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Mar 2020

If you run into this issue again, can you take a screenshot and add browser information and send that over to feedback@tapas.io so we can look into it?

Also reporting doesn't automatically do anything other than alerting staff members. We try to contextualize every report by looking into the series since, yes, there are often times false positive reports.

Unfortunately, we don't have any current plans to enact this.

@michaelson can I ask why? I mean wouldn't it be more benfical to Tapas to allow more works be seen? Basicaly by not allowing new novels or comics be seen more you are working aginst your selves in the long run. From a buisness perspective it would generate more revenue for the company by putting a few slots in where new authors and artist can be displayed. Other wise they get lost in the translation. Like most of my subs come from other platforms, while i am bringing in more traffic for my specific novel this does not mean that my readers will go look at other novels on the sight if they cant find anything new or fresh. The suggestions i made can all be done by html 5 code with out need to actually have any staff updating it all the time. it can all be automatically updated. These are all things you should really try to pass on to the other staff. As it would realy benifit Tapas by doing so. Because the 4-5 million or so traffic you get a year to the web site could also double in the future as well.

These are just my thoughts.

Hm, there are a variety of different reasons, I don't think it would really be used the way you described - we've tested this feature in the past and did not see positive results as a platform or for the creator community when we enacted it. Because of the velocity in which series are updating on an hourly basis the window on the homepage to be seen is actually quite small. Not only that but we observed unwanted behaviors to try and capitalize on the feature window (i.e. breaking apart pages into single panels and having those episodes published in intervals). It's not really an issue of complexity in coding, it's mainly an issue regarding its functionality and practical application.

I agree that more areas of visibility for newer creators to get a foothold in readership is important, but having these sections is not necessarily the way to accomplish that. Allowing readers to have more sorting options so that they can pro-actively find stories they're interested in is more valuable for creators in the long run as that leads to higher conversion rates of readers to subscribers.

Honestly, this new update just makes the website a pain for me to use. I can't easily go from one comic update to another. I'm not saying that the new design is bad, but it feels like a lot of clutter on the screen, compared to before and it takes way too many clicks and page loads to go from one new update to a new one. I've never used the mobile version of the website before, so I don't know how it relates, but on a regular computer, its a bit of a pain.

@michaelson that is true. But that only accounts for recently updated. the other is based on a certain amount of time and length that a creator updates. so if they are updating every day lets say for an entire month they will get put into a pool of randomization at a chance to be shown on the front page for 24 hours as a daily updated creator. this makes it so they can only be added once and removed if they are not updating for a certain length of time. this is how one of the biggest novel platforms out there add the ability for new authors to gain some recognition that are serious about their works. this also does not mean they will become ultra-popular but it will at least give them an incentive to keep at what they love and aim to get better. if they do see their creation on the front page. Of course, I have only been on tapas for a few days and have no idea what is planned for the future but I do hope this is an area you work on. And just for those reading this. I am new to Tapas but not to web novels as I do have many contracted titles on another platform. I do not have my glasses on so excuse any typos in this reply.

This has been fixed. Together with the heavy loading time. It is a pleasure to use now.

LISTEN ALL OF YOU ANGRY PEOPLE (me included)
TAPAS IS FIXING IT ALL. FAITH RESTORED.

thank you @michaelson and @Yoon and all the team

ok but like, man

i remember a time when anyone could get to the front page based on views and traffic alone

sometimes it was based on a comic's longevity, like how long it had been around and made itself a presence, sometimes it was based on hard work advertising and word of mouth to get the sub counts up, and sometimes it was just pure luck

but for the most part, everyone had an equal chance (as equal as you can get with all those factors combined, way more equal than it is today). and most importantly, the comics that were consistently on the front page were there for a reason - for being unique comics with great content, often times entirely managed by one person who just loved what they did.

like 80% of the comics on the front page now are comics that you've paid to be up there, and as a result it's always the same shit. either the same comics every day, or an assortment of comics that are all the same thing (don't get me started on the 'based on novels/comics' category, you've got every premium series in there highlighted TWICE).

