Wordie: Features: Comments

Comment by gangerh, about 7 hours ago

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:18:15 +0000

John, the way things are going
(they're gonna crucify me)
we may need an option on comments to select between, for example, gangerh 'said:' and gangerh 'sang:'.
Strike, you know it ain't easy

Comment by John, 1 day ago

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:31:51 +0000

bilby, I'm 90% sure that new user lists do default to 'just me', but I'll verify.

Pro, great suggestion, will add an open list icon or something like that soon.

Comment by VanishedOne, 1 day ago

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:00:06 +0000

Or an option to search only open lists, maybe?

Long and boring comment for a rather useful feature request

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:50:59 +0000

John,
A few minutes ago, I heard someone say cross-vagination and decided it was wordieworthy. So, since I don't have a list about sex, I used the "search list" option, with "sex" as a keyword. There are many lists about sex, but most of them are not open. It took me a while to find Mercy's Sexuality & Gender.
Would it be possible to have a symbol on list search results and "appears in these lists" column, meaning that the list is open?

Comment by chained_bear, 6 days ago

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:21:53 +0000

I agree.

Those Darn Wordie Swarms!

Comment by rolig, 6 days ago

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:55:47 +0000

I second Bilby's excellent suggestion! Actually, I have on occasion felt sorry for some newbies who naively start an open list only to find that it has suddenly been taken over by a wordie swarm.

Comment by bilby, 7 days ago

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 01:24:36 +0000

Hi John. I was wondering if it would be possible to set the default for a new-user's first list (the ubiquitous New-User's Words) as 'just me' rather than 'anyone' as it appears to be at the moment. I am all for open lists: I have plenty and contribute to others' lists where I can. But my feeling is that this feature is best exploited by users who know what they are doing, and is not what new signups are looking for when - newly out of panniers (see babywearing) - they take their first tender steps and add their first words. There's also the issue of front page real estate. I think it more utilitarian that 'Recent open lists' shows genuine collaborative opportunities rather than becomes clogged with listies that newbies simply haven't worked out how to close. See this recent sample:
wildflower's list (0 words)
kangi's list (1 word)
Affinity's list (7 words)
alicson's list (0 words)
ebaysalvageyard (36 words)
BeSound's list (0 words)
Weird theology (2 words)
green and blue and black and red (6 words)
TheFutureIsXRated's list (1 word)
Units Of Anything (30 words)
Machiavelli's list (9 words)
Dudgeon and Dragging (7 words)
GSha101's list (6 words)

Comment by bilby, 10 days ago

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 02:45:29 +0000

I'd like an Armenian lahmajoon, and I am willing to share.

Comment by Prolagus, 10 days ago

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:06:12 +0000

Meghan,
What's cool about Wordie is that it's in vivo rather than in silico. If you want anagrams (or puns, or whatever) for some words, you just create a list (say, NATO) and people will contribute according to their own inclinations, sense of humor, time zone.
Have fun!
Prolagus

Comment by VanishedOne, 10 days ago

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:29:42 +0000

Anagram generator: wordsmith.org/anagram

Robot-themed acronym thing: cyborg.namedecoder.com

Comment by whichbe, 10 days ago

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:23:25 +0000

I'd prefer an acronym game.

Comment by VanishedOne, 10 days ago

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:23:12 +0000

I wonder whether Meghan44 is confusing us with wordle.net.

Comment by hackerb9, 10 days ago

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:17:42 +0000

It'd be cool if wordie had an anagram game, but I don't think it has one yet, Meghan.

Comment by whichbe, 10 days ago

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:05:52 +0000

Explain "word scrambles".

Comment by reesetee, 10 days ago

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:00:29 +0000

Do anything other than list words? Why, that's everything!

Comment by Meghan44, 10 days ago

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:57:15 +0000

can this site do anything other than list words? I thought you could make cool word scrambles with it. Anyone know how?

Comment by Wytukaze, 18 days ago

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:46:25 +0000

Similar to frindley, I'd like to add my Soup to my "also on" list. As I may still be a voice of one at the moment, maybe it'd be good to have an "other" option which would prompt you to add the URL manually?

Comment by Prolagus, 19 days ago

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:59:45 +0000

You can email John, I think.

Comment by man, 19 days ago

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:52:54 +0000

Feature request: Ability to change the password. Ability to delete the account.

Comment by frindley, 20 days ago

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:30:58 +0000

I'd love to add my blog to the "also on" list in my profile. But the list of possibilities includes all sorts of services except for mine, TypePad, even though it's a major player and even though Vox, TypePad's little brother, is there. Puzzling…

Comment by bilby, 21 days ago

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:04:09 +0000

Why wait when you can upgrade to WordiePRO?

Comment by Prolagus, 21 days ago

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:26:44 +0000

While waiting for new amazing options from John, you can customize your google toolbar.

Comment by elgiad007, 21 days ago

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:07:18 +0000

chained_bear, that's how I usually do it, but I'm always looking for shortcuts in an application.

Comment by Prolagus, 21 days ago

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:06:26 +0000

sionnach, I would send such a file to you.

Comment by chained_bear, 21 days ago

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:50:55 +0000

elgiad, I usually go to a listed word, right-click on whatever dictionaries I want to check and open them in a new tab or new window. Then I leave them open and can check the definitions of any new words I add that aren't already listed. :) Just a thought...

sionnach, you don't want to hear my gravelly, nasal voice. Trust me.

Comment by sionnach, 21 days ago

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:08:17 +0000

As others (reesetee, the floppy-eared marsupial bringer of chocolate) have mentioned, a tool for bulk-moving of words across lists would be most helpful. I really need to distribute the words in my catchall "sionnach's words" list into more sensible and useful categories, but keep putting it off in the hope that some kind of bulk-moving tool will be available.

Have I mentioned my unmeasurable debt of gratitude for everything John has already done on this site?

I'm quite happy to let the question of how other wordie users pronounce various words be fodder for speculation. Though if Pro were to create a file which recorded him pronouncing his favorite 100 words in a sultry Sardinian drawl I'd totally download it. Fer shur! I'm sure that a recording of c_b pronouncing Newfy words would be a hit as well.

Comment by elgiad007, 21 days ago

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:31:46 +0000

When I encounter a word that I am unfamiliar with, I often type it into the search box at top right-hand corner of the Wordie page. If the word is unlisted, I am forced to consult another resource to find the definition.

It would be nice if the lookup links that appear with listed words also appeared with unlisted words.

Comment by frindley, 24 days ago

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 04:05:33 +0000

I'd like to add my voice in support for a system of managing or categorising "favorite" lists.

Comment by Prolagus, 26 days ago

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:36:41 +0000

By the way, elgiad007, thank you for checking the page before asking for new features! It's very polite.

Comment by Prolagus, 26 days ago

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:28:17 +0000

The second icon (The free dictionary) links to a website where you can here most words pronounced.
What I would love is to listen to different Wordies' pronunciations. This is why I suggested SL (you know what I'm talking about). Words with this tag are available on that website, the way I pronounce them.

Comment by elgiad007, 26 days ago

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:47:43 +0000

I've seen the word "pronunciation" appear a few times in this thread, but I'm going to another instance of it anyway.

