Pretty decent and clean interface, I like that -- I think the next step to take from here would be implementing a system that lets users keep track of a list of watched/not-watched movies.
Up for it? :)
Anyway, do please remark on what kind of stack you've got going and what went into making this.
Thanks. We'll see. Each feature costs developer's time.
Edit: the stack is G-WAN and everything is written in plain ANSI C. I wrote my own HTTP servers in C/C++ for my previous websites, but this time I tried G-WAN. I think it saved me one week of work or two.
The website is running on the cheapest virtual dedicated server from 1&1 with 25% of one processor time. The total cost is less than $10 monthly.
One tiny recommendation: Give a visual indication that the movie I just rated will move elsewhere. It was very confusing to see things vanish when I clicked on them :)
From a UX perspective, the header should be sticky when you scroll. I was having fun looking at the "moods" and genres that get highlighted when you hover over a movie, but after I scroll down, I can't see it anymore
So, please, for God's sake, use a <frame>. I hate all those javascript/CSS fancy tricks.
With <frame>s, you can press space/page down key to go to next page. Those stupid CSS tricks break this 35+ year-old tradition, and add literally zero benefit.
I must confess that I use this website quite daily ( in fact everytime I want to watch a movie ) since I discovered it a few weeks ago here on HN. its a real gem. I love the interface too, even if I think that we could polish just a bit the css to make it more attractive ( if you want, I volunteer :) )
This is an awesome little web app that I immediately bookmarked for later reference. On a side note, only on HackerNews could this interface draw praise.
Yes, the interface became a little complicated. The previous version was more accessible for a casual user, for example the following article about the website was received pretty enthusiastically (retweeted about 1000 times)
http://gigazine.net/news/20121012-5000-best-movies/
I guess the right way to fix it is to hide some features and add a tutorial.
I love the functionality, I wouldn't change anything there. I would just try and clean up the interface a bit. Bring some consistency to alignments, add some hierarchy to the controls with font weights, sizing colors etc... Normal UX stuff.
Honestly, it may not be a priority for you. I was NOT trying to bash. I just thought it was funny that the interface was drawing praise.
As a UX Specialist at my agency, I see interfaces like this all the time (I'm usually being paid to fix them). We call this aesthetic "engineers designing". Don't take it too hard, I'm sure my PHP looks like designers engineering :)
So after I used the site, my first thought was, "That's awesome, but it's definitely painful to interact with; engineers designing." Then I pop to the comments and the first one is about how much they like the interface. Excellent HN moment for me there.
Yea, that Excel-table-like design probably breaks all design rules.
It surprises me most when I occasionally see design professionals complementing it.
I am rather a backend programmer and I have no illusions.
But even the Hacker News audience does not have enough geekiness to understand my previous attempt at a movie recommender system: http://5000best.com/movie-galaxy/
Very nice. Different but distinctive and useful design.
Row selection highlighting would help with navigation; I find myself getting a bit lost when parsing such long rows. I would also like to see a bit more info about how the site works.
Thank you. I was in top 50 in the Netflix Prize and wrote a book about recommender systems (http://arek-paterek.com/book/) if someone is interested how the bread is made.
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[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 70.5 ms ] threadUp for it? :)
Anyway, do please remark on what kind of stack you've got going and what went into making this.
Edit: the stack is G-WAN and everything is written in plain ANSI C. I wrote my own HTTP servers in C/C++ for my previous websites, but this time I tried G-WAN. I think it saved me one week of work or two.
The website is running on the cheapest virtual dedicated server from 1&1 with 25% of one processor time. The total cost is less than $10 monthly.
But leaving nitpicks aside - I really like it.
From a UX perspective, the header should be sticky when you scroll. I was having fun looking at the "moods" and genres that get highlighted when you hover over a movie, but after I scroll down, I can't see it anymore
With <frame>s, you can press space/page down key to go to next page. Those stupid CSS tricks break this 35+ year-old tradition, and add literally zero benefit.
Edit: Not entirely deprecated, but are obsolete and highly discouraged.
I guess the right way to fix it is to hide some features and add a tutorial.
Honestly, it may not be a priority for you. I was NOT trying to bash. I just thought it was funny that the interface was drawing praise.
As a UX Specialist at my agency, I see interfaces like this all the time (I'm usually being paid to fix them). We call this aesthetic "engineers designing". Don't take it too hard, I'm sure my PHP looks like designers engineering :)
So after I used the site, my first thought was, "That's awesome, but it's definitely painful to interact with; engineers designing." Then I pop to the comments and the first one is about how much they like the interface. Excellent HN moment for me there.
But even the Hacker News audience does not have enough geekiness to understand my previous attempt at a movie recommender system: http://5000best.com/movie-galaxy/
Row selection highlighting would help with navigation; I find myself getting a bit lost when parsing such long rows. I would also like to see a bit more info about how the site works.
Is there some way to download the personalized results?
It wouldn't have to be pretty - even plain XML would be great.