The latest DU update is complete

[EarlG]

Today, we released a new software patch which makes some changes to the footer buttons on posts. These are not significant changes, but they do streamline the buttons somewhat, and also add some additional functionality which people have been asking for.

Please note that the examples below are shown in DU's default mode, but if you use Night Mode or Skinner Mode, the buttons have also been updated appropriately.

New OP footer buttons -- when looking at someone else's OP

One purpose of this upgrade is to improve the visibility of the Share button. There's obviously a ton of great info on DU, and we think it should get shared more widely on social media. So we've given the Share button a more prominent placement.



But what about the Edit button, and how do you self-delete, or add/remove Journal entries? Well...

New OP footer buttons -- when looking at your own OP

When you are looking at one of your own posts, the new Options button will appear. This is essentially a re-branding of the "Powers" button. (The "Powers" button was a holdover from DU3, because it's what we called that button when it was used by Hosts and MIRT, but we think Options is more intuitive.)



This button will not be available unless you are looking at one of your own posts. When you are looking at one of your own posts and the Options button is available, clicking on it will allow you to edit, self-delete, or add/remove the post as a Journal entry.

(Note for Forum Hosts and MIRT members: The Options button replaces the Powers button, so you will find all your current abilities by clicking the Options button. When you see the Options button on someone else's post, it will appear as a normal grey button. On your own posts, it will be green as in the screenshots above.)

New reply footer buttons

Everything mentioned above about the Options button also applies to replies. (In the examples below, you won't see the Options button, but if you're looking at your own post, you will.) In addition, we have improved the Rec function on replies by separating the rec count from the rec button. This change will allow you to click through and see who has recommended a reply, just as you can do with an OP.

When a reply has not been recommended



When you have recommended a reply



Clicking the Rec button will add a rec (or remove it if you already rec'd and changed your mind). Clicking the rec count will take you to the post in single-post mode, which will display the list of who rec'd it.

Bluesky share button

When you click the Share button on DU OPs, there are a few options to choose from. During this latest update, we removed the "share to X/Twitter" button and replaced it with a "share to Bluesky" button. If you are signed into Bluesky and you clink this button on an OP, it should open a Bluesky post for you with the post title and a link already inserted (you can make further edits from there).

Please note that as with every change we make to the software, there's a strong chance that it will require some bugfixes and cleanup. If you experience any issues with the changes, please post in the DU Community Help forum, and make sure to include your device, operating system, and browser.

Thanks for reading!

EarlG, on behalf of Elad -- the DU Administrators

[NewHendoLib]

1. Well done - thank you.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Good Stuff!

Making one of the net's best forums even better!

[highplainsdem]

7. Yep!

[applegrove]

3. We are so well tended to at the DU. Thanks Earl and Elad.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. Thanks!

I’ve been watching/waiting for the promised changes!

[highplainsdem]

5. Thanks! It went very smoothly, as far as I could tell...though as usual I had tabs for Bluesky and Twitter

open at the same time, and I have no idea which one I might've been using when you updated DU.

[2naSalit]

6. Yay!

Thank you!

[Brother Buzz]

8. I used the option button already

[True Dough]

29. I tried using the Options button

to remove your post, Brother Buzz, but it didn't work! I guess they're still working out the bugs!

[Dennis Donovan]

9. Thanks EarlG! One small problem with the Bluesky link function...

The thread title will import into the Bluesky post window, but not a link to the thread. Pic:


Other than that, everything looks great! Thanks!

[EarlG]

10. Ah... I may have misspoken when I said the URL would be included

The functionality for Bluesky is fairly basic at this point, so the current function only passes the post title through. That's not to say that we can't figure out how to include the URL -- we'll look into it.

[riversedge]

14. Thanks so much, that would be very helpful.

[EarlG]

20. Fingers crossed that this is a pretty easy fix

Hopefully we will be able to update this shortly.

[EarlG]

34. This should be fixed

See my post here:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/101315489#post33

[Dennis Donovan]

15. Okeydoke. I know how to copy and paste.

Thanks again!

