PSOWorld banner sending me back to PSOW main page

[SpikeOtacon]

A few hours ago I discovered that clicking on the PSOW banner takes me straight to the PSOW index rather than the forum index. I quite liked being able to hit that huge banner and be taken back to just the forum index since I rarely use the front page. I know this change may be better for some who would like quick access to the front page but it is kind of annoying for me.

Was this done intentionally or was this an accident? And if it was intentional, would there be a way to add an option for the user to choose where the banner takes us to?

[Smidge204]

Um... it's been that way since I signed up on this forum (four months ago), so I'm guessing it's intentional. There's always the "Forums" link in the page header.

=Smidge=

[SpikeOtacon]

I've been using the banner to go to the forum index for a while now. It was especially helpful on the profile pages since there is no direct way to go back to the forums without hitting back or going down the side bar to get to the forum index.

I'm sure i'm not crazy, that's how it has been working for me. This change is incredibly irritating and inconvenient.

[Randomness]

Its been that way for me too, until just now.

[AlexCraig]

Ditto.

[Ketchup345]

I've been using the banner to go to the forum index for a while now. It was especially helpful on the profile pages since there is no direct way to go back to the forums without hitting back or going down the side bar to get to the forum index.

I'm sure i'm not crazy, that's how it has been working for me. This change is incredibly irritating and inconvenient.
From the "quicknav" bar: Site Links -> Forums
Requires one extra click, but, it works from every page.

[SpikeOtacon]

This is true, but I still would like to know why the banner had to get changed. It was just that much more convenient.

[TheOneHero]

Simplicity? Convenience!? Not in my internet you don't!

Give it back, pwease? D:

[Aisha379]

This is true, but I still would like to know why the banner had to get changed. It was just that much more convenient.

This.

Simple solution or not, its an odd and pointless change.

I also liked it better the old way because, like Spike said, getting from Profiles to Forums was annoying (well, until you told us about that extra click method, ketchup, but stiiiiillll....)


I too am curious if this was intentional though. And if so, why?

[TheOneHero]

Extra click is too slow. If we were to log all the seconds per year we do that extra click, well, it's just off putting. :wacko:

Also, those navi links are small, we be clicking links above and below!

[Tomeeboy]

Hey guys, sorry for mixing up the navigation on you! The change was made purposely, because the previous header link would take people to the forum index from any page of the site, and that was not the way it was intended to work. The hierarchy was out of order, as the forums are part of main site, not the other way around. The old headers also had mouseover text that said "PSO-World.com Forums", which could be confusing for people looking at non-forum pages (like our home page, for example).

Before making the change, however, I did want to make sure that there would still be convenient, one-click methods of returning to the forum index from a forum page. This does exist, in the form of the link tree that displays right below the header:

http://www.pso-world.com/images/misc/forumtree.gif

This should appear on just about every page of the site, including profiles, and I believe it exists in all themes. It's a quick way to get back to the root of whatever you are currently browsing and simply clicking "PSO-World.com Forums" in the link tree will take you right back to the forum index. In addition, some themes also have buttons built into the header for news, forums, item database, guides, etc.. Between those two methods, it should still be very easy to return to the forum index from most forum-powered pages.

Note: At the moment, the link tree on profile pages has the PSO-World.com home page as its root. I'll look into this and see if we can get a forums link into that tree somehow as well ;)

If anyone finds an instance where the link tree is not available, or it's not linking back to forums from a forum page, please let me know so I can check into it! :)

[Aisha379]

That wasn't there yesterday (at least for me, using the default theme), it was ANOTHER link back to the main site.

Its there now though, so no worries.

[SpikeOtacon]

Using Classic Cherry-Coke, when viewing user profile that tree (which has always been there) links back to PSO-World.com's index instead of the forum index.

Also of note is that there is no "forum" button directly in the classic forum styles. It requires the extra click and is still far less convenient than just being able to click on the banner to return to the forums.

[psowsiteadmin]

I just made an update to the Blue-Steel template which adds a forum home page link in the link tree, in addition to the PSO-World.com home page link, if you are viewing either a user profile or the member list. Give it a look and see what you guys think. I can update the other templates as well, but I want to make sure I have a list of all the pages that need this tweak first because it's a tedious process to go in and modify each template manually.

The changes that were made yesterday were just the first wave of some things we're going to be doing to try to improve the flow and ease of navigation on the site. While it may be a minor annoyance to a few people at the moment, I can assure you that the ultimate goal is to make it easier to browse the site :)

[SpikeOtacon]

Viewing social groups also has a direct link to PSOW.com and not the forums.

As does looking at the user CP, FAQ/Rules page, and memberlist.

[Ryna]

In order to address usability concerns, I've made a few changes to the top bar in all* of the themes:
-'Quick Links' has been renamed to 'Forum Links'
-'Member List' was moved to 'Forum Links'
-A new 'Forums' button has been created and placed where 'Members List' used to be.
-"New" has been renamed to "New Posts" on Blue Steel and Mint Green.

With this arrangement, the Forum index should be accessible with one link no matter where you are on the site.

*Aquatech will be updated later tonight.

[psofan219]

What about Sunset? I'm currently using that theme, and the change kinda confused me at first. I always clicked on the banner to head back to the forums page, but I've gotten used to the forums button in the navi bar now. It's still one click away, but my question is, what other changes are you guys planning, if you can discuss it. This way, we all won't be so confused with sudden changes and what-not. I also believe that there are some pages that do not include that button for me. I'll take a look and update if I find any.

[TheOneHero]

Is it possible to get a link thrown into the "Who's Online?" deal too?

Or maybe a banner on every page...I mean, I'm sure more people visit the forums than the front page. >_>;

[Ryna]

Is it possible to get a link thrown into the "Who's Online?" deal too?

Are you talking about having "PSO-World.com forums" in the linking trail on that page?

[TheOneHero]

A link to the PSOW Forums in the trail, yes. :)

[Nitro Vordex]

It'd be kind of pointless though, considering a lot of people seem to hide the fact that they're online anyway.