December 17, 2007

  • New Xanga Subs page

    We’re still putting the finishing touches on the new private page.  There are still a few bits of work left, but we’re almost ready to get it out in beta release.  You can see the test version here:

    One of the neat things about this new page is that it will help unify the private pages in general (e.g. Subs, Feedback, Messages, etc.).  As an example, check out how this new Subscriptions page shares a similar look to the private home page:

    Cool huh?!  In addition to other tweaks, the new Subs page displays pictures right inside of the interface, rather than torturing you with the elusive <IMAGE HERE>.  Many thanks to Chris and Adam for this one.

    Check out the new Subs page and let us know what you think!  We’ll be collecting feedback and incorporating it into the Subs beta later this week.

Comments (169)

  • on the subs page where  containts all ur subs entry, can you at least put the name of the subs beside the entry title. of course i can scroll down and read their name under their entry but this is so hectic. because sometimes i couldn’t remember the avatar is belongs to whom. i want to know the writer and te title first before started reading their entry

  • very nice upgrade.  after working with it a little – I’ll let you know if I have any suggestions.

    Get some rest…take some aspirin (or whatever)….

    Later.

  • Very interesting!  Could the subs names be alphabetized?

  • Gosh, that’s a *very* narrow column of text and pictures compared to the current style!  And this from someone that generally keeps his browser at < 2/3 the width of his monitor!

    Firefox 2.0.0.11, MacOS 10.5.1

  • I hope you feel better soon.  I had headaches the last few days too.  Hey when you were on the antiepileptic medication did it make you forgetful?  My brother is on that kind of medication and he forgets stuff all the time.

    For messymarvinus if you hold your mouse over the display pic it will tell you which sub it is

  • Again, I hope this is optional. Just like I said when you all made the Dash, I prefer to look at my page the way I wish it to look, not necessarily in whatever colors you guys come up with.

  • I never did like that pesky thing.

  • I’m unhappy so far.

    There’s a corner message at the top of the page, in some kind of a box, that says “This information is safe&secure” and that’s all lovey and dovey, EXCEPT …

    I can no longer click on the “twoberry” in the middle, which brings me back to my private home page where I can see the daily total of comments, which is a feature I like to check frequently.

    I can still get there, but it’s more difficult.

    The good news is, I’m confident you guys can fix this little bug.

  • On the other hand, I just now clicked on the links you provided here, and yes, this appears to be a significant improvement.

  • I like the subscription page, it provides a crisper more unified feel.  

  • great, now no one is going to come to my actual page to see my pics. -= P

  • looks good so far.

  • The pics inside rock ! That is wonderful and the private homepage is cool to see again too. More updates than with just the subscription page. Nice!

    Oh I hope you are feeling better too.

  • i love the subscription page!

    feel better soon john!

  • Impressive but is it theme’s related?  I hope not.

    Get feeling better.  Headaches, I get them a lot and feel for anyone who gets the darn things.

  • Those new pages are great!

    Any way you could add a tab to the left of ‘Subscriptions’ to bring you back to the main inbox page? :)

  • Expect that when you roll it out?

    People will hate it and bitch.

    That’s how you will know it’s perfect.

  • is it just me or are the pics are cut off in the subs page?

    -ray leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

  • hehe i’ve been using it for a while, i like it! although the first time i was confused, i thought that i was still on my home page and that the feed was displaying full weblog entries for some reason

  • HOORAY! :) I’ve been longing for this to happen for a long time! Thank you John!

  • Is this going to be optional or forced on us?
    I mean I really like the ability to see my images that I have skinned my site with (without the new skin system).
    It works for me just fine…so are we going to have to use this new look or can this just be an option like you have added the option for the other big changes you have made.
    Have a Happy Holiday!
    tina

  • this looks an awful lot like the facebook private home page. the universal inbox is basically the same thing as the minifeed

  • Yeah! I noticed those changes while using the new private page over the weekend. Great job guys!

  • jesus! i completely agree with wutuwaitn4!!! kinda defeats the purpose ya know…

  • this messes up my hair.

  • BUT! it does save bandwidth I guess….

