Malfunctions

Discussion about Cracked.com, but not for comments on stories posted to front page.

More about the operation of Cracked.com.

Malfunctions

Postby KevinPlymale » Fri Aug 26, 2016 7:44 pm

Is it just me, or has Cracked been eating comments and failing to give any search results way more often since they switched to the new layout? I just had to try and post the same comment as a reply four times, and it didn't register...but when I went to post a brand new comment, all of a sudden ALL THE OTHERS reappeared.
  • 6

User avatar
KevinPlymale
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:03 am
Show rep
Title: Lord of the dance

Re: Malfunctions

Postby DashaBlade » Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:33 pm

It's not just you. I've had it eat a couple of comments, plus in general I've read a comment that someone else posted, looked for it later and couldn't find it if I sort by vote, but I can find it if I go by recent and scroll through pages and pages of comments.

Also, half the time if I'm logged in, I can't open articles, yet if I log out, I can open the same articles just fine.
  • 5

User avatar
DashaBlade
TCS Chomper
TCS Chomper
 
Posts: 1069
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:21 am
Location: Waving my hands at passing cars
Show rep
Title: Crazy Cat Lady

Re: Malfunctions

Postby KevinPlymale » Fri Aug 26, 2016 10:32 pm

Really seems like they should've actually given a single millishit about their new site design, huh?
  • 5

User avatar
KevinPlymale
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:03 am
Show rep
Title: Lord of the dance

Re: Malfunctions

Postby DashaBlade » Sat Aug 27, 2016 3:21 am

Yeah, it kind of makes it a little bit harder to buy the "our techs can't do this" excuse when people suggest they implement changes. You'd think that if they can completely overhaul the entire site, they would do it so that they could start doing the stuff that people have been asking about for years. Instead, users still can't, oh, flag abusive comments (for instance) but instead the designers or coders make an ugly layout with a bazillion glitches.

It's almost like they *want* registered users to leave en masse. :roll:
  • 5

User avatar
DashaBlade
TCS Chomper
TCS Chomper
 
Posts: 1069
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:21 am
Location: Waving my hands at passing cars
Show rep
Title: Crazy Cat Lady

Re: Malfunctions

Postby Marcuse » Sat Aug 27, 2016 8:32 am

DashaBlade wrote:It's almost like they *want* registered users to leave en masse. :roll:


It's almost certain they do. Every new person they see join is an unacceptable trolling risk, in an environment where their ability to deal with even their existing user base is irreparably compromised. I found an old thread on PWOT that I can't find any more where they stated outright that they don't want new users, they have enough, and they don't want as many as they have. All we are to them is clicks of a button, and they don't want us involved with the site beyond that, their careless approach to upgrading the site is merely part of downgrading the actual user experience.
  • 6

User avatar
Marcuse
TCS Sithlord
TCS Sithlord
 
Posts: 6592
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 8:00 pm
Show rep

Re: Malfunctions

Postby CarrieVS » Sat Aug 27, 2016 2:07 pm

DashaBlade wrote:Yeah, it kind of makes it a little bit harder to buy the "our techs can't do this" excuse when people suggest they implement changes. You'd think that if they can completely overhaul the entire site, they would do it so that they could start doing the stuff that people have been asking about for years. Instead, users still can't, oh, flag abusive comments (for instance) but instead the designers or coders make an ugly layout with a bazillion glitches.


To be fair, layout and design are almost completely separate from that kind of functionality and I can think of two or three reasons why the resource that could implement a new design might not be able to add features like that instead.
  • 4

A Combustible Lemon wrote:Death is an archaic concept for simpleminded commonfolk, not Victorian scientist whales.
User avatar
CarrieVS
TCS Redshirt
TCS Redshirt
 
Posts: 7103
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 7:43 pm
Location: By my wild self in the wet wild woods waving my wild tail
Show rep
Title: Drama Llama

Re: Malfunctions

Postby DashaBlade » Sat Aug 27, 2016 6:26 pm

Marcuse wrote:
DashaBlade wrote:It's almost like they *want* registered users to leave en masse. :roll:


It's almost certain they do. Every new person they see join is an unacceptable trolling risk, in an environment where their ability to deal with even their existing user base is irreparably compromised. I found an old thread on PWOT that I can't find any more where they stated outright that they don't want new users, they have enough, and they don't want as many as they have. All we are to them is clicks of a button, and they don't want us involved with the site beyond that, their careless approach to upgrading the site is merely part of downgrading the actual user experience.


