Guild Launch News
SNEAK PEAK: PM Overhaul Coming in Version 4.9
Greetings Everyone,
I've just finished up our PM overhaul and I wanted to give you all sneak peak of what was coming. In Version 4.9 we've taken all of your feedback over the last few years, mixed them together, and overhauled the PM system using your input.
The changes are:
1. We've improved the speed of the load times of the PM area significantly. The difference is night and day. We've been working on this over time in the course of a few releases making small changes to the PM system to support the database structure we need to make it more performant. This change was so important we've actually already released it to the live servers. The inbox and outbox now load as quickly as every other page.
2. You now have the ability to "Star" a message. This is so you can mark messages that you know you will want to reference at a later date. The starring is done with Ajax and requires no additional page loads.
3. You can now filter your messages by Read, UnRead, Starred and UnStarred.
4. You can now search for messages sent by a user. To maintain performance this search requires you use the first characters of their name, but it's still very useful.
5. Unread PMs are now highlighted with a dark blue color. This color is designed to stand out with any template. Once the message is read the background goes to a template specific color.
6. The PM editor now uses the WYSIWYG editor. The allowed HTML is restricted only to common formatting because we don't want people sending around JavaScript and embedding files for security reasons. However, you have full access to all of the common formatting, color, text size options that you need to format your PMs nicely and to make them stand out!
7. The "re:" line will now no longer go beyond 3 "re:"s. This means the message will go to "re: re: re: Subject" and only that far. All subsequent responses will just show the 3 "re:"s. This way you know it's a topic that has been bounced around a lot but the subject is still fully visible.
8. A message now appears when a PM is sent saying "Your PM has been sent". After about 3 seconds the message fades away.
9. The "New Mail" icon at the top right of the site has had some changes. The new mail icon is now animated so that it is more eye catching. In addition, the "0" has been removed when you have no messages. This makes it more obvious when messages do appear since extra visual information appears in the Header Bar. I know people have asked for more "aggressive" PM notification, but we feel a more conservative apprach should be tried before making any radical changes.
10. The block and report links have been moved closer to the sender's name and made into icons. This deemphasizes them, but still makes them readily available for use. This should keep people from mistaking them for the reply button or otherwise hitting them accidentally.
These changes represent a ton of user feedback and our efforts to balance user desires and to mold user input into a holistic implementation. I really think all of these changes together bring our PM system up to a whole new level and will allow you to use PMs more effectively in managing and communicating with your guild and fellow gamers.
Enjoy!
Stephen
I've just finished up our PM overhaul and I wanted to give you all sneak peak of what was coming. In Version 4.9 we've taken all of your feedback over the last few years, mixed them together, and overhauled the PM system using your input.
The changes are:
1. We've improved the speed of the load times of the PM area significantly. The difference is night and day. We've been working on this over time in the course of a few releases making small changes to the PM system to support the database structure we need to make it more performant. This change was so important we've actually already released it to the live servers. The inbox and outbox now load as quickly as every other page.
2. You now have the ability to "Star" a message. This is so you can mark messages that you know you will want to reference at a later date. The starring is done with Ajax and requires no additional page loads.
3. You can now filter your messages by Read, UnRead, Starred and UnStarred.
4. You can now search for messages sent by a user. To maintain performance this search requires you use the first characters of their name, but it's still very useful.
5. Unread PMs are now highlighted with a dark blue color. This color is designed to stand out with any template. Once the message is read the background goes to a template specific color.
6. The PM editor now uses the WYSIWYG editor. The allowed HTML is restricted only to common formatting because we don't want people sending around JavaScript and embedding files for security reasons. However, you have full access to all of the common formatting, color, text size options that you need to format your PMs nicely and to make them stand out!
7. The "re:" line will now no longer go beyond 3 "re:"s. This means the message will go to "re: re: re: Subject" and only that far. All subsequent responses will just show the 3 "re:"s. This way you know it's a topic that has been bounced around a lot but the subject is still fully visible.
8. A message now appears when a PM is sent saying "Your PM has been sent". After about 3 seconds the message fades away.
9. The "New Mail" icon at the top right of the site has had some changes. The new mail icon is now animated so that it is more eye catching. In addition, the "0" has been removed when you have no messages. This makes it more obvious when messages do appear since extra visual information appears in the Header Bar. I know people have asked for more "aggressive" PM notification, but we feel a more conservative apprach should be tried before making any radical changes.
10. The block and report links have been moved closer to the sender's name and made into icons. This deemphasizes them, but still makes them readily available for use. This should keep people from mistaking them for the reply button or otherwise hitting them accidentally.
These changes represent a ton of user feedback and our efforts to balance user desires and to mold user input into a holistic implementation. I really think all of these changes together bring our PM system up to a whole new level and will allow you to use PMs more effectively in managing and communicating with your guild and fellow gamers.
Enjoy!
Stephen
Next week hopefully, the next at the latest, got a few more things to get wrapped up and need some more testing. We're aiming for bigger releases about every 3 weeks instead of 2 now. Also, we pretty much can't do a major release anymore except during our weekly maintenance window. Less boat rocking, more stuff to sink your teeth into in a release.
-Stephen
-Stephen