New AFL site (suggestions, complaints and compliments)

[bad80shair]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

it's a beta site you clown. that's why you launch things in beta - so you can iron out bugs / issues / mistakes in real time through constructive feedback.

Don't buy their bull**********. No professional media organisation would ever genuinely launch a 'beta' site in place of something that was already working - especially at a time of year where information is so important.

Did you notice how the 'Welcome to AFL.com.au BETA' graphic didn't go up until after they'd launched?

They ********ed it up, built it in Sydney with people who don't understand footy, ran out of time, and 'beta' is the excuse.

They've been running this site for five years. How much more 'real time' do they need?

 

[Borgsta]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

They've been running this site for five years. How much more 'real time' do they need?

I was under the impression that its a new group.

 

[PHX]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

The codies and designers seem to be hell bent into shoving fixtures/results and the ladder into the corner on the left[(sic)right] hand side. Sandy, can you tell me why this section isn't getting a more prominent position on the page considering it is arguably the most important piece(s) of information on the page?

Remember the last iteration of the site? The ladder and results were in an eye-catching, easy to view part of the page. Why was this changed?

Just thought I'd bump this up so Sandy reads it twice as its most important. Relegating the most important bit over there is a disgrace, to the left hand side please like I said further up the page.

 

[QPR Boy]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Has the international radio streaming been fixed for the international users yet?

Couldn't listen to 1 game last weekend. Don't want to have to wake up at 4am again if it's not going to work.

also.........

I have an Apple Mac. Can i not view the videos as i don't have a pc?

thanks

 

[simo_rulzzz]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

this is just a suggestion
they might already do it but just encase they don't
but with dream team, i wonder if they could do it similarly to the fantasy premier league web site, where they give live scores during matches (like fanfooty)or even the afl could join with fanfooty and use their stats

by the way sandy thank you for asking us the public want and think of the site

best of luck

 

[m0nty]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Thanks for your support simo_rulzzz, but I don't think the AFL and FanFooty will be doing anything together in the next little while...

 

[ash_78]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Top suggestion Macca.

A much better approach from Telstra would be to offer a download service - that way you'd be able to watch a high res version whenever you choose. Stick a Telstra logo in the top corner. Build in digital security encoding to reduce the chance of piracy. Whatever... just make the games watchable.

I would personally love to be able to upload Power games onto my video iPod & watch 'em on the tube on the way to work. Perfect start to the week!

The problems of stop/start on the match replays seems to stop when I do the following:

1. Load up the quarter you want to watch;
2. Once the video starts, pause it for a few minutes
3. After a few minutes, start to watch the video

By that stage the computer seems to have caught up with enough of the download to negate the need for further buffering/pausing while you're watching.

Might work for others if you try it.

 

[AlecDuncan]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Is it too much to ask that Telstra get it right on afl.com.au before they infest the individual club sites with this garbage?

 

[mollyfud]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

I think that your RSS feeds are running backwards. Normally the run with the newest items at the top of the feed and the oldest at the bottom.

Molly

 

[mollyfud]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Thanks for your support simo_rulzzz, but I don't think the AFL and FanFooty will be doing anything together in the next little while...

There welcome to come and talk to me about adding FIG (AFL news the users submit and vote on) buttons.
Molly

 

[MaccaHawk]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Top suggestion Macca.

A much better approach from Telstra would be to offer a download service - that way you'd be able to watch a high res version whenever you choose. Stick a Telstra logo in the top corner. Build in digital security encoding to reduce the chance of piracy. Whatever... just make the games watchable.

The resolution issue was still there when I tried the pausing thing. The stop/start nonsense disappeared, but the general picture quality was still pretty weak. Sometimes you can't even see the ball in the blur of moving images!

 

[mollyfud]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

The problems of stop/start on the match replays seems to stop when I do the following:

1. Load up the quarter you want to watch;
2. Once the video starts, pause it for a few minutes
3. After a few minutes, start to watch the video

By that stage the computer seems to have caught up with enough of the download to negate the need for further buffering/pausing while you're watching.

Might work for others if you try it.

I have bigpond Cable and I can't get a good stream either! I think there having some problems at the moment! Download would be much better.
Molly

 

[Borgsta]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

there has never been a good stream. The quality is just not up to the standard of other games. I paid for a int. membership last year and 2 years ago but found torrents to be of better quality.

