March 10, 2008
-
Online Status
Over the years, we've gotten a lot of requests to show online
status - a little icon that displays when you're signed onto Xanga. We've
never been able to figure out how to do it though - from a tech perspective, it's tough stuff!But we've been investing a lot in software to speed
up the site, and recently Mikey had a brainstorm: we could use some of this
same software to show online status! It'd be easy for us to do,
and we could do it in such a way that building this feature wouldn't take much
time at all, which was perfect because we've gotten so many
requests for it over the years.But first, of course, we want to bounce the concept
off of you guys and provide a pre-emptive opt-out:Essentially, a
little icon will appear next to your username if you've been signed onto Xanga
recently. We'd start off showing if you've been on the site in the last
five minutes...and maybe increase that depending on feedback. Any
thoughts on what a good amount of time would be?Edit: To clarify, here are a few more details . . .
- The icon is based on your last active time on the site.
- If you have been active in the last 5 minutes (read: you've loaded another Xanga page), you are considered online. If you're just reading posts on one page and not moving around the site, it won't think you are online and the icon will not show up.
- This will go into effect on Monday.
- You can opt out at any time!
Would also love to hear your thoughts in general -
thanks!-John
UPDATE: This is live! If you'd like to opt out and haven't already, you can do so here:
Comments (282)
I stay logged into Xanga 24-7. I never log out (to where I have to enter my login and password information). So would this show that I am always online? Or is it somehow based on whether I have been active (blogging, commenting, clicking links?) in the last 5-minutes or so?
But then everyone will know what a TRUE XANGA ADDICT I am... I'm not sure that's a good thing. lol
Sure, why not.
really cool
I like it*
wow, um..
it's really myspace-y. i dunno.. i'm not a big fan. (plus, i'd have to turn mine off anyway, as i am literally always signed into xanga. 
)
Sounds good to me.
ooo great, brilliant feature!
Please, you guys, seriously. I love xanga, and I hate that it is becoming another myspace. I loved it the way it was two years ago. Simple, easy, pretty. It was about writing then, but anymore it's really turning into another myspace site, with the kind of bells and whistles that a lot of us came here to avoid. I'm not alone in this.
And lest you think I'm an "old person" and just complaining because my generation doesn't appreciate it, I'm not. I'm eighteen. Thanks for listening.
I think it's an interesting idea but for me personally, just because someone is on xanga doesn't mean that will change if I comment or post. I just wouldn't have a use for it so if it's too much trouble I don't see why you guys have to work so hard!
I think it's a good idea...as long is it can be shut off by the end-user.
I'm on the fence about it. It does seem really myspacy and I don't like that but sometimes it would be nice to know if someone has been online recently.
But what if we never sign out of xanga?
Sounds like a good idea... and if I don't like it, I'll turn it off!
I love this idea. I'd love to know which of my friends are on Xanga, so I can send them a message or simply chat! Please do this! Oh, and 3-5 minutes would be great!
online status iconn might be ok - but no more colorful fluff fluff please.
I would prefer if you instead spent time working out how to enable e-props for photos, to simply highlight photoas a bit more
I
A good idea.
As long as users can choose to activate or disable the feature I think I sounds like a good idea.
I can see this being a problem if you stay signed in all the time. LOTS of spamming I am sure and as I get enough already in my regular email, no thanks.
If you have the option to turn it off, why bother with it in the first place?
JMO!
And yes also, way too myspace-y! Liked this site better before you started with all the pulsing and chatboards etc.
if people have requested it, I don't see why not, as long as there's a clear way to opt out (as I will be doing right now). as long as you're not personally forced to use it i don't see why having another little icon on some users' comments will upset anyone.
i think itrs a great idea but like snoochface commented, something like been ACTIVE in the past 5 minutes, cause yeah i'm always signed into xanga 24/ 7 too!
I think it's a GREAT idea!
Don't mean to throw a water balloon on your parade but question honestly why would anyone need this? I mean its not like a chat room or an instant messanger where the person could just instantly respond to you back. So why would we need this function to begin with? Sorry just being the devil's advocate. I mean most people wouldn't respond back quickly anyways even if this was implimented. Anyways this is just my two cents. Thanks for your time.
-AnubisWerewolf
Yeah I never sign out of xanga either.
I still totally want my MILF badge, please!
I wouldn't mind the active status, but it's myspace-y to me too, oh well!
nice.
i like it.
thank you.
All of these xanga addicts are trying to say in advance they never sign out so it doesn't appear they are on all day.
I think this is an awesome idea so people can connect with their friends that are online.
This site is becoming another cluttered myspace. I don't particularly mind the online status idea, but it's just another feature on top of other feature on more features that really don't enhance the *blogging* focus of this site. I don't come to xanga for social networking as such, I come here to blog and read other blogs. I think a lot of the users who have been here for several years agree with me. (yes I know my site isn't that old, I've had several other blogs before this one.)
hooray! I vote yes.
