Message system improvements

[DeletedUser102925]

I am in a very active and chatty guild, which should be a good thing. However I am constantly missing important messages and even friend invites because they are all bundled up in the ongoing chatter. My humble idea is to simply suggest a message filter system where you can

More ideas for improvements on the message system:

- Make the message window bigger
- The font is too big. Make it smaller (able to customize)
- Add a subject line instead of 2 lines of message body
- Drop the left side icon
- Create an option to message the guild name instead of a list of its members
- Color code the names (eg green for guild, blue for neighborhood, pink for friends)
- Add a symbol for each type of message (important, friend request, private etc)

 

[Surge]

Please use the template in the sticky here. But I'll take a look at your idea regardless. You need it to be "officially" submitted though.

- Make the message window bigger - Agreed. I usually make large messages that people need to scroll a bit to read everything. If others make large messages it might be a problem.
- The font is too big. Make it smaller (able to customize) - Honestly I think the font is good enough as is. The problem is the window size.
- Add a subject line instead of 2 lines of message body - I think that maybe below the list of recipients there should be the subject of the MM. Adding extra lines helps only to read MM's that must have headers (by guild rule), but it's nice nevertheless.
- Drop the left side icon - Why? Player icons help em remember the player better (I am personally not good with names). Maybe in MM's, but it's not necessary for PM's.
- Create an option to message the guild name instead of a list of its members - Don't really understand this one...
- Color code the names (eg green for guild, blue for neighborhood, pink for friends) - If you're adding people from other guilds then this might work, but having 160+ people participate in messaging will be very hectic.
- Add a symbol for each type of message (important, friend request, private etc) -Why not?

I would say, though, that some of these might be negated in MM was more controlled. My guild has a problem with MM spam, and too many people have MM privileges. I got 4 pages of messages in one night, and I couldn't bother to read any of them because I knew 80% of what we say is spam. They didn't even have subjects. I advocate for communication via guild chat or guild forums but people refuse.

 

[DeletedUser]

The template would help, but whilst we are discussing the idea:

- Add a subject line instead of 2 lines of message body

A subject line would be useful as there can be a lot of messages without even a 'header' text and it's a pain to have to open them to find out if they are anything important.

- Color code the names (eg green for guild, blue for neighborhood, pink for friends)

Might be useful, although I get the impression that most of them would be green for people in guilds. It would be easier to pick out the ones that were a different colour.

- Add a symbol for each type of message (important, friend request, private etc)

Also seems useful, although I think there might be a lot of 'important' messages regarding people's urgent need to have a production building motivated right now.

I would say, though, that some of these might be negated in MM was more controlled. My guild has a problem with MM spam, and too many people have MM privileges. I got 4 pages of messages in one night, and I couldn't bother to read any of them because I knew 80% of what we say is spam. They didn't even have subjects.

I tend to feel that way about guild messages; most of them are just going to get deleted. It would be useful to be able to pick out the other useful messages from the less useful ones.

 

[DeletedUser2989]

- Create an option to message the guild name instead of a list of its members - Don't really understand this one...

I think here what Metaplayer is suggesting is:
Currently to message your entire guild you need to press "All Guild Members" next to the Recipients bar. Once you have done that the "name" All Guild Members shows up. However when you recieve the message the "with:" bar shows the individual names of your entire guild (cut off in most guilds with...).
Redo this so that the button is "To Guild" next to the Recipients bar and once you have done that all replies are visible to all those currently in guild. Theoretically if someone leaves or joins they are automatically removed from or added to the message thread. If removed from guild they'd only see responses up to the point they left guild and if added to guild they'd only see responses after the point they joined.

Personally I'd like to add to this "The "Conversation with" part of the message should have a scroll bar so you can see all the names in large group messages". I've had a few times where 1 or 2 people in a large group message were dropped out because someone in the group restarted the thread but didn't have a full list of all those involved.

As for all the points in the OP:
1&2 I'm not fused about
3 I like +1
4 -1 becuase I like the left Icons
5 If it means what I think it means +1
6&7 +1 I like the colour coding especially if they add a scroll bar to see all the names involved in a message thread. The symbols could be useful, depends what range of symbols we are given.

 

[DeletedUser99445]

-1 from me.
I have no problem with the current system. reading what others are talking about is often informative (regarding the game or the characters in the guild) or comical. I can deal with the current system easily.
With all the ideas floating around on improvements, It's getting easier and easier to see why change comes so slowly.
The Forum is a great staller for the developers.

 

[Scut456]

Is there such a thing as a private message icon. at the moment a message comes and you don't know whether its to the whole guild or a private message from one member

 

[DeletedUser7719]

If it's a private message, you will see a single player's avatar while any group message shows its own avatar. You can alternatively see the players in the message by hovering over the subject

 

[DeletedUser105078]

- Make the message window bigger
- The font is too big. Make it smaller (able to customize)

IMO the message window needs to be completely redesigned - I don't think it's so much a question of bigger or smaller window or font, but we need a a clearer, more punchy, more user-friendly, and more modern design

- Add a subject line instead of 2 lines of message body

Has been implemented.

- Drop the left side icon

It's confusing, I agree - but it's not sufficient to just drop it, it would need to be replaced by something else that shows message recipients.

- Create an option to message the guild name instead of a list of its members

+1 I couldn't agree more... it's hugely annoying having to restart an ongoing thread every time a new member joins or an old member leaves.

- Color code the names (eg green for guild, blue for neighborhood, pink for friends)

Interesting idea... I wonder how neighbourhood messages would work?

- Add a symbol for each type of message (important, friend request, private etc)

This could be helpful, too.