Activity Feed update: interface clean-up

[Alex]

We're still adding to the Activity Feed. The most recent batch of changes involved the beta release of RSS feeds into the mix.

Today, we've completed something we've been working on for a while: some clean-up of the interface. Just to be clear: This release doesn't feature any new functionality. For the most part, this update will go unnoticed by Network Creators, but it's an improvement that we wanted to let you know about if you are a fan of the nitty-gritty details.

Consistency!
The main change is all activity items will now follow the same order:

- Message (what happened).
- Content. Title.
- Timestamp.
- Comments/Likes.

Previously, different content sources/items were using non-consistent ordering with some of these details. This should make reading the feed easier for everyone, old-hand and newbie alike.

Active voice
Some of the old language (in English, at least) used the passive voice. As any 10th-grade English teacher will tell you, active voice beats passive voice in a grammar smackdown any day of the week. Previously, where you may have seen "Photo posted by Alex" you will now see "Alex posted a photo". Admittedly, this is a small change (but a huge win for 10th grade English teachers). If you're speaking a different language than English, you'll be happy to know that these details have already been translated and included with this release.

Sourcing
We've made sure that all outside content is sourced correctly and consistently. So, you'll always see "via Twitter" or "via Facebook" when the content comes from another source. (You'll see icons in the Activity Feed; text everywhere else). RSS is a little different, since those sources vary widely. So, those are not called out as text.

A few barely noticeable changes:
- We've removed quotation sprites (images). They're now text-based.
- Message text ("JDawg posted a photo") is new standard text size. In some cases it was previously smaller.
- Titles are to the right/below content items. They used to be above those items.
- Made locations consistent for timestamps.

The long and short of these changes is that content items will now look a lot cleaner and be a lot more consistent. Most people won't notice these changes, but we're confident it will be easier for people to read when they are scanning these feeds.

 

Custom coders….
If you have made any changes to your Activity Feed using CSS to hide or alter the size or location of any of these items, this change could bring that to light. If you see something in your Activity Feed that you think may be related to this change, we strongly encourage you to remove your custom code and take a second look. It could be that some CSS you may have added or altered will either no longer be wanted or needed.

[FedMedic]

It looks great! Thank you Ning!

[Ava Warner]

I love this update and it is noticeable. Thanks!

[Eric Suesz]

Thanks!

[soaringeagle]

i have noticed other "barely noticable" changes to ning aswell that are not included in this activity feed

namely

 images on api.ning (like the activity feed 1 in this discussion) when clicked are now centerd with black backgrounds

the tiny hidden facebook icons in the module footers on the main page used to only apear when you hoveredover the footer now they apear if yiou hover over anywhere on the module ..however they disapeared completely (code and all) from all modules except the video and p\hoto module

and 1 more that annoys me slightly (just cause i spent hours trying to fix it with no luck)

the share area below content (left-panel) likebox  something in there  i believe the google + when it loads  it shifts the size of tyhe left-panel div for a split second then it shrinks back

 ..it gets like twice as tall shifting content up thenj down (and oddly enough just before that the facebook like does a barely noticible..wiggle

are these related to other behind the scenes nitty gritty code changs ?

(by the way these are on both my sites and creators too (not the left-panel 1 cause creators doesnt have the likebox activated)

but the video module on the main page is the only 1 wiyh the tiny facebook icon that now apears whenj you mouse over the module (not just footer)

(ps i never understood why it had display:none hover:display:inline anyway)

[Eric Suesz]

If you're using CSS extensively in the Activity Feed area, you'll probably see some anomalies. You'll want to adjust your custom code or remove it. 

[soaringeagle]

its not css my 1 site uses c=very very lil css  the other uses a ton but its also showing on  other sites and i put in a ticket and it was tested on a few test networks as well

but its stuff you have to be observant to notice

i only notiv[pced cause fir severak[]l hours i got arandom popup saying "facebook will now open a new windiw to login" byt this happehned when i clo[]icked pics or nmenu links ..nit facebook thingfs anhd randomb]ly (j]jensocial noticed it too) but then it stoped so i went huntingto try to remember what triggered it before thenj i rememverd the tiny icons and thats whren i noticed they all were missing

several hours later 2 returned..byt behaving diferently

and this was confirmed by ning tech suport to appear on several test networks too too

after aboyt 6 or 8 emails explaining exactly whawt was going on

i mean..the html that displayed the fb icons is no lontger there in thefooters except in vidsand pics

the google + weirdness most likely isnt a ning upg]date at all cause it started at tge exact same time the google + changed from blue to red

so its p\robably a google change but still needs a ning tweak to fix the odd begh]havior its causing now

[soaringeagle]

and these arent activity feed related at all im talking abiout the module footer areas look over there on the main page----> mouse over the vid module see the fb icon apear?  now mouse over forums and blogs see none?  it used to be on them all and it used to only apear when you moused over the footer of the module not the module itself

[soaringeagle]

if yiu use the thought bubble status updates  and they dont look right now try this code

.xg_module_activity .feed-story-status .rich-detail{background:#333 url(http://api.ning.com:80/files/V89jqQsqrRMQ*dIR5LsCYRfRrymqkSXewrL70FSdB4i0YWnaXw*2A43JzOvLHW8cSP0TDD*246aw2tivWS9ls09t4udO0WPO/bubbles.png) no-repeat 0 8%;padding:0 1em 0 .8em;}

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(only affects the bubbles flipping them over and moving them up to realign with the profile photo (as seen below)

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u do need to use that url since the image was flipped over)

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only other change was the 30% was changed to 8% to move it up)

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old (sorry partialy hidden by transparent design studio  i didnt feel like publishing just fir a screenshot)

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new with fixed code

[Alexander Molina]

 would this possible?  when someone likes or comment on your publication or status,will be sent an email to the person who published, to notify  that there was activity in their publication?

[soaringeagle]

200 emails a day aren't enough for you? you want more?

i think most people especially those who never figure out how to control what emails they do recieve would hate having even mire emails

maybe if it was added to the daily digest (which should be perfected and come out of beta already)

but i think ning sends eniugh emails already without adding more

or perhaps would be good to be able to set an interval and all activity within that timeframe was condensed into 1 email like if u set it to 2 hours  and u get 10 replies to discussions u follow 3 comments on your profile  2 pic comments a status update comment and  a freind request all that comes in 1 email every 2 hours instead of individual emails by the hundreds

[Alexander Molina]

Hi Soaringeagle,

Sorry!

I explain maybe incorrectly. the email is not for the creator of the network but for the person who published.

[Eric Suesz]

We may have something for you on this front, Alexander. It may not do everything you want, but I think many people will find the next update very useful. Still doing more work on all of this and hope to update you with more in the coming weeks.