As you've surely noticed things are looking very different around here. We have been working on redesigning the site since the end of the summer, and we're excited about Mondoweiss 3.0. To us it signifies the continuing evolution of the site away from being simply a blog, to an interactive website that delivers news, hosts thought-provoking analysis and spurs debate.
We hope the new design will be easier to navigate, and help highlight the wide breadth of writing, and writers, we feature on the site. In addition, we want the new site to deepen reader engagement, and bring our very active comments section to the fore.
As with all transitions this is very much a work in progress! Please let us know what you think, we'll be continuing to tweak and adjust the site in coming days (and probably weeks). Please use the comments section here to share your thoughts and thanks so much for helping the site become what it is today!
You can’t polish a turd, fellas……
haha! Just kiddin’ – Im digging it man, well done!!
Great first comment, ha!
it looks great adam. super congrats.
RE: “You can’t polish a turd” ~ Crowther
MY RIPOSTE/RETORT: That will not keep the hasbarists from trying!
P.S. I miss the old, unimproved Mondoweiss. It was so familiar. I was so accustomed to it. It was like my “blankie”*. Woe is me!
* Comfort object – link to en.wikipedia.org
Any chance of bringing back the “Edit” function on comments?
seconded…..
oh sht, its there when you hit “reply” woody….not sure on original comments though, i havent seen it
Now I see it. Thanks, Dan.
And I should have stated that I really like the new design, before complaining about the Edit button. Where’s my manners???
Hi Woody,
I know a site where they have removed it to prevent individuals from editing their nonsense when caught red-handed. Given the occasional diatribe being shoved downriver here and presented as a shining basket of M.E. democracy, I’d argue for leaving it off the site.
To be honest, this time it allowed me to correct two typos, but that is basically not important [to me].
I like so many have a hard time with change. Know it must offer more but all ready miss the old look. oh well your deal. Must be better if the two of you made the decision. Trust your judgment and needs
Thanks Kathleen. I’m not great with change either, hopefully it will grow on you.
Is this change we can believe in?
Sorry,I couldn’t help it.
It’s great – don’t let these jokers kid you. Keep up the great work.
What jokers
You mean I just hit my computer with a sledge hammer for nothing? Looks like I’m gonna need lots duct tape before I can comment again.
Ah! the “edit” function! Well, there goes my last excuse.
I was in the process of responding to your complain that something must be wrong with your computer, when I realized you would notice soon enough.
Sledgehammer? I’ve never tried that, with mine. It helps?
Well, I’m not sure, but judging by how a few carefully placed blows helped my TV, I’m willing to try it. It was miraculous with the TV, a couple good swings, and I was never disturbed or insulted by the content on the screen again! Plus, I felt so much better.
its all about you mooser….. :)
Dan, just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after me, and it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy and learn from your comments and POV. Cause I do! Just try and stop me!
hahahaaa!!!
You are so funny. Sometimes I am unable to follow your twist and turns but am from the peasant class and basically shoot straight at the target. Often hit it.
“Sometimes I am unable to follow your twist and turns”
Neither can I, Kathleen. Neither can I.
slick! still need to work on the banner, or whatever you newspaper guys call ‘Mondoweiss The War of Ideas in the Middle East’. a different font or something.
“Any chance of bringing back the “Edit” function on comments?”
Or is that it there below? Will somebody please explain to us amateurs?
Woops, just found it, how come I didn’t see it before. Doh! Or maybe you responded already to Woody? If so, thanks.
“You may use these HTML tags and attributes:”
Please tell nerds like me how!
John, here’s a Google search page with many links which will answer your question.
HTML allows the commenter to avail himself of a few more options (italics, bold, blockquotes, hyperlinks to text and others) than just plain text. The HTML prompts enable you to do that. They tell the computer to make use of those options, and when to stop them.
Thanks Mooser, I went there a few months back but gave up in frustration, can’t remember now exactly why.
Maybe I should try again, but have survived here quite well without it anyway.
john, i want you to follow this simple instruction.
do you know the ‘greater than /lessor than’ symbol’? looks like a sideways v ?
it shows it here : link to mathsisfun.com
ok, open the reply box and type the ‘lessor than’ symbol in the reply box. the one with the point aiming to the left.
right next to it type the letter i.
now type the ‘greater than’ symbol after the ‘i’ and it should look like one lone i with surrounded 2 sideways v’s pointing away from the i. no spaces in between.
now type anything you want, something. or write ‘this is italic’ or ‘this is easy’.
now type the ‘lessor than’ symbol again FOLLOWED by one lone slash: /
then type the letter i and then type the ‘greater than’ symbol
(NO SPACES in these configurations)
and press ‘post a comment’
just try it.
Can I play?
Hope it works!
Ooh, I got it right!
NO WAY bumblebye! this is a private lesson
annie’s teach in for challenged users. (i used to be one..shhh)
this is easy
eureka!
Got it!
But somehow Bumblebye figured out bold as well…
You’re amazing annie, you never miss an opportunity to take the opportunity to help someone, what a gem.
