Comments / Feedback / Suggestions Thread 2017

scotty on 02/02/2017 - 11:09
Last edited 08/06/2017 - 14:15 by 1 other user

Continued from Comments / Feedback / Suggestions Thread 2016. This post will be used for general feedback in 2017.

Please make any suggestions for new features, bugs, things you'd like to see changed or anything else. Also feel free to start a new thread in Site Discussion. If it's a little issue perhaps use this thread, if it's a big issue then perhaps start a new thread. Please see the wiki below as your suggestion may already have been mentioned.

The majority of things you see, as well as policies on OzBargain were implemented based on user feedback. Please see the Site & Guideline Updates Announcement Thread to keep up to date with the changes/features that we implement as they are added.

Site Discussion

closed Comments

    • Moderatorneil on 08/07/2017 - 09:47

      Ah, ok. Have fixed, thanks.

  • GregMonarch on 08/07/2017 - 03:39

    Argh… 12 months before you can post a classified! I never see deals before someone else posts them, and I've spent 3 days typing up a classified that I've just realised I can't post, LOL. :-|

  • brisdaz on 08/07/2017 - 19:22

    From a 2013 Post

    can we have an email sharing button?

    My reply - brisdaz on 07/07/2013 - 20:30:

    You could have a mailto link with subject and body comment. The visitor's email client (whether that be a web based client like gmail or client side like outlook) would still do the sending. See Can I set subject/content of email with using mailto:?(stackoverflow.com) It'd be one click whilst avoiding spam problems.

    I never got an answer as to why my suggestion was not good?

    • Moderatorhamza23 on 08/07/2017 - 19:26

      The email sharing button was implemented a couple years ago. It's below every deal with the social share options.

      Thanks for your suggestion.

      • brisdaz on 13/07/2017 - 16:13

        Sorry I didn't notice this.

        I was going on Wiki: OzBargain Development, User Requests for features etc. which hasn't been updated over a year (in April last year 2016) where it was put in the rejected section.

        • Moderatorhamza23 on 13/07/2017 - 16:17

          No problems, yeah I don't think that is being used anymore.

          Since the start of this year we are announcing new features etc. here and also replying directly to user suggestions going forward as we get to them.

          Thanks

  • brisdaz on 08/07/2017 - 20:37

    Since a lot of Super funds hold shares in Telstra (being a large company with good dividends) and all Australians have super that would lead to many people breaking the voting/commenting rules. Or is it indirect enough that it doesn't matter?

    • Moderatorhamza23 on 10/07/2017 - 15:38

      Yes a good point that there may be some conflict there, however that association is very indirect and it would be unrealistic and unproductive for us to expect users with investments in (super, shares etc.) to declare association, we could have 1/4 of OzBargain associated with Telstra or similar. We are just interested in more direct associations/affiliations.

      Thanks

      • brisdaz on 15/08/2019 - 02:41

        Whilst you may not be majority owner of a company via shares, a large proportion of your retirement fund could be directly invested (not through super) leading to a more direct association. That's why politicians have to declare conflicts of interests as well as accountants I think. Food for thought anyway.

    • pfaftle on 29/07/2017 - 16:59

      not all Australians have super, some of us aren't that fortunate.

  • hawkeye on 09/07/2017 - 19:44

    Subtree for the same associated deal in the way if someone posts "Ebay 20% off use code MARKEDUP25"
    Soon after that you get a swamp of mostly uninteresting garbage flooding the page with use code XXXX Just look at the front page now with the corkage deal.
    Dunno if it's just me but I find it very irritating and would rather see links slotted into the OP bellow or a wiki for that code for people to browse and so people don't miss the OP a flashing bar with new wiki when you login or something like that.

  • brisdaz on 11/07/2017 - 19:46

    From https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/4842610/redir :

    perhaps expire referral codes (and send a reminder every year to easily renew) every year to remove dead codes?

    • scotty on 12/07/2017 - 08:09

      Depending on the referral programs, some referral code are already auto expired with notification.

  • brisdaz on 12/07/2017 - 17:35

    Editing duration

    I looked in commenting guidelines but could not find how long you can edit a comment.

    • Moderatorhamza23 on 12/07/2017 - 18:17

      I believe it's 60 minutes, however if someone replies to your comment then editing rights are revoked before that. I'll see if we can put that in the FAQ somewhere.

      You can also request removal of your comment via the report link.

