Flickr? I hardly knew her.
August 6, 2010 2:47 PM Subscribe
After an alleged 5 weeks of beta testing Flickr rolls out its new photo page design and boy are members unhappy with the results.
Site changes layout, users revolt. Users continue using site, forget about changes. Rinse, repeat.
posted by nitsuj at 2:51 PM on August 6, 2010 [43 favorites]
posted by nitsuj at 2:51 PM on August 6, 2010 [43 favorites]
Flickr members unhappy about something, you say?
posted by Jimbob at 2:52 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Jimbob at 2:52 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
I've been using it for quite a while. The immediate jump to slideshow mode before you can get to other resolutions is a drag, but for browsing and poking around it's a really nice set of changes.
posted by verb at 2:52 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by verb at 2:52 PM on August 6, 2010
"Alleged"...?
That's a very strange choice of words. Is there some doubt?
posted by kbanas at 2:53 PM on August 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
That's a very strange choice of words. Is there some doubt?
posted by kbanas at 2:53 PM on August 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
I think it's better. I don't use it a lot though.
posted by cjorgensen at 2:53 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by cjorgensen at 2:53 PM on August 6, 2010
Some people will always be resistant to change, simply because it isn't what they're used to. I beta tested the new photo page design, and I think the changes are awesome - an improvement over the old photo page, for sure.
posted by mewithoutyou at 2:53 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by mewithoutyou at 2:53 PM on August 6, 2010
Why is the beta testing 'allegedly'? There were 6 weeks of public beta and a limited private beta that started on 26th May this year. Nothing allegedly about it. It happened.
There is always a massive, massive screaming bitch fit for every single change on Flickr. Interestingly, this one seems to be much less hysterical than usual. I have to say that this change has one of the better 'size of change vs size of reaction' ratios I've seen in Flickr since it started.
posted by Brockles at 2:55 PM on August 6, 2010
There is always a massive, massive screaming bitch fit for every single change on Flickr. Interestingly, this one seems to be much less hysterical than usual. I have to say that this change has one of the better 'size of change vs size of reaction' ratios I've seen in Flickr since it started.
posted by Brockles at 2:55 PM on August 6, 2010
Yeah, it has been in beta testing since at least June when I got in. There's nothing "alleged" about it. It was widely available for testing weeks ago by thousands of members as well.
posted by mathowie at 2:55 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by mathowie at 2:55 PM on August 6, 2010
verb, if you hover over the photo and right click when you see the magnifying glass, you can go right to the various resolutions without going into slideshow mode.
posted by mewithoutyou at 2:55 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mewithoutyou at 2:55 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
verb, you can go to Actions/View all sizes if you don't want to go to the slideshow mode.
But, yeah, I've been using since it first was offered to me however long ago it was. It's hugely better than the previous one, if only because they finally increased the default size of the pictures. I like the new map.
There are few minor nagging issues I have with the page. Mostly related to places where you have to do a few extra clicks to do something.
posted by skynxnex at 2:56 PM on August 6, 2010
But, yeah, I've been using since it first was offered to me however long ago it was. It's hugely better than the previous one, if only because they finally increased the default size of the pictures. I like the new map.
There are few minor nagging issues I have with the page. Mostly related to places where you have to do a few extra clicks to do something.
posted by skynxnex at 2:56 PM on August 6, 2010
The only thing that kind of bugs me about the new stuff is that I now have to set NoScript to allow flickr.com, yahoo.com, yimg.com, and yahooapis.com in order to get the full experience, whereas before I pretty much just had to allow flickr.com. Eh, if I were actually using Flickr myself instead of just browsing other people's stuff, I don't know how I'd feel.
posted by Gator at 2:56 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by Gator at 2:56 PM on August 6, 2010
My dad and I were talking, a few months ago, about the changes we'd like to see in Flickr if we were in charge of the world. They've mainly done what we talked about. There are a few things that were unintuitive initially, but I'm pretty darn happy with what they did.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:56 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by sciencegeek at 2:56 PM on August 6, 2010
Yeah, I don't get what's wrong with it. It's great. The picture is finally bigger than the puny 500px size it was before. And they added keyboard navigation through sets on the photo page!
posted by zsazsa at 2:57 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by zsazsa at 2:57 PM on August 6, 2010
Also, it's much, much better. Yes, it has its faults, but it's far better than the old one. People should try it for long enough to forget it is new, then go and look at a screenshot of the old one. It's jarringly old by comparison. It looks like the ancient web design page that it is - it's been largely unchanged since 2004 after all. That's aeons in internet terms.
posted by Brockles at 2:58 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by Brockles at 2:58 PM on August 6, 2010
Viewing other sizes is a pain in the ass. And why the hell does it take many seconds to render the drop-down when you click on Actions? I didn't think it was possible to make modal drop-down menus any more annoying than they already were, but boy, blocking all other page interaction for 5 or 10 seconds while you wait for the thing to load sure does the trick.
posted by enn at 2:58 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by enn at 2:58 PM on August 6, 2010
After years of premature outrage over changes to my favorite websites I've finally learned to give it some time before I get worked up. I'm having a hard time even remembering some of the changes that pissed me off so much out of the box but quickly become acceptable if not better.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 3:00 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 3:00 PM on August 6, 2010
Viewing other sizes is a pain in the ass.
Right click on the image.
posted by Brockles at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
Right click on the image.
posted by Brockles at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
While it's def. better than the old one, there's very little style to the new layout. It feels like a Google design and not in a good way. There are also a number of unintuitive and frustrating quirks—"All Sizes" is under "Actions", for instance—that get me.