I would love to see a pronunciation guide accompany each word (that can be readily defined by whatever data source is providing the definitions, of course).

Comment by telofy, 27 days ago

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:18:09 +0000

Now that the election is nearly over, could you also optimize the css in a way that it looks decent on different resolutions? On xga the font is huge hence I've changed quite a lot with stylish. Thanks!

Comment by John, 28 days ago

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:35:22 +0000

Pro, there isn't, though it's a good idea to add that someplace.

Comment by Prolagus, 28 days ago

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:17:29 +0000

It's a very good idea!
I have one question, though: is there any other way to get a clue of when a list was created, without its number?

Comment by trivet, about 1 month ago

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 01:37:33 +0000

Thanks for the list name URLs, John!

Comment by John, about 1 month ago

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:36:23 +0000

Yep, the list-name-as-URL is new. Makes them more readable, and more searchable. Let me know if there are any issues.

The old links still work: http://wordie.org/lists/14193 and http://wordie.org/lists/words-of-the-times go to the same place.

Comment by sarra, about 1 month ago

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:37:56 +0000

Fair!

Comment by mollusque, about 1 month ago

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:32:04 +0000

Lists with the same name are distinguished by a number at the end: words-about-words-6.

Comment by sarra, about 1 month ago

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:59:36 +0000

Yes. I'm not sure what happens if there exist two lists with the same title.

Comment by VanishedOne, about 1 month ago

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:47:03 +0000

Am I correct in thinking the non-numerical style of list URL is new too? This is the first time I've noticed links like wordie.org/lists/vanishedone-s-words turning up.

Comment by rolig, about 1 month ago

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:36:04 +0000

Yay! We can sort comments! Thanks, John!

Comment by VanishedOne, about 1 month ago

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:47:17 +0000

I see comment sorting is back. Cheers.

Comment by dontcry, about 1 month ago

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:49:03 +0000

John - Nevermind! I just discovered that if I delete something, then leave the page and then go back I can delete again. Kind of a pain though... I'm a total b.

Comment by dontcry, about 1 month ago

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:46:19 +0000

John - I tried to do some housekeeping on my "home" page this morning and discovered that I can't delete comments, except my own. Why? I'd like to tidy it up and keep it current and short. Shouldn't I be able to keep my page the way I want it?

Sorry to be such a b.

Comment by John, about 1 month ago

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:51:29 +0000

whichbe, great idea--there's now an 'add to iGoogle' link for all the feeds on the tools page. Pro, sorry you had to do it manually, but thanks for the impetus :-)

I'll add other links for other feed readers soon, and maybe do a little errata post on other ways to insinuate integrate Wordie feeds into other sites.

Comment by Prolagus, about 1 month ago

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:25:58 +0000

DONE! I created a 9-word link, but for some reasons the page title is five random words anyway... but it's OK. And now it will be so much easier to waste my time!

Comment by whichbe, about 1 month ago

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:20:39 +0000

Well, it looks like John doesn't have an "add this feed to Google" button on there, but what you do is:

Go to http://wordie.org/tools and under "FEEDS" there's a link to the "Five random words" feed. Click on that, then grab the URL/LINK at top (which happens to be http://wordie.org/feeds/random/5 ), then take that URL and put it into the "add stuff" link under GOOGLE. Ta-da!

Comment by Prolagus, about 1 month ago

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:53:24 +0000

How do you add it to iGoogle?

Comment by whichbe, about 1 month ago

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:58:02 +0000

This already exists: http://wordie.org/tools.

Comment by thekatespanos, about 1 month ago

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:54:12 +0000

Can you create a Google gadget for your random word widget? I'd love to see random words on my iGoogle homepage :-)

Comment by Prolagus, about 1 month ago

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:33:30 +0000

Oh, never mind, John. As I wrote on Errata, so far

1) Nobody lists me as a contact, making my recommendations completely useless since nobody will ever read them;
2) None of my actual friends/acquaintances seems to be on TP, but you (John);
3) Based on my recommendations, the only compatible friend that the system suggests me is... myself.

Comment by trivet, about 1 month ago

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:42:20 +0000

*kowtows*

Comment by dontcry, about 1 month ago

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:06:10 +0000

Chuch Norris always could sort his lists...

Comment by reesetee, about 1 month ago

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:33:24 +0000

Brackets!

Comment by chained_bear, about 1 month ago

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:28:43 +0000

REALLY?! *runs to check*

Oh John, thank you! Thank you, kind teapot clinchpoop samurai warrior man!

Comment by reesetee, about 1 month ago

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:05:44 +0000

We can sort our list of lists! Yay! :-)

Comment by Prolagus, about 1 month ago

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:36:33 +0000

We don't have a Times People button on our profiles!

Comment by reesetee, about 1 month ago

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:42:42 +0000

I agree bilby--although I recently moved just about every God's-blessed word on several of my lists. But it would come in handy for another such undertaking. :-)

Comment by bilby, about 1 month ago

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:35:01 +0000

A 'bulk-moving' tool would be useful for shifting words around. It could be something like the existing delete/move option for individual words except that it can operate on multiple words. Cheers John.

Comment by chained_bear, about 1 month ago

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:58:00 +0000

Oh, that sounds dandy too. I'm open to any solution; I just thought it would be nice to be able to sort/group lists the way we can sort/group words.

Sorry I misunderstood!

Comment by Prolagus, about 1 month ago

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:52:33 +0000

I didn't mean an automated process! I was thinking about something like what you can do on iLike, where users link singers' page to each other. It could even be wiki, meaning that anyone can create/delete any link, so that no error would last for Wordieternity.

Comment by chained_bear, about 1 month ago

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:28:10 +0000

Sort of, Pro. I guess that's one possible solution, but I don't know what the selection criteria would be for "related" if it were an automated process. Whereas if the users of Wordie tagged the lists themselves, it might be just as helpful but more... I dunno... DIY?

It's a thought anyhow.

Comment by Prolagus, about 1 month ago

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:50:51 +0000

Do you mean something like a "related lists" box on list pages, c_b? It would be very useful, indeed!

Comment by bilby, about 1 month ago

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:17:48 +0000

It would be useful to have the standard Wordie buttons at the top of each page -
home · blog · tools · tags · random word · mobile | you | your words
- repeated at the bottom.

Comment by chained_bear, about 1 month ago

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:17:12 +0000

This may have been mentioned before, but it would be so cool if we could have list tags. I don't mean tagging every word within the list, but tagging an entire list. So that when you click on, say, a Star Trek list tag, you get a bunch of lists of Star Trek words compiled by different people. That would be cool, and it might encourage more browsing of different people's lists.

Just a thought! I know John's way too busy to think about this now and maybe it's too complicated anyway, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Comment by reesetee, about 1 month ago

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:23:05 +0000

Yes, please! :-)

Comment by chained_bear, about 1 month ago

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:58:03 +0000

John... Oh please, please, John... Someday, can we sort the order in which our own lists appear?

Comment by reesetee, 2 months ago

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:13:07 +0000

Good point, Pro.

