Suggestions

Suggest any new ideas you have for a feature here. Please make sure your idea for a feature has not already been suggested by checking the 'Already Suggested Features' forum above.

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
runelord999
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:37 pm

Suggestions

Post by runelord999 »

I'm really glad that middle_man is back in business! Now I got a billion suggestions, that probably have already been mentioned or are on the to do list already. But hopefully some will be useful!

-Customizable log file names (IMs). Right now, the log files are just named something like 2006-11-01.html or something. This is great, except I came over from deadaim, and they add the day after that in brackets. So it would be, in deadaim, 2006-11-01 [Wednesday].html. Very very minor, but I hope that since it is so minor it can be added simply and forgotten. And I'm sure other people want other names as well.
-For event logs, instead of having a sentence on what is going on, it should be much more concise, like "5/11/2005 8:26:35 PM - Signed on" instead of "xxxxx signed on at 8:26:35 PM on 5/11/2005". Plus, in the current layout, it is very unreadable, since the event precedds the time in the statement, giving each string a different length. Thus reading the date and time can be an eyesore.
-For profile logs, I don't understand what it is doing. I like how it logs every profile you view. It still needs some improvement, because some formatting is lost (a lot actually), and some pictures are lost, and such. However, I also do not understand why the profiles are overwritten. For example, if you view person X's profile one day, it gets logged fine. Now, if you view it 2 days later, and it changed, the previous one is overwritten. Why? Isn't the point of logging profiles to see what they had before and after, and compare, and such? I dunno, I wanna be able to log past and present profiles in different files.

And another idea for logging, would be to log away messeges also.

Thats it for logging. Now other suggestions

-Tabs!!! this cannot be stressed enough. This is an integral feature for an addon.

-Chatting while away!!!! Another huge feature that is needed, that is most essential........

-Another important feature is skins. And to go along with this, would be middle_man's own notifications, which would be skinnable. I guess this is not nearly as important as the others, but it helps keep AIM looking appealing...

-In Aim 5.9, I dont like how the chat windows are structured. I would like to view the buddy icon under the input boxes, not to the side, etc. Options to rearrange the window would be great.

-Idle Control, aliasing.


Trust me guys, this list will grow much much much larger!!! im just too lazy to type right now...... lol but this should keep you busy! Although the logging ones should be quite easy.......... lol
Wotcher
Posts: 2380
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2004 1:07 pm
Location: Sky
Contact:

Post by Wotcher »

All of your non-logging-related suggestions have already been suggested.

The suggestion of appending the log filenames with the day of the week seems a bit too nit picky and minor. There's a nice log viewer you can use instead of using explorer.

And for profile logs, the point is so that if someone is signed onto a computer that doesn't have his/her profile stored on it (or not signed on at all), you can still see his/her regular profile. But I guess it would be cool if M_M logged all of them.

I agree with the suggestion about events. Seems confusing that the date isn't placed first.
Image
Portfolioso
Posts: 981
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2003 1:54 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Contact:

Post by Portfolioso »

When I learned of the new logging format, I didn't agree with it either. But I have accepted it because Harry and John explained that the log viewer depends on that structure to work properly. If middle_man introduces variable log paths, how can the log viewer parse all the information. There would be all kinds of trouble with the uniform date feature, and so on.

Idle logging is coming.

Away message logging would be interesting, that sounds good, but it might be difficult to detect if a person is away and changes an away message.

I am a compulsive profile checker, so I'd have like 20MB of logs per week. Your profile logging point is valid though, but if it were an option, I personally would not use it. I already have loads of logged profiles.

Great idea for event logging. it should be concise. combine that with sorting recent first and we're golden.

As wothcer said, everything else was suggested, and chatting while away is an AIM feature. Although middle_man needs to support it better. For example, the away message is sent every time, and that needs to be fixed. Also, if you IM someone first while away, when they IM you back they should not get an autoresponse, unless you close the window.
runelord999
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:37 pm

Post by runelord999 »

alrighty, thanks for the replies :D

I'm looking forward to the newer versions of middle_man already! lol

And of course, when I think up more stuff, I'll post it right here!

Keep up the good work
runelord999
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:37 pm

Post by runelord999 »

more suggestions on the basic IM logs

-inside the logs, timestamps are a must.

-if you talk to the same person 2 times in a day, but in 2 different sessions, it is not clear in the logs. it just looks like one long conversation, which seems odd. DeadAim always sticks a "Session concluded at 9:22:29 PM" whenever you close the window. something of that sort in the log would be nice

just some more feedback. Thanks!
stoopidemu
Posts: 280
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2004 2:10 pm
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Contact:

Post by stoopidemu »

Ummm
My logs have time stamps.

And I don't know if this has changed, but old forum policy was to make a new post when you have more suggestions, not just a reply. Someone yell at me if I'm wrong.
Image
Portfolioso
Posts: 981
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2003 1:54 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Contact:

Post by Portfolioso »

Your logs are time stamped, they're just commented out. In the log viewer, press f2 to see them. If you do not want the timestamp to be commented out, then in AIM preferences, find the option to always show the timestamp.

Session concluded would be a nice option to add (optional, of course).
Post Reply