I'll be honest with you, I feel as though saying "This feature not being being present in this sites design, seems to be somewhat of a flaw when you consider the supposed intent of the design which is 'connectivity' if I'm not mistaken" is a tad arrogant when considering the fact that I have no credentials in web design nor any authority over how this site should function. And you know what? If it was simply a personal concept or opinion of mine that I believed not many others would care for, something that was simply an idea of my own preference, then I likely wouldn't be bothered to present this to any of you.
I've been coming to this site for many years, and I've watched it evolved many times into many forms. Each evolution seemed to build and improve on its predecessor, including this model which added many great features. Yet something feels like it was left out. Like an important screw that turned certain wheels was forgotten amidst all these awesome features that were added on top.
Ask around, and some people may indeed tell you that there is just something missing, some piece of the equation that once existed which now no longer exists. Most everyone I talk to enjoys and welcomes the changes and knows there are certain things they have to become accustom to, but no one can quite put their finger on that one small piece of missing something. But that particular "something" is seemingly causing some individuals to check threads less, check groups less, and maybe even visit less than they once did in the past. After having formed so many friendships and connections here over the past several years the last thing that I want to see is a loss in connectivity between one another here. So, while not all of you may agree with my aforesaid statements, I'm sure there are some of you that do agree. That being potentially so, it is now that I make suggestion to assist in preventing the degradation of networks between friends...
The regular functions of each Bungie.net user commonly habitual and methodical. Once we're taking out of our natural habitat, we're forced to form new habits. Unable to recreate the ways in which we once navigated through the site and made our regular stop offs here and there, we simply allowed some of those places we once frequented to fade into the background. So how does one rectify this?
In order to recreate that activity or to help bring back the ease of navigation that assisted with methodical navigation, one must the old places we once frequented, right in front of us.
It actually seems shallow, lazy and unnecessary to be honest. Unfortunate that in a new setting we for whatever reason don't return to all the same places the same amount of times simply because our roads have been mildly redirected. But in the fast pace hustle and bustle of online interactions, one road block can have devastating affects on the way traffic will flow. With the implementation of a new menu system that forces people to click around in a way they're not familiar with may prevent those people from recreating habits that would have them return to all those same places on a regular basis. Particularly Private Groups in this case, which has been mentioned largely in some areas on this site and off-site.
Anyway, lets go back to what I meant when I said "Put it all right in front of us". Well, I mean quite literally just that. The Bungie.net homepage used to be an incredible hub of links and content that were right in front of your face. Aesthetically, they Web Team has now chosen to simplify the home page, which in terms of showing the important content in relation to their game, does a wonderful job. Although the now hidden menus and sub-menus make it extremely easy for us to to fall into the "Out of sight, out of mind" mentality, which of course is - at least I believe - damaging to the sites secondary purpose (Primary Purpose would be showing off Destiny) which is connecting fans.
Want to connect fans? Want to put connectivity at the forethought of everyone who comes here next to showing off Destiny? Then sectioning off a decent size of real estate on the home page for customizable news feeds generated from areas selected by users such as Group Activity News, Favorite Type of Threads Activity, Friends Activity, Follower Activity, User Activity, is at least what I believe a solid idea that would help reinstate the flow of activity for users here. You would allow more ease of access and fluidity with less clicking to click to click to click to get to a specific destination. It would potentially allow for more people to see eye catching things that may otherwise go unseen, because I'll be honest, I've only thought to check my "Activity Page" probably half a dozen times after coming here almost daily since the sites update and it's unfortunate to admit admit how little I visit my private groups now, for which the only explanation I can conjure is a result of the changes to the site.
So, now that I've ranted for quite some time, I'll just reiterate one more time...
Creating some sort of central hub that is clearly displayed at the home page for which we may even customize or tailor to our desires in order to display the many places we don't ever think to go as a result of hidden-menus, I believe would truly benefit this site, especially members who have fallen victim to the "Out of sight out of mind" mentality. Think of it is our own news feed, which would show updates on areas of the site that we chose to see or enjoy frequenting the most. I would proceed to thoroughly detail the concept, but I would like to hear from all of you first. As well, I don't know how easy the coding for such a concept would be so I'm not going to sit here barking off specifics, demanding each thing be implemented, but I do hope that this idea carries and if it is met with agreement by the masses then maybe it will inspire the Web Team to hopefully one day down the road implement such a feature for this site.
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2 RepliesI wouldn't like the new clean lines to be ruined but a widget or just a page link to popular groups or activities would be useful.