:07 PM ON 01/14/09

I agree with the white background.. icky. Would much rather like to see a gradient from light grey to dark grey or black. Much easier on the eyes.

By Hercules40 at 12:08 PM ON 01/14/09

I don't like the new re-design. I would prefer a LETTERS section where people can still send in individual "letters" about current topics.

Also, please keep opinion pieces in the Opinion column rather than as news items.

By Paul B. at 12:14 PM ON 01/14/09

Call it what you will, it's a BLOG: writers posting pointless personal opinion with limited wit and more limited insight.

And I'm sorry, but I think you are not telling the truth about the comments: I've gone through enough of 'em to see that the negative comments CLEARLY outnumber the positives by a vast margin. The new site is crummy--the readers say so, and who would know better?

I used to come to SCIFI.com and start with SCI FI Wire, then scan the schedule, look at clips of upcoming shows, maybe watch a BSG or read an old review. But now? I read a Wire story--inevitably bereft of content or insight--and get so furious at the crummy new design and the lack of quality that I CLOSE THE PAGE and leave.

You aren't just getting negative comments; you are losing page views. You are driving people away with sub-blog-quality non-news in an ugly format. Not a smart business move.

By JoshP at 12:20 PM ON 01/14/09

Can you separate the opinion stories from the news stories somehow?

Great idea. We're working on it.


Best news so far. Here's how to do it, separate RSS feeds for separate tags. Allow me to subscribe to a news-tagged RSS feed and I will be happy.

By yeahyeah at 12:28 PM ON 01/14/09

Also suggest filtering comments to eliminate the people who just post rants off topic. Maybe deleting blatantly rude comments too, since they drag the discussion down.

By Madge at 12:30 PM ON 01/14/09

I for one absolutely LOVE the redesign. It's less confusing to scan quickly and navigate, it loads quicker, and, more importantly, I can add it to my RSS feed list and remember to visit more often. Keep it up!

By rewod at 12:36 PM ON 01/14/09

Loved the redesign overall, but hated the fact that I couldn't eyeball the day's news items without scrolling. The proposed update is definitely a step in the right direction.

By Jason at 12:45 PM ON 01/14/09

I really enjoy having all of the scifi news in one place, but I don't like having to sift through your lists and opinion pieces to get it. I know that you're working on a way to seperate though things and I look forward to that time.

Also, there should be a way to see a list of the stories rather than having to scroll through hugh pictures and video imbeds to get to the next story.

By PurpleRanger at 1:10 PM ON 01/14/09

The redesign looks good; closer to what the front page of the old SciFiWire looked like. Might I suggest that you add "X new stories added today," the way the link to SciFiWire from the main SciFi.com page used to have?

By Rafe at 1:32 PM ON 01/14/09

1) I have no problems with the redesign.

2) I miss the book reviews. It seems odd that there is a delay in reviews.

By grincher at 1:36 PM ON 01/14/09

I'm glad we are getting new stories all week long but I miss the books section. When are you going to bring that back?

By Shaddup Already at 1:49 PM ON 01/14/09

This thread reminds of Episode 35 of Star Trek when...Ok- enough with the whining, fanboyz!

If you guys separate opinion from the news wire, its all good.

By doggybreath at 2:44 PM ON 01/14/09

I agree:
A) Ditch the white background
B) Create separate "latest opinion" and "latest review" links apart from the news stories. It's nice to click on Movies for example and see all the latest movie related stuff together, but it will be annoying if you're looking for a review of the latest movie release and have to sort thru 20 news blurbs relating to that same movie to find it.
Other than that, looking good so far.

By ssr777 at 2:58 PM ON 01/14/09

I too do not care for the blinding white background.

Also I note on your screen shot of your next iteration that you are still using really LARGE photos that eat up a LOT of room on the real estate. Why don't you scale the photos in the mid-section down so that your page UI is easier to scan and use?

Your pictures are now so honking big that on the lower end of the monitor resolution scale, they eat up the page -- do you test at various monitor resolutions, or just assume that people only use the highest settings?

By Elizabeth at 4:04 PM ON 01/14/09

It would be nice to have the option to turn off the comments feature on the news stories, but I pretty much feel that way on just about every news site.

I can usually do without seeing opinions from John/Jane-Who-Still-Lives-In-His/Her-Parents'-Basement-And-Has-Never-Been-Laid.

