Improving the Improved Notifications

[Collin1000]

Just my 2 cents here.



1) Why are you not able to see a snippit of a notification, like with a PM? Even as an option. For quoted posts, I would rarther see a link to the quoted post or something in the in-line popup - having to click to it takes way too much time.
http://screencast.com/t/ZTMxNjIzYTUt

2) I think the ordering of the links is backwards.
http://screencast.com/t/ZTMxNjIzYTUt

3) Clicking on the "notifications" button should take you back to the list. For some longer notifiations, scrolling all the way down to the button is time consuming
http://screencast.com/t/ODZjZjgyN

[Razasharp]

I posted this in the blog but will repost here too - it's a bit early to judge it properly yet tho.

Some nice alterations there Brandon - will need to see it in the flesh to judge properly tho.

However a couple of points:

I don't think notifications should be marked read just on viewing the menu - as if users click on an item from it and then they'll lose what else is new :/ Would be better if each is marked as read as and when they view whatever it is the notification is about.

Also, do the links in this menu-notification go to the actual thing being notified or go to the notifications page? They should go to the actual item - not another page which you then have to click again to get to where you want. (Or maybe have a link to both: 'view notification' and 'go straight to quoted post' etc). The idea is to have as few clicks as possible to get to where you want.

Edited to add: Also, I think the green PM's notification should now be dropped and incorporated into the new notifications system.

Look forward to seeing it when it goes live here!

And here's my original feedback some of which you've mentioned in your post too:

Here's a few of my initial thoughts on IPB 3.1 - I've rated them too, 1-10, with 10 being things I consider most important. Overall I think it's a great update :thumbsup: just a few things that need addressing imo..

Notifications 10

These are a really nice addition :) but I think they need a little work or they are quickly going to become extremely annoying for users.

Notification content

I think whenever possible, the (popup) notification itself should contain the info needed, not a link to another notification which contains a link to get to where you want (or sometimes no link either just info, and no way to 'reply' too). I think for status updates the ability to reply there and then ought to be added. Make things as easy as possible without the user having to jump thro hoops to get to where they want.

So member status update notifications should include the text of the notification itself, and a box to let you reply there and then. OR, the notification itself and a link to the page where you can reply (I think I may prefer the former)

Quote notifications should also be included in that initial popup, along with one link to the post with your quote (do people really need the link to the original - given that it will be linked to in the quoted post anyway, and people will want to see the reply first before the origina post?

Notification popup close

Clicking away from the notification box should make it disappear. I was typing a reply, hit preview and a notification came up.. so I think it would help to make it easy to close the box. Lol it just happened again, this time went over the 'preview post' button so I had to use the back button (for people using IE that would mean them losing everything they typed for their reply/thread)

Put more info in the Notification page links

So for eg, where it says:

A post you made has been quoted

Could be:

A post you made has been quoted

In thread: 3.1 Feedback

Automatically mark notification content as read, on reading

Not sure how you'd implement this technically, but when you've viewed an item that's in the notification list, it should be marked as read automatically. People don't like doing things twice (even if it seems like twice). (You may need to change the thread marking system to accommodate this too cos of quoted posts).

'New' blog comment graphic - still not going to first unread comment 10

On forum homepage, blog block. Not sure if this is going to be addressed with a blog update, but currently it's not working as you'd think it would; that is when a new comment icon shows, clicking on it goes to the first unread comment.

View New Content link - doesn't contain status updates? 7

Think it should - as it's new content too :-/

Anyway these are my initial thoughts - as usual not final, just initial thoughts that may need exploring further.

[bfarber]

Just my 2 cents here.

1) Why are you not able to see a snippit of a notification, like with a PM? Even as an option. For quoted posts, I would rarther see a link to the quoted post or something in the in-line popup - having to click to it takes way too much time.