      • tightarse on 12/07/2017 - 18:20
        +1

        however if someone replies to your comment then editing rights are revoked before that.

        This only applies to the first 2 branches within a comment's response. The 3rd and subsequent ones can be edited for up to 60 minutes even if responded to. Hope this makes sense :)

        • nocure on 12/07/2017 - 18:56
          +1

          Let's test it…

        • tightarse on 12/07/2017 - 18:56
          +1

          @nocure: Testing… OK, your comment is locked. Now reply to mine.

          Edit: I can still edit this comment after you posted "I love Ozbargain" below. Test over :)

        • nocure on 12/07/2017 - 18:57
          +1

          @tightarse:
          I love OzBargain

          Edit: hello Lyl

        • tightarse on 12/07/2017 - 18:59
          +1

          @nocure: Thanks nocure. I'm assuming you can still edit your comment above?

          Edit: Ye, hello lyl :)

        • lyl on 12/07/2017 - 19:00
          +5

          @tightarse:

          Just get a room you two

  • brisdaz on 12/07/2017 - 17:56

    Text or Image Ad settings bug

    I tried enabling text ad setting but got a display image a so I turned it off. I can screenshot it if you want?

    • scotty on 12/07/2017 - 19:44
      +1

      Unfortunately due to the way ads are auctioned on various exchanges, text ads only work if Google AdWords won the right to show the ads. Other networks don't take adsense DFP options to show only text ads.

      • brisdaz on 13/07/2017 - 16:08

        In that case is it possible to have an option to only show text ads and remove the other companies advertisements that don't have options for text ads? Otherwise although I don't mind text ads I'll just switch all ads off. I'm sure I'm not the only one but perhaps the incremental revenue isn't worth the programming time to do this.

        • scotty on 13/07/2017 - 17:27

          Which ads network gets selected is done on the side of exchange which I have no control of. Turn off the ads all together if you don't want to see the image or HTML5 ads.

  • brisdaz on 15/07/2017 - 10:36

    Penalty Box & Privacy

    Can we tell if someone has been in the penalty box in the past?

    • Moderatorhamza23 on 15/07/2017 - 11:32

      You cannot tell if someone has been in the penalty box in the past.

  • brisdaz on 15/07/2017 - 11:16

    Identicon instead of generic avatar

    Admins, can we have an identicon instead of a generic avatar for posters without a gravatar. This way we can easily tell whose who.

    An Identicon is a visual representation of a hash value, usually of an IP address, that serves to identify a user of a computer system as a form of avatar while protecting the users' privacy. The original Identicon was a 9-block graphic, and the representation has been extended to other graphic forms by third parties.

  • Slippery Fish on 15/07/2017 - 22:47

    This morning when posting a deal on my Moto g5plus the keyboard wouldn't type anything but punctuation even though spell check on my phone saw what I typed, is this a site issue or some random bug?

    Closing the browser app and reopening fixed it.

  • Phalaxis on 17/07/2017 - 14:09
    +1

    Would it be possible to have a sorting option in the Competitions entered page? I'd like to be able to sort by closing date for example.

    • Moderatorhamza23 on 24/07/2017 - 12:18

      Hi Phalaxis,

      Discussed this with admins. That feature would basically require a redesign of the entered page, a fairly big job and as things stand we aren't seeing many users use that page. We'll put it on the list though for things to look at doing down the track.

      Thanks

      • Phalaxis on 24/07/2017 - 13:05

        No worries. I figured it wouldn't be easy to implement.

      • pfaftle on 31/07/2017 - 16:40

        @hamza23 That's why I avoid that page: lack of sorting functionality.

  • retiredfeline on 18/07/2017 - 16:48

    Is there way to disable comment notifications on the mobile page?

  • brisdaz on 23/07/2017 - 19:47

    Update wiki to reflect removal of 24 hour ban for Australian new users

    @Neil post

    This one is 7 years old and was removed years ago. There is no longer a 24 hour rule for Australian users. International users may be subject to lockouts.

    Sorry I didn't realize this as Posting Ban Explained wiki article despite being updated in 2016 still states the 24 hour ban is in place.

    • Moderatorneil on 24/07/2017 - 00:58

      OK, that has been updated. Was that linked from somewhere in the help?

      • brisdaz on 24/07/2017 - 08:56

        Not sure about the main site but it is linked from the FAQ according to wiki backlinks

        • Moderatorneil on 24/07/2017 - 09:09

          Cool, thanks.