 

[Dry Rot]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

First up, hats off to Sandy for this exercise.

Secondly, I'd like to confirm what I'm about to post below about video, but can't. I'm asked for log-in, despite being an obvious BigPond cable user. And since BigPond refuses to allow me to use it for emails, I don't know my log-in (never use it) and the customer service line is overloaded.

So I'll assume that the video is as before.

Sandy, why can't I and every other Mac user BigPond subscriber use the video?

I understand you don't make the rules, but why should any Mac user support Telstra and use its copper wire phone, mobile or BigPond services?

And why doesn't BigPond make it clear in their advertising that Mac users are excluded from using their sites?

I look forward to your reply.

Cheers

 

[QPR Boy]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

First up, hats off to Sandy for this exercise.

Secondly, I'd like to confirm what I'm about to post below about video, but can't. I'm asked for log-in, despite being an obvious BigPond cable user. And since BigPond refuses to allow me to use it for emails, I don't know my log-in (never use it) and the customer service line is overloaded.

So I'll assume that the video is as before.

Sandy, why can't I and every other Mac user BigPond subscriber use the video?

I understand you don't make the rules, but why should any Mac user support Telstra and use its copper wire phone, mobile or BigPond services?

And why doesn't BigPond make it clear in their advertising that Mac users are excluded from using their sites?

I look forward to your reply.

Cheers

Which website do you normally download the torrents from?

i've got a mac as well

 

[GoBackToVFL]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Sandy,

The new AFL site is terrible, and the reason behind it is something I doubt you can fix. It has been designed from bottom up with only one thing in mind; how to maximise bigpond revenue. You have had only one stakeholder in mind; the shareholders.

The three major flaws are

1. Up to 50% of pages are advertising.

2. The information that people want is deliberately hidden two or three pages deep, forcing the user to spend more time on the site (and look at said advertising)

3. Use use of flash makes the site extremely slow on any connection other than bigpond adsl2. It is no coincidence that the advertisements are not done in flash and load first, so we have something to look at while the content loads.

It is very obvious to anyone it the web industry that this site has been designed with the sole intention of attracting more users to sign up with bigpond, with complete disregard of the needs of the afl commuinity. Not only is the usability virtually nonexistant but you and your team have done a very good job of deliberately making it unusable, so we have to spend more time on the site. You have delivered exactly what bigpond required, so I guess you can be proud of that.

But dont you dare come out into the afl community and fein interest in our thoughts and needs. Its all too obvious that the only service you wish to provide to us through afl.com.au, is to inform us of bigpond services.

Also, the practice of denying content to non bigpond subscribers is unfair (to put it kindly) and until this policy is changed and you allow me, as an optus subscriber to view the replays online for a reasonable price, I will be actively promoting and encouraging the use of torrent technology to share and distribute "personal backups" of the AFL games. The longer bigpond denies the AFL community access to digital content under reasonable conditions, the larger the torrent community will grow.

As the leader of the devepment team I know you will be unable to address these issues.

No offence to you or the great work that your team have done, but I sincerely hope that bigpond do not win the rights to internet content in 2010.

They do not care about us

 

[Effes]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Does anyone have the link to tonights gameday/stats? Nothing on the afl site yet

 

[Effes]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Found the link on the Lions site

Still can't view it with the resolution I'm using and can't change it given another program that I have running can only be viewed in this resolution

Surely they would allow you to scroll across or it to realise that you have a smaller resolution and then for it to adjust

 

[Scorpio]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

The fact that the BigPond logo (and menu bar) is located above the AFL logo and menu bar makes it look like the whole thing is a BigPond site with AFL content

 

[audas]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Sandy,

The new AFL site is terrible, and the reason behind it is something I doubt you can fix. It has been designed from bottom up with only one thing in mind; how to maximise bigpond revenue. You have had only one stakeholder in mind; the shareholders.

The three major flaws are

1. Up to 50% of pages are advertising.

2. The information that people want is deliberately hidden two or three pages deep, forcing the user to spend more time on the site (and look at said advertising)

3. Use use of flash makes the site extremely slow on any connection other than bigpond adsl2. It is no coincidence that the advertisements are not done in flash and load first, so we have something to look at while the content loads.

