Comments / Feedback / Suggestions Thread 2018

scotty on 03/01/2018 - 23:17

Continued from Comments / Feedback / Suggestions Thread 2017. This post will be used for general feedback in 2018. Please make any suggestions for new features, bugs, things you'd like to see changed or anything else. Please check this wiki page as your suggestion may already have been mentioned.

The majority of things you see, as well as policies on OzBargain were implemented based on user feedback. Please see the Site & Guideline Updates Announcement Thread to keep up to date with the changes/features that we implement as they are added.

Site Discussion

closed Comments

        • sween64 on 01/05/2018 - 13:13

          @Scab: seriously does Android not have tap top to scroll to top?

        • McFly on 01/05/2018 - 13:25
          +1

          @sween64: No, but it has a back button.

      • McFly on 01/05/2018 - 12:54

        Surely this can just be done for the mobile version and the desktop version can stay as it was?

        • McFly on 06/05/2018 - 21:54

          Any word on this?

        • Moderatorscotty on 07/05/2018 - 09:10

          @McFly: Nope. I have already stated my plan and won't revert the change.

    • McFly on 03/05/2018 - 11:42

      This has gotten very old very quickly! So annoying.

  • sss333 on 02/05/2018 - 08:36

    Have the user page for posts - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/userid/nodes - have the option just to view either deals/comps/forum posts, would make finding past posts easier.

  • GreenGuava on 04/05/2018 - 23:20
    +2

    Not sure about others, but I find the 'Do you want to subscribe to the newsletter' prompt continually popping up each week or so rather annoying.

    It would be great if:
    1. The "No thanks" button actually dismissed the prompt permanently or
    2. There was a "Don't ask me again" tick box to give the option to dismiss the prompt permanently or
    3. Failing 1 and 2, increasing the interval in which the prompt appears to say once every six months

    Thanks and keep up the good work.

    • Moderatorscotty on 05/05/2018 - 11:01

      That shouldn't popup for 90 days if you click on No Thanks. However the dismissal is stored as a cookie on your browser (rather than server side) so there might be issues getting cleaned out every now and then. I'll take a look next week.

      • sween64 on 05/05/2018 - 14:53

        Would it be an issue if a user uses multiple browsers.

      • Quantumcat on 09/05/2018 - 13:25

        Would be better if stored serverside, I use my phone and various computers on occasion

  • glengood on 08/05/2018 - 10:20
    +1

    I noticed recently that I'm no longer able to view the window showing the top-voted comments on a thread/deal - has this been permanently removed or is there a setting I can enable to re-instate it?

    • sween64 on 08/05/2018 - 10:27
      +2

      I didn't realise that was gone as well. It's great for large forum posts that make the front page.

  • [Deactivated] on 08/05/2018 - 10:37
    -3

    Unrestricted negative votes on deals! No voting on comments.

  • GaryG on 08/05/2018 - 14:36

    Sounds like it might not be currently be possible but could we get a filter added for the title when a state is included, eg only include posts that have [VIC], or exclude those with other states, etc?

    With the new notification emails, it would save a lot of irrelevant emails.

      • GaryG on 08/05/2018 - 15:06

        Thanks.

        Though is there a way to apply that to the new notification system? That's really what I was after.

        • Moderatorneil on 08/05/2018 - 15:12

          Though is there a way to apply that to the new notification system?

          No. It is however something that has been discussed over the past 10 years. Something may get implemented in the future.

        • nocure on 08/05/2018 - 15:26

          If you hit "create alert" on that search it will send you an email when triggered.

        • GaryG on 08/05/2018 - 15:33
          +1

          @nocure: Thanks

        • GaryG on 08/05/2018 - 15:34

          @neil: Fair enough. It is most likely something I have done in responding to the new system but I am getting a lot more emails than I use to get so just trying to wind back the numbers a bit.

  • Quantumcat on 09/05/2018 - 13:22

    Bug:
    Updated forum post titles not being reflected in the "New Forum Topics" section on the right. See screenshot.

    • Moderatorscotty on 09/05/2018 - 13:27

      The sidebar block is re-generated every 5 minutes, i.e. cached. That happens in quite a few places around OzBargain so we don't tax the backend database too much.

      • Quantumcat on 09/05/2018 - 13:37

        Ah fair enough, thanks for the reply

  • Phalaxis on 16/05/2018 - 09:08
    +1

    Is it possible to get YouTube added as an entry method when submitting competitions?

