Pharyngula

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Friday, March 25, 2005

A question about this site...

>info
PZ Myers • 44 Comments (last page)

Traffic keeps climbing (what's with you people, anyway? ), and I'm trying to streamline everything a bit more. One thing that would save greatly on bandwidth would be to split the long posts with lots of pictures into a chunk of body text displayed on the main page with one of those "Continue reading…" links to see the rest and show all of the images. Not only would it spare my server a little work, but all of you with slower connections wouldn't have to wait for every image in the last 15 articles to load. The downside, of course, is that you'd have to click an extra time to read a full article from the main page.

It's an easy change for me to make. Leave a comment if you have strong feelings one way or the other.


Trackback url: http://pharyngula.org/index/trackback/2081/PiR6RhwK/
Comments:
's avatar #19758: — 03/25  at  01:24 PM
Leave it the way it is now. Your pictures are very good, I want to see them.

Quod natura non sunt turpia



#19761: — 03/25  at  01:32 PM
I think I can figure out how to click one extra time. Of course, I'll have to do that for every article because everything is too good to skip.


#19763: — 03/25  at  01:34 PM
The "click for more" approach has the advantage of leaving more of the older posts on the first page. I often go back several days or more to see if there are any new comments, but if I have to look too far down, I sometimes don't. Is it my desire for immediate gratification, or just too short an attention span? What? Did you say something?


#19765: paperwight — 03/25  at  01:34 PM
That's SOP. I don't mind the clickthrough.


#19767: Kevin Bryant — 03/25  at  01:39 PM
I read everything of yours via an RSS feeder, which allows me to see every item on its own at my own pace. I love the images, keep 'em going!


's avatar #19769: Chris Clarke — 03/25  at  01:43 PM
There have been times when a "below the fold" approach here would have been mildly helpful to me.

"I do not think we should antagonize the religious when it is not warranted, though I think we should be willing to do so whenever it is.”
-- Glen Davidson



#19772: Lisa Boucher — 03/25  at  01:48 PM
Oh no, my poor clicking finger! Oh, the humanity!

Um ... an extra click is fine with me.


#19774: JM — 03/25  at  01:52 PM
I dig expandable posts.


's avatar #19775: Chris Clarke — 03/25  at  01:54 PM
Oh no, my poor clicking finger!


JetSON!

"I do not think we should antagonize the religious when it is not warranted, though I think we should be willing to do so whenever it is.”
-- Glen Davidson



#19778: coturnix — 03/25  at  01:55 PM
Yup, with "below the fold" button, I may be able to actually see Pharyngula on my old Mac while the PC is beaing repaired (or replaced).

Give it a try and see how everyone feels for a few days (as well as how your server feels).


#19779: Ryan Fenno — 03/25  at  01:58 PM
If the expandable post change makes the site run that much better for some, then go for it. Some of us 'Net Elites with our broadband connections shouldn't forget about the dial-uppers.

I would feel even more strongly about this stance, if I were added to the blogroll. =]


#19781: — 03/25  at  02:03 PM
I read you through RSS and I would prefer that whatever you do on the front page of the site, you don't change the fact that the full article is syndicated through the XML feed.


#19784: — 03/25  at  02:09 PM
Mark has a point about more posts being immediately visible on the front page.

Personally, though, I prefer the full text off all posts on the same page, mainly 'cause I'm a lazy bastard.

If it'll save you a dime on bandwith, by all means do it.I'll learn to cope, but I'd rather not.


#19785: afarensis — 03/25  at  02:10 PM
"what's with you people, anyway" It was that first -free- shot of cephalopods, then we were hooked for life!
I don't have a problem with an extra click.


#19789: jeremy hunsinger — 03/25  at  02:11 PM
I'd bet it is the rss feed actually, my feed hits your site once every 4 hours when i'm awake. Today it has hit your site twice, once this morning when you had new content and it downloaded 18k bytes, and once around noon when it received a 200 content unchanged and downloaded no bytes. now not all newsreaders are as nice as the one that i use, and each time they hit they can download the whole site, and that can rack up the bandwidth.


#19790: — 03/25  at  02:24 PM
i read you through Firefox's built-in RSS reader, so i too don't much care. of the few blogs i read "regularly", i've never once minded click-through bodies; so long as i can get an idea of what any given post is all about and whether it's worth reading from what's above the fold, that's all that matters.


#19793: Les Lane — 03/25  at  02:28 PM
If it works for Pandas Thumb, it'll work for you.


#19797: Linkmeister — 03/25  at  02:54 PM
"Firefox's built-in RSS reader?" I'd better go poke around some. I've been using FF for months without knowing that existed.

Whatever saves bandwidth is probably a good thing, particularly economically.


#19799: Josh — 03/25  at  02:57 PM
I don't care strongly, since I read the RSS feed. I would like there to be a full RSS feed as well as a summary only RSS feed.


#19801: — 03/25  at  03:02 PM
An extra click is not very hard. Even for the RSS-fed -- surely they know how to click a link? surely they already know PZ's pix are worth the few molecules of ATP expended?

I like having more posts on the front page.

My poor homeschooling sister can't get a fast connection where she lives, and she's not alone. The dial-uppers should be encouraged and pampered.

Finally, PZ, your 1st paragraphs are already very good at being Sideshow Barkers, raking people into the tent to find out more. So no problem there.


#19802: — 03/25  at  03:11 PM
Mark's comment sums up my own feeling.


#19803: Craig Carlyle Clarke — 03/25  at  03:14 PM
It's probably my fault. My almost non-existent memory combined with my complete lack of a life means that since I found your site I've been loading the page probably 100 times a day.

I'm like your grandma who calls every five minutes to remind you to drive her to a doctor's appointment that took place last month.


#19805: RPM — 03/25  at  03:17 PM
I read you through RSS and I would prefer that whatever you do on the front page of the site, you don't change the fact that the full article is syndicated through the XML feed.

Ditto.


#19806: decrepitoldfool — 03/25  at  03:20 PM
That's how I do it on my EE blog. As someone else mentioned it keeps more entries on the home page which is good. Also any really big pictures can go in the extended text area.

I check your blog every day at least by clicking on the live bookmark in Firefox. So you'd save bandwidth by putting the heavy freight on an "as requested" basis.

BTW you rock. 'dis place is one of my favorites.


's avatar #19807: PZ Myers — 03/25  at  03:21 PM
Most sound OK with the idea. I'll throw it together in a bit and we'll see how it looks -- if everyone hates it then, I can change it back.

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris



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