This blog printed on 100% recycled electrons.
Good morning, loyal readers! A quick design question: I'd like to get your input on my use of the "Read more >>" page break. On the main page, you see the first paragraph or two of each post. Click on "Read more >>" and your browser goes to that full article. Does this bug you?
A couple commenters here have expressed their very reasonable preference for one less click. They'd rather see the whole article right on the front page. I seem to recall a commenter last month expressing a preference for the "Read More" link... so that makes it 2 to 1, with a margin of error of 50. ;-)
On the course blog I set up for the planning and management class I'm team-teaching at DSU, my students actually asked for the "Read More" feature (which is easier to do in Wordpress, which has a built-in button in its editor, than in Blogger, where I had to track down some custom style sheet code). The students' preference comes from wanting to see more than one headline in the main window (i.e., "above the fold," as the newspaper folks might say).
So what do you think, readers? Do you like having a couple more headlines on the front page, or is "Read more >>" just one more darn thing you have to do? I'm mostly agnostic on the issue— your input is welcome!
Hide Fido (by Andy Horowitz)
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I coined Noem as the ‘Palin of South Dakota’ when she ran for the state
house, seems I nailed it; America: meet your new Secretary of Homeland
Security. Sh...
2 days ago
NO!
ReplyDeleteIt makes it far easier to ignore your right wing Republican opinions if I don't have to read the whole article.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying something here. Before if I opened the "read more" and then entered a post, I wasn't able to get back to the main page without re-entering your blog name and starting over. Am just trying now to see if the same thing still happens.
ReplyDeleteYep, same thing happens. I don't mind the extra click to open the "read more" thing. But it's a pain to have to re-enter the entire blog just to read more articles on your blog.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else have this problem?
Hmmm... which method did you try to get back to the main page? Did you hit your browser's "Back" button? I used mine (actually, used the keyboard: Alt+Left) and went right back to the main page.
ReplyDeleteAnon, try the link that appears at the top of the page after you enter a comment: "Your comment has been saved. It may take a moment for your comment to appear on the site at the original post." Does that still work for you?
ReplyDeleteI prefer having the whole article displayed rather than just the first bit.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Isn't there a way with cookies to customize this behavior for each viewer?
Cory? Right-Wing? Sorry anon 7:51, but if Cory is a right-wing Republican, then I'm an underwear model!
ReplyDeleteAm trying it again. If you don't get a comment back from me again, it works. Maybe was just a glitch on my end. Thanks.
ReplyDeletejackrabit... underwear... there goes lunch! :-O
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of tossing cookies -- good question, Tony! I could look into that... code suggestions are welcome!
Nope, still am stuck on the read more page with the comments. But if you leave the read more thing, I'll just work around it. Not a big deal.
ReplyDeleteThe "read more" link allows you to keep pages on your primary page longer, which I appreciate if there's no time to read comments for a couple of days. I vote "yes" for the link. The mental image of Jackrabit1 as an underwear model caused me to call my friend, porcelain god, up-Chuck.
ReplyDeleteI wondered if you were going to ask this, Cory. I initially was a bit miffed by the "read more" link (like Tony, I'd rather see the whole thing ... and unlike my journalism training would tell me, I think the concept of fitting "more headlines on a page" -- literally or figuratively -- merely fosters a lack of in-depth thinking and reading/writing).
ReplyDeleteHowever, I've come to like it for two reasons: 1) because it makes it more likely that I'll see the comments on articles that interest me (since they're automatically there when I click to "read more"), as opposed to very seldom clicking on the comments section unless it has some insane number of entries. 2) because it makes it easier to find older entries that are still on the front page, even when you might have written one of your more epic posts since the older entries were written. I'll often come back and check on posts, and the relatively brief synopses you've been using lately make that easier for me to do without scrolling so long to get there.
I hate the read more button. I want to see the entire article right now. That said I do understand read more allows posts to stay on the front page longer. That is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe "epic" posts could use the read more option and shorter or mid length ones could be seen in their entirety.
Bottom line is you can't please everyone. Keep up the good work. I'll read this blog with or without read more. I just like it better without.
This doesn't apply to me.
ReplyDeleteI just subscribe to the RSS feed and put the menu in my 'bookmarks toolbar' in Firefox. That way, I can go right to the post and don't even have to bother with your main page.
Just doing my part as the Madville Times court jester! LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm amused at how many comments these two words have created.
ReplyDeleteIn typical Libra fashion, I'll put in my vote: this is a great blog either way. A gross of one, 144 of the other.
ReplyDeleteHave you read the Argus lately? Every story on the front page ends with "read more" or "continued on" so this is normal for getting more grab on the home page or front page. It is more efficient.
ReplyDeleteJackrabit, you need to come clean about your seedy underwear modeling past! ;)
ReplyDeleteTodd Epp
Men's Foundations Editor
SD Watch http://www.southdakotawatch.net