Overall the experience is improved, but there's nothing forward-thinking about it. They're (still) leaving themselves open to someone else drinking their milkshake.
posted by wemayfreeze at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
Overall the experience is improved, but there's nothing forward-thinking about it. They're (still) leaving themselves open to someone else drinking their milkshake.
posted by wemayfreeze at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
Right click on the image.
Same problem — it takes forever to load the right click menu too, and it's equally modal and annoying.
posted by enn at 3:02 PM on August 6, 2010
Same problem — it takes forever to load the right click menu too, and it's equally modal and annoying.
posted by enn at 3:02 PM on August 6, 2010
Wow, Brockles. They actually made viewing other sizes easier with the right click thing.
posted by zsazsa at 3:03 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by zsazsa at 3:03 PM on August 6, 2010
I think it's just fine, but I've noticed in some of my groups that a small number of people really don't like it. Reminds me of Facebook, no matter what they do someone isn't going to like it.
posted by tommasz at 3:03 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by tommasz at 3:03 PM on August 6, 2010
enn, loads up immediately for me on every computer and browser I've used. And it's not modal.
posted by zsazsa at 3:03 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by zsazsa at 3:03 PM on August 6, 2010
Right click on the image.
Ugh. Stop hijacking my browser's UI, websites.
posted by kmz at 3:04 PM on August 6, 2010 [13 favorites]
Ugh. Stop hijacking my browser's UI, websites.
posted by kmz at 3:04 PM on August 6, 2010 [13 favorites]
Wow, Brockles. They actually made viewing other sizes easier with the right click thing.
It was one of the things picked up (allegedly) in the (alleged) beta.
enn, loads up immediately for me on every computer and browser I've used.
Agreed. I can't replicate a slow menu drop or right click. You have something that is clashing with it, methinks, or an issue with your set up.
posted by Brockles at 3:06 PM on August 6, 2010
It was one of the things picked up (allegedly) in the (alleged) beta.
enn, loads up immediately for me on every computer and browser I've used.
Agreed. I can't replicate a slow menu drop or right click. You have something that is clashing with it, methinks, or an issue with your set up.
posted by Brockles at 3:06 PM on August 6, 2010
Also in Flickr's favor, they used a picture of Tai Shan to help introduce you to the new interface.
enn, is it actually modal for you, or is it just causing your browser to be unresponsive when it's rendering it? It's quick like butter on my fast computer and prefect fine on an olderish pentium 4 laptop.
posted by skynxnex at 3:06 PM on August 6, 2010
enn, is it actually modal for you, or is it just causing your browser to be unresponsive when it's rendering it? It's quick like butter on my fast computer and prefect fine on an olderish pentium 4 laptop.
posted by skynxnex at 3:06 PM on August 6, 2010
I don't see what there is to complain about, but I guess there's always someone who'll find a reason. I didn't feel there was anything wrong with the previous design, but the new one works just fine for me - and I use flickr daily.
posted by blaneyphoto at 3:08 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by blaneyphoto at 3:08 PM on August 6, 2010
I use Flickr only occasionally, to browse, and these changes seem fine to me. Overall better, with maybe some minor quirks that will be a little irritating. Not worth any outrage, as far as I can see.
posted by Forktine at 3:09 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by Forktine at 3:09 PM on August 6, 2010
The changes suck, but my life will go on. The new UI just doubles the number of clicks for everything I want to do.
posted by fixedgear at 3:09 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by fixedgear at 3:09 PM on August 6, 2010
OLD SKOOL reprasent, amirite?
The gnashing-of-hands whenever flickr rolls out anything new is sort of a tradition at this point. I've been using the new look in beta for a few weeks, and once I figured out where they'd moved stuff to, I was fine with it. A couple of things take one more mouse click than they used to, but wow. A mouse click.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:11 PM on August 6, 2010
The gnashing-of-hands whenever flickr rolls out anything new is sort of a tradition at this point. I've been using the new look in beta for a few weeks, and once I figured out where they'd moved stuff to, I was fine with it. A couple of things take one more mouse click than they used to, but wow. A mouse click.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:11 PM on August 6, 2010
Every time flickr touches something, a thread opens up about people griping. Go install Greasemonkey and/or stylish and install a script to set it back. Problem solved.
posted by msbutah at 3:15 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by msbutah at 3:15 PM on August 6, 2010
Are these the same people who started groups and boycotts decrying the elegent implementation of videos on Flickr?
posted by Plutor at 3:19 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by Plutor at 3:19 PM on August 6, 2010
I started using it about three weeks ago. I was against it for like 40 seconds, then I realized it was really really good. The "f" key to toggle to the picture on a black background is especially nice.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:24 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:24 PM on August 6, 2010
Sadly the new layout doesn't work at all on my older Mac running 10.6.4 under any browser. Movies show up as black squares (though they work in the tiny thumbnail mode) and none of the drop-down menus work at all, so there is (for example) no way to access other sizes of pics. In Safari the drop-downs don't show up at all. My machine is pretty vanilla too -- I don't run a lot of strange stuff.
I beta'd the new layout and posted these issues as bugs. I eventually turned it off because, you know, it was useless. Now I guess I have to quit Flickr since I no longer have the option. That's sad. I like Flickr.
posted by The Bellman at 3:24 PM on August 6, 2010
I beta'd the new layout and posted these issues as bugs. I eventually turned it off because, you know, it was useless. Now I guess I have to quit Flickr since I no longer have the option. That's sad. I like Flickr.
posted by The Bellman at 3:24 PM on August 6, 2010
My bad, "L" key.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:25 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:25 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
I have good and bad feelings about the new design.
