At The A.V. Club, we know the Internet’s default reaction to the tiniest bit of change is undue, hyperbolic panic. Which is why we’d like to take this opportunity to head that panic off at the pass in light of some changes we’ve made to TV Club and your A.V. Club user profile.
First off, you’ll notice the new “My Profile” button next to that nifty thumbnail of your avatar. Click it to enter your new and improved profile page, which will look something like this:
The “Comments,” “Grades,” and “TV Shows” buttons are self-explanatory—they’re where you’ll find your archived comments; grades you’ve given TV episodes, records, movies, DVDs, books, and games; and the shows you’re following on TV Club. The “Notifications” and “Friends” links are the newest of the new—the former is where you’ll receive notices about the shows you’re following (For instance, when a review is published, or when one of your shows is mentioned in a Newswire post), while the latter will help you connect with The A.V. Club staff and your fellow readers/commenters. Follow a user to find out what they’re watching, how they liked it, and what they’re saying about it—all of which you’ll be able to find in your notifications and in the notifications dropdown in the upper right hand corner of the page.
By now, you’ve probably noticed that most of these additions pertain to TV Club—that’s because we’ve also rolled out a new look for TV Club, one that will eventually be reflected in a new look throughout The A.V. Club. We’ve simplified the TV Club landing page, made it easier to sort through the features and reviews highlighted in “My TV Club,” and added a way to instantly access the most popular TV reviews and TV-related features. We’re most excited about the last item in that list—so excited that we’ve translated it into graphical form, giving you the opportunity to track what A.V. Club readers are watching (and then applying letter grades to) with “What We Watched,” a feature which charts the 20 most-watched shows and episodes over the course of the last day, week, month, and year. And check out this fantastic new grading tool on reviews across the site!
Rulers beat sliding toggles any day of the week!
In the next few days, we’ll be adding two new, daily features to TV Club: “What’s On Tonight?”, where TV Club editor Todd VanDerWerff gives you a pithy rundown on the day’s television slate, and “Open Threads,” where shows and series that don’t receive the full TV Club treatment will be up for discussion and/or your witty asides. Watch for the first editions of these features to go live tomorrow morning.
That about does it for the new stuff; as always, if you notice any glitches or bugs, please notify us at [email protected]. And remember: Don’t panic, don’t fear the new. Eventually, it’ll be the safe, familiar standard to which you compare other unknown and terrifying changes down the line.