ElkArte Community

Elk Development => Feature Discussion => Topic started by: emanuele on December 21, 2012, 04:27:25 pm

Title: messageicons
Post by: emanuele on December 21, 2012, 04:27:25 pm
I'm playing with messageicons and my mod:
http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=3216

With the current implementation it is possible to set the same file in as many boards as you want and each icon can have a different order position and have different description for each board (and potentially in the same board, even though in that can only one is shown...that makes some of the current things useless).

The changes I apply with my (broken) mod limit this to 1 messageicon per file name with 1 description and 1 "relative" position. Nothing more.

Is that enough?
I think so, though maybe someone wants moar...
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: TestMonkey on December 21, 2012, 05:09:10 pm
Looks fine at first sight. At least for them message icons shinies fans. :)

/me doesn't really use them message icons. Except to break them occasionally at an upgrade fix or som'thing.

Are you thinking to add it to D?
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: TestMonkey on December 21, 2012, 05:10:10 pm
Oh. Tis blue! :D

/me thinks this is the color of /me for the day... never know what tomorrowz brings with SpudsMan messing around.
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: emanuele on December 21, 2012, 05:29:17 pm
/me likes blue! :D
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: emanuele on December 21, 2012, 07:18:49 pm
https://github.com/emanuele45/playpen/compare/messageicons
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: TestMonkey on December 21, 2012, 11:01:47 pm
It's nice! I was looking over the code. I almost had a very bad (tm) suggestion for the database changes, before I realized that it's an icon in an order on a board, mmk.  headscratch :-X

/me doesn't always get message icons shiny thingies.
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: emanuele on December 22, 2012, 03:49:54 am
/me doesn't like that table, but is not sure how to fix it... ::)
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: TestMonkey on December 22, 2012, 04:02:23 am
My thinking is that we should first know exactly what we want it to be for. :D I mean, what functionality should it support. (existing and new)
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: Feature Cat on December 22, 2012, 04:15:57 am
Quote from: emanuele – With the current implementation it is possible to set the same file in as many boards as you want and each icon can have a different order position and have different description for each board (and potentially in the same board, even though in that can only one is shown...that makes some of the current things useless).

I don't understand, sorry... What would it mean, to set different descriptions for the same icon in the same board? Or do you mean something else?


For the rrest, it's my kind of featurre! A cool thing that nobody underhstands! :D

You know... what if we change the interface? Instead of users setting each message icon per board and with 'order', lets list the boards, and for each, allow them to mess with icons to set them in the order they want. (and to check/uncheck them, unchecked=not used in this board).

/me thinks it might be yummy...
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: emanuele on December 22, 2012, 06:23:08 am
Quote from: Feature Cat – I don't understand, sorry... What would it mean, to set different descriptions for the same icon in the same board? Or do you mean something else?
Yep, not very well explained...
I used "icon" to describe what is in the database, while "file" is what is on the file system.
So you can have 1 file xx.gif with multiple descriptions in different positions for the same board.
That is theoretical, because the moment it is actually used to post a message only one of those replicates is used.

Quote from: Feature Cat – For the rrest, it's my kind of featurre! A cool thing that nobody underhstands! :D

You know... what if we change the interface? Instead of users setting each message icon per board and with 'order', lets list the boards, and for each, allow them to mess with icons to set them in the order they want. (and to check/uncheck them, unchecked=not used in this board).
Something like smiley?...
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: Feature Cat on December 22, 2012, 06:42:23 am
Quote from: emanuele –
Quote from: Feature – For the rrest, it's my kind of featurre! A cool thing that nobody underhstands! :D

You know... what if we change the interface? Instead of users setting each message icon per board and with 'order', lets list the boards, and for each, allow them to mess with icons to set them in the order they want. (and to check/uncheck them, unchecked=not used in this board).
Something like smiley?...

Oh. On the order, and 'disable', yes, sure... you're right, that makes sense.

On the boards (so first screen to choose...), I was thinking at: choose a board, modify,
http://www.spudsdesign.com/dialogo/index.php?action=admin;area=manageboards;sa=board;boardid=2
see the list of message icons enabled for it (and those disabled) and be able to move/disable them...
[smileys-like step]


/me doesn't have a clue if it's a good or terrible idea.
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: emanuele on December 22, 2012, 07:40:01 am
Ahh...okay, change completely the place where the icons are set.

TBH, I'm not sure "how" MIs (== MessageIcons) are used...this would give a lot of possibilities, but then to change the order of one icon that you use on all the boards you'd have to edit all the boards one by one (or have another quite confusing interface)...

