isoHunt Lite fixes, want feedback

Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 8:00 pm

IE6/7 bugs are fixed, and common complaint with dead links is addressed. The title in search results link to the original site which may be down or changed, but the Cached link is the same as the Download .torrent link on regular isoHunt before. Many of you don't seem to realize that, so we made changes to make that cached link more obvious. See http://isohunt.com/lite/#q=ubuntu for an example of the cached links I'm talking about.

True that we have disabled comments in Lite for legal reason, but ratings (with thumbs up, down) are still displayed, and it is factored in in the combined torrent search ranking, which includes seeds/leechers, ratings, search relevance and age. Many of you complain about missing sort and that is really uncalled for, the combined ranking is better in most cases especially with more spam trackers misreporting seeds/leechers stats. This ranking again is the same default ranking used on regular isoHunt which you come to love.

Sort by age for newest torrents is a valid feature missing and if you want this, we'll work on adding sort option for that.

So, if you don't like Lite, tell us why so we can improve it. Complaining that "it sucks" doesn't help. Nobody likes change but sometimes it's necessary, so help us change it for the better with constructive criticism.

New (04/14): Sorting options & table-like attributes formating now on Lite, as you requested
New (04/16): Search suggestions doubling as spell check, bug fixes
Update (11/03): Regular isoHunt interface available again for US with a twist: until we are able to appeal the US court injunction, categories and top searches are disabled. Lite is still available if you want it.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:43 am

I don't think it's so much that lite was terrible, just the interface was a bit questionable. I personally missed the table design of the regular model, and the dealbreaker for me was not being able to sort by the number of seeds/leeches. Hope it gets worked out, because it's a good direction to go into, but the web 1.0 interface is turning a lot of people off.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:13 am

Is there anyway to have the shoutbox in lite. I know the zeitgeist is out of the question but I don't see why we couldn't have the shoutbox and forums.

If lite had the shoutbox and forums and the search like it is (on existing Lite version), I would be pleased.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:03 am

I went to the isohunt.hk and logged in, because .com didn't seem to have the login showing at the top.

Seemed to display the same as regular ISOHunt, did a search and was fine, tried a second search and shows up as Lite. seems to be kinda flipping back and forth between the two.

That being said, I'm Canadian so, Judge Wilson's verdict doesn't apply here (yet anyway).

Should Canadians be affected by this? The screens switching back/forth just a temporary glitch? I'm running WinXP with Firefox 3.6.

As for improvements... the results in Lite are too spaced out, looks clean but, takes longer to scroll through results. Plus, Google lets you choose the number of results per page to show.

The old ISO was great because you'd get 20 results without having to scroll at all.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:36 am

jenga122 wrote:

Is there anyway to have the shoutbox in lite. I know the zeitgeist is out of the question but I don't see why we couldn't have the shoutbox and forums.

If lite had the shoutbox and forums and the search like it is (on existing Lite version), I would be pleased.

I agree that would be great features. I appreciate all that you are doing for the us users

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 11:42 am

while I am not using the new isohunt lite, I did take it for a test spin.

there are several reasons that I choose to use the old isohunt as opposed to the many alternative sites.

The most important thing is the comments section. I want to see what others have said about a particular torrent and also add my own comments. This is how I decide whether to download a torrent in the 1st Pl.

I also like the fact that a search brings you quickly to a page that's loaded with information and features. I can usually find what I'm looking for on the first page.

I like the forums because the people here are friendly and helpful. If you have a question or comment it is likely that you will get a response almost immediately.

As for iso-light:
I don't like having to mouse over things to get information. If you are allowed to provide that information, why do I have to mouse over it to get it?

Display more information on the page even if the print is smaller

I want the torrent that I have selected and all similar torrents displayed on the same page. It's hard to make a decision about which torrent download when you have to go back and forth in an attempt to compare them.

one thing the administrators of this site might be happy to know is that when I use a __________(not using the P word),my ad block and my no script are less effective and I am seeing a lot more of the ads.

I hope you get this thing fixed up and make it better.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 2:02 pm

Quote:

As for iso-light:
I don't like it at all.

I like the simplicity, and most definitely the concept and what iH is trying to show, I just don't like it.
iH has grown on me over the years and I don't like the change the least bit.

But yea..

I. I don't like the fact that you can't sort.
II. The comments are gone.
II. The whole mouse-over thing is a bit messy (IMO).

IV. Rather than having file names and hash below the torrent with the mouse-over showing seeds/peers, age and # of files, the format should be..
1. [ torrent ] - [ seeds/peers - age - # of files ]
2. [ torrent ] - [ seeds/peers - age - # of files ]
3. [ torrent ] - [ seeds/peers - age - # of files ]
..with the mouse-over showing all the other statistics, ie. file names, tracker, scrape/hash info, etc.

V. The shoutbox has vanished.
VI. Links (ie, forums, releases, setting/history)
VII. There seems to be no real sorting theme (IMO). I generally sort by seeds as the highest ranking are generally the most reliable.

You have to be a lot more specific now in what you are actually looking for, kinda narrowing it down of sorts.

But like I stated above, I do totally understand why it is tailored the way it is. I'm just glad the forums are still 'old school' even though I don't use them near as much as I used to..