I think that Flickr's increasing number of features, in the old design, made for a confusing set of icons above each photo. Daunting enough that most of my relatives didn't notice the "print" icon above my photos. So this is a necessary simplification of the UI, but I am not sure it's better. It hides complexity, but then presents it as a long laundry list of options (with nice icons, but in a menu. Odd).
I think the real problem with Flickr is that it doesn't have the same core designers as when it started, and it's hard for Flickr to do things that are well integrated and simultaneously well presented. I think somewhat runaway product design and branding (Flickr ... by Yahoo!) are the causes for much of the screen cruft.
posted by zippy at 3:32 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
I think that Flickr's increasing number of features, in the old design, made for a confusing set of icons above each photo. Daunting enough that most of my relatives didn't notice the "print" icon above my photos. So this is a necessary simplification of the UI, but I am not sure it's better. It hides complexity, but then presents it as a long laundry list of options (with nice icons, but in a menu. Odd).
I think the real problem with Flickr is that it doesn't have the same core designers as when it started, and it's hard for Flickr to do things that are well integrated and simultaneously well presented. I think somewhat runaway product design and branding (Flickr ... by Yahoo!) are the causes for much of the screen cruft.
posted by zippy at 3:32 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
i like it - except, i wish the map was below, rather than above, the other stuff. the "actions" have been a little glitchy for me the past couple days, but i figure it's 'cuz they're new and there may still be some bugs to work out. but overall, i think it's a nicer design and easier to use.
posted by lapolla at 3:34 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by lapolla at 3:34 PM on August 6, 2010
i'm just bummed 'cause it kinda broke the flickr-to-facebook widget.
posted by RockyChrysler at 3:37 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by RockyChrysler at 3:37 PM on August 6, 2010
Man, I hate how vigilant Parmount is on pulling their clips off Youtube.
Anyway, just imagine that part in Wayne's World where Garth is building that robot hand and then he says "We fear change" and it starts coming to live and he crushes it with a hammer and Rob Lowe stands there masterfully playing the straight man.
Hilarious and appropriate to the topic at hand, no?
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:42 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
Anyway, just imagine that part in Wayne's World where Garth is building that robot hand and then he says "We fear change" and it starts coming to live and he crushes it with a hammer and Rob Lowe stands there masterfully playing the straight man.
Hilarious and appropriate to the topic at hand, no?
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:42 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
I think somewhat runaway product design and branding (Flickr ... by Yahoo!) are the causes for much of the screen cruft.
I see one instance of the Yahoo logo, way at the top, about 12 pixels high at most. Overall it's probably the cleanest large app there is on the web. I know your favorite band was better before they signed to a major, but I'm just not seeing any problems here.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:44 PM on August 6, 2010
I see one instance of the Yahoo logo, way at the top, about 12 pixels high at most. Overall it's probably the cleanest large app there is on the web. I know your favorite band was better before they signed to a major, but I'm just not seeing any problems here.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:44 PM on August 6, 2010
Brockles wrote: "Why is the beta testing 'allegedly'? There were 6 weeks of public beta and a limited private beta that started on 26th May this year. Nothing allegedly about it. It happened."
Yeah, I don't get the allegedly.
Also, j/k for forward and back through a photoset is utter win.
posted by wierdo at 3:47 PM on August 6, 2010
Yeah, I don't get the allegedly.
Also, j/k for forward and back through a photoset is utter win.
posted by wierdo at 3:47 PM on August 6, 2010
since its a big shift in placement of stuff (I just had to poke around to figure out how to slideshow from a photo click in because its gone from upper right screen icon to embedded in drop down menu on the right -- it irks me.
enhance but don't make each iteraction such a big change that the user is relearning to walk all over again
imho
posted by infini at 4:02 PM on August 6, 2010
enhance but don't make each iteraction such a big change that the user is relearning to walk all over again
imho
posted by infini at 4:02 PM on August 6, 2010
Viewing other sizes is a pain in the ass
It is, indeed. And web sites should not be modifying the contextual menus. It's almost as annoying a phenomenon as Tynt.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:11 PM on August 6, 2010
It is, indeed. And web sites should not be modifying the contextual menus. It's almost as annoying a phenomenon as Tynt.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:11 PM on August 6, 2010
The one thing that annoys me enough to say anything is that when I view a photo from "contacts", the default slideshow on the right is also "contacts". Dude, I just looked at all those photos to get to this person's page- by default, I'd rather see their photostream.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:19 PM on August 6, 2010 [8 favorites]
posted by oneirodynia at 4:19 PM on August 6, 2010 [8 favorites]
I don't like it, but I can live with it. I would prefer something other than the giant "action" menu, something that took its contents and spread them out. My overall sense is that it's aesthetically nicer, but not necessarily as user friendly as it used to be.
posted by Atreides at 4:37 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by Atreides at 4:37 PM on August 6, 2010
I got into the beta a few weeks ago and I can't imagine going back. I'm already so used to it that I didn't even notice the "This is the beta photo preview page." message had disappeared because I'd already forgotten it was there. There might be some power-user reasons explaining why the new design sucks (for example, I do not run a group that invites tens or hundreds of photos a day, and apparently that sort of thing requires more clicks now?), but personally I love it.
posted by chrominance at 4:44 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by chrominance at 4:44 PM on August 6, 2010
> The only thing that kind of bugs me about the new stuff is that I now have to set NoScript
> to allow flickr.com, yahoo.com, yimg.com, and yahooapis.com in order to get the full
> experience, whereas before I pretty much just had to allow flickr.com.
