December 19, 2008
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Response to Xanga Ideas!
The response to Xanga Ideas over the past week has been awesome! 258 ideas and 4,663 votes so far
.We’ve been responding with “staff comments” like crazy, but thought a more public response might be useful.
Fix bug with pulse commenting + backspacing
There was a bug where if you left a pulse comment and then backspaced, the pulse comment would doublepost (in certain browsers).
We give special priority to bug reports, so this was the first big Idea we tackled. After much debugging, we have fixed most occurrences of this bug! It does seem to happen now and then (although much more rarely now), so we’re not going to close out the Idea. But we’ve made huge progress! Hopefully your pulsing is a much smoother process now.
Display Total Footprints/Views
TheTheologiansCafe asked for a way to display your Total Footprints/Views in your profile module, and it is now our #1 Idea. We’ll work on it! It’s a bit tricky to do this, so we’ll have to brainstorm ways over the holidays.
Datingish and Revelife off of the front page
Antisoccermom asked that we promote our Group Blogs less and promote Xanga sites more. We made some changes (and have more planned) to do just that:
- We just took out a column of buttons promoting our group blogs from the frontpage. Take a gander over here: http://www.xanga.com
- We’re looking into moving up the Top Blog module a bit. We’d have to move around the search field and the featured question, so we’re brainstorming.
- We are also trying to increase the number of Xanga posts we feature on the frontpage every day! Our goal is to feature at least four every day. Please help us by voting and submitting posts for the frontpage!
Hopefully the increase in featured posts are helping you guys find more Xanga blogs to read and comment on!
Author Modules on Group Blog pages
bluedreamer85 suggested we add “a type of module where it displays the picture of the Blogger.”
We just did that – you can see an example here! We’ll be adding support for that for all new group blog posts starting next week. Bluedream85 also suggested we find ways to drive more traffic to the original author. We are looking into ways to do that!
Option to Disable “Subscribe to Get Updates From this Site” Popup
We disabled this. If we do bring it back, we’ll add an option to disable it.
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We’re going through all the Ideas, and doing our best to prioritize! Some of them are relatively easy to do (Recommendation with Reason, Make Links in Pulse clickable) while others are a lot harder (“Save” posts for viewing later, Search your Own Site).
But we’ll be going through all of them! We are making a big investment in making Xanga better… and not just in the ways that we want over here at Xanga HQ, but focusing on the Ideas that you guys submit and vote on. Speaking of which, I would also love to see ways that people could vote “No” on ideas (you’ve convinced me, Moniet) and comment on Ideas as well. If you’re interested, please vote for those features as well!
We are engaged in an unusual experiment here: bringing democracy to an online website, by allowing everyone to submit and vote on what features you’d like built. Thanks to everyone who is participating! We are working hard over here to bring your Ideas to life
. Let us know what you think…John
Comments (77)
If I never see any of that batshit loony revelife posts on the front page again, that’d be spectacular…though occasionally they’re a good laugh.
Me, I’m just wondering when protected posts will show up in the universal inbox.
Always nice to see progress…
This is GREAT! Keep up the amazing work guys!
Great job.
Awesome!
that’s a lot of progress going on. thanks a bunch.
Good job guys!!
+1
Great work thus far. You guys do a great job! Hooray for the Xanga team!
This is exactly why Xanga is the BEST blogging site out there. Great job, guys!
John, Thank you for not only listening to the xangans speaking out, but implementing their great ideas as well. THANK YOU! I believe xanga is on its way to a stronger and more united front. Can you feel the good buzz in the air? I can and I havent felt that in years.
Although I thank you for naming me in this post, I simply want to thank the voters, who made it happen. Who came to me with an idea, and were able to mobilize together and make it a reality.
you guys are awesome.
Things are going great, that’s what I think.
Hurrays.
Keep up the good work.
These are some pretty good ideas. Though, I think one neat feature would be making me the KING of xanga… I mean, just a thought…
@Jonathan - Please add it to the ideas system
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I make fun of ish sites but I like them, the blogs are fun to read and I think it was a good way for you to target advertisements. You take a lot of crap about them and respond with integrity. <3
thanks guys!!
this is why i love xanga
you actually listen to us!
you guys rock!
YEAH!
Except I like the “pop up”. Makes it easier on me.
@Drakonskyr - Yeah I want that too. Vote for it.
http://www.xanga.com/ideas/57/protectedpostingonuniversalinbox.html
yay! =] thanks guys.
That’s just great!
thanks guys!
I’ve been pimping some ideas myself.
Thanks for all the work that you are doing. If you need an extra set of hands/intern, etc. say the word and my resume will be in your inbox.
P.S. The front page looks better without the “ish” sites on top of the page, but they are still there for the webspiders to pick up.
thanks again – i’m so happy about that back arrow nav on pulse comments bug fix. who ever fixed it is my unsung hero. was it a .js fix?