Sounds good to me......!
Why is it that every time Xanga debuts a new feature, all the snakes (haters) come out of the grass?
Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to more new features! Yay!
@angi1972 - Me too!
As long as we can choose to activate or disable this feature...then I think it sounds like a good idea.
@snoochface - Yes, whenever you visit a page, Xanga would note that you are online and if you do not do anything in the last five minutes, it would not think you are online.
The key thing about this that's going to make it a winner for everybody is that those who like it, they can leave it on, those who don't (unfortunately, that includes me), can turn it off and not worry about it.
As far as the time, I think 5 minutes is just fine.
Do we have to opt out now? Or could we try it awhile and see how we like it?
I think 5 minutes is okay , 15 minutes maximum for the timing.
I'm neutral - I don't know what I would do if I saw someone online. It's not as if I would talk to them through Xanga. If others like it, by all means go for it. As long as it doesn't impact the performance of your servers... but I'm sure someone is working on this too.
@ayca -
Thanks for the reply. *opting out*
Sounds good.
Great idea, and 10 minutes for the time.
I sign on to Xanga and then stays signed on so people will not really know if I am online if you do it based on a sign-on. You will have to look at when a page was last refreshed by the user if you want to show online status. With the new private page I do not refresh that often because I will first visit all new entries and I do that without closing my browser window or refressing it.
The idea is great and I may not understand the suggestion correctly but it seem that you might need some more thinking that centers arround a user's activity rather than a sign-on moment.
this is awesome. thanks for letting us opt out!
Note: You should promise more credits for replying to the Xanga team site
@skanickadee - You do not have to opt out right now. You can do it any time. You are the one in control here. We did not want to launch this feature before getting feedback. If everything goes well, we are going to launch it on Monday. Then you can try it, and if you don't like it you can turn it off.
I'd say fifteen minute timer, but make sure it is an opt-out, like you said.
So, if a person doesn't have dial up, would that mean they'd show up as being on all the time? Or, would the Xanga page have to be up for it to show? Not that it really matters either way. Just curious.
Sounds like a myspacey idea, but it's fine that we can opt out.
Anyways what I'd really like is notifications of when we receive reply comments. Like when someone replies to your comment in their blog, we can get notified of that in the feedback log (just like regular comments, messages, subscribers, invites etc). At the moment, I only receive emails about that.
I was also wondering if you can give credits for commenting on anything else on xanga besides weblog entries, like pics, videos, pulse, etc.
NO!!!
not a fan of the idea.
i like being incognito in every possible way. i don't want people to know when i'm on, when i was last on, etc. that's just giving way too much info away!
people will know that i've been on -- by the fact i put up a new post. period. that's all!!!
please don't do it!!!
@japanika - We are working on the private home notifications when you get replies to your comments.
Right now, you can only give credits for commenting on weblogs. It does not work with photos, videos or pulse entries yet.
@cheekyricegirl - you can turn it off. this feature is going to be optional.
I respect and like all you do and I wrote as much in a post I did awhile back about Xanga True, but I agree that this is not supposed to be a social networking site, or isn't for so many of us. It's a blog site. As for your question, I don't care one way or another because I am logged in to Xanga 24/7; it would not affect me.
I love the idea. I think even an area in our private home pages listing everyone who is currently online would rock.
AWESOME idea!!!
Im doing it
I cant tell if it works though I have it as allow but it hasnt shown up yet.
@TeacherPerson - Lets say that if you do not load a Xanga page in the last five minutes,
you will not be considered online and the icon will not show up. It is
similar to being idle on IM.
@mizzshoez - It is going to start showing up on Monday.
good idea
@ayca - im so impatient.........
i never liked that "online now" thing so the opt-out thing is probably good
Great feature! Though I never really find the need of it.. until recently.
Something I have always wanted Xanga to have is a categorize function for the entries. I think the tagging is not efficient enough if I want to group everything together.
I tend to agree with a lot of the people above that Xanga appears to be becoming another MySpace. I've been happy blogging here for the last few years and will be sad if I have to move
It's about time!
It's an alright idea.
I'm not against bells & whistles - or widgets!
but this is one feature I would not want
especially if I sign on for a few minutes at work
I don't really need big brother keeping track of this, especially if I forget to log off
Thank you for having an opt-out!!
I like it. Make it for 15 minutes though.
I actually don't like this idea. It seems too... yeah, myspacey. There's not really any reason to know if someone is "on" Xanga. We're not instant messaging, we're blogging.
i opted out of being 'online'. for some reason i just don't like it
doesn't bother me
John, I actually like this idea. Clever. When do you intend to implement it?
I am torn on this one. I like the idea of being able to connect with friends online.....but I don't want my xanga to turn into another myspace. I like to blog peacefully and if everyone knows that I am online.....then there are interuptions that are probable......I think it's a good idea....but I am not sure that I will use it.
