▲ ▼ Meta Discussion for needgap platform
We can discuss needgap platform's existing features, changes, feature requests in this page. Thoughtful discussions about the platform are welcome.
Do's:
Ask queries about existing features of needgap platform after exploring it.
Do's:
Suggest features for needgap platform after due diligence, but remember all feature requests cannot be entertained.
Report general User Interface/ User Experience bugs here. If the bug occurs after a specific change made to the platform, report the bug by replying to the specific comment mentioning the change.
Don't:
Complain about users. Please mail to the moderators regarding policy violations.
Comment on anything out of context from needgap platform here.
Report security vulnerabilities in this thread, Please mail to the moderators regarding security vulnerabilities. Responsible disclosures are welcomed via mail.
Formatting toolbar for comments with 17 tools to make your product stand
out or for creating impressive startup ideas to solve problems is available for Ideator subscribers. Those who have above 30 karma can get formatting toolbar with 7 tools as usual - /problems/2 .
Dates are made visible again, Reverting a earlier decision as explained in /comments/801 as there are instances when the date of publishing the problem/comment can be useful for historical context. But I still urge problem solvers to not hesitate posting their solutions for old problems as it's required as long as the need-gap exists, The fact that you developed a solution for a problem now shows that the need-gap exists.
Easily recognize comment threads via consistent visual indentation
I received an email that /comments/1128 was created in response to /comments/1099
However, when I visit /problems/30 , I notice that these two comments appear at the same horizontal indentation, so visually it appears to me as if they were both made as responses to the original problem rather than one as a response to the other.
I have seen comment replies sometimes indented but not consistently. Could comment replies be indented consistently for easier understanding? Thanks!
You're are right, This is an issue isolated to mobile due to the lack of screen space. I will work on a fix soon.
The comment indentation issue with mobile has been fixed @Jeff .
Introducing 'I WILL PAY FOR THAT' for comments, So when you write a thoughtful comment about a possible solution to a problem you might wish to know how many would pay for that. Now you can know that through insights as anyone can click 'I WILL PAY FOR THAT' to let you know what you need.
Allow linking to needgap comment url from this page
I attempted to enter a link to https colon slash slash needgap dot com slash comments slash 1099 in the comment below, in an attempt to provide partial reproduction instructions, but I received an error saying that there was an invalid url
Unfortunately I also can't enter the full url into this comment either for the same reason, so I've written out "colon" and "slash" and "dot".
Is this expected?
Thanks!
Yes this is an issue, I will enable comment linking just like how problems can be linked with [/problems/problem-number] and it should address this issue.
Consistent character-limit validation
I was making a rather long comment (
needgap.com slash comments slash 1099
, "Jeff , posted comment on Getting things done at individual level" ).
When I entered the comment, I saw a warning that looked like:
"Character limit reached: 1262"
So, I made some changes to the comment (removing some words) so that the message disappeared.
However, then when I tried to make this change (in this case I was editing an existing comment, and I pushed "Save"), I encountered a new page telling me that my comment was too long and needed to be < 1250 characters.
I eventually discovered that to submit this comment required removing more words (you can see the final, submitted version in the link above).
Is it possible for the "Character limit reached" warning to appear in all of the cases where the comment is too long?
Thanks!
That's interesting because it should be functioning just as you asked i.e. When the characters are greater than >1250, the warning appears and you have to reduce it to be below 1250 characters and when you submit the comment will not be accepted if it is > 1250 characters (For security reasons).
There could have some delay regarding the warning depending upon the typing/deletion speed which might caused the issue, I will see what I can do about this. As always, Appreciate the feedback.
Thanks so much! I'm glad to know that feedback is helpful; that makes it easier for me to keep doing it
Comments can now be linked withe short code [/comments/[comment number]) - e.g. /comments/1125 . FYI @Jeff .
Now each problem can be individually subscribed by clicking 'WHO NEEDS THIS' and for more insights one can subscribe to the 'ideator' plan.
@Jeff , letting you know as per our previous discussion on this.
Efficient packing of text in page descriptions.
I'm observing more line wraps than necessary on this page. For example, I'm observing a line wrap after "this" in:
"We can discuss needgap platform's existing features, changes, feature requests in this
page. "
Noted & Fixed. I think it got messed up when when formatting via HTML in the editor.
Mobile search allow entering all letters even when autocomplete is long.
