Every year on April 1st we pull some kind of prank on our website just so we can amuse ourselves with the responses we get. And every year, about half the people we hear from forget that it's April Fool's Day and fall for the joke, while the other half do "get it" and (usually) thank us for the laugh.
In case you missed it, this year we advertised a sweeping redesign of STARTREK.COM, bragging about the latest innovations of website applications and dropping a lot of technical gobbledygook about it. And of course, what you saw was the ugliest, most rank amateur design we could come up with.
The following are some of the e-mail responses we got over the weekend (the names have been removed to protect the gullible)...
I took a look at the one page preview of StarTrek.com.
I really don't like it -- especially the big chartreuse box ! Ugly !
I much prefer the site as it is now, at least from a layout perspective. I have greatly admired the current site since it first was launched.
I'd suggest reconsidering your new plans. I'd be happy to provide more feedback as more pages of the new site are posted.
Hello, I am a graphic designer in Washington DC.
I am dyslexic and I may be reading something wrong, it looks like you're putting a site designed in Microsoft Word up.....
If I ever handed in a site like that to a teacher they would fail me and ask me is that a joke.
I give it a F-
If that site goes up I would stop going to startrek.com.
Noted! –Ed.
Okay, some of the modifications are okay but the new layout is bad. I am sorry but it looks like something some 8th grader made....Again sorry for my bluntness but it just does not project the advancements that Star Trek portrays.
Looks like it was hacked? because if that's 2.0... I am not impressed.
I hate it, it looks childish and very unprofessional. There is nothing wrong with startrek.com now so leave it alone.
I do not mean to offend you or anyone in any way.
-Devoted Star Trek Fan
No offense taken! –Ed.
I believe that your new site looks less professional than the current site, but then the current site has been a favorite of mine for several years. I will continue to watch as the new site develops.
Very diplomatic! –Ed.
Subject: My God! NO!
Please! Don't forget the beautiful design you have now!
If the look and feel will be something like this preview you are making a mistake in terms of design.
Please don't leave the actual graphic interface, I love it! It's very cool!
The new design of this preview looks like an amateur web-site. The actual design is really pro.
I check this site on an every-day basis. Please, don't change the way you look!
Well ... okay. –Ed.
You asked for opinions on the redesign. Here's mine.
1. It looks terrible. Garish, tacky, tarish, gacky.
2. It seems lacking in detail, yet manages to appear cluttered
3. Before clicking for the preview I read this long spiel involving a bunch of technobabble which was incomprehensible, and which I'm guessing couldn't possibly interest me even if I did understand it. But the gist of it seemed to be that navigating the site would become more difficult and time-consuming, and would require piles of memory or something. Gosh, I know that's the first thing I look for.
I've visited some other Star Trek boards. I return here in part due to a minimum of clutter and distracting graphics and pop-ups. When you can no longer offer a user-friendly environment, I will depart. That's about it for my input. Hope it was helpful.
Dear Editor,
Re: ST.Com re-launch
I clicked the link that directed me to the most embarrassing web site design I have ever seen. The layout is very immature...something a web designer from the early 90's might have conceived of. I know teenagers who can develop much better sites than the one you are proposing. If this is what you call improvement to the current site then I am really afraid of what we should expect next.
Good Luck and God Save Star Trek,
Frustrated ST Fan
And then there were those who couldn't decide if it was a joke or not...
I may be losing my sense of humour in my old age, but I have not been able to figure out if the web site relaunch is a joke or not! Please tell me, if it is not a joke then I guess there are dark days ahead.
Is this a joke? If it isn't, the new site design is terrible! It's worlds behind your current look and feel. In fact, it reminded me a bit of a bad fan site. Say it isn't so!
If this is actually a serious article and not an "April Fools Day" joke. I would like to say
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DO NOT USE THIS SITE PLAN EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And a few who knew it was too bad to be true...
Haha, I get it! The new website - you almost had me there! Happy April Fool's Day!
Nice April Fool's Joke. You almost got me.
Carry On...
Hardee-har-har!
April Fools!
I clicked on the link to preview the new site, and with high hopes, I wound up speechless. I have to admit that for a second, maybe a little longer, I thought you were actually serious about the whole website change. I mean, come on, it would have taken StarTrek.com back into 1995! But then it dawned on me...it's April Fools Day!
I've got to hand it to you, a job well done. It took me a while, but I eventually remembered the oh-so mean prank you pulled on everyone who visited the site last year. From one prankster to another, my hat goes off to you. Even though Star Trek is on a leave of absence, I am very much glad that you guys manage to keep StarTrek.com a fun, entertaining, and exciting place to visit.
Keep up the great work, and thanks for the prank!
My words can't do this justice... but when I saw the stunning graphics and dazzling fonts used on the preview for your new website, my jaw literally dropped to the floor. I was awestruck by how I felt suddenly immersed in the Star Trek universe! I really don't know how you could possibly improve on this beta. But if you do, please PLEASE keep me updated!
P.S. The pièce de résistance - the hit counter. Magic.
The new design is really cool.
But, do you know what would it make even cooler?
I tell you: different text color for each word. That would be "Wow!"
It's good to see something truly funny for April fools... The new look website, that is. Nice one.
Also, what's with the changing of the character appearance on the Trek Life? They looked better the old way.
Just my humble opinion.
Actually, that was a second gag we pulled — David Reddick drew an alternate version of last week's comic strip, a pseudo-realistic "Mary Worth"/"Rex Morgan M.D."-style rendering of the "Trek Life" characters. (Just for the day.) –Ed.
In addition, there have been at least two Message Board topics posted on the April Fool's prank. You can see them here and here.
Your comments make it all worthwhile.
Thanks for watching!