  • spackbace on 25/07/2017 - 00:29

    Now that we have a "3rd Party" tag, could we stop them auto-voting the deal, same as a store rep? After all, the deal post is a benefit to them, same as a rep

    • Moderatorneil on 06/10/2017 - 11:07

      Just to follow up. We've discussed this and will be leaving it as normal users for simplicity and technical reasons. Third party sites are on posting limitations.

  • brisdaz on 26/07/2017 - 10:29

    Link to internal docs for formatting instead of or as well as external for Formatting Help under replies

    I wrote this elsewhere but only 11 people subscribe to that thread whilst 14 subscribe here.

    Can we have this or the wiki linked into Formatting Help at the bottom of comment replies as well as or instead of the markdown and markdown extra links? There is some peculiarities of Ozbargain's support of the syntax so it's best to refer to the wiki documentation here plus more ad revenue for Ozbargain.

    • scotty on 26/07/2017 - 10:56

      The Formatting Help is sufficient, as it links to both the standard syntax for Markdown and Markdown Extra.

  • pfaftle on 27/07/2017 - 16:05

    Can we please ban the stokescontests.com domain from being posted in comps? They are dodgy and SPAMmy.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/4668664/redir
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/4910732/redir (best I have as evidence :/ )

    • neil on 29/07/2017 - 01:28
      +2

      Do you have any more info about them? I can't find much on their website about who they are however the pictures of the winners appear to be unique to their site.

      Personally, I think many of these international comps getting posted are for unknown or for very little known sites with vague T&Cs in which they don't have to be followed in Australia. With at least Australian comps, there are mostly T&Cs that can be enforced and you are not competing with the whole world. Seems a compers time would be better spent entering Australian comps. Anyway, just my thoughts.

      • pfaftle on 29/07/2017 - 01:38

        Not hard evidence… just several attempts over the last 6 months or so with different browsers (not everything always blends in FF), losing entries and getting heaps of extra spam every time I tried (and then seeing others have spam issues).

      • pfaftle on 29/07/2017 - 16:57

        by-the, by-the…. Aussie comps are nearly as rare as hen's teeth… I run out of Aussie comps to enter before I run out of desire to enter comps :P

        • Moderatorneil on 31/07/2017 - 16:26

          I run out of Aussie comps to enter before I run out of desire to enter comps

          Ha, fair enough.

          OK, we've banned the site. If someone comes along with a compelling case to remove the ban, then we'll reassess.

        • pfaftle on 31/07/2017 - 16:37
          +1

          @neil: Awesome! Cheers :) I wish they were legit, ultra easy entry and prizes that are too good to be true… oh wait XD

  • squidz on 29/07/2017 - 15:34

    Suggestion about product review.
    It would be great if we can link deals to product review as I find that some of the reviews from ozbargainers are quite good.
    This can also remove redundant questions being asked whenever the deal for the same product comes up. EG, Mi Box etc…

    On top of that, I find that the opinion of Ozb are somewhat better than others i find online, eg amazon review on electronic products, some were posted by people who doesnt know how to operate the product n end up posting bad review on them, lol!

    please comment :))

    • Moderatorneil on 31/07/2017 - 16:43

      Are you referring to linking to Product Review or a product review (a review of a product)?

      • squidz on 31/07/2017 - 17:57

        review of a product :)

        • Moderatorneil on 19/08/2017 - 01:17

          How do you envisage reviews to be linked to a product?

  • doweyy on 01/08/2017 - 13:01

    Hey Scotty, as there is quite a few Kmart deals that pop up every so often I thought I'd chuck a suggestion in. Kmart deals are nationwide when the price is shown by a yellow, red or white ticket on the shelf. The only time when a deal isn't nationwide is when there is a sticker on the product or when there is paper printed with specific sales such as "Today Only: 50% off Xmas Items". If you could put that when someone is making a kmart deal, much similar to when someone is posting an ebay deal and a coupon can be used, that'd greatly improve the deal rather than having to edit it each time.

    • Moderatorneil on 01/08/2017 - 15:14

      I was just thinking about this the other day with what stores clearance prices are nationwide/statewide and which are store specific?

      For Kmart, the posting notes currently say:

      If you are posting a deal specific to a store, please include the store location (BOTH THE SUBURB AND STATE, NOT JUST THE SUBURB) in the title.

