Website Update Problem
Alex@ChinesePod
March 04, 2014, 03:28 AM posted in General DiscussionHey Poddies! I'm sure you've all seen the new website design by now. Some of you have posted that you like the way it looks, but a number of you have had some problems. We appreciate it when you let us know about any issues with our site so we can improve our system.
We are making adjustments to the new site and bug fixing at the moment. However, a number of your complaints/issues could be solved very easily on your end by clearing the cache on your web browser. Especially if exercises, audio, or tabs are not working PLEASE clear the cache, log out of your account and log back in. This should resolve the most basic errors. If you have any continued problems, please feel free to post here, or contact us at support@chinesepod.com. Thanks again everyone.
-ChinesePod Support Staff
aaronhammerling
I agree EXACTLY... At the moment it is far too cumbersome to scroll through pages and pages (33 for newbies) trying to find the lessons I haven't completed, only to open one which I have. CPod must return to the old format (maybe even add a % column) - otherwise this new format is too frustrating...
christopherhapka
I would be happy with any of these solutions:
1) Make the old view available as an option ("View As List").
2) Add a green checkmark or similar icon to studied lessons in the new view.
3) Add an option to the Library tag to filter out lessons marked as studied (as you can in the Dashboard).
The new view is much, much harder to use for self-study without this feature. And the users who will be hit hardest are newbies, since the newbie lessons (1) are all legacy lessons (no new lessons being produced), and (2) overlap more than the higher-level lessons (for example: "Hello and Goodbye," "A Self-Introduction," and "Making Introductions" are all Newbie lessons).
I understand that undoing all the changes may not be an option, but we need this functionality included in the new design somehow.
Alex@ChinesePod
March 07, 2014, 01:59 AMHello Everyone,
I realize some of you are frustrated, but please note that we are doing our best to update the functions of the new site design to fulfill all of your needs. We aim to provide as good a service as before, if not better. If you could, please clearly and with as much detail as possible let us know when something has gone wrong or does not function the way you would like on the site. We will monitor this conversation closely for your bug finds. Best regards,
ChinesePod Support Staff
mark
I, personally, don't like that my android tablet gets a "mobile" interface. This specialized interface also seems to have more problems than the Web site I get from my PC. I guess I'll finally have to figure out how to diddle my user agent string so that I get an actual Web site instead of some, special, made for mobile trash.
wherenxt
March 04, 2014, 04:33 AMPlease bring the lists back.
illapa
March 04, 2014, 06:37 AMNot task section? In the past I was able to record and update oral test but I don't see the option any longer. Please bring this option back.The website is not fully on service.
toianw
March 04, 2014, 10:41 AMFor me, the two biggest issues are...
1. The size of the characters: Reading the dialogue tab used to be easy and clear. The characters were a nice size to read comfortably. Now, I'm going to have to dig my magnifying glass out to study.
2. The search (for glossary and lessons) has disappeared. I used to use that quite a lot.
Right-Wingnut
But the search facility IS still there, just in a different spot - next to Tools at the top of the page.
toianw
Ah, well spotted - thanks!
helzcurrah
March 04, 2014, 02:51 AMSeconded. If you only fix one problem, please please please bring back the lists showing studied/bookmarked icons.
Shenjian
March 04, 2014, 11:44 PMI'm not sure if you guys are aware of this yet, but the Chinese Pod lists are currently unavailable for study on Skritter. When I attempt to log into my Chinese Pod account via skritter to access lists, I receive an error message-
ChinesePod Error:
Password is incorrect
(Yes, I verified that my password is correct, this is a system bug).
Please add this to your list of fixes.
podster
It would be good if they could acknowledge that it is a bug and they will continue to offer that service. Skritter is excellent.
Paulperrett
March 05, 2014, 12:19 AMI agree with Shenjian
james_uk
March 06, 2014, 01:31 PMPlease, please, please bring back list functionality with Skritter as soon as possible.
On the Skritter website I am unable to log in to download Chinesepod lists. Previously, I had learned words using Skritter before listening to the podcasts, which significantly helped with my learning.
But now this functionality is gone - will it ever come back?
This collaboration with Skritter was an essential factor in my decision to pay for a Premium Subscription with Chinesepod, and without it I will most likely not continue subscribing.
cinnamonfern
March 06, 2014, 03:52 PMI know it's not the best option (the best option is to fix the connection with Skritter), but in the meantime I'm just copying my vocab into Excel and then copying just the characters into QuickAdd in Skritter. You can copy the whole set of characters in at once. It's really not that much slower than importing through Cpod. The only downside is that you can't study multiple lists at once. You have to go in the order you add the words.
Shenjian
Again, it's not the best option, but if you did want to study multiple lists, you could create multiple lists and quick add vocabulary to each list separately. That way, you could get a more even review of vocabulary from your previously studied lessons.
My concern with manually adding vocabulary is that even though theoretically Skritter lists should be able to handle word redundancy throughout various lists, I've ran into some bugs that require further retooling of vocab lists, so I'd prefer not to deal with an extra layer of troubleshooting if possible.
james_uk
As a short-term solution I will give it a try. But of course it would be better if functionality could be restored as soon as possible!
From where do I copy the vocab? If I scroll over the list of Chinese words it also copies the pinyin and English translations. Do you mean I have to type the words out one by one?
Thanks for your help, it is much appreciated.
Shenjian
No, you shouldn't have to type out the words one by one.
From the ChinesePod homepage go to the vocabulary tab of the "Tools" page, on this tab you should see an 'export vocabulary' link on the right side of the page. From the export vocabulary page you can select which labels you would like to export. Next, select the "Export CSV" link. Once the file is downloaded, open the file with a simple text editor such as Wordpad (initially I tried using Excel, but the Chinese characters and pinyin did not encode correctly). From Wordpad, select all, and copy and paste into the "quick add" applet of the Skritter list you want to add the words to. It doesn't matter that there are other English words, or multiple copies of the Chinese words, Skritter will pick out the Chinese words and add them to your list, ignoring everything else.
Hope that helps, if you have any problems let me know, and I can try to help you troubleshoot.
Paulperrett
March 04, 2014, 08:45 PMAny chance of an update from CP advising what they are doing to resolve all these issues and by when? I want to be able to use CP again.
james137
March 04, 2014, 02:50 AMTHe biggest problem being faced after you brought back the flashcard creation system is lists.
It is ABSOLUTELY important for us to be able to see the lessons we have marked as studied and the ones we havent. it would be even better to also display the actual % we got in the exercizes.
In the self study section there also needs to be this kind of format which shows the lessons completed and not completed. Preferably also showing test scores.
I think that you can guess, many of your full paying users are currently dissatisfied with the upgrade. I hope you can iron out these problems and restore our confidence in your services.