The Escapist Gets A New Community Page

Nasrin

Leviathan
May 30, 2011
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The Escapist Gets A New Community Page

[http://cdn-origin.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/109/109237.jpg][/right]


Hello, I'm Ma'idah "[user]Nasrin[/user]" Lashani, community manager here at [I]The Escapist[/I].

As we've listened to your feedback during our ongoing redesign, something that we've heard often is that you enjoyed using our Groups page and wish that it were more prominent.

Today we're unveiling our new Community page, which is everything you loved about the groups page and more. It's a place you can come to relax and hang out with your fellow Escapists, and see what others are up to around the site. You'll find it conveniently located next to the forum and store buttons in the top right corner of your screen.

Here's a breakdown of some its new and improved features:

[br clear=both][video=6215]


1. At the top of the page, you'll find a User Groups panel that can be sorted into what's new, what's popular, what's yours and all the rest. Use it to explore what's going on in the Escapist Groups scene.

2. Next to the groups panel you'll find our Community Spotlight. Here we'll be calling out the excellence of community members, groups, reviews, threads and more. If you'd like to nominate someone or something, please let me know.

3. Below the groups panel you'll find another for user reviews, with its own featured spotlight to the right. Here you'll be able to read what your fellow Escapists have to say about games, movies, and anything else that's covered in the User Review forum.

4. To the right of the User Review Panel, you'll find an #Escapist chat box. Jump in whenever you want to chat with your friends in real time.

5. Below that, you'll be able to check up on who's online around the world, who's having a birthday, and what your friends are playing.

6. For all you badge hunters out there, we've included a latest badges panel that will feature up to date information about the most recent badges that have been released.

7. To the right of that we've included the much loved Forum Box, which features popular and recent forum posts.

8. In the bottom right you'll find our "in case you missed it" corner. With so many videos, articles, features and quizzes appearing on the site, we know that it can be hard to see everything, so check in here for highlights of what went on during the past week.

We hope that you enjoy hanging out on the Community Page as much as we've enjoyed making it.

As always, we greatly appreciate your feedback. Please let us know what you think.

Thanks! See you on the forums.

[B]Permalink[/B]​
 

Fappy

\[T]/
Jan 4, 2010
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Holy crap what is happening!? You guys can't just drop this on me without warning! I am afraid of change!
 

DoPo

"You're not cleared for that."
Jan 30, 2012
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Fappy said:
Holy crap what is happening!? You guys can't just drop this on me without warning! I am afraid of change!
It's a sign of the apocalypse! The end is nigh! Repent, and you will be saved :p

Anyway, I like the new thing. It's much...cleaner somehow.
 

Sassafrass

This is a placeholder
Legacy
Aug 24, 2009
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Matthew94 said:
Nice to see the user reviews section getting a little box.
This.
All of this.
All of this plus infinity.

We might get some more traffic going through that section now. Plus the Review Spotlight section is sweet. :D

...And the rest is cool, I guess.

EDIT: Sweet, we can actually use the review forum box to find our own reviews. :D
 

Lucem712

*Chirp*
Jul 14, 2011
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Woah, neat. I stumbled upon it by accident early. (By typing profiles, trying to get to my user profile)
 

ToastiestZombie

Don't worry. Be happy!
Mar 21, 2011
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Thank you Escapist team! Thank you for finally giving user reviews a place to actually be shown instead of hiding out in their own forum! I pledge that I shall sacrifice a lamb every month, in honour of your brilliance.

And the rest of the stuff, nothing wrong with it. Well done.
 

Fappy

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Jan 4, 2010
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Sassafrass said:
EDIT: Sweet, we can actually use the review forum box to find our own reviews. :D
I was just about to post this. That's fucking cool.
 

Scarim Coral

Jumped the ship
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Oct 29, 2010
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Nice to see that you brought back the community page! Wait, how does "Popular" group work exactly? I mean has someone been voting which groups is the most favour/ liked?

Also wow, it's Shamus Young birthday today aswell!
 

Sassafrass

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Aug 24, 2009
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Fappy said:
Sassafrass said:
EDIT: Sweet, we can actually use the review forum box to find our own reviews. :D
I was just about to post this. That's fucking cool.
Means I don't have to go through the hassle of bookmarking my newest and unbookmarking the previous one. Which is great, as I'm incredibly lazy. :D

Also, a question to the staff, how does the review spotlight work? Does it function like the User spotlight or is it picked at random?
 