I legit haven't added a single comic to my subscribed list in the last like, 6 months, because they're always either hidden behind a permanent paywall (and I can find plenty more comics that are better quality and probably need the support a lot more) or because the front page has been the same wall of garbage for the last 2+ years. All the series in my current reading list are either good free to reads that are still going (ex. Scurry, A BETTER PLACE, etc) OR old comics that either died or relocated years ago (ex. My Perfect You, Two Cent Slice, Hello My Name Is Benny, etc), the latter of which were from a time where the front page was constantly changing, variety was in abundance, and you could get the front page banner just by asking.

Anyone who's been here longer than a few years can attest to this. We're not idiots.

like bruh I've straight up turned my ad blocker back on for the main site because I know the creators only get a fraction of that money which is miniscule to begin with (it's been like 3 years since I've hit the stupid $25 withdrawal minimum lmao and I've seen people only hit the halfway mark after a solid year) and any creators that I do want to support I'm already supporting with real money (either via online donation pools like Patreon, Ko-Fi, etc or through commissions and purchasing merchandise) that I know goes directly to the artist further than any fictional currency like 'ink' can (and I keep my ad blocker off for the free to read comics that I want to support). Patreon may also take a chunk of the money but at least it's open to everyone and I don't have to burn my money to turn them into app points first for series I don't want to read. And at least with Patreon the creators know how much money they're getting based on the pledges that month and don't have to cross their fingers that Tapas' biased front page doesn't shoot them in the foot with shoddy visibility and subsequent shitty ad revenue.

The Witch's Throne is the only series so far from y'alls Premium selection that I like and even then once I hit that paywall, that's it. Over. Y'all ain't worth giving my money to anymore, especially considering all the free to read creators are already paying for your services through their free labor and content. At the very least, don't they deserve a decently working website with all that hard work and loyalty? The fact that people still use this platform after you screw them and their series over time and time again is just exploitation of loyalty at best.

Apologies for the big wall of text. Not apologizing for the words in it because a lot of it is shit that I've been holding back on saying for years. The new UI is just the tip of a very big iceberg which can be classified as simply as "LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY."

And I know this isn't solely your fault, Michael, because you and the original dev team were what helped make this site great back in the day. But the reason I say 'helped' is because you all seem to be forgetting what really made it great - the community that built it to this point. Whether it's the devs or the investors or the higher ups, I don't care at this point - Tapas as a whole has exploited the love and dedication so many people have or once had for this place, and it's sickening. And the whole UI design problems are merely a symptom of that. Until you guys get your act together, problems like this will just keep happening over and over again, just like they already have (do I need to remind people who were here about the TOS debacle from a long time back?)

The UI interface problems are a side effect of a bigger problem. As for fixing that bigger problem... start looking to the community that built you a little more (and not just after you fucked up because we all know it's more for PR at that point, we're not stupid). You guys spend hours on the backend, but we have the most experience as readers and as creators. We're all here talking about these issues because we want to see better for this place many of us call home. Do you think I've raised this much of a fuss over Webtoons or SJ every time they fucked up? I haven't because I genuinely care for this place among all others and I want to see it do better, everyone here does. Please don't take advantage of that loyalty and dedication.

yer im coming up to year six now and still $10 away, looks like i will never see a dime of it. for once i agree with everything you just said and it saddens me to the core considering the time and dedication i have wasted here.

Hello I rarely talk in the forums but good grief I really have to comment on this new Tapastic website's update:
To sum it: No, I don't like it. Please go back to the old site.

  1. The new site basically looks like the app, but desktop version. So I'm assuming based off the first few posts here, the current website looks like the app because...to match them both? Why couldn't it be THE APP that was changed to match the desktop??? Like make it resemble and function like the mobile version of the site. (Also the app always confused me so I always used the mobile site anyways).

  2. The home page has too much white, too much white space, and is just??? very confusing overall. My eyes don't know where to look, have no idea what's going on, and I really miss the long, sliding homepage banners. Honestly the old desktop was perfect.

