Post your DU Holidays Wishlist here

[Elad]

Here's how it works... use this thread to post about a feature you'd most like to see on DU. You can post more than one request, but please limit your requests to no more than 3. You may comment on other people's requests, but please avoid negative "trashing" of others' ideas. The more detail you provide, the better.

On Saturday or Sunday (20th or 21st), I'll lock this thread, and the Admins will pick 10 requests off of this Wishlist. We'll open a poll, and everyone can vote on which features out of the 10 they like the most. The poll will run at least through midnight on Monday night.

The top 2, or possibly 3, choices win, and I will program them into DU before the New Year (or soon thereafter, depending on how complicated the features get).

Enjoy. :)

[demnan]

1. I'd like to know

how many posts I have. (Please bring back the post counts).

And I'd like everyone to have a very Merry Christmas.

Thanks :loveya:

[Elad]

2. The post counts are all available

if you click on a profile.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user_profiles&u_id=121138

[7th_Sephiroth]

234. let us swear again

in our initial posts

[Maeve]

235. Already granted! Just not in the subject line

:hippie:

[DS1]

3. Search Engine operation

A page that remembers the criteria in the drop downs when posting results would be nice. It's a small thing, but I'm so used to other engines all over the net that do it, I frequently forget to change the time frame to something other than 'last 24 hours' for example.

[Jonte_1979]

4. *Hops into Elad's lap*

I wish there was a way to tell if some one has been banned without having to check his profile.

Happy holidays, admins!

[arwalden]

18. Or When They've Been Given A Time-Out....

[RandomUser]

41. I second this

It will let us know not to expect a reply from them anytime soon.

I'm not sure about the timeout thing (though an argument can be made), but definitely the banned thing.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

78. I love ya Allen but I would NOT like to know that

It's one thing for DU to enforce the rules but making it known turns it into a public flogging rather than rule enforcement, which I think will only create more incivility, not less.

on edit: I hope this post only underscores my concern, as it was not my intent to trash Allen's idea..only to present the negative consequence of it.

[liberalhistorian]

143. I fully agree,

I think there's far too much potential for negative consequences with that idea. Maybe if they've gone beyond a certain number of time-outs?

This is also not meant to trash your idea, only to point out the possibility for abuse of it. There are people on here who would think nothing of piling on someone who's had a time-out, or a lot of them.

[bearfartinthewoods]

206. i'm a member of a very small, hobby related forum

you wouldn't think such a forum would get heated but ...oh brudder...does it ever.

the admin started putting icons next to people's ids that corresponded to the different stages of the game "hangman".
you know, as the game progresses the stick figure, gallows and noose are added as indication of the number of violations.

it didn't help AT ALL. the board got to be more about the status of various members than about the subject at hand.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

218. That's my point

It will increase ad hominem attacks, not quell them. I don't think AR was requesting this as a mean spirited thing, it's just it feeds the meanspiritedness of some.

[Booberdawg]

177. That would be good to have a different icon for time-outs

It might also be an extra incentive to think twice about racking up all the personal attacks to begin with.

[Robin Hood]

181. Susan Lucci is a Freeper.

Just thought that you should know.

[greatauntoftriplets]

43. I third this idea.

[TahitiNut]

55. Once upon a time ...

... I suggested that a cartoonish (no inscription) tombstone be used as the avatar for banned posters, and their sigs be deleted. Since changes to either/both the avatar and sig are 'grandfathered' for all posts, this would be seen for any post the individual made. Thus, I subscribe to this request.

[SoCalDem]

68. I have wished for this too..

Instead of the little head, a tiny tombstone :).. That way people can readily see that they are "gone" and hopefully , thirty more responses to a "dead person" will not ensue..

[ZenLefty]

92. I three have wished for this

Just a little tombstone where the profile would appear.

[curse10]

132. Another vote for this

that'd be wonderful

[newyawker99]

243. Another vote for this.

A little icon next to the name would be helpful.

[RandomUser]

101. Good point

That way people can readily see that they are "gone" and hopefully , thirty more responses to a "dead person" will not ensue..

I agree with this.

[JohnLocke]

138. Excellent Point. I third the motion.

[LWolf]

161. Good idea.

Think of all the time and space saved.

[goobergunch]

248. I tenth this motion. (n/t)

[VolcanoJen]

220. I'm with Jonte! A tombstone replacing the profile icon!

A little tombstone could appear right there on the post, where usually appears. Then you'd know immediately that the poster has since been banned, before alerting or firing off a heated response.

A cute, little, tiny tombstone. Or better yet, a picture of Newt Gingrich, or Orrin Hatch, or something... :+

[terrya]

5. An archives for forum topics. eom

[LynneSin]

6. A new Tee-shirt for Elad and a Bush Clock

Or was it EarlG that had the ripped tee-shirt.

You can find the Bush Clock coding here:

http://bushclock.lose.com/

[never cry wolf]

7. An easier way to flip between forums

I flip between the lounge, GD and LBN alot and hit a few others as well. Each time I have to go back to the latest page and then pick the forum. It would be nice to be able to just flip from one forum into another.

(sheesh, getting lazy in this digital age, huh?)

[RandomUser]

12. Use the box at the bottom right of the page

On the bottom right of the page, you'll see a box where you can click for a dropdown window and see forum listings. Pick your forum from the drop down window and go.

Looks like Elad is prescient! :)

[never cry wolf]

47. Thanks

I am an admitted DUaholic but never noticed this feature before.

[RandomUser]

109. NP

I learn new stuff I didn't know about DU all the time.

[JohnnyAmerica]

121. The old DU had this feature.....

but it was better because you did not have to click "Go". You just picked the forum from the dropdown list. I'd like to see that again.

[prolesunited]

8. You guys are awesome!

:loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

Perhaps I'll think of something later. Just wanted you to know that.

[RogueTrooper]

9. A spellchecker for the posting page

It would be handy.

[MuseRider]

25. Second that!

[Melsky]

86. You can get a free spellchecker for explorer

www.iespell.com

It's very fast and easy to use, and has saved me from looking like a moran on many occasions.