Keep up the good work!
@marycarimom - if you forget to log off, you would not be active and the icon would not show up. It shows up if you have been active (by loading up another xanga page) in the last 5 minutes.
Hey, this is a cool idea. I'd love to let everybody know I'm blogging away on Xanga.
@ayca - Thanks ayca! I really appreciate that Xanga gives us options! Way to go!
sounds good to me
Awesome new feature John! Good work and congrats to the team.
I think it is a great idea. I am one that has been wanting something like this.
This is an amazing idea, I hadnt even thought of it myself. Thank you, Xanga team.
Very cool!! Great thinking team!
i guess it's an okay idea since it can be disabled for those that don't want it. i think it would bother me to let ppl know when i am online and when i am not, though. i like Xanga over other sites because of the freedom on it. i can be signed on and writing and not get a lot of messages/comments from ppl expecting me to comment back just because i am online. but i'm sure the ppl who requested it will be thrilled.
i like it !
ugh... instantly disabled. i hate features like this on any site.
Great idea, love it
Ok, I think its alright.. Espically if you want to hook up with another Xanga person when they are on to talk in IMs or something....
Good idea !
Thanks,
Diane
It's a way for people to connect with their friends that're online. I like the idea.
For people that don't like it, hey, you can opt-out you know. Not that difficult.
I love new stuff. Bring it ON!
Hmmmm....I don't think that I like it. As I said to Dan, besides it being very myspace-ish (I keep mine turned OFF there), with this on my site people who bore me will know that I am hiding from them, and not visiting, whilst going back and forth with my favorites all day long.
I will probobly opt out, but turn it on every here and there at will.
@TheTheologiansCafe - Lmao Daniel Boone. Shhhhhh! Don't tell anyone that I do THAT.
Weird..I was just thinking about this the other day...can you switch back and forth as you please for when people can or can not see you? And can you add a feature in the future that allows you to block certain subbers and friends from viewing it?...
BTW---can I PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE have my Truth badge now?????? I was subbed by Truefeed a month ago and never got it...pretty pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease???
@ConvictedPapist - Agreed. 100%.
Though, I do like the online thing.
I think people will either love it or hate it..so the opt out makes it perfect! I think what this does is allow others to make one on one contact better! I knew you could Do It! Good Job!
Wow! I have to think about that!
I think this is a fantastic idea.
@jessicabravata - I asked for a BEST badge, but still never got that, either.
While they are working on your MILF badge, I'd like them to work on fixing the damn blogrings..... I don't show unless the C button is clicked. Fine. I can deal with that (though I am really far from impressed with it.....I think my site should be B... xanga team, and I should self rate my posts as always
), however, the button is broken on the blogrings....and now I cannot even see ANY C or D rated sites by clicking it. It stays at B. B is boring. Fix it.
@monitoringmom - I'm with you on this one! I like the fact that I can blog and read without anyone knowing I'm online - often I only have a few mintues and I don't have much time to really connect with my xanga friends, so I'd feel terrible if they saw I was online and then didn't stop to message them or answer messages!
That's all fine and dandy but you see, when you first started the TRUE business you said I'd get a badge and I haven't and I'm terrible offended! Like all of my friends have them but you subbed me and I thought for sure I'd get one... so what's the dealio?
-RR-
Oh like MySpace. Ewwww! I'll be opting out of this feature. I liked the "footprints" function, but the "I'm online now" light just isn't blinking for me.
Good job, Xanga team.
You guys amaze me.
SWEET! I actually think the online status would be neat. So what if it's like Myspace? Alot of blog places are like myspace- who cares? Myspace is boring anyway- I much prefer Xanga anyway. In yo FACE myspace!! Hahaha- I think you should do it. I would like an icon anyway- I don't know about Mr. Convictedpapist...sorry dude
no.
no.
Meh, I have it turned off on Myspace and just opted out of it here.
not a fan of the idea. don't do it. i'm opting out.
As long as it's a little check box I can check and uncheck at whim.
Why don't you set it up so you can shut down an account and then reactivate it exactly as it was when you shut it down if your in such a rush to be like myspace and facebook?
That was absolutely the best feature of facebook. I would really really REALLY like to read Verminista_Ratchild again, there was a lot of history in there for me.
makes xanga separately awesome.
Go for it. Those not fond of the idea don't have to implement the feature on his/her individual page.
i know this isn't the place to ask but i have a question.
on our footprint page, when a user that logged in views your page, it logs that user's username right? if next time that user visits but didn't log in, would footprint shows it as a guest or the user's username (maybe somehow linked to the ip address or something). it'll be nice if someone answers this.
Online Status...Interesting!!!^^
I like that you've made this feature optional!
I love the idea
sweet.
@giohh - why don't you use a tracker as well? Then it'd link them.....signed in or not, and with ANY user name they use, if they have more than one. The footprints sometimes miss a lot.
Eh, will be opting-out just as I have with Facebook.
