Janis??

It is the second time I see this week that Janis is on line. Is he back to govern his nation or what??

As mentioned in this thread: http://www.poems-and-quotes.com/discussion/topic.html?topic_id=145963

He is clearing up a couple of issues for us.

Hes been on like all week i think.

Sup?

All will be revealed

Seriously guys, if we're asking your opinion about site issues it's not theoretical anymore.

Dreams do come true...

I dream one day to be able to post a poem in a variety of fonts, sizes, colours. I would like to be able to format so shaped poems are easier to achieve. I would like to be able to add pictures, colour, sound... I would like to able to scratch the screen and smell freshly ripped tangerines (lol)

Lol Michael you don't want much my friend...

This excites me :)

Https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NGvLf0kZlf8

I dream one day to see a notification whenever someone replies to a comment. I also dream of smelling a tangerine but if scratching the screen can give the scent of it, that'll be a dream come true lol.

Are we still looking for Waldo?
And I thought we have matured enough to let it go... lol

"I dream one day to be able to post a poem in a variety of fonts, sizes, colours. I would like to be able to format so shaped poems are easier to achie"

^^^^^When I said the same thing in 12 years ago I was named "naive" ~~~~~~smiles~~~~~~~~

M, I feel your pain but we cant do much about it....

I've been gone for a little while and wondered if there have been some new features added that I haven't come across yet? I've had a quick look but, nothing jumped out at me haha!!!

The changes are going to take a little time. We're thinking large scale/big picture, not just a couple little tweaks. Say a prayer that it will all come together soon and nobody harass Janis lol.

Oh....so Michael's 'Tangerine Dream' could actually become reality? Cool!! can't wait :)

I'm excited!!:D

Welcome back Hellon. I missed you!

I do so hope I'm not confused and befuddled by these changes...

YOU'RE ALL GONNA BE CONFUSED AND BEFUDDLED BY THESE CHANGES.

YOU'RE ALL GONNA BE BAMBOOZLED.

Jk, it's going to be great, once it's done!

"these tangerine dreams will not go away
Build them right up and mold them out of clay"

-- Charlie Puth

In this case, molded out of ions and bytes

I'd love to be bamboozled right now but...what has happened to Janis???

looks like Janis has been busy, loving the new look, thought I had logged into the wrong site for a moment.

Darren! The whole site has been overhauled, as you can see :) welcome to new poems-and-quotes.com! It will take some getting used to... but we hope there aren't many bugs and that people think the new layout is more modern.

Just going to remind you guys, if you ever come across any bugs, bring it to our attention asap so we can bring it up with Janis and get it fixed!

It's exciting to see the new overhaul up and running. I'm sure it'll take a little while to adjust to but hopefully everyone notices the huge amount of effort that has been put into this and are able to enjoy the fresh new PnQ.

I hope Hellon is bamboozled ????

In honesty, I'm not sure such a complete change was necessary but on the whole, I think the changes are good. There's an element of competition that's been removed in key areas which is a good thing in my opinion. Our attention's more focused on the poetry itself now rather than back-handed downgrades and poets' averages which are (I think most of us agree) not a true reflection anyway. There was always too much focus on a poem's grade.

It will take a bit of getting used to, though...

The site's looked the same since mid 2007; everything was rewritten behind the scenes and what you can see now, so that adding in new features, etc will be easier to do so now. It's been long overdue in my opinion, but yeah, it'll take some time getting used to it.

I'm a bit of a curmudgeon about change and part of me feels the same way, Ben. That's even after knowing this would happen for weeks and weeks. It will definitely take some warming up to, some familiarization and what not, but I think in a few months PnQ will feel like home the way it is now. The complete overhaul is a shock, but in many, many ways, it was needed.

I agree, Jane. We have to be open to change in all areas of life, I guess. To be honest, I've only been on the site for a year and a half or so and the change is a shock to me; I can't imagine what some of you must be feeling, lol

The color scheme is very hard on my eyes, its hard to read.. changes are necessary I suppose, but now the site looks like all the others. I always enjoyed PnQ because we were unique.. just my thoughts. Enjoy the site everyone, Ill have to get better bi focals.

Oldies, remember when Janis changed the site and color scheme and we HATED it? WHY would he choose such bland, neutral colors, rather than black and white? We hated it... hahaha. Just fun to reminisce over all the changes over the years.

