Top scrolling banner

Top scrolling banner · 09-15-2009, 10:25 PM

Can we dispense with the top scrolling banner? I know it is intended to catch everyone's attention but it is really distracting. I thought scrolling banners went out in the late 90's? Perhaps it could be made to blink instead--then I could at least turn it off in firefox.

TracyP · 09-15-2009, 10:40 PM

Personally I think it calls attention to necessary woodworking functions. I don't see the need to do away with it. Is it annoying?, maybe. But it adds a needed element to North Carolina Woodworker. Some users would miss important functions if it was disabled. I vote we keep it scrolling, but that is just one man's opinion

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Threejs · 09-16-2009, 08:12 AM

I vote for at least the option to turn if off on my personal settings. I tend to scan the upcoming events whenever I log in.
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froglips · 09-16-2009, 09:12 AM

I'll throw out a biased opinion

Given I've "mastered" setting up the scrolling marquee, I think its pretty nifty.

But, it annoys me too.

I think the marquee will retire in the future, but for now, its proven to be effective albeit annoying.

We are not reaching people who are new or who don't visit the site frequently. I've heard from members who go a few days without checking the board, coming back to several hundred new posts.

I'd appreciate it if folks would kick around other ways we could bring attention to events or messages that are too easily lost in the Forum/Post/Thread system.

Jim
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gator · 09-16-2009, 09:21 AM

I have no problem with the scrolling headline. When you come to the page, you are only there for a few seconds while you click on a tab to go elsewhere. There is nothing else in that portion of the screen to hold you there long enough for the scroll to be distracting.

If it serves the purpose of alerting everyone to an important announcement, then it should stay.

George
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CarvedTones · 09-16-2009, 09:38 AM

I am not sure it works as an alerting mechanism. If you're like me (and I know I am

) you get in the habit of scrolling some sites right as they open to give the content more space. Because the banner is scrolling, it hasn't really displayed when I start scrolling the page down. So unless I sit and wait for it, I will never know if it changes.
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timf67 · 09-16-2009, 09:42 AM

I don't have an opinion one way or the other. I usually read the upcoming events items, but like Andy I am not patient enough to wait for the scolling banner...

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SteveHall · 09-16-2009, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by froglips

I'll throw out a biased opinion
I think the marquee will retire in the future, but for now, its proven to be effective albeit annoying.
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Jim, I wasn't articulate enough in my first post. I do appreciate a "highlight area" at the top of the page for important notifications, I just don't think it should scroll. Scrolling text is very hard to read:
* It is unnatural, humans prefer to move their eyes over text, not the other way around. One reader's pace of reading is different than someone elses, so every reader needs it to move at a different pace to feel natural. But it is impossible to please everyone. So it goes the route of Harrison Bergeron and fast readers will skip over it every time.
* On a small laptop screen, the pixelation of characters is already difficult. When they are moving it is even worse.
* Half sentence isn't on the screen at same time as the other half. Reading is actually not a linear proecss, the hamun eye can pcik up maennigs wtihuot too mcuh dffiuctily bceuase we see whloe senatncesat at a tmie.

But I have to ask why both the Upcoming Events box and the scrolling banner are needed? I get the ads for income, but the scroll makes me feel bombarded.
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froglips · 09-16-2009, 11:35 AM

Ah, gotcha. Missed that point. Duly noted.

The distinction between the Upcoming Events and Scrolling banner are blurring.

The obvious point is Upcoming Events is a list, the Scrolling Banner is about one or two important items. At times, there were more than five items in the Upcoming Events box making it hard to highlight what was important.

It'd also help by sharing favorite sites that convey Events in ways you find effective.

Jim
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SteveColes · 09-16-2009, 12:06 PM

Originally Posted by CarvedTones

I am not sure it works as an alerting mechanism. If you're like me (and I know I am ) you get in the habit of scrolling some sites right as they open to give the content more space. Because the banner is scrolling, it hasn't really displayed when I start scrolling the page down. So unless I sit and wait for it, I will never know if it changes.
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Well in that case perhaps we should keep it scrolling but also make it float at the top of each page, like we do for the Site Navigation menu

Seriously, it does serve a purpose, but like like all things, overuse causes people to ignore it. The scrolling banner as an alert tool works only if it is used for very short time, infrequently, only for the most impotant purposes. That was my intent when I started it. BUT, I am also the person who began to over use it and sort of set the wrong tradition. So you really have me to blame.

As far as alternatives, there are many and I would guess that the only way to find out which works is to try them and get feed back from the users. But, the real problem is that any "alerting" must be distracting by definition, otherwise the people who need to see the info will not see it. There will always be a large group of people who will object to the distraction no matter what becuase a particular mechanism interferes with their method of looking at the site, different group for different mechanism.

Just for reference, here are some of the methods that I can thing of, off the top of my head.

Mass PM
Mass Email.
Newsletters
Custom messages like we do for the unregistered.
Announcements via vBulletin, or CMPS or several mods available.
Forced thread read.
Scrolling Banner (or other methods) used on a timed basis. For example, when visit starts, show for only a minute. The every 10 mintues thereafter.

Alert shown until acknowledged by user and then stopped. Until a new alert. This would be my preference.
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Gofor · 09-16-2009, 01:00 PM

For me it works as intended (i.e. alerts me to upcoming or ongoing events). As for being distracting, I, too, am usually scrolling down on tabbing into somewhere else on the site, so most times I have to make an effort to scroll up far enough to see it.

Summary: works for me as is

Go
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RayH · 09-16-2009, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by SteveColes

Alert shown until acknowledged by user and then stopped. Until a new alert. This would be my preference.
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+1. I think the banner is a great tool, but, honestly, I know the Charlotte shop crawl is on the 19th. Out of curiosity, how long has it been running that news?

Didn't someone wise once say something about all things in moderation?

JMTCW

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McRabbet · 09-16-2009, 05:38 PM

I must agree with many of our users and our Founder that it is a necessary evil, but it would be of greater enjoyment if the user could toggle it off and and on. It could either be linked to a user's login time (turn off after x minutes), or literally turn off (or stop in place) after the user clicks on the message. JMTCW.
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toolman · 09-16-2009, 09:40 PM

We may want to only run it for about a week to get the info out, then we way want to run it a week before and event? just my $.o2

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NCTurner · 10-05-2009, 05:39 PM

OK, please stop the madness! This thing is making me crazy.

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