I don't care to have people knowing when I'm on websites.
sounds cool
I'd expect better from the Xanga team. I respect you guys big time, but why would a blog need this device? The only practical application would be to use it as sort of a messenger or chat tool. Xanga is a blog site; as a blog, wouldn't people respond to comments once they logged back in? The comments will be there when you get back.
If peopel requested such a function, I suppose it's in your best interests to please your users. By the by, major props for making it optional.
Read the clarification; good to go with the 5 minute thing. I think I'll still be opting out though.
one of the things i liked about xanga was that it was not like facebook and myspace, I find both those sites to be too personal, i feel like i should warn u against such a classic site as this failing into the modern teenage fade of obessive blogging, there is a difference between letting your users express themselves and having the site express themselves for them. In responce to the online icon. I personaly am against it, athough not enough to cry too loudly about it. I am just afraid of the path it is leading.
If it's easy to implement, support, and shut off (for the user), then why not?
I am not in favor of this feature. One of the things I like about Xanga is that there is space between users. This space is a good thing, because the intimacy of blogging can lead to infatuation and stalking. This can be troublesome enough now, when people don't know whether a given Xangan is online or not. I know a few bloggers who may well be troubled with increased stalking if certain other people know that the person who they are obsessed with is online.
However, it sounds like you have already made up your minds to implement this. I will be opting out.
I concur with a bunch of others too myspace-ey. I've been here for 7 years. because I don't like myspace. but, if that's your target demographic.... do what you need to do.
Hmm..interesting. I'll try it, I guess. :/
I love this idea. Thanks for giving more options to us Xangans!
like everyone else has been saying..im always on xanga.
i never remember my passwords but do it
hah
Good to read you all keep coming up with interesting add ons.......Keep up the progress......
Sounds great. Might I suggest something that has nothing to do with online? Can we have multiple protected post lists?
can this be optional?
great idea
hmm... honestly, if you guys are creating such a feature for xanga and promising us to making our blogging experience better, why don't you guys create more features for our weblog editor? like QUOTES or those entry snippets where we have to "read more" by clicking on the actual entry... so that way more comments would come in... and just the suspense of reading more?
oh well. at least we know you guys still care for us to create new features~
Cute!
I dig this! Good job guys. Xo.
The online badge on my site coupled with the True and Life ones would then mean, its True, she has no Life but on Xanga. Hehe, love it.
Personally, I never cared for the 'online' feature at any website like myspace etc, so I'll probably opt out on this one. good idea for the fans of the 'online' feature though.
As long as you have a choice to use it or not, sounds great to me!
Sounds quite interesting
I really don't like it at all. Honestly, I don't think I'll come on much because of it.
It kinda creeps me out.
Its cool, but I'll opt out. Its to myspace-y and I don't really see a point in it.
But thank y'all so much for listening to us and continuing to look for ways to improve Xanga!
oh they gonna caaaatch me online eeep rofl ... this one I might opt out of simply because I don't want to hurt feelings if I don't reply to someone's message.
haha i don't really mind either way.
Nope, no need to see who's online or when; that's why they have IM through other servers. If you have Xanga then you can get to other chat servers and talk there.
im fine with it as long as we can optout, one of the great things about xanga =]
Lol.. I'm totally going to opt out..
But it's still a nice function. hehe.
Umm.. But I don't really like the icon..
And yes, it's getting really cluttered, what with the 2 badges, and now the online icon.
Maybe it could be changed so that we 'mouseover' the name, instead of the icon, to view sb's online status? Just a thought.
And thanks for asking and listening to us!
@Foxy_Kitsune - Well, you could always opt out. ^^ Like I just did.
I agree with the person who say xanga is becoming another "myspace". I like myspace for wat it is and also like Xanga for wat it is. Dont make it into another myspace site, Ive been around for three years and its slowly falling appart with the whole "putting features of myspace". Gets your own ideas and leave xanga the way it was before =P
We actually like it the way it was and not the new look your coverting it into!
I don’t like this idea at all!!! Xanga is an online blog (journal, diary) why should it or would it want to try and be like MySpace, Facebook, TagWorld, Second Life and any of the other online communities. Here we write down thoughts and feelings and look for input from those who visit our blogs. Why should Xangas care who is online writing or reading at the same time you’re doing the same thing. If you need to talk to a person and you know who that person is in the real world use the phone or IM them. For those people that think Xanga should be an online community and do the things they do there I have this to say; “Join those other web sites because I don’t think Xanga is the right place for you and what you are looking for. Xanga isn’t a meat market, a place to hook-up with those you meet here online!!!”
Nobody Special _:^)
Going to go turn this invasion of my oline privacy off. Thank you for the opt out!
Nice.
getting way too cluttered and tacky, clean and simple is best, imo
I've turned off everything that I can, but still have to look at the mess on other sites.
i don't see how it's going to be of any use, but it's fine since we can opt that out.
thank you for informing us first. =]
That's pretty neat!
