Suggestions / Comments

plus, having "topics" and specific message threads would be a huge bonus, instead of just straight chats. i mean i use Mail here for a reason when i have the ywsers i talk to most on other platforms on discord or know irl, and i'm sure i'm not the only person here who feels that way

The new PM setup is really cool!

Are we still able to scroll through all our sent messages somewhere? I do this mostly when I need to pull up a previous contact I want to reuse

@serrodyne ->> It's a big change, but the classic inbox is still available (from the message pane, click on open all, and then look for classic inbox). In determining whether or not to keep the messaging system as the default view, one of the things I'm going to be looking at is whether or not people use it more often.

@Wolfi ->> Thanks! Added 'Sent' as a filter to the messaging window, and added an "Unopened" status to messages that are in the Outbox folder.

Not really a suggestion but I wanted to give my two cents on the new PM system, (interface?) I have really mixed thoughts honestly, it just feels far too informal when I think of moderator communications like contacts etc, and I am not sure about how I feel about how it collates different PMs to the same person in one window.

For example, if I message user A at some point in a member to member capacity and later in a separate instance need to send them a contact as a moderator I wouldn't really want that in the same window, it feels a little odd, in a way. Especially say messages from Big Brother which can be automated as well as contacts from the mod team or even announcements.

It just lumps everything together which can be problematic when there can be wildly differing contexts and I would like to maintain a degree of neutrality if I am contacting someone in a moderator capacity.

Plus subject lines etc were really helpful in filtering out messages, and there is merit to the idea of different PMs staying different. The current system feels a lot like whatsapp, which isn't inherently bad, I am just unsure about how it would work for official communications and some other practical situations.

For instance, I responded to a message that had been sent to multiple people (I responded only to the sender) and while earlier I could see it in the same thread as that particular PM I now I have to look in the personal "chat" with that particular member - where there is no context about the actual message I responded to (as that is a different chat with multiple people) and I have to scroll up a lot. That being said I do like that it is easier to respond to a group of people now.

I miss the outbox as well and the actual window with the message is quite small and it really lacks that structured feel that PMs used to have. -> These are smaller superficial issues and my main points of concerns are the ones I have elaborated above.

If there are improvements to be made to the classic inbox I would suggest that multiple replies to a PM need not shows up as seperate threads if that explains it. For example these are all responses to the same PM ~



This would be a pretty easy way of reducing clutter and keeping different PMs different.

@canopy ->> Solid critique. I've updated it to be per thread view rather than per conversation, and mod contacts have a special "Mod Contact" badge when sent through the appropriate pathway. The Outbox view is included now within sent -- just gets listed as "Unopened."

Thanks for the quick response Nate!! :3

Also had a quick question/clarification, I cannot see options to edit/delete particular PMs (texts?) in the new format, is that something you intend to phase out? Also the delete button that is there I assume it deletes the entire conversation? Is that only on one side or does it dissapear for the other member(s) as well?

Would request you bring back the edit option! Pretty useful to catch those elusive typos <.< Also we seem to have lost the ability to see sent messages in the classic inbox? So if I wanted to use that to edit/delete a PM am unable to do so.

@canopy ->> Updated with your suggestions! You can now edit and delete individual PMs as long as they have not yet been seen by the recipient -- mostly matching the old functionality. Also, the outbox and sent folders have been added to the classic inbox view.

Also, the delete button at the top does delete the entire conversation, but only for you. It does not delete it for the other person. I can add back the option to delete individual PMs that have already been seen by the recipient, but I'm not sure if that's confusing or not in the new format. It can make it seem like you've deleted it for both parties when really you've only deleted it on your end.

For the weekly sprint, could there be a setting where it automatically submits? I had mine complete, and when I tried to submit, it said it didn't take bbcode. But by then, the time had run out, so I couldn't edit the bbcode out to submit it. :[

Photo attached of the sprint. I was happy with it, so I wish it could've counted. XD Or at least that it would let me try again, since it didn't work that time?

@winterwolf0100 ->> Thanks for bringing that to my attention! Just quickly fixed it, and made sure your entry got counted. So it's submitted now.

I find it a bit strange to read "Tikaya's Wall", also isn't it enough to get the alert once?

Unfortunately, that's a hard fix for the double notification due to the way the system is constructed.

Nate wrote:I can add back the option to delete individual PMs that have already been seen by the recipient, but I'm not sure if that's confusing or not in the new format. It can make it seem like you've deleted it for both parties when really you've only deleted it on your end.

Don't think that is necessary personally! It does seem a little confusing and I'm honestly not sure how many people would even use that.

I'm having a little trouble with the new PM system - maybe it's just something that will take a minute to get used to, but it feels much less natural in the new system to send a long message, harder to navigate back to old messages (which I often do when running an event that maybe is organized through PM, or receives submissions in that manner). I guess too, on a Forum Based Community, most often when I am "chatting" with other folks on YWS (apart from WFP), I'm not so much interested in the kind of "short-note / instant text message style" and more interested in Long-Form messages, that traditionally I've stylized more like letters / emails than texting. Most folks on YWS I am used to conversing with in a proper paragraph because that's how we talk in forums already, and typically if there is someone I need to get ahold of in a more "instant message way" usually I have that person Discord so it feels like a little bit of a genre shift if that makes sense (which I'm sure we can adapt to, but just feels a little awkward at the moment!)

That being said I do actually like how the message inbox kind of overlays what you're already looking at - so if I wanted to private message someone, say about a poem they had written, I could be looking at that poem in the same window while messaging them without having two separate tabs open.

That's just a preference perspective! (Could even be a generational thing too!!) I appreciate that "Classic Inbox" is still available as well as the "expanded view"! I hope that option doesn't go away mostly because I feel like it'd be really hard to navigate to an old message in the new version.

One more concrete issue is that the box behind quoted text and spoiler text in messages needs to be a different contrasting color. Right now when I send a message that has a quote or spoiler (from previous message) it shows up as blue background, white text box, white text so I can't see the white text on the white box.



Second concrete issue - if I go to the classic inbox and select a page number for my messages - it doesn't actually take me there, but it boots me over to the new inbox version where my latest messages are.

Quotes in spoilers in the new messaging should be looking much better. Also made some adjustments based on the feedback (@alliyah, thanks for the detailed critique!)

- Bigger reply area; was 1 line tall, now 3 lines tall
- Pressing enter creates a new paragraph rather than submitting
- When composing a new message, the full editor link is more prominent
- If you decide to switch to full editor mid-message, your message will be preserved after you click it

With regards to why change it all, I'm trying to reduce friction across the site. The classic PM system worked more like email, which is great for long, one-off letters, but awkward for back-and-forth conversations. I think that's part of why a lot of us ended up taking those threads off-site.

The goal isn't to replace letter-style messaging. It's to make quick replies and ongoing threads easier without losing the option to write at length, which is why Classic Inbox and Full Editor are still there, and why the overlay lets you message someone while keeping a poem or post open beside you.

This is still evolving, so keep the feedback coming -- especially if something still feels off for how you use PMs on YWS. I am also keeping an eye on the usage data to see if this has any impact, and whether or not new members find it more useful.