There's an easier way to keep new people from joining. They could just, I dunno, disable signups. And since the new people couldn't get onto the forum to complain about not being able to sign up, they wouldn't even have to worry about it.

CarrieVS wrote:To be fair, layout and design are almost completely separate from that kind of functionality and I can think of two or three reasons why the resource that could implement a new design might not be able to add features like that instead.


To be fair, what's the purpose of a site redesign if it's not to change something about the way the site works, especially if the team that takes care of the site is as strapped for time as Wong claims? If it's just a case of the corporate overlords wanting a new look, it seems like one of the staff would have used the "sorry, our corporate overlords won't let us be more efficient" excuse. (As was the case with another site I visit that changed owners a few times - and with each site buyout, users got features nobody wanted and glitches nobody could fix.)
  • 4

User avatar
DashaBlade
TCS Chomper
TCS Chomper
 
Posts: 1069
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:21 am
Location: Waving my hands at passing cars
Show rep
Title: Crazy Cat Lady

Re: Malfunctions

Postby CarrieVS » Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:04 pm

DashaBlade wrote:To be fair, what's the purpose of a site redesign if it's not to change something about the way the site works

To change the design, i.e. the way it looks. You might, as part of that, change the functionality, or you might not.

I can't tell you why they didn't add the features you want, because I don't know. I'm not saying it isn't because they want it to be a crappy experience because they hate commenters. I'm saying it might be that, or it might be because they weren't allowed the budget for new functionality, or it might be because the coders they had to do it were front-end guys and didn't have the skillset for that kind of work, or it might be because the comment functionality is built on something pre-packaged and they can't do much more than pick from a defined list of available features and change the look and feel. Or it might be all of the above.
  • 5

A Combustible Lemon wrote:Death is an archaic concept for simpleminded commonfolk, not Victorian scientist whales.
User avatar
CarrieVS
TCS Redshirt
TCS Redshirt
 
Posts: 7103
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 7:43 pm
Location: By my wild self in the wet wild woods waving my wild tail
Show rep
Title: Drama Llama

Re: Malfunctions

Postby DashaBlade » Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:57 pm

Oh, I get ya, but I also know it doesn't take that much work to add a button that submits a form letter to an administrator, since I've done such things in my own meagre efforts at site building from time to time.

Of course, since the staff wants to get rid of the comments entirely, I can see why they're not rushing to put in the effort of 30 minutes of coding. Much easier to make people go to the forum to complain about really bad comments and then bitch about how we all suck for using what's available. That takes FAR less time. :|
  • 4

User avatar
DashaBlade
TCS Chomper
TCS Chomper
 
Posts: 1069
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:21 am
Location: Waving my hands at passing cars
Show rep
Title: Crazy Cat Lady

Re: Malfunctions

Postby ghijkmnop » Sun Aug 28, 2016 12:28 am

Redacted
  • 7

Last edited by ghijkmnop on Fri Mar 15, 2019 9:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Delete my account
ghijkmnop
Time Waster
Time Waster
 
Posts: 1962
Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 8:22 am
Show rep
Title: Prisoner of TCS

Re: Malfunctions

Postby CarrieVS » Tue Aug 30, 2016 9:55 am

ghijkmnop wrote:They SAY they want to get rid of comments, but they would be abysmally stupid to think that would actually help their site. People go there specifically to get pissed off and post snarky comments about the poorly researched writing.


