Topic

Staff Topic

New! - Status Update Improvements

Hello!

We've just released a bit of an update to the "status updates" feature in the activity stream on your homepage.

The main advancements are:

(1) You can now "reply" to someone else's update

(2) You can now "like" someone else's update

(3) Updates look a bit spiffier (but not super-spiffy - more on that in a moment)

(4) Each update has its own "permalink" page, so you can share it with others, and more easily navigate chains of replies to a single update.

We're launching it now because, frankly, we're really pretty excited about the whole thing, and we wanted to share it with you. However, there are some interface elements that are still under consideration, which we'll be addressing in the next week or so. Namely...

(1) As hinted above, we think the new look is an improvement, but we're not 100% happy with it - please expect minor tinkering in the near future.

(2) You can't "unlike" something you've liked just yet... so be careful with that clicking-finger!

(3) For those of you who are reguarly all a-twoot, or who twutter, or whatever it is the cool kids do, you may notice that there's no direct, nice way to "mention" someone with, for example, an @ symbol. Doing this is slightly complicated by the fact that, in Glitch, players can have spaces in their names. However, we do have some Nebulous Plans for this which we hope will be enacted in (relatively) short order.

 Feedback is welcome!

Posted 16 months ago by hitherto Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE ITTTTTTTTT

    +1,000,000,000,000,000,000,0000000000000

    ETA: You forgot to mention the thumbnails! I LOVE SEEING MY UNICORN FACE ALL TINY-LIKE.
    Posted 16 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yeah! Awesome update! And now I shall actually go look at it...

    EDIT: I have looked at it. It's like MAGIC.
    Posted 16 months ago by Heyoheya Subscriber! | Permalink
  • likes this
    Posted 16 months ago by Marcm Subscriber! | Permalink
  • TY!
    Posted 16 months ago by Stormy Weather Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 Cerulean! THUMBNAILS!
    Posted 16 months ago by Heyoheya Subscriber! | Permalink
  • fabulous!
    Posted 16 months ago by bored no more Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Linnaea and 1001 other people like this!
    Posted 16 months ago by Vicereine Linnæa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • ++good
    Posted 16 months ago by The Cat Face Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 million to Nebulous Plans :D I like it but um...so stupid here...what is a Permalink anyway? Also, how would I navigate chains of replies? Sorry to be so bleeding dense here. Some kind soul enlighten me? Thanks:)
    Posted 16 months ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • An ability to edit an update would be really nice. Otherwise, cool!
    Posted 16 months ago by Joe Blow Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I mainly like the thumbnails and the like button. I'd love to see those in the forums too.
    Posted 16 months ago by FrankenPaula Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Coool! awesome thanks!!!
    Posted 16 months ago by Chicalet Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Rascalmom, a permalink is a link that takes you to that specific status update.

    Here is one: http://beta.glitch.com/status/PHVU793AAN62SS6/648543/

    EDIT: Oh! And I got that by clicking in the little status chat box thing. It's a link. :)
    Posted 16 months ago by Heyoheya Subscriber! | Permalink
  • hmm, perhaps we could have a update button for replies, so we can see ones that we miss when we are online or when the homepage is swamped
    Posted 16 months ago by Marcm Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Woot!  Love it;-)  Thanks a million!
    Posted 16 months ago by ♥joby♥ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Rascalmom

    A permalink is a URL for a specific comment.  With a permalink, you can create a link back to exactly that comment, no just the thread that it is in. 
    Posted 16 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Like the thumbnails, and it's pretty close...would love to see the replies stack up under the original posts in the status page...but I did notice that I could at least click on a post, and get the thread in a separate page view...so that's handy.
    Posted 16 months ago by b3achy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Love it! Thank you!!!!
    Posted 16 months ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Rascalmom: a "permalink" just means there's a dedicated page for each status update - if you click on any of the speech bubbles in your activity stream, you'll be taken to a separate page which lists...