Can you also show me how to put in a link?
Sniffle….sniffle
that’s soooooo mean. I’m still ‘challenged’.
excellent john. for the bold follow the same instructions but replace the i w/ ‘b’. (no apostrophes of course)
it’s easy!
and if you want it italic and bold just do both on either side
Hmmmmm
(edit) Yay! It worked! Thanks annie!
;) my pleasure.
Can you also show me how to put in a link?
yes. there’s a relatively new feature here where all you have to do is place the link (called the URL)into the comment box and the site automatically shortens it when you press post. do you know how to copy/paste? you copy the url of the article you want to link to and then paste it in the comment box like this:
link to mondoweiss.net
very simple. an embedded link is a little more complicated.
but you can also link to a specific comment here easily. for example if i want to link to your original question @ November 15, 2011 at 2:28 pm i simply CLICK ON THE DATE of the comment directly under your name (i right click so it will open another page, that way i can save this box i am typing in right now so i don’t loose all the text) and copy the url. here it is!. and if i don’t embed it, it comes out looking like this but it still goes right to your comment.:
link to mondoweiss.net
Annie, good but hard to follow. Try this:
IN FOLLOWING, replace SQUARE BRACKETS WITH POINTED BRACKETS, less-than, greater-than
italics [i] blah blah [/i]
bold [b] blah blah [/b]
link [a href="URL"] hi-lite text[/a]
quote [blockquote]quotations[/blockquote]
strikeout [strike] blah [/strike]
and MANY MORE HERE
Thanks
great idea pablemont! why didn’t i think of that? you can also write s instead of strike, at least in some formats.
thanks above Mooser
HTML scared me for a long time, too. I still don’t use the fancy stuff, just bold or italic.
Love the new look!
Me too.
I always hate when sites change their formal “outfits”.
I guess I will get used to it?? Do I have a choice anyway?
It is a little too “crowded ” with the news for my taste.
But then, I usually like plain and simple, so maybe I’m not the best judge.
I like the new look – very clean. Well done. Now bring back that “Edit” button! :-)
– Edit –
Never mind. ;-)
Woohoo!
Lithe and lovely!
Any chance of multiplying the brain cell that all visiting zionists bring forth? Is there a tec-man or a machine that can do that yet?
why does the “reply to” line in the “100 latest comments section” point often to a person NOT being replied to?
Brimming with potential, but there are lots of whitespace and visual hierarchy issues that impact ease of use and information absorption. Some example:
1. “The War of Ideas in the Middle East” – in this new design, having “East” on the second line looks like a mistake.
2. In the bar below the logo, those five menus stand out as the most prominent thing on the page thanks to their inverted appearance and the fact that the inversion doesn’t cross the whole page. That’s not right; the most prominent item should be the main headline, followed perhaps by the masthead. Those menus should blend in gracefully and quietly to the site design, not be its most noticeable feature.
3. Redundancy: you have social media links at top right, and at left margin. Consider consolidating on the left. (Perpetual problem with the Left, I know!) Similarly, last 100 comments — keep the link on the right, ditch the one at the top. Reduces clutter.
4. Latest/Most Shared/Most Discussed is a great feature, but it looks awkward set off in a different font with different spacing. Match it to the rest of the site, and set it off with a slightly different background.
I like what you’re trying to do, feature-wise, but a careful thinking through of the visual integrity of the site (aesthetically AND functionally) is worth doing now rather than later.
Great suggestions, thanks. We’ll look into it.
i like what sky7i has to say here about the changes and i think they warrant attention.. i liked the old site, but i bet i will like this new design too!
about the whitespace that sky7i mentions… sure would be fun to be able to write in white and have the rest as a black background.. i have my astro program set up that way, but dang white is so pervasive and hard on the eyes when you see a lot of it on a computer screen..
anyway – thanks for reading and following the feedback from your readers here adam and phil…
Just want to say how much I appreciate Mondoweiss and its outstanding user-friendliness.
Especially what you do with comments. Your edit function for example, just for starters. What other blog or site has the last 100 or the last few minutes put together like you do? And where else can you access a commenter’s comments all put together in order like we can here? Just love it.
By the way, I want to ask something regarding the commenter’s comments function.
When I first wanted to write here I had no idea there was an individual commenter’s section. I saw the request to say something about myself and simply thought it was a requirement to write here and did not realise it would be published, or that most other commenters had said absolutely nothing about themselves.
Hence, since then I have been looking for the option to edit what I wrote there, or to delete it entirely, and also to change my name if I wanted to. I’d appreciate having those options, please see what you can do on that. Thanks.
Hence, since then I have been looking for the option to edit what I wrote there, or to delete it entirely, and also to change my name if I wanted to. I’d appreciate having those options, please see what you can do on that. Thanks.
Okay, show of hands: how many people immediately clicked on john h’s name to see what he wrote???
Ouch! My naivety is showing again, I didn’t think of that.
