New Favicon
post by Alicorn · 2011-08-26T20:34:29.539Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 41 commentsLW appears to have acquired a new favicon, "<X" in place of the prior "Lw". This change wasn't announced and I don't know what the new icon means. Can someone explain it to me?
41 comments
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comment by Armok_GoB · 2011-08-26T21:10:57.669Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I don't know, but I strongly prefer the old one. :(
Replies from: NancyLebovitz, Vladimir_Nesov↑ comment by NancyLebovitz · 2011-08-26T22:04:18.978Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Me too.
If I want to find a tab, a color and shape is easier. The red 'x' isn't enough color to help.
The effect is of some sort of random computer message rather than a handy icon.
Replies from: handoflixue↑ comment by handoflixue · 2011-08-26T22:44:43.411Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Same here. Oddly, the wiki's icon seems unchanged.
↑ comment by Vladimir_Nesov · 2011-08-27T10:50:54.770Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
The problem I feel about it is that it doesn't constitute a whole, the picture on a favicon should be one button-like thing.
comment by komponisto · 2011-08-27T01:43:37.608Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I would have posted this if I had known the term "favicon".
I realize whoever thought of this must have thought they were being clever, but the previous "Lw" is far superior: it is much easier to recognize and spot quickly (which I assume is the whole point of "favicons"), and the colors better reflect those of the site.
The favicon is basically a logo for the site, and should resemble the header as much as possible.
Replies from: Douglas_Knight↑ comment by Douglas_Knight · 2011-08-27T17:49:05.150Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
How do you know that the old one was easier to recognize and spot quickly? I think most people are being tricked by introspection because the old one is familiar. I agree that colors matching the site should make it easier to learn, but I'm not sure how strong that effect would be.
Replies from: Dreaded_Anomaly, Sniffnoy↑ comment by Dreaded_Anomaly · 2011-08-28T00:30:43.964Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
The old one consisted of the characters "Lw", the abbreviation for the site name, with colors resembling the site's color scheme. These are all straightforward indicators. While I understand the intention of the new icon, it is not nearly as straightforward.
comment by ArisKatsaris · 2011-08-26T20:40:34.003Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I... suppose if '<' means 'less than' in typical mathematican notation, 'x' must mean 'wrong', to have the total meaning be something like 'less than wrong'...
Replies from: Alicorn, dvasya, fubarobfusco↑ comment by Alicorn · 2011-08-26T20:41:41.844Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
But that sounds like it means "not even wrong"...
Replies from: ArisKatsaris, pragmatist↑ comment by ArisKatsaris · 2011-08-26T20:44:40.372Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Yeah, it also just occurred to me, after I typed that comment, that wronger than wrong would also be a valid interpretation of this. Perhaps I ought let whoever made the change to interpret it, instead of offering my guesses. :-)
↑ comment by pragmatist · 2011-08-26T20:44:22.711Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Good point. I guess '<' is meant to be read "less", rather than the standard "less than".
↑ comment by fubarobfusco · 2011-08-26T21:36:03.546Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I think it's meant as a rebus, rather than as a section.
comment by pragmatist · 2011-08-26T20:42:03.115Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I'm assuming the 'X' is supposed to be a cross, the traditional academic symbol for an answer being wrong (as opposed to check for right answers). The '<' is the 'less than' symbol.
Replies from: handoflixue↑ comment by handoflixue · 2011-08-26T22:45:09.086Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Ahhh, I was wondering how one was supposed to solve for X there :)
comment by Paul Crowley (ciphergoth) · 2011-08-27T11:44:23.945Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I had trouble seeing it, so here's a direct link to make it easier to reload:
comment by Bobertron · 2011-08-26T21:46:28.546Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I think it looks like a fish.
Replies from: hairyfigment↑ comment by hairyfigment · 2011-08-30T21:36:50.991Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
No, it's a cone of C4-flavored ice-cream in the process of exploding.
Or maybe an emoticon of someone reacting to a pun.
comment by Armok_GoB · 2011-08-30T11:30:18.613Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Ok, so just about everyone is complaining about this and nobody is doing anything. Can someone please tell me who might be responsible so I may contact them and ask them to revert the change?
Replies from: shokwave↑ comment by shokwave · 2011-08-30T11:51:12.990Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I don't know who's responsible, but TrikeApps maintain this website. Now, I know Matt (trikeapps boss guy) in real life, and I feel really bad about throwing him under the bus here, so please could Armok, and Armok only, contact him? Fifteen emails will just waste his time.
Also, sorry Matt!
Replies from: Armok_GoB↑ comment by Armok_GoB · 2011-08-30T12:01:37.233Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Hmm, if you know him maybe it'd be more effective if you asked him rather than some random stranger? Especially since I am having a hard time coming up with anything to write.
Replies from: matt, shokwave↑ comment by matt · 2011-08-30T19:51:22.040Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I'm not very scary, and you're not some random stranger. You're Armok_GoB, 800+ karma. (New favicon will be up soon.)
Replies from: Armok_GoB, Armok_GoB↑ comment by Armok_GoB · 2011-08-30T21:04:16.046Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Hehe, thanks! I guess I'm a bit shy in front of people my brain doesn't classify as fungible*.
((* probably not a correct usage, but the statement is technically correct because it's the same brain doing the classifying and is doing it incorrectly in exactly the same way as, uh, itself. :p Also not that this is not necessarily somehting I endorse, and I'm just saying it because I were just reminded I should not be shy. ))
comment by Normal_Anomaly · 2011-08-27T03:15:43.829Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I'm using Firefox and it still says "Lw". I don't know whether it was changed back, or just never changed in Firefox. Either way, thanks for teaching me the word Favicon!
Replies from: ahartell, wedrifid↑ comment by ahartell · 2011-08-27T05:22:34.077Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I see the old Favicon on both Safari and Chrome. I even emptied the cache in Safari. I wonder why we aren't seeing the same image as the others.
Replies from: Normal_Anomaly↑ comment by Normal_Anomaly · 2011-08-27T14:39:12.575Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
On further inspection, Firefox is doing something interesting. When I type the start of the LW URL in the URL bar, the dropdown suggestion menu has the "<X" favicon, but when I actually go to the page, I get the "Lw" favicon.
Replies from: ahartell↑ comment by wedrifid · 2011-08-27T03:57:15.452Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Pressing shift-F5 would quite likely change it. (If that is what you want.)
Replies from: Normal_Anomaly↑ comment by Normal_Anomaly · 2011-08-27T14:41:10.021Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Cool tip, but I think the old one is better. The new one looks like a heart and could, as Alicorn pointed out, easy be read as "not even wrong."
Replies from: wedrifidcomment by Oscar_Cunningham · 2011-09-04T22:47:56.904Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Awesome.