Improvements (yes, improvements)

Who will write the indexed Absolutely Definitive Guide to iSpot (ADGiS)- when the time comes?

I would be keen if iSpot came half way up to expectations.

But now: it would be too depressing for words.

We did have a manual for curators, which explained lots of things. But that was thrown out of the window in the Sept 2014 update, especially when it took almost five months to get the worst of the bugs out, and many still in!

Smile Please

On Forum posts I can see ‘Reply’ on posts already here. But clearly some of you are posting new comments that are not replies.
Guidance please.

Well that’s odd. My post just now was done as a 'reply’to dj’s excellent picture of the AIDGS guy, but my ‘reply’ appears as a new comment.
So I still need guidance as I don’t understand the protocol.
I have done this as a ‘reply’ to myself.

It’s best, in a reply here to use a quote. As you see, replies are not next to originals, unless you’re quick (i was here). Highlight a quote and click quote - your reply will then belong to the original.
You can bring quotes from old places too -

It’s a bit more complicated that that as there are two forms of reply - reply to Post and Reply to Topic (blue). IF you are late with your reply it automatically shows it is a reply to the original - see my next
Wouldn’t it be nice if iSpot had half the features here?
ð

That ‘guy’ is Linneus!
See, you are flagged in the corner. You need to stay indoors longer Jo!

Except that the old iSpot forums comment, replies and the way that it connected the threads is far superior to this.

This is a linear system and it sucks! Following threads is impossible. At best you can see who you replied to by clicking on the top and who replied at the bottom.

But it is far superior to the current comments on observations which hides after 10 comments, and if you reply to a comment after the 10th, then the first page loads and your reply vanishes onto page two and yuo have to start again, trying to find out where the reply is… REALLY SUCKS.

That ‘guy’ is Linneus!
Ah ha, I think I now see how its done. So I’m trying a reply with quote. Linnaeus, well fancy that. I am impressed with your ability to annotate photos; the book title is splendid; I feel jubilant if I can add an arrow to a photo.

Yes - highlight the text and click quote (you didn’t). I believe it’s important, otherwise we’ll not know which specific post you are responding to.

You dont need to click quote. Just highlight the text and click reply to get the quote in the top line.

You need to click quote if you want to embed it further down in the reply

Just doing as Tony directed. I am using an iPad. Does it work? On verra.

utter BLOODY cheek! not YOU Jo.

No…you need to highlight some text, leave it highlighted and click reply. Or, in my opinion, easier, as in my illustration above (highlight & click quote)
As I was typing this I got a pop-up - utter BLOODY cheek!

You have to hope it’s computer generated not someone from the Development Team with nothing to do!!

here, here! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (not counting but should have topped up the necessary 20)

You may have found a bug there. I believe that iSpot has personal messages turned off on the forums. If so, Discourse ought to be looking at the configuration, and therefore not prompting you to send a PM. Assuming that PMs are indeed disabled, I can’t say off hand whether this is a fault in the standard Discourse, or an incomplete customisation by the OU.

(Discourse is designed to divert discussion in forums into the desired channels. One worries that its designers have a too narrow conception of what a discussion forum should be).

Ping @Tony_Rebelo.

I dont know if I get this or not, as I have contributed to the forum and get notified of all changes anyway. But yes I got notified of this by email, as with Tuli’s, dejayM’s and JoC’s (i.e. 4 separate emails)

You need to be Tracking the Thread “You will be notified if someone mentions @your_name
It also applies to Normal. I have discontinued some because of the number of mails I was getting.
But it is reassuring to know it works.
I would like the personal messages facility in iSpot
I get these too

Bottom right of my screen,

it would be nice would it not! But against iSpot policy, and we were told on the ZA site that this was not negotiable. Unless you are on this forum, in which case it is not against iSpot policy, and you can get it.

Yes: I get the popups too …

Those would be nice too would they not??

Not certain, they are a distraction until you go to bed!

“Consider Replying to more people.”
Well, Well, Perhaps this directive is normal OU practice for their students and staff, though why they would want to stifle discussion in a university on-line environment is unclear to me at present.
Secondly, suggesting you send a personal email to another forum member could work in the OU, as they probably have access to the OU staff:students email system. However, I would hope that what Tony says later, that the iSpot member’s emails are not available, remains the case.