And, yes, I realize the irony of using the comments section to post this but I feel I'm safely perched in the Has-Own-Apartment-And-Normal-Love-Life section.

By budgethero at 4:32 PM ON 01/14/09

i agree that the white background to small, thin, black text contrast is making my eyes exhausted. i would mind something more easy on the eyes (pun always intended).

Thank you for this. It's addressed most of my worries. And thanks for all the work. I really appreciate it. Although, I just want to ask if you still will be doing the ratings and movie numbers. Again thank you.

By Vashek the Dark at 4:45 PM ON 01/14/09

Really want to be able to access reviews of books, movies, and games more easily. Especially want to be able to go into the old archives!

By Some Bozo at 4:53 PM ON 01/14/09

Google Reader is showing multiple copies of some articles. Please fix.

Also, it is not clear when there is more to the story than that shown in Google Reader. Trail continued stories with: "..." or "Continued..."

-Thanks

By mredder4 at 5:05 PM ON 01/14/09

Why did the quick links to other stories disappear from below the current article? Now I have to read the news out of a centralized page, which either means opening mad new tabs, reading them, and then closing them, or hitting back a dozen times to get back to the main news page. This new layout is disappointing. Seems to me that links are free and easy; there should be more, not less.

By morjana at 5:10 PM ON 01/14/09

To be honest -- I don't like the site design. It's too...white. Bland. Boring.

By jbkellers5 at 5:51 PM ON 01/14/09

Oh, my eyes ! Blinded by the bright white - please tone it down......

By TheAdlerian at 6:34 PM ON 01/14/09

I used to tune in daily to check the accurate and frequent book reviews. I took the suggests seriously and purchased many books based on this site's input.

Most of what I've seen here is fluff and I've not been visiting for that reason. However, if you get that quality content back, you can bet I'll return.

Frankly, I'd much rather see less frequent, but quality reviews and such than "Joe Blow Says, It Was Fun Making Star Trek," articles.

It appears you've gone backwards, now that I think of it.

By shmegloq at 6:55 PM ON 01/14/09

why oh why fix something that was not broke?g32pie

By shmegloq at 6:58 PM ON 01/14/09

why fix something that ain't broke?

By JoshP at 7:44 PM ON 01/14/09

I think that this site needs more cowbell.

By Darren Albert at 1:11 AM ON 01/15/09

Geez, the whiners should get over themselves. SCI FI Wire is different, yes, but man, you'd think it was the end of the universe the way some of you are reacting. Good on you guys at SCI FI Wire for setting up this site and for planning to improve it as you go along. As long as you're improving what you do who can complain? Or rather, who should complain... I'll keep visiting, reading, following you on Twitter, and finding ways to comment on and link to your posts from my own sci fi based blog. Those that have a problem with SCI FI Wire I have a simple solution. Warp back to the Dark Zone you came from and stop visiting. Simple. Solved. Either that or offer reasoned, constructive ideas instead of whining.

By LividEmerald at 1:49 AM ON 01/15/09

mredder4 wrote: "Why did the quick links to other stories disappear from below the current article? Now I have to read the news out of a centralized page, which either means opening mad new tabs, reading them, and then closing them, or hitting back a dozen times to get back to the main news page. This new layout is disappointing. Seems to me that links are free and easy; there should be more, not less." I agree 100%. This was one of the best features about the previous incarnation. I also have to agree with a host of others that the white background is visually obnoxious.

By SciPerch at 9:09 AM ON 01/15/09

Dig the new site.

Any chance you might start publishing fiction again ... you already have a fiction editor on staff (looking at Scott Edelman).

I know, that was over at the mothership. Just sayin'

By Rj at 10:47 AM ON 01/15/09

Why does the same story appear under different categories?

By SFTV at 7:05 PM ON 01/15/09

I will miss a lot of the SF Weekly content and have used the archives of it and SciFi Wire for checking on things. Are the old pages going to be kept active as archives? One plus with the new domain is that it is not (yet) blocked from looking at via the web filters my employer uses (scifi.com is deemed innapropriate because of the streaming video content).

By PSSLC at 7:27 PM ON 01/15/09

I'm not pleased with the new format. It is has far too many opinon pieces and not enough real news. I miss the SFW book and movie reviews. The current reviews are more spoiler and less review. I would at least like to see a rating system reintroduced. Did you pilot this format before you released it? In the past I would check both SFW and SCIFIwire religiously, but since the change I only check in once every week or so. I'm giving the site a chance, however, if things don't change I will stop visiting.

