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laptops for the first time since the switch to DU4 (I'd been using my tablet instead), and while LBN isn't buried quite as far down the page and there are snippets, it's still too far down the page and there are too few LBN stories shown.

THIS is what's dominating the home page, in a huge font that seems to suggest this is the most important story in the world for DUers:


Around 76 locations
were raided in India as
part of a crackdown on
phony tech support
scam calls

and while it was worth posting in LBN, I have absolutely no idea why that should be the LOUDEST and LARGEST headline on the home page of a Democratic site, ever.

And it's been there as THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY for a while now.

I'll admit sometimes less important LBN stories were at the very top of the page as LBN continually updated that part of the DU page. But it was easy to see other LBN headlines at a glance, as well as the Trending comments.

I'm looking at DU with my 14" Chromebook, rather than my 15.6" Dell laptop, so maybe that very oddly emphasized headline takes up more space than it would on the slightly larger laptop. With this Chromebook, that first Left Column story with the huge headline is so large I can't even see the full headline of the Left Column story below it, without scrolling down. The font for the Trending and Greatest topics is miniscule by comparison - and those are in a font even smaller than the one for the left sidebar.

LBN headlines can't be seen unless I scroll down, but the top headlines currently from the LBN feed are

Nine Republicans Jump Into Race for Speaker

Netanyahu told to 'quit now' as ex-leaders pin blame on dysfunctional government

Mitch McConnell backs Biden's $106bn aid request for Israel and Ukraine

which look to me like they're more important than the story about India cracking down on scammers, but DU's home page conveys the impression that to DU or its admins, the Indian scammers story is most important.

And that, in a nutshell, is why The Left Column with its old news and analysis should not be the focus of the home page.

You could constantly change The Left Column to try to keep up with whatever is apparently the very most important news story at the moment, but that's going to require constant attention from you or whoever helps you constantly change Left Column stories throughout the night as well as the day.

What DU3 had instead, just having LBN stories as the focus, with at least a few of them instantly visible and DUers in general contributing to that feed so there's always someone online when news is breaking, makes more sense.

Big headlines convey importance, and a headline the size of that one for The Left Column story featured on DU4's home page says you think it's of earth-shattering importance.

LBN stories constantly updating are obviously a news feed with Dems doing the aggregating, so no one's going to be wondering why a certain story is at the top at that moment, especially when that's likely to change within an hour or two if not sooner.