Feedback, last thread for things that really should be changed, or changed back, Please A D D

Question

Ok, this is going to be my last thread to combine efforts to make a summary of what things should still be changed or rather "changed back" to what they were before the new look this forum now has.

Bear with me, but the most important issue for me as a moderator and member who spends HOURS on this site, is the register page, which now only asks for "username, e-mail and password".

It took us months to convince Christopher to add "gender and above all language proficiency and location" , and now these requirements are simply gone.. So Now we are back to again to "please fill in your profile" on almost all posts, as one can simply not always guess where the person is from and what his native tongue is.

And second and above all: the SEARCH ENGINE, no suggestion has been considered as far as we know, please let us know if you are at least considering it.

Read this for possible options.

So the first point on this list:

FEEDBACK THREAD ONE

FEEDBACK THREAD TWO

Please add to the list and give more feedback!

Latest activity, can be found under the "users" tab, this should have an extra tab or be somehow more visible.

1) To register on the site you are only asked for username, e-mail and password. NO username information is required. It is impossible to know the language proficiency and origin of the poster.

2) Search engine needs urgent change to be more userfriendly . (please see posts below and threads opened by Izanhoni, webdunce or pesta's suggestions and many others)

3) Codes and formatting do not work, no graphics are possible

4) Quizzes and Spanish site need corrections.

5) Reference section is difficult to find and should have a special link under the "learn" tab.

6) Comments are so small they can hardly be read. FIXED

The links for edit, author or post, time etc, also clearly marked now (underlined), FIXED

7) Avatar cannot be changed FIXED

8) Acronyms cannot be written in caps.

9) On dictionary the gray doesn't allow to read the options properly.

10) No clear separation on PMs as there used to be.

11) Join date is messed up, shows last night for everybody

12) When writing in caps no warning is given, like before, the question or answer is simply not posted.

13) Moderators should be clearly marked as such next to their names on any post, like on the old site.

14) The category of the question does not appear on the Question and Answer page.

15) The tab "Q&A" should be changed to "FORUM" , the forum is now hidden under an unknown accronym.

Please ADD suggestions or things that don't work for you!!

Also write DIRECTLY to FEEDBACK!

• I agree that language proficiency is absolutely essential -- an not just for moderators!! - territurtle Feb 8, 2012
• Thanks for opening a new thread Heidi! :) - lovely_lovel Feb 8, 2012
• Let's keep working on it, Heidita. - annierats Feb 8, 2012
• and not just for moderators!! - territurtle -indeed! - Heidita Feb 8, 2012
• Can we write acronyms if we add dots? N.A.T.O. - pesta Feb 8, 2012
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Answer 1

I seem to have my own ideas about how search should work. I generally understand and agree with the suggestions offered by Iza in another thread.

I view searching from a simple basis of what experiences I have had, especially the disappointing experiences.

1. Search criteria limited to an author - Search for a prior post by author X. I know who posted the item I'm searching for. He may be the author of the thread, or just author of the answer. There's no way for me to restrict my search to a single user.

2. Search result order understood or specified by us - Search for a recent post containing the string "whatever". I can search for "whatever" and get a list spanning 50 pages, and it has no perceivable order. It's not by date, not by user. Maybe it's by number of occurrences of the word "whatever", but that doesn't help, because I know it's a recent post; not the post with the most "relevance" (as defined by some secret search-engine algorithm)

3. Sub-searches - I just searched for "whatever" but got too many results. I know that the post I'm searching for is there but it will take an hour to read through them. However, if I could do a search (with some different criteria and sort order) on this first result, I could probably get a fairly small result and find my answer quickly.

4. Search operators - Really good search engines would let me do something like this: search for "goal and not fútbol", or search for "word1 or word2 or word3 +Lazarus1907". This last one would do simple combined criteria on a few words (like it does now) but require that any result must contain "Lazarus1907".

Edit: I left out one--

5. Match sensitivity - Case-insensitive searches are obviously powerful and necessary. But sensitivity to diacritical marks are occasionally important. For example, if I want to search for "sé" or "dé" and I get a million matches for "se" or "de", the search is useless. Or maybe I want to find something on "ésta" but not "está". I would like a way to specify that my search works contrary to the automatic default setting for this.

