Shoutbox

Due to the longness of this post, tolerate my worse (!) English and read to the end please

We saw that Patchou has been added a new option in contact list clean-up window in the new version. That is: "Show contacts who have you", in other words "show reverse list". At first glimpse, I liked that new option, but when I thought about it deeply afterwards, I noticed that there are some problems with it.

I know, talking about features which I didn't test at all may sound unlogical. But I think I could understand the feature enough from the screenshot.

If you agree now, I suggest you to change it, or completely remove before the beta tests begin. (Testers, I'm sorry if this delays the time you get the betas)

First of all, I wonder if this new option was inspired from my suggestion here and my picture for it? If yes, I can safely say that, "sorry, that is not my request "



First of all, can anyone tell me what its benefit will be? I doubt very much that it will help us in anyway while we are cleaning contact list.

The first problem is, in my opinion, it won't show all contacts in the Contact List. So while it doesn't show all of them, how a succesful cleaning process would it be??? (Don't say "You can use the other option to display all contacts in your Contact List." I know it but I question this new option now here)

The second problem is this. The only difference of this new option from the other option "Show contacts in your list" is, it will also show contacts who we can't see in the first option (Show contacts in your list). But this window is about contacts in our contact lists. So how can we call it as a cleaning process while they are not already in our Contact List?

Another problem with this second case, what will it do when we press on Delete button after selecting a contact who we already don't have in our contact list? Because we know that, that list is the Reverse list, and if you say it will delete them from Reverse list, it won't make sense because we cannot do anything on it. That list is all up to other people on Messenger world.

And another problem is the statistics of people who we don't have. Since we don't have them in our contact list, how can Plus! be supposed to keep statistics for them, especially for "Last Online" item?

We must remember that, that feature's main purpose is Cleaning-up Contact list? So why shall it show us our Reverse list? What will we do with them? We can already see our Reverse list from Messenger Options>Privacy>"Show contacts who have added you [Display]"

OK, I have changed my Allow&Block lists cleaning-up suggestion after I saw that screenshot of new Contact List Clean-up window. Now let me tell it to you:

As you know there are four lists on Messenger:

1. Contact List
2. Allow List
3. Block List
4. Reverse List

But since one email address cannot exist in both Allow and Block Lists, we can combine them as "Allow&Block Lists". So:

1. Contact List
2. Allow&Block Lists
3. Reverse List

However as you know, Allow&Block lists consists of all the contacts in Reverse List, then Reverse list is a sub list of Allow&Block Lists. So:

1. Contact List
2. Allow&Block Lists
   1. Reverse List
   2. Other contacts

Also I discovered that, Messenger automatically adds contacts who we have in our Contact List to Allow List if they exist neither in the Allow and Block Lists. We can delete them if they don't have us, but on the next signin, they will again be added to Allow List. I think this is wrong and I'll demand Microsoft to change it. Because I tested it on old Windows Messenger, and there isn't such a thing in it. When I deleted them from both Allow and Block Lists, it didn't add them again in the next sign in. Whatever. For now I can say that Allow&Block Lists also consist of contacts who we have in our Contact List. At last I have arrived at a conclusion and seperated contacts into five groups according to their position:

• Group B: In Contact, Allow&Block Lists
• Group C: In Contact, Allow&Block, Reverse Lists
• Group D: In Allow&Block, Reverse Lists
• Group E: Only in Allow&Block List

Also there must be a

• Group A: Only in Contact List

but I explained the problem with this group a couple of lines above.

So it would be better if the new option in clean-up window included all the other contacts in our all lists.

First of all, change the Contact List Clean-up feature's name as "Lists Clean-Up". Then change the two options in the window like
"O  Contact List Clean-Up     O  Allow&Block Lists Clean-Up"

I think this is more logical, because those are the lists which we can manage actually (although our management on Allow&Block Lists is limited). As you know we can do nothing with Reverse list, do we?

Here is my new picture of my suggestion. Also for the Allow&Block List section I have removed "Last Online" and "Last Chat" items, but if Plus! can keep statistics also for them, it would be cool really.



My last words, even if you don't add my suggestion, I strongly recommend you to review that current new option before the release.

Your english is very good, probably better than mine so don't worry about it.

I'll reply quickly now before sending out beta 1 to testers: yes, the new option was inspired by your suggestion and thsoe of others. When "Show contacts who have you" is enabled, the Delete button will be replaced by an "Add" one which makes more sense, as you said.

I encourage testers to read your post fully and reply appropriately. Right now, the feature as it's been added seems useful enough to me .

quote:

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Originally posted by Patchou
I'll reply quickly now before sending out beta 1 to testers:

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WAHOO
*reads and opens email*

quote:

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Originally posted by ahmetgns
Also for the Allow&Block List

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It's nice but I think that would be a feature for.. advanced users? I know for sure that at least 2/4 of the people using messenger don't know about any list.

I do like the feature suggested, an "Allow and Block List" cleanup could be very useful imo.  Especially for older WLM accounts, where you may have gone through hundreds of contacts over the years and have various blocks in place that no longer matter/you dont need.  I would personally like to see such a feature implemented, however, It may not be used by more common users, as You-Know-Who stated.

"Add" button will make the new option more meaningful, but it will ruin the traditional purpose of Contact List Clean-Up feature, because it helps not to clean but to make list more crowded. OK OK no problem .

But the problem now is, what will happen when we press "Add" button after selecting a contact we already have . Nothing will happen, will it? So since those contacts who we have are already being displayed in the first traditional option, do we really need to see them in both lists? I know, they must be displayed due to consistency but "Add" button is the problem here.

If I guess correct, you are tired and don't want to work on an Allow&Block lists cleaning feature for the next version. But if I'm wrong, if you are still interested in this feature, that "Add" button can be placed on my feature picture. Although that "Add" button may be invalid for some contacts again as stated above, yet it would be a good option for users.

quote:

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Originally posted by ahmetgns
what will happen when we press "Add" button after selecting a contact we already have

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quote:

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Originally posted by Patchou
the Delete button will be replaced by an "Add" one

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quote:

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Originally posted by ahmetgns
"Add" button will make the new option more meaningful, but it will ruin the traditional purpose of Contact List Clean-Up feature, because it helps not to clean but to make list more crowded.

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I think this is more useful for when you accidentally delete a contact and need to get them back (and they still have you on their list) or just checking to see who has you on their list at all (like what you can do in the WLM options).  "Clean-up" refers more to getting things how you want them (with some new and removing some old) rather than just clearing out the junk, it's more of a situation of "everything has its place and there's a place for everything" you just have to deal with it and this window will make it easier.

quote:

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Originally posted by markee
I think this is more useful for when you accidentally delete a contact and need to get them back (and they still have you on their list)

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The feature that I'm suggesting already gives this possibility, even in a more safe way. Because if we delete someone after seeing he deleted us, we cannot simply turn back from that new option's Add button, because that contact will not be displayed there. However in my suggestion, because we will see our Allow&Block lists, that contact will still exist in one of those lists (even if we deleted him and he deleted us), so the possibility of Adding them back is higher.

And as I said before Allow&Block lists consist of the Reverse list already. And we can simply sort contacts with "Has You" part, so it will still show us our "Reverse List" easily again. So we will not lose any feature from the current new option if it shows us Allow&Block lists.

Also in fact I found the new option useful, because the normal Messenger's Reverse list and Allow&Block lists doesn't parse the Plus! codes, so finding someone from there was very difficult. So in this list, everything will become easier. So I must thank Patchou for it. Thanks Patchou

I hope I am not annoying you by talking about this for two days.