Mod Browsing Overhaul Discussion

[showler]

1 hour ago, DeltaAriadne said:

 I'm left wondering if you, secretly, are the actual designer lol. 

God save me from people so stupid they think I created an account twenty years ago so that I could someday use it as an alt after getting employed in a country I don't live in.

[Khaalis]

So since @Demorphic has been asking for specifics:

[Edit: PS.. I do UX/UI work for my job, so I can give more feedback if required.]

Here is my first pass quick summary on the Search functionality. I will state right off that I much preferred the old quick search functionality. That said ...

• You kept the graphic of the Quick Search bar, but totally changed its functionality. It isn't a search bar anymore. Period.  Thus there is no need for a Full Bar graphic. The Bar now functions as a Button. Thus this graphic should be changed to reflect its current function and be a Button, the same style as the Upload Button. Otherwise its misleading and just going to continue generating complaints.

        

• Search opens a Popup. In and of itself, this isn't a horrible choice. However, with that said, you can't actually do anything IN said popup. As soon as you select a returned item, click on View All, or click on a Recent Search, etc. it takes you OUT of the popup and loads a new page in place of where you started from. Many find this very annoying. SOLUTION: If you're going to force a Popup Window then either a) Keep all interactions within the popup IN the popup; b) Instead of a Popup, Open a new Search Tab; c) If you keep the Popup as is, make any New Page it generates open in a new Tab by default rather than overwriting your current starting page, or forcing you to specifically tell it to open in a new tab.
• {EDIT to above point} - Another HUGE annoyance with the current functionality is that you lose your Search every time you interact with something in the Popup. If you want to check a mod then come back to the search to check another, you can't because you have to start all over.
• Within the popup - Mods should be the default starting tab. I am sure you can check your own site's metrics and I would be willing to bet that at Least 80% of all searches done on the site are for mods.
• The Popup Window should be Dynamically sized to take up more than 60% of the available screen space.
• The returns in the popup suffer the same issues as on the main pages. Limited to 4 tiles. Too much excess space between tiles. There is little to no contrast between the background color of the PopUp window versus the colors of the tiles. Grey text on Grey Background is just a horrible design choice.
• Within the popup for Mods - I feel way too much space is given to the graphics. The graphics take up roughly 85-90% of the tile. These returns would be far more useful with smaller thumbnails (similar to what was used in the old quick search) and more focus on the text.
• I also feel the mouse-over amplification of the images unnecessary.
• Within the Popup for Mods - The details line should be more useful. You should at the very least add the number of downloads to the data line rather than just author and endorsements.  People are lazy and don't endorse mods nearly as often as they just download them and move on, so seeing downloads can tell you more than endorsements.
• Adding Date Last Updated would also be a HUGE benefit.
• In the same tile, the Mod Name should be more prominent, increased font size at least double that of the data line.
• The data line also needs better contrasting color.

Examples: As is ...

Should be more like:

Edited Friday at 09:00 PM by Khaalis

[AnakinTheWeird]

@Khaalis This. Exactly this. All of the this.

[WeirdWeird2]

For the past day, the media section of the FNV page has been empty. Bug?

[HollownessDevoured]

I raised a point a year ago that modders who actually have to use the site extensively, to relay the details of their mods to the user via this platform maybe should have a bit more of a say in the UI and utility of the site. Especially, as it appeared more modders had issues/complaints over non-modders in last years feedback thread.

My example/scenario was when I make mods, I utilize the mod pages and articles to detail pretty much every change, possible conflicts, etc. This results in me staring at the editor for hours a day for perhaps several days depending on the mod. My concern last year was that the "easy on the eyes grey" would be replaced my the ark of the covenant and my eyes and face would melt XD

A casual user or mobile user may never get the adverse effects of high contrast (or notice the wasted space/oversized UI) or even use the site as much as other users, why is their vote so much more important/valuable (for the devs to double down on their feedback/poll results for argument sake) than the vocal minority? I think it is more important to address actual modders' feedback, and the users willing to be vocal (/fighting to be heard) vs. a user who may have voted and may never: care, vote again or act if the changes are kept or not. But that is me.

What upsets me is it implied that feedback is too late or that different vote poll results would actually change the situation much, when most of this feedback was brought up a year ago (saving them a year of full site implementation work), and back then was a lot of the same responses from devs/staff: no choice toggle option, no going back, no old colour theme, etc. It is not a case we were too late in feedback or narrow random poll results... It was it was never on the table as a choice or that we could have a dominant say in the theme/changes, and only now that the backlash is a bit more than last years—seem to show more willingness to try—but may not be enough

[JobiWanUK]

The other thing about the beta feedback that's been irking me is that the beta ended on (whatever day it ended) then a few days later the UI was changed substantially again. It just seems odd to change it so shortly after the beta ended.

[carpesangrea]

Now they are simply deleting posts both here and on reddit calling them out while trying to pretend everything is fine.  It's easy to pretend you have some sort of high-ground when you keep brushing under the carpet how pissed people are(and rightfully so).

People expect some bumps in the road.  That's normal for this sort of transition.  What they don't expect is for the people in charge to conduct the whole mess like it's a high-school pet project and get all offended when people are unhappy.  You are supposed to be business professionals.  Start acting like it.

[showler]

32 minutes ago, carpesangrea said:

Now they are simply deleting posts both here and on reddit calling them out while trying to pretend everything is fine.  It's easy to pretend you have some sort of high-ground when you keep brushing under the carpet how pissed people are(and rightfully so).

People expect some bumps in the road.  That's normal for this sort of transition.  What they don't expect is for the people in charge to conduct the whole mess like it's a high-school pet project and get all offended when people are unhappy.  You are supposed to be business professionals.  Start acting like it.

They said they were going to start deleting abusive posts.  Which are against the rules here, on Discord and on Reddit.  If that's the kind of post that's being removed, you have no right to complain.

[carpesangrea]

41 minutes ago, showler said:

They said they were going to start deleting abusive posts.  Which are against the rules here, on Discord and on Reddit.  If that's the kind of post that's being removed, you have no right to complain.

And they are qualifying anything that isn't hyper-sanitized as "abusive".  The most innocuous things are disappearing.  If people aren't allowed to complain, what are we even doing here?  Why are some people acting as if they are above reproach?

[Raven1417]

6 hours ago, Demorphic said:

As a premium user / mod author you don't see ads on the site, but I understand many users will have popups blocked by default.

Hi Demorphic, if you or one of the other Nexus staff could answer these questions it would be much appreciated. Cheers

1. Why make a major overhaul to a site without having a functioning backup of the original? (If this isn't the case then Nexus staff are lying/misleading users about why restoring the old site isn't possible.)
2. Why push ahead with a major overhaul if the team working on it aren't experienced enough to ensure that accessibility and features would at the very least be relatively on par with the previous site? (Regardless of backend issues, if it functions better and is more accessible than the new site then you keep it online until the new site is actually ready.)
3. Some staff have mentioned "other looks" that might be available down the track while also saying the old look will never return. Explain why there would be time and resources put towards making whole new looks for the site but not recreate the one that users actually want?
4. Now that we've covered that all previous polling and testing by Nexus clearly missed getting feedback from the vast majority of users including heavy/powers users of the site will Nexus actually commit to a far more transparent and better advertised poll on here, Reddit and other social media channels to get a better picture of user feedback on the issue?