[url="http://screencast.com/t/ZTMxNjIzYTUt"]http://screencast.com/t/ZTMxNjIzYTUt[/url]

You can - you just click teh little arrow that hides it. The designer did it this way so it wasn't so big and in your face initially when it loaded. You see the title, and if you really need to see the notification itself you can expand it. I whole-heartedly disagree that "having to click it takes way too much time". I'm really not sure when the internet tuned into "I don't want to click anything" but a click here and there won't kill anyone.

2) I think the ordering of the links is backwards.

[url="http://screencast.com/t/ZTMxNjIzYTUt"]http://screencast.com/t/ZTMxNjIzYTUt[/url]

Fair enough point, though the text of the notifications will probably evolve further over time.

3) Clicking on the "notifications" button should take you back to the list. For some longer notifiations, scrolling all the way down to the button is time consuming

[url="http://screencast.com/t/ODZjZjgyN"]http://screencast.com/t/ODZjZjgyN[/url]

That's a limitation of the usercp implementation in IPB, not something with notifications. Every page is like that. You can't click the green bar on the left.

You can click the link in the nav bar to get back to the list fyi.

[Razasharp]

I'm really not sure when the internet tuned into "I don't want to click anything" but a click here and there won't kill anyone.

It's one of the widely overlooked rules of web usability.

And that's that you should let your user perform whatever task they are trying to perform, or find whatever information they are looking for, in as few clicks as possible.

For people who spend a lot of time on a forum, having to make unnecessary clicks to get to where they want will just annoy and frustrate them.

I thought you had a usability guy here on the IPB team? He/she should be able to confirm this.

[Luke]

- "Better defaults upon upgrading" (and install?) - Glad to hear that most of the intrusive ones were turned off by default
- "Review all of your unread notifications in the popup" - This is one of the best options. Glad to see it :)!
- "Shut off the popup" - I guess it's "ok", but I don't see it as getting in the way at all.

- "Better accessibility":

Why was this needed? To be honest I don't see any usefulness in this at all. We already have two ways of viewing notifications already... We really don't need a third option, do we? If you want to have some sort of notification number at the top, I would just replace the "new messages" number with the number of notifications. This number could link to your notifications listing page. The drop down, to me, is just bloat because if I want to see the notifications as they come in I'll use the popup. If someone turned their popup off, they can click the number and view the notifications listing page. The icons are a good idea, just add that to the main listing page.

To best honest the most important change that needed to be made is getting to what the notification is talking about. Right now the notification system is very cumbersome because you actually have to view the whole notification to get to where you need to go. If a notification is viewed in the popup that notification should be marked as read (which means when you hit the arrows that notification is marked read when you see it). You don't need a button for this. If you view the notification listing page all notifications should be marked as read.

Please simplify it... don't make it more complicated.

[Brandon D]

I'm with the click boycotting group. I know it sounds silly to want to avoid a click, but the whole point of a notification is to notify you of something. The key part is the something, not the notification. The notification has already done it's job by the time it alerts me with a popup. I could care less about going to the notification itself just to go to the content the notification was notifying me about.

[Collin1000]

Yeah, I agree with the reducing of clicks.

[Charles]

You're right on the not needing to click to expand content thing. It shall be done.

[bfarber]

Just for the record guys, I agree too. I didn't change it to where you had to click to expand the box. Just saying. ;)

[Collin1000]

You're right on the not needing to click to expand content thing. It shall be done.

Just for the record guys, I agree too. I didn't change it to where you had to click to expand the box. Just saying. ;)

That kinda felt like back in Kindergarden, when everyone goes "i diddnt do it!"

[Nityananda]

You're right on the not needing to click to expand content thing. It shall be done.

Best thing I've heard all day ... Star man :)

[bfarber]

That kinda felt like back in Kindergarden, when everyone goes "i diddnt do it!"

Given that Rikki is the designer, he usually makes those decisions. I'm guessing he did it to try to minimize the impact of getting notifications for all sorts of options, before we tweaked the system.

Don't worry - I have my share of things I shouldn't have done too. :P


Btw, changed it to be expanded by default now.