A better exercise would be to redesign HN in HTML5. Instead of font tags and tables it needs an urgent injection of CSS.
After further examining the source I dare to say the size of the html sent could be cut in half.
Unofficial alternative UI of hackernews
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Re: Unofficial alternative UI of hackernews
#32The very first thing I tried to do was click on the words "comments" and "points" to sort the entries by that column.
Placing those columns on the left-hand side gives them the highest importance. Is that the intention of this UI?
Re: Unofficial alternative UI of hackernews
#33This isn't exactly news. There is a page that include several HN related services here : http://resourcey.com/site_details/2/news.ycombinator.com/
I didn't know http://resourcey.com ! Nice project. Is this new ? Related to YC ?
Re: Unofficial alternative UI of hackernews
#34Hoped this would be for the comments page -- would love one that didn't reorder the comments as they are rated. I find it desperately hard to find what's new when revisiting a comment thread, unless I've posted in it and can go in via "threads".
I really wish HN would adopt some of Reddit's features - ability to choose how comments are sorted for one, and the ability to collapse comment threads.
Re: Unofficial alternative UI of hackernews
#35This isn't exactly news. There is a page that include several HN related services here : http://resourcey.com/site_details/2/news.ycombinator.com/
I didn't know http://resourcey.com ! Nice project. Is this new ? Related to YC ?
Yep, it was created by me and my partner in all things startup (he lurks on HN, doesn't comment much). It was inspired by Hacker News, although we cover any sites people wish to add.
Please, visit and upvote the resources you like, and add any resources you can think of. There are already a few gems there, for HN and other sites.
Re: Unofficial alternative UI of hackernews
#36I do not like this design at all. It is simply not personal taste, yet I must applaud you for taking the time and energy to do that.
HN with new look is something I think of at least once a day during one of at least 15 visits to the site.
Re: Unofficial alternative UI of hackernews
#37Well done on taking your time out to do this. Congrats on launching.
I find this one far less scannable. I see what you tried to do but it needs a bit more refinement.
Re: Unofficial alternative UI of hackernews
#38I don't think this is a good idea. As a somewhat loose comparison I wouldn't make a newyrktimes.com with an alternative layout either. There must be endless other ways of spending one's spare time, e.g. by making something you can charge for. I know this sounds harsh and I don't mean to rip on the author personally, but in general I think there are too many derivative-of-derivative services out there.
I think it is a great exercise to reimagine your favorite websites. Build junk. Because it is fun. Because it teaches you. Because no one expects it to be awesome so you can be free to play. You have to sharpen the saw somehow and by taking an existing site you can focus entirely on the interface and not on requirements capturing or brand establishment since those have been provided for you.
Agreed.
It makes us designers stronger. One of the first things I tell people trying to better their design is just that… redo your favourite website. Learn the techniques they used, find out what they did what they did and then mess it up and make it better.
Re: Unofficial alternative UI of hackernews
#39This is where I actually think Digg is better than HN and Reddit. Their content and community may not be nearly as good, but at least they ATTEMPT to improve their UI and general functionality. Soon I have been on HN for a year, and I do not think I have noticed a single change to the site.
I know that interface is not everything and that once you get used to this simple one, you really get to like it, but I would just expect that a tech site, where 1/4 of the articles are about design, would try to push itself a bit more.