More info on the User Account Pages

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Hey,

I think there should be more ability to put info on the user account pages:

Basic stuff like interests, types of stories liked, that sort of thing. I would love to be able to better find other members who might share my interests (mother daughter stories).

Possible? I know there is lots to do with this site but making it easier for members to connect with one another seems like a decent idea.

Yea??

mmary

Expanded profile

erin's picture

There are several things I could do with making profile pages more customizable. Anybody else think it's worth it?

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

I find that

I find that the less people know about me, the more they like me - or dislike me less, maybe - but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to know more about others so I can decide whether or not to like them more or less.

Could be interesting

I think such a thing could be fun!

At the same time, though, I'm not sure there are enough users who would use it to make it worthwhile. Most of the site's users are pretty guarded with what information they tend to share, and I know more than a few authors feel uncomfortable even with the extremely limited amount of information that can already be found on such pages. I would like it, but...

Melanie E.

Name change

I think the first thing to change should be the name. On every other Internet site I've used, the user account has been visible only to me. I was astonished after using this site for some time to find that all those items I thought were a closely guarded secret were available to everyone to see.

Call it a User Noticeboard or similar. Account implies that it's confidential. Expand the public info if you want, but I believe that everything which is made public about me should be done under my control.

Well...

Just a couple of points, and please bear in mind I don't know what your info situation is. If you don't like the User Account name, I'd suggest User Profile. But for me it's just cosmetic so I don't care either way.

As for releasing information about yourself, when I joined the site, I made my own introductory/general info blog. In there I shared what I wanted about myself. So my suggestion in this vein is to make something similar - a link on the user page that will lead to the introductory blog - if there is one. You can simply add it after you post a usual blog.

Faraway


On rights of free advertisement:
Big Closet Top Shelf

Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!

Faraway


On rights of free advertisement:
Big Closet Top Shelf

Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!

Ideas...

I can think of several potentially useful fields, all of which would (of course) be free text and completely optional.

Location would be an obvious one - the vast majority of people here probably wouldn't mind revealing which continent they're on, the majority probably wouldn't mind revealing their country, then only those of us that aren't incognito in real life or who aren't paranoid about their privacy can drill down further to state/county/town.

Age - not many people would reveal their age in figures, but if text was allowed, some people would probably have the wit to put things such as "too darn old", "not young enough", "young at heart" etc.

And finally, "About me" - a multi-line box where those that want to can write a sentence or two about themselves.

Again, each of these would be completely optional, so those who, for various reasons, are incognito in real life can choose not to reveal any information (especially if there's even the remotest chance it could link them to their real life public persona).

 

Bike Resources

There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...

As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

User Account

I suggested to Erin a long while back that maybe each user could have an "About Me" page in the user menu (or something similar). She sounded interested, but I guess it got lost amongst the press of other business.

My suggestion (as I recall) was just a single page editable only by the user where we could put whatever we wanted to about ourselves: real data only. This would leave the user to determine just how little or how much to reveal, which I know is important here.

Since then, the current tree system of organization has been implemented. At the top of this is an Author page. I wonder if this could be used for the purpose proposed?

Penny

Author Pages...

Puddintane's picture

Within the limits of reason, you can put anything you want on an author page.

Some people leave them very simple, but it's easy to make them arbitrarily complex.

As a matter of practicality, you probably don't want a huge page where you have to scroll down to see your stories, but even there one has the right-hand tree diagram for navigation, and one could make a sub-page, just for the personal information, just as some complicated stories have back-story pages, lists of characters, and whatnot.

This, of course, has the advantage that Erin doesn't have to actually do anything to make it happen, and there need be no agreement about what should be on a global dedicated page in your account.

On the other hand, with a dedicated page, one could use site tools to search particular fields, so as to easily find juggling ballet dancers who have blue eyes and can sing in four-part harmony.

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

A bit more

hey,

There are tons of stories on the site which is excellent but the part that frustrates me about the site is the lack of "social features"

Of course the default would be 'opt out' but for the ones who are interested why not a bit more so they can communicate a bit? Not every story is for everyone, some people are into "mask" stories, magic, etc, etc, etc. Personally i adore Mother / Daughter stories and I would so appreciate the opportunity to connect with others who share this interest - I did put up a topic in the 'hanging around' section saying as much and barely got any replies at all. awwwww,

For the people who are into being dressed by their sisters blueberry colored ballerina dresses there should be a way for them to connect if they so choose. I don't know how to set this up so that it doens't become a quagmireish mess but it would be so nice if there was a way.

thanks,
mmary

I trust you all.!

WebDeb's picture

The main reason that I like B.G is the amazing storie's and the selfless authors
who give of their own free time and their wonderful stories, which keep me entertained for hours on end.
I think it's part of our conditioning by trying to meet society's expectations it leave's us feeling a niggling residue of paranoia.
This site is the most community minded site I have encountered'which is one of the reasons I am always drawn back to it
However I think there is room for improvement on the sociable aspect side of it.
There must be a way to let our hair dowm and talk to one another on a more personal level whilst remaining to whatever degree of annonymity each individual wishes to mantain.
As it stands I do feel I am with like minded people and consider everyone who participates on this site as a fellow traveller and a friend.
Love you all WebDeb