• I completely agree - cogumela Feb 8, 2012
• Agree! A thousand votes for this. - ajaks Feb 8, 2012
• thnks, I have been trying to get this implemented for a year ....but so far have not been lucky:( - Heidita Feb 8, 2012
• Great idea and a very very useful tool. - ian-hill Feb 8, 2012
• I am very glad you wrote this! - MLucie Feb 8, 2012
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Answer 2

I think that the avatars should be bigger, that the moderator label should be more visible, as well as the dates of posting and edition, and that there should be a way of taking notice of the latest activity (if the box doesn't come back, at least replace it for a similar tool that allows us to know who is voting, answering...) as the interaction between members in the forum (that was already scarce enough) is now completely missed, so it's very, very easy to miss comments and corrections on the threads.

I know that I sound like a scratched LP, but these are previous comments about changes I have absolutely no news about.

• I really agree. - annierats Feb 8, 2012
• Ha, now the common saying is "I sound like a broken record...", but, for humorous effect, you can get creative and say something like "sound like a scratched LP"... it definitely works here!!! Sounds very natural. - webdunce Feb 8, 2012
• :) Noticed. I translated literally from Spanish. My mistake. Thank you for telling me. - cogumela Feb 8, 2012
• LoL I like the Spanish version better - scratched record is more accurate. Soon it won't matter because no one will remember what an LP was. :) - ajaks Feb 8, 2012
• I am hoping that the stack of LPs and 78s and 45s I have in my garrage will soon be worth a fortune :) - ian-hill Feb 8, 2012
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Answer 3

If I may add a small, low-priority suggestion...

When the issue of requiring users to complete their profile with language proficiency is sorted out, I think it would be nice if that info could be included in the little window that pops up when you hover over an avatar. Even if it only stated the language that person lists as their native language, it would be helpful to people when they are attempting to answer a question for that user.

My two cents.

• yep it would - ian-hill Feb 8, 2012
• I agree with this idea. - pesta Feb 8, 2012
• Add my vote. I suspect that the developes may not really understand how *very important* it is to know the language proficiencies of the writers, in order to give an appropriate answer! - Gekkosan Feb 8, 2012
• I think so too. I know I make alot of silly jokes, but I would never want to demoralize a beginner, it would be unforgiveable. - annierats Feb 8, 2012

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Answer 4

The size of the comments is bigger now! It's great! No tired eyes anymore!

• Much better! Thank you Chris and co.!!! - ajaks Feb 8, 2012
• Yes it's a delight! :) - rabbitwho Feb 8, 2012
• Yes, it is much better! Thank you! - t1funnyface Feb 8, 2012
• Yes, thank you, thank you, I have noticed too! - annierats Feb 8, 2012
• hmmm, is "co." me? jeje - Heidita Feb 8, 2012
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Answer 5

A FAQ, for goodness sake! A prominent, easy to see FAQ for all those "how do I roll my 'r' "; "why is el agua and not la", "what's better, Spanish or English"; "what's the difference between ser and estar", and similar questions that get asked 50 times a day!

PULEEEEZEEEE!!??

• Hey, Lovely's trick wih the all-caps works great! Yay, thanks Lovely! :-) - Gekkosan Feb 8, 2012
• Lovely is a genius. - pesta Feb 8, 2012
• That would be nice. (although, I'm sure some questions would *still* be asked, lol) - Goldie_Miel Feb 8, 2012
• Very good idea - ian-hill Feb 8, 2012
• Yes, there are always those who will ignore the "FAQs" hehe - Gregory84 Feb 8, 2012
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Answer 6

the most important issue for me as a moderator and member who spends HOURS on this site, is the register page, which now only asks for "username, e-mail and password".

It took us months to convince Christopher to add "gender and above all language proficiency and location" , and now these requirements are simply gone. So Now we are back to again to "please fill in your profile" on almost all posts, as one can simply not always guess where the person is from and what his native tongue is.

This is a serious issue and can't be stressed enough. When trying to give a helpful answer a poster's question, this information is essential. I always check the poster's profile first now, after learning this lesson the hard way. Even for questions that are well-written (and many are anything but!) it helps us to know this information in order to formulate the most appropriate answer. And if we don't know the gender of the person, how are we supposed to welcome them in Spanish? Basic!!

I don't understand the resistance to implementing this. I have an assumption, but I might be wrong. Please enlighten me!