  3. Oh boy, the actual comic pages. My biggest complain is NO MORE BANNERS???? Why would you get rid of them??? I LOVED THE COMIC BANNERS! That's one of the things that Tapastic was better at compared to Webtoon!!! The banners actually gave personality to the comics, and visual interest! Now, the comic pages look boring!! I'm sad! (especially since I spent TIME drawing the banner!)

  4. Just. Bring the old layout for comic pages back please. I practically dislike everything in the new version. The old version was easier to use because you had the author, support button and comic info on the left, banner at the top, all pages on the left, pages in the middle, and ads, comments, and everything else at the bottom, and scrollable pages! THE NEW VERSION IS REALLY CONFUSING! I don't know what's going on! I liked the simplicity of the old one and that everything was on one page! Please, bring it back :frowning:

  5. The scrollable format helped also worked really well with all types of comics too! Now because of the clicking arrows AND the fading bars at the top and bottom, I find it very...not supportive of comics that aren't long pages/mobile format. I really wish you kept the old format, again.

Those are my main complaints, which, again, boils down to bring back the old desktop site and instead, make the app match the desktop site more. Apologize for this being so long, I'm just very very upset by the site basically being....not good for my comic. (And I'm gonna be honest, Webtoon isn't any better so I have literally no good site to post my comic on). Well, I hope the site gets improved then!

Will you be allowing people to use the old website format? Or maybe just switch back to it entirely?

Okay, yesterday a comic caught my eye and I tried to read it.
Holy balls, that was so clunky!
The whole idea of having a menu pop when you don't need it but disappear when you want it is so infuriating!
The navigation needs a major overhaul.

Also, why are the stats and useful creator features absent from the mobile version?
I know it was the same before, but what's the point of it?

There are definitely some things I have noticed as both a creator and a reader that I feel are issues.

As a reader, the dark header and footer/navigation bars on the comic pages are very distracting. They also take away from the comic pages by making them harder to read. The way they disappear and reappear is very distracting. Also, having the hidden episode list feels inconvenient when compared to the old always visible list. These things I'm sure have been mentioned already, but I just wanted to reiterate. As a creator, I really miss the comic banner, it gives the reader a visual point of interest an introduction so to speak.

Aesthetics aside, the content of front page is what's REALLY bothering me, as a creator. I have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find anything that isn't either premium, a staff pick, or a translated manhwa that tapas picked up the rights to. Nothing is inherently wrong with these things, but it leaves almost zero visibility for smaller creators who work in other styles or genres.
The 'popular' and 'trending' bars were where I found my favorite comics, and where mine appeared at least once, because it relied on ACTUAL USER ENGAGEMENT. Now instead of showing things based on user interest, it's just showing me what the staff thinks I want to see- and I assure you, it isn't a single one of the flowery looking things being advertised in the top 3/4ths of the page. Right now it seems like the staff is prioritizing aesthetics over what people actually want to read, and screwing over smaller creators.

My recommendations to bring back the trust and appreciation of the creators hurt by this update:
- Bring back 'Popular' and 'Trending' bars in the top visible half of the page, or at least prioritize showing work based on user interest.
- Add 'Random comics/novels' bars to help bring in essential numbers to smaller, previously unnoticed works.
- Also... I miss the tapas yellow.

EDIT:
ALSO, I just looked at my own comic, and, wow! WOW! What the HELL! It is INCREASINGLY obvious that you are trying to discourage people from posting comics in any format besides the long skinny infinite scroll style. My comic is in a classic page format with panels. Trying to shove it into the skinny format by zooming it in like 100x literally destroys the readability of many of the pages. That, plus the obvious bias in what gets displayed in the top 3/4th of the front page, just shows continued prioritization of One Style of comic. This whole snub is fucking infuriating. Sorry if my languages offends you, Michael and staff, but being constantly shown that my work and other work like mine is literally worthless to the people running this site is even more offensive.

I don't think so. I asked Michael what is preventing a rollback, and he simply said "I can't comment on that currently."

