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Autosport Live - 2015 relaunch


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#1 Grayson

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 09:28

I'm delighted to say that today sees the launch of the new version of Autosport Live.

 

While the previous version of Live was cutting edge for its day (despite being built in house, it was years ahead of what some of the world's biggest media companies were doing), it's been showing its age lately so we've done a full rebuild as part of our move over to the new version of Autosport.

 

Unlike most of the new site, we're unable to run the old and new versions side by side during our Beta phase so there's only the one version of Live as of today, which you can find here:

 

http://beta.autosport.com/live

 

This is a work in progress, and we'd like to get as much feedback as possible so that we can keep improving it. The best way to give us your feedback is from the red "Feedback" tab, as everything that comes through here will be seen by our entire team including our developers, our designers and our editor.

 

One thing which I would like to apologise for in this forum is the fact that the old Live Chat feature is no longer available. I know that this will disappoint those who used it (I was a keen user of it myself even before I joined the Autosport team), but it's not something which we could carry across to the new version of Live as it was so deeply stitched in to the old version of our website.



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#2 SophieB

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 09:32

 

One thing which I would like to apologise for in this forum is the fact that the old Live Chat feature is no longer available. I know that this will disappoint those who used it (I was a keen user of it myself even before I joined the Autosport team), but it's not something which we could carry across to the new version of Live as it was so deeply stitched in to the old version of our website.

 

I will make the feedback via the tab, grayson but wow, that's a killer blow to remove chat and literally the only thing that made me visit that page at all although obviously I read it once I was there. is there really no way a brand new chat feature can't be added?



#3 Gilles4Ever

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 09:35

What SophieB said  :(

 

The Live coverage link at the bottom of the page doesn't work either



#4 Victor_RO

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 09:37

Thirded. :( The live chat was the main reason why I was frequenting the page. 



#5 Lotus53B

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 09:44

Well, that's about half the fun of the F1 weekend stripped out for me.

 

Definite killer blow :(

 

And the feedback option isn't working for me so I can't whinge about it there...

EDIT..I think I can't give feedback because I'm not an Autosport+ member.


Edited by Lotus53B, 18 September 2015 - 09:52.


#6 Force Ten

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 09:54

I see only that there apparently is a live event going on, nothing but that. Do I need to be logged on to something to have ANY live coverage now?



#7 HuddersfieldTerrier1986

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 09:55

Feedback option works for me, though as it stands it's the only thing that does as all I get in the FP1 page is 'loading, please wait', though this could be an issue at my end rather than theirs as I'm at work.



#8 schumi4ever

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 09:56

Yes Mobile is the future, but by going too mobile you guys just seem to be alienating your existing Desktop using clientele. Sorry guys, but the new layout is just plain awful. I wish you wouldn't force the autosport live beta on us like this. Live chat was awesome. I wasn't a regular chatter, but I did like reading it for kicks a lot.  :cry:



#9 Lotus53B

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:01

I definitely think that they should have been run in parallel whilst the kinks in the beta were sorted.

 

Modern mobile devices can give a desktop experience, so optimising purely for "phone" format is definitely somewhat out of date, imo.

 

And, as has been said.  It looks terrible on a desktop.



#10 boost

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:04

+1 sophieb said



#11 rghojai

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:07

That's nothing to be delighted about.

It's ugly and uninteresting, and the way you kinda slip in that live chat is gone comes across as rude and slimy.

No small number of people have enjoyed that feature and the message boards for no small time and this -- the change and how you've announced it -- comes across as a big middle finger to some of your most loyal members.

I've managed my share of projects and web projects and I say with that perspective that this is poor and poorly handled, remarkably unprofessional. I'm glad I never had to answer for an ill-considered mess like this.


Edited by rghojai, 18 September 2015 - 10:14.


#12 milestone 11

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:07

Mobile optimisation, what a hideous so called upgrade. Seems to me that very few at Autosport know what their readers want. :mad:

#13 HuddersfieldTerrier1986

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:07

I definitely think that they should have been run in parallel whilst the kinks in the beta were sorted.