I'll have to try that when I get home (using somebody else's pc now and they don't have noscript). If you can still get to the original image size by just allowing flickr.com then I'm good. (One of the very best things about noscript is the way it prevents sites from inflicting the "full experience" on me.)
posted by jfuller at 4:45 PM on August 6, 2010
> to allow flickr.com, yahoo.com, yimg.com, and yahooapis.com in order to get the full
> experience, whereas before I pretty much just had to allow flickr.com.
I'll have to try that when I get home (using somebody else's pc now and they don't have noscript). If you can still get to the original image size by just allowing flickr.com then I'm good. (One of the very best things about noscript is the way it prevents sites from inflicting the "full experience" on me.)
posted by jfuller at 4:45 PM on August 6, 2010
The one thing that annoys me enough to say anything is that when I view a photo from "contacts", the default slideshow on the right is also "contacts". Dude, I just looked at all those photos to get to this person's page- by default, I'd rather see their photostream.
This.
I'm in the habit of looking at all of the new pictures from each contact, not "THE VERY MOST RECENT SHOT" from each person. It's a minor annoyance.
posted by ColdChef at 4:49 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
This.
I'm in the habit of looking at all of the new pictures from each contact, not "THE VERY MOST RECENT SHOT" from each person. It's a minor annoyance.
posted by ColdChef at 4:49 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
The ooooonly thing that bugs me about the new layout is the title being below the photo, because I've always sort of titled pictures knowing that people would read the title then look at the picture. It makes sense the other way around but it's CHANGE GODDAMMIT
posted by mendel at 4:52 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mendel at 4:52 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
It is a completely blah change. Nothing revolutionary, just moving buttons around and futzing with layout. It is like the administrative interface to wordpress, which is to a quarterly moving target of accordions, buttons, checkboxes and javascrap (heh, what a great blog name).
Really, this reminds me of the businesses that put "We're still open!" signs up when freeway construction obscures the entrances to their parking lots.
posted by Back to you, Jim. at 4:52 PM on August 6, 2010
Really, this reminds me of the businesses that put "We're still open!" signs up when freeway construction obscures the entrances to their parking lots.
posted by Back to you, Jim. at 4:52 PM on August 6, 2010
As far as I can see, with NoScript blocking everything except flickr.com, the only thing you can do is click from one photo to the next in the normal photostream. There's no way to zoom, view as slideshow, "view all sizes," or anything without allowing the Yahoo domains.
posted by Gator at 4:54 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Gator at 4:54 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
I switched when the beta-testing allowed me to (ages ago, it seems) and never looked back. I dig it.
posted by dabitch at 4:55 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by dabitch at 4:55 PM on August 6, 2010
How do I get firefoxes right click menu to move out of the way so I can access the swanky new all sizes menu?
Every time flickr touches something, a thread opens up about people griping
But there are interesting points to make like flickrs stand on fav's and comments being merged is "we've decided you're not using them enough, time for a change." When a lot of people were saying they're not broken, they don't need fixing and, the very thing you're trying to improve (more interaction) is actually detrimental in a way because now it isn't about the conversation, but about who fav'ed it, they're noisy &c. Finally, after a lot of griping, they begrudgenly admitted that they are noisy and, changed how they function a bit by collapsing the favourites if the photo has 20 or more comments. Bitching works. Sorta.
/hugs greasemonkey
posted by squeak at 4:57 PM on August 6, 2010
Every time flickr touches something, a thread opens up about people griping
But there are interesting points to make like flickrs stand on fav's and comments being merged is "we've decided you're not using them enough, time for a change." When a lot of people were saying they're not broken, they don't need fixing and, the very thing you're trying to improve (more interaction) is actually detrimental in a way because now it isn't about the conversation, but about who fav'ed it, they're noisy &c. Finally, after a lot of griping, they begrudgenly admitted that they are noisy and, changed how they function a bit by collapsing the favourites if the photo has 20 or more comments. Bitching works. Sorta.
/hugs greasemonkey
posted by squeak at 4:57 PM on August 6, 2010
My overall sense is that it's aesthetically nicer, but not necessarily as user friendly as it used to be.
this.
but then again, some of my best friends have left yahoo... and flickrs left earlier (yes I heard etc) so is this the first weak signal of the microftization of said co?
posted by infini at 4:59 PM on August 6, 2010
this.
but then again, some of my best friends have left yahoo... and flickrs left earlier (yes I heard etc) so is this the first weak signal of the microftization of said co?
posted by infini at 4:59 PM on August 6, 2010
Annoyed at having to do extra work to select the large or original sized picture, I came up with the following javascript that will load the large or original size (if either are available) from Flickr when viewing a single-image page. Set this up as a bookmark or plug it into greasemonkey to make life a little easier.
It's not foolproof, maybe someone can improve it.
posted by ruthsarian at 5:01 PM on August 6, 2010
javascript:x=/http:\/\/farm[0-9]+\.[^&"]+_o.jpg/i.exec(document.body.innerHTML);window.location.href=x==null?(/]*>/i.exec(document.body.innerHTML)[1]).replace("_z.jpg","_b.jpg"):xIt's not foolproof, maybe someone can improve it.
posted by ruthsarian at 5:01 PM on August 6, 2010
Annoyed at having to do extra work to select the large or original sized picture, I came up with the following javascript that will load the large or original size (if either are available) from Flickr when viewing a single-image page. Set this up as a bookmark or plug it into greasemonkey to make life a little easier.
