by Chris Poirier
December 22, 2008

Hi all,

As you may have noticed, we’ve updated the software.  The changes concentrated on three major things:

• Finding a better balance on the home page between the needs of new and returning visitors. 

• Encouraging more browsing in the listings section.

• Improving attribution of editor opinions, so you have a better idea of who is telling you what.

On the home page, we’ve added a “Need a Recommendation?” section, right at the top, to give visitors new to web fiction some good places to start.  These are based on highly-rated recommendations from individual Guide editors.  In order to accommodate this, we’ve moved the new listings down a bit, so they aren’t the first thing new visitors encounter. 

On the listing indices, we’ve improved navigation by allowing you to jump more than one page at a time, and by giving you an idea of how many pages of listings are available.  We’ve also moved things to a vertical orientation, in order to present a bit more information with each listing.  Over the next few days, we’ll be filling out that information with review excerpts and other commentary.  Our goal is to give you more to work with when looking for something to read, without burying you in detail.

Finally, we’ve de-emphasized the average editorial rating, in favour of credited ratings from specific editors.  Our editors have a range of tastes and opinions, and we’re hoping the changes will make it easier for you to pick out those opinions that are relevant to you. 

So, that’s it.  As usual, if you encounter any problems with the new software—or just want to speak your mind about the site—please contact us by email or in the forums.

Thanks, and happy holidays!

Chris.