  • stay strong <3

  • last post: headaches.
    the doctor sucks for not being able to really help you. might i suggest two excedrin migraine, and rub some icy hot (yes, icy hot) over the affected area. usually gets rid of my migraines… takes a bit though.

  • yeah, that’s wonderful and everything– but what happened to the old editors? :(

  • I personally like it, though an must agree with others that it looks similar to the homepages of Facebook and Myspace. I would enjoy something different from what they offer, but hey, your site, not mine.

  • I think it looks great. 

    I noticed a few may be thinking people will be less inclined to actually come to their page to view their photos.  I doubt that will be the case.  In fact, I think this format will actually increase the chances they will hit your photos.

  • Aw, geez. It’s too busy. Looks too much like facebook or something. Can we opt out of the new thing and keep the old thing?

  • Hi John,

    I am a big fan of xanga and facebook.  I use to have a xanga application to share my daily entry in facebook.  Today, I just discover that the application is removed completely from facebook.  Even I try to search in facebook, it seems the application has gone with no reason.  Do you know anything about that?

    Thank you so much.

    : )

  • Seems pretty nice.

  • Looks great! Include me in the beta? I’ll try to find time for it, I promise…

  • this feature is awesome!  thanks!    hope you get better fast~!

  • how about making this optional?
    like the option to stickin to the original layout? :D DD

  • Keep up the good work,

    Looks very nice so far

  • i hope this will be optional.

  • interesting… i’ll have to play with it later and see what i like/don’t like.  presentation/layout is much nicer tho!

  • I liked the second look better than the first one…….However it will make it a little easier for me to actually read ond commetn more power to you……….However I just wish I could read one of my friends pages instead of it saying that she is shut down though…..I know she isnt but we keep thinking it is because of the updating….cant quite figure it out.

  • Looks very nice.  People will complain cause they don’t like change – but it’s great!

  • I don’t like it. It’s too…..MESSY. Like there are lots of boxes here and there, texts here and there. I want my xanga neat and clean. I like the old one better. It has less distractions.

  • How come everytime xanga is updating new stuff, it turns out to be….distracting? TOO MESSY. Please, I would love to keep my old private look.

  • awesome !
    good work (:

  • Yuk, I do hope it is optional, as it is nasty.

  • I have mixed feelings about it, cause it kinda makes it “impersonal” in a way, cause there would be no need to really visit ones page anymore if you did it this way. Dont get me wrong, its nice… I just perfer the way we have it right now. By checking out the subs right now, you’d have to visit that person’s page if you wanted to see those pictures. It would let the AUTHOR know that someone came by your page, and also let others see the blog as a reflection of the author. I don’t know, its just my personal opinion. Its nice though.

    ~^6^~

  • I LOVE it.  I have always wanted to have two levels of subs – people I consider online friends and I like to keep up with, but not too many as I have to work, and ‘friends’ whom I like to visit from time to time but cannot spare the time to check each and every post they make, but I forget about them sometimes.  The new subs page would allow me to keep up with everyone this way.  Great, thanks!

    I like it so much I’m going to give you my first mini!

  • John! listen! I can’t you guys add the ability to categorize our posts(like a table of contents). I’m not talking about tags here, because they suck. Thanx man.

    I have brought my request to theman. I hope you heard and will do something about it!

  • I like the subscription page, but not the homepage.  It makes me feel claustrophobic.  There’s a lot going on and I don’t like the colors.  I do like the concept, but if I don’t like the way it looks I may never want to use it anymore.

  • I don’t like the new home page.  I like signing in and seeing what I have written.  This is my online journal.  Sure, I’m subscribed to other people, but the main purpose is to have a place to write.  On the homepage you get just a little bilp of what you have written and then you have to choose from there to click on that particular entry or go to your main page to read them.  I liked being able to read my journal when I first sign in and not having to go else where to read it.  It’s too much like myspace or facebook.  I’ve always liked xanga more for journaling because it put the focus more on that.  Now it seems like the focus is shifting to the networking.

  • I also agree with Wutuwaitn4 and Japanika about the new unified feedback page and the actual traffic to my site.  As it is now, I wonder how many people who subscribe to me actually read my posts using the “Your subscriptions” feature and I have no way of knowing because they don’t list under footprints.  With the new feature, there is even less need to come to my site.  Pretty much, unless someone leaves a comment, I will have no clue as to the traffic.