      How about:

      • Kmart prices including clearance are nationwide (red, yellow or white ticket). No need to list store location in the title in these cases with exception of where the prices are a hand written sticker or a printed sheet of paper (not a ticket).

      • Please do mention the quantity and store location in the description.

      • doweyy on 01/08/2017 - 15:44

        Sounds good to me!

        • Moderatorneil on 01/08/2017 - 16:02

          Done. Thanks doweyy.

  • brisdaz on 02/08/2017 - 16:14

    Chrome Mobile - Site settings :: Notifications

    When do we get push notifications on mobile chrome? I've got a setting which says I've opted in at one point but it doesn't seem to work. I want it!

    • nocure on 02/08/2017 - 16:44
      +1

      I want it!…Please

    • scotty on 02/08/2017 - 19:42
      +1

      We are still using long-poll for notifications, which will need to be updated with service worker later, which I will need to find time to do. Sorry it's not high on priority so can't give you a time frame.

  • tightarse on 04/08/2017 - 10:21
    +1

    Not sure if this has been covered previously, but is it possible to add an opt-in feature to receive notifications via the notification bell at top of browser for subscribed stores & users (ie. when new deals are posted for that store/user)? Currently it's only via email, correct? Thank you.

    • scotty on 04/08/2017 - 11:54
      +2

      Consolidation of email & popup notification is planned, but might take some time to implement.

      • tightarse on 04/08/2017 - 11:54

        Nice. Thank you scotty.

  • nocure on 05/08/2017 - 10:46

    Noticed there is a maximum of 25 folders in the new comment bookmark section, can we increase this please, there are a lot of very helpful comments to bookmark. My OCD needs more folders.

    • scotty on 05/08/2017 - 11:42

      I will fix that up on Monday. Note that there's shouldn't be limit on how many things you put into your folder, but just the maximum number of folders.

      • nocure on 05/08/2017 - 11:49

        Thanks Scotty.

  • Love a bargain on 08/08/2017 - 18:51

    Not sure if this has been suggested/ considered but it'd be nice to be able to set daily reminder for things like competitions

    • Moderatorneil on 08/08/2017 - 19:16

      Just hit the reminder link underneath the comp or deal. :)

      • Love a bargain on 08/08/2017 - 19:53

        I meant one that would remind you everyday for those daily entry comps

        • Moderatorneil on 09/08/2017 - 23:04

          I think the easiest way would probably be to hit Reminder and then Add to Google Calendar or Export to iCalendar. In the calendar app, you can simply click repeat and you're all set. Then you'll actually be reminded on your device/computer which may work a bit better.

        • Love a bargain on 10/08/2017 - 07:05

          @neil:

          Thanks for the suggestion. Will look into it.

  • altomic on 17/08/2017 - 01:43

    we can tag products posted e.g. related products box on the right hand side.

    Would it be possible to create price comparison chart.?

    eg Xiaomi Redmi Note - it's been posted a few times ranging from X to Y in price.

    so when we click on the deal/post then on the right hand side there is a chart showing price history from previous deals.

    people access the previous deals by clicking on the "related products" tab above

    example of what I mean

    the white dots are obviously the listed price from prior deals. if you click on the dot then it opens the prior deal at the price in a new tab(?)

    so, when deals are posted people should enter the price in a field so it can be grabbed. also posters will need to make sure they find the correct product on related tab.

    what about versions of items? - eg, iPads 16gb,32,gb,etc having differnt coloured lines to show the differing prices of each model.

    certainly it could not work for all deals/products, but there are some items that keep showing up and it would provide a way of checking changes in price or previous posts to know if the current deal is bona fide.

    I'll just leave that here.

    • scotty on 17/08/2017 - 09:16

      certainly it could not work for all deals/products

      I think there are just too many variations + "hacks", promo code, cashback etc all affect the price of certain items. Price history is useful, but due to complexity I don't think development is justified.

      • altomic on 17/08/2017 - 09:49

        yeah, true.

        I think I was going for a camelcamelcamel type thing.

  • sss333 on 24/08/2017 - 18:29
    +2

    I can only seem to preview the description of a deal/comp before submitting now, not the whole post, preferred full preview.

  • Scab on 31/08/2017 - 09:49

    Who coded Ozbargain?

    • scotty on 31/08/2017 - 09:51
      +2

      It started as a customised Drupal module but the whole thing has been ripped apart and patched up over the last 10 years. Mostly done by me & moocher.

