Homepage Redesign Study (1)

Yes please! No agenturbilder! Who are we, then, that we have to buy pictures? *lol*

+1!

+1!

was bedeutet eigentlich: +1!

Genau! ☺

@diedje

It means "I agree with the post above" or "me too"; the +1 standing for "+1 person"

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Edit: somehow ipernity ate the URL: www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=%2B1

Danke für die Aufklärung, Manu, ich wusste es auch nicht ;-)!

ahh! Thank you so much!

Besser als 1 eben.

Looks very good for me.
Just one quetion: what does this Guest thing mean ??

Hi Jaap!
In short: A guest can explore the whole content of ipernity (Photos, videao, articles, etc.), but has no admission for own uploads or comments. (It was broadly discussed underneath former blog articles.)

But keep in mind, please: This is a design study! Comments to the design are very welcome. Questions concerning functions should be discussed separately.

I would have thought at this stage all that needs to be addressed is the actual text element, but as you've asked for opinions my first impression is that it is less informative and less 'clean' than what you are seeking to replace.

As a front page this tells you little about what the site actually has to offer and what you can do through it, whereas the existing version makes it pretty clear what the 'product' offers. But to me this new design layout fails to do that other than to make it clear that ipernity is now an independent platform.

Even then though I'm not sure this is being put across in the most appropriate way. I mean are we really saying that the 'new' ipernity is only about sharing photos?

And if not, does it make sense from the outset to suggest that you can't do the other things, like posting videos and articles, that have in the past made ipernity such a versatile platform?

So, my overall opinion would be that what you're suggesting is okay, but apart from making it clear the site is now independent and adding a long overdue Donate button I'm afraid that's as positive as I can be.

I'd also question why when you are constantly making it clear that the size of the job being undertaken is proving to be much bigger and more demanding than perhaps you or anyone else first realised you are spending time on trying to fix something that wasn't broken?

I'd rather see you getting a newsletter out to all existing users making it clear what has happened with regards Ipernity SA, what is being proposed by the IMA and how all of that is gong to impact on people. In other words, look to communicate more effectively with existing users before you go chasing new prospects.

Hi Paul!
Thank you for your opinion!

You're welcome Bernhard, but I was perhaps hoping for a bit more than that ... that's assuming your reply is as the IMA as opposed to yourself. And if you are talking on behalf of the IMA can I ask if this this going to be the standard response to people whose opinions the 'founders' disagree with or who pose questions you'd rather not answer?

Hi Paul! It's Friday night, 21:00 CEST. I'm working since 15 hrs. It was my last duty for today to publish the newsflash and the study, which have been balanced ima internally very detailed, as well in content as in wording. If you suspect differences it might be the result of translation problems. (Always keep in mind, please, that I'm not a native speaker of the Englisch language!)
Now I'm private. I only answered some short contributions shortly. Your contribution is very long. You can't expect a qualified answer within minutes. I'll try to do it tomorrow in an adequate manner.

Hi Paul!

Ich hatte Dir gestern versprochen, mir heute etwas Zeit zu nehmen, um Deinen Kommentar zu beantworten, und bin deshalb extra früh aufgestanden, um Dir ungestört ein paar Zeilen zuschreiben, bevor mich nachher der Besuch davon abhält, den wir am Wochenende erwarten.

Generell stelle ich fest, dass Du zwar auf die Neuerungen eingehst, aber eigentlich nur, um im gleichen Atemzug zu betonen, dass früher alles besser war. Das kann ich gut nehmen, denn in der Tat ist die bestehende Frontpage wirklich ganz ordentlich! Andererseits ist das zugrunde liegende Designkonzept schon zehn Jahre alt, und die Standards für gutes Webdesign haben sich natürlich weiterentwickelt. Man belädt eine Startseite heutzutage nicht mehr mit so viel Schrift. Die gesamte Medienkultur ist schneller geworden. Man hat sich angewöhnt, nur noch einen kurzen Blick auf eine Startseite zu werfen und dann gleich weiter zu klicken. Ein Trend, der mit dem Siegeszug der Smartphones in den vergangenen Jahren eine enorme Dynamik bekommen hat, und dem man sich nicht entgegenstellen kann.

