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Ozoneocean at 3:55AM, June 29, 2022

I think that each comic could only be in the genre list once. if it has a number of genres then the list will only use the first one. Yes, it would be a top 5 then. Clicking on it could either list all comics in that genre in order of popularity or it could just be in a recently updated order, I don't know yet.

cdmalcolm1 at 12:51AM, June 24, 2022

@ozone: so the “top ten” would be more like “top 5 by genre”? So how many genre will be listed? Even though I’m never hitting the top ten, I agree the top ten should still be there as the top spot of the genre list. Although, if this happens, it would be a few repeats thumbs on the other genre listed below.

Ozoneocean at 9:28PM, June 23, 2022

At the moment the idea is that the top ten will be spread over the genre lists, so it's not going away, just changing. It splits it up more so they it's a bit easier to get into I think.

Amelius at 8:17PM, June 23, 2022

@Ironscarf: Haha yeah, that's a good enough reason I think! It's good to have goals and I kno some peeps see the tt as an unattainable thing (it's not) n think fairness is removing it keeping us on level playing field, but our most popular comix are people who have stayed years n years and built readership and show steady dedication, notice our tt is all sorts of styles where other sites 1 genre dominates? thats unique to DD, removing pop overall feels like punishing success and not even letting others coming up get that chance at success either. I for 1 enjoy cheering my faves to get in the 10 :) (srry 4 crap typing my finger is throbbing rn)

Ironscarf at 6:36PM, June 23, 2022

@Amelius: Me too, mainly because I made the top ten last week lol! In all seriousness, I kind of like the way ComicFury does it, where you can choose between recently updated, top ten and a couple of other options via tab. That blue bar has plenty of space to accomodate that, but I guess it's beyond the scope of this current facelift.

Amelius at 6:18PM, June 23, 2022

@Ironscarf: They just used the top 10 thumbs 4 demo, looks to be a complete removal of popular in favor of only what updated recently since it says "latest". have...complicated feelin on that fer numerous reasons

Ironscarf at 11:45AM, June 23, 2022

I guessing the comics option at the top will still be listed in order of popularity? It's great to see your comic listed on the home page as top ten for sure. The down side is that can lead to a fairly static display, although ours seems more variable of late. I was half wondering if the parameters had been changed.

Amelius at 10:24AM, June 23, 2022

Ah sorry for getting off focus there! I guess my next thing would be more of a question, how are genre spotlights supposed to work? Is that a rotation through comics tagged by genre, or a top hits list? I'm also wondering, are we doing away with the popular list altogether? I would advise against that, but that's a discussion longer than this comment form can hold and typing is painful rn so i gotta put a pin in that thought

Ozoneocean at 9:47PM, June 22, 2022

One of the things you can do already is just change the description of your comic. That can be used to do most of those things... That said we're not going to be doing backend coding changes for this update because we can't afford that so we won't be able to bring these functionality improvements people are suggesting at this stage. This update will be about fixing the aesthetics of the site and minor functionality improvements that are about displaying and organising existing features better, making thumbnails bigger, a responsive design for phones and tablets etc.

Amelius at 9:44AM, June 22, 2022

I like both Paul and Andreas' suggestions, seconded! Some webcomic hosts have hiatus/completed status for comics and I think that'd be useful, or even a "discontinued" for people who are just leaving the archive up. And a message center for notifications yes, that is very helpful for when you need to let your audience know about delays-- using our comment section isn't ideal. (Also apologies to Alexey for misspelling your name in my previous post, my finger is bandaged I'm typing terribly haha)

Ozoneocean at 3:35AM, June 22, 2022

There a sticky feature for newspost but it doesn't quite work right. I'll have to ask Alexey about way to PQ all DD members

Andreas_Helixfinger at 11:20PM, June 21, 2022

I changed my mind. Ignore what I said about the logo. However, I have a little suggestion/request. I've always found it very bothersome that there is no effective way for creators to make announcements directly to their readers, for example if he or she wants to put a comic on hiatus for a certain time or something. Is it possible to add like an announcement blog thread where creators can write announcing messages to their readers that anyone can go in and read whenever it's notifying on the front page. Something like the My Update section on Comic Fury's website is what I'm thinking. Like you could put a little announcement notifier next to where the Favorite comics and inbox notifier are or something. Just some kind of effective way for me to shout loud and clearly "HEY!!! READERS!!! I'M GOING ON VACATION FOR A WHILE! JUST SO YOU DON'T GO AND WONDER WHY I HAVEN'T UPDATED FOR A MONTH OR SO! NOW YOU ALL KNOW! THANK YOU FOR STILL READING!" That's all I ask^^

PaulEberhardt at 10:07PM, June 21, 2022

I should mention I didn't suggest those search functions for the main page but for the search page. With the usual other additions this kind of thing may be too bulky for a drop-down menu.