As we learned from W, democracy ends terrorism.
It looks great so far. Here’s an idea. Put the featured question at the top on the main column, where that box is now that still rotates through featured posts from OTHER SITES. That’s what doesn’t belong as the centerpiece of XANGA. Put the relatively unintrusive XANGA SEARCH box either above or below that (Personally I’d go with above, but I don’t think it will make that much difference). Then you can put the TOP BLOGS where the FEATURED QUESTION is now. Leave the FEATURED BLOGS where they are. THIS is what focusing on XANGA BLOGS is all about. I realize that you want to connect Xanga to the other sites somehow … actually the BUTTONS would be better than FEATURING POSTS from them so prominently. Maybe bring the buttons back, but make them SMALLER and less intrusive. You’ve made a good start, but I think you kind of missed the point of the idea. And as for the thing about driving traffic to the original author on the featured posts for the -ish sites. That should be fairly simple. Make the “comment” button link to the original post instead of the sister blog comments. That’s what happens here on Xanga; if you get featured YOU get the comments NOT XANGA. Why did you make it different for the -ish sites?
I think you guys are WONDERFUL! But then you know that…
You guys rock.
Awesome!!!
thank you!
I’m enjoying this. You guys are great.
As long as you fix those bugs and increase traffic flow to other Xangans other than Top Blogs hoggers, then I am a happy man.
Thank you for fixing my idea first! It’s a great Christmas gift to not have to deal with that “subscribe to” popup. I was even able to put my personal URL that I have forwarded to my Xanga on all of my Christmas cards. Of course if people want to set up a blog, they will. But now they won’t have to deal with that deceptive “Subscribe to this blog” popup that really didn’t subscribe you to that blog!
There has to be a better way of merging Ideas other than locking them and directing voters to a new link. It’s inefficient and then you lose the votes that went to the locked Idea. For instance, I posted the “commenting on Ideas” Idea way before the one you linked was posted, and there is at least one other similar Idea floating around, and all these Ideas have over 10 votes right now. If you just lock the ones with the fewest votes, the remaining one would be on the third or fourth page of Top Ideas, but if you merged their votes together it would be on the first or second page.
this is great. you guys are the bomb!
@Drakonskyr - I hope I don’t see any of your posts on the front page either, because I might puke.
Great job so far, keep up the good work!
it’s almost like you read my mind….scary…
(but keep it up…you’ll be fried like me…lol)
Y’all are doing a great job!!
I really hope you will consider this idea conceived by Dare2BDiferentt and me.
http://www.xanga.com/ideas/286/ratingslock.html
Ratings Lock would allow a user to lock out sites with an adult rating- D and up or EX alone.
Though I would like to keep EX-rated sites from looking over my blog, the concern here is for those under 18. It’s fair to say that you can block someone with an adult blog if they creep around your site… but that’s only after they’ve creeped around your site and you’ve caught them doing it.
People under 18 shouldn’t have to put up with possible pornographers- or worse- checking out their blogs and pictures.
I’m really surprised and impressed by the turnout. It’s great to see so many people getting involved, and it’s even greater to see the Xanga Team carrying out the majority’s wishes.
This is by far the best idea. Keep up the awesome job.
This is really a fantastic thing.
We’ve been responding with “staff comments” like crazy, but thought a more public response might be useful.
is that so….
Thank you!
This was a great idea.
I think it’s great that you’re being so responsive. I have to say the pulse thing was really annoying (more to the pulsers than to me obviously, but still).
I am still thinking of some more ideas
thanks so much!
you guys are awesome : )
I love it!
Thank you guys so much!
Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the option to disable the subscribe/updates pop-ups from the sites!
Too many cooks spoil the pot. Be careful with these ideas.
You guys are awesome.
Well it would be great if I could comment and be logged in for it..
When is that going to be fixed?
Thanks so much for all that you do for us … we truly do appreciate it.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2009!
Jennelle
You guys are wonderful.
Hi. I got no idea where to email you guys. So I’m trying my luck here.
My blogname is Lenieee. I got this bug for about a week or so. Somehow, i can’t blog in my blog, as the online status of my blog states another user’s name which is my one of my blog reader & I just couldn’t sign out. I’m not sure whether are you able to understand my question. But I hope you can help me out with it, as I need to blog urgently.
Thanks in advance.
Do email me @ lenieee@gmail.com for any further verifications. Thanks so much!
Um, hi. I would just like to ask you to please remove a person from Xanga. Her site would be: sexy_kunoichi_sakuraxoxo.
Now, before you even say anything about how this seems a bit extreme, I have something to say that probably might change your mind.
Courtney (the owner of that site) has been harrassing a certain friend of mine ever since Feb. of this year (K is the girl’s name). She has been repeatedly stalking my friend (K), and harrassing her site. And it’s not only her! Courtney has been trying to have sex over the internet (in words, not webcam or anything – at least I hope not) with other roleplayers here. She was repeatedly making other sites, posing as different people, continuously trying to have cyber sex with them.