And get pissed off and write snarky comments about how they hate the commenters? Have we finally uncovered Wong's secret master plan?
  • 6

A Combustible Lemon wrote:Death is an archaic concept for simpleminded commonfolk, not Victorian scientist whales.
User avatar
CarrieVS
TCS Redshirt
TCS Redshirt
 
Posts: 7103
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 7:43 pm
Location: By my wild self in the wet wild woods waving my wild tail
Show rep
Title: Drama Llama

Re: Malfunctions

Postby TitleGuy » Tue Aug 30, 2016 5:26 pm

Marcuse wrote:I found an old thread on PWOT that I can't find any more where they stated outright that they don't want new users, they have enough, and they don't want as many as they have.



Citation needed. I found an old thread on TCS that I can't find anymore where they stated outright that they don't want new users, they have enough, and they don't want as many as they have.
  • 1

I'm responsible for everything bad in your life.
User avatar
TitleGuy
I'm new, be gentle
I'm new, be gentle
 
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:29 pm
Show rep
Title: Destroyer of articles

Re: Malfunctions

Postby Deathclaw_Puncher » Tue Aug 30, 2016 5:30 pm

They should at least fix the search bar.
  • 4

Image
User avatar
Deathclaw_Puncher
Knight Writer
Knight Writer
 
Posts: 12452
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 9:42 pm
Location: Fair Oaks, CA
Show rep
Title: Queen of the Furrets

Re: Malfunctions

Postby Marcuse » Wed Aug 31, 2016 12:56 am

TitleGuy wrote:
Marcuse wrote:I found an old thread on PWOT that I can't find any more where they stated outright that they don't want new users, they have enough, and they don't want as many as they have.



Citation needed. I found an old thread on TCS that I can't find anymore where they stated outright that they don't want new users, they have enough, and they don't want as many as they have.


Are you accusing me of lying, or merely telling me that until I prove I'm not lying, you'll treat me as though I am? Need I remind you, PWOT IP banned me permanently (for having an opinion...the horror) so I couldn't find the thread even if I chose to humour you.

Besides, my point was more that there's a studied opinion among the higher ups on Cracked that new users are not to be encouraged. It's pretty well documented that:

A. Commenters are considered an unacceptable trolling risk to the authors
B. Comments have been described as "a cancer on the site" and commenters referred to as cockroaches.
C. PWOT places heavy rules on post frequency and content, and deals pretty harshly with people who post too often. The only reasonable reason to limit people posting is to lessen the workload for people moderating the site. No, the argument that they're trying to encourage post quality doesn't hold up because if someone made 10000 high quality posts they'd still karma bomb them or PM saying to slow down. It's about reducing the amount of posts made total.

Speaking as someone who used to read Cracked daily for a few years, the place feels probably more hostile than any online space I've ever frequented. Maybe I'm just missing all the other really hostile places, but none of them seem to actively try to discourage people from joining in like Cracked does now.

Edit: Also, calling "citation needed" for content on a forum where the lead admin routinely bitches people out then deletes it an hour later is asking the impossible. It happens, people know it happens and then it promptly disappears. I don't have time to save screenshots of everything I've been shown over the years.

Also, please understand, Titleguy, that I bear you no ill will. I just know how I feel about this by now.
  • 9

User avatar
Marcuse
TCS Sithlord
TCS Sithlord
 
Posts: 6592
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 8:00 pm
Show rep

Re: Malfunctions

Postby reallifegirl » Fri Dec 09, 2016 3:11 pm

Is anybody else unable to see any comments on the articles whatsoever today? I noticed that problem on the Fugitive article last night and thought maybe the comments got closed because of the negative responses. But now all the articles this morning seem to have the same issue.
  • 3

"I can believe things that are true and things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not."

Encyclopedia Dramatica wrote:Reallifegirl: Is supposedly a girl in real life, but we all know that's false. Gets highest comment roughly 75% of the time, and has never had a single red-thumbed comment. Ever.
User avatar
reallifegirl
Time Waster
Time Waster
 
Posts: 1609
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:21 pm
Show rep
Title: Officially allegedly female

Next

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

cron