    It makes the footstep feature obsolete, doesn’t it?

  • why is xanga so so so determined to turn itself into myspace/facebook?  you have – or had, at least – a pretty unique site here.  you lose more of it with every update.

    and, appearance aside, the narrow-ass column of text on the subs page is hard to read.  i’d much rather have to click to see photos and be able to read more than three or four words per line. 

  • Is there a way to see private posts in the new private home page?

  • LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! You guys are fantastic!!

  • I agree with some of the others. It seems too narrow, and it would be nice to see the username under each avatar so we know who’s posting.

    Q: Isn’t it going to reflect the theme we made for the public page? We’re still waiting for that… :)

  • can’t believe ur on featured…………………….. :->

    notice I didn’t fucking swear……………………….. :->

  • I’ve been using this layout for a while now and I like it more and more all the time.  I wish it was different colours too, but that’s not a huge deal.  Even if there was a link to pick from a few preset colour layouts.  I find I can keep track of my comments easier and I know when my subs update.  I do think the area to read your subs would be better if it was wider, but you already know that.  As for pictures, I have not commented any less on any of my subs just because I see their pictures in the entry instead of having to click on them.  If your pictures are the only thing pulling in your readers and logging your footprints perhaps you should think about making your entries more exciting.  Just saying….  I find that if you comment other people they tend to return the gesture so seeing your pictures shouldn’t make a difference.  I never thought of Facebook or Myspace when I was using the new layout.

  • Well that’s a very handy page!  Question: Will we finally be able to see photos on our sub pages?

  • Sorry to hear your feeling ill…………..feel better SOON!!!

  • I likie it!!!!!I likie it!!!!!I likie it!!!!!I likie it!!!!!I likie it!!!!!I likie it!!!!!I likie it!!!!!I likie it!!!!!I likie it!!!!!

  • The subs column is way too narrow!  I would love to see it at LEAST twice as big as it is, but would prefer bigger! 

    Otherwise, it looks great!

  • Hey, John!!
    Just checked out the new ‘Xanga’ page. It looks really cool, better than my old one. Can’t wait to try it out. Just as long as I can use my avatar and my backgrounds, but anyways, it looks great!!

    TTFN,
    ScarletSniper

  • Not too sure I like the private page.  I agree with a lot of the other commentors that you are becoming too much like MySpace and Facebook…..General Rule of Thumb:  KEEP IT SIMPLE

  • I love the new private page! I can’t wait til this becomes live. I think it makes everything much more easily accessible and I feel like I’m getting a lot more info on this page- like when ppl add new photos, videos, comments, etc. I love that all the info is there.

    Also, I think having the xanga team news updates on the right side is a great idea. This will keep people up to date with all the new things going on with xanga.

    Yay, great job guys!

  • Looks great:) 
    btw, I’m betting I took the same meds for headaches.  I’ve had tension headaches the past 4 years now every day I’ve seen every specialist imaginable and they’ve run a million tests on me.  The only conclusion has been that they’re from stress *shrug*.  Try relaxation therapies (use WebMD, it’s a boon!) or meditation.  Good luck and keep up the great work.

  • Hey, John!!
    The more I think about your ‘Private Page’ idea, and having read all the other comments, it doesn’t seem like a very good idea at all. I hope that ‘Xanga’ doesn’t get like ‘Facebook’, then that means that hardly anybody will check out our weblogs and we have to keep inviting people to share what we have with the world. As a user, I’m fascinated by the idea that people can search for your pics, weblog entries, etc. on ‘Xanga’ and by taking that away, we have to depend on search engines, who only want money and use company sites ahead of people like us.
    Yes, I do understand that we have porn and ‘craphola’ that people don’t deserve to see on ‘Xanga’, but don’t let us users suffer for people who have sick minds. Find someone to screen those inappropriate images, and delete them.
    All in all, keep ‘Xanga’ the way it is. IT ROCKS!!

    Regards,
    ScarletSniper

  • Change the color of the text please, I can hardly read it!