So here's a few theories why that is:
1. Someone dropped the ball and deleted the backups of files required to do so.
2. They've been bought out, and the new company wants it to be a Webtoon clone, which is what happened to and destroyed Smackjeeves.
3. Basically #2, but not a buyout, just investor pressure.
4. They're just very dead set on forcing this redesign (that no one asked for) on us.

So it just seems as if the question will left ignored for quite some time (if not forever) like a phone number you don't know.

Well, Michael responded stating there was no buyout (I think it was him anyway).

I'm leaning on number 3.

Major changes like this tend to be driven by the pursuit of money, specially when the old system appeared to be functional.
Well, I don't know how things were in the background, so I can't comment whether the previous interface had a major flaw.

What convinces me is the "can't comment" comment.
Usually it indicates external pressure.
Don't take me too seriously though, It's all speculation.

this new site is a horrible layout and eye-murder.

revert the way the comics are displayed on desktop the the way it was last month at least.

and darkmode is a 100% requirement.

Has the reason for the 'Series Banner' negation been answered by anyone from the dev team?

Is it just because the banner isn't needed on the app, or something more?

Ah, well seeing his comment on the buyout, I'm with you now on thinking it's #3.

Just the "can't comment" comment is just so...evasive in nature, I guess. I feel like I'm (and the Tapas community as a whole) not getting the full story, but at the same time, there's simply not enough information to come up with a probable cause for these changes.

I don't think so. I asked Michael what is preventing a rollback, and he simply said "I can't comment on that currently."

It's just because he is not a decision maker for the product and at that time we were discussion "rollback" option. :sweat_smile:
Also of course we don't want to be a Webtoon clone. I don't think it's necessary but I feel like that our product team should've visited the Webtoon website before updating website hahaha...

Anyway.. our team is working hard to fix things that we got feedback as much as we can.. Just it takes some time...

(Also we didn't delete all the series banner files that creators uploaded, and you will access the file soon through the Dashboard.)

Thank you,

"I can't comment" tells us two things: First, they are hiding something from us (obviously), and, second, that it was the result of "executive meddling." In principle, it could mean any number of other things; in practice, it virtually never does. . . .

Some of you guys are getting all worked up over that "can't comment"... As amusing as it might be to read all that speculation, you gotta admit it does not help in any way: you won't get more answers, and yall are only spreading rumors and/or projecting ill intents onto the Tapas team - all without evidence.

From what we know, this "I can't comment" could refer to about anything. Talking and jumping to conclusions without proof is only creating further chaos when there is no reason to.

From the looks of it, despite their [insert ghost sound effect here] hidden reasons, the Tapas team seems to be working hard on solving the issues their update caused, gathering feedback from us, etc. So, sure, we can't move backwards, but it doesn't mean the team isn't working on making our experience better.

Since we don't know their reasons, we can only wait and see, and judge the product/website's quality itself. This is the only evidence we have, and the only evidence we need to decide whether we want to stay here or move someplace else.

tl;dr: There is no need to raise rumors on each word the Tapas team says, yo :stuck_out_tongue:

That sounds good.

And also will the font/typeface for the novels' text revert to the Eye-pleasing Serif Font we had, or is this bland sans-serif Arial type to stay.

Thank you for all the hard work. It's great that you listen to the community feedback

It always feels a bit sketch when things like this happen and I prefer the people I work with to be as clear as possible but I agree the fear mongering is troubling.

lmao okay but you don't just aCciDenTaLLy make a website look and function JUST LIKE another website, like even the suggested comics are in the exact same positioning and format when you're browsing, just like webtoons lol

like if you're worried about your product team not 'checking things' first, i hate to break it to ya, but it's the other way around. Clearly some of your staff are spending a liiiiittle too much time on your competitor's website /whistle whistle

i wanna give y'all the benefit of the doubt but you're not making it easy because that's straight hokey and you know it lol maybe i look like a dick for that assumption but is it really a wrong assumption to make? the chances of me being wrong to assume that are far greater than the astronomically slim chances of 'accidentally' copying another website, like you'd copy someone's homework lol ('just make it look a liiittle different'). The only real difference is that Webtoons looks far cleaner because they actually spent time on it and have been refining it since they released their current layout design.