Regardless, keep up the good fight Gary.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 2:42 pm

i still have forum access - i am happy
fight the good fight all you's

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:39 pm

I won't be using iso lite. What I loved about isohunt was the community and feedback/info on downloads. Isolite is a decent search engine but there are other search engines out there. I'll probably just use vuze. Sorry this happened to you guys. All good things must come to an end. LOVED isohunt while it lasted.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:53 pm

Snarkey00 wrote:

I won't be using iso lite. What I loved about isohunt was the community and feedback/info on downloads. Isolite is a decent search engine but there are other search engines out there. I'll probably just use vuze. Sorry this happened to you guys. All good things must come to an end. LOVED isohunt while it lasted.

Did I miss something?
When did someone make the call to abandon ship?
...because I need time to dress as a child or woman.

Seriously though, nothing is over or done yet, and at least no keyword filter is involved using lite. I do agree being able to access the community shouldn't be filtered out of lite though. Forums and releases should still be accessible. I don't see how that has anything to do with the search aspect of the site.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:36 pm

The default search result isn't always superior, and to declare that it unilaterally sounds frighteningly like something that would come out of the mouths of Microsoft's PR department.

There are instances where a search that involves seeder/leecher ratios is counterproductive. For example, a legal, explicitly-allowed audience recording of a concert (which a number of bands allow and which raises no copyright or legal issue anywhere in the world) might have a terrible ratio if the original recorder can only begin seeding from a single source. For a recent show, the total number of leechers could be the most efficient sort and could provide the best information about which torrent will gain total swarm speed the most quickly or which should be targeted for the longest seeding.

Although that might not be the most common example, it certainly is a situation where being told the default search order is "best" or that we should (or do) "love" it is completely inaccurate. Some algorithms may generally perform better, but each searcher knows what he wants for a particular search, so the removal of options by the engine is a liability, not an asset. I've re-sorted default searches enough times to be a firm non-believer in "one size fits all".

The return of isohunt's clear, user-sortable table would keep isohunt a step ahead of other search engines, even if comments and forums have to be abandoned for legal reasons. And hiding data/requiring mouse-over views is a poor trade-off: it may make the search look more clean but it also slows the presentation of data to the searcher.

I'm far from saying that the old isohunt shouldn't be changed... But I will say that the cosmetic redesign and loss of sorting functionality in lite are both steps in the wrong direction. I'd suggest changing what you need to change for legal/compliance reasons and then worry about aesthetics separately... And never remove user choice with the explanation that it's somehow always "better" that way. That is both inaccurate and a bit condescending.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 11:26 pm

Not saying one size fits all, just that few have issue with Google not offering different sorting and our default already takes multiple factors into account, including both seeders and leechers. But I heard you and we are working on adding sort options to Lite (S/L, age and size).

Hiding some of the search results data in popup is a design choice. We are considering having it flat in the search results without the popup, that will just mean more clutter and further increasing spacing between results. We'll see about improving the presentation on that.

Anyways your feedback is appreciated.

Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 1:29 am

how bout hiding the hash number to make more room? Theres a sting of 30 characters I don't need to see.
I can't get any results to a search at all if I'm running No-Script. By design?

Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 1:54 am

Lite is fast because it uses AJAX and our json api. Javascript is required

Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:29 am

Canadian, so it doesn't really effect me, yet, but I will give my opinion.

I do find the new design looks good, but honestly, I don't care about looks. But still, it looks nice.

I don't like the "Web 2.0" stuff. For me, AJAX is the new flash. I hate it. While it has its places, I don't think pagination is one of them. Though I will admit you did a better job then most sites, at least from my bit of playing it seems you haven't broken the Back & Forward buttons functionality(on a related note see below). But requiring JavaScript when more and more people are disabling it completely, doesn't seem right.

There is far too much wasted space, I assume you designed it with a 1024x768 resolution in mind, so with my 1680x1050(I always have my browser maximized) there is a lot of wasted space, and the mouse over thing shows up waaay to the right of the other info. From the looks of it you could fit two of the current width columns of data in the screen space that is there. If you are set on using JavaScript so much, maybe detect the amount of screen space you have to work with, and if there is plenty, display more information?

So, my suggestions:
- Make better use of the available space for the increasing number of people with larger monitors. Or, if you are going to keep a design that uses only a fraction of a larger monitors screen space, then _everything_ should be confined to the smaller area to keep it consistent. Though I guess I can't argue with the ad showing up so far away from the results, never even have to look in its direction Razz

- Some sorting options would be nice, no offense, but I often find myself straying from the default ranking.
- Would it be possible maybe to detect the users country, and if they aren't from one like USA, show more info and options, which you have to remove for them? Can always make a separate preference page to keep such options on if you want to keep the current cleaner lite look and feel.
- Option(Like Google) to show more results per page.
- If possible, AJAX free version Razz

And that's all I can think of right now. Good luck with the legal battle, hope the lite version does the trick!

Thanks for all your work making and maintaining this site, including whatever form it ends up in, it's appreciated.

Note:
On a related note to the above mention of breaking back/forward usage, your current non-lite search has an issue with that, at least for me. If you search for something, then go back, and try searching again, the search is still disabled(to prevent people from repeatedly clicking the search button to make it "go faster" I imagine lol) and won't work, and a standard refresh in Firefox doesn't fix it either, you have to shift-refresh/ctrl-f5 to make it work again.

P.S.
Thanks for the example link, didn't realize Beta 2 of Ubuntu 10.04 was out till I clicked the link! Smile