[EarlG]

33. This should be fixed

The Share to Bluesky button now includes the URL of the page you're sharing. Caveat: It appears that when the link is included, Bluesky tries to create some kind of preview of the post, but it just shows a big "DU" image. I couldn't figure out how to preven this, but it's easy enough to get rid of (just click the X in the top right of the image).

[Dennis Donovan]

35. Awesome! Actually, the "DU" in the preview window is how it behaves with a manually-pasted link now

So, basically the same. No worries. Thanks for taking care of so quickly!

[EarlG]

37. Great, glad it worked!

[Cha]

11. Thank You So Much.. you & Elad. The only thing is The

Rec Button doesn't show up in the Message on my screen because the Zoom is so large.

So if I Lower the Zoom I can Rec it. I know this Doesn't affect many if any other person.. But thought I should mention it.

Mahalo

[happybird]

30. Thank You!

I was feeling extra stupid and getting ready to ask where the Rec button for OPs had been moved. Or if I had been banned from reccing, lol.

It was my zoom!

125% seems to be the lowest zoom level where the OP rec button is visible.
Normally, my iPad is at 175%.

[Cha]

31. lol... So there is another person! I was frantically

looking for the Rec and checked my phone to see if it was on there and it was.

I really didn't want to have to ask where the Rec Button was... and then I tried the Zoom way down to 80 on my screen. My computer guy had Zoomed up the whole laptop for me because he knew I was having trouble SEEING!

Before he did the magic work.. I had my zoom at 200%.

Now when I want to Rec I go up to the 3 Dots and Minus 3 clicks and there is the Rec!

Mahalo, happybird!

[blogslug]

12. cool!

Thanks, you guys!

[moniss]

13. Thank you for removing the

share option to that horrible other place.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Excellent!

[Aristus]

17. EarlG and elad: as always, you guys rock!

Thank you for keeping DU such a well-run, up-to-date site!

[ancianita]

18. A thousand thanks, sir.

[malaise]

19. Thanks EarlG

😀

[Alice Kramden]

21. Thank you, EarlG and Elad.and team

Your efforts are ALWAYS much appreciated

[Wild blueberry]

22. Bravo!

Thank you!

[calimary]

23. Cool! And thanks, EarlG and Elad for all these refinements!

Is there some place where you can post this where we can find it later and/or refer to it.

I’m one of those poor souls who can get totally lost in the nuts ‘n’ bolts.

[surfered]

24. I noticed no weirdness.

[Richard D]

25. Perhaps it's obvious . . .

. . . but what does the "trash" button do?

[Nittersing]

38. It removes the thread from your view

Doesn't delete it, you just can't see it anymore. I use it a lot.

[Richard D]

39. Great

Thank you.

[EarlG]

42. It's also reversible

If you click the "My DU" button in the nav bar at the top of the page, one of the options is "Trash Can." When you trash a thread, that's where it goes. The thread disappears from your view everywhere else -- to you, it is as if the thread doesn't exist. However, if you really need to get it back, you can find it in your Trash Can.

(FWIW, for technical reasons trashed threads will still appear for you on the home page, but they disappear everywhere else.)

[underpants]

44. I'm about to find out. 😎

[CousinIT]

26. Thank you EarlG!

I appreciate all you do!

[boonecreek]

27. Awesome!

Just used the bookmark button to save
this post for future reference.

[mountain grammy]

28. Thank you! I'm liking it.

[ffr]

32. DU could benefit from Fb META tags, items that transform URLs into dynamic rich content links.

For instance, when clicking on the DU Share button to Facebook, if the DU post has images in it, they can be served into the Meta OG:IMAGE tag which Facebook will read into the shared DU link. The result being, instead of just text or a text URL hyperlink in a box as it is now, the link is given a clickable image to go along with the URL. The meta OG:IMAGE tag can be dynamically served from the server or simply be a static DU image. Obviously, dynamic has more relevance and intrigue.