As a tattoo artist, this just makes me think of the artists out there who steal other people's designs and then can't even do the original the justice of looking half as good. Because they're inexperienced and they don't have the tools or skills to perfectly replicate the original's style and craftsmanship. In 100% of these cases, it's better to just focus on your own skills and designs and not blatantly copy.

i rambled for a hot minute there but rly, honestly speaking, we appreciate you guys fixing the bugs but you don't gotta pretend ¯\(ツ)

“I can’t comment” often means: it is against business practices to do so. I doubt ANYONE wants to publicly reveal information that could be used by a rival company or a hostile force in the markets to damage Tapas. I’m sure everyone here means well, but there is a level of common sense about how much of the inner workings can be revealed. Tapas is already EXTREMELY transparent about a lot of things compared to other tech firms so I wouldn’t say that there’s some mysterious forces at work. Just common sense and following the rules.

oh yeah regarding the "can't comment" thing you guys know i love tin foil and dismantling capitalist oppression but like

as far as anyone's concerned he's literally not legally allowed to comment on the matter lol

and if he is and choosing not to, that's out of our control so don't worry about it, keep it in your hat and move on lol obviously if it contributes to your suspicions or worries we can't control that either but try not to stress over it too much when it's obvious we're either not gonna get an answer or that answer simply doesn't exist :stuck_out_tongue:

and getting in the way of the pages!! I could get used to everything but this!!! it is very frustrating : / that needs some fixing please

Yes, that should have been certainly done! It's basic marketing 101 to check out what the competitors are doing and then aim for something different (to avoid copyright claims/beef) and make it better than everything else out there to keep users here @_@

I mean, I learned that in my 1st semester of product design which was ages ago, I don't want to step on anyone's toes here, but that procedure is absolute basics ^^"

That put aside, I am really glad to read that you and the team are working on the issues... =) (Any chance for a solid DM system? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:)

ok i mentioned this in my last post but i'll say it again

they did visit webtoons.

probably a lot.

prooobably while they were designing the website lol maybe a little dual monitor action, idk but like

it IS basic marketing 101, you're right about that. and they know what they did lol because it's also basic marketing 101 to hop on the bandwagon of what's popular and they took that to the extreme.

you don't accidentally end up with a website that looks and functions the exact same as a competitor's website without having visited that website many times before, and at that point it's not accidentaaaal ~ :clap:

Hard pill to swallow: they did not invest too much time and effort and $$$ on the redesign only to have it rolled back, just like that. No matter how much you ask for it. (they would've done so day1 if it was in the cards) The best they can do is just make it not suck as much as they possibly can. The core design will stay the same.

The faster you can make peace with that fact, the better you can adapt (if you plan to stay despite it all, that is lol)

Also, while the staff missed the mark big time, i think we need to chill and not scrutinize every single word they say. "can't comment" simply means that: can't comment. They literally confirmed they were not bought out so no need to keep pushing that narrative.

And here is the thing: they really don't have to listen to what the forum says. We are literally in the minority here. The vast majority of the creators don't even know there is a forum in the first place, or don't care there is one. As long as they can just upload their comic, they're satisfied. But they're going out of their way when they honestly don't have to look our way lol.

They screwed up big time but give them the benefit of the doubt.
And chill.

Just my two cents.

I wish I could send more than one heart for that comment.

Especially for this ^^^^ For real we're whining but here they are taking into consideration the feedback of 60-100 people.

Another problem that didn't seem like one until I started running into it every day - you can't middle click for new tabs with the new notifications widget. It still works on Library, so it's an odd ommission...

They kind of have to. This is the only communication they have with creators, and if they piss off creators too much, they'll go elsewhere and actively dissuade others from opening up shop on Tapas. That's revenue loss for them.
It's not just altruism.