And now you’ve gilded the lily, gee thanks, Woody! (;-)
Okay, show of hands: how many people immediately clicked on john h’s name to see what he wrote???
raised. i like him. don’t change your profile john. sounds cool enough for me.
have been looking for the option to edit what I wrote there, or to delete it entirely
john, you edit it where you entered it. Or simply click on your name, which leads you to your profile, edit, delete, whatever you like, safe. Finished.
Not according to me. I have no idea where I entered it. I can see no edit or delete button on my profile; you must be into magic!
And apparently not according to Adam either, who said “Good point John, I’ll look into it.”
john h,
Scroll down to the bottom of this page, or any page where you see “leave a reply”, and under that it will say, (for you),
“Logged in as john h” with the john h hyperlinked. Click on that “john h” and that will take you to your profile page which you can edit.
Same instructions apply for anyone else who wants to edit their profile page, with of course the name they click on being their own.
P.S. Your username is the only thing you CAN’T edit on the profile page. You probably have to re-register to change your name.
And instead of scrolling down to the bottom of the page, you can simply click “reply” anywhere, and when the box opens you’ll see the same “Logged in as (user name)” Click on your user name and it will open your profile page.
Once again ‘taint so, me hearties.
What I see is “Logged in as . Log out?” No name there to click on!
Yes, tree, I missed this:
clicking on the “john h” says, above any comment leads you to your comment archive.
clicking on Logged in as john h. leads you to your profile.
But concerning Woody’s response. I did look up john h’s archives, and as Annie like it, when he caught my attention. As I usually do, when I encounter interesting voices I am not familiar with.
john, if you click on reply. Above the comment I write now, I reads:
Both “LeaNder” (or john h, if you reply) are hyperlinks. If you click on lock out, it cancels your reply. If you click on “john h”, it leads you to your profile.
At the bottom of the profile you find a button to “update profile” somewhere above is the entry you have afterthoughts about. I liked it, but strictly wouldn’t mind if you added something or changed it. I like these little notes, although mine was done years ago, and I never wasted much time thinking about it.
Once again ‘taint so, me hearties.
What I see is “Logged in as . Log out?” No name there to click on!
Hmmm? so we have a community court jester (Mooser), and now a magician (john h)? If you don’t see your name there, you aren’t locked in and strictly you can’t reply. Since if you want to reply and aren’t locked in, you have to lock in first to be able to write a comment.
But always when something is blue there is a good chance it is a link, or am I getting patronizing?
If you don’t see your name there, you aren’t locked in and strictly you can’t reply.
Not true. I had nothing but a period there for months on end, but Hostage would appear after I submitted the comment. At times my comments would not appear when I submitted them. So I started editing off-line and resubmitting them, but no luck. They were still invisible but resubmitting them resulted in a duplicate comment dialog. There are other things that magically come and go, like the contributor star, which is no biggie. I decided to cross my fingers and stay away from changes to my profile;-)
Hmm, Hostage, that sounds strange.
I had troubles with Mondoweiss many years ago (still old MW software, Typepad?), including peculiar phenomenon, but they were different. I think I couldn’t comment anymore via Firefox and as you write, didn’t see the published comments, thus posted them again, cluttering the comment section. Sorry, john h, if you have similar peculiar matters.
Try to shift the browser and watch if it happens there too. In my case, that I am still sure about, the problem was related to Firefox. But in the end an browser update solved the issue.
I think your system information would be interesting for the people that know the program. Maybe there is a minor bug and for whatever reason your system is more susceptible to it.
There are other things that magically come and go, like the contributor star, which is no biggie. I decided to cross my fingers and stay away from changes to my profile;-)
I was wondering about that. Suddenly some supporter stars disappeared.
Maybe we can expect them to reappear? I surely hope so.
I’m another one who’s only ever been logged in as a mere dot!
But the name always appears with my comments once I submit ‘em.
Like you, I’ve never found that any problem, but Hostage has.
There seem to be a few issues though, so hope Adam or someone is able to look into them and sort out some consistency and solve the mysteries.
I think I couldn’t comment anymore via Firefox and as you write, didn’t see the published comments, thus posted them again, cluttering the comment section.
I do use Firefox, but I tried IE before I resorted to offline editing and had the same problem. There was no clutter of comments, they just went to the bit heap in the sky. I’m always running the latest stable releases and service packs, but that’s no guarantee of success. That particular problem vanished as mysteriously as it appeared (knock on wood).
Hostage, I am somehow fascinated with the:
Logged in as … Log out or dot phenomenon.
If you aren’t logged in the REPLY changes to LOG IN TO REPLAY. Are you really suggesting, you are logged in via “log in to reply” changing it to “reply” but your user-name doesn’t show, like this Logged in as Hostage. Log out?, but instead were Hostage would be are only dots?
If there are dot’s only, does clicking on the “dots” lead you to the profile? It feels in the “log in” process it either pulls your user-name string, or it doesn’t. But how can it not pull it but then pull it once you publish. Hmmm?
I very vaguely remember I encountered the occasional failed log in. The problem is you usually don’t pay attention to your more intuitive moves and thus notice too late to reconstruct what exactly happened. This is the only thing I encountered that feels could be somehow related.
