World: r3wp

The intention of restricting guest account is along the lines of 
adding more restrictions on users.  For example, now, anyone can 
delete/rename/create groups.  It would be better to have this limited 
to to either the creator of the group or another level of world masters.

Essetially, only allowing guests to read and post to groups.

I totally agree.

1) FAST Message scroll-list with 'streaming' so I can browse/search 
in all messages in a group on the disk without need to setup the 
buffer in preferences and loose the performace and memory. (Get rid 
of the "Message cannot be shown. See Settings panel to allow older 
messages (Limit)." requester)

Cyphre - they would have to use your grid then :-)

export  messages --> save --> file name :  [ default world name ]

Bookmarks

Bookmarks.......please give an example.

perhaps to bookmark a particular message ?

What Sunanda said: [2] Don't throw away what I've typed when I press 
enter just because you need to reconnect.


Bookmarks. Let me tag messages/locations that are important and I 
want to be able to find again, no matter how old.

Hmmm.

1. good search capability

2. persistent threads 
- eg. Links groups should always be seen and not 'scroll off'

regarding Bookmarks

Maybe a way to put the marked messages in a special group "Bookmarks".

If I click on a selected message in this group the original group 
will be opened similar to the Search window.

Links

 groups should be a different style of view (different as checklists 
 are different). An editable list of links.

(...perhaps. Maybe it's better to try to keep them as a regular group, 
but just expand the flexibility of regular groups...)

Feature Req: 'Clear All'.  If I am away (say two days) from altme.. 
I come back /login only to find all groups highlighted with messages 
since my logoff.  Sometimes, I want to know what happened since I 
left.. however other times I just want to start clean.  So, I think 
that it would be nice to have a button or a pref that allows those 
highlighted groups to be cleared upon logging in.  This way, I can 
be assured that I am looking at new messages only.. not messages 
from 47 hours ago.     John.

If you want to clear up (un)RED condition, cant you just click on 
the group and then click out? It doesnt take very long at all. Am 
I missing something?

Yeah.. if you do a new install on a new pc .. you have to click hundreds 
of times to clear the reds.  Computers are made to reduce work, so 
should offer an mass deredding.

Exactly.  Today, I opened up altme and had to click on every group. 
 It took me about 6 minutes.   Yes.. I can do this everytime, but 
I like how Graham put it.. "computers are made to reduce work..". 
 So, I think this would be a good feature.   Thanks for all the feedback 
people.  :-)

G, that is a diff prob.  We plan to solve that by allow you to store 
what you have read on the server.

0) multiple fallback mechanisms for getting/staying connected.

1) absolute control of what is actualy removed from local machine... 
ever.

2) better support for using a single account from several machines.
3) better support for using several worlds from one computer.

4) finer control of what posts you are exposed to. (groups and users 
and users in groups) 
5) filesharing
6) api,locks, so we can muck with the filesets.

7) calendar,just fix it up. hour/day/week views, sorting,repeated,various 
alerts ...
8) adjustable font sizes

9) search should return hits (the text) from further back than your 
message buffer limit.
10) OSX support & recycle bug

For deREDing  groups : just add a button in the top right near Search, 
Setup...

1) allow Altme to try to connect to the world even if the safeworld 
server is unreachable (with the cached IP address)
2) see 1)
3) see 1)
...
:-)

RebolJohn - 6 mins? I switched on a PC that I don't connect very 
often and cleared them all in 2 mins of clicking. My problem is when 
you clear the RED, but dont have time to read them all, you forget 
that they are really Unread and dont go back to read them.

Thats cool.. I am just suggesting a possible feature for the new 
altme.  The main point of the feature is that it would be a button 
/ option that you press or select.  If you don't want them cleared.. 
don't push it.

I personally like the button idea..

I think of communication software a little differently (in general), 
so I will share this.  

Read states

 (like the Red we are talking about) are a very interesting issue. 
  


Most computer software does a very poor job of replicating empirical 
or visceral conversations.  Email for example has a method of describing 
the "direction" you are speaking.  TO: Bob, CC: Carry.  Where the 
TO: indicates you are speaking directly to Bob, and that Carry is 
standing somewhere to the left or right of you.  BCC is someone hiding 
behind you. 


Email could have an interface where you first pick the people in 
the "room." And then use something like a 2D interface to move the 
listeners around a symbolic version of you.  This would be both silly, 
time consuming, and somewhat confusing, but you get the point.


What you have read and what you have not read though has a similar 
analogy.   There are thousands of sub states and markers people use 
to sort things they have read, will read, need to read again, need 
to respond to, etc.


In Box, Out Box, Papers upside down, putting papers you need to sign 
under your car keys on the floor in front of the door leading to 
the car, etc.


I have one friend who re-wrote some open source email program to 
have some huge number of states and then some simple filters.  It 
works VERY WELL, if you know his system.  He never forgets anything.


So the current model AltME has (right now) is a very simple interface. 
 Tantimount to "Have I ever seen this before."


We are playing with some other models in Qtask, which may get adopted 
into AltME.  I'm working on a system I call Venn Chat.  Some features 
include:

Have I read this before? (like AltME)
Mark this:  

Follow up (add to a list of messages you want to think about more)
Note (All should read this when they come into the group)
All Must Read (converts it into an AltME-like alert)


Convert to a task (and keep the context of the chat in place, this 
is opens up a whole other area)
Branch (something like forum threading)
Re-file (move from one group to another)

Re-post (copy to another group, at the same time, similar to branch).
Trigger (tell me when someone has finally read this).
Status (tell me who has read this so far).
Attach (files, links, etc)

Then there is the whole voting thing like Slashdot.


