Deleting multiple players from message threads

[Vesiger]

Proposal:
Use the same interface for deleting players from a message thread as for adding them.

Have you checked the forums for the same or similar idea
Yes: I can only see my own. (PS: cutting and pasting a format is really, really laborious on mobile... )

Reason:
Thread maintenance in the message center is very laborious on the mobile app. It's particularly tedious when removing multiple players from a thread ; every time you delete one person, the thread instantly updates and scrolls all the way up to the top again. If it's a thread containing a large number of players (e.g. our Castel del Monte club, comprising people in the guild with a CdM), then it rapidly becomes very frustrating, especially when the people to be removed happen to be near the end of the alphabet and the entire thread has to be reviewed multiple times. It would make life much easier if removing players used the same interface as adding players, i.e. a check-box which takes effect when you select 'Save changes'. It's easy to add two or three players to every thread in the guild; it's a real pain to remove the people they are replacing.


Details:

Instead of deleting a player immediately and scrolling the thread back to the top of the screen, the system should provide check-boxes to select the player to be deleted and an action button to perform the deletion when the selection is complete.

Visual Aids:

None, sorry. Any mock-ups gratefully received !


Balance/Abuse Prevention:

I don't see any game balance implications, as this is simply about messaging groups of players. The main disadvantage is that it means it will take an additional keypress to delete a single player from a thread. However, it is already a two-stage action to add a single player to an existing thread - which hasn't raised any complaints - and it would simply be making the interface consistent.

 

[Emberguard]

@Vesiger are these groups outside of guild members? If they were guild threads I'd expect the "update to all members" button to be used which would both kick and add automatically. But given the nature of the proposal would it be safe to assume that button isn't adequate?

 

[Vesiger]

@Vesiger are these groups outside of guild members? If they were guild threads I'd expect the "update to all members" button to be used which would both kick and add automatically. But given the nature of the proposal would it be safe to assume that button isn't adequate?

They're specific subsets of guild members (i.e. the example I gave of the Castel del Monte group).
Although it also annoys people to be constantly re-added to threads that they quit (a number of players don't want to use swap threads , for example), so I generally tend to avoid the 'nuclear option' of forcibly adding everybody in order to delete three inactive players...

 

[Emberguard]

If it's only one or two specific players that don't want to be included I normally use the 'nuclear option' and then edit them out as that ensures if I missed someone they're then added.

But that'd certainly not be practical in all cases if you've got a lot of specialist threads. I'll see what I can do about making a mock-up for your proposed visual, but if anyone wants to do one feel free to beat me to making it

 

[Vesiger]

Thanks.
I feel it would be worth implementing simply as a matter of consistency across interfaces, apart from anything else...

 

[Emberguard]

Ok I normally only use desktop, going onto mobile and testing thread adding/removing..... I'm not sure how it'll be more effective

Spoiler: Adding Screen

Spoiler: Deletion Screen

Re-reading your proposal perhaps it's more of a bug then anything?

In the second spoiler image in this post, are you saying (if I had a larger group of people in there) when the red button is clicked it'd scroll up the list of users in the group without exiting that screen?

 

[Shad23]

Use the same interface for deleting players from a message thread as for adding them.

on pc it's for both the same interface you clic on update to guild members and it automaticly updates to guild members unless your talking about msgs that include out of guild players then it's add 1 by 1 or delete from thread 1 by 1

 

[Vesiger]

In the second spoiler image in this post, are you saying (if I had a larger group of people in there) when the red button is clicked it'd scroll up the list of users in the group without exiting that screen?

I was rather hoping it would not scroll, thus allowing me to keep on going down the list scanning for the people to be removed.
What currently happens is that the entire list redraws from the top every time one member is deleted, which is the easiest way to update the data - unfortunately it means that you lose your scroll offset. Imagine trying to remove people from your friends list if it zoomed back to the left-hand end of the screen every time you removed one of them, and you had to go through the whole list again. ..

on pc it's for both the same interface you clic on update to guild members and it automaticly updates to guild members unless your talking about msgs that include out of guild players then it's add 1 by 1 or delete from thread 1 by 1

The problem for me isn't so much the 'one by one' aspect; it's the redraw.

 

[Agent327]

on pc it's for both the same interface you clic on update to guild members and it automaticly updates to guild members

No it doesn't. If someone just joined your guild it takes time before the system sees them as a member. You can not add them by updating to all guild members.

 

[Emberguard]

No it doesn't. If someone just joined your guild it takes time before the system sees them as a member. You can not add them by updating to all guild members.

I find on PC it requires you to refresh the page if they joined while you were logged in and then you can add them via the all guild members button

 

[Agent327]

I find on PC it requires you to refresh the page if they joined while you were logged in and then you can add them via the all guild members button

And you consider that a normal way for this function to work?

 

[Emberguard]

I'm fine with it personally but from that response I'd gather you don't consider it a reasonable expectation for what's likely an array to be updated upon reload.

The problem for me isn't so much the 'one by one' aspect; it's the redraw.

So if the game didn't change the position of how far the screen has scrolled when clicking on something then would you still want this idea to go through?

 

[Agent327]

I'm fine with it personally but from that response I'd gather you don't consider it a reasonable expectation for what's likely an array to be updated upon reload.

You got it wrong. I just love it. Nothing better to do, so when someone joins my guild and I have to add that person to all active mails I just love to refresh the page and wait. That really makes my day.

 

[Vesiger]

I'm fine with it personally but from that response I'd gather you don't consider it a reasonable expectation for what's likely an array to be updated upon reload.

So if the game didn't change the position of how far the screen has scrolled when clicking on something then would you still want this idea to go through?

I just had to delete the same three members from about a dozen threads (they went inactive). Several of them had names towards the end of the alphabet, which meant that I had to scroll past practically everyone in the guild multiple times on every thread, using a viewport that only lets you see about four entries at a time. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't had to start again from the top and scroll progressively further and further each time a player was successfully located and deleted....

There's a similar issue with trades ; people only ever take the last four trades posted to a thread, because the thread zooms all the way back to the most recent entry as soon as you change anything in the display, e.g. accept a trade. Constantly scrolling back to where you were a minute ago is very demotivating.

The main merit of the idea would be that the list wouldn't have to be updated until you had selected all the items for deletion, thus circumventing the scroll/redraw issue.

 

[Agent327]

I just had to delete the same three members from about a dozen threads (they went inactive). Several of them had names towards the end of the alphabet, which meant that I had to scroll past practically everyone in the guild multiple times on every thread, using a viewport that only lets you see about four entries at a time. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't had to start again from the top and scroll progressively further and further each time a player was successfully located and deleted....

If players leave your guild, or you throw them out they are always shown at the bottom of the list. Names do not matter. No need to scroll. Just drag it to the end.