By Cass at 2:26 AM ON 01/16/09

I'm not used to the re-design yet. My frirst impression is "I Hate It!" because I am accustomed to getting a weekly rundown of everything in SciFi Weekly, printing it off, and reading it . I even have several binders of SciFi Weekly that serve as an archive of all things scifi for many years. I miss it.

By SCI FI Wire Staff at 3:03 PM ON 01/16/09

Thanks for all your comments! We're continuing to listen. Here are a few more answers to your questions about the new Wire.

Anime: Yes, we’ll have anime news and reviews.

Artwork: We’ll definitely be highlighting interesting artwork that we come across.

White background: We asked our Creative Director to look into toning down the background.

Letters: Letters have been superseded by comments. We’ll aso be highlighting the best and worst comments of the week.

Comment filtering/moderating: We’ve been moderating comments sparingly to start with until we see how much/little is needed. We’ll be posting comment guidelines soon and following that we’ll make sure comments adhere to the guidelines.

Books: We’re continuing to publish book news and reviews. Here, here, here and here are some examples.

Quick Links: We’ll be adding a top stories section in some format, after we address some design issues.

Short Fiction: We have no plans to bring back short fiction.

Stories appear in multiple categories: This is a feature of tagging, which you can read about here.

Google reader: We passed the note onto our tech team and are having them investigate.

Cowbell: Yes, we can always use more cowbell.

By Bill at 3:12 PM ON 01/16/09

Hey There,
I'm an RSS reader. Today I was going back through the articles and noticing all the great pictures you guys have up at the top of each article. I miss out on those in the RSS format and the old format used to have a different icon for each day. Any chance you could iconize those pictures in the RSS feed cause that would be great.

thanks,
-Bill

By ericInSJ at 3:24 PM ON 01/16/09

I would also prefer more "formal" book and movie/TV/DVD reviews, with letter grades or some other type of rating...

By lyd888 at 2:45 AM ON 01/17/09

hate the site cant load the homepage and cant find the stupid schedule. its useless and ugly to look at to boot.

By Joey at 3:20 PM ON 01/17/09

I AGREE THAT THE WHITE BACKGROUND SHOULD BE CHANGED, AT LEAST GIVE US AN OPTION OF CHOOSING A SKIN TO MAKE IT MORE DARKER.

ALSO, I WOULD LIKE MUCH MORE STORIES POSTED IN THAT THUMBNAIL FORMAT SO I CAN CHOOSE THE ONES THAT I WANT TO READ - SIMILAR TO THE LAST SITE.

I'VE BEEN VISITING YOU GUYS FOR A MINIMUM OF 8 YEARS & REMEMBER THE LAST COUPLE DESIGN CHANGES. IT WAS THE LITTLE THINGS THAT THE LAST SITE HAD THAT MADE IT CLOSE TO PERFECTION - YOU'RE GETTING CLOSER THOUGH.

By kligy at 5:03 PM ON 01/19/09

BRING BACK SCI-FI WEEKLY!!!!!

By Haldur at 12:22 PM ON 01/22/09

I've been a faithful reader of Science Fiction Weekly for many years. Now that you've 'merged' with Sci Fi Wire, I can no longer find the parts of SFW that kept me reading. Where are the book and movie reviews, Classics sections, and website of the week? For the most part, all I've been able to find on the new site are fluff pieces, with a FAR less organized interface.

Making something easy to find, doesn't mean cluttering up your screen with more stuff you don't want to read to make it more difficult to find the stuff that you acvtually DO want to read.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Kligy "BRING BACK SCI-FI WEEKLY!!!!

I never liked Sci Fi Wire enough to read it, so why should I put up with you guys burying the actual useful stuff under piles of fluff?

By Larry at 9:29 PM ON 01/22/09

I read the weekly news recap *every* week for the past few years as a great way to keep up with SF news in minimal time. Now, with the same content needing me to search it out in dozens of different posts I do *not* have either the time or interest. Hope you go back to a weekly digest of news, but if not I will find other sites to go to.

By Dean at 9:58 AM ON 02/08/09

Please bring back the very good book reviews that you had.

By kosh iii at 11:46 AM ON 03/05/09

Please bring back the very good book reviews that you had
Above here you replied with some examples, none of which are as easy as the old way, nor are they are useful.
Where is the main page for Book Reviews?


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