Maybe I'm missing something, but do you not have to click twice to get a bookmark like that to reload the page? How is that better then right click and select the size?
posted by Brockles at 5:05 PM on August 6, 2010
Maybe I'm missing something, but do you not have to click twice to get a bookmark like that to reload the page? How is that better then right click and select the size?
posted by Brockles at 5:05 PM on August 6, 2010
IIIIIIIIIIHAAAAAAAAAAAAATECHAAAAAAAAAAAAAANGE
Love,
a subset of flickr users
posted by davejay at 5:12 PM on August 6, 2010
Love,
a subset of flickr users
posted by davejay at 5:12 PM on August 6, 2010
It's not just Flickr. Any time any site beloved by its users rolls out huge design changes, people freak. Ask any current or former support volunteer for LiveJournal, for example.
I'm certainly not going to read all 23 pages of feedback on the Flickr design, but I'm sure some of them are providing useful ideas while (many) others are flipping out just because IT'S DIFFERENT OMG.
posted by asciident at 5:12 PM on August 6, 2010
I'm certainly not going to read all 23 pages of feedback on the Flickr design, but I'm sure some of them are providing useful ideas while (many) others are flipping out just because IT'S DIFFERENT OMG.
posted by asciident at 5:12 PM on August 6, 2010
"The only thing that kind of bugs me about the new stuff is that I now have to set NoScript to allow flickr.com, yahoo.com, yimg.com, and yahooapis.com in order to get the full experience, whereas before I pretty much just had to allow flickr.com. Eh, if I were actually using Flickr myself instead of just browsing other people's stuff, I don't know how I'd feel."
Ya, not being able to save images with a right click and the huge "new features" banner at the top are pretty irritating. Here's hoping an add on or grease monkey script comes out to fix both those issues.
posted by Mitheral at 5:14 PM on August 6, 2010
Ya, not being able to save images with a right click and the huge "new features" banner at the top are pretty irritating. Here's hoping an add on or grease monkey script comes out to fix both those issues.
posted by Mitheral at 5:14 PM on August 6, 2010
What's interesting to me is how much we take all these greasemonkey and other add on scripts for granted when they're actually workarounds to the formal design of a corporate for profit service. Hello user centered bla bla people?
posted by infini at 5:16 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by infini at 5:16 PM on August 6, 2010
Is this where I complain about the Google News updated format?
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 5:37 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 5:37 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
I like the new look, for what it's worth, however I do take issue when the change actually borks the functionality of the site.
Half of my images have disappeared due to the size changes imposed - seems that the default image size for the photostream has changed and for some reason the resized images aren't linked - so all I mainly have is a bunch of red-x's indicating a missing file.
The maximum image size is no longer available - which was handy for checking the quality of new image sensors - at least in my library the largest image size is now 640, when it used to be the maximum size of the file uploaded - that's fair given the enormous file size of some of those images, I guess.
Not meaning to pimp my photos - but can someone verify if this image is available? You're unlikely to see anything, in any event
Ho hum.
posted by a non e mouse at 6:07 PM on August 6, 2010
Half of my images have disappeared due to the size changes imposed - seems that the default image size for the photostream has changed and for some reason the resized images aren't linked - so all I mainly have is a bunch of red-x's indicating a missing file.
The maximum image size is no longer available - which was handy for checking the quality of new image sensors - at least in my library the largest image size is now 640, when it used to be the maximum size of the file uploaded - that's fair given the enormous file size of some of those images, I guess.
Not meaning to pimp my photos - but can someone verify if this image is available? You're unlikely to see anything, in any event
Ho hum.
posted by a non e mouse at 6:07 PM on August 6, 2010
Remember when Yahoo acquired Flickr and people posted pics of themselves reacting to the news with outrage and sadness? Good times.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 6:10 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 6:10 PM on August 6, 2010
"Not meaning to pimp my photos - but can someone verify if this image is available? You're unlikely to see anything, in any event"
I'm seeing people on a beach.
posted by Mitheral at 6:12 PM on August 6, 2010
I'm seeing people on a beach.
posted by Mitheral at 6:12 PM on August 6, 2010
Hmm. Interesting.
posted by a non e mouse at 6:13 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by a non e mouse at 6:13 PM on August 6, 2010
I take that back - must have been a local issue. Thanks, Mitheral.
posted by a non e mouse at 6:14 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by a non e mouse at 6:14 PM on August 6, 2010
When does Yahoo die? I am so tired of finding yet another new thing that is part of the fucking yahoo empire, and having to remember which of my three accounts that I intended to be disposable but then it turned out shit I need one because yahoo runs this other site I use and shit now it tries to drag me into its sucky empire of shit and no I do not want to see the fuckign yahoo homepage or have yahoo email and just fuck off please OK?
posted by Meatbomb at 6:32 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Meatbomb at 6:32 PM on August 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
When does Yahoo die? I am so tired of finding yet another new thing that is part of the fucking yahoo empire, and having to remember which of my three accounts that I intended to be disposable but then it turned out shit I need one because yahoo runs this other site I use and shit now it tries to drag me into its sucky empire of shit and no I do not want to see the fuckign yahoo homepage or have yahoo email and just fuck off please OK?
I'm seeing people .... on a beach....
posted by a non e mouse at 6:35 PM on August 6, 2010
I'm seeing people .... on a beach....
posted by a non e mouse at 6:35 PM on August 6, 2010
like the new look, for what it's worth, however I do take issue when the change actually borks the functionality of the site.
