I have said before that I am a big fan of Newsgator.  I think that their online reader rocks.  I have used several and think that Newsgator allows me to get through the noise quicker.  That may have changed today.  I opened Newsgator online and noticed they have made several changes.  Here is a screenshot from tonight [click to enlarge]:

If you notice, (1) Newsgator now requires the user to click on the "+" sign to read more of the story.  This sucks.  This adds so much time because now I have more clicks to get to what I want.  I sometimes need a little more content to determine whether I need to read the rest of the post.  This inhibits my reading although I can see how Newsgator thought it would improve my speed since there is less room on the page.  It doesn't work for me.  I feel like I am missing some of the information and not getting all of what is available.  This may work for some people but it is a complete departure from what the online reader did before.  Plus there is no way for the user to expand all or configure the reader differently.  I am very disappointed in this change.

Second (2), Newsgator is now trying to bank on their large user base.  They have added a column of Google ads to their reader.  I really can't blame them for it but it is at the expense of me using their software.  It cuts down on the room I have to view my news.  I personally never click on Google ads and the less room is really annoying.  Maybe they will add a paid option for users who wish not to see the ads.

I really hope they are just testing these changes out or I hope that enough users complain about these changes so they are changed back.  If not, I will try out a different online reader.  If it ain't broke Newsgator, don't fix it.  There was nothing to fix.

UPDATE: In classic Newsgator style, they allow an option out of the blog post display.  Brian from Newsgator left a comment on this post explaining that you can change this under the "Display Options" on the main feed page.  You can select "Full Posts" instead of the "Summaries".  They must of changed the default option.  I honestly did not even notice these options.  I would suggest to Newsgator that they fix this UI issue.  Why not place these with the other links like My Settings, My Account, etc?  My eyes didn't even gravitate to that area on the page and I totally glossed over it.  More good news?  The Google Ads disappeared the next day.  It may of been a small experiement.  Either way, good job Newsgator.