What's with all the crap on the front page?

[JimboJ]

I was kind of encouraged by the new look of the home page here, what with actual football pics and everything, and then I see stuff like this...

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·"How Acquired" Crash<!--[endif]-->

WTF is this? It looks like its supposed to be some sort of link? But it doesn't link to anything. And what is with the IF statements?? Can you make this look any more unprofessional?

[Deattribution]

Umm did you actually read anything there?

It says (and I'll highlight) above

FOF 6.0c PATCH (Solecismic Software)

Solecismic Software released the 6.0c Patch this week. It addresses, among other issues:

�"How Acquired" Crash
�RB Carries
�AI Roster Building Issues
�Turf Toe Injuries

[Greyroofoo]

What is this "Front Page" you guys refer to?

[JimboJ]

Umm did you actually read anything there?

It says (and I'll highlight) above

Ummm, yes I read it, and I understand what it is saying.

I'm talking about this stuff...

<!--[if !supportLists]-->

When is the last time you saw something like this on a website? Its not a big deal, just very unprofessional looking. If someone unfamiliar with the game stumbled upon this site, they would not get the best impression of the game.

[Anthony]

good thing people don't take front pages at face value, cuz the Solecismic website looks like complete crap, something out of 1995. very lowgrade stuff there, does their products a disservice. i remember being semi-hesitant to buy the original game all those years ago cuz the website looked half-assed. glad to see some things don't ever change.

[Schmidty]

good thing people don't take text sim interfaces at face value, cuz the FOF2007 UI looks like complete crap, something out of 1995. very lowgrade stuff there, does their products a disservice. i remember being semi-hesitant to buy the original game all those years ago cuz the game's presentation looked half-assed. glad to see some things don't ever change.

Fixed a whole lot for you.

[Deattribution]

Ummm, yes I read it, and I understand what it is saying.

I'm talking about this stuff...

<!--[if !supportLists]-->

When is the last time you saw something like this on a website? Its not a big deal, just very unprofessional looking. If someone unfamiliar with the game stumbled upon this site, they would not get the best impression of the game.

If some ? in front of words on a website turns you off to the game, it's not the game for you in the first place.

Plus, it isn't a professional site to begin with but it doesn't look that bad to me.

[highfiveoh]

Is it really that hard to come to the conclusion that, gee, maybe there is a browser issue here? oofta ...

[Antmeister]

Wow...what is going on with some people? This is a fan site. It's not a marketing/advertising firm's website. I don't understand all the heat about the front page of this site. It is an improvement over the old one and yet the old one has gotten less grief.

[Schmidty]

Wow...what is going on with some people? This is a fan site. It's not a marketing/advertising firm's website. I don't understand all the heat about the front page of this site. It is an improvement over the old one and yet the old one has gotten less grief.

Agreed.

[Antmeister]

Is it really that hard to come to the conclusion that, gee, maybe there is a browser issue here? oofta ...

By the way, your post shouldn't be overlooked. On most browsers, what he is seeing is usually commented out (which means it is unseen by when the browser displays it), but for some reason he is able to see it. Don't know what the reasons are (could be using an old browser, turn off some options, browser flaking, etc.), but he should try to use a different browser to see if he still has this issue.

[cthomer5000]

The Solecismic website is probably the only thing Hell Atlantic and I agree on. I almost feel like I'm back on Prodigy sometimes when viewing it, and it certainly brings back memories of the final bits of my BBSing days, designing graphics in ANSI, etc.

[MIJB#19]

By the way, your post shouldn't be overlooked. On most browsers, what he is seeing is usually commented out (which means it is unseen by when the browser displays it), but for some reason he is able to see it. Don't know what the reasons are (could be using an old browser, turn off some options, browser flaking, etc.), but he should try to use a different browser to see if he still has this issue.I'm seeing them too. I guess it's an Internet Explorer thing.

[RedKingGold]

I just wonder why some people have to take certain things so personally.

Has anyone thought that there might be a reason why the Solecismic web page is so "vintage-appearing". Honestly, if I was a new to the game and the genre, I would prefer the Solecismic website to similar other text sim website's due to the simplicity of it.

As far as the FOFC web page goes, it is still a work in progress. However, your comment might carry more weight if it did not come off so negative. I definitely think its a step in the right direction.

[Ben E Lou]

However, your comment might carry more weight if it did not come off so negative.Bingo.

[Raiders Army]

People really hate change. Hmpf.

[lordscarlet]

If some ? in front of words on a website turns you off to the game, it's not the game for you in the first place.

Plus, it isn't a professional site to begin with but it doesn't look that bad to me.

Um. This is not a "Browser Issue", it is poor HTML.

