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DLP Improvement Thread V2: Electric Boogaloo

Discussion in 'DLP Feedback and Improvement' started by Lord Ravenclaw, Apr 11, 2017.

  1. Reign

    Reign Fourth Year

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    A profile page with all the story's the user has rated would be interesting to have. Could look similar to the library thread except with user rating instead of community rating.
     
  2. Seratin

    Seratin Proudmander –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    How flexible is vBulletin exactly?

    I've always wondered if it was possible to add a third post writing option or even just expand Advanced view.

    If you're writing a post that turns into a rant it'd be nice to be able to see more of it than a snippet at a time. Like, I get that some people start writing posts in their chosen word processor then copy and paste but it would be nice to have the option of just seeing more of what you're writing in DLP.
     
  3. Nuit

    Nuit Dark Lord

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    In the bottom right of the editor you'll see six dots in a sort of slope shape. Click & Drag it to a larger size. I do wonder if it could be implemented to expand left simultaneously as right.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2017
  4. Seratin

    Seratin Proudmander –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Never noticed that before. Can't get it working on mobile though and if possible a third option beside go advanced would be awesome.

    Again, it would probably be technically difficult as hell but I can't understate the ease of use having a larger, dedicated post editor built into the site would bring.

    It only makes sense, really. DLP is still a site that caters primarily towards writing.
     
  5. DR

    DR Secret Squirrel –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    I think this feeds into the need for a better mobile UI.
     
  6. Seratin

    Seratin Proudmander –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Well yes, the problems go hand in hand but even if there was a better system for desktop posting I'd be happy. If I'm writing a long post anyway I'd prefer to sit on the desktop and do it. Just would be ideal not to have to copy and paste from Word.


    You see what happens, Raven? You give us an inch and we ask for a mile.

    WE WANT ALL THE IMPOSSIBLE FEATURES.
     
  7. vlad

    vlad Banned ~ Prestige ~

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    Nah, Raven's one step ahead of us; you ask for all the features in the world, but we've already got the only feature that matters: ignore thread.

    Checkmate, pezunts.
     
  8. dhulli

    dhulli The Reborn

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    What's the backend DB behind DLP? Someone else could write up a migration script to one of the brand new thingies.

    The biggest drawback of vbulletin is probably the lack of extensibility. And the terrible mobile UI.

    You don't have to do everything yourself Raven, we have plenty of devs here.
     
  9. abhi1012

    abhi1012 First Year

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    The "Works By Author" forum could be moved up a bit. Improving the visibility of the WBA might increase the user engagement.

    Also, what does DLP think about Quests in general. I think Harry Potter quests are an underutilized area in this forum. Harry Potter fics and quests receive step-motherly treatment in most major questing sites.

    I think it would be an interesting area to explore.
     
  10. vlad

    vlad Banned ~ Prestige ~

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    I won't even pretend to know how the code works regarding feasibility, but bar people from starring threads in the 'for review' section or the library without also leaving a review/explanation of their vote.
     
  11. Lord Ravenclaw

    Lord Ravenclaw DLP Overlord Admin DLP Supporter

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    You don't have to subscribe at all. The "2 months" bit only takes effect if you toggle "setup subscription".

    It seems like the UI could be improved to reduce confusion.

    Maybe something like Medium's no-distraction mode?

    Agreed, this seems like a big desire. It's pretty rough to do in vB (the number of templates are huge), but it's absolutely necessary.

    [​IMG]
    Orange: desktop sessions, blue: mobile sessions

    Much of the drop in desktop sessions can actually be attributed to uBlock Origin and Ghostery.

    Database migration difficulty isn't necessarily the concern. We do have a lot of time invested in the vBulletin platform its self that would also require considerable time to port. We have many many different plugins enabled to make DLP DLP.

    I will give serious consideration to Xenforo and all the others mentioned, but I think that's perhaps longer term. It would be nice to be on something receiving active updates.

    That said, I think the #1 barrier to new members is likely the lack of a workable mobile UI. The world runs on phones and tablets these days, if we don't do that then we'll quickly become more irrelevant since engagement will drop.
     
  12. enembee

    enembee The Nicromancer DLP Supporter

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    I feel like this will lead to fewer ratings without an appreciable increase in comments/reviews.

    ---------- Post automerged at 02:22 ---------- Previous post was at 02:18 ----------

    Do you have any statistics for whether those people are using the existing iPhone theme? If they're all using the full DLP theme, a temporary solution would be to use media queries in the CSS to adjust the layout. It's not ideal for a number of reasons, such as the fact that you'd probably end up loading a tonne of data you then hide via CSS, but it would increase the usability in the short term.
     
  13. DR

    DR Secret Squirrel –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    I know nothing about web development, so this question is asked out of ignorance:

    If there is the demand for a more modern full web UI/system anyway, and for a more functional mobile UI, do the more modern web platforms have this built-in? Would you be able to kill both birds with one stone and have less long-term hassle, even if it meant more work in the short term? Or would you have to build both independently anyway?

    Since we have a bunch of developers around anyway, maybe you could have a contest, or crowd-source some submissions. enembee's thing a page back looked pretty good.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2017
  14. Quiddity

    Quiddity Squib ~ Prestige ~

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    This.

    /10char
     
  15. The Iron Rose

    The Iron Rose Chief Warlock

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    The existing iPhone theme is fucking horrid though. Like I know it exists and actively choose not to use it.
     
  16. Lord Ravenclaw

    Lord Ravenclaw DLP Overlord Admin DLP Supporter

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    FWIW, we're seriously considering a move to Xenforo. I do love vBulletin, but maybe it's time to move on given that we have no intentions of moving from vB 3.8.x, and it won't be receiving updates any time soon.
     
  17. Caledfwlch

    Caledfwlch Sixth Year DLP Supporter

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    After going through both improvement threads I had a bunch of features I wanted and then, after what was supposed to be a quick check, I discovered that they already existed in some way or another.

    The only thing I still want is the option to delete a post I've made; a couple of times I've written something and found that it was either redundant or that I was mistaken. The downside is it removes some accountability and deleting the first post in a thread I think removes the entire thread, but I assume you can deal with that.
     
  18. Seratin

    Seratin Proudmander –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Part of what makes DLP DLP is that generally, people don't forget. We move on and become better and deleting culpability is a no no.

    Many of us have posts or threads we wouldn't mind committing to oblivion but fuck it. You live, you learn.
     
  19. vlad

    vlad Banned ~ Prestige ~

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    Many of us have entire fucking stories we wish the world would forget about <_<

    So to echo Seratin, I wouldn't worry about it. Nobody is going to shit on you forever for an honest mistake posting or w/e.
     
  20. Sey

    Sey Not Worth the Notice DLP Supporter

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