Off-Topic- Why is my screen narrowed?

susanlynn2012

10 years ago

Off-Topic- Why is my screen narrowed? Right now I have two green sides that take up so much room and other times ads are on the sides? Does everyone have this? How do I get the posts to cover all of my screen again?

Featured Answer

Buehl

10 years ago

You can't. Several months ago (maybe even a year ago), iVillage made some so-called "improvements" - of which this is one of many ridiculous changes.

Also notice that pictures all post pretty small now, no matter how big they originate from - it makes reading layouts very difficult!

I think it has to do with mobile devices and iPads - in particular, iPads. However, I find trying to type on such devices too time-consuming (tiny key images forcing one to use one finger to type with instead of 10), so I don't do much more than occasionally browse using them. I've also noticed that people who use iPads and similar (although it seems to be mostly iPads) often post duplicate (and triplicate) posts, post pictures that are sideways or upside down, have frequent spelling/grammar errors (they blame it on the auto-correct - which I think they're right about), etc.

The bottom line is that we now have massive amounts of wasted space on pages and it's more difficult to see pictures.

I find it frustrating that to accommodate iPads and similar, everyone else has to suffer the consequences. It's easy to resize pages with most mobile devises - so why do the rest of us have to suffer?

If it's so important to iVillage that it "dumb-down" its sites for such devices, then why not do what just about everyone else in the "world" does - create a "mobile" version of the site?

Sorry about venting!

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Comments (8)

liriodendron
10 years ago
It provides iVillage with extra advertising space when they can sell the skins.

And it adds to the d/l time, too. Boo hiss!

L
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annkh_nd
10 years ago
I use Adblock Plus - no ads on my screen!
susanlynn2012
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you Buehl, liriodendron and ankh! I think a combination of wanting Gardenweb to work with smart phones and ipads and to have extra advertising space must be the answer. It is amazing that It just started to do it recently but maybe because I had so many ad blockers on my other PC and this new PC does not have the extra add-ons. But the add-on blockers were not always working and were slowing up my other PC so did not add them. Maybe I will install the Adblock Plus to my other PC before trying it out on this PC but from reviews it is great unless you need to add attachments to emails which I do all the time. Thank you again for letting me know why since I have a new PC and I was not sure what was up.
ginny20
10 years ago
Lynn - I don't know what you're seeing, but it may be more than just the big borders for ads. On my new computer - it has Windows 8, don't get me started - I often inadvertently zoom. It seems all I have to do is hold a key down for too long or brush my hand somewhere and everything gets small. If anyone on Windows 8 notices that not only is the area narrowed but the text is small, you need to look for the magnifying glass Zoom symbol - possibly at the top of the screen at the right end of the address bar - and restore to Default.
joaniepoanie
10 years ago
Yes, for me sometimes the text spans the entire width of my work monitor and portions are covered by ads and some posts are normal as above. At home I usually browse on my iPad and don't have this problem.
susanlynn2012
Original Author
10 years ago
Ginny20, that is why I chose my new computer to have Window 7 Professional because I have it on my three year old former computer and I felt the known was easier to adjust to. My former computer had a raid drive that I hated and kept crashing and slowing up my otherwise supposed to be fast PC. Finally I had enough. I love my fast new computer without a raid drive that I bought in August 2013. But maybe my former computer would have the same problem. Now I remember the new ads would cover sections to read and it was annoying so maybe having the side bars is to put adds there to not block text but it really makes everything so much smaller. Maybe it is also set up this way to work with ipads.

Thank you Ginny20 and Joaniepoanie for your input.
ginny20
10 years ago
Wise choice, Lynn. I didn't put as much thought into the new computer (actually, let DH pick it for me) as I did when deciding whether or not to have a bread drawer in the kitchen. Mistake. Windows 8 is less than optimal. Glad to hear you dodged that bullet.