LL site redesign

[Cordovan]

There have been a number of good suggestions so far. A feature I'd like to see on the redesigned site would be to be able to to print individual posts/ and or threads in their entirety along with their accompanying pictures. The picture sizing issue which was brought up already would be problematic here too if not addressed.

Looking forward to the site.

Cordovan

[yachtie]

It would be nice if it could be arranged that the threads stay the same width. When someone posts a large format picture, the whole page goes to the wider format- a lot of useless back and forth scrolling. Grrr.

[Maxomoto]

I would enjoy advanced RSS features like subsribe to "new posts" or "new threads". As already noted, a better search function would be of help (especially for new members and guests).

I still have problems with posting pictures. I don't know if those can be solved with a redesign. Sometimes response time is very long for LL - I don't know if this a problem with the hosting service provider or due to a problem here in Germany.

Regards,

Max

[Milo]

The first thing I want to say is that I am extremely grateful to Alden that the London Lounge exists and to all who post that they do so. These two things are much more important than the design of the site.

Still a number of good suggestions have been made above (especially on search mechanisms and lines that keep moving on to the right), though I for one rather like the graphics and general lay-out of the site as it is.

One suggestion that I don't like, however, is the idea to have Sales and/or Production sections. Money matters, so information on information on sales in London or elsewhere should not be shunned, but still. Similarly, the Cloth Club, I think, should keep the atmosphere of collaborative efforts rather than change into "productions." I do agree however that the recent stickies about closed and open offerings etc. are very informative and helpful.

Milo

[Cufflink79]

I'd like to see a grooming and gastronomy forum again.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

[Jovan the Un1337]

Avatars! Just keep the maximum image size small and unobstructive, plus the option to turn them off for "purists." To keep bandwidth down, you could restrict it to linking to off-site images so you don't have to store everyone's pictures on the server.

I second the motion for a women's forum. Although not as numerous, there ARE many women who employ the services of tailors for suits and dressmaking. Making the forum more accessible to them would be a welcome move for both that and the reasons discussed earlier. Similarly, men could chime in on the women's forum. I don't think it would be a problem. I've been lurking here for longer than I've posted and most everyone here are well-mannered gentlemen.

[alden]

I thank you all again for the input and generous comments. The team who should help with the redesign is reading you. There is more modern forum software that should be able to help achieve some of the things you mention. I have integrated most of the discussion under one heading, The Bespoke Forum, to clean the lines of the site a bit and it looks better for it. Thanks for your suggestions.

Cheers

Michael Alden

[Jovan the Un1337]

It would be nice if it could be arranged that the threads stay the same width. When someone posts a large format picture, the whole page goes to the wider format- a lot of useless back and forth scrolling. Grrr.

Some modern forum software have a feature that does this -- it resizes the picture to fit, and has a small button to view the actual size.

[Cary Grant]

vBulletin does much of what folks are asking for, with powerful moderation tools as well.

I know a few freelance designers who might want some work. I can inquire if you're interested. Would depend on what you want- if it's basically setting up forums, a front end, database, etc.

[andreyb]

Michael,

The biggest improvement would be streamlining of registration process for new applicants. Granted, LL started as "by invitation only" forum, but these times are long gone. I know some people from Russia who tried to register and repeatedly failed, eventually losing interest. Also, the infamous "e-mail address cutting" issue cries to be eliminated.

I found that two kinds of content are of utmost interest to me:

1) Articles (by Alden, Etutee, Manton, Kabbaz, others)

2) Q&A sessions with artisans. I remember only two of them (with Tony Gaziano and Jean-Claude Colban); both are read and re-read multiply times. I think this is a good model of artisans' participation: there are many of them who chime in from time to time on a specific topic, but I understand their inability to follow all the discussions. Thus, an organized Q&A thread (with a moderator collecting questions in advance?) might be of interest to many. Probably a Q&A with Pierre Duboin (with the help of one of French-speaking members) would be a good third installment in this format?

Thus, I'd like to see more of these.

And what happened with our Parisian boulvardiere? Is it too cold for him to go out? I want to see more clown clothes from Arnys!

Andrey

[marcelo]

I suggest the section “Anonymous Questions and Answer” should be renamed to: "Anonymous Question, Public Answers". This means that only the question would remain anonymous. I also think it would be nice if the authors could edit their replies.

[ProfMoriarty]

Non-native English speakers might appreciate a spell check tool.

Spell check would also be an asset for those whose primary language is English.
I also agree with cufflink that a grooming section would be welcome.
thanks,
jack

[marcelo]

Some threads in the LL include links to interviews in YOUTUBE, clips from films of sartorial interest, etc. It would be nice to be able to watch all this material without leaving the LL. Most blogs nowadays support this function. It would enable us, for instance, to see cloths in movement.

[pvpatty]

Non-native English speakers might appreciate a spell check tool.

Spell check would also be an asset for those whose primary language is English.
I also agree with cufflink that a grooming section would be welcome.
thanks,
jack

If you upgrade your browser to the latest version of Firefox (instead of Internet Explorer or similar), a spell check function is included.