Half of my images have disappeared due to the size changes imposed - seems that the default image size for the photostream has changed and for some reason the resized images aren't linked - so all I mainly have is a bunch of red-x's indicating a missing file.
It sounds like your issue is being mentioned here.
posted by Brockles at 6:36 PM on August 6, 2010
Half of my images have disappeared due to the size changes imposed - seems that the default image size for the photostream has changed and for some reason the resized images aren't linked - so all I mainly have is a bunch of red-x's indicating a missing file.
It sounds like your issue is being mentioned here.
posted by Brockles at 6:36 PM on August 6, 2010
Yeah, right.
Each time I go in there's something peculiar happening with order; available sizes; whole sections disappear then reappear.
I guess rolling out so many changes so quickly is why most of us test, regression test and test again.
posted by a non e mouse at 6:42 PM on August 6, 2010
Each time I go in there's something peculiar happening with order; available sizes; whole sections disappear then reappear.
I guess rolling out so many changes so quickly is why most of us test, regression test and test again.
posted by a non e mouse at 6:42 PM on August 6, 2010
I use Flickr a fair amount, and have been testing this since the beta was made available to me. like others noted: it's a bit different, but not so bad once you're used to it.
Thanks to all for pointing out the right-click option. That took care of one of my major annoyances.
posted by volk at 6:55 PM on August 6, 2010
Thanks to all for pointing out the right-click option. That took care of one of my major annoyances.
posted by volk at 6:55 PM on August 6, 2010
I guess rolling out so many changes so quickly is why most of us test, regression test and test again.
I've not seen too many people complaining of so many issues as you have. Most of the changes seemed to be seamless for most users beyond confusion. Your experiences do not seem at all typical to me.
posted by Brockles at 6:58 PM on August 6, 2010
I've not seen too many people complaining of so many issues as you have. Most of the changes seemed to be seamless for most users beyond confusion. Your experiences do not seem at all typical to me.
posted by Brockles at 6:58 PM on August 6, 2010
Flickr users always bitch about every change. I love the new photo page. I've been using it since the early beta. The view on black feature is great.
posted by mike3k at 7:34 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by mike3k at 7:34 PM on August 6, 2010
Your experiences do not seem at all typical to me.
That's just typical.
posted by a non e mouse at 7:52 PM on August 6, 2010
That's just typical.
posted by a non e mouse at 7:52 PM on August 6, 2010
People in the feedback forums were complaining because the new site because it didn't work properly on Windows 98, or Netscape. I'm glad sometimes that I don't make websites for a living.
posted by chorltonmeateater at 8:28 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by chorltonmeateater at 8:28 PM on August 6, 2010
Feel free to convert that first sentence into English while reading it.
posted by chorltonmeateater at 8:30 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by chorltonmeateater at 8:30 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
That's just typical.
In what way? People saying your experience isn't typical? Or that you are used to an atypical experience?
posted by Brockles at 8:30 PM on August 6, 2010
In what way? People saying your experience isn't typical? Or that you are used to an atypical experience?
posted by Brockles at 8:30 PM on August 6, 2010
FLICKR DOESNT WORK FOR ME ANYMORE!
*sigh*
am using Firefox and for some reason non of the javascript on those pages work on my browser (Firefox on a Powerbook).
posted by liza at 8:41 PM on August 6, 2010
*sigh*
am using Firefox and for some reason non of the javascript on those pages work on my browser (Firefox on a Powerbook).
posted by liza at 8:41 PM on August 6, 2010
It's a turn of phrase; a poor attempt at irony.
posted by a non e mouse at 8:59 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by a non e mouse at 8:59 PM on August 6, 2010
FYI:
i trolled the forums at FLICKR and found out that if none of the javascripty/ajaxy stuff works for you on FIREFOX it may be because you're running GHOSTERY. i had to whitelist FLICKR for the goddamn UI/UE to work again.
posted by liza at 9:37 PM on August 6, 2010
i trolled the forums at FLICKR and found out that if none of the javascripty/ajaxy stuff works for you on FIREFOX it may be because you're running GHOSTERY. i had to whitelist FLICKR for the goddamn UI/UE to work again.
posted by liza at 9:37 PM on August 6, 2010
Hm. Anyone want to guess why I get both the standard windows right-click menu AND the new flickr menu when I right-click? This is windows XP using firefox.
posted by maxwelton at 9:37 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by maxwelton at 9:37 PM on August 6, 2010
Put the title back on top.
Disable the menu/spaceball thing.
posted by Evilspork at 10:07 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
Disable the menu/spaceball thing.
posted by Evilspork at 10:07 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
There is a fairly simple work around for downloading images if you are running ABP; even if flickr is set to "prevent" downloading the image.
Ctrl+Shift+V opens the blockable elements dialogue.
If you sort by image size (which is basically where I always have it) the image you are interested in will be the first item.
Copy-paste the URL into your address bar and the image is a right click away.
This is useful on lots of "protected" image sites; I'd just forgot to try it on Flickr.
posted by Mitheral at 10:46 PM on August 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
Ctrl+Shift+V opens the blockable elements dialogue.
If you sort by image size (which is basically where I always have it) the image you are interested in will be the first item.
Copy-paste the URL into your address bar and the image is a right click away.
This is useful on lots of "protected" image sites; I'd just forgot to try it on Flickr.
posted by Mitheral at 10:46 PM on August 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
My Flickr experience is still severely impaired by having to use a Yahoo! Log-in. I wish I was joking.