I’m always running the latest stable releases and service packs, but that’s no guarantee of success.
Me too now, before I was occasionally of the never-change-a-running-system mentality. …
before I resorted to offline editing
I resorted to “offline editing” when I had troubles several years ago. With the editing tool here you always have to keep in mind that the links have to be mended in the editing process too, otherwise they don’t work after. In your case, concerning the load of information and links you provide, it surely is the better way to do it.
My problems were all related to to Typepad software both on MW and on other blogs. But they were clearly related to Firefox, or Firefox – Typepad interplay, whatever it was at the time.
Hostage, I am somehow fascinated with the: Logged in as … Log out or dot phenomenon.
Instead of Logged in as Hostage. Log out? it was Logged in as [null string]. Log out? and there was no hyperlink to the profile. I contacted Phil about the problem posting and he managed to fix the empty string/period problem by reverifying the account.
I’m always running the latest stable releases and service packs, but that’s no guarantee of success. Me too now, before I was occasionally of the never-change-a-running-system mentality. …
LOL! I’m running Windows on a netbook and an Ipod touch now, but I didn’t sleep well for years after the release of the first patchkit for 386BSD. My obsession for tinkering with things peaked when I switched to Debian testing/unstable for several years. Nowadays I’m too lazy for any of that. I just use whatever’s on the machine when I buy it;-)
P.S. Even after my account was reverified, my profile page still says something like unverified__########, where the user name Hostage should appear.
thanks, Hostage. I noticed your unverified string and was puzzled, but finally noticed why MRW once grouped you among the elders. I didn’t notice your the little entry before since the “unverified string” dominates your profile.
I am really curious about these matters. It felt nobody but this nitwit German had the same problems at the time. And to be honest, I may have done a complete new system setup. It took quite a bit of time and fiddling. …
I seem to be having serial firefox crashes for longer now (Firefox 7.*, 8.0 /Windows 7) according to Soluto. But much more frequent reports of crashes than real crashes now. It works like this: Soluto reports Firefox crashes, but rarely Firefox really crashes, the crash message appears and disappears again, and I have no idea what processes Soluto recorded. But then one out of 10 reports it is a real crash, unfortunately usually when I have left to get a coffee or something, and don’t remember what exactly I did. There are some problems with Firefox, no doubt. I occasionally cannot open it after I shut it down and can open it only with the task manager via new task.
Which leaves the missing supporter stars. I was missing some actually, and wondered in Annie’s and your case if you somehow opted out, preferring to be a secret supporter. ;) So I learned something anyway.
John, I agree, the edit function is essential. The number of times the “edit” function has saved me from making a fool of myself can easily be estimated from the number of times it hasn’t!
Good point John, I’ll look into it.
I’m a typical user, I hate all redesigns – but I like this one! Congratulations, you’ve beaten the odds.
One detail: the only thing I really dislike is how the facebook/twitter widget on the left margin doesn’t scroll with the rest of the page. It’s jarring that it doesn’t move when everything else is moving – forces my attention away from what matters, the content, and back to that stupid widget every time. The widget itself is lame but tolerable (personally I think it’s junk and the site would be cleaner and more elegant without it, but I realize others disagree). But please make it scroll the way that everything else on the page does. It doesn’t deserve to be the center of attention.
Gruseom ,
I agree with you 101%
This ,whatever you call , “widget” ,is extremely annoying.
Lameness is one , maybe disputable, thing, but the fact that is BIIIIIG, and does not SCROLL with the rest of the page is just bad design.
It does turn away attention from the content, and in sort of becomes THE MOST IMPORTANT thing on the site. And that, I suspect ,it was not the idea. Or ,maybe , I’m mistaken.
I’m anti-widget as well. I don’t know what it is for and I don’t care. It is a nusiance.
Pleeeease remove this “widget”.
Or put in such a place, that is less visible.
Like.. under a rug.
Got it, thanks!
(Although I have to say I like the widget, only in that we want the site to be shared far and wide. But I get the point.)
Huh. I have no problem with the Facebook and Twitter widgets, nor with Stumble. I use all three very often. Usually on web pages they are located stationary at the top or bottom of an article. But they are OK where they are, might be better there. Anyone else agree?
After my initial horror at yet more change, I likey lots – except that the pesky widgety thing which I didn’t suffer from yesterday has now decided to appear! It’s ‘orrible baaaad! Like some sort of label that I want to peel off, but it’s on the wrong side of the glass! (And it’s on the other side of the screen – mine’s on the right and get’s in the way of the latest posts, latest comments etc.)
Pleeeeease peel it off from your side of the glass!!
Okay, the attack of the vapours is almost gone, and I’ve nearly stopped trembling, wailing and gnashing my teeth. I’ll probably be able to take a little weak beef broth and toast by tonight, and I’ll need a good long talk with my alienist, but the new format is here to stay, and I’ll have to accept it.
