Diffrent strokes diffrent folks
Am I crazy or is it a completely different menu actually? Comics is full width while novels has half taken up by Featured, because comics has Featured on the front page and novels does not.
The original comment was about menus, which is the part along the top and that's identical between comic and novels. Although I do agree that there are likely much better ways of handling both menus and displaying series in general
There's so many replies and I couldn't read them all so forgive me if someone already said something similar.
The new website design is to put it simply... plain. Everything is white and light gray and in my opinion it all melts together in big white page with nothing to set eyes on. Front page looks like chaos now (because of big icons and lots of them) and there's so many things going on that I can't focus properly on one thing and it makes me just NOT wanting to read anything because I can't settle on one thing.
Background mixes too much with toolbar which is almost invisible and if it wasn't in the same place I would miss it.
I actually miss the black/yellow/white design as yellow was a colour of tapastic and it let the website stand out amongst others. Simplyfing everything when it comes to design most of the times is not a good thing and so many trademarks/companies/etc lose their identities. Minimize - ok, but not to the point when you can just smash a different logo on the front page and it will look nice as would've any other logo.
And one thing that piss me more than what I've said before - reading new episodes/chapters of the favourite series is such a pain in the ass that as I've checked the site everyday now I do it once or twice a week because you've taken the most essential tool front the site which is endless scrolling. It was the most comfortable thing you could get and you just got rid of that.
Personally I left Tapas until things are fixed/better...
I tried, but I can't get used to this and my stats are dropping.
It makes me sad, really. I've been here since 2016, but Tapas is just not the awesome place for comics it used to be. This whole redesign was the final drop.
I do hope to come back eventually once things are better...
I doubt I can add something which hasn't been said already.
To better times <3
Creator here,
Left feedback on the forms.
Thanks for restoring the Previews.
They do a lot when you share the page outside of the platform.
So, @michaelson is the full sized covers thing still happening this month, 'cause it's not really mid-March anymore. There's a lot of things happening not only with the Tapas team fixing bugs and deciding which features to change, but also with this worldwide pandemic. It's fine if that's being pushed back, there are more pressing issues, I just though I'd ask. And if there's any news, if a email is going to be sent out.
The idea would be that the algorithm would help curate newer titles to compliment the existing popular titles that are already being featured. The goal is to help integrate more new titles with popular titles. By bifurcating newer titles away from popular titles we are already lowering the probability of the new titles having a competitive click through rate.
Totally agree with the sentiment. It's difficult to address all of the concerns within a single algorithm and as you mentioned as the site grows, there's going to be more and more difficulties trying to accommodate as many creators as possible. As for the creators that fall within the "donut hole" it's tough - we would need to define parameters in which we identify what segment of the creators that fall into this category we should be prioritizing and how exactly to feature them in a manner where they'll actually benefit.
Appreciate the feedback and call to attention to this group.
Yes, the selections are currently static but we hope to expand this as time goes on.
The idea is roll in more new creators and series within the already existing popular section, or if we have to redefine the section with a different terminology then we can rethink the strategy around that. The goal is to help diversify the offerings of such a prominent section on Tapas. While I completely understand your frustration and understand that it will directly impact creators like yourself, we do need to make ample efforts to try and make sure that readers are finding enough utility within that section. I apologize for the direct negative impact that it has had on you.
We are still working on re-implementing this.
I think the problem here is the expectation upon which these compared click-through rates rest. Yes, users that are already around and willing to get used to the new setup may be more likely to click new titles. But to obtain that you sacrifice:
- The marketability of the site. This would hurt the small creators by extension.
- The reliability of the section (people expect a certain thing when they click popular. If they don't find the sorting useful, they will cease to use it rendering the section useless).
- Some of your biggest earners. Some may leave the site, others may have to centralize their focus on other sites. This would hurt the small creators you are trying to help by extension.
- Some of your contracted earners. Like I said I am probably one of those that escape this with the least harm, but if I may speak for some of the lower income premium creators for a moment you would be gambling with the earnings of people who invested their time and brand in you.
I hope I don't come across as too harsh because I am not only writing this through the haze of the financial loss that corona has caused, but I literally most likely have had corona myself this week so I am not in my best state... but some of your most essential marketing tools and contracted creators are practically begging you not to do this. Not just for us, but for the sake of the entire site. The popular section has an essential marketing role and you can't force people to read more new content through it without sacrificing more than it's worth long term.