Now, look at this handsome cat.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:10 PM on August 6, 2010
Now, look at this handsome cat.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:10 PM on August 6, 2010
Honestly, why hasn't anyone eaten Flickr's lunch yet? They're still rocking tired web 2.0 paradigms, no intresting social integration, same shitty organizr interface ... Facebook could buy a bunch of hard drives charge the same amount as Flickr pro and be done with it: no more Flickr.
Alright I'll answer my own question:
The best next step is precisely Facebook and no one BUT Facebook is going to be able to implement that properly. (Flickr has their newish tagging system but of course you can only tag others on Flickr.) I imagine others have tried to integrate Facebook image tagging in their photo sites w/ no luck (correct me if I'm wrong plz)! Until someone can nail the social integration, nobody can step up and challenge flickrs momentum and user-base.
The one non-social area i think flickr can be challenged in is interface, which is why this update underwhelms for me. I'm thinking for instance of a rich tablet browsing and organizing interface, or a tumblresque (though far for advanced) stream following/interacting home page.
Ultimately the next gen interface challenges are far from trivial and Flickr/Yahoo doesn't have the people or vision for it. It's way frustrating though that no one else seems to be stepping up to this plate in a meaningful/interesting way.
posted by wemayfreeze at 2:14 AM on August 7, 2010
Alright I'll answer my own question:
The best next step is precisely Facebook and no one BUT Facebook is going to be able to implement that properly. (Flickr has their newish tagging system but of course you can only tag others on Flickr.) I imagine others have tried to integrate Facebook image tagging in their photo sites w/ no luck (correct me if I'm wrong plz)! Until someone can nail the social integration, nobody can step up and challenge flickrs momentum and user-base.
The one non-social area i think flickr can be challenged in is interface, which is why this update underwhelms for me. I'm thinking for instance of a rich tablet browsing and organizing interface, or a tumblresque (though far for advanced) stream following/interacting home page.
Ultimately the next gen interface challenges are far from trivial and Flickr/Yahoo doesn't have the people or vision for it. It's way frustrating though that no one else seems to be stepping up to this plate in a meaningful/interesting way.
posted by wemayfreeze at 2:14 AM on August 7, 2010
why hasn't anyone eaten Flickr's lunch yet?
the same challenge with anyone wanting to go up against the first best solution with a networking ability - high barriers to transfer.
I've been on Flickr for 5 years and Pro since 3 or little longer - how on earth will I move 5 years of sets and umpteen contacts and friends over to some other location?
Ditto Skype, sure there are newer better solutions but my friends are all still there etc
posted by infini at 4:03 AM on August 7, 2010
the same challenge with anyone wanting to go up against the first best solution with a networking ability - high barriers to transfer.
I've been on Flickr for 5 years and Pro since 3 or little longer - how on earth will I move 5 years of sets and umpteen contacts and friends over to some other location?
Ditto Skype, sure there are newer better solutions but my friends are all still there etc
posted by infini at 4:03 AM on August 7, 2010
I actually like the redesign a lot. they didn't take away anything but made what I do a lot easier. hey, I can now just see my pics on black and add to multiple groups at once? great. the map doesn't bother me.
posted by krautland at 4:07 AM on August 7, 2010
posted by krautland at 4:07 AM on August 7, 2010
greasemonkey and other add on scripts for granted when they're actually workarounds to the formal design of a corporate for profit service.
Yeah I agree, but the favourites script I've installed is practical, without it it just makes the comments section that much harder to read. It was the only "improvement" I can't stand so, for the first time ever, I installed a script to get around their design.
And, I have to wonder why (like maps) they think something that's underutilized is a Bad Thing or, why making them more prominent solves the problem they think exists. It seems they've missed the boat on why people don't use them or, why people do use them (one staff member doesn't believe people use them to say "I like it" in lieu of words). I've pretty much stopped fav'ing anything because over time my favourites page has becomes impractical as they accumulated making it a slog to go through to find anything especially when a portion of my fav's are static b&w squares. So, they remove the safe search block on favourites (finally!), make more available per page, but they still haven't fixed imho a fundamental problem with their usability and, have sacrificed another feature to force people to behave a certain way.
posted by squeak at 5:39 AM on August 7, 2010
Yeah I agree, but the favourites script I've installed is practical, without it it just makes the comments section that much harder to read. It was the only "improvement" I can't stand so, for the first time ever, I installed a script to get around their design.
And, I have to wonder why (like maps) they think something that's underutilized is a Bad Thing or, why making them more prominent solves the problem they think exists. It seems they've missed the boat on why people don't use them or, why people do use them (one staff member doesn't believe people use them to say "I like it" in lieu of words). I've pretty much stopped fav'ing anything because over time my favourites page has becomes impractical as they accumulated making it a slog to go through to find anything especially when a portion of my fav's are static b&w squares. So, they remove the safe search block on favourites (finally!), make more available per page, but they still haven't fixed imho a fundamental problem with their usability and, have sacrificed another feature to force people to behave a certain way.
posted by squeak at 5:39 AM on August 7, 2010
Title has to go on top and intermingling favourites and invitations with comments is nothing less than spam. We aren’t “reflexively” objecting to a new design qua new design.
posted by joeclark at 5:45 AM on August 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by joeclark at 5:45 AM on August 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
I think the new Flickr looks fine. I definitely like the larger picture view. From what I can tell, most of the objections center around user control (or lack thereof) of the UI. Or just whacky UI. For instance, I would like to be able to hide both the map and the camera data from the display. I can't for the life of me find any control over that.