  • Quantumcat on 17/05/2018 - 13:35
    +2

    Alignment for positive and negative comments is messed up on mobile

    https://ibb.co/cDSuyy

    • Moderatorscotty on 17/05/2018 - 13:45

      Thanks. Recent font size changes causing wrapping in some popups. I'll get that fixed.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/05/2018 - 15:44
    +2

    1. As someone mentioned in another post, I would find it useful to be able to view all forum discussions on one page ordered by most recent post. I like the new forums feature, but older but still active discussions fall off that list.

    2. I rely mainly on the front page deals. The new deals page has so much noise. A downside with front page deals is that really good deals that are posted in advance - eg something available in 3 days time - are no longer on the front page by the time they go live. Could these deals be brought back onto the front page on the day they go live.

    Many thanks

    • Moderatorscotty on 17/05/2018 - 16:02

      (1) is coming.

      (2) for good deals that got posted a few days before becoming active, moderators might schedule them to be highlighted, so that on the day when they become active they'll revisit the front page again. However you can also use the Deal Reminder feature, and they will reappear on the home page on the date you wish to be reminded (desktop site, not mobile site).

      • sween64 on 17/05/2018 - 17:36

        For me reminder deals are stickied to the top of the front page on mobile but not desktop. I would like it on both.

  • ahly92 on 17/05/2018 - 18:55
    +2

    In the mobile version, for some reason you cant minimise a comment thread. Becomes annoying when theres a long discussion on a comment an you want to bypass it quickly.
    Great if u can fix that.

    Cheers

  • Zachary on 18/05/2018 - 10:09
    +2

    An option to not use Gravata for profile display pictures, for those who don't wanna sign up just to achieve a simple result? So maybe an option to upload a picture file direct from computer or something? I myself are one of them, I have not come across another site that I frequent, that uses Gravatar and hence signing up for one is an unnecessary step just so I can have a dp for my profile on this particular site…

    • Moderatorscotty on 18/05/2018 - 10:18

      With upcoming privacy concern we will be phasing out Gravatar sometime "soon"…

      • Zachary on 18/05/2018 - 23:13

        Oh, there's an actual privacy risk for using a third-party just for showing your face? Huh….

        And how "soon" is that Mr Scotty?

        • Moderatorscotty on 18/05/2018 - 23:15

          Sorry cannot give you any time frame for scheduled development. Hopefully sometime this year maybe? :)

        • Zachary on 19/05/2018 - 00:17

          @scotty: Hmmm, very well….I suppose I'll bare my empty blank face just a little while longer…..

  • Julius on 19/05/2018 - 19:44

    I think the site would benefit from a weekly/daily chat thread. The conversion would be off topic. This would allow people to share what is going in their life, if they did anything exciting recently or even shower thoughts. It could really be about anything.

    • Moderatorneil on 19/05/2018 - 20:08

      Weekly Random Discussion Thread

      • Julius on 20/05/2018 - 11:55
        +1

        Didn't know that one existed until today. Maybe it should be stickied to the home page?

        • Moderatorneil on 20/05/2018 - 12:59

          It's on the right hand side of the front page and also in the forums menu. :)

        • Julius on 21/05/2018 - 07:46

          @neil: lol thanks haha

  • JuryWheel on 24/05/2018 - 14:47

    Is there a reason you cant search within a posts heading only, like in most other forums (eg whirlpool?)

    • nocure on 24/05/2018 - 14:53
      +2

      Add this to your search - Option:titleonly

    • Moderatorscotty on 24/05/2018 - 14:55

      Here's a list of search options that you can use. As @nocure has said, add option:titleonly to search only the title of the posts.

      • JuryWheel on 24/05/2018 - 14:55
        +1

        cool , thanks guys….but is there a reason this isnt included as a button…?

        • Moderatorscotty on 24/05/2018 - 14:57

          If we include all the search options as buttons and dials, there might be too many buttons… What we probably should include is the link to that wiki page so users can craft their own search query.

        • payton on 28/05/2018 - 14:21
          +1

          @scotty:
          +1 would be handy to have this link on the search page

  • DarthAntz on 24/05/2018 - 15:06
    +2

    Is there a way to 'request outcomes' for forum topics? A way to give forums questions a conclusion?

