Slashdot Keybindings, Dynamic Stories

We've been working hard on the new dynamic Slashdot project (logged in users can enable this by enabling the beta index in their user preferences). I just wanted to quickly mention that there are keybindings on the index. The WASD and VI movement keys do stuff that we like, and the faq has the complete list. Also, if you are using Firefox or have Index2 beta enabled, you can click 'More' in the footer at the end of the page to load the next block of stories in-line without a page refresh. We're experimenting now with page sizes to balance load times against the likelihood that you'll click. More features will be coming soon, but the main thing on our agenda now is optimization. The beta index2 is sloooow and that's gotta change. We're aiming for 2 major optimizations this week (CSS Sprites, and removing an old YUI library) that I'm hoping will put the beta page render time into the "Sane" time frame (which, in case you are wondering, is several seconds faster than that "Insane" time frame we're currently seeing).

Comments

The Beta Index is horrible

[Anonymous Coward]

The beta page is a perfect example of why I hate the new slashdot features. There are buttons all over the place with randomly coloured backgrounds and the like; it's awful. I hope none of it gets live.

Re:Slashdot looks weird

[ScuttleMonkey]

Yes, it has been a painful migration. However, a complete rewrite of the FAQ is coming soon (with context-appropriate linkage from the rest of the site) along with a much more intuitive interface that allows for easier firehose use. You have already seen the very tip of the iceberg with this post by Rob, expect to many more things like this making the site easier to decode.

I know it hasn't been easy, but hang in there. Slashteam has some really cool stuff on the way.

Re:Slashdot looks weird

[ScuttleMonkey]

well, then among the many "cool" updates on the way you will appreciate the work that is currently being expended to make low-bandwidth, small screen, iphone, etc, interfaces much less buggy and faster-loading. :)

Re:Sane/Insane referring to pages or posts loading

[caluml]

Agreed. WHY does it take so long for my preview to load?

Because they're portscanning the IP you're coming from. Set it to REJECT rather than DROP from Slashdot's IP/range, and you'll find it almost instant. It's pretty annoying though for those of use who've been posting for years (yeah, I know my ID isn't low - I had one that was, but stopped posting for a while, and forgot it :( ).