[welshTerrier2]

118. Merriam-Webster Online

this is what i use ... it's more than just spell checking ... with the definition, it also helps you ensure you're using a word correctly ...

here's the url: http://www.m-w.com/

[rbnyc]

130. That's a good one! (nt)

[SoCalDem]

131. Not so sure it would work entirely..

You know what eye mien ..sometimes words look like they are spelled correctly to spellckecker, when they really are knot..Shirley ewe do,:)

[chiburb]

238. Yes!!!!! n/t

.

[Kolesar]

10. A prominent icon to get to the old, pre-July 2003, DU1 pages

It could be on the "latest" page or the lobby, or even the search page. :-)

[KoKo]

23. Agree, Spike, that would be nice a ready link to old DU. n/t

n/t

[cally]

11. Happy holidays

I would love to search the old DU.

[curse10]

133. Me too!

Searching the old archives can come in handy :-)

[THUNDER HANDS]

13. I'd like a sub-forum for the lounge please

Broken up into either a sub category for

(a) relationships, love, lust, sex, ect.

(b) sports

or

(c) tupperwear

but mostly (a) or (b) :D

[Renew Deal]

14. also Yaks and Thongs

[RandomUser]

37. Yaks wearing Thongs?

or is that Thongs wearing Yaks? :)

[JohnLocke]

139. Make I/P it's Own Forum, Please!

Spell check for posts
A "quote" button that formats a previous person’s posts easily (thanks to TrogL for this idea)
And, my favorite … takes the I/P Board out of Foreign Affairs! This would be very helpful in cutting down click-throughs!

Thanks for this thread Admins/Mods! Your rock!
:toast: :toast: :toast:

[linazelle]

15. Archiving too soon makes it difficult to find threads even within

24 hours. The other day I spent hours trying to find a thread I read at work. When I went to the archives, I couldn't remember any keyword to conduct a search...

I wish that I had the option to go back page by page like the old DU format allowed, then maybe I'd have found the thread.

So...could you please reinstate that option?

[felonious thunk]

16. A notification system

That lets you know if someone has replied directly to one of your comments in a thread. Programming-wise, I understand that might be cumbersome for the original poster, so maybe no notifications to the original poster, but it would be nice to know if I've commented on some thread when another user replies directly to my comments.

[Shrek]

22. I like this one too.

I've been wanting to suggest something like this for quite a while.

Thanks.

[RandomUser]

28. Can we have something like the CCN system?

On the CCN (www.forclark.com), you can click to check your comments, and it will show a list of your most recent comments (the first few words of a comment, with link) and the number of direct replies.

Elad, if you can, could you check out the system there and see if you can do something similar here? Thanks. I would love to be able to just click and know immediately if anyone has directly replied to a comment I made.

[bain_sidhe]

152. Second for the "my posts" option

most of the time I use search, it's to find a thread I posted in a day or two ago, and can't find again. And the programming's mostly done - it's really just a search for the username in the author field... (maybe limit it to a week, to conserve resources). Just need to make a button or something that pulls the username from the cookie and inserts the "author field" (and maybe time) parameters.

[Kathleen04]

45. I think that this is a great idea.. n/t

[Heddi]

74. They do it at LiveJournal

If you post a thread, you'll get an email notification when anyone responds to your thread.

If someone responds to someone else in the thread, THAT person (the one who was responded to) would get a notification--the original poster would not.

LJ also allows you the ability to turn off email notifications if you don't want to be emailed when you get a reply.

I find it fun for my LJ---I don't have to continuously read my posts and the posts of my friends to see if anyone's replied to me :)

[welshTerrier2]

122. FWIW

i would not like the email notification feature ... it would generate way too much email traffic ...

i'd much rather see some type of visual cue on the forum index page ...

just my 2 cents ...

[Heddi]

147. but you could turn off the email

alert if you so wanted.

For someone like me, who posts very little, I think it would be helpful to see which of my posts have gotten replies, etc.

Just a suggestion :)

[Robin Hood]

183. I mentioned this like a year ago, but everyone was against it.

I think that it would be a tremendous time saver, and for those that like to surf through old pages to see if someone replied to your post, you can just not enter your email address in that feature. LJ uses this feature and it is wonderful.

I think that they are using BLM.

[RandomUser]

192. I prefer the CCN or FR method than the LiveJournal emailing

If you start a thread and get 100 direct replies, you would recieve 100 emails under LiveJournal?

On Clark's Blog (and FR, as described by others in this thread, I don't know b/c I don't troll there), you can click on a "my comments" feature and it will list your most recent comments. It shows the first few words of each comment as a link that you can click to take you to the thread with that comment. Next to each comment is a number showing the number of direct replies made to your comment. Indirect replies -- replies made to people replying to you -- aren't counted.

Another poster in this thread has remarked that part of this feature is is already programmed, in that you can already search by author. The listing of your comments is an extension of this programming. The only addition would be to show how many people have directly replied to a comment.

[Bertha Venation]

81. hear, hear!

That would be a great addition.

Thanks, EarlG, Elad & Skinner.

[welshTerrier2]

120. me too ...

i hadn't read your post and posted this same idea below ...

sounds like a tricky thing to program ... but it really would be a great feature ...

my idea was to display some kind of symbol (or change the font or text color) on the forum index page for threads that had unread responses (i.e. unread by you) to posts you've made ...

[many a good man]

221. Put in email option in post screen

I've seen a forum where you can check a box while composing your post on whether you want to get emails to replies. Its better than all or nothing.

[qanda]

17. A feature which would allow us to view all comments

From an individual poster. I guess we can do that now through the search function, but it is a bit time consuming.

On Edit: Thanks and Happy Holidays!

[loudsue]

42. I like this one, too.....

That way you can also get to know a specific poster's philosophies and opinions about certain topics. And it seems it would help to know who the posers are before we hit the "alert" button. (Just because someone is ultra-conservative about one specific topic, that may not mean they're necessarily a "freeper". This might save the mods some time viewing "alerts".)

I'd also like it if I could hit the "back" button, and not void my most recent post or "search".

Thanks guys!! And Happy Holidays to you all!

:kick:

[Nederland]

61. Like this idea too (nt)

[newyawker99]

244. I don't know if I like this one.....

From an individual poster. I guess we can do that now through the search function, but it is a bit time consuming.