    There are many interesting topics that create interest (sometimes sarcasm) and support for interested people, and if there was a 'request outcome' button for some/all/select posts, OP's have an indication to provide the information, preferable in the post, that concludes the said outcome. This can/could work for travel enquiries, fines, scams, appliance enquiries and grey area discussions that draw attention.

    i.e. parking fine post - 100 outcome requests - OP posts the information of the result of the parking fine. When users search ozb for 'parking fine' and find 50 forum entries, and 500 posts, entries that are marked with a 'Outcome Updated' would be best viewed, as the original poster has provided a conclusion to the problem and additional supporting feedback.

  • BlazinPast on 25/05/2018 - 17:16

    Nice touch on the blue post comment button. What other small changes were made?

    • Clear on 25/05/2018 - 19:05
      +3

      PM delete button is yellow. It's as if it wants me to delete my conversations.

      • sss333 on 26/05/2018 - 20:30
        +2

        Revoke button on the votes tab is also yellow, also making it seem like they want me to revoke my vote.

  • Detective Pikachu on 26/05/2018 - 01:53

    If an account is flagged, could there be a notification from the System indicating the reason. This would make the process of contacting the moderator a lot more efficient from the first TWAM post.

    Thanks!

  • AlienC on 26/05/2018 - 18:08

    How do I bring back live web notifications for forum and comment updates?

    I set my settings to web only for threads and comments but nothing is happening aka I don't get notified of new comments and etc.. what do?

    • Moderatorscotty on 26/05/2018 - 20:03

      You also need to subscribe to the post. In your subscription settings you can also turn on auto-subscription so you are automatically subscribed to posts that you have commented on.

      • AlienC on 27/05/2018 - 11:12

        I figured it out I didn't do some of the settings right the first time around.

  • sween64 on 27/05/2018 - 20:27

    Stickied mod comments like this one. Nice one!

    • Moderatorneil on 27/05/2018 - 20:40

      We can actually highlight any comment so if there is a useful comment that is buried in a deal, please report it and we can highlight it.

      • sween64 on 27/05/2018 - 20:44

        Very cool. A useful update, thank you.

  • JimB on 29/05/2018 - 13:45

    For some reasons my notifications hasn't been working in the past few weeks, i.e. someone replied to my comment.

    • Moderatorscotty on 29/05/2018 - 13:49

      Maybe this thread is relevant.

      • JimB on 29/05/2018 - 14:09

        Many thanks Scotty.

  • Zachary on 31/05/2018 - 10:14
    +2

    New comment tags disappear after a while if you were still reading the first page and there was more on the second page or further and that you go to the next page to read the next lot of new comments but since the new comment tags are gone, you don't know which are new and which are old which would mean you either re-read the entire page or just give up. I would like the tags stay until all pages are read, regardless how long time spent on a page.

    • sween64 on 31/05/2018 - 11:14

      I'd like them to stay until I mark them as read.

      • Zachary on 01/06/2018 - 17:15

        Yeah that'll work too….but then you would have to mark each and every "new" comment as read……but I guess that can be an option for those who prefer it that way….

        • Zachary on 06/07/2018 - 00:33

          bump on this, I've heard no word so far from this from any mods or admins…

        • Moderatorneil on 06/07/2018 - 00:37

          @Zachary:

          We've read your comment and will discuss. We do read every comment here but unless it's a simple or yeah definitely thing, we won't respond immediately.

        • Moderatorscotty on 06/07/2018 - 06:41

          @Zachary: It's not trivial to implement, when it comes down to "regardless how long time spent" because often people won't re-read all the pages. The most we'll do is increasing the time limit, rather than holding the "user is reading this post now" state indefinitely.

        • Zachary on 06/07/2018 - 10:23

          @neil: …so if it's a complex one and you all disagree, you won't respond?

          @scotty: ok fair enough, what about sween64's suggestion about leaving the new tag on until you click on it as read or go to the next page and it'd automatically mark all new comments on the page you were before as read and then shows the next lot of unread new comments on the next page, and then you keep going until you got your fill of reading comments and stop? But what if you don't read the last page where there is a few more unread comments? Yeah that's what the indefinite hold would b the thing…..until their visit to the page in question…

          But take your time to implement this(rather than cutting corners….to shorten the time required to complete…), as long as I get acknowledgement of feedback, that's good enough for me…

        • Zachary on 09/08/2018 - 07:20

          @scotty: I know, you that little three stripe button next to the "^ TOP" button at the bottom left hand corner of the browser, we could have a similar one but add a fourth option to the mix(amongst the already three options there: Show most voted comments, Show hidden comments and mark as read) - "Show only NEW comments" That way, unless there are so many new comments that it just overflows to another page, forumers can view the new comments without worrying about the timer issue and skip all the already read comments altogether!