Only one carp, or quibble: there’s a label having to do with “shares” “tweets” and “stumbles” (? is that more like a carp or a quibble?) which floats disturbingly at the right side of the screen and covers content in an annoying fashion. Any way to move it?
Oh, I see, it’s a “widget” Could it be smaller, and out of the way? On a smaller screen like mine (2.5×5 mm) it is in the way.
Is that the one that fits into a monocle?
“Is that the one that fits into a monocle?”
So I guess you know about my glass eye, huh? I wouldn’t have mentioned it, but it came out during the conversation.
Niiiiiice!
From a good-looking site to a great-looking site!
Congrats!
Very nice facelift.
A pity to think it is already being soiled by hasbara.
Hasbara is par for the course here, it’s part of a kind of love/hate aspect that makes us what we are, don’t you think?
I first found the general interface disorienting. After a couple minutes using it, I like it.
The listing of headlines allows for quick selection of which one is interested in reading and reading comments of.
I think that puts a bit more responsibility on headline writers to make them representative headlines of the actual content, so that the interface does serve that purpose (to make it easy to scope out what to follow up on).
It resembles the interface inherent in Seham’s summary blog posts, which previously I didn’t find all that helpful, that it buried the content, and didn’t distinguish between content threads.
Richard Witty said, ‘Anyone who can understand my last paragraph above should apply for work at some intelligence service’s code-breaking division.’
now play nice, james. he could have tried to write it in french, a la kagan. zut! wo ist mon baguette?
James North, really! Richard Witty gives Mondoweiss advice accrued during his successful career as a publisher, web designer, writer and journalist, and you carp and cavil (and if “cavil” isn’t the right word, remember you carped, too!)
Big corporations pay hefty consultancy fees for advice like that from Richard Witty, according to him, and he’s offering it here, gratis! And such integrity, that even across the political divide, and in spite of the fact that he was not offered the head editorship of Mondoweiss (and how richly he deserves it, he alone knows!) he still advises.
With fiends like him, who needs enemas?
Priceless, as usual. Mondo can never be boring when you’re here doing your Mooser shuffle.
Love the new look. I gotta say, it’s sexy!!!
(gulp), thanks
Well, I hate the new look, but I’m a minority and will get used to it. My wife says I tend to hate change. The content is what matters. There’s something on the left column which is mostly cut off. It doesn’t look to be too important (to me at least.) Something about shares and tweets and stumble. No idea what that’s about.
Now to post so I can see if the edit function appears.
“My wife says I tend to hate change.”
My wife said that to me, so I immediately proposed changing wives. She just gave me a look, and I sat down and rubbed the spot where it hit, hoping it wouldn’t bruise too badly.
Well, hope it grows on you Donald. I don’t like change either, but I think this will help. And of course the content will be the same (or better!)
I don’t like it.
It wasn’t broke and didn’t need fixing.
Now it looks like a news site with a focus that is too broad (the category links at top).
What made Mondoweiss great was the discussion. Now we only see headlines, with no lead paragraph even.
Please rethink this change, eat the money you spent, and go back to the old format (or do what Gawker did with their sites after they made totally unnecessary changes and provide an option to view the site in the old format)
Yes, it does look like a news site with a broad focus. That was the first thing I noticed and didn’t like. But I’ve only been looking for a few minutes…
Too many redundancies – I’ll see the same headline in 3 places – a waste of space and visual clutter
We don’t need “Most Shared” etc – we readers and posters on Mondoweiss know what we want to read (we search and find) and don’t follow trends
Take out the “Most Shared, etc.” box at the right and move the categories over there and take them out from under the Mondoweiss header/title … they are essentially archives and should not lead
Take out “Recent Comments” – we see those when we read the entries and do our posting
Take out “Don’t Miss” – we readers know what not to miss and the volume of comments speaks to that
It feels like some designer/programmer(s) talked you into a bunch of bells and whistles which DETRACT from the site … you motto is The War of Ideas in the Middle East and I think the new format veers from that claim
Privately I will send you an image of how the site could be better (I’ve designed several)
And, please, take out the pictures of the authors – I DON’T CARE
Headline should be in two places only: Featured/Don’t Miss and in the daily post log. Removing a story from the daily post log would make that log incomplete. We’ve thought about doing it and may still do so.
As for the rest, it sounds like a fine recipe for not growing the site and not expanding the audience. Just a little further down someone is asking for more recent comment information.
Most people like to see photos of the writer. Decades of book jacket editors and designers can’t be wrong.
If you’d like to see Mondoweiss with no formatting, the answer is not far away. Just read Mondoweiss in the RSS reader of your choice.
Great job, Phil and Adam…! Love the new look…!
I agree. Best site for I/P information no matter HOW you format it.
Yep, and best site for comments by a country mile.
Congratulations Phil and Adam for this new look! It works real well. Probably like many, I have been a “silent follower and reader” for a very long time. I truly appreciate what you do for Palestine. With this new website, I felt compelled to publicly thank you both for your great work!
Thanks Ramzi
whoa..Ramzi Jaber. I have been a “silent follower and reader” for a very long time.