There is a possibility of abuse here. If someone wants to out someone whom they think might be a disruptor, this would be an easy way to do this. You can get this same info by searching. The DU2 search is very fast and you can have this info in seconds.

[Shrek]

19. A real-time webcam in DU Headquarters

Just because I'm nosy.

[EarlG]

51. It's not very exciting

The dancing girls only come in once a week.

[LynneSin]

54. Yes, but what about you & Skinner's weekly hot tub meetings

We'd pay to watch that!!!

[RandomUser]

107. Hmm...I think you've found

We'd pay to watch that!!!

a new fundraising idea for DU :)

[Renew Deal]

228. Actually, there are pictures...

This is a picture of EarlG, Elad, Skinner, and RimJob owner of FR cavorting in the tub.


This is a picture of the rest of the DU admins in a hot tub party. VolcanoJen is hot.

[liberalhistorian]

146. Only ONCE a week?

Sheesh, you guys need to get out more then! Oh, well, but still, seeing it only once a week is better than not at all!

[KaraokeKarlton]

20. Free search

This is the only site I have ever been a member of that doesn't allow people to search unless they donate.

Allow people to upload their own avatars would be another good idea as well as a "Who's online" feature that also allows people to hide their online status if they don't want to be seen.

[liberalhistorian]

154. I like that Who's

Online idea, a lot of other websites do it and it's really convenient.

[arcos]

197. a who's online feature would be cool...

or even a "(your favorite number here) users are online".

[Minstrel Boy]

21. An image gallery to which members can post.

It would be excellent for hosting pictures we'd like to use in sig lines, and could grow into a useful image resource.

[joefree1]

27. ... and use for customized avatars

That would be fun for us artistic folk.

Also a gallery for us DUers who don't care that Freepers might photoshop our personal image. Freepers are pretty bad with Photoshop anyway.



Oh, and how about a different colored Stars for different donation types?

Edit: Merry Yule everyone.

[DS1]

46. Yes, I'd like my own avatar, hosted on my servers

But I can understand issues about custom graphics that freepers could use which are tottaly pornographic or whatever. Perhaps a minimum post count of 5000 or so :shrug:

[eleny]

214. I'd like to use my own avatar, as well

I figure they can always be edited out by the mods as quickly as messages are deleted. Personalized avatars don't seem to cause problems elsewhere in my experience. So I hope we can have them in the future.

[bearfartinthewoods]

24. the only thing that is better about freepville is

they have a button to punch that shows all "messages to me" or something like that. it allows you to bring up any response to something you posted. i think it's a wonderful feature that is wasted on the freeps.

[RandomUser]

31. I don't troll at freeperville, but I like your description

They have this feature on the Clark blog, and I found it really useful. I wasn't aware they had something similar at FR, since I don't go there. But thanks for this description. This is exactly what I would want.

[SoCalDem]

69. That's a wish of mine too..

A place where I could click on my name and see all the threads with responses to stuff I have posted.. :)..

[blondeatlast]

95. That's a good idea.

[liberalhistorian]

148. I agree, that's a great idea.

Sometimes I get tired of having to go back to all of the threads I've either posted or posted in to see what responses there've been and that idea would be wonderful to have!

[denverbill]

26. Kick my ass if you want, but I want a 'My Comments' button.

Yes, just like at FreeRepublic.

It is so easy to miss replies to your posts, either because a thread disappears to fast and you forget about it, or because you sign off for the day and dont' remember to look again.

It would be nice to have a one click button on the main screens which would search for every reply directed at one of your posts or replies.

That is all.

[RandomUser]

33. No one's going to kick your ass

This feature has been suggested by a several people on this thread so far. I found this feature extremely useful on the Clark blog.

[bearfartinthewoods]

65. my comments...yep, that's what they called it

it's been awhile since i've been registered, i got nuked, and i forgot the name.

[Renew Deal]

227. You can do a search

under your name. That works for me.

[arwalden]

29. Force A Time Limit BETWEEN Posts For New Members

for obvious reasons.

[JohnLocke]

140. Not to trash your idea, but I think additional restrictions would...

kind of alienate new members

[arwalden]

207. Maybe A Delay Of Two Minutes...

... nothing drastic. But something that would help to prevent a FLOODING of the forums.

-- Allen

[Crewleader]

30. A visible access to the old DU easily from DU2

Thanks Elad...:hi:

[MisterP]

32. a "probation" function,

for those special people you MIGHT want to ignore, but are somewhat uncertain (not a high priority for me, though).
And maybe a default on a profile if there are no new posts within one year and there are less than 20 or 15 posts, and they don't give any explanation as to their disappearance.

[ramblin_dave]

34. On the "Latest" page

For the "Latest Discussion Threads" list: I would like to be able to filter out Lounge posts. This could be a preferences setting.

[myrna minx]

35. Spull chack? Spell chuck? I mean spell check!

:hi:

[Patriot_Spear]

38. good one. n/t

[OneTwentyoNine]

137. Get your spell checker here.....

http://www.iespell.com/

Can't splle without it....


David

[bain_sidhe]

155. I don't use IE

so it wouldn't help me...

[Sugarbleus]

184. LOL.... badly needed indeed...

[Patriot_Spear]

36. Auto response header...

Maybe a little flashing alert that tells you when your post has been responded to and where to find it.

[Killarney]

39. Username search

I'd like to be able to click on a username in a thread and be lead to a page with their last few posts.

It would be an easy way to check my last 10 or so posts, etc.

[arwalden]

40. The Ability To Hide Complete Forums Would Be Nice

[JVS]

44. Here goes #1

Cloak--- Ignore feature in reverse. You have a list of people who cannot see your posts. Prevents people from coming in and crapping all over a positive thread about your candidate and helps against trolls.

Other suggestions may come later

[newyawker99]

245. This kinda goes against what this site is all about.

The great feature of this forum is that anyone can express his/her opinion anywhere, whether it be pro or con. I would not like to see this feature. A better way to do this would be to put that person on ignore.


Just my 2 cents. :-)

[BootinUp]

48. When reading messages on a thread.... "go to next message"

A quick link to "go to next message" "go to previous message". This would be for when the page is not showing all messages.

