Message Forum Feature Requests

Search, edit

Automatic quoting for replying.
Ability to edit your own posts.
A much better search function.

That's my top 3.

1) Search ability for all text in messages, not just message headers. Ideally this would also include the ability to search for "all messages by foo posted in the last x hours/days", etc.

2) Ability to edit your own previously posted messages.

3) A "submit" button that greys out once you click on it, so people don't double post.

4) The ability to put in proper html links, post pictures, etc. Can be useful when trying to report bugs or just show off what you did.

5) Not having it strip certain characters; a way to put in text that stays in the format you type it. This would be especially useful in the mods forum.

Use phpBB please.

But yes, the basics:
Search, edit own posts, the usual

Agreed with Codemonkey: search, edit, quote.

jason

~SDC~

Search (subject and text), Edit, Auto-Quote.

And links for all these nifty icons at the end of posts. What *do* the icons represent?

I'd like to see a few more boards, which would hopefully be a very easy thing to do.

Bugs: For reporting bugs
Suggestions: For making suggestions about improvements or additions to the game
Support: For getting help with problems about the game for a specific person or on a specific computer. (ie not global problems that shold go in the Bugs forum)
Metaverse: For everything Metavere related, empires, comparing scores, whatever.

The Galactic Forum should be kept just for generic mouthing off and such

Don't waste your time adding features to a forum. Implement phpBB, invision, or another one of the freely available forums that has all those features. Write a galciv theme and be done.

You guys work hard enough as it is enhancing the game.

phpBB would be awesome. It's free and it is the best forum software by a long shot.

search, edit, quote

Use Slash maybe?


~SDC~

For quote, being able to pick a particular message in the thread, then press a button so that message is quoted.

I'm thinking of:
At the message entry point (where I've typed this in), just above it, eg beside the word 'Message', a text box that accepts numbers only (a single number not a range, and box should be 3 or 4 characters wide so it can't be missed with the mouse, or hide the last digit in a three-digit number) and a button to the right of that titled 'Quote message'. Inserts quoted message either at the cursor or at the end of the message.

Thanks
Damian

PS: I think this would be a more powerful quote system, rather than quoting just the message immediately preceding. Could make default behaviour of button quote the previous message, enter a number and it quotes that message instead.

PPS: I'm usually as unclear as anything first time I suggest something

~SDC~

Message threading would improve the readability of the longer posts enormously.

~SDC~

I agree with the general concerns expressed so far - search, edit and quote. However, I'd also like to see thread subscription so that we can keep an eye on favorite threads (esp. those we've started).

Replies as to why the scores aren't getting posted properly to Metaverse

Incidentally, when do stickies time out and become unstickies (regular posts)? Perhaps an option for each sticky (displayed at start of thread/top of page/bottom of page (perhaps all three locations) saying how long it will take to time out after the last post. Have variable times for posts, for instance a permanent FAQ thread may have a timout of infinity, a weekly update post may have a timeout of 7 days from last post, a note updating people on what's going on may have a timeout of 7 days from initial post and then unstickying.

More random thoughts from
Damian

~SDC~

Automatic quoting for replying.
Ability to edit your own posts.
A much better search function.

These are the feature I'd find useful in order of importance. 7 and on are fairly minor:

(1) Search (including body text, OR and AND conditions, can specify which subsections to search)

(2) Several groups. The ones I'd like to see...

General
- Game Mechanics
- AI
- Announcements
Strategies
- General
- Military
- Alliance
- Tech
Metaverse
- Clan X
- Clan Y...
Crashes/Bugs
Suggestions

(3) Each message in thread with a reply button that auto quotes

(4) Ability to edit own posts

(5) Thread subscription

(6) Post preview

(7) Viewing preferences (# of threads per page, # of messages per thread, etc.)

(8) Text formatting tags

(9) Image submission

(10) polls

basically everything you can find in... nope I won't say it

Edit.
Edit.
Edit.
Edit.


A search function would also be useful. All the other things are just "Wants" not "Needs".

"Wants":
- Italics for emphasis
- Email notification of updates to specific posts
- Polls would be useful to gauge opinion on ideas, instead of having to go through and count up who wants what... Like this thread, for instance.

~SDC~

The number one thing is it is too hard to follow a thread unless you are sitting at the computer refreshing every few minutes. If you leave for a few hours or go to sleep (some of us do that ) the thread you were following will be lost in page 56 by the time you get back.

There needs to be a 'watch thread' type of thing. It doesn't have to email you when there's a new post, but you do have to be able to see the list of your watched threads. Maybe a quasi-topic could be created (next to GalCiv Forum, GC Strategies, etc.) for each user, that contains all of his/her watched threads.

~SDC~

- Show "Last post by..." as well as thread originator.
- Search for all post by a person.
- Edit/delete own posts.
- Quote function.
- Ignore thread function.

In addition to the good suggestions, I'd like an "egosearch" to be able to find replies to your own posts.

~SDC~

* Name of last poster on a thread (in addition to author) in "main list"
* Quoting
* Better search features - by author/poster, search strings in object or text, search by date
* Subscription to threads (to easily know when someonre replied to one of your - buried- post )

Oh I forgot the MOST important : EDIT feature !!!!!! LOL

How about concentrating on game and using for example http://www.invision.com ? No need to reinvent wheel

Anyway..
1) I want to see what threads have new posts after my last post, now I can see if threads have new posts but nothing differents threads that are old but I just aren't interested from those that are totally new. So I have to check many pages in just in case if there are some interesting threads..

1.1) mark current forum as read

2) jump to newest post on thread, this both on forum page and on thread page

3) edit own messages

4) subscribe to threads and then you could see on your own forum page all threads you have subscribed to and have new posts

5) ability to jump directly to certain page on thread from forum page