Eine Anforderung an das Redesign war deshalb, die Lesezeit deutlich zu verkürzen. Immerhin kommt die alte Frontpage mit üppigen 120 Worten daher (engl. Version, ohne Impressum). In der Designstudie haben wir es geschafft, die Anzahl der Worte auf ca. 60 zu halbieren. Vielleicht können wir sogar noch weiter runter. Wir sind gespannt auf die Vorschläge aus der Community.

Eine weitere Anforderung war, die Bildersprache zu vereinfachen und neu auszurichten. Bisher kommt die Seite mit einem großen Aufmacher daher, sowie drei kleineren Bildchen darunter. Letztere haben wir entfallen lassen, weil sie keinen Zusatznutzen haben, sondern den Benutzer ebenfalls nur Zeit kosten. Vor allem aber war die bisherige Bildersprache ganz klar auf eine Zielgruppe ausgerichtet, die bei ipernity leider kaum noch vertreten ist: Junge Familien mit kleinen Kindern. Die Absicht ist verständlich: Ipernity war als Gegenentwurf zu facebook geplant, als Social Media Anwendung. Leider hat das Publikum anders abgestimmt. ipernity ist nie zu dem geworden, was es sein sollte. Familien mit kleinen Kindern nutzen heutzutage vorzugsweise das Smartphone mit facebook, twitter und WhatsApp. Mal schnell ein Kurzvideo vom Enkel auf dem iPhone gemacht und an die Oma geschickt. Für mehr haben die jungen Eltern gar keine Zeit, weil ihr Leben heutzutage auch eine ganz andere Dynamik hat, als das unsrige früher. (Ich hab selbst drei Kinder zwischen 30 und 40, sowie Enkel. Ich weiß, wovon ich rede.)

Wenn wir als Moderatoren in den Content von ipernity schauen, in die ca. 200.000 verbliebenen Accounts, stellen wir fest, dass von den angedachten Funktionen eigentlich nur die Foto-Sharing-Funktion lebendig geblieben ist. Mehr als 95% des Contents besteht aus Fotos mit Kommentaren. (Videos, Audio-Dateien und Blogs sind eher Randerscheinungen.) Das Foto-Sharing ist also offenbar eine Stärke von ipernity - eine Nische, in der die Webseite überleben konnte. Und weil es nun mal zu den Grundsätzen jeder Unternehmenssanierung gehört, sich auf die profitablen Stärken zu fokussieren, möchten wir genau das vorschlagen! Was nicht heißt, die anderen Optionen abzuschalten. Man sollte sie nur nicht mehr so sehr in den Vordergrund schieben. Denn wenn es wieder ein Wachstum von ipernity gibt, dann sicherlich nicht in den Randbereichen, sondern erst mal im Kerngeschäft. Dort liegen die größten Chancen, auf die wir unsere extrem knappen Ressourcen fokussieren müssen.

Eine Frontpage ist nämlich in allererster Linie Advertising. Wer schon Mitglied ist, kennt sich eh' aus. Die Funktion einer Frontpage ist nicht, ausführlich zu beschreiben, was das Webangebot in Gänze kann, sondern vor allem, neue Interessenten anlocken. Sie darf deshalb auf den ersten Blick nicht zu viel preisgeben. Sie soll verführen, sich weiter hineinzuklicken, um länger bei dem Webangebot zu verweilen. Noch mehr als in anderen Bereichen gilt im Web nämlich das AIDA-Prinzip. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDA_(marketing)

Des Weiteren haben wir uns angeschaut, wie sich die die aktive Community eigentlich zusammensetzt und festgestellt, dass es sich vor allem um engagierte Photoamateure und Enthusiasten handelt, welche die hohe Performance der Website im Desktop-Segment honorieren. Diese Zielgruppe mit Kinderbildern anzusprechen, ist wohl wenig sinnvoll und entspricht auch nicht der Realität. Kinder- und Familienbilder werden nämlich kaum hochgeladen. (Dafür, sowie für Schnappschüsse, verwenden die Leute längst andere Medien.) Deshalb schlagen wir vor, Aufmacher zu verwenden, welche die tatsächlich existierende Zielgruppe ansprechen. Bilder aus der eigenen Community nämlich. Solche, mit denen wir alle uns identifizieren können, und die ein Spiegelbild des realen Contents von ipernity sind, damit jene Interessenten angezogen werden, denen wir auch wirklich was zu bieten haben.

