ATP Team
Welcome to Pakistaniat.com. The new home of All Things Pakistan (ATP).
We moved all the posts and comments from the old ATP address here late this evening; because it had to be a real time move, we are now in the process of ironing out some small kinks, which we hope to remove soon. So, please bear with us; and if you have any suggestions do let us know since we will finalize this over the next couple of days.
It has been a whirlwind of a ride for us here at ATP. The blog is just two and a half months old. Adil Najam started the blog as ’something to do over the summer’ and the first post had gone up on June 11, 2006. By July 16, we were up to 100 posts and had developed a small but faithful readership. One August 18, ATP formally became a team blog with Bilal and Owais joining Adil. Today, on September 1, we have moved to our own domain-name (Pakistaniat.Com) in this redesigned format.
We hope you will like the new look and the many additional features, most of which have been added in direct response to reader’s suggestions. I must confess that I kind of liked the simplicity of our old page, but as the number of readers and comments have grown, particularly in recent days, new needs have emerged. Here are some things that are new or changed:
- The comments section uses a larger and easier to use font size.
- The box for writing comments is now bigger and uses a bigger font size.
- You will have up to 3 minutes to review and re-edit your comments after posting them (in case you make a mistake).
- We are trying to bring in essential editing features to the comments section; working on it.
- The link to comments is now placed at the top of each post on the front page.
- Easy to access information about current discussions and recent comments will be on the front page at the top of the middle column.
- The ‘ATP Discussions’ section will list the posts with the most recent comments, and include names of recent commenters on that post.
- The ‘ATP Comments’ section will now include a longer list of recent comments.
- The front page will (soon) allow you to search both within the site and on Google.
- The ‘EMail this post’ feature allows you to send any post you like directly to your friends.
- The Archives page currently has a slight glitch on search by date (working on it) but the search by category works fine and allows easier and at a glance access to past posts.
- The search feature will now lead to an easier to read and summarized results.
These are a few of the feature we have already added. There are more that we will add over the next many days and weeks.
Bear with us as we fix any problems but do explore the site; please change you bookmarks; and keep coming back often. Most importantly, we hope you will bring the same spirit of healthy discussion to Pakistaniat.com that you had invested at the old ATP. It is the discussion that really makes this blog. Many have commented that the quality of the comments — in terms of substance as well as tone — is different from other places that can sometimes turn into shouting matches. We hope to keep it that was, one our part we will keep weeding out inappropriate behavior; on your part, please keep the thinking juices flowing!
Finally, let us just repeat - yet again - the ideas and thoughts we had offered in the very first ATP post through this quick journey of verse and image, based on Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ‘Hum daikhain gay’, produced by Adil Najam, which serves as a statement of hope that, we hope, exemplifies the spirit of this blog:
Congrats to you Aadil, and the ATP team on the new site launch! It is definitely bolder and the content is more visible to the eye. I am sure you are all still in the process of aligning and restructuring the layout and categories, but if you find it helpful, I’d love to share my 2 cents worth!
It is sometimes helpful to sort and set up sections on the site by importance/section relevance and how and where the site visitor views and clicks on content. Arranging information in such a hierarchy can lend to a smoother visit (both content related and visually) to your blog readers! Here are some layout suggestions:
-Maintain the content/blogpost in the center column (column #2). The readers on the internet usually read content in the center first and go to the left and then right side of a web page.
-Move the “Debate, Past Posts, Polls� etc. to the 1st or Left column. The graphics and photos provide a nice balance to the page as well as intrigue a reader to dig into the blog from pretty much as soon as they land on your site. It also gives a nice flavor of what the blog is up to! I would perhaps consider moving the Search Boxes to the 3rd or Right column.
-The Right or 3rd column can start with the Search boxes, followed immediately with the “Indexing� section, as it provides your new readers with a good sampling of what your blog discusses and posts. Next,ATP Discussion then, ATP comments after that [Or DELETE the ATP comments, which are a little repetitive. By removing the Comments on the side bar, you will create space & push up content from below]. Next have Past Posts (with the calendar underneath it) and then Happenin’in PK, Blog feeds and then lastly Ads. Splitting the two current right columns will also make the side bars more visual and less co-mingled.
I hope you will find these comments helpful.
Good luck and mubarak once again, on the seamless transition to your new home on the web.
Dear Adil and the ATP team:
Congrats on the smooth transition. The site is looking great!
RR
Just to let you know that the two major bugs have now both been RESOLVED.
I now have more confidence that we will also be able to catch any glitches that might arise. Two more things:
Jyoti,
That article has placed George Bush at number 1
and LOL @ the ‘SarsoN kaa khet’ comment
Well, Adil. So you have moved your blog to a new and bigger “home”. But frankly, I liked the old “home” (layout) much better:(
1. If Yash Chopara sees the banner picture on your blog, he would instantly jump up with joy for having found another “SarsoN kaa khet” location for his next movie:)
The top 10 dictators by “New Stateman” magazine has Hitler on number one and your prez on number 7…
http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/dictators/
Very Nice … Congrats … Hping to see some more flourishing and interesting posts here
Agree with Ayesha. Also “ATP comments” seems redundant when we already have “ATP discussions”(Brian’s latest comments)
Good work guys and best of luck!
Just a little suggestion on the layout - you might want to demarcate the various section on the sidebar, maybe a bit like it was on the old site? That will just make it easier to spot stuff in contrast to looking through one long list, where all the sections seem to be grouped together.