Two Homepage Changes (Page 1 of 2)

It looks good, Sol. My personal preference would be to have writing from my connections at the top. When I have the time (if ever), I go through the other lists for new authors to read from. Not sure how others feel about the order of the lists.

Thanks.
Dirk

I also read connections first as I connect with writers I owe reciprocipal reviews and would support this, although it would be way down my list.  A shift like this would make it harder for newcomers to get reviews without reviewing first, which I'm okay with.  Like Dirk, I scroll down to my connections and it's a lot of scrolling to get there, and some days there will be no new posts and I have to scroll all the way to the top again to look for something new (although it doesn't happen very often).

Home and End keys in Google Chrome appear to be exactly what I wanted.

Dirk

I also prefer to have Connections at the top. Those are the ones I'm most interested in. New entries (not of my connections) could be next.

~Tom

Good point.
Dirk

True Sol, but a lack of reviews isn't only because they're not top of the page, it's also because they are not reviewing? Which is the whole point of the site? And if "established" writers anyways scroll past to their connections, shifting it around isn't going to change things drastically in my opinion. Changing the point system would be good, but letting new writers know that you'd get more reviews by doong reviews can also only help. Or is this a bit too harsh?

ps this is more to do with getting new members to receive more reviews than to get my connections list to the top of the homepage.

Yes, this is what I am thinking.

My understanding is that this bonus was so that they can post immediately without having to do reviews to get the points first. The problem now seems to be they can post their work, but aren't receiving any reviews or only a few. Which is sort of the point I'm trying to make, at some point they will have to do reviews to get reviews (and to continue to post new work too of course) ...

This is not how new members think. If they post their work and don't receive some feedback, they just pack up their bags and leave. After all, this is their first experience with the site and it's not a good one. After they receive a review or two, they usually start investing themselves into the process.

As good as all your suggestions are for helping new writers get reviews, I still think the lack of activity stems from one thing.  With all those illustrations taking up so much space on the home page, there's just not enough room to hold new works up for viewing for much time.  As Linda noted a few weeks ago, things seem to disappear before we get a chance to see them.  Not everyone has a chance to look things over every day.  Old refrain: on the old site, the list stayed up, and the date, category and author's name were clearly listed alongside the title.  Maybe it's time to reserve the pictures (my favorite feature) for the review and portfolio pages. 
Another old note:  I'm sure I received ten free points when I joined TNBW--what happened to that?  I remember joining another site and leaving when I  saw that I'd have to earn points before I could post any work.  It wouldn't be quite so disheartening to new members if they could post their first chapter for free.  They might feel a little more amenable to waiting for the first review.  I do go over the new members list daily, and when I find someone with a posting I'd like to read, I read and review.  But if they have no points, then they can't post, can they?  Self-defeating.
In addition, having made connections with certain writers, I feel more concerned about reviewing their work before taking on new writers.  I like the private messaging feature, but it's a little like a sorority/fraternity atmosphere, and those can be toxic.
BUT I still feel the key to getting new authors' work reviewed is keeping them in view for as long as possible.  Let's do something like the old listing again.
NOW you may brand me a foot-dragging reactionary.  JP

An excellent suggestion, Dirk.  If we, as old members, still run into glitches (many of our own making), think what it must be like for a new member who can't figure out what remedial steps to take.  Many's the time I'd like a manual.  There really needs to be something that is built into the site, though,  that doesn't require action by the new member. 
It's like going to a party.  You know you're dressed right, and you took a bath and brushed your teeth, but nobody talks to you.  You could go around and introduce yourself and strike up a conversation with everybody, but it makes things so much nicer when the hosts welcome you and get you started.

This is so true. You don't want to be the wall flower and just hang around the outskirts of the party. But if you are in anyway unsure of yourself that is what will happen.

I remember in the search engine in the old site you could search by new members that had less than three reviews on their submitted writing. I haven't tried out the search feature on the new version of the site, but is it still capable of doing that? Since I finished writing the first draft of my novel on Friday I can now focus on doing more reviews as I dig into the editing and revising of my novel and I want to help new members feel welcome and start to feel like their apart of this wonderful community of writers.