[RFC|Merged] notification box

These requests for comments/change have lead to an implemented feature that has been successfully merged into the 3.1/Ascraeus branch. Everything listed in this forum will be available in phpBB 3.1.
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Vinny
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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by Vinny »

callumacrae wrote:Please don't abuse favicon like that! Title, if anything.
This. I like something similar to facebook in the title bar: simple.
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Senky
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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by Senky »

Vinny wrote:...I like something similar to facebook in the title bar: simple.
+1

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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by keith10456 »

Pony99CA wrote:
EXreaction wrote:Screenshot of how it looks now (it obviously needs a lot of work on the style yet).

I'm also keeping a done/to-do list in the PR: https://github.com/phpbb/phpbb3/pull/992
What happens if lots of notifications are listed there (enough to fill the screen)? Will the list scroll?

Also, I'd like the list to be categorized by notification type, with fly-out menus giving links to items of that category. For example:

Code: Select all

5 new private messages    > | From User 1
7 new subsciption updates   | From User 2
0 new bookmark updates      | From User 3
                            | From User 4
                            | From User 5
I think that keeping different notification types separate is a good thing. Categorization would also help mitigate the lengthy list problem somewhat (but obviously not entirely -- one category's notifications could more than fill the screen).

With hooks, MODs could add their own categories to the list and notifications to those categories (like *Daniel suggested).

Steve
+1

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imkingdavid
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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by imkingdavid »

IMO a Facebook-style notification dropdown would be sufficient. But I do agree that extensions should be able to add notification types.

Should the "(X new private messages, X unread private messages)" link be removed when this is added? If not, it will take up extra space, but if so it will require more clicks to access the inbox.
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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by keith10456 »

I - and I think members - appreciate the easy access to private messages so I think the "X new private messages" link should remain.

However, I don't think the "X unread private messages" link is needed in the header. That info can (should) be obtained once you access your private messages.

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Pony99CA
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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by Pony99CA »

keith10456 wrote:I - and I think members - appreciate the easy access to private messages so I think the "X new private messages" link should remain.

However, I don't think the "X unread private messages" link is needed in the header. That info can (should) be obtained once you access your private messages.
I think almost the opposite. :) Every new PM is an unread message, so if I could only pick one count to see, I'd pick the unread count. That reminds me that I haven't read some PMs. If only new messages are shown, and there are no new messages, there's no reminder about the unread PMs.

Or you could change the display to something like: (Messages: 0 new, 5 unread) or keep one count in the header and list the other in the notifications menu.

If you use my fly-out menu suggestion, you can also see who the new or unread PMs are from and what the subject is without having to go to the Inbox at all. (You might be able to something similar with the "Facebook-style" icons -- hovering over the icons could display the menu of items there.)

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EXreaction
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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by EXreaction »

I am not sure about categorization of notifications on the fly-out menu, I think that might be too much for something that should be simple. A separate page can show the history and be more sortable.

I'm not sure how facebook or any other site with notifications does it if you have a lot of unread notifications, could someone maybe comment on that? Do they all show up or what?

The private messages notification would probably be removed, there is really no reason for it if you have notifications.

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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by Meis2M »

very good +1

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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by MichaelC »

EXreaction wrote:I am not sure about categorization of notifications on the fly-out menu, I think that might be too much for something that should be simple. A separate page can show the history and be more sortable.

I'm not sure how facebook or any other site with notifications does it if you have a lot of unread notifications, could someone maybe comment on that? Do they all show up or what?

The private messages notification would probably be removed, there is really no reason for it if you have notifications.
A certain amount show up on a scroll bar, then if it goes past around 20 then it shows a link to a page of all your notifications. XF does the saem

As for PMs, I'd say keep them separate as PMs and Alerts are different.

Will the number of alerts/PMs automatically update using AJAX or does it need a page load?
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imkingdavid
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Re: [RFC] notification box

Post by imkingdavid »

AFAIK, PMs generate an "alert"/"notification", so I actually don't see the need for the unread count. I was simply wondering if we should remove the link to the inbox from the index.

@EXreaction: If you don't have one, I recommend getting a Facebook just to see its notifications interface for ideas. Their system is set up where they have a jQuery dropdown in the header that lists the last 5 notifications. Each div is a link to the main notification's URL, and contains the avatar and name of the person who sent the notification, as well as the linked name of some other people affected by the action (i.e. "Billy also replied to Johnnie's image" - in this case, Billy and Johnnie are links to their respective profiles, and image and the div itself link to the image).

They have a "See All" link at the end of the 5 notification list that goes to a notifications page (https://www.facebook.com/notifications). That page has a list of the most recent notifications but is very limited. It only shows them from the past 7 days (broken up by day), and has no options for sort or filter. It does have an RSS link (it would be a very nice addition to give each user an RSS of their notifications), as well as a link to their notification settings page (i.e. what can and cannot send notifications). IMO we should have a similar system set up to limit each notification type.

Also, I agree with the dynamic favicon idea. GMail and (iirc) Facebook, among others, do this and I find it extremely helpful. It could be optional for people who agree with callumacrae. And I know this would be added at the end, but having the notifications list and favicon automatically update (i.e. it checks every 30 seconds or something for new notifications).
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