It's a feature of myspace that I have NEVER liked. However, that could be because I don't like myspace.
It feels a bit myspacey (as I'm sure you've heard dozens of times by other bloggers) which I dislike even though this is a feature we can ignore.
I'm not sure if you are still sending out "TRUE" invitations. (I haven't received mine yet but I could just be very impatient.)
You know, a long time ago back when I first started using xanga, I always complained that the site wasn't social enough. When I say a long time ago, I mean back in the day when chat rooms were the thing to do. It almost seems as if Xanga is getting too social.
It's hard to explain, but even though you get to know someone through their posts, there's still a fair amount of anonymity to the person. We have this image of how we see the specific person in our heads and taking steps like this towards making the site more social will eventually take that anonymity away.
That's just how I feel about it at the moment. You guys haven't steered us wrong with any of the many new features we've received in the past. I have faith.
there should be an option to enable or disable the feature. but, hey, it's a great idea.
Thanks for everything you guys have done for us, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of this particular feature.
EXCELENTE. VERY GOOD. LOVE THE IDEA. THANK YOU FOR THE IDEA AND FOLLOWING THRU AND GIVING US ACTION.
True Xanga Users Will Agree
I personally don't see the benefit. I mean xanga is suppose to be about blogging. to my own sin, I have a my space and a face book..(for friends I keep in contact with that will not join this awesome site) and i know people will agree with me that those 2 sites are a cluster of really bad organizational design and a but of nonsense. no body blogs at those sites, they leave comments and crappy pictures. I thought the greatest thing you guys have done is enabling people outside of xanga to comment. I like that feature personally. but knowing the exactly when someone is on xanga is better left with a messenger type program. True xanga bloggers writer that tell there stories, share there lives, and enjoy that kind of community. people that want it to be like my space are my space users wanting to convert us to non nonsensical blogging and lose the reason we are Number 1!!
@Traveler_In_Time -
I could not have said it better myself. xanga does not need to be a crappy my space rip off(or those other blog sites) we are true bloggers here
Opted OUT.
Please can OFF be the default setting on this?
And any other things you are planning to add to the all new MyXangaSite site?
Well... is the birth of this new feature gonna give birth to other features like xanga live chat or something? Cuz... with all due respect, I dont really see the point of having an online status icon, people just know that youre on and thats it. And Ill be turning that feature off as well if its added. theres no use to putting it on xanga, plus most stalkers would just know that ooo this persons online usually at this time. Now okay maybe Im being paranoid much. But honestly... I actually even hate that even if I can protect my site from search bots and non xangans, I still cant protect my account from being googled cuz when I reply to another xangan that doesnt have their site unsearchable, search bots still log and show my replies to the whole world. I dont like it. Please keep xanga safe and purposeful. I dont want xanga to be like those other blogsites that only have flashy things on them and add more kilobites to my temp files.
crap.
More fun to xanga
i likey
@Zeal4living - i agree with you!
@YuetMooNEvelyN - and i also have to agree with you! (sorry for flooding the comment box)
I know that myspace has a thing like this and most of the time I hide mine, or maybe I dont, I cant remember as of right now.
The reason I do is because I dont feel as safe on myspace as I do here. Like here we have the option to have friends lock, and our footprints tell us who the exact person is, and we have the option to have people be signed in to be able to see our private site.
Yes on myspace they do have the opt to be a private page, which does help but I still feel alot safer here than on myspace.
So I think that here if you gave us that opt for a online now icon, I would have it up.
I think it sounds like a good idea!!!!
@aN_amAYzInG_storrII - It is optional.
cute, you give possibilities for those who want to use them! That's better than just impose new gadgets like they do on other blogs.
THANK YOU!
[Opting out].
I think this is a great idea! Granted, on other sites, I don't generally pay attention to it all the time, but sometimes I'll actually go look at friends' pages to see if they are online or not.
Can you make it an opt-in, instead of an opt-out? Thanks!
I love fun things to play with and new things that keep it evolving. I think it is a great idea.
i really like this idea
This is an "interesting" idea, but it seems kind of unnecessary. I wonder how it will play out.
Xanga doesn't need any more "accessories." It's great the way it is.
Hey why not....meet more people if you know they are on line.....
I like the idea of knowing if friends are online, but I would also agree that the xanga of two years ago - the atmosphere here - was vastly better than today. I think the modules thing is too overdone. New people don't even know they can turn it off. I hate myspace and I hate facebook. I have a multiply site now, but it isn't as mature as the xanga of a couple years back. I really think xanga should cater to writers. Maybe I would pick up premium again - I dropped it recently precisely because you're too myspace-like. I want to be able to find people writing on similar interests, not hang out with people I already hang out with in "real" life.
Hey, if you want to do something useful, make it possible to "buy" premium with credits.
Will we be able to disable this?