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:48:11 +0000

About the sorting: Whenever the list owner selects one sort of sort, it could be saved as the default sort of the list—for him and for everyone else.
Furthermore: Isn't there a way to achieve this "Move" and "Delete" with Ajax, so the page needn't be reloaded? When I go through my lists to move or delete specific words, I'm always quite lost when the page reloads and I have no clue where I was.

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:33:56 +0000

Maybe it could be limited to words that have their page already... Otherwise it would be "just" a list, and it would create new orphan words...

Comment by reesetee, 2 months ago

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:26:26 +0000

Hmm. That could save some serious time....

Comment by whichbe, 2 months ago

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:07:10 +0000

What do you think of the idea of adding words directly to a tag's page like we do with our word lists? Like, for example, one could pull up http://wordie.org/tags/fun and then add words like pulling wings off flies and counting bricks to that page...

Comment by dontcry, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:53:16 +0000

I vote for John.

Comment by whichbe, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:42:35 +0000

I got the memo that you're busy these days. Here's a random suggestion--it's kind of silly, but I'd like a reversal of the "mass tag" feature on lists so that I can mass-remove tags from a list of mine. This is primarily because of the duplicate-tag bug (as seen here), but I think it would be handy for someone trying to do maintainence on a list of words in general.

Comment by John, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:49:05 +0000

Hey everybody, thanks for all the great suggestions lately. I won't be able to work on Wordie at all at least until after the election, but wanted to let you know I'm listening, and will sort through everything here eventually.

Re: personal use of tags, I don't think that's a problem. They're meant to be idiosyncratic, not an ersatz taxonomy. If there are enough in the system, the personal tags and weird one-offs will get filtered out after the fact. Eventually I may add an option to the main tags page so that only tags that have been used a specifiable number of times are visible, which would remove a lot of the noise.

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:29:06 +0000

@ oroboros: No, please! Let's avoid personal use of tags. :-)

Comment by chained_bear, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:19:06 +0000

Can I tag this page dork out?
:) (where dork is NOT a pejorative)

Comment by oroboros, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:52:12 +0000

Bilby; re: open lists reference you could do what Mollusque suggested below somewhere--add the URL of the open list to a list description created for that purpose. Another idea that struck: tag the latest word addition to an open list you want to go back to with "revisit" or some such.

Comment by yarb, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:27:08 +0000

Bilby - excellent idea.

I'm a stat fan like telofy. Stats for each user and list showing mean letters per word would be good. And definitely number of unique words contributed to the database (i.e. first listings), with an option to list if possible.

Finally, I'd like a "what words link here" option on each word - an icon I can click which will show me a list of words containing links to this one. Very interesting I reckon.

Oh, and a new bike too, please. Thanks.

Comment by VanishedOne, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:57:13 +0000

I'm fairly sure the set of dictionary icons has already been revised at some point in the past, although scanning through this page and errata.wordie.org/labels/features.html, I can't find anything to confirm it. So if it still doesn't please everyone, maybe the solution would be something like a few icons for common sources, then an adjacent dropdown list to allow a larger collection. Then there'd be no need for personal customisation.

By the way (relating to an earlier discussion about features), according to errata.wordie.org/2008/01/better-sorting-for-lists-and-comments.html comments were indeed sortable at one stage.

Comment by bilby, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:58:59 +0000

Righty-ho, a serious suggestion. When I contribute to an open list, I would like that list to then appear in a meta-list of 'Open/Shared Lists I Contribute To' on my profile page. At the moment, the only convenient way to keep track of open lists that you might contribute again to in the future is to favourite them. To be honest, not all open lists I contribute to are necessarily my favourites. I like to conserve my favourites for the best of the best, at least as I see it. Nevertheless, there are open lists that I feel I can make a contribution to and hence would like to be able to revisit; I need a place to store them! For me it's a tough call to favourite a list that is 2 days old and has 10 words, for example, even though I like it. I would rather add have it appear on my page as an open/shared list that I have added to, which incidentally also marks my role as contributor.
BTW I loved the story behind the Yo La Tengo name, John.

Comment by bilby, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:19:19 +0000

Fair warning, yarb :-)

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:09:39 +0000

I could use comprehensive statistics: For example the total time I'm online on wordie, how often each list was accessed, how many completely new terms I've contributed (and which), etc.

But most of all I need those customizable links in each list entry.

Have a nice weekend. ~

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:12:29 +0000

Is there a way to see the lists where I am an "invited contributor"? (It's actually only one, so far)
I think it would be nice to see them on the page "Prolagus's lists".

Comment by yarb, 2 months ago

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:18:01 +0000

I will fess up to the tag...

Comment by reesetee, 2 months ago

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:17:14 +0000

I second bilby, chained_bear, Prolagus, and frindley. :-)

Or is that fourth? Or fifth?

Comment by VanishedOne, 2 months ago

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:00:35 +0000

Hmm... Is that geek-o-rama tag new, or have I just not noticed it before? ;-)

Comment by frindley, 2 months ago

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:05:22 +0000

I second bilby, chained_bear and Prolagus.

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:50:06 +0000

THANK YOU for saying that, bilby! I thought I was the only one. :-)

Comment by bilby, 2 months ago

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:17:55 +0000

I'm happy with the current arrangements for display of comments. Besides, I'd need an interpreter to cop what VO and telofy are going on about.

Comment by chained_bear, 2 months ago

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:44:41 +0000

I like that comments aren't on different levels and don't have indents. It puts everyone's comments on the same level (literally) and makes the conversation more open. IMHO. :)

Comment by jennarenn, 2 months ago

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:26:51 +0000

What are knobs?

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:49:48 +0000

I've now activated "autohinter" and stuff, the font face looks ok now. My terminal looks quite different now, perhaps I'll switch back, don't know yet.
Concerning the size I've decided to use only 3 to 4 different sizes, instead of 9 viz. "small", "medium" and "xx-large" plus "300%" for h1.
http://pastie.org/279025

Comment by dontcry, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:27:15 +0000

This thread features an awful lot of features.

Comment by trivet, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:00:40 +0000

I like that you can only add comments to words themselves, rather than replying to specific comments.

ps - John, the most commentated (active?) list is mega cool with knobs, thanks!

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:02:14 +0000

My current approach is to delete everything from the all.css except for the part concerning fonts. That way I can perhaps introduce relative sizes and can also change the font face as that looks funny here.
Got a singular sense of readability the author of this all.css file.^^

Comment by VanishedOne, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:53:04 +0000

My guess is that any remaining problems would be with tags, the comment box and the 'more searches' link, which that sheet won't change, but I hope it's at least a partial/prototypical solution.

I also haven't tried it on any of the special pages, just regular word pages.

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:49:48 +0000

Thanks! I've tried Stylish a few days ago, but later the solution with No Squint seemed more apt then. I guess I'm going to revise this verdict. Perhaps I'll finally register an OpenID to publish it, if the sheet should meet my expectations.