• I don't know if the word "re-implement" this, as this existed on the old site...we finally got it and now it is gone...estoy triste:( - Heidita Feb 8, 2012
• I would love to know what your assumption is ajaks. - ian-hill Feb 8, 2012
• I'm guessing that someone feels that requiring this information might discourage some people from registering. Just a guess. - ajaks Feb 8, 2012
• Yes, Heidita, I think you have it right. It was "done" and now it's been "undone." Why? We need it back! - ajaks Feb 8, 2012
• I don't see why we should ask gender. I know some people won't want to fill it out, and it's not that useful, we can always say "cansado for a boy, cansada for a girl," it's not that much extra work. - rabbitwho Feb 8, 2012
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Answer 7

I think the search engine needs improvement. Sometimes i don't know where to find something and I search for it and its says " no results found" but I know its on here somewhere! lol

• Yes, that was actually a problem with the original site. I frequently use Google to search the site for such things....just do searches like this in Google: "site:spanishdict.com webdunce how to roll R" (without the quote marks). - webdunce Feb 8, 2012
• I mean I use SD's search function first, but if doesn't return results I know are there, I turn to Google. - webdunce Feb 8, 2012
• "no results found" or the results list is so long that it is not much help at all. - ian-hill Feb 8, 2012
• I just use google to start with! But it's normal for a websites internal search to be bad, and searches are a big drain on the servers. Maybe it could be powered by google? - rabbitwho Feb 8, 2012

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Answer 8

Basically Cogumela has made my points for me.

On a more positive note, the editing has become easier again, the Spanish letters have returned. Thank you!

A suggestion:

Could we have a nice colourful picture on the front page, which is very dull now? It is also very similar to that of other learning sites.

I can see that the avatars on the front were possibly a bit mysterious and off-putting for newcomers to the site but maybe we could have a beautiful photo from the Andes or a nice one from the Pueblos Blancos in Andalucía, or similar. It could be changed from time to time..Many of us would be keen to supply the photos!

• Great idea! - ajaks Feb 8, 2012
• it would stand out and people might even return to the site to see what the Homepage had on it.. Only a thought. - annierats Feb 8, 2012
• Nice suggestion. - MLucie Feb 8, 2012
• A nice colorful picture of... Spanish culture? Paralee in an evening gown? - pesta Feb 8, 2012
• Nice thought. I like that idea. - t1funnyface Feb 8, 2012
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Answer 9

I agree 100% that the registration page needs to require more information. The proficiency in Spanish and English are indispensable if a person is going to give a meaningful answer. A question on ser vs. estar or preterite vs. imperfect should be handled totally differently for a beginner vs. an advanced student.

For users who are interested in accessing special features on the site, such as the reference section or the Phrasebook, it would make sense to have those immediately visible at the top of the page, instead of having to click on "More/Más". A visitor to the site would not have any idea that they are available. Speaking as a person who has spent a lot of time working on the Phrasebook, I am wondering if anyone even uses it?

I know that this has been mentioned many times, but all of us who use Spanishdict on a regular basis deeply care about this site and its future. The number and vehemence of the responses is a testimony to our personal involvement and caring.

• I use the phrasebook a lot, and offer links to it in answers as often as possible. - pesta Feb 8, 2012
• Oh, thank you! - mountaingirl Feb 8, 2012
• I use the phrasebook on a regular basis as well, and greatly appreciate it as well. - Stadt Feb 8, 2012
• Same here, probably not as much as I should too. - Gregory84 Feb 8, 2012
• I use the phrasebook - but when I looked for "out of my depth" I got 19 pages !! but not one with the word "depth" - not very useful. - ian-hill Feb 10, 2012

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Answer 10

On the new quizzes, unlike all the other learning material, no record seems to be made that you have done them.

I do not care whether the scores are posted in some table for everyone to look at or not.

I do not care whether I get any points for doing them or not.

I do not care whether the percentage I have done is shown on my profile or not.

But I would like to be able to personally see whether I have done one or not, and what my personal best score was if I have, so I can see if I need to do it for the first time still, do it again because my score was not good , or can assume I understood the material.

This of course is with the assumption that the quizzes reach a level of accuracy that makes our native speakers happy.

(Really, how can we go on correcting people for failing to use tildes when the official quiz has this sentence (cut and pasted directly): Quisiera una habitacion con bano privado ___ dos noches.)

Sorry if this one has already been done, there are so many now.

