Hey.
This isn’t just for new ideas, this isn’t pointing out ‘bugs’ (Or at least I hope it isn’t?), it’s just airing out a few things. If this doesn’t sit well with the moderators, I understand, I just need to get out my confusing experience with this layout, as of ‘03/13/2019’. You all work hard for this website and I appreciate you greatly for allowing us to use this free service.
Any edits to this post will be dated. I would like to start this post with copy/pasting my response to the feedback post made earlier on.
"Is there a way to switch back?
Also changing backgrounds with images only changes it for the person on their end and not the people viewing the room. Is this intentional?
If you need convincing I’d be happy to give ya actual crit.
The ‘thumbnails’ for choosing videos was always given a white background, and not a transparent one. So when changing the background of the room to a color or an image, you can read the title of the videos to double check things easier. Sort of like how you gave the chat a colored feature separate from the background.
While I know that’s a plus+ feature, it’s better that it exists in the first place than not.
Not trying to give y’all a hard time, or give the usual “blah blah don’t like it” jazz. Just giving an honest opinion. But if you still don’t like it, all I can do is get hush hush about it. Not my website, but I do like it here. Thought I’d share my two cents.
EDIT3: So now apparently the uh, change chat color function only changes the color around your name. I’ll make a separate post about things if I find too much to just put in a reply. But please change it back to what it was before. That’s not dynamic or neat to make the chat background color semi-tied, it’s actually kind of tedious.
I hope I don’t sound rude. It’s just I’m disappointed."
I look this over and it’s a sort of knee-jerk kind of reaction to things, so I apologize for it. But allow me to explain myself. I’ve been using Watch2gether with my friends for the past five and a half years. Maybe more. I’ve been with this website for a fair bit of time because I very much enjoy it’s take on sharing videos with friends. But I digress, I’m not here to spill my guts.
The website has been changing it’s layout a lot. This is not a bad thing in of itself. It’s great for a website to evolve it’s platform to enhance it’s viewing experience for it’s audience. Whether you don’t like it, or the team in charge feels it’s ‘better’ doesn’t matter. Things need to change eventually.
So far it’s blunt force trauma. Well, for me. I don’t speak for everyone. If you dislike it, please explain why you do. Disliking it for how it ‘looks’ alone is indeed a merit-able complaint. It is. But you need to explain in detail what the issue is or the team won’t be able to respond correctly.
At the same time, and I’m not trying to assume here. I’ve read the complaints myself, it’s better to address the crowd in a more organized fashion. The first step being a post was a great way to open the flood gates. Do you need more members on the team for management or community? Well, one thing at a time.
These are my misgivings or grievances and confusions about the changes.
*History updates backwards now?
Please put an option to allow someone to switch between backwards and forwards for how the History tab updates.
*Image Backgrounds
Please change it back to when all individuals can see it change. Or heck, include an option for ‘Room Background - All’ & ‘Channel Background - You’?
*Room & Chat Background Color
Why are these two semi-tied to each other now? Is it much more difficult for rooms to ‘work’ or ‘operate’ when there’s a system in place for an Orange Room Background and a Blue Chat Background? (At the same time, why not include an image background separate for the chat room? This is me being a little silly, admittedly, but I can imagine a few fun moments, messing around with that.)
*Room Background Cont.
Now when selecting a video, depending on the background, the text associated with the thumbnails are extremely difficult to read. They used to have a white backdrop allowing easy reading for any video title at any time. It was exchanged for a transparent one? Why? Please, change it back. (Also I know the text changes from white to black to fit the colors, but this does not always fix the issue. That and with images, including the preset themes they offer, this does not fix the issue.)
*Chat Background Color Cont.
So now, all this does is change the color around your name? What’s the point of that? This used to be a useful function and now it’s a box in front of your name. It was a neat incentive to pay for plus+ but now it’s not. Please return it to the entirety of the chat box, and it can also have a neat: “Chat For You, Chat For All” function.
*Rename Playlists (& Repeat?)
Please? This actually comes up more often than not. Just deleting a playlist and making a new one isn’t a fix to this issue, it’s just a workaround. (This one is in parenthesis because it’s a point I don’t feel it ENTIRELY desires a spot but here we go. People like to listen to playlists with music, not just live broadcasts for radios, podcasts, etc. Please make Repeat button for 1 video, instead of having us make a playlist comprised entirely out of that video.)
*Title of Videos Removed
This is weird problem of mine. Now you can only see it in chat and history. To be honest, I liked the addition of the title of the video right below it, or above it. This one is just a small nitpick, nothing huge, just on me. (Usually you can mouse over a video being played, you can see all the necessary information like the name of the channel and the title of the video, but after submitting the first video in the room this function on the player just vanishes until you refresh the page. Friends had this issue as well.)
*Exit Button
Okay, this one confuses me. Why did you make the side bar a ‘Exit’ function and installed a small newer one at the bottom left hand corner of the screen? Allowing us to click the arrow and open up a side bar that had room options-(which are just hidden behind a cog option now, which that is just fine don’t worry)-as well as the ‘Exit’ function was actually neat, to me at least, but changing Playlists & History into the new side bar and separating them seems a bit odd.
*Dynamic Scrolling
For when you search a video. Please return to the page by page format instead of the constant scrolling. This function I feel suits a mobile website rather than a PC one. Or, if you must have the endless scrolling when searching for a video, please include a ‘Load More’ button at the bottom?
*Formatting
Okay this one is just selfish but. Give me some bolds and italics in the video room, that’d be awesome! c:
*Create or Upload your own Emojis
This is another silly one. Figure I’d put in at least two, but they are honest and genuine. It’d be neat to be able to put in the emojis I made for my Discord channels into here. That’s all I can really say.
The team wanted to know how we felt about things with the new layout, they want to know what is wrong in order to fix or better the experience not just for the people who use the website now, but for who stumble upon it by chance or are invited by friends currently on it. I feel this current state isn’t entirely user friendly, and it’s a bit overwhelming. People compare the changes to other websites for a reason, they aren’t just saying things to be negative or rude. Consider it a nudge from your community.
I felt this doesn’t belong in a simple reply, it deserved to be it’s own thing. Please take it as criticism. I tried my best to be professional here. Obviously I must have failed a quite a number of times, but I won’t try to excuse it. I want to sincerely apologize if anything I said offended anyone.
If you even change one thing based on what we want, I’ll be happy. This is not an attack on the team or a witch hunt, I actually love this website and the smallish community going around here. Keep going strong.
Cheers.
3/13/2019 (17 minutes after posting.) - Video Quality does not adjust when you attempt to increase or decrease it on the player.
3/13/2019 (33 minutes after posting.) - Insistence that I change the category it to ‘Ideas’. =/ Also, ability to post expressions without them changing into emojis.
3/16/2019 (3 Days after posting.) - Please bring back timestamps to the room chat in Watch2gether.
