A humble plea to the writers of CrackBerry.com

[fdlopez2]

Dear CrackBerry Writers/Admins,

I enjoy reading this site and it's content. It's like my morning coffee and my usual "go-to" site for when I have a few moments of downtime at work throughout the day. However, due to my employer's overzealous filtering of all streaming content the articles are sometimes difficult to fully enjoy and the homepage is very unsightly.

This is what I'm greeted with more often than not:


While this does not prevent me from reading the articles themselves it brings up the age-old cliche: "A picture is worth 1000 words".

Most of the time this doesn't really affect the content but when you're reviewing software in particular (especially games) it would be nice to throw up some stills instead of just straight video. Perhaps have a still or two in the main posting and add the videos "after the jump"?

I would be most grateful.

[1canuck2]

Or you could look for a new job....

In all seriousness, I think it is impractical for you to suggest that web designers/content creators now also have to consider how their websites get broken by various corporate content filtering systems? Designing a website that looks good/works well in the variety of browsers out there is difficult enough...

Further, as someone who is NOT behind a corporate filter (like at least 99.99% of CBNation) - I like having the videos inline without having to jump to the "continue reading article" to view them.

[ShoshiOne]

Sorry fdlopez2, but I agree with 1canuck2. Just because your work place won't allow you to view certain items doesn't mean CB should change. Maybe you could view them on your phone, if you're so inclined, but work is work and the website should not have to adjust just to get around company restrictions.

Just enjoy the full site when you are at home or on your BB and take what you can get when you're at work. Everybody has to compromise sometimes!

[f1mx]

this guy still has a point, but for the wrong reason. I really don't like much the idea of videos on top of the articles, specially if they are about the same amount of info. Anyway, it's just a matter of tastes but I just don't like it when the playbook browser crashes because I accidentally tap in a video I didn't mean to see

[fdlopez2]

Originally Posted by f1mx

this guy still has a point, but for the wrong reason. I really don't like much the idea of videos on top of the articles, specially if they are about the same amount of info. Anyway, it's just a matter of tastes but I just don't like it when the playbook browser crashes because I accidentally tap in a video I didn't mean to see

^This too. Sometimes when viewing on my PlayBook (OFF of the corporate system mind you) I feel like I'm navigating a minefield trying to view the content without tripping the videos. Honestly I rarely if ever view any video content unless I absolutely have to. This applies to news articles on any site I visit. I'd rather read it.

I'm going to overlook the suggestion that I "get another job" as that is about as silly as me asking for the site to change just for my personal preferences...

I don't really expect them to change anything but it never hurts to ask. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has issues with all the video content. Just the only one to speak up.

[rmjones101]

Originally Posted by 1canuck2

In all seriousness, I think it is impractical for you to suggest that web designers/content creators now also have to consider how their websites get broken by various corporate content filtering systems? Designing a website that looks good/works well in the variety of browsers out there is difficult enough...

Actually, that's usually a high priority consideration among most web devs/hosts/content providers. Especially when you take in to consideration the significantly higher volume of traffic CB receives on weekdays during "work hours" compared to the lower volume on weekends and non-work hours.

It's not like the OP is requesting a complete revamp. It's actually a rather simple request.

[deRusett]

I very much agree, I watch maybe 1 out of 20 videos from CB, but I look at every image they post, I am often viewing the site whilst doing other things, and don't have time to commit to a video, many of my posts take me 5-8 minutes to do because I'm doing other things, I HATE the video's on websites without transcripts and images.

I'd also appreciate the faster load times of having the video's after the break as CB is still the slowest site I visit for loading.

[fdlopez2]

It would appear as though we've been heard. I've noticed that most articles lately start out with a still and have the videos in the main body.

Thanks CrackBerry.

[Kevin Michaluk]

Thanks for the input and feedback here. We'll try not to overkill video on the homepage. For some posts (accessory reviews, etc.), we've already started putting videos below thee fold (image at the top).