• You are right, stadt, I cannot recommend doing the quizzes until they are corrected, there are so many mistakes it is not a ten minutes task. and not recommendable doing them, you might get confused - Heidita Feb 11, 2012

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Answer 11

Here is some stuff that wasn't mentioned above:

1- When l tried too write in caps, the answer wasn't posted, but actually it didn't tell me why it wasn't posted, just nothing, in the past it used to show a message that says you ''cannot write in caps...etc''

2- Moderators name should be shown just next to their nicknames on the forum, and l explained why before.

3- TRYING TO WRITE IN CAPS! (and it works when you write the message in caps and then copy and paste it again, just like in the last site)

4- the category of a question should appear on the questions page.

l can see a lot of stuff has been changed and improved, thanks a lot for all the effort!

• Here are some things that weren't mentioned (or Here is some stuff that wasn't mentioned) .... I can see many things have been changed (or I can see a lot of stuff has been changed) - webdunce Feb 8, 2012
• Sorry, l totally forgot ''stuff' was singular, thank you! - lovely_lovel Feb 8, 2012
• adding it right now - Heidita Feb 8, 2012
• Stuff can also be a verb Lovely but you may already know that :) not a nice one though ! - ian-hill Feb 8, 2012
• Yes, thanks :) - lovely_lovel Feb 8, 2012

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Answer 12

I want to expand upon the latest activity box and its utility. It was not really, really useful, but it was the only indicator we had to notice who is on, and what's going on. Its lack wouldn't be such a terrible loss if it wasn't that now it goes together with the fact you can't see that clearly when you have been voted up.

Everybody who knows me, knows that I don't fully agree with the points reputation system. The only utility I found on it, it was actually that it allowed you to return easily to your last posts.

When I vote for someone, normally, I don't vote because I'm thrilled with their posts. I vote in order to give them notice: It's kind of a "hey, your post has been read, commented on, corrected or whatever". This way, when the users join, go to their reputation page and they've got a link: "You earned 10 rep for being voted up on an answer to X"

This X was useful, because there you have a direct link to the threads that have had activity. It's the only way of noticing other users' activity.

Since the new system has been implemented, I must have visited my reputation page once or twice, because it takes more clicks. This is really an issue that needs to be improved.

• in order to give him notice...read, commented *on*, corrected or *whatever*... - webdunce Feb 8, 2012
• Cogumela, I understand you perfectly, and I liked to see the activity too. It is sometimes several days between the moderator correcting and the person being able to edit the mistakes and it's easy to forget if you don't see the voting etc. - annierats Feb 8, 2012
• I also used "recent activity this way". I visit my profile often to know what feedback was posted, too. - pesta Feb 8, 2012
• Thanks web! Very useful comments and corrections! And thank you annie and pesta too! - cogumela Feb 8, 2012
• To my mind it helped the site to feel alive. - annierats Feb 8, 2012
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Answer 13

Cogumela said:

When I vote for someone, normally, I don't vote because I'm thrilled with his post. I vote in order to him takes notice: It's kind of a "hey, your post has been read, commented, corrected or whatsoever"

This reminded me -- points are nice, but it's really only a substitute for a notification service that we lack: How can I know what posts have gotten commented??

On threads, as author, I can "watch this question" and get notified (by email, which is quite a bother!!) when comments or answers are added. But on an answer, I don't get notified.

Wouldn't it be great if my profile page had entries like on the "reputation tab" (maybe a new tab: "responses tab") that would tell me that my answer received a comment, or my question received an answer? Not by email, but by profile page report list. I would get this whether or not somebody voted me up. It would be a single place to go by which I would be sure never to miss somebody's corrections, comments, etc.

This could be done on every post, or the thread could have a "watch" checkbox where I could decide which ones I care to track for replies.

• another great idea you pest :):) - ian-hill Feb 8, 2012
• I like to live up to my name... hehe. - pesta Feb 8, 2012

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Answer 14

Latest Activity can be found here:

Latest activity

You can find it under the usertab, this should really be more visible, at least the tab...

• Wow, Thanks, Heidi. I wish it was easier to find. - sanlee Feb 9, 2012

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Answer 15

Cogumela wrote:

I think that ... the moderator label should be more visible ...

This reminded me, throughout the site, moderators are variously labeled as

• Moderator
• Administrator
• Admin

Is there a difference between a Moderator and an Admin? If not, I suggest we give this role a single label, use it everywhere, and not confuse the users.

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