Recently, Realmac Software unveiled a new site redesign to go along with the release of what they’re calling a ‘major’ update to Rapidweaver, a website creation application aimed at web design novices. Since the site went live, a few people in the Realmac forums have complained about the design, namely, the rather large banner that takes up valuable screen real estate and gets in the way of visitor’s access to the important information contained within the forums. Head Developer/Realmac Software “Big Chief” Dan Counsell had this to say in response to one complaint:
We knew it wouldn’t be to everyones taste, but we weren’t trying to create something so bland that people didn’t care one way or the other - At least people will take notice and remember us.
If our site is as bad as you say it is, I wonder why we’re getting mentioned on sites showcasing the best sites on the web:http://www.csstux.com/
http://www.webcreme.com/2007/05/realmac-software/Funnily enough, I didn’t notice your site on any of them.
Well, he used smileys, so I guess that makes his insults a little easier to take.
While I understand that the Rapidweaver community is quite tightly knit, this kind of dismissive, belittling behavior is unacceptable. Counsell is more than welcome to make these kinds of remarks in the privacy of his own home or office, but to openly display such contempt for a registered user of his software is not only shortsighted, but offensive. He might want to think a bit more about his responsibility to his company and his customers, and think about the impact his words might have on people’s perception of Realmac Software.
Screenshots after the jump.
This is the default “Day” view used throughout the site and on the forums. I’m using Firefox on an Intel Core Duo MacBook with my resolution set to 1280 x 800 (the maximum my hardware allows).
And here is the alternate “Night” view that is available in the forum settings. A darker palette, but just as large, and just as intrusive as the “Day” view. Notice the size and location of the browser’s scroll bar.