Mit unserem Vorschlag haben uns für einen Mittelweg entschieden, der Bewährtes übernimmt ohne sich gegenüber Neuem zu verschließen. Wir betonen dies, indem wir den alten Seitenaufbau beibehalten wollen, obwohl sich beim Webdesign in den vergangenen zehn Jahren auch graphisch eine Menge getan hat. Wir möchten auch vorschlagen, die Farben beizubehalten, ebenso wie die Marke „ipernity“, obwohl es in den Diskussionen Vorschläge gegeben hatte, die Website völlig neu aufzusetzen, einen radikalen Schnitt zu machen. Es gab sogar schon neue Logo-Entwürfe aus der Community. Dabei ist gerade das alte Logo genial! Die Farb- und Schriftwahl ist immer noch zeitgemäß, ebenso wie die konsequente Kleinschreibung. (Vor kurzem erst haben android und mozilla auch darauf umgestellt.)

Soweit zu den Design-Vorgaben. Hinzu kommt die Notwendigkeit, das in den vergangenen Monaten ausführlich diskutierte Bezahlmodell abzubilden, wofür die Zeit drängt. Bis zum Ende des Geschäftsjahres sind es ja nur noch 11 Wochen.

Lieber Paul, das mal grad als Antwort auf Deine Fragen bzw. Anmerkungen, bevor ich mich nun dem Alltag zuwenden muss, den ich ja auch noch habe. Ich bitte auch um Verständnis, dass ich in meiner Muttersprache geschrieben habe. Eine Übersetzung ins Englische hätte mich zeitlich überfordert. Aber der Translator funktioniert ja wieder.

Und bitte denk daran: Es handelt sich nur um eine Studie! Es kann auch ganz anders kommen, je nachdem, wie die mehrheitliche Meinung der Mitglieder ist, die hier Stellung nehmen.

H.A.N.W.
Bernhard

soviel hintergrund informationen, hat es in den ganzen jahren nicht gegeben. die kleinen graphischen veränderungen finde ich gut! es wäre schon sehr traurig, wenn sich hier kein foto/bild-material findet, was als werbematerial einsetzbar ist. die rechtefrage sollte eindeutig geklärt sein, damit es keine enttäuschungen gibt. das viele menschen nicht mehr gerne schreiben oder lange texte lesen ist wohl der zeit geschuldet. die blogfunktionen müssen ja nicht im vordergrund von werbemaßnahmen stehen, aber wenn sie nicht mehr da wären, wäre das ein verlust. toll finde ich auch, das die gebühr auf 42€ herabgesetzt wurde.

das sind in der Tat einige gewichtige Argumente!

Super, Berhard. Eine sehr verständliche und nachvollziehbare Erklärung/Info!

To me the layout looks nice and clean and I like the link to latest news a lot! Using members' photos certainly is the way to go!
I'd like to see a mention of the blog (article) function somewhere, I think the combination photos with blog is something that sets Ipernity apart from other sites.

Initial thought is I would like to see the "42€/year" replaced with "Subscription", Potential interested customers might not want to view the platform knowing what the end cost is going to be.

Absolutely valuable to think about! Thank you!

+1

To me the front page with users' pictures is great, and the layout looks ok. Donate button + advertising Ipernity as an independent project & platform is a good idea. It's something to be proud about and should be mentioned wherever possible.

I was also initially confused about the guest thing - as long as I'll still be able to link my profile and gallery to anyone without them having to sign up or join a secret society or something like that, I'm happy.

Absolutely right!
But we also have to offer a (free) access for all those, who get in completely new (via Google, etc.) to get a general idea, don't we?

Manu had a good suggestion for this;

"I would change it like this:
Rename the buttons

Explore
Free trial
Membership

Under the buttons keep the explanations
"

I have to agree. Explore is easier to understand and also sounds better.

> we also have to offer a (free) access for all those, who get in completely new (via Google, etc.)

We already do: Those people can see the photos that the members have uploaded as 'public'

For me the layout is very clear and very inviting. Hopefully it will encourage new folks to give the trial membership a chance. I can see what red-eye means though.

Using the 'search' icon, can one maybe have a few options e,g. Country, Blog/article, Videos.

Maybe that would be a solution to the points made by Gudrun and Autofantasia (Paul)

Of course all of that would mean extra work for you, and we know that you are all working very hard already.