    (a) The update that was replied to (if you clicked on something that's a reply)
    (b) The update which you clicked on
    (c) Any replies that have been made to the update
    (d) A little row of faces showing who "liked" the update

    The name "permalink" is a shortening of "permanent link"... so even though status updates tend to vanish into the distant past of your activity feed over time, once you know the permalink for them, you can always go and visit that page, or link to it from elsewhere online.
    Posted 16 months ago by hitherto Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thank you for making this better.  

    feedback: filtering things like auctions, group joins and putting friends into categories could help.  

    Still a bit odd when you get a reply because the person who replied is your friend but not the original message because that person is not your friend and you have to click on their name to try to piece together what your friend is replying to...
    Posted 16 months ago by Artilect Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oooooohhhh..... Nebulous Plans!!!  :)
    Posted 16 months ago by Pirate Apples Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 hitherto

    Permalinks are the BEST if you like to bookmark and hoard status updates. *looks shifty* What? Not sayin' I do that or nothin'.
    Posted 16 months ago by Heyoheya Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Awesome update! :)
    Posted 16 months ago by Varaeth Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Loves the icons. 
    Posted 16 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I know that it's new so everyone is trying it out.   But my initial reaction is that with just a few friends using it, it moves so fast you don't actually get to read anything before it scrolls off the screen.
    Posted 16 months ago by Vicereine Linnæa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Just loving it so!!!  Thank you thank you thank you ......................
    Posted 16 months ago by Qizara Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Very, VERY cool, hitherto!!

    Tho it's all a tad bit confusing to me (and I have Twitter account too, but that confuses me as well lol) I'm sure it won't take long for me to figure it out (Glitches homepage NOT Twitter - have had that account for a couple of years and it still confuses me lol)
    Posted 16 months ago by sgjo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh, cool, so I can bookmark the thread...that's really nifty...thanks hitherto!
    Posted 16 months ago by b3achy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks all re: permalinks:) Aww, hitherto, taking time off from your job to teach a little to a technidiot, thanks! Okay now I know how all of you sneaky people manage to link to the correct post and not just the thread; I've been wondering that for ages. Learn something everyday:)
    Posted 16 months ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 for the improvements.. although I think it'll take a little getting use too...
    Posted 16 months ago by BumbleBeez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 BumbleBeez
    Posted 16 months ago by bored no more Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like the new set-up, but I wish the icons were just a little bit bigger than they are now. It looks like they could be double the size they are now and still fit nicely while giving a bit more detail to those of us who have been in denial about the realities of farsightedness.
    Posted 16 months ago by The Cat Face Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Hmm, my initial reaction is that each update takes up too much space. Otherwise I like how we can reply to someone directly without having to specifically type in their name. I'm not sure how useful the "like" button is on any website, so luke-warm on that.
    Posted 16 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • :)  +1 for heading in the right direction!

    Unfortunately, now my home page is a tangle of replies to earlier updates; while I can use the permalink to see the entire convo, it's made a mess of my home page, since it's like leaping into the middle of a conversation, interrupted by other conversations.  

    It's modeled in the same way as Twitter, which works well for Twitter since most fo the time there are not long convos happening there, but I think that the facebook/G+ model might work better on the home page than a Twitter one.  

    What I mean by that is that we have this Twitter style thing, no threading, updates come in as they do with reply markers, and to glance at it, it's a mess even if I can get to convo view:

    ------------- begin ---------------
    johndoe: oh yea, you're right, let me try it! (in reply to sallysue)

    markymark: where is the new world? (in reply to samsmith)

    janerae: what's happening?

    sallysue: didja see that you can like the posts! (in reply to johndoe)

    samsmith: it's a whole new world

    johndoe: yes! they are indeed! (in reply to sallysue)

    millyvannily: aw, my pick broke again

    sallysue: wow, the new updates are shiny!
    ------------- end ---------------

    But if they were threaded like facebook/G+, it'd be easier to see the high level overview:

    ------------- begin ---------------
    samsmith: it's a whole new world
    ---- markymark: where is the new world?

    millyvannily: aw, my pick broke again

    sallysue: wow, the new updates are shiny!
    ---- johndoe: yes! they are indeed!
    ---- sallysue: didja see that you can like the posts!
    ---- johndoe: oh yea, you're right, let me try it!
    ------------- end ---------------

    Better still, rather than fit the replies inline and threaded, what if you just provided the original update with a reply count, then I can click the reply count if I'm interested enough in the convo to see the replies?