 

Modern mobile devices can give a desktop experience, so optimising purely for "phone" format is definitely somewhat out of date, imo.

 

And, as has been said.  It looks terrible on a desktop.

 

Ironically I see Microsoft in effect doing exactly the same as you mention with their operating systems in terms of in effect optimising things for mobile, ie these butt ugly 'tabs' and blocks and randomly sized things in different colours, most of which are utterly pointless and are basically ok for on a phone but for anything else they're terrible. People need to remember that yes mobile might be the future, but there's still an enormous amount of desktops/laptops etc out there that matter too that aren't touchscreen etc.


Edited by HuddersfieldTerrier1986, 18 September 2015 - 10:09.


#14 scheivlak

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:12

Link doesn't work.... (at least for me)



#15 HuddersfieldTerrier1986

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:13

Yep, same here, it worked for me earlier, but now it just flat refuses to load up, so even if I wanted to read the live text, I can't!



#16 CountDooku

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:15

One thing to bear in mind is that the only reason why people follow the live page (especially practice)  is because they are in work and can't watch it live! What point is there in optimising it for mobile when no one will be using it there?

 

The chat is a key feature and really should have been maintained.



#17 Kristian

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:16

Right so I'm sat in work, was looking forward to my usual live updates in the top screen (BBC's is always awful), and its broken. 

 

And apparently the chat has been removed from reading above? Well that's yet another good thing Autosport has lost.

 

I nearly cancelled my subscription (that I've had since 1999) this month, but thought I'd wait until the end of the season to think again - losing things like this are making me realise my £11 a month are better spent elsewhere as I just don't feel any benefit anymore.  



#18 STIGG

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:35

What's with all the negativity guys?! It looks great!  :rolleyes:

 

upY5MOj.png

 

 

 

Seriously though, how little effort is being put into this that you can't implement a simple chat app? It's a lot easier to do these days than when you first built the live section. 



#19 Kristian

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:37

Haha I was just about to post the same pic just as I got it working! (after taking about 2 minutes to load) Its actually embarrassing.

 

As others have said, this obsession with making sites mobile friendly is doing my head in - the BBC have even fallen foul of it. I only use mobile browsing for quick things when I'm on the move; if I want to read thnigs in depth I always use my desktop or laptop. I value my eyesight too much to be constantly reading things on a tiny screen. 



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#20 Grayson

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:38

Apologies for the fact that everything seems to be on fire. Our developers are working hard to get to get the Beta site back up and running (and in a way that doesn't look like STIGG's screenshot above).



#21 SophieB

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:38

That is exactly how it is displaying for me too, iPad using safari if that helps.

#22 PARAZAR

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:38

The Beta one isn't working for me. So they'll be no live chat feature. That was one of the best features. Chatting while watching the race.



#23 Lotus53B

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:39

I have a phone, but I also lug a 10" tablet with a mine bluetooth keyboard and mouse in my omnipresent bag...

Mobile sites are anathema to me.



#24 STIGG

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:46

BTW, that mess seems to be caused by #menu-wrap. As a temp solution I'd set overflow: hidden and it will display as follows:

 

dZFjTNF.png

 

 

At least for this session, users will be able to click the 'Live/Friday Practice' link and access the live stream (after some time).

 

 

EDIT: For anyone wanting to access the stream directly, you can find it here: http://beta.autospor...friday_practice


Edited by STIGG, 18 September 2015 - 10:46.


#25 Sheepmachine

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:47

I'm deeply disappointed that the live chat feature has been removed. It was one of the highlights of my weekend to use the live chat. I'm a mobile user but I always used the desktop version of the site as the mobile one was clunky and bad to use. I really, really hope that the descision can be reversed on removing the live chat as I think you will lose a lot of traffic from removing it.

#26 Grayson

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 10:54

is there really no way a brand new chat feature can't be added?

 

We're going to look into it - a replica of the old system (where everything is tied into Forum accounts) isn't going to be possible but we can examine the options around some sort of lightweight chat client which sits on the page.

 

 

I definitely think that they should have been run in parallel whilst the kinks in the beta were sorted.