It got out of hand.
Now, Courtney has taken this little battle to the extreme. She is making entry’s about K, and me, and Julia (another victim of this unusual girl) about how much we suck. She’s accusing us of doing this and that without any single bit of evidence. She has been continuously flamming Julia and K, and looking through OTHER peoples comments who talk to K, JUST for any bit of information she can get.
I only returned to Xanga about a week ago, and now, I have been pulled into this drama, all because I was trying to stand up for my friend. She has been leaving flamming comments on my site (Vile_Tactics & SavageNymph_x) about me.
I do not want to continue on with all of this, however, I will give you K’s site. She has three entries (the one at the very bottom containing most of the lawbreaking deeds that Courtney has committed against Xanga’s rules) about this. And I think that Courtney should be removed from Xanga all together.
We have reported her, but reporting someone does take a long time. I will not stand here (more like sit on a chair looking at my laptop – but you understand) and watch this girl continue to bash my two friends.
You may look through my comments (Vile_Tactics and SavageNymph_x [SavageNymph_x has most of the flamming comments she has sent towards me, because this site was just created today]) for further evidence, as well as K’s site. I think she won’t mind, since she wants her out of here as much as I do. K’s site is XxCursed_xAvenger.
K does have her blocked, which seems like the reasonable thing to do, and so do I, but these acts just continue. K, Julia, and myself, along with many other people who have been affected by Courtney, would like it if you have her banned from Xanga; or whatever you do.
Please, look over this, and visit K’s site along with Courtney’s (sexy_kunoichi_sakuraxoxo). You will find more than enough evidence to remove her from Xanga. Thank you for your time. (:
I think your xanga ideas is a terrific idea, top notch.
I have a question I hope you will answer, a copy of a comment left in my blog which is not a blog that gets a lot of visitors. The comment copied and pasted here exact except for the BOLD:
hey!! saw your site on http://main.xanga.com/NewlyUpdated.aspx nice xanga
Posted 12/21/2008 5:22 PM by FreeStuffCrazy – delete – block user – reply
I went to the front page to look and I see no links for NewlyUpdated at least nothing titled in that way and I did a lot of study. The link in my comments is not live but I have a mistrust of it and the person who posted it (I have never seen that person in my site, ever). Can you give me a hint as to the links safety if it were live or if someone copied and pasted it into their browser???? As I said, I found NADA on the front page listing my site and I used a fine tooth comb. It would be very nice but I am not living in a fantasy world but I do live in a cautious one.
I have a suggestion. Not sure where to send it but if not here please let me know where. But I would really like to axcess to control what is in my universal inbox. I may have people that added me as a friend b/c they enjoy reading my blogs but I don’t want to see their 30 different pulses throughout the day and 5 pointless blogs if I don’t have too. With all the clutter I miss out on the information from the people that I do enjoy reading. Is there a way the xanga wizard can allow us to check to show a friends information feed in our inbox? Also, is there a better way to show when we’ve been tagged to a blog other than by email? That would be helpful too. Oh, and me and xanga pals would love an Obama mini!!! That would be great. It does’t even have to be his face, it can say Yes We Can…we’ll get the point
Thanks much!
I’m glad to hear you all are really listening to some of the ideas. Thanks for all the great work.
I’ve been away from Xanga for a few days, so this whole ordeal is new to me. But I 100% support it and think that it’s wonderful that you’re opening up the drawing board to the entire community. I <3 Xanga.
we’re working you guys over the holiday? you must love us :]
the footprint idea sounds awesome
when asking a featured quetions try to ask quetions which are more global and is related to current affairs
Thank you!
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I actually REALLY like the ish sites, especially datingish, and lovelyish, though I find them very confusing since it’s not on the same site as xanga but a completely different site. I almost thought I was on xanga but I realized I wan’t. It confused me for a bout 40 minutes.
But anyway i reallly love wht you guys are doing and I love how you guys are taking our ideas into consideration. You guys are the best!!
@john - What’s going to be funny is if people actually vote for him.
Here’s two ideas:
1. Get rid of the ish sites. They are the first ruination of xanga.
2. Do away with the commenting directly from the comments left on your blog. It makes people lazy and they aren’t cross pollinating. that’s the second ruination of xanga.
wow you guys are fantastic!
Keep up the fantastic work.
Find another name for unfriending someone. That is rude. Why let them know you are unsubscribing. I unsubscribe a lot of times just because people are not active or we don’t have simular interests. I also have way too many subscribed to me so I can’t keep up. Anyway lots of hurt feelings already about this BAD IDEA. It is almost as bad as having to block someone to unsubscribe which I hate. It never worked about half the time anyway so that is that. Judi