!! hey, that is wonderful news. thanks for all your awesome contributions to my reality.
Still no complete threading. Still no link to the parent of a comment. Still only half-assed links to replies to comments.
Cosmetic alterations only, no real functional improvements.
somehow it’s easier to read. like it.
Although I seldom agree, to put it mildly, with the positions and the comments expressed on Mondoweiss, I would like to congratulate the editors for the new look. Well done. I appreciate also the enlargement of the thematic sections, no longer focused almost exclusively on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and in particular on the practice of Israel-bashing, but now, at least apparently, including the vast complexity of Middle Eastern realities. So hopefully this change of look is not just mere cosmetic, but also a change in style, possibly more objective and critical in all areas, beyond of ingrained anti-Zionism. Solution to conflicts requires different, articulated responses, not simple one-sided schemata and slogans repeated ad libitum to make them real.
That said, good luck and … to “collide” again soon or later …. ,-)
no longer focused almost exclusively on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
jonah, we’ve always had a variety of posts here. perhaps the new formatting allowed you to observe that. i don’t think there has been any plan to change the content and if there was no one mentioned it to me.
annie, I think people who are forced to look at Mondoweiss, and can’t get to any other site, no matter how little they think of Mondoweiss, should be given special consideration in the site re-design. It’s only fair. The rest of us can leave if we don’t like “the ingrained anti-Zionism” or the “simple one-sided schemata and slogans repeated ad libitum to make them real”, but some people, apparently, can’t. I wonder why?
.
mooser, speaking of people forced to look at Mondoweiss, do you ever wonder how many mouths are getting fed because of the take home pay from their forced employment?
;)
there are probably at least dozens of people at any given time monitoring this site who are at work. that doesn’t include the ones commenting. ouch!
“there are probably at least dozens of people at any given time monitoring this site who are at work.”
And Jonah, “eee” “DBG and the rest are the best they can come up with? That’s pitiful.
Let’s all say HELLO to them:)
How was your busy day?? A little bit tired?
A report has to be made at the end of the day/night??
Since I’m usually inclined to be too optimistic with regarde to the open-mindness of people – not to mention their sense of humor -, I will try to change my censored comment adapting it to make it more palatable to mondo’s sensible comments taste. Hopefully palatable enough to be accepted into the standart tuning. (By the way: can irony be only anti-Zionist?)
“mooser and annie, be assured that I’m not paid by m********* for my modest contribution here. All for free. But consider one moment sincerely: how would this site be without any controversial comments posted by other minded talkbackers – pretty m********* and r********* , don’t you think? Like thousand other r******** sites which don’t tolerate divergent opinion except their one. There can be unpleasant consequences of the a***-******* mind-set, which could gain a foothold in society and even becomes the mainstream. We need to keep an vigilant eye on this problem.
I believe it’s a sign of tollerance and strength of a community to allow a healthy dialectic controversity in its own “belly”. A J******* quality, besides. Such as M******’s (*****) humor, which makes me l***** despite or probably because its e************ rhetorical a******* against the myth******* “Z******* b******”.
(Irony off.)
that one will never get old huh Mooser? or do you forget you say it?
“not simple one-sided schemata and slogans repeated ad libitum to make them real.”
Oy! Thank God that Zionism has never indulged in any of those contemptible practices! But who has time, when the Jewish nation is busy making the desert bloom, returning to their 4000 year old home and practicing Jewish democracy and Jewish self-determination. Not to mention all those “arabs”. Nope, no room for “simple one-sided schemata and slogans repeated ad libitum to make them real” in Zionism!
never indulging in those contemptible practices?
like their never having mentioned the one about a land without a people for a people without a land?
no longer focused almost exclusively on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and in particular on the practice of Israel-bashing
According to Bradley Burston, there’s just no long-term prospects for continued Israel bashing: Come visit Israel. Before it’s gone (You’re going to have to hurry).
Danny Danon is certainly circling the wagons. His latest gem is a bill to prevent Legal associations like Al Haq, Yesh Din, et al from taking cases to the High Court on behalf of Palestinians. See Bill: Limit Left’s High Court petitions
please dont do this. it is so much busier than it used to be. one of the great features of mondoweiss was how easy it was to read the articles (and how fast it would load on mobile devices).
take a page out of the steve jobs’ handbook and keep the site streamlined and clean. we dont need all this clutter on the sides. and we especially dont need this facebook, twitter, stumble sidebar.
thank you
The mobile theme shouldn’t be effected by this redesign, so it will hopefully still load quickly, that was goal. Another goal was to improve navigation because we were told that unless you obsessively followed the site (which we appreciate), it was very easy to miss lots of good stuff. We hope the new design will make it easier to figure out what’s happening on the site.
The old look had Facebook and Twitter buttons up at the top of each article; now we also have Stumble. That way we have instant means to spread MW content access to lots of people around the world. I don’t understand why so many don’t like this.
we need the ability to spread individual comments also,
Hey! Where’s the “previous post/next post” at the bottom?
I used that to work my way through the posts.
