Wanted to give our users a heads up about some changes scheduled to take place within the Rivals.com network, which will include Gopher Illustrated. The switch-over will happen very soon, likely this afternoon.
When the change kicks in, the front page of GopherIllustrated.com and all content pages (stories and features) will be completely different. As I’m sure you guys have seen, we’ve been using some of the new content pages already. Here's a quick FAQ about the upcoming changes:
Why are the changes being made?
#1 - The Rivals network has essentially been unchanged for 15 years. Because the coding is so antiquated it's coming apart at the seams and was in desperate need of an update. As many probably remember, Signing Day two years ago was an absolute disaster when the network crashed for several hours. That was a result of underlying problems with the network and having few people that could maintain antiquated code and software. The network has been held together by tape and string since then and it's a daily challenge to keep it up and running.
#2 - Mobile! When Rivals was launched around 15 years ago there was no such thing as reading online content on a smartphone or tablet. Now, over 50% of people that are online are doing so from a mobile device! The old configuration (content and front page) was never designed for mobile and doesn't play nicely with it. The new network is 100% mobile responsive and optimized for all devices.
What will the changes mean for Gopher Illustrated users?
When the change kicks in, the front page of GopherIllustrated.com and all content pages (stories and features) will be completely different. As I’m sure you guys have seen, we’ve been using some of the new content pages already. Here's a quick FAQ about the upcoming changes:
Why are the changes being made?
#1 - The Rivals network has essentially been unchanged for 15 years. Because the coding is so antiquated it's coming apart at the seams and was in desperate need of an update. As many probably remember, Signing Day two years ago was an absolute disaster when the network crashed for several hours. That was a result of underlying problems with the network and having few people that could maintain antiquated code and software. The network has been held together by tape and string since then and it's a daily challenge to keep it up and running.
#2 - Mobile! When Rivals was launched around 15 years ago there was no such thing as reading online content on a smartphone or tablet. Now, over 50% of people that are online are doing so from a mobile device! The old configuration (content and front page) was never designed for mobile and doesn't play nicely with it. The new network is 100% mobile responsive and optimized for all devices.
What will the changes mean for Gopher Illustrated users?
- For content pages, there will be a slightly different look but more importantly they will be optimized for mobile. Everything should be much easier to read on smartphones and tablets, and they should load faster. There will be no need to scroll from side to side or to increase the size of the page in order to read it. And because it's compatible with all devices and operating systems, every page should look fine whether you are using an iPhone, Android, Windows, etc.
- The front page of Gopher Illustrated will look very different. Because there was a priority to make everything mobile friendly, we had to sacrifice some features that have been mainstays on the front page - Twitter feed, a video module, links to quick updates, and the look will be more streamlined (you will need to scroll down more to find recent features and stories). However, Rivals is working with us to get creative and find ways to have things like a Twitter feed on GI.
- Rivals is now away from the constraints of being on Yahoo's servers, and will no longer be constrained by having to go through 20 layers of bureaucracy to get an upgrade or something needed done. As a result, a lot of cool features and needed changes will come quickly over the coming months.
- John Talman, the director of Rivals, is putting more of an emphasis on listening to the publishers which means we have more of say in the direction of the network. It also means we have a lot of input on needed changes.
- Yes, there will be some bugs. The new network been essentially running in the background for over a month to weed out as many bugs as possible. But with any major technological change/upgrade bugs, glitches and unforeseen setbacks are inevitable. We will work as quickly as possible to get through these problems so please be patient.
- This thread will be left open for a while to get feedback on the changes. We'll do what we can to answer any questions you might have and to consider any suggestions. However, if your goal is to troll, stir the pot or just or just complain about the new look without offering anything constructive your post will be removed. You are always welcomed to email me at howar599@umn.edu.