        • Zachary on 09/08/2018 - 08:29

          @scotty: Or if the new comments do overflow to the next pages, we could have a single view all pages button which basically functions as the view all pages comments button but for only new unread comments! Can never miss an unread comment now! …unless it gets hidden through those various reasons, like the author withdraw his comment or was redacted due to personal info displayed, etc.,

        • Moderatorscotty on 09/08/2018 - 08:58

          @Zachary: yeah can consider that.

        • Zachary on 09/08/2018 - 18:22

          @scotty: mmmmmhhhmmmmm…….

  • ColonelYumYum on 01/06/2018 - 11:45

    Hopefully I've not missed this being mentioned, but I just noticed that deals that are unpublished can still give away the detail they are meant to remove.

    See below, currently on the front page.

    "This deal is not published.
    [Title Removed] @ Woolworths (DO NOT post upcoming weekly catalogue pricing until its public release from Woolworths, which is 5PM (AEST/AEDT) on Mondays. Upcoming weekly catalogue pricing is considered as confidential information, and will be removed by moderators without notice if posted before public release.)"

    If this reason is used, are you able to remove the title?

    • Moderatorscotty on 01/06/2018 - 11:48

      Yeah true. If the purpose is to hide the upcoming offers requested by merchants, then we shall remove the title as well. The title is now removed.

  • petestrash on 02/06/2018 - 16:30
    +1

    camelcamelcamel.com have just started supporting Amazon AU
    https://au.camelcamelcamel.com/

    could they please be included for Amazon.com.au deals?

    Pete.

    • Moderatorscotty on 02/06/2018 - 17:16

      Yes. Daniel from Camel x3 contacted me this morning about Amazon AU. We'll push the update out later next week.

      • AlienC on 02/06/2018 - 17:27

        Oh man this is great news.. can't wait.

        On the same notion Scotty can we get lowest historical, average median and average average prices for all product tags and stuff even if it is just an experimental beta stage should be easy to do if you allow the function to show all deals on one page somehow in the background or on the server end :)

        • Moderatorscotty on 02/06/2018 - 17:37

          Get some kind of price from the post is possible. Getting correct price from the post is difficult, when you have multiple currency, hacks to get different discount, different vendor, etc.

          It won't be a problem we have time to resolve.

        • AlienC on 02/06/2018 - 17:45

          @scotty: can't we put like a discard value discrepancy error of like 10-20% to weed out other items or have part of the tag identified before using the following string value or something.. worst case scenario have the users manually verify each result and then show the top verified results by number of users verified. This way it is somewhat checked by humans aka the users and we also have something to work with.. like I said can be under experimental feature so it doesn't show on casual users only heavy.

          And we only need to scrape the titles anyways.. I dunno I just like looking at experimental stuff. Wish I had access to the source code to play around with maybe and test on my own ozbargain like a test server of some sort away from messing with the main one.

        • Moderatorscotty on 02/06/2018 - 17:49

          @AlienC: You don't need to access to the source code. All the products have RSS feed (just add /feed to the end of product URL) which you can retrieve the titles to work out the price variations for the products you are interested in, and I think it's best to be done that way.

          If we end up having to do this it would be a generic solution to cover all the variations, which won't be as trivial as you think.

  • Scab on 03/06/2018 - 09:54

    Greetings to the Scotty,

    Any chance you could reopen the AMA?

    I wish to partake in jovial banter with you and exchange musings and observations.

  • virtual81 on 03/06/2018 - 13:02
    +4

    Make users publicly accountable for negative votes.
    I try to contribute and am often negged, as are others, and quite often the negged comments are the most honest, interesting or informative.
    Here is 1 example of a 'suicide plug' being sold, where i was negged.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/381967#comment-6009595

    I suggest neggers be identified rather than anonymous, and that they also need to enter a reason for neg.

    • pegaxs on 15/06/2018 - 00:32
      +1

      I would like to see the neg vote system overhauled. I was on the receiving end of a butt hurt user who spent the next 3 weeks negging every post I made, no matter how benign it was.

      I hate how a totally valid point of view can be hidden because a few bogans get their jimmies rustled. It isn’t an indication that person is wrong, it’s more like an indication of hurt opinions rather than fact.

