Fanfare: UI Request

July 5, 2024 11:48 AM

I know that MeFi's codebase is currently being rebuilt, - cannot fathom the intricacies of that - but as stuff is being rebuilt anyway, I'd like to request a Fanfare UI addition / tweak - and was hoping other people would discuss the benefits / drawbacks of this particular tweak.

At the moment removing Detailed Descriptions from Fanfare posts is a simple toggle / link.

I'm requesting a similar toggle / link choice to disable movie posters.

Currently while viewing Fanfare - on desktop view - recently added TV shows and Movies show image links to discussions of those shows. It looks like the images are sourced from imdb? Some of these poster images - especially those for horror movies can be .. unsettling and/or horrible to view.

I appreciate that this might not be an issue for most people, but I also know that for the people (like me) who would use it, it would be a big improvement on the current setup.

Thank you.

posted by Faintdreams to Feature Requests at 11:48 AM (11 comments total)

Mod note: Thank you for submitting a UI Request! I'm speaking with Kirkaracha about this and it seems totally doable. At the moment the goal is to have an MVP ready to show to the community and, afterwards we want to start with testing and implementing the right system for feature requests and bug reports.
posted by loup (staff) at 11:51 AM on July 5 [4 favorites]

:)
posted by Faintdreams at 11:55 AM on July 5 [2 favorites]

Any adlblocker can easily take care of this. Right click on the poster and “hide element”. This is exactly the benefit of standard web technology. No site ever has to build this, because everyone gets it for free.
posted by bowbeacon at 1:39 PM on July 5 [2 favorites]

Not everyone can - or wants to - use an ad blocker everywhere they might need to read Fanfare though ?
posted by Faintdreams at 2:22 PM on July 5 [5 favorites]

What cases are you seeing for “can’t use an adblocker”+“needs to read fanfare”? I’m having a hard time thinking of one.
posted by not just everyday big moggies at 6:00 PM on July 5

“can’t use an adblocker”+“needs to read fanfare”

Android tablet with Chrome. Even in Firefox it doesn't have every extension available (although it has most of the best ones).
posted by fiercekitten at 6:31 PM on July 5 [3 favorites]

Here are a few use case examples of someone who might want to use Fanfare and might also not have access to / be able to use an Ad Blocker

Anyone who wants to read Fanfare and:

• Does not own the computer they are using
• Does 'own' the computer they are using, but doesn't have privileges to install software on it
• Does not have the technical know-how to install Ad Blocker Software
• Even if they had the know-how, Is using an older and/or (relatively) underpowered computer and the browser they are using does not support Ad Blocker software
• Is using some screen reader software which is incompatible with Ad Blocker software

There are definitely other examples that I haven't mentioned that apply, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind for me.

Seems like this is a feature that will be explored / implemented as part of the code overhaul so Thank You everyone working on that!
posted by Faintdreams at 8:10 AM on July 6 [14 favorites]

I am not a big fanfare user but just as anecdata: I consider myself a medium-level internet user and I’ve never installed an adblocker in all my 25 years online.
posted by samthemander at 6:46 AM on July 8 [1 favorite]

Hear, hear! I hate horror movies, and even the thumbnail images creep me out.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:18 AM on July 8 [1 favorite]

Any adlblocker [sic] can easily take care of this... No site ever has to build this

This completely omits the cadre of Internet users (including longtime users like me) who choose not to use adblockers for various reasons.

Metafilter has always been open to requested UI changes (within reason). If there was no possibility whatsoever of a change being made AND there were blockable elements that disturbed me, I might consider a personal solution, but poo-pooing someone else's request for a general change because you know how to do it for one person isn't really very community-friendly.
posted by hanov3r at 8:05 AM on July 9 [1 favorite]

Right click on the poster and “hide element”.
So I have to see it once to block it? No thanks. I'd like to have a setting to block them all without having to view them first.
posted by soelo at 8:09 AM on July 12 [1 favorite]