It is very obvious to anyone it the web industry that this site has been designed with the sole intention of attracting more users to sign up with bigpond, with complete disregard of the needs of the afl commuinity. Not only is the usability virtually nonexistant but you and your team have done a very good job of deliberately making it unusable, so we have to spend more time on the site. You have delivered exactly what bigpond required, so I guess you can be proud of that.

But dont you dare come out into the afl community and fein interest in our thoughts and needs. Its all too obvious that the only service you wish to provide to us through afl.com.au, is to inform us of bigpond services.

Also, the practice of denying content to non bigpond subscribers is unfair (to put it kindly) and until this policy is changed and you allow me, as an optus subscriber to view the replays online for a reasonable price, I will be actively promoting and encouraging the use of torrent technology to share and distribute "personal backups" of the AFL games. The longer bigpond denies the AFL community access to digital content under reasonable conditions, the larger the torrent community will grow.

As the leader of the devepment team I know you will be unable to address these issues.

No offence to you or the great work that your team have done, but I sincerely hope that bigpond do not win the rights to internet content in 2010.

They do not care about us

you know nothing of the web industry fact.

 

[audas]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

it's a beta site you clown. that's why you launch things in beta - so you can iron out bugs / issues / mistakes in real time through constructive feedback.

Ahh BETA means specifically PRE - RELEASE that means before it is released to the public. This is their PUBLIC release, end of story, and as such is appalling.

 

[audas]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Ok here are some issues for you Sandy.

Telling people that the poor standard of delivery of video is due to Australias "pipe" is the biggest lie known to the internet. stop and desist this nefarious lie. It is telstra's fault.

here is a website built almost four years ago..

http://www.rr.com/flash/

why cant telstra be this proficient, completely customisable, well built, accessible, brilliant in every way. I tell you why because its telstra and its got nothing to do with the user or footy, and everything to do with greed.

for anyone who thinks flash technology is slow this site should also sort that out.

wake up telstra, if you really want to do the right thing how about asking and finding out and competing on the world stage instead of maximising your monopoly, fending off consumer options, etc, etc, etc.

the first place to start is making all football games available to all people to watch of an acceptable standard. Then make a LIVE STREAM, so that I can watch it LIVE.....sheesh, not hard, ill set it up for you if you want.

absolute beginners.

so poor, so very poor.

 

[sausageroll]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Hey Sandy, how's things?

Just a couple of things I'm sure around 200,000 dreamteamers would like to have sorted out...

NAB player stats still don't include new draftees, hitouts and supergoals. Even if supergoals were just recorded as normal goals it would be ok.

It's great that the stats are now sorted by surname instead of christian names. Now you just have to take the next step and sort them by total possessions like everyone has requested.

If last season's dreamteam is anything to go by there's atleast a couple of hundred thousand people who are currently making plans for this years comp. Considering it's run from the AFL site it'd be nice if we could get all the basic stats we need to help plan our teams.

Cheers

Oh, and by the way, the gameday live screen didn't have a scrollbar again tonight

 

[Ad76]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

I think the AFL should take a leaf out of the NFL website, which I find to be outstanding - www.nfl.com

Yeah, good call mate.
This new AFL site is a disgrace to the game.

Sandy:

If this really was a planned Beta release, why was it not released in parallel with the existing, working site?

Have you been to the NFL site?

Was there any time put into designing this site, or was it just made up as you went along?

People going to the official AFL site are looking for information of some sort - news, stats, results - something. Things need to be easy to find - intuitive.

 

[Corpuscles]

Re: BetaSite of AFL.com.au

Ok here are some issues for you Sandy.

Telling people that the poor standard of delivery of video is due to Australias "pipe" is the biggest lie known to the internet. stop and desist this nefarious lie. It is telstra's fault.

.....

the first place to start is making all football games available to all people to watch of an acceptable standard. Then make a LIVE STREAM, so that I can watch it LIVE.....sheesh, not hard, ill set it up for you if you want.

absolute beginners.

so poor, so very poor.

Sandy,
Is is it that:

a) Telstra Bigpond is not capable of producing acceptable streaming of footy matches? If so then suggest you desist from the BS! and outsource the project to confident experts or at least produce a download.

b) A conflict of interest in Telstra owning 50% of Foxtel, which makes it less desirable for fans to watch via internet? If so go jump in your Big Puddle.

PS Your "beta" advertising site was unavailable this morning around 9am