Similarly a link for "go to next new message"

[Sugarbleus]

185. I like this one..good idea

[NashVegas]

49. Rapid Response (for later in the election year)

A temp forum devoted exclusively to information countering RW propaganda.

[Greyskye]

50. # of views counter

We had this feature for a while, and then it disappeared. I loved it while it was implemented...

[catmandu57]

53. Yes I like #'s 49 and 50

a rapid response forum to counter act misinformation and a view counter.

[blondeatlast]

97. I'm glad it's gone, but that's just my opinion.

[RandomUser]

106. Me, too

I felt the views counter was counter-productive (pun:)). It focused people on wondering whether anyone has seen their post and looking for limelight attention, rather than wondering about the contents of threads and engaging in discussions.

[VermontDem2004]

52. Just 1

This might be too much but have little forums here organized by state. Like if you live in Arizona you can talk with other Arizonans in this little forum, same with people who live in Deleware can talk with other Delewares. But this might be a better idea when this board grows larger.

[never cry wolf]

60. I like this one

I was going to suggest something similar.

[kayell]

193. Yes please

It would be really nice to have a place to talk about regional issues. Recently I posted about our SC governor wanting to turn state univerisities over to private. While it did get responces, I doubt that most SC DUers got to see it before it sank out of sight.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

56. A working search function for the old DU message board

There are a TON of resources on that board and it is impossible to find them :evilfrown:

[bearfartinthewoods]

71. AMEN TO THAT!!!

can an agnostic say that?

i think so but i'm not sure......

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

76. I believe your first amendment rights permit it

but others will exercise their first amendment rights and claim "hypocrite, nyah, nyah, nyah" :D

[blondeatlast]

99. Translation: So be it!

\A`men"\ (?; 277), interj., adv., & n. m<=e>n certainly, truly.] An expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning, So be it. At the end of a creed, it is a solemn asseveration of belief. When it introduces a declaration, it is equivalent to truly, verily.

I'm a Christian and not the least bit offended, FWIW

[Philostopher]

175. I'm agnostic and occasionally say "amen to that" too.

And not only that -- I'd also like to see the search function in action on the DU1 posts, too, so there!

[pmbryant]

96. Definitely!

:thumbsup:

--Peter

[populistmom]

115. ditto

[curse10]

134. agreed!

another great idea!

[OKNancy]

57. Mine

1. Mark thread as read. Now, unless I don't do things right, I can mark all of each forum read, but not individual threads. This would be really helpful for long threads.

2. Spellcheck

[Booberdawg]

58. Thanks!

1. The ability to mark a thread "read" instead if the whole forum
2. A way to know if someone has responded to a post of yours
3. A record of PM's sent. As it is now, once you send a PM there is no record you sent it or what it said.

Cheers! :toast:

[pmbryant]

98. I second the suggestion to save PM's sent (n/t)

[newyawker99]

246. I like this idea too.

:-)

[legin]

59. A library Forum

there is some really top quality research in many of the threads here. When for instance someone who is new asks why we hate the DLC so much we could just point them to the library forum where the old threads are stored and very easy to find.

[legin]

64. Speaking for myself

to an extent the board helped me get from knowing nothing about the current American political scene to the stage where I can now tell from a headline like "Spokesman says so and so" who the spokesman is before I open the thread.

I think this applies to more than a few people here too, we have become experiencedised (hey if bush* can make them up so can I). It seems a shame just to leave that learning process scattered amongst the archives.

This applies to key posts too. The Devil's Advocate NZ (sp??) post on New Zealand's adventures with the New XXXXXXX party should be required reading for anybody that comes here.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

82. An excellent idea

Makes it easy to cut and paste when others post "Why NOT La Rouche?"

[kayell]

194. Good idea

maybe we could have a button where we can nominate a thread for the library, so that mods could move (copy) it there if enough nominations. That way really good, research filled threads would be stored there. It would be so nice to have all these threads together. Right now, I rely on my bookmarks, and I've probably missed a lots of great threads.

[northzax]

62. a small thing, really

but is there any way to have links inside DU pages not need to open in a new window? those of us suffering from dialup-itis and old-processor syndrome have to keep opening up additional browser windows to do things like get to this thread. it slows myDU experience immensely to make my poor computer have to keep opening and closing IE windows.

muchas gracias- let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

[mrgorth]

63. Ability to

move threads you have responded to to the top of the page, you know, sort by what you have been involved with.

[welshTerrier2]

126. i like this idea ...

this is similar to those who want some form of notification when someone responds to something they posted ...

this would make it much easier to keep track of threads you've posted in or just threads you care about ...

we might call it a "private pin" feature ... right now, the admins can "pin" important threads to the top of a forum's thread index ...

why not expand that feature to allow user's to pin threads to the thread index they see (i.e. customized for them) ... it would make the site much more user friendly ...

[bearfartinthewoods]

136. you can get a similar effect with the " hide thread" feature that we have

already. as threads are started, just "hide' anything you are not interested/involved with and it helps a lot.

[kaitykaity]

66. printer friendly format--get rid of the message id numbers

the text save on those messages is ugly. could you
clean it up some?

[slinkerwink]

67. my own avatar....

about 100 x 100, and a photo gallery where we can host our own photos into sig lines, posts, etc.

[meti57b]

93. I too would like to have my own avatar... it would be of my cats.

I would not like to have a requirement of thousands of posts, to have my own avatar. It would take me ten years here to get 5000 posts, as was previously suggested. Even in person, I tend to listen more than I talk.

Oh, and server space to host personal avatars. It would be perfectly fine if others also used someone's personal avatar.

[dolo amber]

70. Online/Offline

Some sort of additional icon by the username or in profiles to show their status (if they're currently logged on or not). It just makes things nicer if you want to PM someone or want to respond to a post with a question to have some general idea whether a reply may be forthcoming sooner or later. ;)

*Thanks SantaElad* :hi:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

83. only if it's an optional user function

[dolo amber]

91. Good point.

n/t

[bearfartinthewoods]

205. yes....i hate that about most IM systems.

why should anyone be able to know if i'm online or not unless i want them to know. i'm a big privacy freak, i know but that featured would HAVE to be voluntary IMHO.