  • random but it’s be good if we could seperate our protected list. like different levels of protect-iveness? hmm…. i think i like how we can finally view protected subscriptions from others without checking their page YAY!!

  • John, sorry you’ve been feeling so lousy.

  • I love the new subs page, but the new home page will definitely take some getting used to.

  • Hmm, I like a lot of things, but I’m worried it looks too busy. I like being able to see the quick synopsis, good idea.

  • Love it.  great thx.

  • I was thinking….& I can see what ppl are saying about facebook etc , I happen to like it.I do have a thought that would make it more mass appealing… you give the drag & drop option like on homepages on aol, yahoo etc… and the abilty to add a color theme or skin on these pages. that way ppl can x out any ‘mods’ they don’t want or rearrange them. As for sub pages & ppl not coming to sites..you could just ..exnay sub pages & have updates only with tidbits, pix etc so that people have to come to the sites to actually read the whole post.

    How’s that for wool gathering…? Feel Better Soon!

  • NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!  Now it’s looking like facebook, which was something I didn’t like and made me choose xanga over fb.

  • I like the drop down menu idea though.

  • RYC: I just meant that some of the newer features are similar to MS or FB, but I’m cool with it.

  • I really like it! So different

  • that’s great john!! it’s useful cos u can view photos not uploaded on xanga on people’s posts as well without clicking into it.

  • I’m not sure I like it very much, it seems so… Myspace. As some have said, will we get the option of useing it, or will you make us use it?

  • It looks really interesting. :)

  • the first one must increase footprints since it is needed to click the link to get into the entry
    it is a little bit inconvenient but it is neat & we can see all the things updated by the sub

    the second one is just like the old one with different interface…

  • so much better- great work.

  • I think the new homepage is too cluttered, I like simplicity. It would be nice if you can make it an option. Your hard work is much appreciated though :)

  • Wow~  I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Thanks!

  • I love the new subscription page because we can see photos on it, and don’t have to open the person’s weblog to see it! Great job :D

  • Gracias! ya voy testearlo

  •  Hey nice. I can’t wait to use it. <That’s if I get a new cord for my laptop. The last cord I had started eating it.>

  • the older one is better.

    i think im changeophobic?

    but switching should most def. be an option, not a requirement.

  • japanika‘s got it right, I also agree with wutuwaitn4. It’s a bit too bad, but I don’t really care. Hell, I barely care if my stuff is being read. There’ll be a dramatic decrease in people’s footprints this way indeed though.

    Regardless, awesome job! I have been wondering when the subs page would be remade to match the new homepage! (b ‘ ‘)b

  • *groans sadly* no offense… but why must we keep changing things? I mean seriously.. xanga isn’t myspace.. and it keeps trying to be… and its making me so so sad. I dont like the themes, or the minis (even though those arent horrible) but this new private layout is too much…is it optional? I really want normal xanga back…

  • I love the subs page, but the main page is way too much for me.  Your work is appreciated, but I’d like to keep this optional too.  It’d be even better if we could choose which page we want.  

  • I think it will take me a LONG time to get used to this…  looks like a myspace page.  

  • wtc.

    I hate it |=

  • sorta like Facebook’s mini-feed/news feed stuff.   it’s alright I guess

  • It looks great! Keep up the good work and making Xanga more awesome!

  • Sorry John, but I like my plain old private page best. It is simple … like me.

  • is there anyway you can get rid of the advertisement right below our profile pictures?PLEASE?[

  • I extremely dislike seeing the advertisements on my comment page. It used to be my headline but this is getting even more annoying. Besides that, everything looks great!

  • It is cool.   Facebook has similar setting.  I guess it is new generation design compactibity settings. 

    Nice work.

  • Yes, I agree that the relocation of the Google Ads are very tacky. I also do not understand why you took off the link to the “Rich Text – Old Text” editor. I think you all should just quit trying to look like MySpace or whatever it is your trying to do and just keep things the way that they were before. Xanga is Xanga, let it be that way and quit trying to be something else. Xanga was fine the way it was before you started making all these changes in the past few days…. So please just leave it the way it was.