 

That's what we wanted to do, and that's what we're doing with every other element of the new site. That's why the sort of technical problems which have brought Autosport Live down this morning aren't causing problems for other parts of the old site.

 

The reason why we couldn't do this with Live is there's an entirely new back end, and it's not practical to write every update into both the old and new back ends. The old backend is particularly cumbersome and time consuming to use - one of the best things about the new Autosport Live (once it starts working) is that our journalists can spend less time fighting our computer systems leaving them more time to add real insight to the live coverage.



#27 HuddersfieldTerrier1986

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 11:05

We're going to look into it - a replica of the old system (where everything is tied into Forum accounts) isn't going to be possible but we can examine the options around some sort of lightweight chat client which sits on the page.

 

I don't think people really care if the names in live chat are tied into the forum accounts as they'll likely just use their forum name themselves anyway even if they have to input it separately each time. They just want a place to chat properly while the sessions are going on (especially if it's a dull session, it relieves some of the boredom if people can randomly talk to each other about fish or the price of peanut butter or the latest front wing design from such and such a team).



#28 GoldenColt

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 11:10

I've got to say that live-timing is working perfectly well.


Edited by GoldenColt, 18 September 2015 - 11:15.


#29 rghojai

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 11:12

The "real insight" may be enjoyed by about four people if there ain't no live chat. The journalists definitely have a clue, but just watching their stuff go by w. no chat is of no interest.



#30 Andy35

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 11:15

You've decided to improve it by removing the best feature, the live chat.  Who are us sad people going to chat to now ? Who will laugh at my jokes now? Nobody. OK no change there then, but you get my point.

 

It's like Google improving Google search by removing the search function.

 

:stoned:

 

If you bring back the old Autosport Live chat I promise to subscribe to Autosport +      

 

Andy


Edited by Andy35, 18 September 2015 - 11:17.


#31 noikeee

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 11:38

RIP chat  :cry:



#32 GVera

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 11:57

Why use Autosport Live without the chat?

That was the only feature that kept me coming back 100% of the time.

I don't like the site redesign either, I'm a 98% of the time browsing it on a PC, mobile looks  ruins it for me.

I've been subscibed to Autosport+ since Atlas F1 times, I don't think I'll renew it next year.



#33 SophieB

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 12:06

We're going to look into it - a replica of the old system (where everything is tied into Forum accounts) isn't going to be possible but we can examine the options around some sort of lightweight chat client which sits on the page.
 


Thanks Grayson, that would be great.

It really does make a big difference in engagement not just with the site, but with the sport. Let's face it, the lead up sessions to the races can be filled with incident but mostly they're not but that was cool because there were other people to idly chat to in the lulls, and it gave you the chance to get to know people a bit more. Indeed, I suspect often the only thing that has stopped me switching off the session is that chatting. And once you get into the habit of doing that, well, I suspect it's less and less time on the site and watching the sport at all.

#34 muramasa

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 12:09

live chat was good fun.

 

please revive/renovate/resurrect/recover/restore/rekindle/resuscitate/revitalize the function.



#35 Risil

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 12:11

There's never been a website redesign that I've quickly adapted to and forgotten what the old one looked like. However...

 

What a disappointing decision to remove the live chat function. Hope it's temporary, and that it can be replaced by something with a flavour of the old chat as soon as possible.

 

And once again, thanks to Grayson for sticking around here and answering questions in his usual patienthonestinformative manner.


Edited by Risil, 18 September 2015 - 12:14.


#36 Richard T

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 12:12

Thanks Grayson, that would be great.

It really does make a big difference in engagement not just with the site, but with the sport. Let's face it, the lead up sessions to the races can be filled with incident but mostly they're not but that was cool because there were other people to idly chat to in the lulls, and it gave you the chance to get to know people a bit more. Indeed, I suspect often the only thing that has stopped me switching off the session is that chatting. And once you get into the habit of doing that, well, I suspect it's less and less time on the site and watching the sport at all.

 

Agree 100%.  :up:



#37 jonpollak

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 12:32

Bull$hit move to beta. Come up with a new chat box or these forum threads will be destroyed by the likes of me and the other hoodlums.

