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Private Message system completely revamped

Posted by Kim on February 2, 2014, 11:53am

rprserver_getwell_small.pngGood morning fellow RPers! It is with great pride that I get to announce our old private message system has been completely replaced by a fancy new version.

Many of the old bugs are squashed, the layout is cleaner and easier to use, replies are grouped into threads so you don't have to sift through dozens of random PMs to follow the thread of a conversation or a RP.

Three years ago, when we added private messaging to the site, I started keeping tabs on whether or not a message was sent in response to another message. This meant that today, I was able to retro-actively combine messages that were sent as replies into conversations (providing that the recipient list did not change). Some of you will open your inbox today to find conversations consisting of hundreds or even thousands of messages, explosions of old RP posts suddenly made sense of again.

Although this alone has been a major leap forward in terms of modern conveniences and things not looking such a mess, this update is also very important because it lays groundwork for other important features like searching, dice rolling in private messages, and yes, even private chat.


I'll be puttering around fine-tuning things for the rest of the day. Please don't hesitate to send a bug report if you find something that seems off to you!

Things to keep in mind as you get used to the new system

Some stuff got moved around or resurrected
You might notice some things in your inbox that you could have sworn were deleted or placed in a different folder. Since we've gone from individual messages to conversations, if some of the messages in a conversation were deleted and others weren't, or half of them were put into one folder and the other half were in your inbox, things could have been bounced around like crazy during the conversion process. In most cases, conversations will end up in whatever folder the last message in the conversation was placed into.

What happened to sent messages?
You'll also notice that the "Sent messages" section is gone completely, as we now no longer distinguish between sent and received messages. There are only messages. However, in an attempt to prevent your inbox from exploding with every message you ever sent, anything you sent that did not receive a reply has been moved into your "archived" messages folder.

If you put a conversation into a folder, it will stay there
Meaning that if a new message is added to a filed conversation, it won't bounce the conversation into the inbox -- it will just be added to the conversation that is still in your folder.

Comments

Kim

February 26, 2014
12:23pm

Sooo happy to hear it! :D I'm loving it too, it's making life so much better.

PenGryphon2007

February 23, 2014
8:13pm

Just want to say that I am really, really loving the new PM system. It makes RPing through PM so much easier! Thanks, Kim! :D

Fiaryn

February 9, 2014
6:32pm

*breathes in deeply* ThankYouThankYouThankYouThankYouTHANKYOU! ;D

Lizard

February 3, 2014
10:28pm

I was delighted to notice this just a little bit ago! I see that a private message sent by one individual to two people also has shared replies so that you don't have to forward anything, either! It will make private roleplay between multiple people very easy, I think.

Kim

February 2, 2014
11:22pm

That's a good comment, Rhygar. I will think on that. :)

Thylonicus

February 2, 2014
10:04pm

I really like the new system, save for that every time there's a new message in a "conversation", it gets bumped to my in-box even after I save it to the archives. I actually like that when it's a reply I receive, but this also happens when I send a reply.

It's not a "bug", I don't think, and it's certainly nothing "bad". I'm just one of those who like to keep my in-box nice and clean--which is to say, empty. Again, I don't think it's a "bad" thing, but a comparatively little--perhaps even niggling--detail that keeps me from squeeing quite as loudly about it. Only a few decibels lower. ;)

Libertine

February 2, 2014
6:26pm

This is SUPREMELY GLORIOUS AND I LOVE IT FOREVER.
Great job, and thank you <3 !

Moki

February 2, 2014
3:41pm

Oh man, I like this SO MUCH BETTER!

Terel

February 2, 2014
3:19pm

*Bows down in abject worship*

THANK YOU!!!

You have no idea how many times I've had to trawl through twenty or thirty pages of PMs trying to find a little bit of info from a previous RP message so I don't mess up my continuity, or to find a RP that had fallen dormant due to university work/internet outages/etc

This is just... a god-send. I can't wait for these other features! Keep up the great work Kim. It's things like this, in addition to the people on here, that have kept me in the RPR. It's always getting better.

Sundrop

February 2, 2014
1:40pm

Easier to use, which is good!:D

PenGryphon2007

February 2, 2014
1:15pm

I love it!!! Thanks, Kim! And can't wait to se the next features either!

Kim

February 2, 2014
12:53pm

Hey guys, I've already pushed out a few changes in the last hour, mostly having to do with folders. If you had an issue with moving things between folders previously, give it another try. :)

ForsakenAngel

February 2, 2014
12:33pm

Looooove it!!! :D It's absolutly amazing!

December

February 2, 2014
12:31pm

AWESOME! This system is perfect. Great job!

Copper_Dragon

February 2, 2014
12:20pm

This is wonderful and gloriously clean and classy! *high-fives Kim*

Pirate

February 2, 2014
12:13pm

All of my yes! This is looking so convenient! I love it! Fantastic job as always! :D

TornBySanity

February 2, 2014
12:12pm

Totally love this new set up thanks so much Kim!

CelestinaGrey

February 2, 2014
12:03pm

This is so fantastic!! :D Thank you so much Kim, it is absolutely wonderful!! :D
I can't wait for private chat, but this is absolutely fantastic!!

Sanne

February 2, 2014
12:01pm

I love love love love LOVE the new system so much! I already cleaned out 30+ pages worth of messages that I didn't need anymore. I can't wait to see it completely fine tuned with even more features!

My favorite thing has got to be Server sent messages. IT'S SO ADORABLE.

Loki

February 2, 2014
11:56am

This update is awesome! :D Love it, it looks so much cleaner! <3