Privacy Update - May 22nd, 2012

[Armaetus]

Looking at the anouncement I find it interesting that it was Scriggles who was noted for many suggestions to the privacy updates.

Wait a second, wasn't it US (the FA and FAF populace) who eventually came up with such ideas? Where's OUR credit? :V

"Should be sometime tomorrow" -- Half the day is over now basically, let's see if they actually keep their update promise before 12:00 AM EST.

 

[thoron]

Wait a second, wasn't it US (the FA and FAF populace) who eventually came up with such ideas? Where's OUR credit? :V

"Should be sometime tomorrow" -- Half the day is over now basically, let's see if they actually keep their update promise before 12:00 AM EST.

Actually, lets hope they don't. I don't want to see the layout change come to fruition. Aka: The new and "improved" disgusting header that the designers seem to have a hard on for and won't listen to the users who for the most part are saying that they don't want it.

 

[dinosaurdammit]

all this privacy but no report button... really.... really?

 

[Devious Bane]

REALLY GAIS.

 

[Arshes Nei]

Well I guess the other "positive" is that the staff can look the other way when minors lie to get around the age thing and privately favoriting porn ...since other users would notice them lying about their age and report them.

 

[thoron]

Well I guess the other "positive" is that the staff can look the other way when minors lie to get around the age thing and privately favoriting porn ...since other users would notice them lying about their age and report them.

Yeah, that was something else I took notice of. If you can't download it to your own computer there's a pretty good chance your too young be looking at the material in the first place.

 

[Arshes Nei]

Yeah, that was something else I took notice of. If you can't download it to your own computer there's a pretty good chance your too young be looking at the material in the first place.

Right. It's not to say "oh nooooooooooes minors looking at porn" so much as that we rely on our users to help us out with reports/TTs. I really doubt we're going to have the time to check and really we've done most of what we can with our TOS. However, people will take that perception I posted previously. They'll feel that the staff is trying to find a way out or wash their hands of the situation by instituting a private Favorites system. It was probably a situation overlooked, but that's why I scratch my head at privatizing the favorites system because sharing favorites is a positive community aspect.

 

[Devious Bane]

positive community

Wat.

I do think the "privating favorites" function is catering to the wrong crowd. It's seems like only a page plastered with comments like "thanks for the fav/watch" from certain artists will be a visible sign of a red flag.

 

[Arshes Nei]

Wat.

I do think the "privating favorites" function is catering to the wrong crowd. It's seems like only a page plastered with comments like "thanks for the fav/watch" from certain artists will be a visible sign of a red flag.

I'm saying that the favorites is a positive community aspect. It's what appreciating and sharing art is about even if not everyone likes the same things. As people have stated seeing other favorites have led people to discover other artists. This actually works the same on DA - a lot of people I know don't bother with the front page but find an artist, looks at their favorites and goes on those trails.

I should expand on this, most art sites have a good theme. It's not just about the kind of artwork posted up but as a mission in a sense. DA is set up to find good resources. Stock photography which ironically a lot of people on this site use copy trace and abuse, but is resource itself is not really permitted on FA is easy to find on DA. Even if the front page is a mess, looking for resources or stuff you like isn't too hard to find.

Other sites that are for critiques center their setup for sharing and mission goal of supporting artists to want to improve.

You can also look at CGHub, that the first thing you'll see is some awesome art, unlike the mess of DA, it's centered around artists that want to be professionals and I know people who got quite a good hook from CGHub when DA got too big.

Most Furry site cater of course to their audience ...which is easy enough I suppose but...what about a mission...is So Furry more catered to help writers get discovered? Is it about easily finding artwork of your favorite fetish? I guess that's kinda nice and easy...but having something more resourceful or defining keeps you in the game even when your userbase seems to be exploding. I'm sure people weren't thinking Myspace would fizz out so quickly....

FA as far as I can tell is now about everyone wanting commissions and random art dumping and drama. People who don't draw art getting way more watches than the artists because they've commissioned the hell out of a character lol (it's not hate, just observation). While it's randomness was a bit charming - not pushing for a more clear goal in how to share art with its users hurts a bit. I don't mean top favorites on the front page. I don't mean random "Link of the Day" fodder. Some community stuff is being shared with the news...but...I still don't see it being cohesive.

Privatizing favorites seems to go the opposite of working with community sharing too.

I mean let's look at it...what are we saying when we make new features that shut out community contact? FA is about people who don't want to be bothered, you're a nuisance so we helped that with removing the ability to send notes? You should be ashamed of your stuff, so you need to be hidden from guests. By the way you have reprehensible tastes in art so let's hide that too.

Like I said early in the thread I do find legitimate reasons for no notes, and some of the features. But ....just looking at these new features I wonder what is the actual future goal of FA or theme? It just makes FA look so jaded. It does make me sad. This is my personal opinion but I would have loved to see more features about sharing art and so forth.

 

[Bojog]

I like some of the features. I think "hide from guests" is brilliant.

....so... still no word on when they're fixing the thumbnail issues?