I've also found that, if I right-click on the photo, I get both the Flickr popup and OSX's contextual menu, overlapping each other. Not a biggie, but pretty sloppy dev, nonetheless.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:51 AM on August 7, 2010
I've also found that, if I right-click on the photo, I get both the Flickr popup and OSX's contextual menu, overlapping each other. Not a biggie, but pretty sloppy dev, nonetheless.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:51 AM on August 7, 2010
As a paying Flickr customer I'm saying out loud that if a competitor came up with the old comfy stuff and maybe cool feature that doesn't disrupt daily routine type of version enhancements, and critically was able to auto move my entire account, I'd move. Like someone said above, logging in via Yahoo sux bad.
posted by infini at 6:13 AM on August 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by infini at 6:13 AM on August 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yay for cats with Maine Coon in them!
(Um, mine is part Coon too.)
posted by Samizdata at 9:59 AM on August 7, 2010
(Um, mine is part Coon too.)
posted by Samizdata at 9:59 AM on August 7, 2010
Since when is anyone ever happy with a web service that decides to redesign in some way. We are all creatures of habit. Imagine if this site changed it's appearance.
posted by Fizz at 10:05 AM on August 7, 2010
posted by Fizz at 10:05 AM on August 7, 2010
Love the changes, personally. I guess I just really like Flickr -- it's one of those services that's exactly what it says it is and nothing more.
posted by ph00dz at 12:46 PM on August 7, 2010
posted by ph00dz at 12:46 PM on August 7, 2010
It doesn't flicker at all, so I fail to see how it does what it claims. It is a reasonably decent place to share photos, though.
posted by wierdo at 2:29 PM on August 7, 2010
posted by wierdo at 2:29 PM on August 7, 2010
The crappiest thing about the new Flickr layout is that it's slower. And if you're already using an old computer with a slow connection, then it's just one more thing online that has become less pleasant to use. I know, I know.. I'm supposed to run right out and buy the newest computer system with the newest OS the second it comes out, and I'm supposed to upgrade to the highest speed internet service, so it's my own fault. But 1) if your old computer still works and you don't use it for more than fairly basic things (ie not gaming, streaming media, downloading massive files).. well, 'if it ain't broke...', as they say. 2) Expenses sometimes precludes certain upgrades. I mean, some people can't afford to have the newest and the fastest. I hate it when sites that I use and love specifically for their simplicity and their high level of usability change for the worse. I considered Flickr one of the most user-friendly sites and one of my favorites (and one of only TWO sites where I have a paid account.. obviously, the other one is here).
Anyway, I find the new layout clunky, cluttered, slow, ugly, unuseful, overdone, nonintuitive.. filled with features that I'm not necessarily interested in.. and they've abandoned the features that made me fall in love with the site in the first place! As a person with a slow connection, the new 'OMG this photo is so big' layout is an absolute KILLER. I don't stick with sites that take so many MINUTES to load one fucking huge picture.
THAT'S often why new layouts don't work: they're not improvements. They often remove what you actually liked about the site and replace it with features that don't add anything to the experience. I say all of this not as a computer programmer or a designer but simply as a computer and internet user. I may not know the technical aspect of things, but I believe designers (or, at least, those in charge of approving layout updates) really need to consider what non-techies/designers (the average site user) are going to think about new sites instead of trying to impress other programmers or designers with their skillz. Conversely, if you're going to offer paid accounts, you should at least give those people who have contributed to the success and popularity of your site some consideration: refunds if they consider the new site unusable or at least a say in whether they have to adopt the new version over an older version.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:09 PM on August 8, 2010
Anyway, I find the new layout clunky, cluttered, slow, ugly, unuseful, overdone, nonintuitive.. filled with features that I'm not necessarily interested in.. and they've abandoned the features that made me fall in love with the site in the first place! As a person with a slow connection, the new 'OMG this photo is so big' layout is an absolute KILLER. I don't stick with sites that take so many MINUTES to load one fucking huge picture.
THAT'S often why new layouts don't work: they're not improvements. They often remove what you actually liked about the site and replace it with features that don't add anything to the experience. I say all of this not as a computer programmer or a designer but simply as a computer and internet user. I may not know the technical aspect of things, but I believe designers (or, at least, those in charge of approving layout updates) really need to consider what non-techies/designers (the average site user) are going to think about new sites instead of trying to impress other programmers or designers with their skillz. Conversely, if you're going to offer paid accounts, you should at least give those people who have contributed to the success and popularity of your site some consideration: refunds if they consider the new site unusable or at least a say in whether they have to adopt the new version over an older version.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:09 PM on August 8, 2010
Slow? It works fine on my four and a half year old laptop, but my Internet connection (usually) isn't incredibly slow.
posted by wierdo at 11:46 AM on August 9, 2010
posted by wierdo at 11:46 AM on August 9, 2010
Running Firefox. Turned Ghostery off, turned RightToClick off, all relevant sites whitelisted in NoScript...but right-click menus still don't work. Oh well.
For the record, taking over the right-click menu blows to begin with -- there's useful stuff there, and a website shouldn't replace it.
At any rate, whatever they have done was clearly done in a way not consistent with Firefox standards at least -- at no other major website have I had to resort to this level of detective work to figure out where my standard features went.
posted by Sand at 6:05 AM on August 15, 2010
For the record, taking over the right-click menu blows to begin with -- there's useful stuff there, and a website shouldn't replace it.
At any rate, whatever they have done was clearly done in a way not consistent with Firefox standards at least -- at no other major website have I had to resort to this level of detective work to figure out where my standard features went.
posted by Sand at 6:05 AM on August 15, 2010
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posted by mathowie at 2:49 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]