When I press the search box on needgap on mobile, the autocomplete drop-down menu covers the top of the keyboard, making it difficult to, for example, type the letter 'p'.
Noted. It will be fixed in a future release, thanks again.
Problems can now be linked in the platform by using (/problems/[problem number]) e.g. /problems/41
Some suggestions:
Sort the listings by the number of upvotes by default and display the upvote number prominently.
Allow the user to sort by either Newest or Upvotes. No need to click somewhere else in the menu.
Display thumbnails/allow image uploads.
As for why the votes are not displayed to all is explained in the previous comment. Listing based on only votes would diminish the quality of the platform and hence needgap uses hot algorithm like HN, Reddit using variables like time, comments etc. to place the content on the home.
When each problem is posted, featured image is automatically generated for posting the problem to social media. There are no plans for image upload currently and text is the first class citizen for now.
Easy why and how of paid subscription.
/problems/2 indicates that it is possible to pay for subscription. However, it's hard for me to determine what the advantages are of a paid subscription from the description "more insights on the platform and through email."
Additionally, I've been unable to find how to sign up for a paid subscription. I assumed I could click the words "Paid Subscription" but that didn't work.
Your feedback is much appreciated.
Paid subscription feature would be out in a week's time, But we had to include the statement before that there to clear the Payment Gateway terms. Once the feature is released, I'll make sure to let you know.
Ability to reply to my own post.
I posted a need in this page, and later discovered more information relating to a similar use case as what I previously posted. I wanted to reply to my own post because it was a slightly different need, but I did not see a button for replying, so I edited my own post instead
Do you mean 'Reply to own Comment' ? Because you can us 'ADD COMMENT' on your own post.
Oh interesting. I guess I did mean "Own Comment".
In particular on this page ( /problems/3 ) I found I could not reply to the things I was posting, and I didn't realize that my posts were comments.
New feature, Now own comments can be replied to as well!
Ability for needgap users to see immediate, persistent confirmation of the votes they have given.
When I push the upward facing triangle on a post, I see a notification that says 'voted'. However, the notification disappears shortly afterward, and after that I don't see any other indication that my vote has been saved. Additionally, if I push this triangle again, I see a second notification claiming that I voted again.
It would be great if this could be clarified!
Edit: it seems that the Upvotes link at the top of the page allows me to browse submissions that I have upvoted, which seems to confirm that my upvotes were saved.
Currently, Vote count(Karma) is displayed for the owners of the post/comment and the user karma is displayed for all.
Vote is registered once, according to the guidelines - /problems/2 .
Karma does serve the important role of need gap trends (Making to home page) and for quality moderation. But, we don't want the karma to become the social currency as in other platforms thereby inhibiting the goal of problem validation in the platform.
Ok thanks; I hadn't noticed that and wasn't sure whether it was possible to inadvertently upvote a single post twice.
I suggest that if the upvote triangle were to change appearance after being used, then it would be easier for users to know that they cannot upvote the post again (and that they already upvoted it), without having to read the instructions first.
Thoughts? Thanks!
There are currently two states for the appearance of the vote button - one for disabled and one for enabled according to the karma of the user and so disabling it again after voting would be a conflict.
Perhaps including further information in the snackbar notification after voting would help address this, I will add it to the list. Thanks.
Dates are not visible hereafter because as long as need gap exists, there will be a need for a solution. Older dates shouldn't refrain someone from publishing their solution for a need gap.
Notification emails are sent to the users whose name is tagged in a comment.
Users can now be tagged with their first name using '@', although no white space is allowed in the newer user names.
Points are now shown only to the owners of the posts/comments and the moderators to improve the quality of feedback system by voting.
Weekly top need gaps now include problems posted outside the previous week with enough rank (but not emailed earlier) i.e. if an old problem grows in rank, it might get featured in the weekly top need gaps.
'needgap' now shows a snackbar on voting, to let you know that you have voted or why voting was not possible.
We can now see older problems by clicking 'Show More' and search is made better.
Added weekly top need gaps, those who have entered their email will now receive a weekly email on top need gaps based on rankings. If you haven't entered your email, you can do so now in your profile panel (i.e. clicking your user name), while you do that you can also enable 'Notification' for receiving notification email for replies and comments on your problem.
Notification is different from the weekly 'need gap updates', you can unsubscribe from the weekly updates from within the email.