The Flashing Attention Icon

[Mark]

...is becoming meaningless. I recently realized that I hadn't noticed it for roughly a week because I had trained myself (when going to the General Forum) to automatically scroll down past it in its current usage for this thread -

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=77318

So, I clicked open that thread to re-examine/reassess its usage and realized that thread was started on Feb 13th and the last post was March 25th. Likely, as an ENnies coordination thread, it will be there for quite some time, perhaps several more months.

The only reason I realized that I had managed to block out attaching the meaning "Attention" to the Attention icon was due to Eric's daylight saving time reminder posted on Saturday (a good use of the Attention icon). Unfortunately, noticing the new Attention icon also had the effect of re-sensitizing me to the one that has been perpetually blinking atop the General Forum for the past two months.

The point being, the use of an Attention icon for a thread that will be on the top of the General Forum for half a year or more has rendered it practically meaningless. If, for instance, the ENnies production staff thread had been simply replaced by the daylight savings time thread, I likely wouldn't have noticed because I had unconsciously trained myself to ignore the Attention icon.

It's like someone poking 10,000 people for half a year, every time he sees any of them and reminding them that there is some subject on which a dozen or so people need to be kept updated. It's like an announcer at a football game interupting the beginning of each and every play, at every game throughout the season and into the playoffs, to inform people that anyone who would like to assist in setting up a party after the finals (to which only a fraction of the people in the stadium will be able or interested in attending) should contact the announcer.

Wouldn't it be make more sense to make a weekly announcement about the progress of the ENnies production staff on the main news page (perhaps rotating which day of the week it appears to be sure and catch people who have differing schedules)? There could be additional announcements if special information needed to be conveyed. The weekly update could include requested help and information about positions that need to yet be filled. In conjunction with that, couldn't a separate forum be created for coordinating the production staff project(s) so that varying aspects of the production be given separate threads so they won't have to be located by searching? Maybe an additional "Announcement" thread could be added atop the forums directing those interested in helping the ENnies production to the forum dedicated to it?

The Attention icon would be better restricted to uses that are immediate and limited. And before some clever person tells me to "just ignore it", please keep in mind that the point of having the Attention icon in the first place is to not have it be ignored...

 

[Creamsteak]

The only reason I realized that I had managed to block out attaching the meaning "Attention" to the Attention icon was due to Eric's daylight saving time reminder posted on Saturday (a good use of the Attention icon). Unfortunately, noticing the new Attention icon also had the effect of re-sensitizing me to the one that has been perpetually blinking atop the General Forum for the past two months.

I don't get it... how does it NOT work if you noticed Eric's post? Of course you learned to skip the thread at the top of the forum, so have I. Cause I've read it and realized it doesn't concern me and theres no reason to post in it. Something tells me that if there were two flashing red beacons put up there, you'd click on the new one as well (I would).

The only instance where the attention icon might be a failure is when you replace one sticky thread with another one. Then you might just skip it as it occupies the space in your brain for "that thread at the top of the forum."

 

[Mark]

I don't get it... how does it NOT work if you noticed Eric's post? Of course you learned to skip the thread at the top of the forum, so have I. Cause I've read it and realized it doesn't concern me and theres no reason to post in it. Something tells me that if there were two flashing red beacons put up there, you'd click on the new one as well (I would).

The only instance where the attention icon might be a failure is when you replace one sticky thread with another one. Then you might just skip it as it occupies the space in your brain for "that thread at the top of the forum."

Eric's wasn't stickied. If it had been, either replacing the one that was there, or even if there had been two up there, I likely would have missed it.

 

[Mark]

To be more clear, let me add...

When I click on the General Forum I immediately move my mouse to the scroll bar and as soon as the page begins to load I single click on the scroll bar, which then jumps me down the screen until the (approx.) top fifth of the page is above my viewing screen. I then hold a click on the scroll bar button until I get up to the first post below the flasking icon. I do this by watching the left side of my screen and as soon as I see the very bottom of the flashing icon, I edge it back up until it is off of the screen. Then I begin to scan down the subject lines of the regular threads.

In effect, the constant two months of the flashing icon has trained me to develop a routine that has me completely ignoring the top of the forum. I didn't even notice that "Announcement" thread that is there about limited time offer for personal forums (which I had heard about previously through the META forum). But I also see that the "Announcement" thread about personal forums was on the General Forum since 3-30-04, which I didn't realize until this whole thing came up.

Another point that bears mentioning is that the routine I have developed has me never seeing the banner ads on that page. I doubt that is a desired effect of having a perpetual Attention icon in the General Forum, either. Any advertiser who has had a banner ad impression atop the General Forum in the last month when I have opened the page, with few exceptions, has wasted their money (if they have been trying to reach me with their advertising). Not that I would have necessarily made a purchase or followed a linked banner, but I doubt I am the only one who has developed a routine based on the Attention icon's constant flashing.

It really won't effect me all that much as I will likely sink back into my scroll bar routine, but I just thought it might be worth mentioning.

 

[Umbran]

The only instance where the attention icon might be a failure is when you replace one sticky thread with another one.

The only instance where it would be a failure for Mark is in such an instance, perhaps. But I didn't notice Eric Noah's thread. Since the icon has been flashing at the top of the forums for so long, I've just tuned it out entirely. It has ceased performing the function for which it was designed.

Mark is right. You shouldn't attach the Attention icon to something that's going to be there forever, as it will get tuned out. More importantly, you shouldn't attach the icon to things that are not, in fact, supposed to catch the attention of the entire community right now.

In addition, I believe some of the mods checked, and found that while stickied threads might get a burst of readers soon after posting, they quickly lose draw if left in place, to the point where they get fewer reads than normal threads. If someone does actually need that thread read by many folks on occasion, it would be better to un-sticky it and then let it pop into our awareness when it gets bumped with a post.

 

[Mark]

I was waiting to comment until whoever made the change posted to this thread, but thanks to whoever adjusted the icons.