h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Two things:

One:
The original format looked like something that I would associate with the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I don't get the same feeling from this new format.
Can you say - 'b l a n d'?

Two: Does a magnifying glass (or powerful reading glasses) come with the upgrade? I can barely read the smaller print.

I know some cheese would go well with this post and honestly I tend not to whine this much (usually).

You can always change back to the old look here http://www.h2g2.com/UserDetails (this is the same as going top your homepage & selecting "preferences") & select Classic from the skins menu

hope it helps
;^)#

Opinion is divided on which skin is best - but then that's how it should be. The idea of skins is to provide people with a choice - no one is going to be forced to use the Alabaster skin. But for the first new skin we wanted something that had quite a different look from the current site. We know not everyone will like it, but hopefully it will appeal more to those who don't like the classic goo...

If you are taking votes, I prefer the classic look.

2-0

Thanks Bruce.

That is what I have done.

I believe that you can make the font size larger, by changing the preferences in your browser...

Thanks Peta.

I think I may have changed my settings the other day and am feeling very silly.

Actually the more I think about it I am pretty sure that I did change the setting the other day. Oops.

I am soooooooooo embarassed.

I'm afraid I rather agree... although we can revert to the goo any time we wish - the goo was just much more, well, INTERESTING. Different - now it looks more like Altavista or some boring corporate site (no offence!). Although it is quite slick, I suppose. I like the new buttons etc, my only other gripe is that it all looks very cluttered and appears less easy to navigate (mind you, I'm probably just stuck in my ways).

Well, this IS the feedback forum! Apart from the aesthetics, this is still my No.1 online hangout.

yeah, Alabaster is definately very un-h2g2 like. I mean, it almost feels *normal* !

Now, if they can bring out a skin with the speed of Alabaster, with the quirky good looks of Classic, then I shall be well happy...

And another thing! The dweeb at the coputer posting under this name also posts under "Mew," and is unable to do so because it says ...

XML Error loading ''
Duplicate attribute.

at line 291, character 119



There's a ^ under the second "loop" thing. How the hell do I fix that if I can't even get to the front page!?

}I have the same problem! Well, sort of: I made a mistake and forgot to put quotes at the end of one of the tags. I now cannot fix that because instead of showing my page with the error on it it shows the kreeblix error mesage. I would appreciate you reverting the "Classic GOO" to the original version.{

Ugh - that's a nasty problem you've got there.
Does it mean you can't get back into your page? I just tried looking at it - and just got that message like you said.

Don't worry - we (whose pages still don't work!) can revert to the Goo any time we want... besides, this version isn't THAT bad, I've decided. It's nice and fresh.

Maybe we can form some sort of 'underground Goo users' group or something. Maybe not. Anyway, good luck.

}YES it means I can't get to my page! {

}And I AM viewing it in Classic Goo! {

}I HATE THOSE H2G2 WORKERS! {


[starts to cry]

[Vekura cuddles Mew] {There, there...}

If you can't open your homepage due to XML errors you can edit it by clicking here http://www.h2g2.com/UserEdit?masthead=1

There's a lot more info on fixing this problem & others here http://www.h2g2.com/A353710#XML

hope it helps
;^)#

Hang on a minute....

THEY implement an upgrade
THEY screw up a lot of things because of problems in coding and testing
WE have to follow the guidelines to fix it ourselves?

Am I getting this right? Does that sound like proffesional customer service to you?

Shade, sad to say, I've had a lot of experience in this matter, and that does sound like professional customer services (e.g. Microsoft) as opposed to user support (e.g. Linux)

(Really just posted 'cos I've been itching to try the new smilie - finally a visible improvement!)

I know

I have a lot of experience of that type of customer service. I am just glad to say that I never offer that sort of servie to my customers, I prefer to actually help them

We're not a 'They' Shade. We're people. Please try to remember that. We're offering as much support as we can to our community members. We're trying to improve the website and make things simpler and better in the future. That has to be a good thing...

And they're really nice people at that. The problem is h2g2 is no longer supporting a ot of weird javascripts in XML. I think you can still have it in HTML pages, but you'll have to follow Bruce's links.

btw: Bruce is an unpaid volunteer who helps the community get its GuideML sorted. Outside of Beta testing, he had nothing to do with the upgrade. (and you've got to admit the site is much faster now)

- X