 

[thoron]

I'm saying that the favorites is a positive community aspect. It's what appreciating and sharing art is about even if not everyone likes the same things. As people have stated seeing other favorites have led people to discover other artists. This actually works the same on DA - a lot of people I know don't bother with the front page but find an artist, looks at their favorites and goes on those trails.

I should expand on this, most art sites have a good theme. It's not just about the kind of artwork posted up but as a mission in a sense. DA is set up to find good resources. Stock photography which ironically a lot of people on this site use copy trace and abuse, but is resource itself is not really permitted on FA is easy to find on DA. Even if the front page is a mess, looking for resources or stuff you like isn't too hard to find.

Other sites that are for critiques center their setup for sharing and mission goal of supporting artists to want to improve.

You can also look at CGHub, that the first thing you'll see is some awesome art, unlike the mess of DA, it's centered around artists that want to be professionals and I know people who got quite a good hook from CGHub when DA got too big.

Most Furry site cater of course to their audience ...which is easy enough I suppose but...what about a mission...is So Furry more catered to help writers get discovered? Is it about easily finding artwork of your favorite fetish? I guess that's kinda nice and easy...but having something more resourceful or defining keeps you in the game even when your userbase seems to be exploding. I'm sure people weren't thinking Myspace would fizz out so quickly....

FA as far as I can tell is now about everyone wanting commissions and random art dumping and drama. People who don't draw art getting way more watches than the artists because they've commissioned the hell out of a character lol (it's not hate, just observation). While it's randomness was a bit charming - not pushing for a more clear goal in how to share art with its users hurts a bit. I don't mean top favorites on the front page. I don't mean random "Link of the Day" fodder. Some community stuff is being shared with the news...but...I still don't see it being cohesive.

Privatizing favorites seems to go the opposite of working with community sharing too.

I mean let's look at it...what are we saying when we make new features that shut out community contact? FA is about people who don't want to be bothered, you're a nuisance so we helped that with removing the ability to send notes? You should be ashamed of your stuff, so you need to be hidden from guests. By the way you have reprehensible tastes in art so let's hide that too.

Like I said early in the thread I do find legitimate reasons for no notes, and some of the features. But ....just looking at these new features I wonder what is the actual future goal of FA or theme? It just makes FA look so jaded. It does make me sad. This is my personal opinion but I would have loved to see more features about sharing art and so forth.

All these features are being made for people who have thin skin. Those like the hide favs have been pushed aside by users and administrators alike, even dragoneer shot it down in the past. Then Scriggles pushes and prods to get these features through and I'm guessing that since she's Dragoneers girl friend he listend. The only one that makes sense is the hide from guest simply cause information on your profile could cause problems in the future.

 

[Devious Bane]

....so... still no word on when they're fixing the thumbnail issues?

It'll never be fixed.

 

[Bluflare]

Alright then let's ask dragoneer, and sciggles no wait they are somewhere else alright then let's see what they say about this issue.

I will act it out according to how fender's journal is.

(clears throat)

(user)

"streamline header" "hide from guests" "hide favorites" Oh hey, SoFurry, when did you pop into my FA? It's cool and all, but I mean, you already have your own website. Didn't think you needed two.

(neer)

I'm sorry, but SoFurry didn't patent this features. Features like this have existed on many different websites for quite some time.

(user)
Never said they patented these features, I'm just making an opinionated observation -shrugs-


(scriggles)

Its a nice option to give our users. Completely optional. If people don't want notes why don't they just ignore them? If people don't want guests seeing their pages why do they post? They are just some nice features to have and helps to show we are listening to what users ask for.

(user)

Strange though that many oppose to it. A lot have been suggesting gallery folders (which would be very nice) but you choose to ignore that. I wonder why they wrote that only -you- have been the one to suggest the privacy things. favoritism much?

(scriggles)
I didn't ignore that, but thanks for assuming. It takes longer to code such things I suppose and I am grateful to get the updates we are currently getting as it wasn't easy.

It wasn't /only/ me and it should have been written differently. I was just pushing really really hard for it after listening to so much user feedback and wanting to do something to please the users.

(user)
Then wouldn't it make more sense to mention those that suggested it, and not just you? The post just made it SEEM like you were the only one suggesting the privacy settings.

(scriggles)
Like I said, should have been written differently. I was not in charge of writing it nor did I ask to be mentioned. MANY users suggested these features so listing them all wouldn't work. But its thanks to them for suggesting. All I did was listen and push.

(user)

Well it didn't have to be all of them, but mentioning others probably would have diffuse the suspicion.

(scriggles) And it would be nice if people would stop jumping on me for minor things like this :\ (user) Can't blame us that are inquisitive if it smells/looks fishy. (scriggles) Asking about something is very different and preferred rather than straight up trying to insult us. Insulting you: You guys are retarded bitches Asking you: Are you guys really retarded bitches like I think you guys are. In some cases its the same (user) Comes with the territory I'm afraid with having to deal with some unhappy users. (neer white knight mode) She didn't suggest it, but she pushed to ensure that updates happen. She prodded and pushed, and made it happen. Gave credit where credit is due.

(user)
Ok, so she didn't come up with any of the ideas or suggest any of em, but she pushed about it. Should probably reword the journal a little bit. That's a little misleading. ;

(neer becomes correcting guy)
Noted and updated.

