Edited To Add: The polls are closed!
Here is a screen cap of the results showing 62 against and 93 for using the Read More Feature. (Double click on it to make it bigger.)
It’s pretty late and my brain is sort of tired but when I come back, I’ll announce a solution that I think will make both sides of my wonderful Smithellaeous readers (at least sort of) happy.
Thanks so much for voting!
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As announced, today is Voting Day and if I am elected, I promise that I will . . . oh wait . . . wrong vote.
No, today’s vote has to do with whether or not you would like the Read More option to be used here on Smithellaneous. During this past week, I’ve posted my blogs in the Read More format to give you an idea of what the whole concept looks like. (If you’re new to the idea, it means that you see just a snippet of each post to give you an idea of what it’s about and then you click “Read More” to open it up to full size.)
The advantages?
1. You can scroll through 8 0r 10 posts in a glance and see which ones you’re interested in reading.
2. It keeps the home page of the blog looking neater.
The disadvantages?
1. You have to click “Read More.”
2. It takes a second or two for the whole post to appear.
As I’ve said before, I tend to lean toward using Read More (because I like at least one little part of my life to look orderly) but this blog is about you, not me! And so by the end of the day (poll closes at 9 pm) whichever option gets the most votes is the option we will go with.
(Poll removed.)
Becky didn’t get to vote but I do have an opinion and my opinion is ….Do whatever you want with YOUR blog. Idk what brings most ppl to read certain blogs, for me I found your site through Isaac Clary’s Caringbridge site .I don’t remember what compelled me to click on Sarah’s but I did. I felt drawn to read it from then on and when you created Smithellaneous I started reading his one, no big deal. I liked it more because it felt like a great new chapter in your story, in Sarah’s progress. It was a cleanse in the sense that, Caringbridge, wonderful site that it is, was no longer needed to be the tool used to keep your journal. It, again my train of thought in the most respectful way was that Sarah is ok, she’s a fighter and she kicked Cancer’s rear. She’s thriving, the whole family is thriving and by starting this blog is was a way of kicking cancer’s ugly rear again by saying ‘Caringbridge, you’ve been great, you helped me through some horrible times but I’ve got to move on. We’re over. I’m breaking up with you!’ I think too, this makes more of the FAMILY story. Your Brag Book kinda. (Remember those little picture books every mother could whip out in a moments notice to show off her kids.) This probably sounds goofy but in my head it’s there it’s just hard to express in words. I never claimed to be a writer, that’s why no blog in my future. Anyway all this was for me simply to say
BECKY IT’S YOUR BLOG. THANK YOU FOR ASKING THE READERS OPINIONS BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY IF I HAVE TO CLICK 1 EXTRA CLICK, I’LL DO IT! IF YOU DECIDE TO GET RID OF THE READ MORE WELL THAT’S FINE TOO. THIS IS YOUR BABY…DRESS IT HOW YOU WANT TO.
Dana, LOVE the line, “This is your baby, dress it how you want to.” That truly made me smile.
And thanks so much for your encouragement and for following along through the years–I appreciate you!
i didnt get round to voting but personally i’d vote for not using Read More. Vicki’s right, for usability optimisation we tell people to avoid unnecessary clicks – although i do understand why people use them!
Becky, I appreciate you looking at both sides of the coin. 🙂
I am finding these comments very interesting. Just as an FYI…I went through several (30+) blogs I read today and not one of them use the read more function. Now that may be due to blogging tool they use but then again perhaps not, or it could be their readers’ preference.
Jan, wow, you read a lot of blogs; I’m honored that Smithellaneous is among them!
It’s funny, I’ve also been paying more attention lately o the blog I read and their layouts and features; it’s been very interesting to who is doing what!
I didn’t get to vote because I was gone until after 10 PM. Either way will be fine with me but I want an easier way to find previous posts if I can’t go on line each day.
Ann, sorry you missed out on the fun!
Ann, sorry you missed out on the fun!
I too do not like the read more option. After reading the first few lines of the blog and then selecting read more, it takes a bit to find the place in the blog where I left off.
Jan, I hear ya! There are some blogs I’ve been to that take you straight to the place you left off reading and some that don’t. I’m not sure what the difference is but I’d like to find out. That’s a very good point!
I hate the read more function! And I rarely use the word hate. I’ve stopped reading some blogs because it annoys me so much. It’s an un-needed extra click. User Interface designers will tell you to not make your users take extra steps.
Vicki, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment about this; I truly appreciate your input.
Nicole, glad you love the site; I’m loving it too and even now, am still engaging in brain stretching activities to figure out how to make it even better. Lots of fun! (And thanks for voting.)
it is nice when i keep up to date but when i fall behind it becomes a pain cause i have to hit read more and the back button for each post. Sadly or maybe happily there isn’t ever a time i want to skip a post, i want to read the whole thing every time.
Becky, have I ever mentioned how much I love your name? 🙂
Thanks for taking part in the vote and also taking an extra minute to explain why you voted the way you did. So far, it looks as though the voting is neck and neck. It will be interesting to see how it turns out at the end of the day.
I voted yes but I could have gone either way….love the new website!