Hi Amelia!
Inspiring proposals! Thank you!

the design looks very good to me.
maybe there should be a button "about Iperniy" linking to a page where IP and IMA is shortly introduced and explained why Ipernity is not "free".

Now that I've read the other commenters (esp. Paul/autofantasia) I agree with some hints they pointed out:
1. Focus should not only be a photo sharing community but an _independent_ social community.
2. Donate button might be useful ;-)
3. No need to sign in for guests - just an "enter" button
4. Don't mention the amount, just write subscribe.
5. And again: Put a link to the story behind IP/IMA, that's really unique. Do not go over that.

and please do not feel offended in any way - I know what you are doing is a full time job done for free! If you need any help feel free to ask! As far as it's not html/php-coding...... ;-)

Focus should be for me a photo sharing community; as Bernhard said 95% of ipernity's content are photo's (and comments).

This looks great!

I say it's a step in the right direction!

Looking better in my opinion.

But I think 'Guest' will confuse a lot of people.

When I upload, I can decide that my pictures should be visible for everybody, so I upload them as 'public'.

Guest access are meant for family and friends of an ipernity member?

Smugmug has a very elegant solution for that: you decide if a _gallery_ is public, unlisted or private.

public = everybody can see it, no need to be logged in
private = only I can see it
unlisted = I get an URL that I can share. Only people who know that URL can see the gallery – they don't have to log in, either. This is the way to share your photos while keeping them hidden from the public.

So if I have photos I only want my family to see, I put them in the unlisted album 'family' and send them the link. The link doesn't change if I add new photos to that album.

If I have photos of an event that I want to share with the host of that event, I put them in a separate unlisted album and send the link to the host.

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This also answers the question of Sylvain two posts below: of course photos uploaded as 'public' still have to be visible for everybody, without logging in.

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Edit: if smugmug's solution can't be adapted right now because it's too much work on the database, 'Guest' still doesn't belong to the main page:
– "invite guests" should be an option either on the member's profile or on each (non public) album.
– a guest should not be able to see _all_ content marked as 'guests only': it needs to be restricted to the uploads of a single member (example: sharing family photos)

Manu wrote: "unlisted = I get an URL that I can share. Only people who know that URL can see the gallery – they don't have to log in, either. This is the way to share your photos while keeping them hidden from the public."

I have never realized it before but this sort of a feature actually already exists here at ipernity.

On right hand side of your images you should always see a share button (arrow coming out of the box). If you click it, you get "Warning! This photo is not public on ipernity. It will be visible through a link or an access code that you can at any time disable at the bottom of this page.", and then there is a text field where from you can copy an unique url address. That address you can post to your friends to access your otherwise private photo or article, or share also for example "family restricted contents" with some additional person. Opening that link does not even require account at ipernity.

Moreover, afterwards you can control all your uniquely shared urls and their expire date here, under 'Sharing of private content outside ipernity' section:
www.ipernity.com/pref/socialnetwork

Interesting! If the same could be applied to whole ipernity albums (or ipernity tags?), that would be an elegant solution.

There is for albums ;-)

After testing some more, I discovered the private files in the album become also displayed to the visitor who uses such unique URL for the whole album. Go to some of your album front page to discover that share feature.

An old news on this private content sharing (originally by Ipernity Team) is here:
www.ipernity.com/blog/team/762437

"An old news on this private content sharing (originally by Ipernity Team) is here:
www.ipernity.com/blog/team/762437"

==> In my opinion this is the perfect solution to any 'Guest' question.

You create the link to your private album and send your guests the link. They don't need to log in or anything.

Splendid find, Sami!

It is great, isn't it?

Yep :-)

I tend to agree with most of Autofantasia (Paul's) comments in particular the fact that the site is more than photos and that the translation facility exists within the pages. Also the Guest option needs to be changed - something like 'Come in and look around'.

If 95 % of the content on ipernity is photo's (and comments) I think that IMA is doing the right thing by concentrating on that target audience.

Un internaute lamba peut-il oui ou non, visionner anonymement les contenus autorisés " tout public" ?

the design looks good to me, the guest option is confusing me a little. for the time being, people can look at all photo pages for public uploads without having to sign up (even if the signup is free of charge). Like already suggested, it would be nice to have a guest option for relatives and friends who only want to comment and "fave" images, but do not feel the need to upload own pictures. If "guest" means that even public photo pages with comments are only viewable for logged in people it may reduce the audience drastically and feel like a gated community, hopefully I misunderstood something.