Yeah sure, it sounds like a nice idea. I may opt-out though, become "invisible." I like to be sneaky.
@wayne1960 - Yes, it will be optional.
lol i bet the xanga team is very confused right now cuz i believe them when they said they have had request for this before and now everyone is saying they don't see the use for it. I personally think it's fine cuz i use xanga and facebook and it's nice to easily see who is online right then so that you can instantly talk to them instead of leaving a comment and waiting til the next time the person logs in. ^^
@FKIProfessor - It is already possible to buy premium with your credits. Please check out https://register.xanga.com/premium/ to see how.
While you're making all these great improvements....there are several of us who feel that our privacy is still being invaded. While we can block user names, it doesn't necessarily block the user. They can just change names and read our blogs anyway. The improvement I would like to see is one that when we block a user, it would also block their IP numbers. That would mean a lot to us that have been harassed, for years, by "inlaws" for instance. Please?
I like the idea.
I'd rather have a thing like footsteps that shows who is actually looking at a particular blog, saying something like this(example):
There are 10 people looking at this blog right now:
Flower Child, *googlebot*, Little Rock&Roller, * Zanga Admin*, *Unknown*, Unknown* *Yahoobot*,...
(you get the idea,lol)
I've been an active xanga member for six years now, and I'm growing increasingly dissatisfied with how the site is being updated. Between the ads on my page (which I paid for lifetime in order not to have!) and all these new features (I still haven't figured out what the heck a "pulse" is for) I feel like xanga is turning into MySpace or Facebook.
I joined xanga over other blog sites because it's an honest blog space. Please don't turn it into a meet-market.
What's next, applications? Xanga games? Enough is enough.
I'm logged in permanently so I don't have to log in and out which is what I do at every location that allows that. I don't really care one way or the other.
My preference would be to be able to choose if I can be seen online or not. Time span isn't the issue just whether or not I want to be seen. On, off works for me as it assures me of the privacy I prefer to have at any given moment.
I think its a good idea, but is it possible to allow xangans to choose if they would like to let other people know that they are on line....viz, click on some little doo dad and pronto you appear on line. If they do not want any one to know that they are on line, then they just don't click that icon.
sounds like a natural thing to do
That would be great to show online status, then we could chat to each other on the chatboard or leave comments and get responses immediately.
-Heidi
A suggestion; Can the little tracker thingie stay on while you're typing. I take an hour or so to write my blogs and would rather like to have something that says "I''m here, just busy".
Thats amazing!
Keep up the good work. Thanks to this, I can find out whose on.
You answered my question about being signed in on the home computer, but the computer is off. "Active" means signed in and reading a page.
it's an interesting feature.. but i don't really see how it's supposed to make xanga nicer or better??
I really like this idea, it would be nice that way we don't have to run the fifty million messengers to keep up with people.
Awesome IDEA
oooh! I like... though ppl will see JUST how much i'm on xanga now... oh my...
I don't want an icon showing whether or not I'm online. It wouldn't matter anyway, I log in, do my business, and log out, but I don't want to be pestered and all simply because I'm here.
I like this idea. Because then I know not to wait up on people to reply to me when they are no longer on.
@ilsurvive - what kind of tracker would you recommend that would do that? thanks for replying btw
A blog is still a blog, right?
Yay, it's about time. And I have a question. How do you give your Xanga credits to another site?
As always, you guys are always trying new and neat things
Will surely use this when I am back on 'speed' and when things here at home settle down..but for right now, I have only time to visit those who are ill, have lost loved ones..a quick message or comment here or there..I would not want my friends to think I was avoiding them if they see me..and they recently post ..things like that..When I have this pc speed fixed and the other 'stuff' 
here ..I will use it..think it's a great idea...:) take care all..now I think you ALL need a vacation 
.....hugs., Lee 
i am always logged on. i never log out so i would always be on line then
I agree with Convicted Papist. Sure, new stuff is great and exciting, but how much is too much? My heart belongs to Xanga over every other site in it's class because of it's beautiful, user-friendly, blog-focused simplicity. An online now status marker would be great, as long as it worked as seamlessly as every other feature of Xanga does, but it's not really necessary.
Neat idea.
I agree with some of the others - it's a little "myspacefacebooky" to me...I use xanga for blogging not for "socializing" - that's what the other sites are for, and one of the reasons I like xanga so much.
i don't have or want *themes*, and i've noticed that my subscription list on the left side is narrowed down to 10 subs or less. IS THERE ANY WAY TO FIX THIS TO THE WAY IT WAS *YESTERDAY, WHERE THEY *ALL* SHOWED???!
sigh.
It works!!! I like it....I like it a lot!!!
I think it is great - but you need to show more than just 10 subscribers on the left hand side. 20 - 30 would be better. I only get a small indication of who is on.
Is there a way of showing all the on-line subscribers, perhaps in a column on the left hand side. At the moment I don't see the full list!
