News & Updates in August 2010

Sorry for the lack of updates this past month, most of my time spent working on the site was focused on the redesign, which I feel is finally ready. I'm sure it will need tweaks here and there, but hopefully nothing too major. This design moves the vertical navigation bar from the far left of the browser to directly right of the page's content. I think this looks better on high resolution screens, and it gives priority to the page's content rather than all the navigation links.

Another major change is the addition of background art which hopefully will make this place feel more like an anime site, and I think it's nicer to look at than generic titled backgrounds. I then made the content background semitransparent so that the artwork could actually be seen behind the content. If you don't like the transparency, you can turn if off in the Configuration Preferences.

Another new feature is the addition of a Meebo bar at the bottom of the page which allows you to chat with friends on various chat programs and social networks. This was one of two chat bars I was going to try out, but the website for the other bar, Wibiya, was constantly timing out so I never got around to testing that one.

Finally, I reduced the size of the header area by removing the two rows of navigation links and the top leaderboard advertisement. The navigation links, aside from being available in the sidebar, will also show up in the header when the mouse cursor is moved over any area except the banner. And the top leaderboard ad may have to come back if the revenue drops too much, so we'll have to wait and see on that.