A valuable approach, also from my point of view - with optimisation potential, as others have already suggested above.

A good first draft!
I would suggest adding an About - who we are, what we offer.
The line under the photo would be a line of text something like:
About - Guest - Free Trial - Become a Member (no prices, you want people to click through)

Add News, Blogs, Groups, Photos, Video and Articles buttons - or just an Enter... ?

If it isn't clickable, don't make it look like a button.

...Like the idea of using member photos!

Not bad! I like minimalist and essential things. I would show several front pictures which turn every minuts or hour or day. I agree with mapgraph: dont’t use unclickable buttons.

I also had difficulties to understand how guest accounts works. Therefore I make a suggestion. I once had a chance to be part of MyQSL database project, and I know how difficult task it is to make any changes on one afterwards. However, here's what could work.

First we need to outline some basic understanding what we are after, and it could be something like this:

1) We wish to have guest accounts for family and friends.
2) We want to restrict free riders and SPAM accounts.
3) We want a three month test period.

What comes to guest accounts. for me it does not make sense if they can't even comment. Therefore I suggest they could:

1) Send an acquaintance invitation to anyone who is a club member.
2) Has a 'Guest' tag.
3) They can comment on those accounts who have accepted the guest as their acquaintance.
4) Guest can't add images, but has profile with default ipernity banner and avatar (as it is already for new users who have not changed them).

Then comes the part how someone can run the three month test period. Any guest who have become acknowledged by at least one club member, can only start the test period. The idea is that one first has to be a guest, and become acknowledged (be in contacts) of someone who has paid for subscription and is member of the club. So, trial account could have the following limits:

1) Has to be first as a guest, and in contact's of some club member, before able to test.
2) Has a 'Test' tag (or something that shows the status).
3) Gains full features for three months.
4) After the test period and if not joined to club, falls back to guest status. Commenting limited again, albums closed, and no more uploads. Maybe only profile image and banner let be as it is.
5) Can get everything back IF ever decides to join the club. BUT can't get another three month test period with that account again. Has to delete the account and open a new one as a guest to get a new trial period.

I hope at least someone understood this. The basic idea is to make new account owners to build contacts first, to become acknowledged to test the full features. That would also prevent creating SPAM accounts rather effectively. And yet, they would not become kicked out, but could continue as a guest, if they decide not to pay. BUT they still could have a chance to change their mind later on.

sounds good to me! thank you for the in-depth description!

I like your concept, but wonder about the piece of restricting 3 month trial to only people who are first a guest (have I understood that correctly in your idea?). If that is the case, I think we could loose many possible members. It would restrict us to only people who already know someone who uses ipernity already. I would think we would want anyone to be able to try us out for free first before putting money in. If a stranger found our site - how could they experience it before paying out money (they wouldn't know someone to ask to become their guest).

I know that your idea would keep spammers out, but I think the piece I just talked about would restrict us too much for new members.

I think you understood the idea correctly. One first would have to start as a guest and then become a contact of someone who is already a Club member before able to start the three month test period.

It certainly prevents anyone to try the web site spontaneously. So, the suggestion have it's pros and cons. The idea is to give a solution on three things: 1) allow guest accounts, what was asked by several people, 2) provide maybe an easy alternative for trying to implement some sort of filtering to keep spammers away, and 3) gives a solution on what happens if someone can't afford to pay the subscription for some time being (e.g. becoming temporary unemployed).

I personally don't much trust on software based spam filtering. But if someone manage to show one that really works, it would be great ;-)

On this suggestion it could be of course made it possible to start the three month test period right away, without similar requirements as set for guests. In short, one could start testing right away, with no restrictions. Then after the test period is over, the account turns into a limited guest account, but the contents posted during the test would stay as unavailble. If one later on pays the subscription, the contents comes available again.

But then we indeed need some sort of filtering to prevent anyone to open a test period just to post SPAM.

I think it should be possible to get a free trial period without ANY restrictions. After that period the account will be deleted or the 'free rider' has to become a guest (content shouldn't be stored = costs).

