I know there's an ever-growing list of comments on the news article about this, but it strikes me that it warrants a forum topic of its own.
I've only been around for about a year, so I'm not sure if this is Huw's first revamp of the site, or whether it's been done before. I know that over at my usual hangout (a videogaming site) we've had about 5 major overhauls in the last decade, which usually results in :
1) Much screaming, wailing and beating of chests, while demanding that 'the proper' site is returned to us immediately.
2) A select few announce that they will never accept the new blue colour scheme, and unless the orange one is reinstated, they will flounce out, never to return.
3) Some people say they actually quite like the new look.
4) Some people say that additional use of colour will make it even more difficult to browse the site while at work, and why can't we have a site that looks like an excel spreadsheet?
5) Within a couple of months, everybody's forgotten that it was changed.
6) A couple of years later, the site is revamped and people demand the return of the 'original' blue site.
And so on, and so on...
I suspect that I'll get used to the new look. It doesn't immediately appeal to me - the current site has a more 'grown up' look and feel, while the new version, with all the primary colours and whatnot appears a bit more like an aisle of TRU (although given that this is a site devoted to a toy, that's not unreasonable).
But given that (iirc) under 16's aren't Brickset members, so the demographic seems to be from late teen to middle-aged, I'd say that a more reserved style would be in order.
Personally I'd prefer the look to stay as it is, but at the end of the day, it's the people and the info that keep me coming back, so if I don't like the look of it, it won't kill me.
And it's worth restating - none of us pay a penny to use this valuable resource. So the fact that Huw has given us the opportunity to comment is very good of him indeed - he could have just said 'This is the new site - like it or lump it.'
I've only been around for about a year, so I'm not sure if this is Huw's first revamp of the site, or whether it's been done before. I know that over at my usual hangout (a videogaming site) we've had about 5 major overhauls in the last decade, which usually results in :
1) Much screaming, wailing and beating of chests, while demanding that 'the proper' site is returned to us immediately.
2) A select few announce that they will never accept the new blue colour scheme, and unless the orange one is reinstated, they will flounce out, never to return.
3) Some people say they actually quite like the new look.
4) Some people say that additional use of colour will make it even more difficult to browse the site while at work, and why can't we have a site that looks like an excel spreadsheet?
5) Within a couple of months, everybody's forgotten that it was changed.
6) A couple of years later, the site is revamped and people demand the return of the 'original' blue site.
And so on, and so on...
I suspect that I'll get used to the new look. It doesn't immediately appeal to me - the current site has a more 'grown up' look and feel, while the new version, with all the primary colours and whatnot appears a bit more like an aisle of TRU (although given that this is a site devoted to a toy, that's not unreasonable).
But given that (iirc) under 16's aren't Brickset members, so the demographic seems to be from late teen to middle-aged, I'd say that a more reserved style would be in order.
Personally I'd prefer the look to stay as it is, but at the end of the day, it's the people and the info that keep me coming back, so if I don't like the look of it, it won't kill me.
And it's worth restating - none of us pay a penny to use this valuable resource. So the fact that Huw has given us the opportunity to comment is very good of him indeed - he could have just said 'This is the new site - like it or lump it.'