As far as the Flash animation, I use broadband so I don't really think about it. If I didn't, I'd be very frustrated. Keep the content but give the users the options of how to display. Most good websites that use Flash also allow for a text only version. Perhaps the solution for them would be a non-popup entry site with the user option of Flash or text only. That said, I liked most aspects of the site even though I agree that the bulk of it on a seperate window was strange. I liked the visuals and use of the sound samples. I also liked the inclusion of lyrics, graphics and song samples for 'Motion Picture', as well as the hints of 'The Eye'. I hope that if they continue this site they can include more with ALL their releases. For example they could finally give us all the complete lyrics that would be official from the band and not someone's interpretation of them. The nature of the site has that potential. (Finally, after the better part of two decades, we could get the official 'lyrics' to 'Le Secret Farida'.) The site, although novel and interesting, would be more worth the wait if it were more complete. my opinion.
---- Original Message ---- From: jabberwoc@ntlworld.com To: yello@mailman.xmission.com Subject: RE: [Yello] Yello's Web Site - My two pence worth Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 16:22:20 +0100
Hello guys 'n gals,
Just a few succient observations about Yello's web site. Firstly, thanks for the info about the popup blocker. Opera has an option to turn off popup's and mine is off by default. Where I click on a link and nothing happens, I know it's because a popup window is trying to open but is blocked. In these cases, it's very simple to unblock the popup just for that session.
However, I never expected that to happen when I went onto Yello's main web site, that the site itself (as apposed to a HTML link) was loaded up in a popup. And therein lies my first criticism of this site, it is not only illogical to have your site open as popup, it's downright stupid. I've never seen this happen anywhere else and for good reason. So go and figure, did the programmer have his head up his arse when he came up with this idea?
Second criticism, the fact that this "popup" is such a huge page. Now I know a lot of people now use broadband, but nevertheless, it's not good practice to program a web page using just Flash. The size was half a megabyte which doesn't sound big but for just opening a web page, it's huge. Even on my broadband connection it took ages to download and trust me, if I was just casually surfing, I would have long left that site because it was taking too long for the page to open/load. Surfers (all of us) are fickle and we all know a web page needs to load quickly to keep us interested. They should have given an option not to use Flash. Now while I love a good Flash effect, I'm very dubious as to whether it is necessarily a good thing considering it's large overheads (large for opening a web page, not large in themselves). In fact, and not necessarily to provoke a debate here between the pro's and con's of using Flash, I very rarely use the Flash option and when given the choice, use HTML to open a web page. Pretty pictures and special effects are all well and dandy but it's a moot point whether they actually enhance your site.
OK, third criticism. Not only do you have a popup to get to their site when you enter the main site, but when you eventually get the popup loaded (quite a long time later..yyaawwnn), then you still have to click on the popup to get to the options! Duh..so in effect you have to go to three pages before you finally enter their site. Oh dear me, this is so stupid, time consuming and self-defeating. I'm no professional HTML programmer (although I've dabbled in quite a few projects doing this) but just from a humble user's perspective, I know the best way to surf is to be able to enter a web site, quickly, logically, without big downloads to slow you up. I mean do I have to spell out the obvious here? We all know how we like to surf, we all know what turns us away from some web pages and what attracts us to others. And I'm sorry to say, that all the things that turn me off and away from a site are the very things that I find on Yello's official site.
The Flash menu's are rubbish and very difficult to read. And why oh why is everything orientated just to "The Eye"? Is there nothing else Yello have done that I could navigate to? Where's all the links to their other material? And excuse me, what is "stuff", is this a new word introduced to precisely describe what that link leads me to? Where is all the other material? Have I missed something obvious here and totally bypassed a page that shows all the information I need to know about Yello?
Oh, I'm going to shutup, I think you've all got the impression as to what I think about the site. I don't mean to offend anyone but I will call a spade a spade. I've rarely seen a worst web site and if this is an example of Yello's techno savvy, then they've lost the plot. For people who are so technically proficient with their music, to use this as a site as a front to what they're about is joke. And for Yello to accept this as an acceptable web site...come on guys, surely you're more discerning and discriminating than that?
Yello - get your act together and give us a web site that is a credit to your music and that is a joy to use. We may be your dedicated fans but that doesn't mean we'll swallow any old crap that you throw at us. And to the programmer that designed this site - how did you con Yello into letting you design this rubbish?
I, for one, shan't be visiting their site again. It seems that the fans themselves (on this mailing list) are designing better sites than any supposed "professional" (and I use this term very loosely) seems able to.
OK, don't flame me if you don't agree with what I say. We're all entitled to opinions here, I don't like the site for the reasons stated; I'm no expert, just a fan that knows what he likes and doesn't like.
The sun, blowing the moon away...
Patrick