Website Updates 21 July 2010
suxiaoya
July 21, 2010, 10:39 AM posted in General DiscussionHi All -
In an effort to keep everyone fully informed of changes made to the site, we will be posting up a list of updates in the General Discussion group - even for minor iterations - as and when they happen. We shall continue to communicate more significant changes through the ChinesePod blog, newsletter and News & Features.
Most recently, the tech team have made the following changes:
1. "All Groups" filter added in the Community section
This means that it's now possible to view conversations taking place within all groups, even within those you do not belong to.
The main reason for this is to encourage users to join and participate in groups, by making them more accessible. This feature is being tested and may not be permanent. Do let us know what you think!
2. "Pinyin tone mark converter" - now enabled by default
Our onsite Pinyin converter makes it possible to type tone markers easily when using Pinyin (i.e. ni3 hao3 >> nǐ hǎo). This functionality is not new, but it is now enabled automatically. As a result, at the bottom of every post that you write, you should now be able to see a "Convert Tone Marks" button link.
3. ‘Skritter Lite’ - enabled by default
As above, the Skritter writing pad add-on is enabled automatically now. Premium users can practice writing characters in the vocabulary section of individual lesson pages, or through their personal Vocabulary Manager, accessible through the "Tools" section.
That's it for now, guys, but we'll keep you updated on all such changes and developments as they happen.
Thanks!
suxiaoya
I'll get back to you on this one ASAP, pretzellogic, though I am not sure this has been decided upon yet.
pretzellogic
Thanks for the feedback.
matthiask
July 21, 2010, 01:33 PMthese updates are highly appreachiated!
matthiask
July 21, 2010, 02:19 PM4. Chinesepod removed some RSS feeds - or at least has hidden them quite well.
zhenlijiang
July 21, 2010, 03:23 PMlist of updates - even for minor iterations - as and when they happen.
Yes, greatly appreciated.
All Groups--very happy to see this obviously (esp as it appears to be the default view)! I was one of the users asking for this filter for the very reason you say you've added it. Do hope it is made permanent, I mean when we don't want to see All Groups we can select a different view after all.
suxiaoya
Great, I'm pleased. We'll be sure to keep up the communication on this matter and all others.
bababardwan
July 21, 2010, 11:48 PMthanks suxiaoya, esp for the "All groups"
suxiaoya
It was a change I am personally very happy about, too!
hamshank
July 22, 2010, 01:54 AMLet me ask one thing....
If someone chooses to add "All Groups" does every groups number of members increase by one?
I'm thinking my new 2 man band of a group will actually have more people potentially seeing any updates.
It's easier to guage whether your group is worth continuing over the long run or whether you are talking to yourself. :)
bababardwan
hamshank,
Can CPod please confirm this is right:
I'm pretty sure this new ability to see "all groups" is just that ...the ability to see all conversations in all groups without necessarily joining them { I doubt it will add anyone automatically..so I don't think the number will increase by just viewing]...but I hope the greater exposure your group gets will mean more people become aware,get interested and join. Good luck mate.
suxiaoya
Hi Hamshank -
When you choose to filter "All Groups", you are simply choosing to view the conversations within all groups; you are not becoming a member of every group. As such, your group will not grow every time a user chooses to view all groups.
Having said that, by choosing the "All Groups" view, it's far easier to stumble upon groups of interest - including yours! Users viewing "all groups" will be exposed to the conversations in your group, as long as there are conversations/posts occurring, of course.
It's still necessary to actively join a group if you want to post and to get involved in the conversations, but this is done easily by clicking on the red link to the group in question, then clicking "join".
Once you're a member of a group, it's easy to then filter conversations within this group on the community page and dashboard, so you can keep an eye on the newest posts.
We are currently working on the whole structure and functionality of Groups, and planning ways to add new benefits for both members and group moderators. We'll be sure to consult you guys and keep you updated.
Please let me know if anything is still unclear!
hamshank
Hi Barbs,
Thanks for the encouragement. Your view an interesting way to look at it for me...
The way it works (in my head) is that when you join "All Groups", you do just that and join all groups.
At the moment there is no need to join any group as i'm guessing a lot of people will just select to join all groups so I would expect most new groups to always have low numbers.
Anyway lets wait and see!
hamshank
Hi suxiaoya
I see you got your post in before I finished replying to bababardwan.
Thanks for the info.
go_manly
There is no option to join all groups.
All the 'All Groups' option does is to allow you to view the threads from all groups. You still need to add each group if you want to take part in the conversations yourself.
The situation is now pretty much exactly the same as it was before April (for those who chose to have it this way).
Tal
July 22, 2010, 03:48 AMVery positive changes. Thank you CPod.
zhenlijiang
July 22, 2010, 03:51 AMJust want to say that the "All Groups" filter works because it is the default view on the Conversations page--the way it is now. It doesn't have the desired effect if you have to rely on users choosing to Show All Groups (on everybody knowing, first of all, that there is such an option).
Once we've had the chance to see all that is out there, then we can always go to "All My Groups" (or any of the individual Groups we have joined) and filter out of our view the Groups that we aren't interested in for the time being.
bababardwan
有道理
suxiaoya
Agree, absolutely.
jennyzhu
July 22, 2010, 06:20 AMTo use Skritter Lite on every lesson page, click on "Vocabulary" and you will see a box marked "Writing Practice" below both "Key vocabulary" and "Supplementary vocabulary".
pretzellogic
July 21, 2010, 11:05 AMany changes planned as a result of suggestions for the lesson progress beta?