Comment by VanishedOne, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:32:25 +0000

If you're going to change the display client-side to begin with, why not make the further changes you want client-side with another Firefox extension? This quick Stylish sheet I knocked together probably won't make all the changes you want, but it unifies most of the text:

@namespace url(http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml);

@-moz-document domain("wordie.org") {
.caption {font-size:18px !important;}
#nav {font-size:18px !important;}
#rt_nav {font-size:18px !important;}
#right_word_col {font-size:18px !important;}
}

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:09:49 +0000

Oh, not the slightest idea, but they have a quite elaborate comments feature there. ;-)

A way of comparing and synchronizing lists would be totally awesome btw:
Deleting all words from list a which are already in lists b or c.

Comment by bilby, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:50:47 +0000

What's youtube?

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:47:19 +0000

Right, hence the restriction to one extra level as on youtube. The majority of reply urges would become satisfiable.
Besides, if the text would be smaller—the way I like it—the lines would be too long anyway, so indention would be rather beneficial.

Comment by whichbe, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:29:15 +0000

I agree with telofy, having a slight indent for a "reply" would be preferable--the only downside is the horizontal-squeezing-to-unreadability reply-reply-reply-reply-etc factor of multi-threaded comments.

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:02:08 +0000

I'm also particularly fond of dual-level commenting structures as seen for example on youtube, for first-level comments usually address a broader audience, while with replies to comments there is often only a specific recipient, who could thus be easily informed once such interest in his stated opinion has been taken. Yet the necessity of restricting the structural depth of such conversation might be viewed as partially depriving the concept of its intrinsic theoretical elegance and purity... Whatever. Have fun.

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:02:21 +0000

I know, No Squint just saves the scale for the entire site, so you don't have to resize each time you open a new page.

Comment by VanishedOne, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:39:21 +0000

Ctrl and + or - resizes text in Firefox; I don't know how well it works with No Squint.

Comment by telofy, 2 months ago

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:41:34 +0000

Hi, a handy feature would be to have customizable links to arbitrary sites after each word in lists and on the individual word pages that include a placeholder for the specific word. Much like the buttons up there, but customizable. For example when scrolling through lists I often don't know what a word means, and for me, being German, the simplest solution is to look it up in dict.cc. It would be very convenient if there was a link to "http://www.dict.cc/?s=$w" ($w being a placeholder) which opens dict.cc in a new tab.
Another feature I miss is some way of decreasing the font size. Many pages provide a way to customize the main font size, for with different screen resolutions and different diopter different sizes seem appropriate. Atm I'm using the firefox addon "No Squint" to scale the page to 80%, yet as everything (optionally except pictures) is scaled, the text which is small anyway becomes a bit too small.
Also I'm missing links/buttons for wiktionary.org lookups, and in case you have some way of obtaining it, the IPA pronunciation of words could prove valuable as well. So far I'm always looking it up on dictionary.com.

And thanks a lot for this marvelous site!

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:27:06 +0000

John, I think we need an easier facebook link. Most Wordies just type their name in the box!

Comment by mollusque, 2 months ago

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:22:10 +0000

To follow particular words, just make a list of them. For people, type the URL for their profile page, e.g., http://wordie.org/people/profile/artbizness. You can collect the URLs in a list description. Instructions for linking URLs are given under the link for "Some html" above the comment box.

Comment by artbizness, 2 months ago

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:05:39 +0000

Is there any way to "follow" poeple or words that you've taken an interest in other than RSS?

Comment by VanishedOne, 2 months ago

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:15:48 +0000

You know, there isn't actually any useful information on help, except regarding computer keyboards.

Comment by tshap, 2 months ago

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:11:16 +0000

OK, thanks guys! Now I'm off to play around this site some more.

Comment by reesetee, 2 months ago

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:03:50 +0000

Good explanation, John, and welcome tshap! I just wanted to add that John has added a new feature that allows Wordies to add private notes (no one else can see them). The link is at the top of each word page: "Leave a comment, citation, or private note." :-)

Comment by John, 2 months ago

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:22:09 +0000

That's up to you really. There's a comment box on every word and list, as you see, and you can use it for whatever you want. Probably the majority of comments are us chatting to each other, but the site was originally conceived as a collaborative dictionary-like thing, so you'll also see people providing good examples of usage for a word. For example on each word in my reading the newspaper list I've added a citation from the article in which it was discovered.

Comment by tshap, 2 months ago

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:13:50 +0000

Thanks, John. That was quick! That answered my question, but now I have just one more. Then I'll check out Errata. What's the difference between a comment and a citation?

Comment by John, 2 months ago

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:09:00 +0000

Hi tshap, welcome! The definitions come from an open-source project called WordNet. If they don't provide a definition, then Wordie doesn't show one. Whether a word has a definition or not, adding new definitions or citations in the comments is encouraged. One of these days I'll work on a system to float up good comments and citations.

There's no official help pages or faq, but you'll find some useful info on help, faq, and the errata page listing posts on new features.

Comment by tshap, 2 months ago

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:58:46 +0000

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I couldn't find a Help or FAQ, and I have many "Q's". LOL

Why do some words have definitions, and some don't? And how do you add the definition? I new here and loving it!

Comment by chained_bear, 2 months ago

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:03:04 +0000

I definitely agree that having private lists would/could remove quite a bit of serendipitous fun by allowing people to make non-public lists that they (probably erroneously) think wouldn't interest anyone else. But the same could be said for private comments, and we have those.

Anyway, it isn't a huge issue because there are any number of solutions for my own homely little case, but thanks for the general feedback.

I have had the same issue bilby has, with trying to find a word so I can move/delete it, but I've just been working around it. It's particularly "fun" on lists that have 500-100 words on them, but then... paging through these things is half the fun of having them listed, so my manual work-arounds don't bother me as much. :)

As for font size... I might use it to make text smaller so that I don't have to scroll as much. I might not. At work I have an enormous monitor, so I wouldn't need to make text bigger; at home it's smaller but right in my face, so ditto...

As for pagination of very commenty pages (like this one), I don't know about that... I find paging kind of annoying, and usually spend a few moments clicking "view all" whenever that option's available, on any site, so I don't have to click my way through things. I'd rather scroll. But probably people have many different opinions about this.

One of the things I love about the ongoing conversation on this page in particular is finding out all the different ways people use computers, from things as basic as scrolling/paging, to plug-ins and software and browser types. It's very edgimacational.

Comment by bilby, 2 months ago

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:31:55 +0000

Hi John, I have 2 suggestions:
i) On a word page you can see on the right the 'appears in these lists' column. If you click on a linked list you are taken to the list page at the top. This is fine. However, if I click on one of my own lists, I would prefer not to be taken to the top of the list. I would rather be taken to the spot where the word appears in the list. The reason is that 99% of the time I'm going back to my own list so I can move the word or add it to another list. Therefore it would be useful to be right at the word rather than nonchalantly perched at the top of the list. If a list has a few hundred words, it's actually a fair bit of work to find the word: 'view all' and then do a search in page from your browser.
ii) When the 'Nobody is listing ...' page comes up, it would be interesting to see the nearest matches already in the database. Perhaps this would reduce some of the typos being listed. Yeah, I know, this would have been a great suggestion about 100,000 words ago :-7

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:32:20 +0000

John, are you sure ctrl+ and ctrl- can't do the job well enough? For firefox users, there's also an add-on, Mouse Gestures Redoxk, that by the way I find very useful.