[populistmom]

116. Another good one, but only if optional (more)

Sometimes, one might just want to "post and run" or perhaps have a only those on their "buddy list" see whether the are on or not, so optional and some features with it are the key.

[welshTerrier2]

135. good idea

it would be nice to combine this function with one i proposed to be able to click on an author in the thread index and popup a window showing that author's profile (including their status if they allow that information to be provided) ...

[Heddi]

72. I don't know if this is a repeat, but the ability to search OLD DU threads

there's so often that I know a thread was posted before the switch, and it's like picking through a needle in a haystack to try to find it manually.

Please? please? please?

[SoCalDem]

73. Top 3

Making the Old DU forums "sort by" again, so I can find some of my old stuff..

Maybe having a "locked thread" achive, where they automatically go when they are archived.. less clutter on the active pages..

A way to view the archives better.. Don't know how this would/could work.. but the new search feature makes it very hard to retrieve stuff.. I have tried everywhichway to sunday, and still get odd stuff when I search.. (The old DU archives' way of viewing whole pages is better IMHO, since I often do not remember the title or author and it's like a needle in a haystack)

[HFishbine]

75. A couple of suggestions

DU is great as is, but, if we were to try to make it better, I'd suggest some features that may facilitate activism. Examples:

- Resource Library (or LinkBank) -- essentially a permanent list of links grouped by category. We see over an over again posts that begin with, "Anybody have a link to..." How about our own little Yahoo where we are just a click away from transcripts, documents, and web pages that we use as research references?

- Documents for Activism -- if you have the disk space, how about an upload area where we can post DUer-made flyers, hand-outs, posters, signs, etc. These also can be categorized (labor, environment, etc).

- A forum specifically for LTTE efforts. If a letter or article appears that needs repudiation appears in a newspaper, it would be cool if the force of DU could be put into play to respond both in numbers and in expertise.

That's all for now. Thanks for asking.

[JohnLocke]

164. Great Idea!

[SoCalDem]

77. The ability to see and edit a sig within a post (like the OLD DU)

That way on certain posts, you could edit it out within THAT specific post...

[sleepyhead]

79. This may already exist

And I may be too much of a space cadet to realize it but...
A way to get back into a thread you've been following at the first new post since you left it - to avoid scrolling all the way through some of the longish threads to find the first new message - does that make sense?

[KT2000]

80. New Topic

I would like to see a new topic - "Environment and Health."
Right now, it is two separate categories.

Reason: The RW has been successful in separating these two but most of the rollbacks of environmental laws by the Bush admin are really rollbacks on public health protections.
When Bush wants to appear "environmental" he stands in a national park - he should be standing in a hospital ward or special ed classes for kids.

[TheDonkey]

84. I have some goodies for a wish list!

1) A DU chat room! That might be hell to moderate but maybe if it's open on certain occassions and what not would make it much simpler to communicate than creting monster *live* threads.

2) Make DU pretty! By this I mean is there a way were DU have a banner which can be changed with the season or month. Plus adding some color would be nice. I don't know anything possible to make things a bit more pleasant to the eyes.

3) Spell Check would be great.


Thanks! Excellent work.

[kayell]

195. I would also like a chat room

I enjoyed the OOM chat room while it was active with DUers (usually switching back and forth from here), but it appears to have died out.

[Maeve]

85. "Back to message" option after sending a PM

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

87. YES!

[blondeatlast]

102. Oh, yes!

[liberalhistorian]

145. I third that,

that's really annoying sometimes when you send a PM and can't get right back to your inbox afterwards.

[geniph]

88. For the most part,

I love you just the way you are, DU. Thank you for saving my sanity (what little there was of it) for the last three years. My holiday wish for you is enough money to keep those servers going and up the bandwidth!

Happy holidays to all three of you, and may we not need to be Underground after next November! :loveya:

[TrogL]

89. A "quote" button

that pre-formats the previous person's rant in either italics or >> headers.

eg.

Here's how it works... use this thread to post about a feature you'd most like to see on DU.

or

>>Here's how it works... use this thread to post about a feature you'd most like to see on DU.

Granted this is going to get abused, but the current rules could certainly apply ie. leaving it up to the poster to yank the parts he doesn't want.

[geniph]

127. Yes, yes, yes!

A quote function would be wonderful.

[TrogL]

90. When you post to a long thread

You get returned to the long version of the thread, not your individual post. Saves a click and some bandwidth.

[TrogL]

94. Formatting buttons

(ironically, I screwed up the formatting)

That automatically turn on/off HTML formatting tags like italics, underlining, indenting (sorry, I don't even know how to code that) and pre-generate:

• an
  
• unnumbered
  
• list
  

or

1. a
   
2. numbered
   
3. list
   

or

[pmbryant]

100. Date range searching in the archives

To narrow the period searched down, to say, a particular month, or even better, in between two specified dates.

Thanks for doing this wishlist thing. Great idea! :bounce:

--Peter

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

104. Oh shit that makes 4 I like!

If I had to trade off one it would be the PM return :D

[blondeatlast]

103. Ability to access Bookmarks from every forum,

instead of having to go back to the lobby.

[G_j]

105. show number of views for threads :-) n/t

[wyldwolf]

108. Consider This! Folders in the bookmarks section so...

...I can bookmark and categorize posts by topic.

[RandomUser]

110. I second this

It would making managing bookmarks easier if you can put them into folders you can label.

Like a folder of "responses to typical anti-Dem attacks" and a folder of "funny things from the Lounge" and a folder of "insightful reference links" and on and on. Make the title of the folders editable if possible. There's so much information on DU that one might want to save for reference that all the bookmarks can get clumsy for navigation.

[AnnabelLee]

128. I third this

The Old DU allowed you to put a comment next to the thread that was being bookmarked...I really miss that. A "folder" system would be the next best thing.

Oh, & thanks for asking, elad.:loveya:

Edited for clarity

[kayell]

196. Oooh, I like this idea too. nt

[Deb]

111. A feature that automatically start threads #2,3,4...

with the same title when the first gets too long. Gee, maybe at 75/100?

