Revamping the site has been a long very long insanely long process. My original goal was to have us up and running with the better features at the end of July. That was my "padded" end date. I really thought we'd be done long before that, but the more we messed with the site, the more we found things that needed to be changed. Some of it was essential to the core functioning of the site, other issues related to accessibility, and others were related to specific browsers.
Once I had everything "fixed," I gave a shout out to everyone who registered to be a beta tester. They've been testing it out for a couple of weeks now and the seemingly flawless New Mug got obliterated. lol Our fix list jumped from 1 item to roughly 30-40 within a matter of days.
Despite the setback, I genuinely think this is good news. It means that when we make the big transition, we'll be unleashing an even better site for everyone. The New Mug has been kicked around on just about every possible device using dozens of browsers and it's kicking some serious butt. We still have a few things to work out that relate to using the site on mobile devices and the internal email system, but we're closing in on it. I'm hesitant to give an exact date, but I'd venture to guess we're about two weeks away from wrapping up and scheduling the transition.
I'd like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the Muggers who are beta testing. You have shaped the face of the New Mug in so many ways and have saved countless people frustration. Your contributions will help ensure that the site works for everyone, not just people using specific browsers or specific devices. Your feedback on functionality has inspired changes to design that make AM an easier site to navigate, and thusly far more interactive. You are helping answerMug grow in a way that is difficult to explain, other than the feedback you've provided and the changes you've inspired will have a deep and lasting impact on how and how much people interact on the Mug. HUGE thank-yous to:
Goat Jumper
My2Cents
Bozette
Fallnhope
thepie
Elshara Silverheart
Thrifymaid
Lastly, I also want to thank all you wonderful Muggers for sticking with us. I realize that AM doesn't have a lot of the features other sites use and it's a bear to navigate on mobile devices. Despite its technological shortcomings, it has some of the best people I have ever met... people who believe that that interaction, content, and atmosphere are more important than the bells and whistles. Most of you have come over from big corporate sites with huge budgets that have enabled them to have fancier sites with all kinds of features. Ultimately, it may well have been that kind of development that killed the sites. They didn't operate within a budget, and therefore required huge amounts of traffic to stay afloat. We've been slow and trudging along, which will go a long way towards ensuring answerMug stays in it for the long haul. At any rate, you are all still here and have been incredibly patient while waiting for the new features to roll out. Thank you. I really can't tell you how excited I am to be able to share the redesign with you and get everyone up and running on it.
And, if you've noticed I've been quiet lately, this is why. I am funneling a lot of my effort and energy into wrapping up the redesign. I'm still here, responding to messages and checking up on things. We've added to the moderation team and will be adding some more folks very soon as well. Their vigilance here has made it easier for me to focus on the redesign, so I'd also like to give big thank-yous to My2Cents, Righty1, and GoatJumper, for helping to keep AM a positive place and catching the issues here on the live site. You guys rock! I'd also like to thank any muggers who have taken the time to report issues. These reports are essential and ensure that things that shouldn't be posted are brought to the attention of the mods/ admins. You guys are awesome.
All of you... really, I could not ask to be surrounded by a better group of people. Thank you!
