@evansolomon - these are nitpicks really. There is a reason books are full justified, it helps the eye understand the beginning and ends of lines. The font of the story is a serif, which is just hard to read for extended periods of time.
Also, since I don't know why a story is selected, I spend a minute trying to understand the selection. I am naturally distrustful of the web (must be from my years in ad tech and startups) so I am brought out of my "reading for enjoyment" mode before I even start reading.
The left/right swipe is not self-evident, so if I click on a collection title, I don't quite understand how to get back to the post I was reading.
The heart plus avatars above the title are confusing, the author is almost hidden if there are a lot of them.
Again, the current layout makes the author less important (I understand that clearly medium is focused on the content not the author -- which as a complete aside, makes the whole "we give authors reach" kinda hollow. Truthfully, if all the author's worth is the creation of the content (much like the only value of a 3D printer is the item it creates), then the mission/value of medium are misaligned at best, misrepresented at worst)
If I click on a collection title, I am brought to the collection, but a left swipe puts me back in the post feed. I would assume if I selected the collection it was because I wanted to read posts in that collection.
Thats a lot more than you asked, but generally, if I want to read, I want to feel in control and have a simplified experience.
Here is another just general comment - this was launched as the Medium iOS app. It's not. Its the Medium *Reading* app. The press created incorrect expectations.
And, while this might have happened (I didnt see it), I would have had an onboarding modal in the app that said "At medium, we believe that the content stands above all else. To this end, we pulled out what is core to the medium experience, your personalized reading list and started there."
Again, just my $0.02. It is a great start, and you guys should feel proud of the effort; I will certainly use it daily.
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