Do you use the "Also On Grassroots Motorsports" sidebar?

yes

I read the magazine when it shows up. I read the forums because these guys are practically family. The right side of the screen, not so much.

I visit the forums more often using my phone than I do the PC, so I almost never see the side bar.

TRoglodyte wrote: I read the article about the staffer learning to drive a standard, was curious about Tims article about starting the magazine and found out its a podcast. Pod people are scary to me but I am a Luddite.

It's like an article you read with your ears.

Or, the podcasts are like a radio show that plays on your schedule. Or it's like listening in on a friends' conversation--but not in a creepy way.

Actually, the past couple days I have.

I try to ignore it.

Sometimes the pictures catch my eye. But not enough to click on them.

My life is pretty limited on being able to do much static reading these days. If I do any, I read the magazine.

Once in awhile, if something interests me.

I've been listening to some of the podcasts, but so far I'll get the Facebook notification before I see it on the sidebar.

You know what I don't read or actively click on? Popups. For me, websites are at the point of "jumping the shark" when they start doing it.

Aka as the subscribe today popup at the bottom of my screen.

In reply to HiTempguy:

I've been complaining about that one for some time with no result. Its very annoying, considering I already subscribe.

bravenrace wrote: In reply to HiTempguy: I've been complaining about that one for some time with no result. Its very annoying, considering I already subscribe.

The funny thing is that invasive advertising like that DRIVES people to find a solution, such as an ad blocker program. And then not only does the company not get their advertisement across, they also don't earn any ad revenue. You'd think a company like GRM that is so hip and with the times would understand that, but alas...

Alan Cesar wrote: So, since the redesign, do you find yourself reading more online articles or getting more engaged with the rest of the site? Or is it about the same as before?

I don't read online articles anywhere, that's what dead-tree format is for (it's faster and it works everywhere!) so the sidebar only serves to shrink the forum conversations down to the right half of the monitor.

JG Pasterjak wrote:

TRoglodyte wrote: I read the article about the staffer learning to drive a standard, was curious about Tims article about starting the magazine and found out its a podcast. Pod people are scary to me but I am a Luddite.

It's like an article you read with your ears.

I clicked on the download now thingy and stuck my ear on the box, couldn't see anything . To much earwax in my eyes?

Once.

I do not use it, I actually find it somewhat annoying because it causes the site to not work correctly on my phone.

I don't believe I've used it since it's been there and block it out because it take up valuable forum space. I know it's probably a necessary evil for advertising purposes, and that's a trade-off I can live with.

I'll be blunt. The people are what makes the site for me, not the content. Not that the content is lacking in any way, but the knowledge and helpfulness of the forum members is what sets this place apart. I used to frequent a ton of automotive forums, but for the past few years, I only read this one.

HiTempguy wrote: You know what I don't read or actively click on? Popups. For me, websites are at the point of "jumping the shark" when they start doing it. Aka as the subscribe today popup at the bottom of my screen.

Clicking on the X on the slide-up box should set a cookie that makes it disappear for a month. Is that not happening? (Make sure you haven't disabled cookies in your browser). We were hesitant to implement pop-ups, but being able to shut it off for a month made us feel it would be more palatable.

There was a problem with Apple devices where users couldn't click on the X to close it, but I believe we've fixed that.

In reply to Alan Cesar:

I use it constantly. Not only that, I've found relevant articles on it that I had no way of finding otherwise: prepping the yellow Miata for Chump Car ops, for example, was hugely beneficial and I would not have ever seen it without the "Also On..." section.

Is it normal though, that the "Cars | Forum | Clubs | News..." buttons cover the Grassroots Motorsports banner at the top of the page? It's been like that for me for a while, but I do like the touch-friendly buttons.

I didn't know it was there until yesterday when I jumped on my laptop. Almost all my web browsing is from my phone and it doesn't show up there.

Yes

confuZion3 wrote: In reply to Alan Cesar: I use it constantly. Not only that, I've found relevant articles on it that I had no way of finding otherwise: prepping the yellow Miata for Chump Car ops, for example, was hugely beneficial and I would not have ever seen it without the "Also On..." section.

Yes, this, It also lets me know when I can hear JG talk about Jaws or his leftover dinner on podcats.

confuZion3 wrote: Is it normal though, that the "Cars | Forum | Clubs | News..." buttons cover the Grassroots Motorsports banner at the top of the page? It's been like that for me for a while, but I do like the touch-friendly buttons.

That's not supposed to happen. Can you send me a screenshot and what device you're using? Email it to alan@grassrootsmotorsports.com and I'll look into it.

Thanks for pointing this out!