  • oh man . . . there’s google ads on individual posts now!

    i guess it comes with the territory of being a non paying user -=X

  • The subs page sucks bigtime!!! The column is WAY too narrow.  Otherwise, the main page looks good.

  • the ads on the side are grossss.

  • I HATE the advertisements on the side of the page now!  What the heck? :/

  • STOP FUCKING WITH THE CODE ON THE SITE.
    IT ALREADY SUCKS SOMETHING FIERCE
    AND YOU’RE ONLY MAKING IT WORSE.
    I REPEAT: STOP FUCKING IT UP.

  • that’s way to narrow for the subs area….

    and it kinda looks like facebook…lol

  • Is it just me or does it look like Facebook?

    Started with looking like Myspace and now facebook? Where is xanga going? Xanga, I’ve known since 2001!

  • Looks easy enough, why the change again? 

  • the images show up at last!!
    This is real nice.

    but the private page..
    i like the old one better.

  • I have used the new hom page since you’ve launched it,these improvements are wonderful and keep getting better as you tweak it.
    Hats off to the Xanga Team!!

  • I’m not sure I like it. :(

    I love the new public pages (I’ve had so much fun with those) but I’m not sure I like the new private page. It’s kinda boring looking like facebook. But I’m probably the only person who likes xanga for it’s creative possibilities. :)

    I’ll get used to it though.

    Merry Christmas!

  • On another note: is there anyway to stop the “we shop together…bunny bot” add from popping up on my public site or are there going to be adds in that box all the time?

  • I’m with emmarocketship: I hate the adds on the side.

  • neat, neat! but is there any way to make the private page at least resemble our themes? that’d be nice. otherwise it’s like just an updated version of dash.

  • some chinese characters can’t be displayed, could you fix it?

  • I like them!  Going to take a little getting used to, but I’m willing to try!  Looks great guys!  Another job well done!~Jeri

  • i’m also kinda concerned about what will happen to the traffic actually clicking and visiting my site (now that the images show) but i guess its essentially the same as readers skimming their subscriptions anyways.

    just please please please don’t go that one step further to be more like facebook and add things such as, “so and so has commented on so and so’s site” cause i’m starting to hate the stalker haven that facebook itself has become.

    anyways, still looking forward to seeing how things progress.  i heart xanga.

  • I was happy with what we had … this is a little too ‘facebook’ like for my liking. 

  • If I’ve hidden a subscription on my public page, it’s also hidden on my private subscriptions page.  Is there any way to see the list of all of my subscriptions in that left panel?

    Aside from that, I’m really liking the new subscriptions page quite a bit.

  • I really strongly dislike the new private & subs pages. I definately like the old ones better. I really wish Xanga would stop trying to be like MySpace & FaceBook and just be itself. Xanga is Xanga, just let it be and stop trying to be like all the other sites. If people really love Xanga, they’ll stick around anyway. It’s not about quanity its about quality. So I don’t know why you all keep trying to make “tweaks” to the page. And I don’t see the point in also adding a side ad because they look hideous and get in everyone’s way. Aren’t the top & bottom ads enough? Please, just STOP trying to be like MySpace & Facebook and just be XANGA! Everyone pretty much liked it the way it was before, so please just leave it that way. Thanks!!

  • If you guys could actually take into consideration what your users are saying about this since most of them liked it the way it was, that would be great. A comment back would be even better. =)

  • What’s with the advertisement on the public pages?

    It’s in the middle of my site, where my layouts are. You can barely see my links so how can people get my layouts if there’s a big AD in the way.

    I’m not  going premium.

  • very nice.

    I like how everything is easy to see and find.

  • Can’t wait!  These changes look great!

  • your google adds are pretty much the most annoying thing in the world.

    like seriously. is there any way i can get rid of them?

  • would it be possible to make the new version an option (or some degree of customization to that effect)?  I really prefer having a simple setup on my page, and I find the new setup to be pretty confusing/cluttered, with a lot of links/updates/etc that I would not choose to have on my private page.

    thanks.

  • I’m personally not a fan… I agree with whoever said it looks an awful lot like the facebook minifeed. Remember that whole fiasco when it came out? I do. I think we should be given the option of having our page like that or the old way. It just looks cluttered to me. I like keeping my subs and comments and all that stuff separate.

