JoeUser: What's Your Most-Wanted Feature

One Feature Only!

from JoeUser Forums

Dear JU Faithful,

At the moment we are looking into what would be involved in an update to this site.  There's no question that it's been a while since it got some tender, loving care from development, and we're thinking we *might* have some time in the coming months to address this problem.

As we do these updates, we also might be able to sneak in one or two new features, if time permits.  So, we'd like to hear from you on what you would like to see added to the site in an update.  Here's how this is going to work:

  1. You get to make ONE feature request.  Only one.  Be specific
  2. It should be something you feel is a must-have function for the site
  3. It should not be "fix this feature that's been broken forever"  We're going to be fixing the glitches.  Think of new stuff.
  4. Keep it semi-reasonable.  Asking us to make the site 100% customizable isn't going to happen. 

There is absolutely no guarantee that all of the requests here will be added to the site.  We're going to go through the list of suggestions and see what we can actually accomplish when we set aside time for the project. 

Once the project is underway, expect updates on what will and won't be in the site.  For now, consider this the exploratory phase before we firmly declare anything  :)  You folks have stuck around the site through thick and thin, so we want to give you a chance to throw in your two cents before we get started.

blogging
7,343 views 30 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Recommend Article button, with a visible count for anyone to look at. You read an article, you like it, you can recommend it. One recommend per user per article. For example of what I mean, see the 'thumbs' feature on Boardgamegeek.com.

This would also serve as a good way to pick out which articles should be featured for the people who do that sort of thing.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I think it would be nice to have a place to track threads/articles that you have replied to, without having to add it to the "watch list". Sometimes I forget which posts I have replied too and I have no idea is someone responds!
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Have that. In the forums, there's a 'My Replies' and 'My Posts' button next to the 'Watchlist' button.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
Well, yeah, but the feature I suggest would actually show somewhere how interesting/insightful the article was so we would know before we read it... Can we already do that and I just don't know how? My expanded proposition was going to involve simply converting those buttons into the recommend buttons.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
I find the entire blog/forum division confusing. I am often surprised why my comments are sometimes signed "Andrew J. Brehm" and sometimes "Leauki". I have no idea which setting to change to make the name the same in both cases or even how I can tell which case will happen.

For example, I just came to www.joeuer.com, was logged in automatically (as it should work), found this article, clicked on (6 comments) and wrote the this comment.

But I have no idea whether the author will be "Leauki" or "Andrew J. Brehm". Let's see...
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
It's "Andrew J. Brehm".

Now I have had that problem in discussions, when I didn't even notice that my comments were posted under either name until somebody mentioned that they just figured out that "Leauki" and "Andrew J. Brehm" are the same person.

That would be my feature request: remove this confusion, use the same name no matter on which side of the (for me) invisible border I am.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
I like terpfan's idea.

But how about a signature feature. A spot at the bottom of your reply that can have some kind of phrase or quote in it of our choosing. Or just something we wanna write. Maybe even images and links.
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
Instead of a watch list just list all the articles you reply to.

List them in descending order with the number of replies and the date of the last reply listed next to the linked article.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
I know we have the rating system...interesting insightful thing. But I'd like some sort of daily bar graph showing the top three articles rated by users. (If we could bring back the trolling negative score it'd be even better.)

That way we can see what articles are user rated the best...not just the ones who "get the most traffic." Flame wars get a lot of traffic but aren't always the most interesting or insightful kind of articles.

Does that make sense?
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
I personally would like a feature that can reach out and bitch slap a troll when they are being over the top obnoxious.
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top

I know you don't want 100% site customization, and I agree that would be too much.  But enhancing the customization features we have is my #1 complaint about the site.  Apart from changing colors, every page just looks so generic and, well, ugly that it just doesn't feel personal at all. 

I understand blogs should be about the content, but the "same-ness" of the site just makes it boring and unappealing.

Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
ply By: ModeratemanPosted: Thursday, October 04, 2007I personally would like a feature that can reach out and bitch slap a troll when they are being over the top obnoxious.


! ROFL! I busted out when I read this Elie!! [and I'm at work!]


How about being able to search for your fav blogger? I.E., type the blogger name you're looking for into a serch box and have that site come up. I dislike the Index snce there are so many names, takes a while. Otherwise I go to the Forums and look at "my replies" or scroll through the Forum Site but don't always find who I'm looking for.
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
But enhancing the customization features


I second that!
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
An ignore user feature so's I can ignore all of the people that annoy me. 
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hell, I'd even settle for a 'shun' feature which works the opposite way, preventing those selected from viewing MY threads and comments


"Shun the nonbeliever! Shuuuuunnnn!"

I personally would like a feature that can reach out and bitch slap a troll when they are being over the top obnoxious.


I want that tool for every website I visit.


I'm kind of dry on ideas, though...if anything pops into my head I'll come back and tell ya'll about it.