Comment by John, 2 months ago

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:25:39 +0000

Oh, and c_b, you planted an idea. Would it be convenient to have buttons to change the size of the text? There's a lot of text, and people's eyes are different...

Someday, too, I'll add paging to words and lists with lots of comments. Someday.

Comment by John, 2 months ago

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:23:10 +0000

There might well be a use for private lists, and I'm open to discussion and will go with the consensus, but I'm with rolig. A lot of happy serendipity might be missed, just because people weren't expecting it.

One thing I do plan on doing is letting people turn off comments on lists. If someone has a strictly practical list, or wants to mock us while avoiding the wordie treatment, I think they should be able to. Profiles will remain commentable, so if someone makes a list you love and closes comments, you can there will still be an avenue to make the case.

Not sure when that'll happen, though, I'm short on Wordie time these days, sadly.

Oh, and I think maybe comments were once sortable, judging from the state the code is in. I forget. I'll add that (or add it back) in the next update, too.

Comment by rolig, 2 months ago

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:30:47 +0000

If we had had private lists last year, I would probably have made my Slovene vocabulary list private, simply because I would not have thought anyone else would be interested and some might even be annoyed seeing strange-looking words pop up on the Wordie home page with short practical definitions and a few notes about grammatical attributes. But had I done that I would never have had the pleasure of seeing some of these words find homes on other people's lists simply because they looked "neat", we would never have talked at length about the merits and deficiencies of celery and zucchini (zelena zelena), we would never have heard Prolagus's nighttime radio-anouncer voice (spedenan), and oplaziti would not have had a brief career as an earworm (earword?). All these things occurred quite serendipitously simply because I had no choice but to share this part of my professional skills-building with y'all. And I am glad of that. Of course people may want to have private lists (e.g. "Why I fantasize about Sarah P.") that can't be subjected to any Wordie Treatment. But the messy, gang-of-kids, brainstorming or brainfizzling aspect of Wordie is at the core of its charm.

Comment by chained_bear, 2 months ago

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:03:25 +0000

Psst... She... I think you forgot to close the "small" in your post a few days ago! (I don't really mind, because this is a long page and it makes it easier to read! Just mentioning it in case you care...)

Comment by chained_bear, 2 months ago

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:43:09 +0000

Say John, there wouldn't be much use or point in having private lists, would there? What does everyone else think? (Further thoughts/an example are here.)

That could be, VanishedOne. I remember the days when there were only two ways to order a list: order added (bottom to top) or cloud. (John, I LOVE the newish options, btw, if I haven't said so...) I don't recall there ever being a way to re-order comments, though.

Comment by VanishedOne, 2 months ago

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:58:10 +0000

I could have sworn that feature actually existed at some point... I'm not confusing it with list ordering, am I?

Comment by rolig, 2 months ago

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:18:43 +0000

John, would it be possible to have the option to reverse the order of the comments on the word pages, with the oldest comments appearing at the top and the newest at the bottom? That way, if someone who hasn't been following the discussion on a word (or the digressions thereto) decides to find out what all the talk is about, he or she won't have to read everything from the bottom up.

Comment by John, 2 months ago

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:20:00 +0000

Good idea pro, done.

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:27:08 +0000

John, is it possible for you to add a link to "some html is allowed" on profile pages?

Comment by VanishedOne, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:26:13 +0000

Links made with square brackets seem not to work in private notes, though.

Comment by mollusque, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:15:31 +0000

Hyperlinks work in private notes! That must be good for something. *thinking*

How about private notes for lists and tags?

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:34:49 +0000

I told John.

Comment by she, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:27:03 +0000

I love(!) the idea of notes, particularly for saving reminders (as opposed to being secretive)—but right now, they're a little.. out-of-the-way for that? I'm afraid I won't be able to remember where I've left them. :(

Also, I move that cell-stretching full urls be forbidden in lists and lickspittle spammers be banished (spamished?)

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:19:20 +0000

"Personal in-jokes, stories, or references to words"? Sounds like the most interesting part of Wordie! So, whichie, when they are shareable, please do it!

Comment by chained_bear, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:15:10 +0000

Thanks, whichbe and Pro. I can probably find some good uses for the feature that I hadn't thought of, in the process of fixing my disastrous dinosaur lists. *sigh*

Comment by whichbe, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:09:25 +0000

Oh, well, my first use was for the Demons list. There's a handful of demons on the list that shouldn't be there, there's lots that I haven't looked up in google, and lots that I have. Sometimes a look-up is not very fruitful, and this provides me with a 'post-it note' saying so. And I can also throw in any info that's relevant but too generic or uninteresting to post to all users, i.e. "Russian demon".

Another use is for personal in-jokes, stories, or references to words. That is, if I want to remember a particular story behind a word it's a place where I can quickly scribe the data. Like a reflexive memory-flag that isn't meant for public banter.

Comment by Prolagus, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:02:49 +0000

I was very skeptical about that feature. But now, I'm using it for the Italian translation of some words, when it can't be of any interest to you.
I think I'll create a list to keep track of the words I added a private note to. So I'll bother you anyway. :-)

Comment by chained_bear, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:50:18 +0000

Whichbe, may I ask what you are finding the feature most useful for? (I know what I'd use them for but I'm curious what others are doing.)

Signed, So Far Behind I'm Only Now Getting the Hang of Tagging.

Comment by whichbe, 2 months ago

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:44:47 +0000

I've been using the private notes feature this morning...it's quite useful for keeping track of some things. Thanks.

Comment by reesetee, 3 months ago

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:15:16 +0000

Private notes! Yahoo! Thanks, John!

Comment by chained_bear, 3 months ago

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:00:51 +0000

John! John! I just noticed the private note feature and came here to squeal about it. Cool! Coolio! Megacool! I'm going to play with it if I ever get done with these friggin' dinosaurs and not-dinosaurs.

Thanks! Great idea!

Comment by John, 3 months ago

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:36:53 +0000

Hi bilb. Yes, we have a cloud feature. Activate it by clicking 'cloud' under any list title :-) It is, as c_b notes, kind of broken, I think. I'll check it out this weekend.

Everybody: we now also have a 'private notes' feature. Leave notes on words just for yourself. It probably needs work (suggestions appreciated), and I probably broke various things while I was at it, since I also rashly upgraded a bunch of stuff on the server without really testing any of it. Let me know what's gone sideways, and I'll fix.

Comment by bilby, 3 months ago

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:16:17 +0000

We have a cloud feature?

Comment by chained_bear, 3 months ago

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:52:22 +0000

Yes, rt. I don't get any emails at all.

Edit: to change the subject almost entirely (sorry all), John, I have a question about the "cloud" feature. Is it not possible for the cloud option to show all the words on a list on the same page? I guess that can get really dicey with longer lists, but I use the cloud feature a lot to make sure I'm not adding something twice, or adding something with a slight variation if I've forgotten there's something already there just like it, etc. Just wondering! Thanks.

Comment by reesetee, 3 months ago

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:43:07 +0000

I think that happens only if you sign up for it, whichbe.