(user)
Ok, that sounds a whole lot better. XD

(scriggles being mad obviously)
Stop trying to cause drama when I try to talk to users about issues they have.


(user)

The note system is horrific to use when trying to conduct business on FA from it's lack of organization, and the lack of the ability to keep it organized. A lot of people don't use the PM system for a number of reasons, I was just listing the most obvious from personal preference. I'd say recode the whole system, or get rid of it entirely, really. Also, notes that pile up become an eyesore in the control panel to one such as me, like to keep it tidy from so many messages from cluttering up too much. Also, there's the fact that people on FA don't read half the time when users say they don't WANT to be PMed, and the possibility that they do ignore it, said person that sends the PM might get the impression that they're being ignored. Aaand, correct me if I'm wrong, can't admins read other people's PMs anyway? If not, then my mistake. If people don't want guests to see their artwork, that's their prerogative really. I can understand the want of privacy. Albeit, if users have something "embarassing" or "NSFW" in their gallery, wouldn't it most likely be marked as adult, and as such, guests can't see it anyhow? You know what would be some nice features? The commission tab being fixed. It hasn't been working for God knows how long for how many years, and it has yet to have been corrected. There's users that would actually like to see that come back. We've been asking for YEARS for a more organized submission system, and we've yet to see that, too. Modifying, deleting, and uploading pictures one-by-one....is..aggravating. Especially if you draw a lot of commissions and want to upload them as advertisement.

(scriggles)

We know about everything the users want, but its not as simple as it sounds. We really are trying our hardest to get things done and somethings take more coding than others. I have no idea what it takes to fix the commission tab or the other things as I am not a coder but that hasn't kept me from asking about it. These features were just easier to do at the moment. We can't just go searching through notes, no, the only way we can see a note is if it is directly linked to us. No matter which features we come out with next or fix there will always be users like this jumping down our throats for more. Give us time. We are getting there slowly but surely.

This is the bag of crap they give us.

Where is this table coming from?

 

[Accountability]

Like I said early in the thread I do find legitimate reasons for no notes, and some of the features. But ....just looking at these new features I wonder what is the actual future goal of FA or theme? It just makes FA look so jaded. It does make me sad. This is my personal opinion but I would have loved to see more features about sharing art and so forth.

Like I've said before, it's because these features are incredibly easy to add. A new database column and a few IF statements in the code is all you need to make favorites private or to hide a profile.

For all we know, Sciggles first suggestions were "Hey what about a report button?" and "Why not make something to let people announce streams" and after getting told "no" repeatedly she finally got to "Can you at least make it so you can set your profile to private????" to which yak replied "Yes, but it will take three months".

 

[CannonFodder]

Like I've said before, it's because these features are incredibly easy to add. A new database column and a few IF statements in the code is all you need to make favorites private or to hide a profile.

For all we know, Sciggles first suggestions were "Hey what about a report button?" and "Why not make something to let people announce streams" and after getting told "no" repeatedly she finally got to "Can you at least make it so you can set your profile to private????" to which yak replied "Yes, but it will take three months".

At this point if dragoneer knew how to do the coding himself the updates would arrive sooner :\
*looks at yak's fa page* Are we sure the coders aren't dead or something? Can someone check their pulse or something?

 

[Bluflare]

Like I've said before, it's because these features are incredibly easy to add. A new database column and a few IF statements in the code is all you need to make favorites private or to hide a profile.

For all we know, Sciggles first suggestions were "Hey what about a report button?" and "Why not make something to let people announce streams" and after getting told "no" repeatedly she finally got to "Can you at least make it so you can set your profile to private????" to which yak replied "Yes, but it will take three months".

exactly

*looks at yak's fa page* Are we sure the coders aren't dead or something? Can someone check their pulse or something?

Your forgetting Yak is neer's coding team.

 

[13Swords]

Don't pay me any mind, but if it's so easy, what's taking so long? Surely it's not just laziness.

 

[Xenke]

-rescinded-

 

[13Swords]

What did you rescind?

 

[Evan of Phrygia]

What did you rescind?

...why would you ask that? >.>

 

[13Swords]

I ask because the only statements he made on this board (edit- thread) were that these topics were some that others were griping about and an alternative way to store porn. Neither were opinion or false. It confused me, so I asked.

 

[Devious Bane]

Like I've said before, it's because these features are incredibly easy to add.

It's only easy if you know what you're doing, and FA clearly doesn't

 

[Armaetus]

So the features were added as promised, that's one thing.....but why private favorites? It's a complete waste of time and code to some of us and kills the "networking" feature people use to discover new artists. Well done :V

 

[thoron]

So the features were added as promised, that's one thing.....but why private favorites? It's a complete waste of time and code to some of us and kills the "networking" feature people use to discover new artists. Well done :V

Thats one thing I asked Dragoneer himself, I even brought up the concerns of how minors could use it to hide the fact that they are looking at under aged material. Dragoneer simply danced around it.

 

[thoron]

God damn it all to hell, it looks like the upgrade has started, and all the features that most people don't want like private favs and the nasty header are coming into play.