[Anthony]

I just wonder why some people have to take certain things so personally.

Has anyone thought that there might be a reason why the Solecismic web page is so "vintage-appearing". Honestly, if I was a new to the game and the genre, I would prefer the Solecismic website to similar other text sim website's due to the simplicity of it.

actually, you're wrong.

1. i don't take it personally - it's not my company and as a result i don't lose sleep at nite over it. if that's how he wants his site to appear then that's his business.

2. the website is a new customer's first introduction to the company - the first impression one gets from the moment they view the site is an important one. no one is saying he needs the latest in php/flash technology - just a sleeker look, perhaps more compatible colors, better font. someone not familiar with the quality of FOF might go away saying "if this is how the website looks, lord knows how the game will be". let's face it - the FOF series won't ever win any awards for its graphical brilliance. i remember the first time i saw a screen shot of the scoreboard for the first FOF (it was in an issue of CGW) i didn't even know what i was looking at and i almost lost interest right there. going to the website to check it out, i, as stated before, was somewhat weary. the only thing that made me soldier on was the fact that CGW gave it a thumbs up.

supposedly Solecismic has done research and found that the average user isn't interested in the latest and greatest in website features and toys. he apparently knows more than me so if that's the info he has so be it. the difference is i'm not a new customer - i'm an existing customer so i can look past his silly Romper Room website. some other new guy might not be so forgiving.

[Anthony]

Um. This is not a "Browser Issue", it is poor HTML.

that'll be fixed. keep in mind the front page was redone as a result of charity. someone has to use their own personal time (and time is money) to do the HTML and coding, so a temporary inconvenience such as what one sees on the front page should be gone shortly.

[lordscarlet]

that'll be fixed. keep in mind the front page was redone as a result of charity. someone has to use their own personal time (and time is money) to do the HTML and coding, so a temporary inconvenience such as what one sees on the front page should be gone shortly.

I was merely correcting an inaccurate statement. I have given my two cents about the new front page off-board and hopefully will find time to help if I can.

[RedKingGold]

actually, you're wrong.

1. i don't take it personally - it's not my company and as a result i don't lose sleep at nite over it. if that's how he wants his site to appear then that's his business.

2. the website is a new customer's first introduction to the company - the first impression one gets from the moment they view the site is an important one. no one is saying he needs the latest in php/flash technology - just a sleeker look, perhaps more compatible colors, better font. someone not familiar with the quality of FOF might go away saying "if this is how the website looks, lord knows how the game will be". let's face it - the FOF series won't ever win any awards for its graphical brilliance. i remember the first time i saw a screen shot of the scoreboard for the first FOF (it was in an issue of CGW) i didn't even know what i was looking at and i almost lost interest right there. going to the website to check it out, i, as stated before, was somewhat weary. the only thing that made me soldier on was the fact that CGW gave it a thumbs up.

supposedly Solecismic has done research and found that the average user isn't interested in the latest and greatest in website features and toys. he apparently knows more than me so if that's the info he has so be it. the difference is i'm not a new customer - i'm an existing customer so i can look past his silly Romper Room website. some other new guy might not be so forgiving.

1. I actually wasn't referring to you, but was referring to JimboJ. I apologize for the mix-up.

2. I do see your point, and it is just a difference of opinion. I'm sure that if Jim found in his research that spending more time on the website would increase his sales, he would do it. And if he does not change the website when it would increase sales, that is his mistake for missing sales he could have made. Either way, different strokes for different folks.

[Anthony]

keep in mind i post in this thread for conversational purposes. i don't stand to benefit from any changes Solecismic makes to their website so my interest in this topic is purely from a standpoint of throwing my 2 cents around.

[KWhit]

BTW, As far as the original comments go, I am seeing the strange text as well running IE7.

[VPI97]

Um. This is not a "Browser Issue", it is poor HTML.
Actually, it had nothing to do with HTML. That text was a part of the content that was posted to the front page.

[lordscarlet]

Actually, it had nothing to do with HTML. That text was a part of the content that was posted to the front page.

In my book the text within the tags is part of the HTML. The text that was in the post is within the tags. Regardless, it's not the browser's fault. :) It's the poster's fault. If you use the vBulletin bulleted list button it will look as expected.

[Subby]

What is everyone complaining about? I just opened the front page and expected to see Rosie O'Donnell's big gaping lasagna or something similarily hideous. It just looks like th vB hack that we have in place at FOBL (http://www.thefobl.com) and FOFL (http://www.thefofl.com).

[sterlingice]

I would like to voice a MAJOR complaint that something clearly on topic has made its way to the off topic board. Please cease and desist so I don't have to call the mods to banish this off to the Werewolf board or some other suitable purgatory ;)

SI