EPT
In November 2007, I had a vision: a new, sleek front page for TeamLiquid.net. Im sure many of you agree that the current front page layout does not do justice to the amazing work that our writers produce. For the casual reader, it's difficult to follow and cumbersome to navigate. The only thing that made sense was to create a streamlined interface that would show the viewer hot topics, great contributions from our members and to keep news up top for as long as possible.
One of the beauties and failures of the Men In Red is how meticulous we are about the tasks we take on. We are very resistant to change unless we are absolutely sure it will succeed. The front page took these principles to a whole new level. For months we discussed features, layout, colors, and other related matters. I remember a particularly spirited three week debate on whether there should be a horizontal line separating two news sections.
On the surface, this appears to be a relatively simple project. However, in reality it has been a roller coaster of frustration, excitement, and most recently, relief. Every detail has been thought through, scrapped and redone to meet our expectations.
Today, finally, we have finally reached a stage where we can launch the new front page.
I would like to take this time to thank people who have had an integral role in making the front page happen.
Sonuvbob – I hate this man with the fury of a thousand suns. However, he is the grounding that keeps our ideas focused. Bob helped us realize that lasers and wings probably would not be effective and was an invaluable voice in our many discussions.
thedeadhaji – Haji had a great impact on the early design decisions of the front page. He wrote a huge design document on streamlining the admin features and was instrumental in creating a solid base for the front page.
Bockit – We brought Bockit onto staff to help with the CSS work. It’s nice to be able to photoshop ideas and have them magically turn into useable code and Bockit really helped us get over some of the many design hurdles we had.
Hot_Bid – Hot_Bid is a troll. Many of you may not realize that he is actually a distant cousin of the Brood War player InControl and he subtly creates an incendiary path of drama wherever he goes. However, his one redeeming quality and the sole reason we keep him on staff is for the remarkable, one-in-a-million skill he possesses: his ability to make things happen through relentless nagging.
Zatic – Like many of our Wizards, Zatic is an unsung hero of Teamliquid. What you see today on the front page may never have seen the light of day without his hard work. He is also a survivor of the TeamLiquid MiR debate process, which is basically a cross between a third grade classroom and the Bataan death march. This process has broken many a man, but Zatic persevered. I can't give him enough credit for this.
A first glance at the new front page may look like a simple addition but it has been through countless man-hours of discussion and planning that we have been able to bring this dream to fruition. Having set a standard for only presenting the best material to the public this is a project I am very proud to have been a part of and I know the rest of staff feel the same way.
TeamLiquid is dedicated to providing the best coverage, discussion and community environment for Brood War players and fans, and this project enables us to further advance those goals.
Enjoy