Happy Holidays!

[RandomUser]

113. Hmm...this is interesting

But what should the cut-off post count be? And what if you want to respond to a specific post on the old thread?

There might be some kinks to work out, but this idea might have potential.

[bubba_fett]

112. kind of small, but

If I'm not logged in, and I try to reply to a post, it immediately takes me to the login screen, after I log in, I get sent back to the front page.

Is there some way the login page can send you back to where you just were, so I don't have to search for the post I was just about to reply to?

[Deb]

114. I would love this one too!

The old DU did that and I really miss it.

[rbnyc]

159. Welcome to DU!

I haven't seen you before. I love your sig-line!

:loveya:

[bubba_fett]

163. Thanks!

;-)

Are you a sub-genius too?

[arcos]

198. I totally agree!!!!!!!!

When you try to vote in a poll it will send you to the poll's thread after you login... it would be nice to have it the same way when you click at reply.

[welshTerrier2]

117. 3 magic wishes

1. from the forum index page, be able to determine whether there are any unread responses to posts I've made ...

for example, let's say I reply to a thread about Iraq to a poster who thought the invasion was a good idea ... i keep returning to the thread over and over and over and over to see whether anyone has responded to what i posted ... it would be much easier, and less traffic for the site too, if i could tell whether there were any new (i.e. unread) responses to my posts by looking at some type of indicator on the forum index page rather than having to drill back down into the thread. this sounds like a difficult feature to implement but it would be very cool ...

2. in any thread, it would be nice to be able to click on the author's name to pop-up a window of the author's profile ...

for example, if I (welshTerrier2) wrote a thread or a reply, my username would become a link that would take you here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user_profiles&u_id=118466

i frequently lookup people's profiles to see if there is any background information provided that could give me more insight into their post ... sometimes i'm just curious if the poster is male or female or whether they've been around DU for a long time or are newbies ...

3. after submitting a post on DU, you are returned to the thread index ... if you refresh your browser window immediately after posting (i.e. without navigating to a different page), an error is returned indicating that the page cannot be displayed ... this is really more of a bug than a feature but it is annoying nevertheless ...

thanks for offering an opportunity to provide input to making DU a more feature-rich environment ... you're all doing a great job !!!

[radfringe]

119. pop-up "window" for HTML code

---that puts the code in automatically -
like highlight a part of your post and click on a button to make it bold, change color etc
or highlight a link and it converts it to the code format
or for inserting pictures...

this would be a good feture for new DU'ers and old alike

[pmbryant]

123. Ability to see avatars even with other images turned off

Right now, I operate with all images off. But that also hides avatars, which I would still like to see. Since they are fairly small, the extra download time is not that big a deal for me.

--Peter

[DeepModem Mom]

124. I'd like to be able to click on and hide/delete several threads at once...

I use the "hide" function a lot to clear locked threads out of the way when I'm ready to look through one of the forums. Thanks for the "hide" feature, by the way, and your other recent efforts aimed at making DU even better --

[Catshrink]

178. Also on the Ignore function

how about not getting bumped out of the thread listings after hitting the hide button? Instead, could it just refresh the page?

[arwalden]

201. "Ignore For 24 Hours" Option?

For those moments when you think someone's acting out and you don't want to permanently ignore them.

-- Allen

[in_cog_ni_to]

125. I hope this hasn't been posted yet

because I haven't read all the posts. I would like a "to the bottom" of the thread button. I know there's a "top" button, but a lot of times I will read an entire thread, go back later to read added posts and have to scroll all the way down. Not so bad on a short thread, but on a 100 + thread, it takes a while to do.

Also, some new smilies to add to our posts. :) Thanks!

[rbnyc]

129. 1. Tribute Forum

A forum where admin or moderator posts gifts to DU in honer of or in memory of folks or folks' pets, etc.

2. Better inbox. Most importantly, that system returns you to inbox after message has been sent.

3. Is it possible to find out when each member actually joined DU to include in profile?

:hi:

[chimpymustgo]

151. Love all your ideas, rbnyc.

1. Better inbox. Keep messages sent. How about TIME message sent?
2. Bring back the post count numbers!! I really miss that feature. Also, the date joined feature would be nice to add in the profile.
3. Easier way to read long threads - a "new posts only" feature?

And the webcam!!!

[rbnyc]

158. Thx. I like your new posts only idea too! (nt)

[TrogL]

141. A "jump to" or "last" button to get to an individual post number

so I can quickly get to the next reply in my flame wars.

Greek chorus: "DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!!!"

[TrogL]

142. A more efficient way to do square brackets

than using ASCII codes or the "plain text" feature (which looks ugly)

[liberalhistorian]

144. How about bringing back

the feature that was only in use for a few weeks this summer, the column next to a thread that showed how many times it was viewed? The number of responses to a thread is often not an indicator of the level of interest in that thread, and it'd be really interesting to have that back again.

[onecitizen]

149. I would like to see...........

a feature called "more posts by so and so". In other words someone replies to a thread and you like that reply by that person and would want to read other post by that author. You could click on there and have their posts show up for you to view and read.

Thank you for all your hard work on this site.

[kayell]

199. I second that proposal

I haven't even posted my own wish list, there are already so many good ideas here.

This one would be really nice to have.

[Cronus Protagonist]

150. Advertising text links in the forums

I've asked for this several times. Maybe this time will be my lucky time. It would increase revenue for DU, allow lefty businesses to get better support from the community and provide users access to products they may not have known about before.

It's a win-win idea for all concerned.

"Terminate Governor Gangbang" Buttons, Stickers & Magnets

[Lydia Leftcoast]

153. My three

1. A "sent mail" folder for PMs

2. For those of us with older computers, who have trouble loading long threads, even with a broadband connection, a "next message" feature would let us go into an interesting thread and load the messages one by one if we were interested enough.

3. The "views" function. This is how I learned that people actually WERE reading my former Movies for Democrats feature.

[Myra]

156. We need a "Thank you Mods for tolerating us" link beside the Alert link

Bet it would get a work out.

Thanks mods, elad.

[grasswire]

157. a DELETE post function

Most boards I've visited have that capability. It can be extremely handy in the volatile atmosphere of a political board to be able to delete your own post.