Comment by whichbe, 3 months ago

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:28:54 +0000

frindley: minor point--if someone posts on one of your lists, you will get an email about it, like with the comments on a profile...

Comment by chained_bear, 3 months ago

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:32:01 +0000

I'm not sure a wall-to-wall feature wouldn't dilute the main purpose of the site, as you mentioned toward the end of your post, frindley. The point here is listing words (and commenting on them), not social networking (though obviously that goes on as well). If it were easier to network with individual users than it already is, via (for example) a wall-to-wall, I think it would change the essential character of the site.

As for the fragmented nature of conversations, that's all over the site, not just on profiles. Though for myself only, I try to keep conversations together or else post comments that link them back to wherever they started. But that's my own personal use and I don't expect anyone else to care.

Comment by frindley, 3 months ago

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:24:18 +0000

It seems to me that commenting on profiles is the only reliable way of carrying on a specific conversation via Wordie, and that's because you receive a notification when someone comments on your profile, whereas you don't if they use word or list comments to "talk" to you. But it does mean that you only ever see one side of a conversation on any given profile. If a Wall-to-Wall type feature could be achieved without clutter or spoiling Wordie's simplicity then I'd be all for that.

But perhaps it's better as is. Conversations on profiles aren't terribly convenient to sustain and so we focus our attention on the things that really matter on this site!

Comment by seanahan, 3 months ago

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:33:24 +0000

I actually don't really care for comments on profiles. A good percentage are referring to (but not linking) random conversations around Wordie, leading to terrible fragmentation. My profile, for example, is a complete hodge podge of comments, most of which are indecipherable to even me, not that I mind too much, but some of the profiles that have a lot of comments kind of get out of hand.

Perhaps having that part of the profile on a separate page would alleviate this.

Comment by reesetee, 3 months ago

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:08:01 +0000

Just to be clear: I have no problem with that function either; in this case it was simply the context in which it occurred that bothered me.

Comment by chained_bear, 3 months ago

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:46:43 +0000

Ptero, just checked and saw that too (that one can delete anyone's comments on one's own lists). John, like ptero, I don't have a problem with that either. It may not be a bad thing to be able to control the comments on one's own created lists, especially if the list is not public.

It's true that not all Wordie users are going to be as careful as you (John) are about not deleting anyone else's comments, but it should be all right in the end. Most users seem to respect Wordieternity.

I've noticed that one can delete only one's own comments on word pages, though, and you can only delete tags that you added yourself. (Is this true of tag lists (for lack of a better term) also? If so, is it the way you intended?) I think since word pages are public by definition, it's perfectly fair that you can only delete your own comments there.

But for one's profile, and possibly one's "private" lists, it's okay with me for a user to have some control.

Comment by reesetee, 3 months ago

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:36:29 +0000

Yes, ptero, that's true about one's own list pages.

Comment by frindley, 3 months ago

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:16:20 +0000

Since mobile wordie has recently received a plug, I have a feature suggestion for that.

At present in the mobile version we can add words to existing lists and we can follow the recent comments. But it's virtually not possible to add comments to new words (a huge minus for me, since I rarely add a word without wanting to say something about it right then and there). It's also virtually not possible to contribute to conversations via the mobile version.

I say "virtually not possible" because I did discover one day when my train was delayed that it is possible to go through a circuitous process that effectively brings up the regular version of the site onto my mobile screen, at which point I can do all the normal things, albeit in a pretty clumsy interface. Basically it involves clicking on a username (e.g. from a comment header), which takes you to that profile in the non-mobile version. From there you have access to searching and other functions. But it's pretty clunky. Indeed it's probably a bug - but please don't fix it before adding these features…

1. ability to search for words
2. ability to comment on words

Comment by pterodactyl, 3 months ago

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:13:32 +0000

I agree with c_b and rt that one's profile should remain under one's control.

I also want to point out that I can delete comments made on any of my lists, no matter who the commenter is. As far as I can recall, it's always been this way. I don't really have a problem with it.

Comment by reesetee, 3 months ago

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:55:08 +0000

I agree, c_b.

Comment by chained_bear, 3 months ago

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:46:24 +0000

John, regarding your comment for reesetee on my profile:

"1 minute ago John said:
Reesetee, a comment of yours really disappeared? I'm supposed to be the only one able to delete comments other than their own, and I've never done it. If anyone has found a bug that lets someone mess with someone else's stuff, please let me know quickly (by email, not here!), and I'll plug that hole as quickly as possible."

I've noticed for a while that one can delete comments on one's own profile. I would like to keep that feature/bug, if at all possible. I think an individual ought to be able to control his/her own profile at least, though I can see how you'd like to protect people's comments elsewhere. My two cents.

Perhaps other wordie denizens have opinions about this...?

Comment by bilby, 3 months ago

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:46:48 +0000

Fusc me, if I made a comment more than 2 days ago I have difficulty remembering it. Wordie has the comments in chronologickle order so we can see how things pan out. I don't mind how things are. I'm easily pleased.

Comment by chained_bear, 3 months ago

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:19:01 +0000

I don't know, a timestamp seems so... normal websites use those. This is Wordie! Plus I like the vagueness. I was just wondering exactly how vague they are...

But yarb's second suggestion, for metalisting? Oh PLEASE!!! Please please!! Pretty please with some nice cute animals on top?! *quivers with joy*

Comment by yarb, 3 months ago

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:21:50 +0000

I would really like an option to see timestamp on comments, rather than "...ago". With older comments, I find it adds something to know exactly how far apart in time they were made.

Also: how about a metalist feature? I.e. a way to list lists in the same way we currently list words?

Comment by chained_bear, 3 months ago

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:12:43 +0000

John, I don't have a suggestion, or even a bug report, but just a curious question: the oldest comments all seem to say "about 1 year ago." Is this the highest the counter goes? I.e., are there comments that were made more than 1 year ago, but the counter still says 1 year ago? Just wondering!

Comment by rolig, 4 months ago

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:50:41 +0000

I think it's a good idea, bestiary, and I can certainly see myself taking advantage of private notes, but I have to say that I have come to value the open, at times perhaps even intrusively public nature of Wordie, which can be both annoying and delightful, and I suspect that private notes will diminish that.

Comment by bestiary, 4 months ago

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:23:44 +0000

oh, i wouldn't want to see a decline in comments either, rolig! i know exactly what you mean. i saw keeping notes private primarily as a way to draw as clear as possible a distiction between their purpose and that of comments (thus avoiding comments on a word-note being left on someone's list when they'd be more appropriate on the word's respective page, etc.), making them less likely to be seen as commenting replacements. a simple reminder to that effect beside the input box ("notes are private; only you can see them. if you think others might like to see this, you may want to leave a comment") would help as well. — another thought would be to give the option to submit a note and a comment simultaneously (–though i could see that potentially producing spam), or to have a separate "submit and view word" button to take you to the word's page to leave a comment, rather than back to your list, upon submitting a note.

in any case, i think the personal benefits outweigh potential losses, which seem simple enough to mitigate. :)

"aminals" was most certainly intentional! i see you're unfamiliar with enthusiastic metathesis.

