Mahz's Dev Journal

[Syben]

@Ellri Speaking of which, are you a multiuser account? You keep saying 'us' and I am totally out of the loop here. I've been around awhile Ellri, but never actually conversed with you.

Admittedly I wasn't so active in the guild's happenings.

[Ellri]

nah. we're just semi-insane. At least by our own definition.

[Syben]

nah. we're just semi-insane. At least by our own definition.

@Ellri

Oh, that seems reasonable. You would love my semi-insane cooking then.

[Genkai]

So I've been skimming the past like 15 pages because I guess when I'm trying to help sell a house, the world keeps on turning. ^^ I'm so happy to see a status feature, even if it is basic or in the beginning stages. Thanks @Mahz

And was I supposed to see a toggle list for users when I trigger the mention feature? Or was that something you haven't yet done? I do think email notifications and deleting threads/PMs would be a great way to start if you're looking for input, as previously mentioned on the previous page. Overall, things are looking really good! I can't wait until we can have a save/draft feature too. That was a good one while it lasted.

And lastly, someone pointed out the status feature is still a bit unknown. Would you want to send a mass PM to the users outlining your progress and to come here if any issues arise and maybe to give them a heads up on possible up coming projects? I figure it would help people use the new features (with explanations?) and then give you more feedback? I think we have the same people coming and giving input which isn't bad at all but when new users pop in and give their two cents as well, it probably helps build a bigger back-and-forth. But then again...cluserfucks can suck. XD

And @The Harbinger of Ferocity if you're the one who helped make the "Fresh" "tag" thank you so much. It really was a wonderful sight to see this afternoon.

Is it at all possible to have that be triggered when someone's firs post has been edited recently too? Because hey, new information is fresh even if the thread isn't.

I'm not sure if we can delete threads yet, but I know myself and others edit posts in the OOC/IntChk, be it group or one on one and the first post is usually where new information goes so if there's a way to tell people it's been altered, your system could be used to do that AS WELL AS point out threads that have been recently posted. ^^

[Ellri]

@mention user list toggle is still not in,@Genkai.

[Shienvien]

Is it at all possible to have that be triggered when someone's firs post has been edited recently too? Because hey, new information is fresh even if the thread isn't.

Would be a bit too confusing, I think, and to a significant extent negate the usefulness of the tag? (As in, you wouldn't be able to tell that it is a new thread by a glance anymore.) Generally, the fewer blingy things, the better.

(Is the border intentionally still brighter?)

[Genkai]

I think date wouldn't be hard to tell though.

Threads with FRESH by them that have been made within the last 24 hours would be easy to tell apart from say a RP/Thread that has many posts with the FRESH by it or even EDITED because I do know GMs edit the OOC's first page or an interest check and I just figured using one system to help another might not be hard. But if it is, coding wise, I don't wanna be a bother.

[Shienvien]

Eh... Some GMs tamper with their OCs all the time; I'd still say it'd be more of a white noise than actually helpful, never mind cluttery.

[Captain Jordan]

Is it at all possible to have that be triggered when someone's firs post has been edited recently too? Because hey, new information is fresh even if the thread isn't.

@Genkai

Can't thread creators change the thread title? Seems like that's a means to highlight new information as well.

[Mahz]

And was I supposed to see a toggle list for users when I trigger the mention feature? Or was that something you haven't yet done?

@Genkai

Not yet. As usual, it's something I want to do, but hard enough that it'll take an entire weekend, so there are other things I want to get done first. Almost all of my Guild dev time is limited to weekends.

And lastly, someone pointed out the status feature is still a bit unknown. Would you want to send a mass PM to the users outlining your progress and to come here if any issues arise and maybe to give them a heads up on possible up coming projects? I figure it would help people use the new features (with explanations?) and then give you more feedback? I think we have the same people coming and giving input which isn't bad at all but when new users pop in and give their two cents as well, it probably helps build a bigger back-and-forth. But then again...cluserfucks can suck. XD

@Genkai

Generally I just launch features and let the curious/exploring types discover them first, and their use of new features exposes it to other users. So there's a gradual ramp-up as more and more users discover things, and I use that time to hotfix any glaring issues I hadn't anticipated.

The problem is that this thread is not an ideal place to provide feedback. It only works because there's a small group of regulars. I mean it might not seem like much, but you have to consider that @Ellri is at least 5 goblins stacked atop each other, etc.

Ideally there would be a place to discuss each feature in a focused way, but this good enough for me right now.

Is it at all possible to have that be triggered when someone's firs post has been edited recently too? Because hey, new information is fresh even if the thread isn't.

@Genkai

Idea: Instead of GMs updating the first post of each tab, each tab simply has a shared area that GMs (and co-GMs) can edit. Like a wiki, the revision history of this space is saved so you can see what/when/who edited it each time and what was changed. This would make it easy for me to create a system that can tell you when this content has changed.

I'm not sure if we can delete threads yet, but I know myself and others edit posts in the OOC/IntChk, be it group or one on one and the first post is usually where new information goes so if there's a way to tell people it's been altered, your system could be used to do that AS WELL AS point out threads that have been recently posted. ^^

@Genkai

Not a bad idea to provide some support for "the first post has been edited since you last viewed it", just not obvious how to implement such a thing that's useful while not being disruptive. Something I won't think about until I make progress with the unread-posts tracker. Also, probably only something I'd expose to people subscribed to the topic.