I can't see my whole list of subscriptions any more.
I usually read them from the bottom up...now I can't see them
Sounds good! However, I agree with ConvictedPapist -- Let's slow down with the new adds to keep it from getting too cluttered (Myspace is horrible!)
I'm not sure what the advantages of this feature would be, but as long as it doesn't affect the functionality of the site, I probably won't be opposed to it.
Come to think of it, what are the advantages of an "online now" icon?
I like it.
On another note... how about this idea:
How about extra eprops for commitment to a site. like... encouraging piggyback propping. More credits for catching the next post or something.
That is so cool! Are you guys working on a chat feature too? It might be fun to have the option of seeing a fellow Xangan online and starting a chat session!
LOL. I forgot about this and I was trying to figure out why there was lightblubs next to peoples names. I feel stupid now. Whoa! Xo.
*Nods* People will now know how much I am on xanga during the day.
Which is fine with me. =3
thanks for the opt out. you guys are really great.
Personally, I like the idea. It's good to know who's one, that way you can message them or w/e if you wanna talk. I likey.
I really hope you do the online status icon. I like knowing when my friends are sitting at their computer the same time I am.
Why don't you set it up like they have it on myspace and let the people choose as one of their options if they want to show that they are online or not. Then everyone would be happy.
I love this feature!
-Heidi
I think it's a really good idea. Before this, the only time I knew someone was online was if they answered a comment of mine right after I left it... Facebook has this "who's online feature too" I like it. thx
If there's a huge request for it, then sure why not? although I really don't see any point in having one?
It's okay.
I agree that it's a bit MySpace-esque, but it doesn't really hurt, and I'm happy with the fact that you always give us the option to not use whatever new little thing you've created.
[=
I think this is cool. Hey everybody, I'm online! It also helps us know whether we can IM someone or not.
@tomsaaristo - Rock on! I love that idea! I know a lot of people around here probably wouldn't think much of it... but I don't know, if you don't like it, opt out. I want chat, please!
Love it!
i've seen a few comments that i think are a good idea: setting the default to opt out, for those who aren't subscribed to TheXangaTeam and are happy with the way xanga works as is. It's an invasion of privacy to suddenly be open to the whole world just because you never go to the front page or are not subscribed to this or John's xanga.
Ads. In between my subscription pages. I don't want to take surveys. I don't want fucking credits. I don't want interruptions in my SIR page. I don't want to invite my friends. I don't want to see your feature spotlight. I don't want ads when I pay for premium! HELLO? IS THIS THING ON?
can you turn it off? i leave my xanga up 24/7. i don't want people to know when i am on.
oops. sorry i missed the update.
thank you!
love you xanga!
~emily jo
bené!!
I keep getting a pop up on my explorer telling me pages in Xanga are trying to install an add on for Adobe Flash Player. I don't recall reading this would happen so am mentioning it in case there is an answer (yes it's okay or no it shouldn't be happening.)
I think the online status would be nice showing up in your list of subscriptions. So far I haven't noticed it there but have noticed it in comments and in the area of your xanga name on your own front page. Am sure there are some who will really love this new alert.
I am totally out of it when it comes to some of the television you are watching and I'm white. If and when I do watch, I could care less to discuss it as an important part of my day. I haven't even watched American Idol yet this year. I just don't watch a lot and it takes expensive cable (which I don't have) to get some of those serial shows. I do love movies and watch something during the week but from DVD I collect.
Have a really good week,
I wish you would stop fucking with the site.
I've hated these features for years.
And you're still thinking up more dumbassed ideas.
When will enough be enough?
Sit back and stop coding, goddamn you.
hihi
I like it. Not sure what function it has, but I like it.
I'd say Live means live - actually on it at that time.
@park61us - You can turn it off here: http://edit.xanga.com/editaccountprivacy.aspx
Are the sub lists going to be remaining the way that they are right now? It seems they were switched last night, and now only 10 or so of our subs show in the left module. Even when I use the universal thingee. I don't really like this.....I have to scroll, and scroll and click, and click to even see things written this morning. I feel like I'm going to not realize someone has posted this way.
Thanks for th eopt out, because I already used it. Too many changes here lately. :S
You know you guys have something that works fine as it was...no need to keep adding bells and whistles like myspace and facebook which are WAY to cluttered!
I love Xanga, it's excellent for journaling and posting photos. I helps creat true communities and connections.
That said I'm now having trouble making connections becasue of the changes on the subscription page...on the left hand side I can now only see 10 of the latest postings...I need to see the whole list because thats how I see whose recently posted over the last few days. Please return that feature.
thanks
Instead of adding something new, how about working on something you already have, like the credit system!
