[ctbeiser]

It looks beautiful, but, as a daily reader of the Times, there's one thing that's holding me back from signing up: it's designed (like the iPhone app) to show you other content from the same section.

Here's the thing: When was the last time you gave a damn about the section?

I understand caring about Fashion vs the Science Times. But while the number of sections the Times has makes sense in print, on the web, the differences between the Metropolitan, New York, Business Day, International, National... it all seems fairly artificial. Is the war in Afghanistan national, or international news? Does education reform go under politics or education? The answer is, of course, both, but the Times has to choose. Sure, it makes sense to group them on paper, because it's the best way to help you find things that are like what you're reading. But digitally, without the ability to quickly flip through, there's a lot that just gets hidden from the reader.

As someone who spent five hours yesterday laying out a newspaper, I have a lot of respect for the designers at the Times. Here's to hoping they find a better way to move their IA to the web than in hundred-year-old silos.

[ChrisLTD]

As a frequent user of both the iPhone and iPad apps, I can tell you that I appreciate having articles categorized in various sections. Mostly I like browsing the metaphorical paper while skipping sections that I know rarely have articles I care about (hello Style section!).

As for articles that could belong under multiple sections, they are often actually just cross-posted in both. For instance, today there was an article about Harvard searching through staff emails that ended up in the U.S. section and in the Tech section.

[subpixel]

One of the best things about sections is the ability they give you to 'finish' a newspaper. That doesn't mean read every article - it means the ability to pick it up, look through it, and decide when you've seen enough to be done with it.

I hate the feeling of tumbling down a rabbit hole that most online news gives me. I miss the feeling of satisfaction I used to get from leafing through the Times section by section. I'm hopeful this redesign will bring back some of the best bits of the experience afforded by dead trees.

[ctbeiser]

I totally agree with your thoughts on 'finishing' a newspaper. That said, the large number of sections, and having no way to see whether I've seen the new articles in them, leaves me unable to do so.

Perhaps it's my wide range of interests, but with 28 sections in the app, of which over 20 I'll glance through on paper and occasionally read an article from, I can't possibly check all of them every day for interesting articles. Sure, some only update weekly, but am I supposed to just remember off the top of my head which day the science section is, and then only check it then? (Tuesdays.) And then there are all the blogs, which I'd also like to read... get the picture?

I don't have a GOMS analysis for you or anything, but with the time it takes to go to sections, see if there's anything new and interesting, the attention just doesn't feel worth the effort, and I give up after going through the front page and 20 most emailed articles.