Good point, we’ll look for it.
No ignore button? It would be a useful choice for each of us?
i like the new latest/most discussed/and most shared features at the top of the post on the right.
i never imagined when i wrote it the ‘dualing messages on iran’ post would end up with over 300 something comments. i don’t want to jinx it or anything..
sometimes i think post like that get lots of comments because the you know who’s can’t have them just sit there in archives with a simple narrative in the comment section.
nnnnnnoooooooooooooooo
;)
I also like that feature.
I liked that feature too when I first saw it, but have not used it yet.
wow. beautiful! congrats, phil and adam! but i have to say, i do miss those intro paragraphs. a lot.
but other than that, fabulous!
me too
Me three
Me four.
That’s actually one of the first additions we want to make. There will be a way to expand the headlines to get an excerpt of the post without having to click all the way through. We wanted to save some space so it would be easier to get an overview of what’s on the site, but I agree the intros are important. Thanks.
it’s a relief hearing that adam. MW is a work in progress.
i have a request. i would like a site reader so we can see how many people are on at any given time and where they are logging on from. similar to the one they have @ link to moonofalabama.org
scroll down to the bottom left corner of the page and click on the “visitors” link (it is hard to see).
I agree, annie–that would be a great added feature, very interesting.
ot just read the Sandusky indictment. Aye yi yi
link to crewof42.com
A great one up by former head of the CIA’s Bin Laden unit Micheal Scheuer
link to non-intervention.com
On America’s horizon — A far larger war with the Muslim world
By mike | Published: November 13, 2011
“Recently, I gave the talk below to a group of men and women who play a variety of roles in the conduct U.S. national defense. While I certainly do not claim the talk reflected that group’s views, I can say that it generated a very interesting 45 minutes of questions and answers and perhaps began to focus some listeners on the common- sense realization that the U.S. government’s interventionist policies and actions in the Islamic world certainly do elicit reactions, many of which are intensely negative. If nothing else, the notion that we are on the threshold of a much larger religious war with Muslims caused some to see the truly make-believe nature of Washington’s bipartisan intention to cut defense spending. In the context of a Muslim world that is girding for a larger war against America, its allies, and Israel, the idea that Washington can cut defense spending is as much a fantasy as the idea that the Super Committee will solve America’s debt problem. In both economic and foreign policy, the U.S. bipartisan governing elite is mindlessly traveling the high road to calamity.”
Sandusky indictment…
Unbelievable……Penn State officials let this freak get away with this for 11 years?
They should all go to prison…..covered up for the sake of their ‘sports team”…?
…..Jesus!
I do like it. Nice evolution from the beginnings but then I read Weiss since the NY Observer!
Hello, New Mondoweiss.
Hi
Good work, gentlemen.
Nice new look; bravo. Can someone help me figure out how to go directly to unread posts on each thread without having to fish for them by scrolling up and down past posts to find unread ones and without having to go through the last 100 posts that aren’t fun because they are detached from each other and from the discussion flow of the threads. The few “recent comments” don’t help either. Thanks.
Not possible without very heavy javascript overhead. We’d be tracking thousands of users state across thousands of posts. Not a good situation.
In fact the last 100 comments is specifically set up to help deal with this issue. You can always subscribe to a post via email or even add the post to your RSS reader (where you will get new comments). Just use URL and add /feed at the end.
For this post for instance: link to mondoweiss.net
Looks real nice and clean.
Just like when my wife cleans up my office and I must ask:
Where are my pens,
what did you do with my calculator,
why did you stick the printer in the closet,
where are my old socks,
etc., etc.
We just have to get used to a nice and clean format. Good job.
Mabrouk dear friend.
I must confess that I do not notice the difference since I am always hypnotised by the unmatchable content.
Annie, I am annie everywhere else so I had to opt for something else, and I feel so happy that we see eye to eye. Would have been a secondary embarrassment had you been a hasbarite .
New fresh look. Great work Adam
I’m probably being a bit of a stick in the mud but I found the changes a bit jarring at first. I’ll get acclimated to them though, and I have to say from a design point of view the site’s layout and presentation does come across as more refined.
Kind of a nitpick, but I do miss the gray enclosing boxes around blockquotes. I love those. :)
Visual offset on blockquotes is back Chaos. Accidentally got lost in the transition. Thanks for noticing.
Thank you! :)
The format before was good and IMO has something to do with its success. Everything current is on the front page…you don’t feel like you are missing topics hidden somewhere else on the site. I hope the new format doesn’t alter that much.
My QA
I like
The grouping of stories by day – this is great
The added section for activism…I don’t if it’s the intention, but I think it would unbelievably awesome if Mondoweiss instead of just reporting on activism after the fact…had a section based on location or dates or types of activism to make it easier for readers of the site to participate in the ‘movement’.
The easy to read summary of the # of comments
I like the writer avatars
I do not care for
The social media stuff that floats on the home page – its confusing it lists tweets and followers twice..is that for the site? For the Home page?