[citizen snips]

160. Give us a spellcheck.

So I want feel stupid ever time a make a mistake.

[LWolf]

162. Good idea.

I spend too much time editing because of a trigger happy "clicker!"

[in_cog_ni_to]

211. Here's a spellcheck

that you can download if you use Internet Explorer browser. It works on any web page...I use it ALL the time. Go here for a download.

http://www.iespell.com/

[Alex146]

165. View Replies to our posts...

and view my last ten posts.

A special board for us young DUers would be nice.

[Selwynn]

166. View Posts by user feature...

I hope I didn't miss this somewhere.

I'd like to have a feature so that when you click on the name of an indvidual you have the option to view all posts by this person. The ign boards have this capacticy (gaming boards) and it is very nice.

I frequently read a fascinating post by someone and would like to quickly and easily be able to click on their name and then click on "view posts from this user" and see them.

[matcom]

167. HELL YEA!!! How About A GD Forum That REQUIRES "intelligent" debate?

i have wanted one for a LONG time but my wishes don't seem to come true :D

[Selwynn]

168. So, you want to be barred from posting in GD then? :D

KIDDING!!!!!!

Nottin but love... :D

[AngryAmish]

169. At the risk of being juvenile

BOOBIES!

This is a wish list, right?

[rbnyc]

170. sorry. 1 more. but it's a good one!

A personal mark feature. It would require a second icon and a second mark button. It could be a different color. If you use it, then istead of showing when there's a new post in a thread, it will show you if anyone replied to one of your replies in a thread. That way you won't have to open long threads with new posts if you only want to see if someone relplied to your reply.

That would be great!!!

[Karmadillo]

171. Automatic tombstone function for anyone who types "poop" except

in the context of discussing four year olds' favorite word. "Poophead", of course, would still be allowed, as discussion of current "President" would be impossible without it.

[Cleita]

172. A chat room with scheduled chats.

Another website I go to, a literary website, has an IRC chat room set up with scheduled hour chats on specific topics several times a week ususally specific genres of writing and books. There is a moderator of course to keep everyone civil and the trolls sent on their way. I don't know how it would work for politics though.

[rbnyc]

173. I like that one!

:)

[kayell]

200. Yes, yes, yes!

[southerngirlwriter]

174. A section for Community-building

This may not be feasible, but how about private forums for different groups? Not cliques, but -- well, the mods have a private forum, right?

I would love to have a writer's critique group made up of four or five of the brilliant writers we have here -- people who were interested in being an active part of a critique group. It could be a perk of donating.

Also, I would love to see the PM's I've sent, not just the ones I've received.

Thanks much!

[TeeYiYi]

182. I agree with this one . . .

I've often wished that I could chat with like minded people in a private setting. Examples would be seperate chats for christian democrats, pagan democrats, GLBT democrats, astrologer democrats, etc. That way they could openly discuss any issues specific to that group in a safe environment with others of like mind. It would be a membership only kind of thing where you actually have to request membership in that group with an explanation as to why you would fit in. If any nefarious types lied to get in and are then found out, they could be kicked out with some sort of penalty.

TYY

[brook]

176. I'd really appreciate...

Being able to go back to a thread that I may have looked at before I went to work - and have it start where I'd left off...iow, not have to go through previously viewed posts. That do get tedious.

Thanks for asking.

[short bus president]

179. I want a "cat killer" option.

re-posted from my thread in "Bugs/Features"

An "ignore by subject line keyword" option would make a nifty new feature. That way I could, for instance, elect not to see any threads with the word "cat" in the title, which would theoretically still allow me to enjoy posts from DUers such as catwoman, catpower2000, and Catshrink, but would poof away any threads about "my cat coughed up the cutest hairball" or "my cat looked at me funny - it was so cute/what should I do?" Any possibility ever that this might be accomodated?

No? Probably not? Well, thanks for the rant space, anyway. Hate hearing about people's friggin' cats.

-shortbus

[Cleita]

223. So why do you open the cat threads if you don't like them?

Some of us like to share information and stories about our cats. You don't have to open the thread and read the post if you don't want to.

[0007]

232. Shut up! I love cats. And if you ever go to know my siamese cats,

Samanyatodrsta and Samanadhikaranya, thats their Sanskrit names. You'd love 'em if ya ever got to know 'em.

[usregimechange]

180. A sub-forum for States to assist in organizing efforts!

Missouri DU, Iowa DU...

We could meet more supporters and work locally in transplanting shrubs. :kick:

[Sugarbleus]

186. Simply...... more smiles...

[sexybomber]

187. A disclaimer button that the poster is drunk off his ass.

That would be nice, considering i[ post drunk all the time!

[Booberdawg]

188. Sobriety Checkpoints!! Especially Friday and Saturday nights!

[imhotep]

189. remove the Lounge from DU

force people to participate instead of hiding.

[Paragon]

190. If I had one wish that I could wish this holiday season...

...it would be that all the children to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace.

If I had two wishes I could make this holiday season, the first would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing in the spirit of harmony and peace. And the second would be for 30 million dollars a month to be given to me, tax-free in a Swiss bank account.

You know, if I had three wishes I could make this holiday season, the first, of course, would be for all the children of the world to get together and sing, the second would be for the 30 million dollars every month to me, and the third would be for encompassing power over every living being in the entire universe.

And if I had four wishes that I could make this holiday season, the first would be the crap about the kids definitely, the second would be for the 30 million, the third would be for all the power, and the fourth would be to set aside one month each year to have an extended 31-day orgasm, to be brought out slowly by Rosanna Arquette and that model Paulina-somebody, I can't think of her name. Of course my lovely wife can come too and she's behind me one hundred percent here, I guarantee it.

Wait a minute, maybe the sex thing should be the first wish, so if I made that the first wish, because it could all go boom tomorrow, then what do you got, y'know? No, no, the kids, the kids singing would be great, that would be nice. But wait a minute, who am I kidding? They're not going to be able to get all those kids together. I mean, the logistics of the thing is impossible, more trouble than it's worth!