~Zoo
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
I personally would like a feature that can reach out and bitch slap a troll when they are being over the top obnoxious.


Well then in that case I'd like a bitch slap prevention shield.
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'd like to be able to search posts and replies by another user with various sorts and filters (by date, by article). It'd be interesting to know what percentage of posts a user makes that are simply abusive towards others. In other words is it just me or is this guy just an across the board knuckle head?

It'd also be nice to able to save a link to such a search (with params) so you could suggest the knuckle head go take a good long look at himself.

Surely thats an easy one to implement.
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
I agree with BlueDev and Donna. More customization would make the site more appealing to me. I'm not asking for a myspace clone...just a bit more customizing features would be nice.
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
A keyword search system that ranks articles by degree of match. For an example of a highly successful and FAST! keyword search, please see the corporate site - www.seco-larm.com. The site has several product search systems on board but the one I am focusing on is the keyword search, which returns pages (over 1500 pages on the site) almost instantly ranked precisely by degree of match to multiple keywords, and displays a little sumary of what is on each page, as well as letting you go directly there in a flash. The search engine itself was developed by someone who posted it for free use by the JavaScript Source. It was then modified and somewhat improved by yours truly.

To implement this search system, the keywords for each page that a JoeUser creates would have to be entered by the user and then - presumeably usine PHP or something equivalent - added to the search database. The database is included as part of the search system. I.e., it is downloaded when you call up the Search System, so that the search itself is not using the internet at all, reducing bandwidth demand for you as well as enormously speeding up the search process.

To make the system even faster and more compact, a dictionary table could also be referenced. The separate searchable pages in the four product category databases for seco-larm.com only run to a few hundred at most, while I hesitate to imagine how many pages total are encompassed in JoeUser.com. If the PHP engine replaced the keyword entries with smaller pointers to a list of all keywords, then it is possible that both search time and space could be drastically reduced. And of course, most of a page address is boilerplate, which you repeat ONCE if you're coding smart.

The remaining problem, which I am working on, would be to turn the search query into an "aquarium," which all former Amiga owners will understand instantly. The "Aquarium" was the massive database of all Amiga software that presented the user with the option of entering keywords manually or selecting as many keywords as desired from a grid. The system would then return all the matching pieces of software - very quickly. (The name came from the most prolific compiler and distributor of public domain software for the Amiga - Fred Fish.)

The advantage of an Aquarium is that the keywords do not have to be guessed at, and you don't have to deal with dozens of synonyms. You can easilly put a thousand keywords on a screen table. The user clicks on every keyword they want to match and then hits a GO button or Return. The option should be for the creator of an article to select from the Aquarium table first, and then, if necessary, add unique search terms not in the table.

Further refinements might include letting the creator weight search terms - at least those from the Aquarium table, and, of course, allowing the user to save searches and refine them without having to try to select the same keywords again.
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top
I would like the ability to be able to create new blog groups. I've been trying to create a JU Writers group for about 12 months to absolutely no avail. I believe JUsers used to be able to do this.
Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top
I want it to be prettier.  Colors, more customization would be wonderful. 
Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top
I am often surprised why my comments are sometimes signed "Andrew J. Brehm" and sometimes "Leauki".


When I post from blogs I'm "Gene Nash." On the rare occasions I post from the forums, I'm "smartaz." That's because my official username here is smartaz, but I have the box checked in my profile settings to "Use real name instead of user name" (or some such). It just doesn't seem to work in the forums. Maybe you also have that box checked? It's in your account settings somewhere.

By: stubbyfinger Posted: Thursday, October 04, 2007
Instead of a watch list just list all the articles you reply to.

List them in descending order with the number of replies and the date of the last reply listed next to the linked article.


Go here: https://forums.joeuser.com/?g=myreplies

I would like the ability to be able to create new blog groups. I've been trying to create a JU Writers group for about 12 months to absolutely no avail. I believe JUsers used to be able to do this.


Yep, we used to be able to create multiple blogs and groups. That would be nice to have back. (Though don't count that as my official request. I haven't settled on one yet.)
Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top
I've been trying to create a JU Writers group for about 12 months to absolutely no avail. I believe JUsers used to be able to do this.


Yes. It would be nice to be able to have more than one blog group of your interest if you wish, it only allows you to create 2. And to remove yourself from a group you don't want to be a part of too.
Reply #25 from JoeUser Forums Top
I would like to suggest that you MINIMIZE any customization. I like the fact that the site IS plain and simple. No fancy backgrounds or cool effects to distract from what people have to say....just plain, simple and to the point. I want people to have to write something interesting...not clutter up a page with nonsense. Go to myspace if you want that.

It would be nice to have a "follow up" button....bookmark articles I want to follow up on, but maybe not have all the responses emailed to me. Then have a quick link to a page that lists, similar to the forums, the articles I was following.