Hi all,

606 will be closed for essential maintenance work on Wednesday, 5 September from 7am-9am.

This would not normally affect 606 as we don't open until 9am, but we have been warned that the work may overrun into our opening hours.

So please be assured that if we are not open at 9am, we will be doing everything we can to open as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Peter

We have made some significant changes to 606 designed to address a lot of the feedback from the audience and during user testing and our research.

This version of 606 is now almost a year old and it’s certainly the most successful yet with tens of thousands creating high quality content and hundreds of thousands reading it.

Earlier in the year we did some user testing where we watched people using the site. Some of you might have filled out a questionnaire while using the site too. And we also have data about how the site is used plus your comments every day on the site. All of this has been used to determine the changes we have made.

Here is a summary of what we have done and why. Please leave us your feedback by adding a comment here.

1. We’ve made it easier to find content

There is now a navigation list on the left-hand side of the site where you can browse a comprehensive list of sports. Football, cricket and rugby fans can also browse to comprehensive lists of their teams, including many new teams not previously covered. There is also a page containing links to content for a number of new competitions in other sports. Here are some of these pages:

www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/Articl...

www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/Articl...

Options for many new teams, sports and competitions have been added to the dropdowns when you create new articles, offering an easy way to debate and discuss all kinds of new sporting topics.

2. We’ve made it easier to create content

There is now a single consistent button everywhere on the site called Create 606 which takes you straight to a page where you can to start articles.

www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/TypedA...

This also includes options to write profiles and match and event articles, which is the new name for match and event reports to allow them to be sensibly used during and before the action.

3. We've simplified the article pages

We removed some clutter and what we felt were unnecessary links from the top and the right-hand side of the page. You can also now add links properly into the text of an article rather than having to add them in a separate box on the right-hand side column.

4. We have removed the search box from every page except for a new simpler search page.

User testing showed that it was confusing people having a 606 search and a main BBC search box in the top right of the page. And the new extra browse options should make it much less necessary to use the search box. If you do still want to use it then find the Search 606 link on the left-hand side.

www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/Articl...

5. We have added RSS feeds for 606 content.

You can now get an RSS feed of content about any sport, team or competition from any of the browse lists. This allows you to display links of 606 content on other sites, in newsreader software or the latest internet browsers. Click on the standard orange button to get a feed of all the latest debate and comment on your favourite team or sport. See more on RSS from this link:
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/hel...

6. We have also tweaked a few other things

606 has had a few changes visually while some of the language we use to describe and explain features is also hopefully clearer now. We have also distanced the site a little in terms of look and feel from the main BBC Sport site, reflecting the different kind of content and navigation that it has.

Tell us what you think!

As always after one of these relaunches we welcome your feedback and questions, especially if you find anything broken which we haven’t spotted. Please comment on this article.

What’s next?

Other than a few tweaks, we haven’t yet changed the 606 homepage or member pages. Both of these are to be investigated as part of the next phase of development. We will also be looking into whether we can allow users to add pictures to articles as well as many other ideas, including the long-held ambition of improving moderation. Please keep letting us have your ideas.