  • this would give me better page to check more of xanga. thanks!

  • Is this supposed to show the private entry’s of other people? My friend has some and I cna’  access them, so why so them if they are private? Or is that just a bug? Sorry, just confused…

  • It’s looking good, but why am I seeing information about the activities of people I’m not subscribed to?  I guess they’re all subscribed to me, but just because they want to keep up with me doesn’t mean I want to keep up with them.  Maybe there’s a setting I can change.

  • off the subject of the new private page…..what’s up with the google ads that are on our xanga pages now?  I just got lifetime, I don’t want to see ads on my site! 

  • wo0t! i luuuv it! makes it sooo much easier 2 see everythin thatz happenin!

  • Looks like Facebook…

  • Looks great!

  • I think it sucks.  It makes the page longer than ever, there is no need for all the borders and crap.  And names are definitely needed, since some don’t have profile pictures and even if they do, how the hell do I know which ones correspond with which sub? 

    You need to leave an option where we can have the page look like how WE personally want it to look, not how it looks compared to myspace or facebook.  Not everyone out here is under the age of 15.

  • Now, if they can just get the comment editor to work worth a darn.

  • what the hell is up with the google ads?

    i cant even read peoples entries without it getting in the way.

  • Luke 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

    And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

    Acts 2:38
    Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

    Turn away from your sins (lying, sex, hatred, lust et. al) and turn to Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ was crucified, died and resurrected from the dead!  He is the ONLY way, truth and life!

    If you die in your sin, you will go to hell!  Today is the day of salvation!  Accept Jesus Christ for He is your only hope!

  • I actually don’t like it all. I think that the main page is really to busy and confusing. I enjoy being able to see my layout while I am in the private homepage.  And those who said it is very similar to Facebook and Myspace are right. However, I personally hate Myspace. I love Xanga!! And the things you are thinking of changing are the very things I love about Xanga. Please don’t be copy cats. Continue to be unique and just be XANGA.

  • i want a kitten for Christmas.

  • Pretty cool! I hope that we still have the option to go to our old private page, though…

  • I think the ads could easily go on the PRIVATE page, rather than the public page, and serve the purpose that Xanga/Google wants.

  • I HATE it! Too MySpace and Facebook style. Is this going to be optional??

  • I find this new layout to be strictly superior to the old. It’s far easier to navigate and cleaner and yet it conveys more information at the same time. This is a good advancement in the user interface for xanga.  

  • Thanks This is seriously awesome, I will definitely use it!

  • Kay the gay google adds are annoying. there are probly 13 year olds out there that can’t get premium becuase they don’t have a fucking credit card yet. is there any other way to get rid of them

  • i totally hated the phrase in place of a real picture! thanks, xanga!

  • Will this replace the old private page? Because I really really don’t like it, it’s cluttered and unfriendly and just like when you added the Dash and Themes I opted out of both because I want my page to look like I want it, not like you guys do. PLUS my page is protected only, so this ugly thing is the only thing I’d ever get to look at…no thanks, I want my backgrounds and layouts as I made them.

    Pretty please make sure this is optional, I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way…

  • love you sexy teddy bear!!!

       lookin forward to lunch 2morrow

                                                                      -love always Jenna

  • I would like an option to not play the music in a Xanga page. Its very annoying if a) I am playing my own music and someone else’s not in such good taste as mine (!) plays over it, b) its even worse if I have 20 or so sites open and with tabbed browsers lots of people probably do that and lots of people’s music are competing for attention, and c) if you are in work and playing customer-stimulating music (music to get people to buy books) when someone’s funny, but very rude Christmas parody comes on!

    Please.

  • suggestion:
    I think it would be neat if the pictures were automatically linked to entries in the photoblog section. Meaning if you click on that picture it would either bring you to the entry that contained the pic, or if used multiple times show you links to choose from. Of course you can enable this ‘feature’ or not. and customize it for certain pictures only to link..etc

    it would be like a photo subs page.

  • The reason I’m at Xanga is because I like Xanga.  If I wanted Facebook that is where I would be.

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