Updated "About Me" form
You may have noticed the About Me form in your Plot has now been updated. It will remain in a beta state over the weekend - the reason: I'm heading off for a few days to celebrate my son's 13th birthday. So, nobody break it please! :-)
The update is part of some site modifications that I've been performing since the start of the year and will continue to do over the next few weeks - almost there! The impetus to make the changes though has come about through some of the conversations that we've having through this blog here and also discussions with some of our most active participants.
Let me explain the changes;
- Display Name - some of you will remember that late last year I created a stir in the community by asking everyone to make their Username conform to 16 characters and only use alphanumeric ones or underscores. All went well until a few found a loophole that allowed them to change it back. Alas, this loophole has now closed and everybody will now have to conform to the new rules.
- About Me with BBCodes - you may enjoy this new feature as it allows you to format your tag line about yourself in your Plot. If you go and look at mine, it looks a little odd at the moment with a few weird tags in it but when I get back it and continue the roll-out you will notice that it's quite a handy feature. Go and try it for yourself and you will see what I mean.
- Status Emoticon - as per our previous discussions you can choose your current participation status. The three options are; (1) Active (2) On Vacation, and (3) Unwell. Each choice changes the emoticon and lets others know how you're doing.
There are a few other little modifications that you will notice as you play around with this form but I won't explain them here.
I'm keen to know if you have any problems with the new format so please share them via the comments. I'm already aware that the About Me tag doesn't update immediately and this is to be fixed next week.
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Comments
Very cool, Stuart -- can't wait to play with it. :)
Posted by: Nancy Bond | February 26, 2009 9:34 PM
Hope you have a good weekend Stuart.
I hope by the time you get back I'll know what a BBCode actually is!
Posted by: VP | February 27, 2009 12:00 AM
Have fun at the Birthday party- 13! How exciting.
One question. For the status emoticon, is it supposed to be visible on the main plot page? Right now I only see it if I click on 'about me' tab. No hurry, I'm very pleased to see this implemented!
Posted by: Tessa at Blunders with shoots, blossoms 'n roots | February 27, 2009 12:20 AM
Stuart, I don't think I'll ever want to click the emoticon to say I'm on vacation. It would be a sort of burglar's charter!
Lucy
Posted by: Lucy Corrander | February 27, 2009 12:21 AM
Oh, dear, Stuart! "Active, on vacation, or unwell" just about did me in. There are, after all, so many other options: "Not dead, just resting"; "Dormant"; "Don't touch that dial!"; "Less active than formerly, but not yet ready for liposuction and Botox"; and, of course, "It's five o'clock somewhere." We Luddites are afraid of emoticons, you know. but don't mind us! A very, very happy birthday to your son and we hope you have a great break!!!
Posted by: our friend Ben | February 27, 2009 2:58 AM
Hi Stuart - just FYI because I know you'll get to it, any changes you make to "About Me" using BBC show up on the About Me page only -- if you switch to Messages, for example, you'll only see the code tags inside one long paragraph. No biggy, but thought I'd bring it to your attention...if 200 people haven't already. ;-) I hope you and your son have a love celebration.
Posted by: Nancy Bond | February 27, 2009 10:20 AM
More great work Stuart. I am going to enjoy the BBCode, I hope to have time to make my changes later today or Monday.
Happy birthday to your son, I hope you have a lovely time. Best wishes Sylvia
Posted by: Sylvia (England) | February 27, 2009 5:50 PM
I hope you and your son have a love celebration.
That should read LOVELY, of course. Sigh.
Posted by: Nancy Bond | February 28, 2009 2:13 AM
Hi Stuart, hope your family time went well. The number of posts shown on a page has changed from 200 to 10, no matter how many times I reset and save it on about me. Just to let you know.
Frances
Posted by: Frances | March 2, 2009 7:49 AM
Have a great birthday celebration. This is not urgent, but my picks behave very strangely. Sometimes one post is split in half, with a weird random name assigned to one half. For example, my post Hoops of Spring is listed twice, once under the original name with 17 picks, and then again under the title My Garden is Delicious! with 1 pick. The post called February Brings the Snow is listed twice, once with 17 picks and once with 4 picks. I just idly wondered why this might be...
Posted by: Victoria | March 3, 2009 3:39 PM