#38 jonpollak

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 12:35

Oh and beta crashed 6 times on my iOS device so I gave up.

#39 Crafty

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 13:17

Beta site simply doesn't work on mobile for me, page just doesn't load.

 

Who the hell decided to remove chat during this "upgrade" ?

 

Software engineering 101, never remove features that your users want.

 

New site shouldn't have been put up if it was half complete (and seemingly not working anyway).



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#40 RedBaron

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 13:41

One thing which I would like to apologise for in this forum is the fact that the old Live Chat feature is no longer available. I know that this will disappoint those who used it (I was a keen user of it myself even before I joined the Autosport team), but it's not something which we could carry across to the new version of Live as it was so deeply stitched in to the old version of our website.

 

 

Deeply stitched into the old version of the site? That doesn't make any sense to me - I say that as someone who has worked with websites for 15 years.



#41 Crafty

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 14:00

Can autosport at least put this link on the new page, so people can find us ? https://kiwiirc.com/...rt.com/atlasf1/


Edited by Crafty, 18 September 2015 - 14:03.


#42 jonpollak

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 14:02

Yeah..Post up the IRC...

Jp



#43 RedBaron

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 14:04

Can autsport at least put this link on the new page, so people can find us ? https://kiwiirc.com/...rt.com/atlasf1/

 

Don't be daft, of course they can't do that. The link to the IRC was deeply stitched into the old version of the site. It isn't possible to add it to the new beta design.



#44 sergeym

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 14:05

Absense of live chat is dealbreaker for me. There is really no need to tie chat to this forum, but it needs to present in some form. 



#45 KWSN - DSM

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 14:32

Not impressed...

 

Seems the sites being launched and upgraded now a days are completely at the mercy of designers and developers wanting to impress with technology, to the detriment of useability for the general public.

 

* Scrolling all over the place is bad.

* Not being able to see live coverage in a small space is bad.

* Huge pictures on top of each story / article instead of bullet point headlines is bad.

* Incorrect label 'Race control', it is the results of last race, standings and schedule for this weekend, have nothing to do with 'Race control'.

 

A website is NOT and I can not stress that enough NOT a newspaper, they are different media with their own strengths and weaknesses, creating a site with 'Newspaper look' is the wrong tag on what is needed, the internet allow us untold resources and data accessibility, it is the clear, fast and easy access to that which should be what a good site front page give. The new layout like most from any publisher fail miserably.

 

As always I will moan, bitch and complain yet still hang around, which will not be an endorsement of the upgrade, will just be a case of sucking it up as we must in all matters of life since no one really listen to us any way.

 

:cool:



#46 RedBaron

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 15:18

Seems the sites being launched and upgraded now a days are completely at the mercy of designers and developers wanting to impress with technology, to the detriment of useability for the general public.

 

That would be bad designers and developers (Not saying Autosports are bad). User experience for proper developers/designers is paramount. Making beautiful websites is the easy part.


Edited by RedBaron, 18 September 2015 - 15:21.


#47 jonpollak

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 15:27

Don't be daft, of course they can't do that.

Bull$hit

Jp



#48 Crafty

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 15:48

I think RedBaron was exercising his sarcasm gland JP :)



#49 MarkRaishbrook

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 16:07

I'm definitely not a fan of the current "Let's make our site mobile and tablet friendly" trend that's spreading everywhere. Having said that, the new Autosport Live page isn't the worst I've seen. It would be nice to get the chat back, though and, as a software developer myself, it shouldn't be impossible to do.

 

This is OT, but one feature I'd love to see implemented on the new site is the possibility to post comments directly to Autosport news stories/articles, in much the same way you can with online newspapers. Now you have to read the article, then jump to the forum and discuss it. Would be much nicer to be able to do this in situ.



#50 prty

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Posted 18 September 2015 - 16:36

Well actually I remember that back in the day there were "live" forum threads, during FPs and races.

Then the live comments moved to the chat. At the time many people (me included) disliked that move.

I think I'd still prefer to do the live commenting in a forum thread instead of the chat. But in the end it doesn't really matter much, it's kind of the same thing. Forum thread is maybe more powerful to post content.