Feedback, last thread for things that really should be changed, or changed back, Please A D D
Ok, this is going to be my last thread to combine efforts to make a summary of what things should still be changed or rather "changed back" to what they were before the new look this forum now has.
Bear with me, but the most important issue for me as a moderator and member who spends HOURS on this site, is the register page, which now only asks for "username, e-mail and password". 
It took us months to convince Christopher to add "gender and above all language proficiency and location" , and now these requirements are simply gone..
So Now we are back to again to "please fill in your profile" on almost all posts, as one can simply not always guess where the person is from and what his native tongue is.
And second and above all: the SEARCH ENGINE, no suggestion has been considered as far as we know, please let us know if you are at least considering it.
Read this for possible options.
So the first point on this list:
Please add to the list and give more feedback!
Latest activity, can be found under the "users" tab, this should have an extra tab or be somehow more visible.
1) To register on the site you are only asked for username, e-mail and password. NO username information is required. It is impossible to know the language proficiency and origin of the poster.
2) Search engine needs urgent change to be more userfriendly . (please see posts below and threads opened by Izanhoni, webdunce or pesta's suggestions and many others)
3) Codes and formatting do not work, no graphics are possible
4) Quizzes and Spanish site need corrections.
5) Reference section is difficult to find and should have a special link under the "learn" tab.
6) Comments are so small they can hardly be read. FIXED
The links for edit, author or post, time etc, also clearly marked now (underlined), FIXED
7) Avatar cannot be changed FIXED
8) Acronyms cannot be written in caps.
9) On dictionary the gray doesn't allow to read the options properly.
10) No clear separation on PMs as there used to be.
11) Join date is messed up, shows last night for everybody
12) When writing in caps no warning is given, like before, the question or answer is simply not posted.
13) Moderators should be clearly marked as such next to their names on any post, like on the old site.
14) The category of the question does not appear on the Question and Answer page.
15) The tab "Q&A" should be changed to "FORUM" , the forum is now hidden under an unknown accronym.
Please ADD suggestions or things that don't work for you!!
Also write DIRECTLY to FEEDBACK!
54 Answers
I seem to have my own ideas about how search should work. I generally understand and agree with the suggestions offered by Iza in another thread.
I view searching from a simple basis of what experiences I have had, especially the disappointing experiences.
1. Search criteria limited to an author - Search for a prior post by author X. I know who posted the item I'm searching for. He may be the author of the thread, or just author of the answer. There's no way for me to restrict my search to a single user.
2. Search result order understood or specified by us - Search for a recent post containing the string "whatever". I can search for "whatever" and get a list spanning 50 pages, and it has no perceivable order. It's not by date, not by user. Maybe it's by number of occurrences of the word "whatever", but that doesn't help, because I know it's a recent post; not the post with the most "relevance" (as defined by some secret search-engine algorithm)
3. Sub-searches - I just searched for "whatever" but got too many results. I know that the post I'm searching for is there but it will take an hour to read through them. However, if I could do a search (with some different criteria and sort order) on this first result, I could probably get a fairly small result and find my answer quickly.
4. Search operators - Really good search engines would let me do something like this: search for "goal and not fútbol", or search for "word1 or word2 or word3 +Lazarus1907". This last one would do simple combined criteria on a few words (like it does now) but require that any result must contain "Lazarus1907".
Edit: I left out one--
5. Match sensitivity - Case-insensitive searches are obviously powerful and necessary. But sensitivity to diacritical marks are occasionally important. For example, if I want to search for "sé" or "dé" and I get a million matches for "se" or "de", the search is useless. Or maybe I want to find something on "ésta" but not "está". I would like a way to specify that my search works contrary to the automatic default setting for this.
A FAQ, for goodness sake! A prominent, easy to see FAQ for all those "how do I roll my 'r' "; "why is el agua and not la", "what's better, Spanish or English"; "what's the difference between ser and estar", and similar questions that get asked 50 times a day!
PULEEEEZEEEE!!??
I think that the avatars should be bigger, that the moderator label should be more visible, as well as the dates of posting and edition, and that there should be a way of taking notice of the latest activity (if the box doesn't come back, at least replace it for a similar tool that allows us to know who is voting, answering...) as the interaction between members in the forum (that was already scarce enough) is now completely missed, so it's very, very easy to miss comments and corrections on the threads.
I know that I sound like a scratched LP, but these are previous comments about changes I have absolutely no news about.
The size of the comments is bigger now! It's great! No tired eyes anymore! 
If I may add a small, low-priority suggestion...