Comment by rolig, 4 months ago

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:32:56 +0000

I sort-of like the idea of private notes. I might, for example, use them in my Slovene word lists. But at the same time I am ambivalent. I have been pleasantly surprised when someone responds positively to what, for me, is simply an academic gloss on a Slovene word, and maybe even makes a suggestion about how to translate it. An interesting discussion with Bilby, for instance, developed around the word uglajen.

Private word notes might protect some words from getting the Wordie treatment, but some of the fun, and risk, of Wordie would get lost, too. I (or someone else) wouldn't be able to chide Bestiary about the misspelling of (of all things!) the word "animals" in the note for "zoopraxiscope" in the example he (she?) provides. So I guess I'm ambivalent.

Comment by jennarenn, 4 months ago

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:27:16 +0000

I would love that feature as well!

Comment by bestiary, 4 months ago

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:31:57 +0000

oh, wonderful! :) expect a very enthusiastic reception, here.

Comment by John, 4 months ago

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:18:09 +0000

Bestiary, great idea, I've wanted to do something along those lines for a while. Can't promise a delivery date but it's on the list.

Comment by bestiary, 4 months ago

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:03:46 +0000

i think it would be neat if we could add a note beside each word on our lists (private, i'd think, so not to take the action away from comments) to serve as little reminders, directly on the page, for quick-reference (e.g., definitions or pronunciations you tend to forget, associated quotes, synonyms, "this is a good word to call bob," etc. — without having to put redundant/only personally relevant things in comments or having to click on each individual word). people with unwieldy lists and those with a focus on vocab-building would find this particularly useful! — or, well, i can confirm that one person would. :)

i took a few minutes to see if i could whip up a decent-looking example (wordie's all nice and clean; i wondered what might be a way that wouldn't disturb the flow of things), and came up with this:

drop.io/wordienotes (—the .html file's the example, and the .txt file has the only snippet of html i really messed with. notice the blue-grey of any links to other words within notes! the rest of the text is the same grey as the dividing dotted lines.)

er yes. so there's that. (just trying to be helpful! haha. don't mind me. *twiddles thumbs*)

Comment by sionnach, 4 months ago

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:52:09 +0000

I have been pruning my list of lists, which had been getting out of hand. A couple of the candidates for deletion, however, are open lists which I started, but which other folks have contributed to. Two questions:

1. Can I delete this type of list?
2. If the answer to the previous question is 'yes', I assume that all entries on the list would be purged. Which raises a question of etiquette - do I have the right to delete an entire list to which other people have contributed?

The immediate impetus for this question is provided by the list:
Actors whose mere presence in a movie will cause me to change the channel immediately , but the question is a general one.

A related question is whether it is possible to see how many times a given list has been made a favorite, as this might influence one's decision whether or not to keep a particular list.

Thoughts? Comments?

Comment by bilby, 4 months ago

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:19:00 +0000

Nice solution jenn!

Comment by mollusque, 4 months ago

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:14:22 +0000

Now why didn't I think of that? First one I tried, list 12, has 12 words. What are the chances of that?

Comment by jennarenn, 4 months ago

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:28:08 +0000

bilby, we don't need a random list feature. You just type in http://wordie.org/lists/ and add a jumble of numbers after that. It's pretty entertaining. :)

Comment by dontcry, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:03:25 +0000

I DO like toast...

Comment by mollusque, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:08:03 +0000

A list can be reordered by moving words to a place-holder list and then moving them back in the desired sequence. It's time-consuming though.

Comment by plethora, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:57:53 +0000

You could try some crow on toast, dc.

Comment by dontcry, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:50:09 +0000

which - I take it back. I don't know what got in to me today. I'm feeling particularly scorpioptic.

Let's me and you go to the Verbal Arms later and I'll have a crowtini, eh?

Comment by trivet, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:09:57 +0000

pps: I enjoy the new and improved This week on Wordie sidebar. Thanks, John!

Comment by trivet, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:03:50 +0000

I like that the order of your words isn't editable outside of an alpha sort (which is very handy, ps).

Comment by dontcry, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:03:08 +0000

Is there a way I can tag pronoun displacements?

Comment by whichbe, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:00:31 +0000

Is there a way I can tag smarmy comments?

Comment by dontcry, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:41:23 +0000

If bibly gets a 'fresh coffee' button, I want a 'waffle' button. *crosses arms, stomps foot*

Comment by dontcry, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:39:06 +0000

which: "Me and MissAnthropist"...? Really?

Comment by bilby, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:33:42 +0000

It's close. But John does god work around here.

Comment by johnmperry, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:22:02 +0000

Will this help meanwhile?

Comment by bilby, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:14:12 +0000

I'd like a 'fresh coffee' button which will, when clicked, almost instantaneously cause fresh-brewed East Timor organic robusta to pour forth from the speakers. I have recently purchased twin espresso cups and placed them strategically for this purpose.

Comment by whichbe, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:04:40 +0000

Me and MissAnthropist were having a discussion and agreed that being able to re-order the sequence of words on a list be would make the site far more appealing to OCD list-makers such as us. It seems between the "order added" and the "alpha" we miss the ability to re-shape the tone, message, and experience of the list once it's up there.

Comment by gangerh, 4 months ago

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:47:03 +0000

I don't think the 'most commented on' feature is updating itself.

Comment by mollusque, 4 months ago

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:09:48 +0000

John, how about a link to see more of the recently listed words than show on the homepage? Ideally with the ability to keep browsing back, as with comments.

Comment by John, 4 months ago

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:09:29 +0000

cookie!

whichbe, that's a great idea. not least because it won't take me much work :-) on the list.

Comment by whichbe, 4 months ago

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:16:53 +0000

This is a minor, useless idea, but I think it'd be cute if listed with a word somewhere is a little count of how many times it's on someone's "Favorites" list. This would be kind of like how with a YouTube video there's such a count...

Comment by jennarenn, 4 months ago

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:26:55 +0000

OH MY GOSH!!!! John, I love the new "most active threads" feature. You are *so* getting the cookie recipie.

Comment by she, 4 months ago

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:56:05 +0000

I didn't really foresee wanting this, but the ability to block certain words whose comments you'd rather not see on the front page when you're logged in would be dandy.

Comment by Prolagus, 4 months ago

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:59:34 +0000

Yes, but it should list both words and discussions. I think John CAN.

Comment by chained_bear, 4 months ago

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:24:21 +0000

Hear hear! Good idea.

Comment by pterodactyl, 4 months ago

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:40:08 +0000

As per the discussion on this list, I present an idea for some god work that John could do in his copious free time:

How about, in addition to the "Most Wordied, Past 7 Days" list on the home page, a "Most Commented On, Past 7 Days" list? I think it'd be really useful to be able to see at glance which words have been getting all the commenty action recently.

*respectfully bows and backs away*

Comment by reesetee, 4 months ago

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:43:16 +0000

Pro, you fixin' to steal that tiny Emmy from tiny, she-shoulder-sitting chained_bear? I wouldn't try it. Look how she reacts to cupcake flinging. :-\

But back to the subject...sure, it can be a chore plowing through the citations of an enthusiastic Wordie. But we can handle it. Still, I do like the suggestions for finding ways around it, Wordie being an ever-evolving site. :-)

And if I haven't said it already, welcome, she!