PaulEberhardt at 10:02PM, June 21, 2022

I think a "new and upcoming" category would be a really great addition, and I have to agree that it's good to see "Quail's random" go... Yes, so I was in favour of it during the last redesign, but I'll admit here and now I was wrong and Amelius is right: it does make the place look dead. I'd suggest a "random" option in the advanced search, too. Also, it might be a good idea for advanced searches to include an adjustable "has updated during the last week/month/three months/year/decade" option. That way you could choose a random comic from those that are currently active. However, in that case I'd also strongly suggest a "completed" and "DD classics" category, i.e. 1. a way to mark a comic as completed so it'll still shows up in that advanced search and 2. a way for community members to notify the admins of unmarked old comic highlights that should always show up, too (we'll need to work out the details on this idea, if it gets included).

Amelius at 12:38PM, June 21, 2022

More input from both me and Nick: DD has long wanted to shine a spotlight on new talent, so in addition to the "genre" we should have a "new and upcoming" category that shows the most popular comics under 6mo old giving new talent a chance to shine before they have to compete with more established comics. If I may be so bold, the genre feels limiting and really small? It needs to be expanded, I'm not sure why scifi and fantasy need to be lumped together. I'm glad to see Quail's Random go because that could be a randomizer in the search, but never fit the main page-- it just made the place look dead. I understand that there is concern if we change the dimensions of current thumbnails it might not play with old thumbnails-- but if comics aren't updating, does that even matter? without QR, those shouldn't even show up on the main page and people who give a crap about their comic will update it.

Amelius at 11:57AM, June 21, 2022

And thank you Oz and Alexy, I know I was kind of grouchy about wanting to see this site kick into gear, I really appreciate seeing this progress. I almost think a thread like this needs to be stickied somehow, because the way the blog goes a LOT of people are going to miss it. Not everyone checks in hourly the way some of us do (like me) and might only visit on update days. I almost feel like some kind of admin message should be sent to all member accounts when big things like this happen, because we just get the regular posters who actually come to the main page pitching in their opinions and miss out on a large portion of our membership who might have something to add.

Amelius at 11:51AM, June 21, 2022

HARD disagree with you folks and the current logo, that egg was always corny af, the duck isn't even a lady, WHY is our logo an egg? I think of chickens when I think of an egg, and I reckon most folks do too. I would really like to see our mascot back in the logo or header--y'know like Hiveworks has their bee up there? or bring the old full "Drunk Duck" back. I just don't want to see this logo or any trace of what Wowio did to the site ever again. It is a monument to betrayal and broken promises. They asked for our opinions only to ignore every single one. Nobody liked this design and they basically said "too bad."

Amelius at 11:32AM, June 21, 2022

*HYPE* Yeah! I'm super glad to see some movement on this!! Okay thoughts: I like the centered a little more, and I'm always of the opinion that larger images would be better than small thumbnails but seeing those a little larger already makes me much happier. I'm honestly not thrilled by WHITE, but I could probably get used to it (if there was a dark theme option though...) because I don't object to colors on principle, just the way they were employed by Wowio made this look like a blog post and not a webcomics host-- so much wasted space to the sides dedicated to the "halftone, 'cuz COMIX" wallpaper. I just worry white makes us look too much like other sites that DD is trying not to be, but I do understand the choice because the right base color could be hard to agree on. I'm glad to see a DD logo cuz ain't noone calling this place "TD", but I also agree our mascot is missed. :)

Andreas_Helixfinger at 9:50AM, June 21, 2022

Actually I'm of the same opinion as Hushicho. I want the old logo up there, or an updated version of it. It's still a good logo that displays the site's full name and make it stand out from other sites out there with its design.

Ironscarf at 7:48AM, June 21, 2022

Unless the domain name is changing, I tend to agree with PaulEberhardt - it would be great to see the green duck reinstated up top Somewhere. That would add a bit of personality and maybe even heritage, but otherwise it looks tres chic!

Ozoneocean at 5:15AM, June 21, 2022

Please keep the suggestions coming with the layout and your response to it! We need to know what people think <3

hushicho at 6:20PM, June 20, 2022

I do love the new redesign, but I prefer the logo we have now as it's much clearer on what it's trying to convey. But I'm looking very forward to trying this new design, as it looks very streamlined and convenient! Thank you for such hard work.

PaulEberhardt at 11:16AM, June 20, 2022

I like that new layout. It doesn't look cluttered and it's functional without looking too sterile. I can't put my finger on in what way (perhaps because it's blue?), but it kind of reminds me a bit of old Drunk Duck from way back, and I like that a lot, too. However, it seriously lacks a duck, just like the current design does!

CRYSTALPEN at 9:50AM, June 20, 2022

A very nice look.

Andreas_Helixfinger at 9:28AM, June 20, 2022

From a technical standpoint it feels rock solid to me. As for looks I'm sure I can get into it given some time:P