Yes, this is still H5N1

If you've just arrived for the first time today, the site looks a lot different. After more than three years without a change in the basic design of H5N1, I've decided to try a new TypePad template.

The purpose isn't change for the sake of change, but an attempt to make the site cleaner, clearer, more readable, and more usable. Let me know what you think. If enough people prefer the old design, I'll go back to it.

And if you have suggestions for changes in the configuration and content of this site, I'd love to hear them. It's basically designed as my workspace, but it should be equally convenient for visitors who want to explore Flublogia on their own.

As I mentioned a few posts back, I'll be in Winnipeg on Thursday and Friday, and probably won't resume regular blogging until Saturday.

Comments

[Sandra]

Have to give it a few days and some reflection Crof however, at first glance it does appear to be easier on the eyes. For me anyway.

When I first opened to your site my mouth dropped. Love the "header" with the stars.

Was thinking about you today Crof and really wondered how you do it. Teaching, blogs, family life. I was thinking your wife must be a Saint and carry much of the load around the house.
I can barely make it through my daily chores, and I'm a work horse, without getting drained and over tired.

[David]

Been reading you for a long time and this change is refresing. I too like the banner but don't know if the text is easier on the eyes or not - still looking. Maybe the headlines are too light or maybe my eyes are getting too old! I'm not familiar with the software but I wonder if it is possible to collapse the lists on the left to the headers only which could expand with a click - I often find myself scrolling down and down to find that favourite link. (I'm not going to bookmark any of them either - your site has everything!)

david

[victoria]

Crof,

Love the change. Everything seems clearer to me.

[phytosleuth]

Umm. What change? Has my Firefox been deluded? History need to be erased?

Technologically handicapped

[neil]

Wow!

Cool new look Crof!!!

[ssal]

Looks really good, but I'd prefer a larger font. Also, isn't there a higher number than the optimal number of words per line?

[Michael]

There are several links in the left column that I regularly visit. Previously when I clicked on one of them the link would change color so that it was easy to find the next time that I wanted to visit. That is no longer the case. Could you reactivate this feature?

[Bob (Adirondack Mountain Man)]

Pluses:
Love the general look feel.
Blue is better than mustard.
Header is elegant & simple.
Feels more professional.

Issues:
Headers seem a little thin. How might you make them just a bit more easy to read? (new thinking:) Darker font color? Bold?
To my eye, sans serif in body text looks nicer as a block of text, but is more difficult to read fluidly than serif text. How might you leverage what serif does to our reading by making words a single visual unit, while keeping the elegant crispness of the blocks of text? (new thinking:)Garmond? Some other font than the tired Times New Roman?

Appreciations to you every day, Crof, as you are my steady go to spot to keep up. Adirondack Mountan Man at Fluwikie

[kirra]

Nice clean new look Wow..!

Too bad there is still no way to have sidebars collapse under headings (we spoke about long ago, also mentioned above by David) Text on sidebar links could be a bit darker - dk.grey or navy..? Header titles also do looks a bit light as mentioned above by Bob. It seems also that it still needs one final touch, maybe an accent color (orange?)

Thank you Crof for all your dedication... your amazing

[ssal]

Agree with kirra's assessment that the sidebar links could be darker.

Agree with everyone's compliments on your work. How do you manage to do it?

[Michael Pezzulli]

I like it and think it is a great update.
I do agree that the sidebars could be darker-old eyes acting up.
Thanks for all you do.
Michael

[lugon]

It looks good from here, thanks!

I use Firefox as my favorite browser. Ctrl plus the "+" key in the number-pad lets me have larger font if I need it.

[ingen]

I am your greatest fan and use your site every day. The new look is great, but harder to read for my eyes. The grey color is a lot harder to read, and it takes more energy and time to focus.

[phytosleuth]

Ah. Magic. There it is. I like it, Crof.
Actually, easier to read b/c red bolding on the side was a bit distracting to me. Differences to people say something about how we all view the world a bit differently. Good reality test.

[Crof]

Greetings from Winnipeg, and thanks for all your comments!

The old format was handmade, and I could specify fonts, link colours, etc. The new one is a TypePad template, and I don't know how to tinker with it.

I agree that the text column is too wide, and the links are too pale. Enlarging the text does help a bit, but looking at the site on this Windows machine at U of Manitoba, I wish both links and text were darker.

For now, I'll leave the site as it is, but will explore possibilities. Cheers!

[Dennis H. Clarke]

Having followed this blog for the better part of three years, I have the following comments:

The new format certainly has a clean look but is not as easy for me to read and seems much too muted. It whispers like a gentle breeze over the now silent dead, much like the Rachel Carson omen, "Silent Spring."

I liked the boldness of the previous format as it seemed more appropriate to the subject covered. If ever there was a topic that needed to grab people by their lapels and shake them, just a bit, this is it.

I am sure that's part of what Crawford Killian had in mind with the original design.

When Gina Bari Kolata, one of the head writers for the NY Times wrote her book on the 1918, H1N1 pandemic (a link to which is carried on the H5N1 home page), she had to cull through thousands of pages of news print to locate the sparse data recorded at the time.

With our understanding of the subject of influenza much less pandemic influenza in its infancy scientifically and medically (no reliable preventions, treatments, cure), this blog forms a valuable and perhaps indispensable record, not only of the news of the day but a running commentary containing the thoughts, reactions, attitudes (including those of the medical/psychiatric/pharmaceutical industry and the military), politics, opinions and conclusions of all sorts of people on the subject, all as events have unfolded.

This Blog lives, breathes and thinks and as Crof originally designed it and has so ably stewarded it over the years, this H5N1 blog has certainly by now, earned the right to be bold and out there!

Dennis H. Clarke
Kona Hawaii, USA

[neil]

I'll second some of the comments on the sidebar links. The new gray text is a bit light and more difficult to read.

The former red bolding didn't bother me at all, in act, it focused my reading into the text column.

Also, the new format seems to make my browser scroll in a very twitchy way. A little annoying, that.

However, the new format has not etracted from the point. It's still H5N1, Crawfords "EXCELLENT Adventure."

[Lisa]

For you only:

It does not look like you. It is pale; we have to make an effort to read left and right.

Sophisticated? Maybe, but not like you, I would bet.

You have much more personality than this presentation.