If you want to bring people to see more niche content, content that is less seen currently, etc, then I think the collected wish (from conversations I've had with other people who are concerned about this potential update) is a functioning search system. Allow people to not only filter by genre, but add search words to further specify what they are looking for. We already have series tags (or at least had last time i checked..?) so why not let people search for them??
A functioning search system will mean that users, once they understand the site (until which time a reliable popular section is essential), will find their own way to less seen content that suits them. Audiences and creators naturally find each other. Without making sacrifices!
Readers want this too btw. From a reader perspective, I would love to be able to just filter by the genres I like and type in "goth", "victorian" in a search bar and be on my merry way with my ridiculously specific tastes.
I don't think any of us expect you to whip up a functioning search system right now while everyone in the entire world is struggling to even buy toilet paper 
but it would be lovely if you would wait to do a thing that's good for the entire site rather than do a thing right now that will hurt it.
I've been following the thread and talking with creators and I'm not sure I back changing the algorithm right now, even though it'd probably benefit me personally.
Tapas is an ecosystem, and when you're a creator it's easy to become so focused on your direct peers, you don't notice that other creators affect you. All of us small (below 250 bookmarks) creators want to grow, it's true, and many of us are probably thinking "Yes! A change to the algorithm so I can get noticed and not be hidden by all those big series!" and maybe we're missing a pretty important thing: We need those big series. The big series are what bring people to the site and cause them to make accounts and to be on Tapas' front page in the first place. As frustrating as this sounds for a small creator, I think the algorithm does need to favour those big comics. They're the headliners at the music festival, and we're the side acts- would you rather be a headliner? Well, yeah! ...But being a side act at a music festival with loads of people there to see ACDC is better than being headliner at a music festival nobody's attending because they've never heard of you, right?
Example: I need The Witch's Throne to exist. If The Witch's Throne wasn't there, there'd be nothing to show me that there's an audience for a female-lead shounen manga on the site or to bring an audience for that content to the site. Am I jealous of that comic? Do I sometimes look wistfully at the premium titles in action like "I could do that! I should be up there!"? Well, yes, I'm only human and I get jealous sometimes. Like, sometimes I stare longingly at cakes and I imagine eating them, but I'm gluten intolerant so the short term joy of delicious cake in my mouth would inevitably later turn out to have been really bad for me. Things that feel good emotionally aren't always sensible long-term decisions. Throwing Errant up there instead of The Witch's Throne? Well, that's great for me in the short term! I'm sure I'd get a boost of subs! ...But in the long term? I'm not so sure, and if that comic left the site altogether because it was no longer profitable... well, that'd be probably pretty bad for me because fewer people would be coming in who read action genre comics.
Though they seem like giants to small creators, these "big creators" aren't that well-off. I imagine the earnings are pretty comparable to my day job. But until I get my comic popular enough to make money, I still have my day job and I'm very fortunate that I can work remotely and should keep it for the forseeable future even in this uncertain time. It'd honestly be selfish of me to say "Tapas, I know these people make their income off this, but I want to threaten their livelihood by killing their sub/view numbers so MY comic can get featured and get over the 250 bookmarks line and make a little bit of pocket money that isn't enough for me to live off but will make me feel good about myself". Is my ego really more important than somebody else making rent? No matter how much I may think my comic is awesome and wish it'd grow faster, it's not like I work harder than these popular or premium titles. They work hard, they deserve to feel financially secure.
My proposed alternative would be to keep the algorithm the same, keeping comics with the most readers at the top of popular, but that the "you might enjoy" on popular comics maybe showcases similar, but less popular, more mid-tier creators, and keeping premium series or ones already in the top 5-10 in popularity out of "staff picks" (but not necessarily out of the themed collections). This means that the big comics are still there, headlining the site and bringing in the crowds...AND those crowds are then seeing similar comics by growing creators that they might like based on the big thing they came to see. If a big bunch of people are coming to read The Witch's Throne, a shounen sort of feeling comic with a bold art style and a female lead... well, those are the exact people I want to see a recommendation to read Errant. I don't want them seeing my comic instead, I want them seeing my comic as well.
You just described a case for a working search system and MAYBE an additional list of “rising stars” - not messing with the popular algorithm.