I have had more trouble with it. You said that we could use this to pay for our subscriptions, awesome! So I start taking the surveys, oh, but hold on now, there is a cap on them so you can't really get up to enough credits to pay for your sub. The gal who answered my first problem said the cap was now off, but I never got my 2,000 credits from the survey I completed. A week ago I took and completed another one and STILL have not received my credits!!! I'm sorry, that is completely wrong! I took the time to take the survey, you should take the time to make sure it is crediting properly! When I wrote to the Help department again I received NO reply. I would really like the four thousand credits you now owe me!
Stop adding new things when the last thing you started is not working properly.
Dani- who is getting more and more irritated with Xanga!
Take the online status off! Who wanted it? Any people past 25 years old request it?
Don't like the online status idea at all... There should be a choice whether you want to appear online or not.... Not a fan because I have a myspace page as well and I enjoy xanga because it's less cluttered and trendy or should I say was..
I see that you can turn it off so I am less annoyed.. I still think you should start looking at who is actually paying for premium and things and see what they want.. Sounds like you are trying to appeal or compete with all the kids on Myspace who don't even pay for anything anyway so why are you catering to them?
Its pretty funny how it the online now symbol looks like a saint
LOL
i turned mine off, but i still see the icon in my comments.
@Ex_Goat_Milker -
sent you a message
hey I can't message you I have a ? how do you zac efron backgrounds/layouts for xanga message me back plzzzzzzzz
OK after 1 day of using it, I find it harmless but also not helpful. Maybe if you integrated an instant messaging system into it (AIM, Yahoo, MSN, etc) the status icon would be useful. But as of now, it's like, "Oh X and Y are online." Is that going to make me message them or comment them at the moment? No. However, that's exactly what makes me IM people.
I love this idea!
Awesome.
Nifty lil' doo-dad!
thanks for fixing the subscription list!
I don't see the point in this, knowing people are online on here doesn't mean much. Just means they are online, but doesn't help with having people comment or anything because you can comment people without them being online. I"m not sure why people would have wanted this, it doesn't do anything different then what it is now.
i love the online status
&& can you help me with a code?
Okay, first we had the "MySpace" looking home page, and now the Live on line icon. C'mon guys, you're Xanga! This isn't My Space. I would never join MySpace and I'm not liking the MySpace trend I'm seeing here. How about investing some of that $$ and brain power into making Xanga work better for those of us who pay to use it.
So cool that you offer the opt out right at the start. That's very considerate! Thank you.
In my opinion,I enjoy the newly updated private homepage and the idea of featured blogs and question of the day. Those are still relevant to the idea of a blogging website. But, I am not sure about the online icon because like others have mentioned, it does seem like the icon serves more of a social networking purpose. I think that what matters the most is whether or not the person had read the newly updated blogs and not if they are still online or not.
Love the idea! Thanks soooo much!
HAHA..i actually found the shut off button before i realized there was this new function, so it kinda confused me for a bit. sounds interesting! thanks for implementing it.
I like it--it allows my stalkers to keep better track of me
It would be cool if these little insignias popped up next to usernames on the Subscriptions list so I could glance and see who is logged on all in one shot.
dont see why its necessary?
it doesnt really change anything, i didnt even notice it until i saw and orange thingy beside my name and i was wondering what it was.
guess it doesnt really matter eithe rway
I like it
what's the point? last i checked, xanga didn't have a chat function, so what is the point of seeing who is online? unless you're really impaitent and want people to see your comments NOW, it has no logical use.
btw, add a chat function to this site and i am leaving for some unknown blogging site in some random corner of the internet.
isn't this supposed to be the anti-myspace? i digress
like the many people have said, it's practically becoming myspace. i liked it a whole ton better before all of the changes were made!
No harm displaying my status.
30 minutes would do, definitely.
ooh that's a cool idea. It would be awesome to be able to change colors or shape of the "online now" icon too.
I don't really like it, so thanks for providing the ability to opt out right off the bat.
I think you should add more credits everytime when someone gives you a comment, because some of the minis costs a lot of credits, but sometimes, they might not have the time to do it, but they still wants it. So i think that you should add more credits when someone gives you a comment on your post. Hope to see that coming!
Charlene
:] Thanks Xanga Team.
hello am betty williams from florida here,am a nurse here in florida so found this place a very lovelly thing to belong to,this is where life start from,can i meet you here now at my mail bettybaby_betty@yahoo.com....if anyone interesting in me can concat me there....
@torifisk - hello where are you from babe,can you hit me up here now bettybaby_betty@yahoo.com amonline now....
@jiazhousarcasmo - hello you mean it,hit me up here now bettybaby_betty@yahoo.com
@silverknight3555 - hello you mean it,hit me up here now bettybaby_betty@yahoo.com
@Riddlz - hello you mean it,hit me up here now bettybaby_betty@yahoo.com
@broncomom - hello you mean it,hit me up here now bettybaby_betty@yahoo.com
wO.0 i'm online!!
thanks, I am really new here!
so your on the xanga team im guessing? kewl :]
check out my site maybe friends comments are great
-me<3♥
thx
Thanks!
Comments are closed.