      • Scab on 31/08/2017 - 09:54
        +1

        Pretty impressive, one of the few sites that works perfectly in both PC and Android and loads really quickly too.

        So many sites aren't designed for Android and have broken formatting, even from large companies.

        • scotty on 31/08/2017 - 09:55
          +4

          Maybe it's because cheapskates like me can't afford iOS devices.

        • Scab on 31/08/2017 - 10:02

          @scotty:

          Yeah, I've heard you're pretty cheap.

  • outlander on 05/09/2017 - 23:28

    Request: Way to hide text in deals from front page preview
    Circumstance: The ideal form for the preview is a brief writeup designed to give sufficient detail and to attract all interested parties into clicking on the link to find out more.
    Problem: Deals primarily come from people, who like to include irrelevant mundane details, such as "atm ate my card' or 'gentlemen start your engines'. These details don't make sense unless used to preface the writeup, but then clog up the minimal space available for preview and dissuade potential clients.
    solution: A tag to hide text from preview

    Request: Archive view like whirlpool for easy searching of threads like these. I imagine this has been requested before.

    • 17833 on 05/09/2017 - 23:41
      +2

      I think archive view exists, implemented after previous requests. If you look under the title there are tabs of view, revision, comments and votes. If you select comments it will include all comments on a single page.

      • outlander on 05/09/2017 - 23:48
        +1

        Wow! Love discovering new stuff. Thanks numberman your the best

  • fruit on 07/09/2017 - 17:22

    What % of traffic to OzBargain is mobile?

    Could we please have an official iOS and Android app?

    • scotty on 07/09/2017 - 17:54
      +2

      What % of traffic to OzBargain is mobile?

      Around 50%

      Could we please have an official iOS and Android app?

      Currently don't have time to do it. But what do people want from an app? I don't want it to be just another way to access OzBargain because the mobile web is sufficient.

      • fruit on 08/09/2017 - 07:52

        Just want a faster way of loading OzBargain with less data.

  • Clear on 08/09/2017 - 08:46

    Hey scotty did you change the private message layout? Not a big fan of the change.

    • scotty on 08/09/2017 - 09:23

      Private messages are now more like messaging then emailing.

      • No more pagination — everything loads into the same page. Only the first message and recent messages are loaded but older messages can be loaded into the view by clicking on the links.
      • Your messages and other people's messages are distinctively styled in the conversation view.
      • Sending and receiving now happens without reloading the page. If someone replies you when you are in the conversation page, the new message will appear.

      It is actually changed to match people's behaviour on OzBargain. We ran through some stats and some conversations have thousands of messages — people aren't using it to write long paragraphs but short messages.

      Maybe you can detail what don't you like about the change.

      • lyl on 08/09/2017 - 10:09

        Only the first message and recent messages are loaded but older messages can be loaded into the view by clicking on the links.

        Only 3 of the most recent messages are loaded, so in group conversations where there may be more than 3 missed messages, it will require reloading of all messages in the whole month. I think:

        • The recent messages amount should be higher in conversations with more than 2 participations.

        • Allow for the option to reload the last 10 or 20 messages instead of all messages from the month.

        Otherwise love the new system, and how everything is live.

      • Clear on 08/09/2017 - 14:05

        I shouldn't have jumped the gun too early before properly using it. Features definitely make up for the different look.

        Just two things so far.

        • Web links on mobile go outside the box
        • Possible to have the New Notification box disappear after X seconds instead of floating ontop?
        • Make it so on 08/09/2017 - 15:14

          I agree about the notification thing. It is especially annoying if you get a message while you have at least 4 Ozbargain tabs open (as we all do…) and you have to click on all of them.

    • Moderatormoocher on 08/09/2017 - 10:54

      In addition, those who have opted to receive email notifications for every private message will now only get 1 email notification between viewings of the conversation.

    • Make it so on 08/09/2017 - 15:13

      I think it is a major improvement. The pagination was so annoying. But I agree that by default it could load a few more. But at least it is far more intuitive now, and much easier to find something in a multi-page discussion.

  • pfaftle on 11/09/2017 - 18:16

    For posting Competitions: "Recruit/Referral" as both a "Prerequisites" option and an "Entry Methods" option.

  • chyawala on 14/09/2017 - 07:21
    +1

    Interesting new look with the new yellow banner theme. Feels fresh but not too different from usual. Have to admit I do prefer the orange banner. What are the plans from here with the new colours?

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