Since we launched a refreshed site, we’ve been gathering a lot of feedback from Roarers.
The response we’ve received has been mixed. Whether positive or not, the persistent feature has been the passion.
Seeing that passion in our user base has been a huge motivator for the team to continue to improve the site – because unlike all the sports that underscore that passion, we know that when it comes to The Roar there is no final siren, and there is no finish line.
That’s why we’ll continue to listen, research and think of ways to make The Roar the best it can be.
If you are currently frustrated by changes that came with the relaunch, know that in time we will address them. It may not happen as quickly as you would like, so we thank you in advance for your patience.
To help alleviate any frustrations, we’ll also be giving more regular updates on what changes are coming and when – the first of which is the purpose of this post.
Let me also say how much we appreciate everyone who has taken the time to provide feedback, whether that’s been directly or by leaving a comment. We’ve been reading and listening closely, taking everything on board and I can assure you that your biggest concerns are our top priorities.
Now, some of the changes.
Sorting comments (available)
To make it easier to view comments, we’ve added a toggle to the top of the comments section that disconnects comments from their threads, allowing you to see all comments in the exact order they were posted, from newest to oldest and vice versa. As a standard, comment sections will have threads on and be ordered based on the time the parent comment of the thread was posted.
Seeing the latest comments (coming today)
If you want to view the latest comments other Roarers have left on the site, you’ll now be able to see these in a widget that sits with the Roar of The Crowd section. The ‘Latest Comments’ widget will display exactly that, the latest comments, wherever they appeared on the site. This widget will also be category specific on individual category pages.
Latest comments page (coming next week)
To extend upon the ‘Latest Comments’ widget, we will shortly be adding a page that will house a much larger selection of the latest comments, so you can easily keep track of where the discussion is taking place.
More to come
Based on your feedback, we’ll be working to implement some more changes in the coming weeks and months that should continue to help you use The Roar. These will include:
Our aim from this redesign is to improve your experience. If we haven’t achieved that yet for you, know that we’ll keep working until we do.
In the meantime, we appreciate your continued feedback.
Kennoth
Roar Rookie
Need to edit my comments already published. Can I do that ?? How please ! Cheers
Ryman White
Editor
Hi Wascally, That's an interesting idea. I'm going to pass the idea on to our editors and see what their thoughts are. Keep an eye out!
Wascally Wabbit
Guest
Hi Ryman. One change I would love to see is the introduction of an open forum, say once a week, maybe on a Wednesday. Sometimes I have either a question or comment which doesn't tie in with any of the NRL articles presented; I'm sure others do too. Anyone could post any pertinent NRL question or comment.
Cugel
Roar Rookie
As with many sites, the content huddling in a sea of white space seems wasteful. And though not new, the auto-fetch thingy that loads comments in response to scrolling would be better as a normal paginated forum format.
BennO
Roar Rookie
G'day Ryman, yes that sounds pretty cool I reckon, I'd be interested in giving it a go. Thanks for the response, I appreciate the interest you're taking in the feedback. Best of luck with the tinkering.
Ryman White
Editor
Hi BennO, thanks for all the feedback there. You've mentioned a few things that we're also considering and tinkering with. Also, we have another feature planned that will hopefully help you keep track of the authors that you're most interested in. It isn't something that will be available in the next few weeks, but we'll be looking to implement a subscription feature that will let you see the latest from the specific authors you want to read. Does that sound like something you would use?
Ryman White
Editor
Thanks Spinksy, appreciate the kind words.
BennO
Roar Rookie
I've certainly had a sly whinge in every comment I've made since the change. I think the comments sections are fine. The nightmare is the organisation of the pages. The old model, of having the two sides with the most recent article at the top was so easy to follow. Now it's a jumbled mess with an unhelpful "organisation". The new look is the worst part I think. The size of the font, particularly for authors, is my biggest gripe. After 10+ years of reading the roar I would scan the page for specific authors on the days of the week they usually wrote something. With the new fonts, and smaller author photos, it's much harder to do that. Add to that the use of unnecessary photos that accompany the article title. I choose to read an article on the headline not the photo. In the new look, the photos are much bigger than the headline, meaning the actual information on what the article is about is given less emphasis than a potentially unhelpful photo. Take what's on the front page right now There's the piece with the headline, North Korea set to join South Korea in bid for 2032 Olympics, the text is small and at a glance the comparatively larger photo doesn't tell me anything. It's a blur of colours and if I want to figure out what it is, I've got to look much longer than I want to. So many of the photos tell you less about the article than the article title does. All in all it adds up to an irritating style of front page that has made it harder to quickly scan for articles and authors I want to read. Finally, it's weird that I've had to use my account since the launch. Normally I would just enter my screen name and email to post but I kept getting told I had to login to post now.
Spinksy
Roar Guru
Great work by all. Keep up the good work.
Tony H
Roar Pro
Good work team. As someone who updates software for a living, I know you're never going to please everyone all the time.
Spiro Zavos
Expert
Thank you for this. I regard the comments the most important part of any article I write. I read them all and take in all the new facts and interesting insights that are invariably raised in them. The comments are the real roar of The Roar.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Well done to all.