When the issue of requiring users to complete their profile with language proficiency is sorted out, I think it would be nice if that info could be included in the little window that pops up when you hover over an avatar. Even if it only stated the language that person lists as their native language, it would be helpful to people when they are attempting to answer a question for that user.
My two cents. 
the most important issue for me as a moderator and member who spends HOURS on this site, is the register page, which now only asks for "username, e-mail and password".
It took us months to convince Christopher to add "gender and above all language proficiency and location" , and now these requirements are simply gone. So Now we are back to again to "please fill in your profile" on almost all posts, as one can simply not always guess where the person is from and what his native tongue is.
This is a serious issue and can't be stressed enough. When trying to give a helpful answer a poster's question, this information is essential. I always check the poster's profile first now, after learning this lesson the hard way. Even for questions that are well-written (and many are anything but!) it helps us to know this information in order to formulate the most appropriate answer. And if we don't know the gender of the person, how are we supposed to welcome them in Spanish? Basic!!
I don't understand the resistance to implementing this. I have an assumption, but I might be wrong. Please enlighten me!
On the new quizzes, unlike all the other learning material, no record seems to be made that you have done them.
I do not care whether the scores are posted in some table for everyone to look at or not.
I do not care whether I get any points for doing them or not.
I do not care whether the percentage I have done is shown on my profile or not.
But I would like to be able to personally see whether I have done one or not, and what my personal best score was if I have, so I can see if I need to do it for the first time still, do it again because my score was not good 
, or can assume I understood the material.
This of course is with the assumption that the quizzes reach a level of accuracy that makes our native speakers happy. 
(Really, how can we go on correcting people for failing to use tildes when the official quiz has this sentence (cut and pasted directly): Quisiera una habitacion con bano privado ___ dos noches.)
Sorry if this one has already been done, there are so many now.
I agree 100% that the registration page needs to require more information. The proficiency in Spanish and English are indispensable if a person is going to give a meaningful answer. A question on ser vs. estar or preterite vs. imperfect should be handled totally differently for a beginner vs. an advanced student.
For users who are interested in accessing special features on the site, such as the reference section or the Phrasebook, it would make sense to have those immediately visible at the top of the page, instead of having to click on "More/Más". A visitor to the site would not have any idea that they are available. Speaking as a person who has spent a lot of time working on the Phrasebook, I am wondering if anyone even uses it?
I know that this has been mentioned many times, but all of us who use Spanishdict on a regular basis deeply care about this site and its future. The number and vehemence of the responses is a testimony to our personal involvement and caring.
I think the search engine needs improvement. Sometimes i don't know where to find something and I search for it and its says " no results found" but I know its on here somewhere! lol
Basically Cogumela has made my points for me.
On a more positive note, the editing has become easier again, the Spanish letters have returned. Thank you!
A suggestion:
Could we have a nice colourful picture on the front page, which is very dull now? It is also very similar to that of other learning sites.
I can see that the avatars on the front were possibly a bit mysterious and off-putting for newcomers to the site but maybe we could have a beautiful photo from the Andes or a nice one from the Pueblos Blancos in Andalucía, or similar. It could be changed from time to time..Many of us would be keen to supply the photos!
When using Flashcards the new number totals do no add into the scores (update) unless you exit and then return. Used to work right. Now broken. And no other way to "refresh".
There used to be miniature star/badge/point icons near the screen names didn't there?
I don't know if anyone else would be interested in this but I would be interested in being able to identify which flashcard sets I have already done so I could find the ones I have not done faster (i.e. before several clicks & screens to view the scores).
It might also be useful to have a search function within the flashcards so people could find particular subjects.
I also happen to agree with the folks who have mentioned the "brightness" of the white background. I realize we could address this individually by resetting the brightness and/or contrast but that would affect the use of everything on the computer.
Also, I would appreciate just a bit of "left margin" attention. Por ejemplo, this page is right up against the "frame" and there is a big, broad, bright white space up the right side. This is somewhat disturbing visual image looking imbalanced, crowded on the left and awkwardly also bright on the eyes. (using internet explorer because right now firefox makes the font size too small)
Dear Heidita :
Thanks so much .I finally changed the avatar . Every thing is getting better .
Conjugator needs fixing, you can congugate English words like red, green...
http://www.spanishdict.com/conjugate/red
Please don't laugh, jejeje 
Heidita, I didn't read all 37 comments. But I have one comment. I think the miniscule avatars you see on Q&A page are so tiny as to be pointless. Why have an avatar at all if you can't see it? I wrote Chris about this and he replied that it is a "cleaner". I think "pointless" would be a better description.
Please forgive any repetitions, as I haven't read all your comments.
- I've noticed at some pages grey letters are very light.