Andrea I agree, it's a tad harsh on my eyes too, everything is usually so colorful, but we will adjust to it :) I'm legally blind without my lenses of some sort, so I totally understand.

I'm excited to click around. I love the recommended poem feature, every time I've looked it's shown new poets I've never seen before. Exciting! Now's the time to make recommendations! Let us know of any bugs, Janis is definitely present!

If I'm honest, I have to agree with Andrea. I alluded to it in another post, but not all the changes were necessary. There is a certain coldness to the site now and navigating it isn't as easy as it was. I think losing the thread that shows your favourites' comments/poems to hand is a particularly bad change.
The site certainly needed updating but I'm not sure it needed so complete an overhaul. The problem is, if the core members are isolated (and I know some have been already) then I'm not sure the site can thrive. Perhaps it will pick up in time, but for now, the site is very very quiet.

Ben and Andrea, I think Janis had been working on the "new" site for some time before he came back and therefore feels attached to the new design, so he wanted to implement it the way it is now and make changes later if people are unhappy. I don't think we will return to the way it looked previously, but other mods including myself have also mentioned to Janis (in so many words) that the lack of color is cold and harsh. There are a lot of bugs we're working on now, so give it a few days. Think about what changes you'd like to see and post them here. Everyone's opinion matters.

Ben, what do you mean the core members feeling isolated? I'm not sure what that means?

I am grateful Janis has come back. We've been begging for years for changes, big and small. Bugs will get worked out. This isn't the "final" piece. He's still fixing things and changing things as we request them!

This change is definitely going to take some getting used to. I'll be the first to admit that I am still adjusting to the new PnQ and I was lucky enough to see it before now so I knew what to expect. Please feel free to vocalise your opinions here, we are more than happy to share these with Janis because we want everyone to still feel at home. As Jane already stated we did discuss the idea that the site felt a little colder than what we were used to and I had a feeling this would be something some members of PnQ would be uncomfortable with. We’re going to have to practice patience with some aspects of the site and hopefully, if need be, there can be compromise with certain aspects of the site.

Ben, do you mean that certain members can’t access the site right now? I know the site is still in the process of migrating over.

Janis returning is a good thing and it is clear that he has worked hard on these changes. I understand that he would feel attached to these changes, just like we do to a new piece of poetry that we have worked hard on. I guess to Janis, this site is like a work of sonnets!

if you are asking for requests on possible changes, then I would urge for as many of the changes noted previously to be implemented. Maybe we could vote on which ones are most important? Personally I would like any changes that could help increase how a writer can present a poem on the page.

For example,

page and font colour

boarders/ frames

font style and size

ability to add pictures or photos

ability to increase the width of the page (mainly for concrete forms)

. . . . . . . . . . ability to place test exactly where you want it without the use of '. . . '

ability to add sound clips, video clips (just small bites, 1 - 5 seconds)

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As for the site:

the site's front page needs to be exciting, inviting, not just a list of lists

returning threads to newest post first

returning our favourites feed (so we know what they've posted)

badges have disappeared. is this temporary or are they being replaced with a different award/ incentive system?

ability for a club to be personalised by its members - colours, motives etc.

a writers blank note book where they can draft work before posting on the main site.

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Basically, if we want this site to be the success it once was we need to make it a pleasure for the reader. The words we already had/ have, so making it more visual will help the experience to be a pleasing one and bring back the writers and with them the hits this site and Janis needs/ wants.

Sorry, I probably worded that badly. What I meant was that if the core members who keep the site alive (and loved the basic set up of the site the way it was) no longer relate to it - or feel 'isolated' by it - then that may be very damaging.
Change is good, sometimes, but too much change all at once can leave people floundering...especially poets.

Okay, I am floundering - I feel like a fish out of water, just drowning in air that I can't breathe.

I have just posted a poem and I am unable to add more that one line space. Surely if I want to add 5, 10 or more I should be able to. Do we not have artistic licence here?

Thanks for letting us know we can't do that, we can add it to the list.

I highly encourage people to not assume because it's one way now that it'll stay that way. We get to make changes, Janis is happy to do that. The site is all under major construction still.

love the fact I am a senior member

can I put that on my CV?