      I think it should be something like deals voting. If you want to neg a comment, you have to put a comment down to validate that negative vote. If your reason is invalid, then so too should be your neg vote.

      • Clear on 20/06/2018 - 08:55

        It's been happening to me lately. Just embrace the negative votes because you know they're too cowardly to come out and say something.

  • Detective Pikachu on 03/06/2018 - 13:02

    Not sure if this is already added functionality, but for posts, maybe do a scan of the post for any common url shortening links, to prevent such posts being posted. This is particularly applicable to today's earlier post about some token with a bit.ly link.

    • Moderatorneil on 03/06/2018 - 14:25

      This is already active. We manually add several links a week to our auto-referral detection but only added once we see them for the 1st time.

  • BlazinPast on 07/06/2018 - 19:27

    Can there be an option to hide the featured competitions from the mobile site? I'm sure there's a sizeable amount of people uninterested in them and gets in the way of viewing the featured discussions

    • Moderatorscotty on 07/06/2018 - 19:40

      Maybe… Or "Yes" there will be, but might be in distant future and we can't promise delivery. We do have plans to make front page more customisable, but need to find time getting it implemented…

      • BlazinPast on 08/06/2018 - 15:43

        Hopefully it can be implemented soon enough. I didn't realise it was on the desktop too. Luckily I can use uBlock to remove it from the homepage. If anyone's interested on the filters to use:

        www.ozbargain.com.au##.node-teaser.node-competition.node
        www.ozbargain.com.au##h2.section:nth-of-type(2)

        That will make it look like normal again. Sorry scotty, just personally not interested in the comps at all

  • giventofly on 12/06/2018 - 18:28
    +2

    Hi there,

    The tomorrow and targeted banners are excellent. However, it would be beneficial if they had differentiating colours as on first glance, they may be mistaken (as I often do)

    Cheers

  • BlazinPast on 13/06/2018 - 14:40
    +2

    Is it possible to have the Classified section split into physical and digital offerings? Many are Amex/vouchers/codes while there are physical items like phones/headphones etc. I guess there aren't that many new posts to sift through every time but it'd be a nice upgrade. The main page can still be what it is now with both, but there can be an subsection to look at only digital or physical posts.

    • AlienC on 13/06/2018 - 15:25
      +2

      This would be a cool option.

      Maybe a mandatory field asking if the item or service in question is physically tangible or intangible?

      • BlazinPast on 13/06/2018 - 15:53

        Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. I wouldn't mind helping out filtering all the old classified posts if there was a way to quickly mark them as physical/digital.

        • AlienC on 13/06/2018 - 16:41
          +2

          Definitely. I hope Scotty opens up the idea for user participation it would be awesome for all fronts I reckon.

  • pegaxs on 15/06/2018 - 00:25

    Can we put a cap on the number of threads in the “Automotive” section with regards to users seeking advice to circumvent or dodge infringements they have received for being in the wrong? I’m not talking about genuine cases of people seeking advice for wrongful infringements, but for the “I got caught doing xxxxx, how do I get off paying the fine?

    It has become a regular dumping ground for the asking of advice as it relates to getting off tickets issued for serious offences right down to parking tickets. One only has to search for “parking ticket” and see just how many requests there are from people who admit to parking violations, yet want advice on how best to not pay it. I get it, we are a bargains site, but this isn’t about finding a bargain, it’s about trying to get out of paying ones dues. The advice is always the same, “eat it up and pay the ticket”.

    What I am asking is, can we have some rule or guideline in place that if the question has been asked an answered multiple times before and/or OP is looking to side step a fine they should be paying, that it gets locked or deleted? If they have proof they were not at fault and seek advice, go for it, but if they openly admit they were in the wrong or have no proof or validation as to why the fine should go unpaid, then lock it.

  • lyl on 19/06/2018 - 18:58

    Thumbnails not showing up me on mobile (Huawei P10, chrome). Pic Have tested it in desktop mode and ingcognito mode on browser, also not showing up. Showing up fine on laptop though.

    • Moderatorscotty on 19/06/2018 - 19:16

      If your mobile on LTE or Wi-Fi? Could be one of the network (Lyca in this case) blocking the site or have misconfigured DNS?

      • lyl on 19/06/2018 - 20:15

        Thanks Scotty, Hmmm now it's fixed regardless of the data source I'm using so unsure of the problem. Was using Voda for data btw

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