Good point. Part of the suggestion was to somehow solve also the SPAM issue. Deleting the contents after three month test period, if subscription not paid, would of course provide a sort of automatic solution to get rid of the SPAM accounts as well. Unfortunately there just seem to be new spam accounts opened every day. Currently they are deleted only manually.

I do not know whether spammers indeed use some "spambots" (software) to open accounts and post SPAM, or are there an army of low paid workers who does it. But all the same they seem to be uninterested on how long their accounts survive. They just keep on opening new accounts and posting more and more pictures and videos.

Bonjour à tous,
la présentation proposée est plus moderne et c'est bien. Beaucoup de suggestions pour le problème des 'Guest" ... sur tous les sites existants un inconnu peut voir le contenu "public" sans aucun besoin de connexion !
Une chose me gêne beaucoup ... c'est l'emploi apparemment exclusif de l'anglais ... il est vrai que c'est la langue la plus parlée sur les réseaux sociaux et que le français est une "petite" langue mais il serait peut-être bon de ne pas oublier que Ipernity est une création française et un petit drapeau en haut à droite permettant de CHOISIR LA LANGUE ( Anglais, Français, Allemand par exemple ) serait le bienvenu !
Bon courage pour la suite et amitiés !

Oui, question langue je suis d’accord. Le passage à l’anglais a peut être été automatique car si j’ai bien compris ceux qui on repris IP et qui se sont engagés pour le sauver sont presque tous de langue, comment dire, anglo-saxonnes. Ça été un grand debat d'ailleurs dans ces derniers mois. Les contingences ont poussé à des solutions pratiques mais j’approuve l’idée du choix de la langue aubtravers des petits drapeaux par exemple. Symboliquement ce serait aussi important car il y une emorragie d’usagers qui est incontestable surtout des Pays les moins... fortunés.

j'approuve !!

Hello ! I agree with Boarischa Krautmo's suggestions. Whatever the choice that will be made, CONGRATS to all who are working for the future of the site !!!!!!!

Un peu plus de textes français et aussi en Esperanto....

Dankon...!

See IMA's response above to this same request. I will summarize here.

This version is only for making suggestion and is in English only because English is the only language that the founders have in common. They fully intend to have other languages represented - either through the language button (see bottom of the screen), or with flags, or something. Other languages will be honored!

I would change it like this:
Rename the buttons

Explore
Free trial
Membership

Under the buttons keep the explanations

Explore
[Does that need an explanation?]

Free trial
[keep text as is]

Membership
42 € / year

---

Drop the 'sign up': that belongs to the next page, after I click "Free trial" or "Membership"

Drop the half year option, that belongs to the page after I click "Membership"

>>I would change it like this:
Rename the buttons

Explore
Free trial
Membership

Under the buttons keep the explanations
>>

Yes, I agree with this suggestion. Very good, clear and easy to understand - not confusing like the "guest" thing. I find the guest stuff wildly confusing even as an experienced member. Explore / come look around would be the best name.

I think that there is great merit in Manu's suggested button renaming, Explore, Free trial, Membership.
I personally don't have any objection to 'Sign in' being where it is on the proposal. Existing members would simply open the ipernity page, and sign in without having to go to another page first.

> Existing members would simply open the ipernity page, and sign in without having to go to
> another page first.

That is the 'log in' link in the top right corner ;-)

That front page looks good.

Grundsätzlich finde ich das Design übersichtlich.

Vielleicht doch noch ein paar Anregungen:
Was hat der Nutzer von einem Login als „Guest“ für Vorteile (ist eine zusätzliche neue Berechtigungstufe, gegenüber dem wohl weiterhin bleibenden öffentlichen Zugriff geplant?). Bie der Beschreibung des Untertitels noch klarer werden, wo der Benefit für den Besucher ist oder ggf. ein "more" -Link , der ein kleines Fenster mit Erläuterung öffnet.

IMA ist vielleicht ein Alleinstellungsmerkmal - auch für die Mitgliederwerbung. Die meisten Plattformen haben den kommerziellen Hintergrund Daten über Ihre Nutzer zu sammeln. Ich gebe zur Diskussion die „IMA“ etwas exponierter hervorheben und damit diese Besonderheit zu vermarkten. Hinter dem IMA-Symbol könnte man eine Seite verlinken, welche die IMA als mitgliedereigener Verein den Nutzern noch besser verdeutlicht. Ein IMA-Symbol sollte natürlich mit dem IP Design und CI korrespondieren.