    ------------- begin ---------------
    samsmith: it's a whole new world (1 reply)
    millyvannily: aw, my pick broke again
    sallysue: wow, the new updates are shiny! (3 replies)
    ------------- end ---------------

    Not saying I hate it, just that it's not really solving the problem of the home page updates being a wall of confusion. :)  I love the reply concept, just think it could be handled better. 
    Posted 16 months ago by zeeberk Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 zeeberk
    Posted 16 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • zeeberk - I agree.. It would make more sense if we reply to someone else's comment that it goes underneath their comment rather then make a whole new post..
    Posted 16 months ago by BumbleBeez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well done, specks.
    Posted 16 months ago by chicgeek Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love that we can reply! However, I do feel each post takes up too much space. I'd like the original post/status update/whatever to be more prominent than replies. Also I'd like for there to be an option to not see the replies that people are making to other people (because I don't know what they're talking about and I might not be friends with whoever they're talking to and I just see a bunch of random responses.)
    Posted 16 months ago by Lung Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ok, I do love it, but agree that it would make a LOT more sense if we could see the original post and the replies together. It is a bit chaotic as is.
    Posted 16 months ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • um... where the furry heck are status updates?  I thought you were talking about something that happens in game, but you're looking at them... and there's no game... and there not here in the forum... I'm an idiot.  Please to enlighten?
    Posted 16 months ago by ArtOfHands RoboGirl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Zeeberk & Bumble -- I agree with you, but to account for the fact that we are less likely to see replies further down on our feeds, maybe we can get notifications in our Updates or whatnot that there has been a reply meant specifically for us?
    Posted 16 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Lung, how about if it's a reply to someone we're not friends with we just see a message saying "so-and-so replies to so-and-so", with an option to click on it if we're interested? I would not want the option to see it removed completely, but would appreciate the choice.
    Posted 16 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Cerulean, yea, some kind of red notification marker would be helpful (much the way FB or G+ does it).  And a separate category on the sidebar there for @replies! :)
    Posted 16 months ago by zeeberk Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Shepherdmoon
    Oh, definitely! I didn't mean to remove those completely, but for an option to not see it. Perhaps we'd have to click a link to see the whole conversation on a different page. (Not just the one reply. That would be cumbersome!)
    Posted 16 months ago by Lung Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ah cool! Multi-threaded updates just like I imagined the forums being. (smug, vindicated look).
    Posted 16 months ago by Fokian Fool Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 Zeeberk.  How about combining conversations (like the forums) and we can expand them if we want.
    Posted 16 months ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • the home page is a little harder to follow right now with so many people testing it out, but I find this to be a good thing, as I need a distraction from my glitch withdrawals
    Posted 16 months ago by bored no more Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I definitely think as we are testers, we are testing the heck out of this new feature. I bet they will improve it more:) I agree that we need replies under updates. Also, it seems really buggy right now with who we can see and reply to, even on our friends list. And when I navigate away and back, I keep getting differently ordered versions of it, too.
    Posted 16 months ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Omg +1 for @Replies!
    Posted 16 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • YES! Yes!! Same here RM...having tons of problems with the way things are showing on the homepage... One minute there's 2 posts and the next refresh ends up showing tons of posts between those two - tis  making me dizzy lmao!!

    Plus I'm not even seeing a lot of posts that peeps, who are on my friends list, are posting.
    Posted 16 months ago by sgjo Subscriber! | Permalink
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