The don’t miss is confusing – you have stories by day – you have stories by Latest/most discussed/shared on the upper right…what is the don’t miss then?…one of these with pics? Stories related by tags to the current story? It should be renamed or one of the others should be updated to show the pics….if it were the top 5 stories based on # of comments I wouldn’t feel so confused…or if it said related stories it’d be clearer.
The headings…I suppose it’s a way to try to keep old content available and useful…which is an important and a huge problem. So often I read things here that I want to refer to but that have been lost to times tide of new stories. I’m not sure if the categories are intuitive enough… I would like to see a section of videos > israel > protests videos > then maybe since there are so many grouped by year. Or the same goes for stories Israel > pre 1948 and then have the stories such as that great one with the retired IDF soldier talking about the nakba or the story about the state dept statements to Truman about recognizing Israel. Maybe have headings based on periods of time….or perhaps work on ultimate faqs of the I/P history with references to important stories?
It is a difficult task. Everyone involved in this site is doing great things so pls take this advice with a grain of salt.
p.s I was not able to login to the site via Firfox, 5.0.1 – it reprompted be to login again and again…
firefox 5? yikes…..
I just saw the writer roll call. That is super impressive. I didn’t realize how many various writers have posted here. Very cool.
There have been attempts, like the one by those hacks over at DailyKos to discredit this site. This redesign along with presenting mondo as more than just the opinions of two people but a site where so many credible people are writing, IMO puts that kind of smear thing to rest. This site is a real force that it won’t be possible to ignore.
Great. great job
Hi iamuglow,
I’m able to log in with Camino 2.1 (about a Firefox 5 equivalent). Current release version for Firefox is 7.01 so I’m not able to test Firefox 5. Perhaps update to even a later version of Firefox 5 with more bug fixes.
Is anyone else having login problems since the relaunch?
Hi Alec,
I probably sent you on a goose chase…sorry. My Firefox was virtualized…I just tried logging in with Chrome, which for me is also not installed locally…same issue…so its nothing to do with firefox or your site but the way I am accessing those browsers. Sorry.
IE which is local for me works fine. Anyhow, much. much thanks for the great design and technical feats you’re accomplishing with the site. BW
On the most shared and most discussed feature, I would add some time orientation to it, like the most shared and discussed in the past 72 hours.
If its the most discussed forever, it will skew the reading and discussion of new material.
“the reading and discussion of new material.”
You should try that sometime, Witty.
Hi Richard,
The Most Shared and Most Discussed is currently on a ten day cycle as it is mainly to help new visitors. The regular readers will probably be more inclined to use the daily news feed at the bottom which also lists number of comments, as do the monthly archives: link to mondoweiss.net will always get you the latest monthly archive.
These algorithms may be refined over time. We may put red comment badges on posts with more than 100 comments at some point to provide additional information without adding visual clutter.
A ten day scope is a good relevant time range. Thanks for clarifying.
I thought a little shorter would be more informative, but you guys determine what is best.
The 300+ comments posts become unwieldy.
The coolest thing is that you left “The War of Ideas in the Middle East” in old-school, typewriter-like font. Since it was the motto from day one, it’s ancient and perfect for standing out from all the web 2.0-polishedness.
Thanks for noticing Justice please. I like it too.
Clear and crisp. Looks great y’all, thanks.
Could we have the first two lines of the text in the post scroll under the author name (which will help highlight the author’s name, currently in the lightest grey)? I know, boring, and it may ruin the design. But the witty headlines are doing all the heavy-lifting for the thrust of the article without a hint of the lede. Annoying on iPhone and iPod. You have to open each to see what you want to read first. Slow as molasses if mobile service slow.
Really like the post roll by date. Hope you keep at least a week of them up. Great for iPad because vertical scrolling is so easy. Flick
Actually MRW, to be able to present that much information (a week’s worth of posts here), the format has to be headline only. The whole point is almost that of a news ticker. With the old format it wasn’t possible to put enough posts up in a single place for a reader to be sure he’d seen everything.
I would make the argument that the editorial crew should write better headlines.
Sometime soon we will try a title tag to let you see the short summary of the article on rollover.
good work Alec
I have noticed something that is beginning to bother me, but it was probably there anyway before this new version.
In the last 100 comments, it states to the right who the poster is answering. Because of the way this has been set up, the poster said to be being answered can actually be someone else, so that the correct name, if actually stated by the poster in their content, differs.
When the poster hasn’t done that it is sometimes hard to know who he or she was really responding to, and wrong conclusions can be drawn.
Guess this is inevitable the way things are programmed. Whatever, I have decided for my own peace of mind I’d better say somewhere in my post just who I am answering.
sometimes it helps to address people directly or copy paste part of what they said or what it is you are referencing, especially in a long thread so it’s easier to understand.
Forgive me for testing: bold italic teletype emphasis strong
href:
I suspect “b” instead of “bold” doesn’t work, or hadn’t been working. Here’s a test of that. Oh, never mind, it’s working now at least.
It’s cool that the blockquotes are indented but I still miss the gray box. :( But that’s not a big deal, I’m just being picky.