Sorry I have been out of the loop lately but I thought I would perhaps clarify my rationale.
When I approached the layout for VoC I put one factor foremost, efficiency.
Gadgets and gizmos which fetch information from other sites need to be kept to a minimum because they slow down page re-draws.
If the external site has an issue it also becomes
your issue.
If the gadget is placed on your main page, that re-draw delay or issue is ever present. There is no way to avoid it.
Whether you scroll down to look at the clocks or not, the page still loads them.
That is why I suggested placing clocks inside a thread. That way they do not encumber the entire site if they act up.
In common with all message boards, Yuku runs into it's own server hassles, in my view, it is prudent not to add to the potential for disruption.
All that said, I also do not believe the clocks feature best addresses the problem they were suggested to resolve. Coordinating chat time.
That can be done by simply setting a time and listing it's equivalents across the most common zones.
Example:"Approximate Meet Time: | 9:00pm EST | 8:00pm CST | 7:00pm MST | 6:00pm PST | 2:00am GMT|"
That tiny text can be located under the Chat header on the main menu, takes no time to load and requires no refresh.
_____oOo_____
Other linksWhen I chose the
newsfeeds, I chose both of them because of the way they handled errors. Both CNN and BBC simply show "undefined" if they run into a problem. They don't hang waiting for a resolution.
Both the
VoC Chat buttons were only applied to resolve Yuku hassles which emerged.
1: The failure of some members to access Chat through the standard Chat Header.
2: The replacement off-site Chat option when Yuku Chat died completely.
Absent Yuku problems, those work-a-rounds would not be present either.
The
"flags" box at the bottom was an interesting bit of fun initially to give an indication of who was visiting the site. I think it has become obvious that many of those visitors are using proxies which makes it questionable whether is still serves any purpose imo.
The
"speedtest.net" icon can let you check whether it's Yuku that's running slow, or your provider. So you know who to kick off at if it keeps up.