Soweit der regelmäßige Austausch des Titelbildes mit konzipiert ist, ist die Anbringung des copyright am Bild sinnvoll, um eine Mitgliederbeteiligung auch zu dokumentieren. Den copiyright-Schriftzug könnte man noch dezenter gestalten. Wenn das Bild eher statisch wird, ist das copyright am Bild vielleicht aus optischen Gründen ganz entbehrlich. Der Betreffende könnte im Einzelfall um sein Einverständnis befragt werden.

I just hope that my page will stay the way it was with old ipernity.tm sign and white background.
Similar thing happened on flickr over night when we lost old design,i dont have nothing against change but it has to be on better not on worse.

Before a couple of days i tried to find same font used for our logo,used multiple font search engines and couldnt find exact letters or font,that says our logo/design is one of a kind and it has to be preserved,its a work of art.

Also this seems like a big change of something what was not broken like Paul said earlier,whouldn't you think that for this kind of change it would be fair and important to ask the community first?

+1 for the white! ;)

A few years ago we could customize our main page, the white background did not exist, everyone had his own background, most of us created it from one of our own pictures... and one bloody morning all this was gone and we found ourselves in front of the actual white background: it was a shock...
It hurts my old eyes.
Previous ipernity management proposed 3 versions, white as it is, grey or black that each of us could choose as a way to view pages. It was promised to be done but never was...
I really would like to have that option, I hate to view pictures on white background.

that would be the most elegant solution

+1

Grey could be the background shown on the homepage mockup above.

Would that be ok for you?

(It would mean that 2 options could be enough, instead of 3: bright and dark, bright being white background, dark being the background shown above.)

Exactly that's happening just here! We are collecting all your comments and respect the opinion of the majority within the next draft.

Ok with me, grey as shown above is a good option... even if I prefer black as on flickr!

i know you are continuing to work on this - i just wanted to say that i believe this is the community being asked first! this is listed as a "study" with comments requested.

i've commented on your design idea you put in your photos. i'm assuming you are connecting that, showing that, to the founders. thanks for your input - we all can take part now!

Perhaps change the title into:

IPERNITY
Independent and Non-Commercial
Photo Sharing Platform

I think that Jaap has a point in that a new 'front page' could quietly highlight one of the things that distinguish ipernity from, for example, Flickr - the 'non commercial' aspect.
I think that many English speakers might prefer the word Community to Platform. Platform sounds a little impersonal to my ears.
Personally, I prefer ipernity to IPERNITY. As in emails, capitals suggest shouting and the proposed design is quite the opposite of brash - which I think is a good thing.

John, I think it should remain IPERNITY - although I agree about your comment on that item - as it is 'our' corporate identity.

I find ipernity _much_ easier to read and much nicer than IPERNITY

And the logo is "ipernity" and looks good.

See what you mean and agree.

+1

Ich finde, es wirkt Herzlich und Einladend

To solve the question about the copyright of the pictures on the front page:

Make a special group where members can add the photos you are welcome to use for the front page. Define that when I post photos to that group, I agree to the following usage rights: ...

(CC0?)

For example: I post some of my photos to unsplash already, where by definition you waive all rights. These photos I could easily upload to ipernity for free use, too.

You could then choose from that pool for the frontpage.

Posting in that group does _not_ guarantee that my photo will be used on the frontpage, as it has to fit with the overlaying text and the style of the site.

Photos posted to the group can also be cropped etc. to look best on the frontpage.

A detail: I don't think it's necessary to call the membership "Club" any longer. You're either a member or you aren't (yet).

No problem with "Club", as there are paying members (=Club), free trial members and guests

+1, membership is enough, club is elitistic, it might not attract...

Club says perhaps something about a 'social network'.

For me, "ipernity club" made sense as long as there was another kind of membership, too.

It is like 'flickr pro'.

It makes me think (as somebody looking at ipernity for the first time): ok, what's the difference between ipernity and ipernity club. And then I don't find that information, because there isn't a difference.

If for technical reasons or because you'd have to rewrite all docu pages you want to keep 'club', I understand that.

As far as I understood, there are (will come) three kinds of membership: Club, Three months trial and Guests.

I like Club. I feel like we are a community, a club. It makes me feel like when I join that I belong.