New Times Update!

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Announcement
For those who may not have seen this posted in the Times Crossword Club Forum. The great news is that new puzzles now print in a decent size font with light grey squares. And this applies now to the Quick Cryptic too, for the first time EVER!

Might I suggest that discussion about the changes, particularly if there are problems with the release, be kept to this thread as far as possible for the moment?

New Update (22 Nov 2017)

I am pleased to report that we have just released a new update to the Crossword Club. This will address the following issues:
– Printing: all new puzzles (as of Thursday 23 November) will print with:
– a larger grid
– a larger font for clues
– a lighter shade of grey for the grid
– black lettering for the clues and grid numbers
Existing puzzles in the database will continue to display the old print format pending a future release.
– Archive printing: Next week, we will be making printing available for all archive puzzles that didn’t previously have a Print option. These puzzles will use the new print format.
– Forum ordering:
– On the Forum front page, all categories will now display the three threads that have been most recently commented upon. The two exceptions to this are: (a) when a new puzzle is published the thread for that puzzle will appear at the top of the list; (b) when a competition puzzle becomes available for commenting its thread will appear at the top of the list.
– The Forum pages for the individual categories (Cryptic, Concise, Specialist, General) will also adhere to the same logic as above.
I do hope these changes improve your experience of the site. Thank you for your patience in awaiting this work.
I’d also like to update you on the “spinning wheel” access issues that some of you have experienced. Our development team have been in contact with an affected user. A fix has been found and tested, and we should be rolling this out in a forthcoming release.

Best wishes,

David Parfitt
Puzzles Editor

20 comments on “New Times Update!”

  1. And to think it only took them 4 months and a flood of complaints from Club members to achieve this. Perhaps by this time next year we’ll be able to print our solution (‘print progress’ in the old, far superior system).
    1. is to be congratulated but why did it take so long to implement!

      The centre line down the middle of the clues is quite unnecessary (a throw back to the days of Fleet Street and ‘leading’) and the grid would feel better if it was centred over the clues.

      My optician is delighted!

      1. Yes, it’s much improved, and my eyes most definitely got along better with this morning’s puzzle, which is the first of the new style of print-outs I’ve tried. It’s lovely just being able to read all the clue numbers rather than having to find a legible one and count along from there.

        Personally I’m happy with the grid left-aligned, but that’s more to do with having a nice big margin for scrawling my workings-out on the right than any aesthetic sense!

  2. I strongly welcome the development as far as printing is concerned (I haven’t tested anything else as yet). The new print-out is certainly a great improvement on what has been available since the new Club arrived, if still not quite as good as what we had previously in the old Club, although I’m not entirely sure that wasn’t partially down to personal printing settings available within the browser that the pdf format does not facilitate. Comparing today’s with one I printed on 30 July, the grid was marginally larger, the squares were of lighter grey and the clues were a point larger too.

    Still I’m happy enough with what we have now, and overjoyed as far as the Quickie is concerned. I disagree with the nit-picking over the dividing line between Across and Down clues as I don’t care one way or the other, and the advantage of not having the grid in the centre is that it leaves a decent amount of blank space for making notes and working things out. None of the puzzles I ever print has the grid in the centre.

    Edited at 2017-11-23 06:03 am (UTC)

    1. Just as a matter of interest, the dividing line between the clues is merely reproducing the layout of the clues in the printed edition.
  3. Hmm, certainly a very considerable improvement, in particular to the clue numbers, now legible again!
    It is not quite as good as my print under the old system; the clue text is still a little small in relation to the grid size. And I see no need for the vertical line either, not that it really matters. It used not to be there.
    But better.
    I will look at the forum some time, but have got used to not going there much how
  5. Thank you very much (in anticipation) for the print option for archive puzzles. I like to print a sheaf of them to take with me on weekends in the warmer months and had to take the Guardian oldies last season. Vinyl is right – the new print-out does look just like the Guardian (except for the dividing line which I don’t care about either way) and none the worse for that.
  6. I haven’t tried printing yet, but must take opportunity to thank you for fix of ‘spinning wheel’ a few days ago.
  7. Thanks David, the updates are nice. You know you’ve done well when the only comments are about the line down the middle!

    What we desperately need now is the ability to see our submitted answers so we can check them against the solutions published the next week! You must have them, to be able to do marking!!

  8. I’m sure that is excellent although it isn’t my particular issue. For me the very top of the gripe list is that when you submit a prize puzzle there is no indication of whether it is correct. I very much doubt if anyone goes back to look over a week later, and anyway by that time you have forgotten all about it so in effect I (and I suspect most others) never actually get to know whether I got the puzzle right or not. I can just about see the point of removing the forum for a prize puzzle, (although actually people were always very scrupulous), but I can’t see what is given away by informing solvers whether their submitted puzzle was correct.
    Anne
    1. I second your gripe, Anne. In fact, I’m a ‘radical’ on this and go further. I feel that we’re firmly in the age of the web now and the whole notion of allowing a week for puzzle submissions is out of date. If it was down to me, the deadline for prize puzzle submissions would be midnight the same day (at the latest), with solutions and draw results the following day.
      1. On the “age of the web” idea: I think this change is most likely to happen whenever print newspapers are entirely replaced. At present I would estimate that about 3/4 of ST crossword entries are still by post, despite the option to enter by email which is obviously cheaper. There is a minor subculture in some postal entries, of colourful or decorated envelopes and other versions of “pick me!” Including writing it on the back of the envelope, which was interesting in my year of doing the puzzle draws. I did my best to ensure that these (and envelope size) made no difference.
        1. I cross-posted with you, Pete.

          Thank you, especially for the info on the proportion of postal entries. That’s interesting about the subculture, too, and I can see how that would complicate things. Clearly it’s impossible to please everyone at the moment.

    2. If you haven’t already, you might take a look at the club forum, specifically the threads ‘New update’ and ‘Suppressing results of competition puzzles’, for the editors’ (unconvincing) justification for their action.
      1. Ah, thanks. I don’t keep up with the forum as I find the numerous branches too hard to follow. I just had a look at that one — things got a bit tetchy at times, didn’t they. Given the official opposition there to even letting competitors know if they got the puzzle right, I assume my desire for a 24-hour deadline is unlikely to find favour at Times HQ!

        I suspect the Ed’s argument would be a hard sell to a post-millennial (or whatever we call them). It will change …. one day.

  9. Well done, David, and thank you for keeping at them.

    (I’m betting that Peter might deserve some thanks, too, so just on form: thank you, too, Peter)

  10. It’s 48 hours since the last comment was added so I am now removing the sticky status of this discussion. Thanks to all who took part.

    Edited at 2017-11-28 06:14 am (UTC)

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