Definitions:
file => a file in the theme_dir/images/post/ directory
image => the picture saved in a file (different files can have the same image)
* icon => all the entries in the {db_prefix}message_icons table with the same filename

My idea was: 1 file == 1 icon (i.e. in the current db implementation 1 common entry in the database that can be associated with multiple boards or only few, etc.).
Do you want to use the same image in a different position for some board? Copy the file with a new filename and create a new icon.

Unfortunately with so much flexibility I don't think there is a good way to present the interface...
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: Antechinus on December 22, 2012, 02:35:31 pm
Does anyone ever use all of this? Just wondering.
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: emanuele on December 22, 2012, 05:17:07 pm
Of course not. Like most of the other features! :P
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: Spuds on December 22, 2012, 05:23:36 pm
I updated to the Javascript for the quick edit which affected the message icons editing.

The way the theme is currently, it hides the default xx icon but shows the other message icons, I did not change that.

1) If you were in quick edit, on a message which was not using the default icon and tried to change that icon it, it would 1/2 fail, the new icon would not appear until you refreshed the page (it was failing on the ajax end of things). That's been fixed.

2) I changed it so that now if you quick edit a message, that had the icon hidden,  the icon will appear for you to edit, and only re-hide if its left (or changed to), the default

3) I did not change the quick icon edit itself so its not quite right ATM.  If you have a message which did not use the default, icon and change it back to the default, it will not hide that icon until the next page refresh. 

Just felt like messing around with the JS :P

(you may need to refresh the old cache to see the change)
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: TestMonkey on December 25, 2012, 10:28:14 am
Thank you, SpudsMan! Yes, it works.

Quote from: emanuele – TBH, I'm not sure "how" MIs (== MessageIcons) are used...this would give a lot of possibilities, but then to change the order of one icon that you use on all the boards you'd have to edit all the boards one by one (or have another quite confusing interface)...

Argh, yeah. I knew I was missing something.

I'm trying to think how I actually expect or would use them, and have almost no answer at all, because I usually don't set message icons on a post. Exceptions are that, exceptions. And I never enable customization on my forums. So you need more input from people who care about it.

But! I can always theorize.  O:-)

Taking a step back...

Why would you want 'wink' to be in a board the 3rd, and in another the 5th? It's not meaningful... I just don't see why you, as admin, would achieve something relevant when you change the order for your members... Because, I think you, the admin, have only 2 basic cases: users who don't care about MIs, and usually don't set them. These won't even notice that it's the 3th or the 5th, once in a blue moon when they use it. And, users who care and use them often, feel like winkin' all the time to 'mark' their posts. These might care, and be annoyed that in a board is here and in another there... mmm, and even them not so really.
Most likely IMHO it matters:
The rest can be done in some way. That's why if order is customizable for the forum, ok, I don't know if the customizability of icons and their order per multiple boards (even per board) helps you achieve something.
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: emanuele on December 25, 2012, 10:50:20 am
Yes...and that's the sort of thoughts I had.
I mean: if you have 10 MIs they are the same in all of the boards. Likely in the same exact order too not to confuse people I'd say.

Okay, I misunderstood a bit your explanation before, now I got it.
So you would have one page to "just" add a new MI and set the boards where this MI will appear. But then define the order inside each board setting page. Is that correct?
I think it would become confusing...people would have to go to one page to add something, then to another to do something else related to the previous step...too much jumping around.

Another possibility (but that would require a bit more work), could be: use the current interface with my proposed changes, then add a "filter" to show only the board icons "per board" (including the "all boards") and allow to sort them "freely". That solution implies that if an icon is moved to an "impossible" position the file is duplicated with a new name, the icon "cloned" using the new file and it will be displayed as two in the "main" panel (i.e. the place where all the MIs are listed).

Not sure if written makes sense... lol

Now that I think about it with a bit of alcohol in the blood, there is a person that posted bugs regarding my mod: Jade, she seems to use MIs more than us, she may have some comment and/or suggestion on that.
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: Antechinus on December 25, 2012, 01:02:08 pm
Umm, why is this desirable at all? I honestly can't see any circumstance where I would want to use this. Complicating the default package with this feature seems rather pointless. I really do think it would be best left as a mod.
Title: Re: messageicons
Post by: tycms on April 02, 2013, 11:27:37 am
In my opinion this should be kept as an official mod. You could even consider completely removing message icons (as Norv suggests here: http://github.com/elkarte/Elkarte/issues/230) and maintaining the improved version as an official mod. Keep the layout as simple as possible with only standard topic, "topic you have posted in", "sticky topic" and "locked topic" icons on the left. If message icons mod is installed it can create a second column next to the topic icons as in SMF 2.0.x.