When the blogging platform Tumblr updates its layout, user complaints usually follow. There are many changes that Tumblr users would like to make to the site, such as altering the messaging system or making the mobile app more user-friendly. However, the Tumblr staff tends to ignore those requests for some reason and instead makes adjustments no one asked for, like changing the background color to a slightly darker shade of blue. When an update comes along, there are normally some grumbles about it that subside within a few days. But this latest update made a change so drastic that it sent the entire site into an uproar.
What's causing the turmoil is a change in the image sizing. The default image width is now 540 pixels, larger than the standard 500 pixels it used to be. A 40-pixel difference might not seem like a big deal at first, but it means that all the old images and GIFs that were originally sized to be 500 pixels are now stretched out and distorted. Users who spent hours and hours creating graphics are frustrated to see their hard work messed up, and feel discouraged from making anything new with the different sizing. Even people who don't use Tumblr know how important GIFs are to the site, so it's no surprise that the update is causing more rage than usual.
Tumblr's explanation for the change added even more fuel to the fire. A post on the staff's Tumblr announcing the update simply stated, "Wider posts: We went ahead and did it. There was no reason not to."
Obviously there was a reason not to, or people wouldn't be so upset. This statement shows that Tumblr staff might be out of touch with what their users really want. A Change.org petition asking the site to return to the old image sizes has gotten over 22,000 signatures since yesterday, stating that the update not only creates "a bad image for the runners behind the blog who might be looking to sell merchandise or promote their product, but it puts a bad image on Tumblr themselves, who now have a website full of over stretched, pixelly images."
The staff hasn't responded to these complaints, so it's unclear whether they will revert the site back to its old image dimensions, or if users will simply have to adjust. But the lesson here is clear: messing with people's Tumblr's GIFs will always cause a reaction.
Image Credit: Scott Beale/Flickr