I don’t know how to put it any other way... you’ve hit creator’s bank balances with this update, combining that with the global economic crash, it’s worrying that the answer is basically “sorry but we’re continuing regardless”. I’m one of those creators who puts almost everything with Tapas but I do have other options and I guess now I’ll have to consider them. This is a really disappointing response and apologies won’t pay my bills, nor ease my concerns. Not to mention that novelists were double hit with Patreon now no longer being as prominently advertised for them in comparison to comics where ads can at least be uploaded into the system - this really really concerns me.
@LordVincent and @darthmongoose both have made some fantastic points too. Please listen to us.
Just a theory, but since it seems that most users read our stuff on mobile, is it really the update that affected the stats of most creators, or is it the pandemic which has changed how people interact with our content?
Nothing was changed on the mobile version, which is what seems to get most of the traffic. I'm not sure if Tapas is at fault if people aren't subscribing to Patreon pages with the current pandemic - maybe people are seeing our Patreon pages like before, but just can't afford it at the moment? @LordVincent 's previous screenshot seems to be a good indicator of this. I know I haven't personally spent any money on entertainment related items since this started, and I've been consuming less of them too. Maybe it'd be helpful to have a stat-page to see how many readers clicked on creator adverts or viewed them (before and after the update + before and after the pandemic), this would likely make it easier for creators to understand what's currently going on.
(Also, sorry if this reads like a double post, I accidentally deleted my old one.)
Thank you to the devs for working on this even during these trying times, and to Tapas for listening to us, your hard work is much appreciated! 
On a slightly different subject to front page algorithms, I've found that my reading habits have changed a lot since the update because of a few minor things. (and not in a good way I'm afraid)
First, not seeing the number of new updated comics on the bookmark icon means I just...forget there are new updates. I usually leave some series to binge in one go at a later date, and others I read every new update as it comes out (depending on the story and genre). But now I can't see how many of my subs have updated unless I click every time, so I just lose track.
Then when I DO take a look, I can't open any of the comic links in new tabs on my desktop anymore. So I need to read them one at a time rather than load up 3-4 to go through. EDIT: This only seems to happen if I don't wait a few seconds first. If I wait (for things to load, I guess?), then I can open them in a new tab. So I can get around this issue for now.
On top of that, clicking on them doesn't bring me to the newest page anymore. I have to check on the page list which ones I've read/not read, and some are in Oldest/Newest order, and others vice versa.
The point I'm making is, I mostly use tapas as a creator. But as a reader, the experience has slowed to a crawl so much so that I only check my list once a week now, if that.
Does anyone else feel this problem, or is it just me?
And if it isn't just me, Tapas, will you be able to make some changes at all?
Does anyone else feel this problem, or is it just me?
I don't know if it's a problem on my end, since I'm still getting reminded of updates and clicking on them, but I've found that visually, this tab is the one that catches my attention more than the nofication button now, when something new has been uploaded:
I think I must have some sort of mental barrier put up for anything past the comic and some comments, because I didn't even see that section until you just pointed it out! It would help, if I remembered to click my updated tab more. But that's like clicking notifications on any other social media, and not seeing how many you have in the little dot at the top.
It works for some, but here its messed up my way of catching the latest updates for some comics, and leaving others to grow for a binge read.
May or may not be related, but my likes per update on my own comic have gone way down since the update too, but then again I might just write crappy comics! 
Ah, I haven't really been watching my likes so I can't comment on that, but I agree that having the number on the notification system was great! Although I have no qualms about the current button, I do think it would be neat if it were brought back in future updates! 
Also one thing I've noticed about this update is that I'm getting a lot more traction on old series that hadn't gotten any new readers in months, not sure why that is or if it's just a coincidence, but it's pretty cool! 
@Greetings I’m comparing my series against each other. I have a fair few - some long, some just started, some updating weekly, some premium, some not. So it’s easier for me perhaps to look across the range of data and see funky changes to my data. I’ve noticed an increase of handfuls of subs in long-completed or dead projects, but a downward trend in stuff that’s updating. I don’t want readers funnelled into my older stuff - I want their eyes on the new stuff so they are funnelled towards Early Access on my Patreon. My back catalogue can be advertised to them after.
We can say it’s COVID, but that would affect both my premium series equally, or all my free-to-reads the same. That’s not really the case though here.