So -- we reorganize! Here we go. First, the sex thing. We go with that. Second, the money. No, we go with the power second, then the money. And then the kids. Oh wait, oh jeez, I forgot about revenge against my enemies!

Okay, I need revenge against all my enemies, they should die like pigs in hell! That would be my fourth wish. And, of course, my fifth wish would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace.

Thank you everybody and Merry Christmas.

[throwthebumsout]

210. Attribution?

Please don't post other writers work without attribution. (Steve Martin wrote this.)

Thank you.

[Paragon]

222. Thanks, Sherlock

I love Steve Martin. He did that monologue probably 10 ten years ago on Saturday Night Live.

I apologize if you think someone here hasn't seen that before. When I out-and-out copy "Who's On First" and post it on DU, I'll make sure to give credit. :eyes:

[Piperay]

191. Improved compatability with WebTV

I'm still having the same problems when using my WebTV to access DU2 that I have had ever since the move from the DU1. I am lucky because I also have a computer but I prefer WebTV because I can get online faster and lose connections less frequently. I know this isn't a top priority but, well it is Christmas so I am putting it on my wishlist. :-)

[Junkdrawer]

202. A "My Threads" button...

Functionally equivalent to doing a search for your handle as author for all forums.

[LWolf]

203. This would be handy.

I don't want to post and run, but often, especially if I'm talking to someone whose time zone is 3 hours different than mine, I'm not here when people reply. I use the search function once a day (on author) to check on anything I posted, so that I can read and respond if necessary. But a button would be easy.

[LWolf]

204. a wistful request

I'd like education to be separated from health etc.; I'd love to see a public ed forum. That's probably not practical, since not very many of us spend significant time on public ed. I wish more people would.

[liberalhistorian]

208. Notification when a PM you sent is read.

It would be nice if there were a way we could know when PM was actually read by the person we sent it too, for many reasons.

[meti57b]

209. I would like to have a forum for state/local issues.

The political situation out here in California has reached crisis proportions, with the election of schwantzenagger. California is a large state and affects the nation. Other state's issues are major and affect the nation. State issues seem to get lost in GD and LBN.

[throwthebumsout]

212. Please Limit size of pics/avatars

Please limit the size of pics that people can post in their signature lines, to no more than an inch square (at the very most!) I hate having to scroll past all those huge pictures.

[bearfan454]

213. I would like to see it so

you can put in a DU name and see all the posts that person has ever posted. That would be neat............bearfan454

[arwalden]

215. "YOUVE GOT NEW MAIL" Notification WITHOUT Returning To The Lobby

:-)

[omshanti]

216. can we have a Tar Heels avatar? (and no Dook avatar?)

seriously, I know if you do one you'll have to do the other in the interest of fairness.
But seeing that college hoops season is just underway...
suggestions:




Thanks!

[On the Road]

217. Number of Hits on a Thread

In addition to replies, I'd like to see the number of page views or hits on a thread. If I start a thread, it makes a big difference to me how many people are looking at it, even if no one is replying.

This feature was briefly introduced at one point and then withdrawn, I assume because it placed to heavy a burden on the CPU. If this is an issue, it might be programmed in a way similar to the way post counts are done now -- you have to click on an icon somewhere to display the count.

[Snellius]

219. Let each member have their own blog page

With a few pictures. With the option to leave them open only to DU donating members. Maybe as an extra bonus for a minimum yearly donation.

[many a good man]

224. New Forums: Book Discussion and Research

Like to see one dedicated to book discussions. The title of each thread would be book title and author.

I would also echo the idea about having a thread listing good links for background information.

How about a "Best Threads" forum where Admins could keep the greatest threads of all times?

A lot of great ideas have been mentioned. My favorites are: 1) being able to mark all postings within a thread when leaving (instead of having to mark the whole forum); 2) notification of replies to your thread.

[DEM FAN]

225. My DU Wish List. To Have A Video Game Threads. To Talk About

The Latest Game News And So On. Also I Think DU Should Have A Singles
Section Where Singles Here At DU Can Go And Chat About Anything. Who
Knows Maybe We Will Get People Together. ;-)

[Renew Deal]

226. A technology forum.

This could be a combination of technology topics including technology and politics/society/news and help for DU users.

[1a2b3c]

229. A free firearm....make it an assault rifle

for the person with the least amount of deleted posts in the gun dungeon.

[jpgpenn]

230. the amount of times a post has been viewed!

I think that would show posts that had an interest to many but didn't post to the thread.

[frustrated_lefty]

231. Candidate FAQ sheets

not only addressing talking points, but issues which get raised over and over again here. Include informative responses to those issues. I think that would simplify a lot of the debate.

[Valerie5555]

233. How about a Bush Joke and other Joke forum???????????

eom, though Bush is a joke by the way.

[liberalhistorian]

236. How about a singles forum?

God knows there are more than enough singles, single parents, older singles, etc., etc., and issues and concerns affecting singles (legal, financial, economic, social, taxes, etc.) to make it worthwhile.

[Cosmic_Latte]

237. DU e-greeting cards & a DU email address

The e-card idea just popped on my head. You could use it to send to people who haven't discovered DU, or just for fun... whatever!

About the email address, can we have a personalized address that we can send messages to anyone (not just in the site)? (And in that way we could be proud of being a DUer!)

What do you think? :-)

[Don Claybrook]

239. Link to Bookmarks from any screen n/t

[Ardee]

240. posting brings you back to your place in the thread

I didnt wade through all the posts here, sorry hope this isnt a dupe:

When posting to long threads ones post forces one to start all over from the beginning of the thread. I wish that ,after posting a response one simply remained in place rather than having to wait (dial up)for the entire thread to load aagin, and scrolling back to ones place.

[bushedout]

241. Comfortable shoes, good sex and a warm place to go to the bathroom.

[spotbird]

242. Don't allow people to disable their profiles

they can leave the fields blank they don't want to share, but the date they joined doesn't need to be a secret, does it?

[Myra]

247. I wish for something really really nice for our beloved mods

Skinner, elad, and EarlG.

Like super thick deluxe flack vests...

[Elad]

249. Thanks for everyone's ideas

I'm locking this thread now. Sometime tomorrow (Sunday), we'll post a poll so people can vote for the 10 finalists.