The Meta tags are fairly standard across other platforms as well, keying off the OG:IMAGE tag to automatically turn a boring meaningless URL into a rich content image link that other sites can read. It doesn't change the URL, it just make such content on the other site that much richer and dynamic.

You can test how each page will be interpreted using Facebook's URL debugging tool:
https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/

There may be an extension for this. Admins would need to source that out.

[orangecrush]

36. Thanks to all concerned

For this island of sanity.

[proud patriot]

40. muchos gracias

:loveya;

[SharonAnn]

41. Thank you! After 24 years this is still my source for real news and thoughtful opinions.

[gademocrat7]

43. Thank you!

[bdamomma]

45. Thank you EarlG

Thanks for keeping DU humming along!!!

[tonekat]

46. Did you remove Recommend?

I didn't see it mentioned other than maybe on the phone app.

[oasis]

47. Thanks for all you do.

[burrowowl]

48. Thanks EarlG and Elad!

[HarryM]

49. thanks for everything

[UpInArms]

50. Thank you for everything you do for us ...

I must be too stupid for technology because I can no longer find the recommend button for the opening post.

Can you help me?

[EarlG]

52. What is your

Device, operating system, and browser? Are you using screen magnification? Thanks.

[UpInArms]

56. iPad ...18.1.1 ... safari ... no magnifying

Thank you

[EarlG]

57. Thanks, two more questions:

1) What kind of iPad is it (eg. “iPad Pro 11-inch” or “iPad Air 13-inch” etc.)?

2) When browsing DU, do you hold it horizontally (landscape) or vertically (portrait)?

[UpInArms]

58. iPad Air 5th generation

And vertically

Height: 9.74 inches (247.6 mm)
Width: 7.02 inches (178.5 mm)

[EarlG]

59. Great, thanks

I will look into this and get back to you.

[UpInArms]

60. Thank you!

[EarlG]

61. I'm hoping this is fixed...

How does it look to you now?

[UpInArms]

62. Awesome!

All fixed!

I can recommend once again

[marble falls]

51. I'm still trying to get DU3 down pat. I am sure this is the best version of DU I haven't been able to figure out yet!

[Clouds Passing]

53. Thank you!

[Fla Dem]

54. Than you EarlG and Elad for all the work & effort you put into keeping DU GREAT! Especially during times like these.

So good to have a community like DU for support and encouragement when you feel like society is crumbling around you.

[littlemissmartypants]

55. Bookmark. Thanks EG! ❤️

[ShazzieB]

63. Thanks, EarlG and Elad for all your hard work!

I am getting used to the changes in the buttons, and I think they’re going to work fine for me.

I do have a question about something else. Earlier this week, you mentioned the possibility of creating a new forum for discussing the future of the Democratic Party. Is that still in the works?

[EarlG]

64. Yes, I think we're going to do that

I’m thinking about a Statement of Purpose currently that lays out the expectations for the forum. I also need a name………

[Think. Again.]

65. Here's an extremely trivial note...

When I "rec" an original post, the "rec" button does go to the past tense "rec'd", but it doesn't change color to yellow as it does in other situations.

For some reason, that makes me stop and check that I've actually hit the button thoroughly, every time.

It's just a little thing that I will probably get used to and forget about in a day or three.

Everything else is great! Thanks Admins!

[Hekate]

66. EarlG and Elad -- thank you so much. Happy holidays to you.

[RandomNumbers]

67. You saved the best for last :)

all the improvements are GREAT, but this one especially:

Bluesky share button

When you click the Share button on DU OPs, there are a few options to choose from. During this latest update, we removed the "share to X/Twitter" button and replaced it with a "share to Bluesky" button. If you are signed into Bluesky and you clink this button on an OP, it should open a Bluesky post for you with the post title and a link already inserted (you can make further edits from there).

[Metaphorical]

68. Thank you!!!

These are all great adds. I love the Options button, much more intuitive, and I'm glad to see the X/Twitter link go the way of the dodo bird (especially as a BlueSky user).

Out of curiosity, if it's not operationally as issue, what's DU written in?