(Is the border intentionally still brighter?)

@Shienvien

Yeah, I turned it to the color that you suggested, but realized that I needed to also update the border color which was specified in another place. But since the color you gave me is too dark on my screen, I decided to just leave it in limbo like that as a compromise. Probably not something I can be faffed to touch again.

[Ellri]

GMs can change their topic titles, yes.

But even taking that into account, its not something one remembers easily to mark new information.

And some GMs might not feel it necessary to notify everyone about changes.

we rather hold to the belief that the best sort of GM is the sort that doesn't have to go in and haul players back and forth.

[Ellri]

you'll have to do without our goblins for a while starting tomorrow, Mahz. We're going on a vacation then and won't be back for ten days.

For feedback to specific components, its generally better to use dedicated threads. Especially if the components are the big ones that get changed steadily over a long timespan, like the tags.

[Genkai]

@Mahz

I assumed the toggle from the co-GM feature had been carried over to mentions (and PMs? I think it already has it?) but I understand it's a bit messy in the regard. Is there a way to get a PM button in someone's post, like under their avatar or next to mention/co-mention? I think I brought this up before, as not wanting to go to their page and then PM them.

Fair enough, hopefully word of mouth regarding things like the status or bio can help them spread out more evenly. Don't wanna overwhelm ya.

And a log for GMs would be great to use for groups because some conversations occur off-site, say over Google hangouts. So a log that we could to record edits of posts or thoughts shared or even a timeline of IC-events or check lists for co-GMs, would be good to have. As far as the log goes, I assume the whole group would need to do know who made what edit where because even as players edit their own CS, it's hard to have them come back and tell me what they did so if that could apply to them too (as an opt in/out for GMs to use) that could be nifty.

I do know you wanted to have tabs be deletable or edited right? For example in a 1x1, my partner and I use the spare CS tab to keep track of events that have happened. I have also made them co-GM in the event that they'll be able to edit OOC posts I've made since I see 1x1 as equal contributions.

I'm aware editing the title could be a means to communicate a post has been edited with something important, or PMing people, but if ever you wanted to try to do something to get attention of people who overlook it, it's something that can really be put on the back burner, no worries there. My brain just went A to B with the new FRESH thing but it's really not pressing like other features on your list. Thanks for the input though.

[LegendBegins]

@Genkai
If a PM buttons is added, I highly suggest it not being placed in the bottom right. Any more options there, especially that offer nothing in regard to post creation, would simply end up as clutter.

@Mahz
Speaking of regulars, this thread has transitioned from less of the "Regulars have some good ideas and want to help" thread to the "Feature Requests and Bugs" thread.

[Captain Jordan]

@Genkai
If a PM buttons is added, I highly suggest it not being placed in the bottom right. Any more options there, especially that offer nothing in regard to post creation, would simply end up as clutter.

@Mahz
Speaking of regulars, this thread has transitioned from less of the "Regulars have some good ideas and want to help" thread to the "Feature Requests and Bugs" thread.

@LegendBegins

PM buttons should go on the left under the avatar. They relate to the person, not the post, so that's where they belong.

[LegendBegins]

<Snipped quote by LegendBegins>

PM buttons should go on the left under the avatar. They relate to the person, not the post, so that's where they belong.

@Captain Jordan

I agree.

[Hank]

I've only seen the same users post in this thread over and over again for the past weeks. If you introduce something big, Mahz, I suggest you create a post in the Off-Topic section, or a sticky in every section, something that people read, if you want more comprehensive feedback.

[UltikanaRe]

Idea: Can view/Can comment/Can edit/Ghost PMs:
Jack, Jill, John, and James. have a PM.
Jack starts the PM. He doesn't want Jill to know John can view the PM, so he sets John to 'Ghost'.
Jack wants James to only be able to comment on some ideas, so he sets him to 'can comment'. Comments would work like replies that appear in margins within hider-like things.

[Captain Jordan]

Idea: Can view/Can comment/Can edit/Ghost PMs:
Jack, Jill, John, and James. have a PM.
Jack starts the PM. He doesn't want Jill to know John can view the PM, so he sets John to 'Ghost'.
Jack wants James to only be able to comment on some ideas, so he sets him to 'can comment'. Comments would work like replies that appear in margins within hider-like things.

@UltikanaRe

Please, no "Ghost" setting. That just invites further drama. I'd rather make people go through the extra step of copy/pasting PM text to someone else, to have to think about the action, rather than let them choose a one-click setting to do it. If it's totally legitimate copy/paste, then fine, the person will have no problem with it. If it's to create drama, well, then perhaps the effort will make them reconsider.

Otherwise, I like it. As long as all participants can see who can do what, I'm golden.

Is there a 'can reply' permission? Or is that your 'can edit'?

[LegendBegins]

Idea: Can view/Can comment/Can edit/Ghost PMs:
Jack, Jill, John, and James. have a PM.
Jack starts the PM. He doesn't want Jill to know John can view the PM, so he sets John to 'Ghost'.
Jack wants James to only be able to comment on some ideas, so he sets him to 'can comment'. Comments would work like replies that appear in margins within hider-like things.

@UltikanaRe

Ghosting will only result in a loss of what the PM was meant to be: A place to trust that messages may be sent to other members without fear of anyone else seeing them.