Fappy

\[T]/
Jan 4, 2010
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Sassafrass said:
Fappy said:
Sassafrass said:
EDIT: Sweet, we can actually use the review forum box to find our own reviews. :D
I was just about to post this. That's fucking cool.
Means I don't have to go through the hassle of bookmarking my newest and unbookmarking the previous one. Which is great, as I'm incredibly lazy. :D

Also, a question to the staff, how does the review spotlight work? Does it function like the User spotlight or is it picked at random?
Could be based off replies. The current one has the most on the first page currently.
 

Nasrin

Leviathan
May 30, 2011
369
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Scarim Coral said:
Nice to see that you brought back the community page! Wait, how does "Popular" group work exactly? I mean has someone been voting which groups is the most favour/ liked?

Also wow, it's Shamus Young birthday today aswell!
I can't remember the mechanic exactly but it's a metric of how much/often each group is used.
 

Nasrin

Leviathan
May 30, 2011
369
0
0
Sassafrass said:
Fappy said:
Sassafrass said:
EDIT: Sweet, we can actually use the review forum box to find our own reviews. :D
I was just about to post this. That's fucking cool.
Means I don't have to go through the hassle of bookmarking my newest and unbookmarking the previous one. Which is great, as I'm incredibly lazy. :D

Also, a question to the staff, how does the review spotlight work? Does it function like the User spotlight or is it picked at random?
It'll likely go off nominations in part, but there may be staff picked or random reviews featured as well.
 

Sassafrass

This is a placeholder
Legacy
Aug 24, 2009
51,250
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3
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United Kingdom
Fappy said:
Sassafrass said:
Fappy said:
Sassafrass said:
EDIT: Sweet, we can actually use the review forum box to find our own reviews. :D
I was just about to post this. That's fucking cool.
Means I don't have to go through the hassle of bookmarking my newest and unbookmarking the previous one. Which is great, as I'm incredibly lazy. :D

Also, a question to the staff, how does the review spotlight work? Does it function like the User spotlight or is it picked at random?
Could be based off replies. The current one has the most on the first page currently.
Hmm, seems like that could be the idea. Still, it's cool, we can get more people into the review section and get them to comment. Hell, maybe even write their own. :D

EDIT: Ninja'd by the CM. Sounds good to me. :D
 

Fappy

\[T]/
Jan 4, 2010
12,010
0
41
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United States
Sassafrass said:
Fappy said:
Sassafrass said:
Fappy said:
Sassafrass said:
EDIT: Sweet, we can actually use the review forum box to find our own reviews. :D
I was just about to post this. That's fucking cool.
Means I don't have to go through the hassle of bookmarking my newest and unbookmarking the previous one. Which is great, as I'm incredibly lazy. :D

Also, a question to the staff, how does the review spotlight work? Does it function like the User spotlight or is it picked at random?
Could be based off replies. The current one has the most on the first page currently.
Hmm, seems like that could be the idea. Still, it's cool, we can get more people into the review section and get them to comment. Hell, maybe even write their own. :D
I've been meaning to do another one for sometime now but I've been busy... playing video games mostly, go figure >.>
 

Nasrin

Leviathan
May 30, 2011
369
0
0
The user groups Popular tab is based off of when it was last updated, which includes group news posts in addition to chat.
 

jbm1986

New member
May 18, 2012
199
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Eh, I'm waiting until you remove that stupid popup at the bottom of the page.

[small] that shit is annoying[/small]
 

omega 616

Elite Member
May 1, 2009
5,883
1
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So you have created an equally cluttered page that I will never go to? Fair enough. This is probably me just not getting it but it seems you just took half the home page and the other half is birthdays, groups and nominations ... all of which where already on the site, you just had to do a little digging.

"Give the people what they want" and if they want this then it's nice you listened.

As long as the site doesn't under go another redesign it doesn't matter to me.
Nothing is more annoying than site redesigns. It's always done in the name of making it faster but all it serves to do is slow you down for a week (while you get used to it), then get you back to normal speed.