Allowing people to mark stuff important, NOT important, Humour, etc.

Which then brings up the whole statistical nature of "your value" 
as a person.


So for example, almost everyone in a religion group is marking entries 
as "interesting" or "important," but you are marking it "Humour."


The system can assume that you do not carry the "common" vote and 
value your vote accordingly.  But as this example demonstrates, it 
would need to be both at the global and local level (group, project, 
world, etc.)


Some people ONLY comment when something really is important, the 
system would note this.  So "Bob" for example only notes code samples 
that are really good examples of Rebol.  As a result, you could create 
a filer to just see "Bob's Picks."  Or thresholds based on certain 
people.


You could also block people that fall below a certain number. And 
then you wold never need to read my babblings.

1. 	A switch to turn off notification about new messages. On XP, 
the minimized window's icon blinks for every new message, which can 
become a little bit annoying.


2. 	A switch to 'subscribe' only selected groups - in a sense of 
"Only mark group with new messages if subscribed". 

 Otherwise, get message silently but don't mark group red for having 
 unread messages.


3. 	A "newer than new" feature: Whilst AltME is online and one is 
working in another app, inform (in a popup window or alike) when 
one returns to it: "New messages in the following groups:" 

 which can easily be clicked away if none of the groups are of special 
 interest.

guest that blinking is controlled in windows...

Reichart, I like your ideas.

I would guess that one of the goals should be to pick a 'realm of 
inclusiveness' (I don't know what else to call it).

i.e. If AltMe is suppose to be fashioned as a message-logger then 
these 'new messages' should be flagged until read.

However, if AltMe is suppose to be fashioned as a meeting-place then 
maybe 'new messages' should only be flagged after you log in.


Now, don't get me wrong here.. I am not saying that messages shouldn't 
show up at all, I am stating that their container wouldn't be flagged 
(red).

A real-world example of this is.. someone going to a party.

The party is in full-swing and the newcomer would venture from group-discussion 
to group-discussion.

i.e. Now that I am at the party, I know there is repeated 'hot discussions' 
going on with that group over there (altMe).. while the group in 
the corner (mysql) isn't talking.. they are just eating their chips 
and sitting quietly.

And to parallel this.. when I join AltMe for the day.. I would not 
be flagged of old-conversations that happened while I was logged 
off.. I would only be flagged of conversations that are happening 
since I logged on.

Now, that doesn't keep me from going to those other groups and seeing 
the messages that have been posted while I was logged off, it just 
keeps me in touch with the party.

Better yet.. How about flagging in two colors.
Light Red for unread messages..

Dark Red for unread messages that have happened since I logged in.
WOW!

Tomc, thanks! Now, if I had kown this before ... Guess I'll never 
get really used to Windows.

You can also turn off the window activation in AltME, you know how, 
right?

1. Better notification to user of a message. "Slide up window?" Reichart, 
you know this is my favorite.
2. Calendar - Ability to add more events. Alarms for events
3. File sharing
4. Programmable sounds for people/groups.
5. "Take back last entry"

Checklist and Calendar icons turning red for changes in that objects

James...yes.  Working on that tech, talked about it with Carl just 
the other day.  We are attempting to make a SysTray app right now.

Just tested Altme against squid and it seems to work thru the proxy 
okay.

Cool.

Calendar should be able to be made personal or private to encourage 
always on approach of altme

1. Improved scrolling so that clicking on scroll arrows does not 
skip past text as now.

2. User selection of Group Name Highlighting (as an alternative to 
opt out / opt in of public groups)

1.  link tasks with the calendar

2.  "clear all" a simple button which removes red color of all groups. 
usefull when skipping a few days...

3.  HIDE groups (and users).  just add simple check mark to  window 
which lists all available groups and any you check-off are removed 
from the list you look at (yet you still receive their posts, if 
you want to look at them another time).

4.  per group moderators for private AND public groups (delete posts, 
insert posts, manage users, etc.   A part from "opting out", users 
are not able to change the setup (like deleting the group), group 
name, list of users in private group, etc ).  

5.  single file export of all selected task lists and their tasks 
(ascii or html)

6.  SORT task list... we cannot sort the task lists... only the tasks 
they contain... a real bitch when working with others...

7.  Also allows read-only mode for private groups for people not 
in private users list.   Great to manage announcements for private 
tools.
8.  'workdays only - weekend only' option for calendar

9.  properly support hours in calendar tasks, so that hours are always 
available, right now, the software often ignores any data we put 
in the hours field..

1.  link tasks with the calendar

  Ah, you just described Qtask. LOL.  Yes, AltME will have this one 
  day.

I think we just need a field above the user/group list, when you 
start typing it starts limiting the list just like your cell phone's 
contact list...

That should be easily done - that's how Carl's Rebodex.r (contact 
app) works.

Most cellphones compare letter for letter (i.e. if I type "a" then 
only the contacts whos' name starts with a are going to be displayed.) 
But I would opt for full name searching so that if the name has an 
a in it then it would show up in the list...

how about something like that for each group as well?

10.  Fix the handling of the following type of URL:   http://my.domain.com/[username-:-diffdomain-:-com]