Implementation of Special Announcements Upon Log-in

[pzeke]

Just like the title says. There should be a system implemented on the website that causes an announcement to pop up whenever users log in, specifically during special occasion, like whenever there are polls taking place on the forums that intend to make any type of change to the website. Based on the various polls that have taken place on the forums in the past that concern the Style Guide, the participation was abysmally low and in no way representative of the number of users the website as a whole actually has. The announcement would be a way to not only bring attention to the users, but also stir interest in the goings-on of the website they're using, the forums themselves, and to also help diversify the discussion and vote results. I think it would be great to see other people joining the fold and voicing their opinions, and believe what I'm proposing is simple enough to help on this front; after all, VGCollect isn't just the few of us that keep participating on the forums.

EDIT: If this has already been suggested, then move along...

[ferraroso]

Sure. Why not?
As soon as “disable all pop-ups” continues being the website’s default setting…

[jason]

Just like the title says. There should be a system implemented on the website that causes an announcement to pop up whenever users log in, specifically during special occasion, like whenever there are polls taking place on the forums that intend to make any type of change to the website. Based on the various polls that have taken place on the forums in the past that concern the Style Guide, the participation was abysmally low and in no way representative of the number of users the website as a whole actually has. The announcement would be a way to not only bring attention to the users, but also stir interest in the goings-on of the website they're using, the forums themselves, and to also help diversify the discussion and vote results. I think it would be great to see other people joining the fold and voicing their opinions, and believe what I'm proposing is simple enough to help on this front; after all, VGCollect isn't just the few of us that keep participating on the forums.

EDIT: If this has already been suggested, then move along...

Thank you for the suggestion!

[dhaabi]

I'd love to see more user input. I created mockups for a system like this about two years ago.

[pzeke]

Sure. Why not?
As soon as “disable all pop-ups” continues being the website’s default setting…

I'm sure it could be made in a way that bypasses that, akin to how some websites and forums tend to have the option of blocking certain emails/messages except those sent by staff members.

I'd love to see more user input. I created mockups for a system like this about two years ago.

I'm not going to lie, I literally meant an actual "pop-up" given the user will undoubtedly have to see it. But your mockup is definitely another way to go. I would put it under "Activity Feed", though.

[dhaabi]

I'd love to see more user input. I created mockups for a system like this about two years ago.

I'm not going to lie, I literally meant an actual "pop-up" given the user will undoubtedly have to see it. But your mockup is definitely another way to. I would put it under "Activity Feed", though.

There are plenty of ways such a system could be designed. I only created two simple mockups which would be easy to implement to get the idea across when I introduced it to staff. Another alternative different to some kind of homepage alert is a PM sent out en masse.

[pzeke]

[...] Another alternative different to some kind of homepage alert is a PM sent out en masse.

Private messaging is cool and all, but the reason I brought this up is because not every individual using this website seems to bother with the forums much, so sending a PM will go unnoticed given they most likely won't even heed the message icon when it turns yellow. Having them see the announcement first thing when they log in to their account I think would do a better job at grabbing their attention.

[telly]

I've wanted something like this for a long time. Specifically a notification system when an item in your collection gets edited, like what's in place at Discogs.

[pacgamer89]

A lot of people would leave if that was shoved down peoples throat.

[pzeke]

A lot of people would leave if that was shoved down peoples throat.

That's not exactly the intention, my take would be that the pop-up would disappear after a set amount of time, like maybe within 5–8secs, maybe less; it's not like there's going to be an announcement on the daily, it would be mainly reserved for highly important events where the announcement's sole purpose is to grab the user's attention. If the idea of a "pop-up" is what bothers you, the mockup dhaabi linked to wouldn't be intrusive in the slightest, so I honestly don't see the problem.

Whatever option were to be implemented, I'm certain it could be made in a way so that users like you who seemingly don't care about the well-being of the website they're using could just tick a box to disable the notifications. Easy street; nothing to it.

[tripredacus]

I hate pop-ups, even more than emojis.

[pzeke]

I hate pop-ups, even more than emojis.

I used the word "pop-up", but—I think it goes without saying—that it doesn't even have to be one in the literal sense of the word; it could be as simple as having something like a word balloon saying "Important!" that popsappears next to the PM icon whenever the user logs in and has a message that concerns the website. There are plenty of alternatives, the mockup dhaabi linked to being a rather nice, non-intrusive way of going about it.