Comment by chained_bear, 4 months ago

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:42:46 +0000

She, as someone who's been on the receiving end of some comments in the past about the volume of words (or more specifically, comments) being added in a day... It just isn't a big deal. If you add 300 words a day, how long can that possibly go on? A week? Ten days? Two weeks? The rest of us who hang out here all the time, or visit periodically, can suck it up and look for new words and new comments in new ways. It isn't like there's any shortage of interesting features on this site.

That said, I do think that people suggesting new features, filters, and a "more" button for recent words is a great idea.

And that said, "You can do it! Go on. They're just playa-hatin'." But I'm not sure you'd want me on your shoulder, what with the occasional tappen and all. *blushing*

Comment by Prolagus, 4 months ago

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:29:44 +0000

I want it too! But only if an even smaller Emmy is included.

Comment by she, 4 months ago

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:02:36 +0000

Well, it's born of not wanting to make it harder for anyone else to enjoy the site, and if I'm adding words too quickly for anyone to possibly keep up (I like the sharing as much as the list-building), it doesn't really seem like the best way to go about things. But I'd certainly have no problem going to town if there were some way for the people it might bother to control the noise, if they like, and better digest things. (I'm also beginning to think it would be a nice idea to have a little c_b sitting on my shoulder during the day. "You can do it! Go on. They're just playa-hatin'.")

Comment by chained_bear, 4 months ago

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:55:13 +0000

While I'm thinking about your idea for this new feature, she, may I just remark that you can and should use Wordie however you like, without feeling guilty?

Comment by she, 4 months ago

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:01:25 +0000

I had a thought, just now, on a way to possibly arm ourselves when navigating the front page—What if we had the (functional rather than social; I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks "friend"ing usually amounts to fluff) ability to mark "familiar users," that we could see, unsee, or isolate (as a group) when browsing? That is, marking as "familiar" the people you see most often (those repeatedly Wordiest, in particular, and anyone you'd like to keep track of) would let you: temporarily ignore new lists, words, and comments of theirs in recent activity (solving the issue of congestion caused by one person adding hundreds of words in one day! which I am guilty of, but would love to be able to do again without feeling guilty)—leaving only those of all the users not on that list, making it easier to spot things which you might have otherwise missed; or, temporarily view new lists, words, and comments only from "familiar" users (useful for chatching up after you've been browsing with those users filtered out, and a quicker way of getting up-to-date, if you've been away). The logical default would be set to showing everyone's recent activity, "familiar" and not, and those with no interest in using any filters wouldn't have to.

So yes, filtering. Is this doable—? And appealing? (Seems to me, especially as the site grows, that some sort of filtery feature would work in the interest of general Wordie-sanity.)

Comment by Prolagus, 5 months ago

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:49:45 +0000

If you have a google toolbar, you could add a button like this.

Comment by mariecarnes, 5 months ago

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:30:47 +0000

I'd like one of those little javascript function bookmarklet things that sits on the bookmarks toolbar of a browser for a quick and easy way to add words. Also, it could have a place to make a comment, and it could have a drop-down menu for our various lists. I hope this isn't too much to ask. If you already have one, please point me to the way. Thank you.

Comment by bilby, 5 months ago

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:07:10 +0000

Thanks John. Have a look at, for example, loquacious for a different kind of pagination issue. A lot of the 'listed by' entries aren't of much interest to me. turd's Words by turd lists are of much less interest than lists with intriguing titles, usually those that are NOT a user's default first list on Wordie. I'd like a toggle to screen those out. There aren't many words in the loquacious zone yet but this problem will get worse as time goes on.

Comment by John, 5 months ago

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:03:06 +0000

Oh, and comment paging on words would be nice. This page and some of the other standing conversations are a bit much to scroll through.

Comment by John, 5 months ago

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:00:30 +0000

Sorry to have been incommunicado for so long. I totally agree, comment grouping is badly needed, and by Word is a great suggestion. So great, I can't believe we all missed it earlier, though Asatvium was close :-)

I've been mucking around with some of the low-level code, and need to do a bit more of that before I can focus on featues. And I'm ridiculously overbooked these days. But the next big feature will be comment grouping by word, unless anyone has other suggestions for priority. I'd like an API too, but dealing with the flood of comments seems more important.

Comment by Asativum, 5 months ago

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:59:57 +0000

I'll second Pro (as long as no duels are involved).

Much neater than the solution I had been mulling, which was listing comments by time, so I could remember that I'd been gone a couple days and find my place.

Comment by Prolagus, 5 months ago

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:26:58 +0000

John, I am starting to feel the need for a "conversations of the last 24 hours, grouped by word page" option. I mean, having in the main page a link to another page where you can see all that Wordies wrote, but with a single link for all the conversations that took place on the same page.

Comment by reesetee, 5 months ago

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:04:34 +0000

A little late to the party here, but:

I agree 100% with Asativum, c_b (and everyone else) who says nix to a friends feature. There are truly enough sites where one can do that--and I might remind newcomers that we do have a Wordie group on Facebook. :-) As for book lovers, a few Wordies have also linked on LibraryThing, for what it's worth.

And Pro--thank you for hating me the most. It warms my heart. :-D Palooka, I'd have added you as my very first friend. So get your butt over to Facebook. ;-)

Comment by jberkel, 5 months ago

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:33:29 +0000

API would be nice. I want a geeky command line client to add words...

Comment by bilby, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:26:28 +0000

I'd like a Random List feature. Random Word is fine, I use it almost daily. Random List will be good too.

Comment by Prolagus, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:08:21 +0000

I created the tag bookie.

Comment by pterodactyl, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:54:47 +0000

No friends lists, please! I don't distinguish between "fellow Wordie user" and "friend", and I've no intention of starting. :-)

Comment by Prolagus, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:52:25 +0000

TYP, I'm sure you can write your favorited on book (or maybe on books) and people will follow. Otherwise, there are many readers' networks suggestions on the "you" page, and a couple of applications on facebook (I use "books iRead").

Comment by TaciturnYetProlix, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:44:07 +0000

You drive a hard bargin my friend.

Comment by dontcry, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:58:32 +0000

OK -- but only books with words.

Comment by TaciturnYetProlix, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:09:29 +0000

Wordie book club anyone? I'd imagine most of us are avid readers.

Comment by Prolagus, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:35:22 +0000

This conversation will make it even harder to find the feature requests :-D that's Wordie, folks!

Comment by Prolagus, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:34:40 +0000

Oh, I can't pretend any longer. I don't hate you, guys. (weeping)

Comment by palooka, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:32:21 +0000

Bilby's so cool. I couldn't put him on my enemies list - in fact I can't think of any Wordie to add. You're all great people.

Comment by bilby, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:21:29 +0000

I'm sorry, I just can't hate you, Pro. I can try being precociously indifferent for a while if you think that would help.

Comment by Prolagus, 5 months ago

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:16:34 +0000

Oh, palooka, there is hatebook, for that...