Time Online & Private Browsing

[Guest90210 3,569]

So I've been wondering what the point of showing "Time Online" is on a user's profile page is. The only reason I could think of is to remind you of how much time you've sunk into the forums, which I feel doesn't necessarily need to be public information. I think the user should have the option to disable it. It also isn't accurate, as it sometimes seems to count your time in other tabs, time when you're AFK, etc.

 

You could say that it helps someone judge another user's activity, but I believe that "Last Online ___ minute/days/hours ago" and a user's post count reflect that fairly well.

 

Another thing I've seen a lot of people bring up is anonymous browsing. From what I've gathered, it used to be a feature on this site (and still is for a select few members), but was removed. I believe this would be a welcome feature, but can see why it might not be. I was just wondering if there's an official reason for it's absence as I've yet to come across one.

 

I would like to know everyone's opinion on this. Thanks

Edited June 8, 2014 by Rivendare

[Zenit 190]

why was anonymous browsing removed?

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

I know that the moderation staff should be able to see users when they're on private browsing, given that I set up a jocular forum about Makusu on forum motion once that me and my friends screwed around in for a few days, and forum motion software isn't nearly as nifty as IPB, and I could see the one person who decided to use private browsing So that shouldn't be it.

 

There has to be a reason other than that, though. Personally, from what I've been able to deduce, I think it should be able to be open to all users of this site - if the staff is allowed to see when we're online, that's really all that matters. I know World of Equestria allows private browsing for their regular users as well, and they run a much tighter ship than MLP Forums does - I think size could play into the equation a bit, but other than that, I can't really see a good reason for having it accessible only to staff members.

 

As for the time online thing, I'm just going to acknowledge it given it was a prevalent thing in your post. I don't care one way or the other about how that's handled - it doesn't really have a real affect on the site, in my opinion

[King 5,625]

Im not positive how it works for IPB, but if it requires a Tech Admin to do some coding magic, I don't believe this feature will become a toggle option anytime soon. We have a number of more vital fixes and add-ons to get out of the way first and not many tech admins to do them.

This being said, It doesn't mean its a bad idea, the ability to toggle whats seen by other members would be a nice addition.

Personally, I dont think it should be removed at all. Its not personal or private information and serves only to display how long you've spent logged into the forum.

[SCS 7,537]

why was anonymous browsing removed?

 

 

The anonymous login feature was a feature of IP.Board. Since MLPF's specific login page was replaced with a Poniverse login system, that feature is no longer available on the front-end. Administrators can make accounts anonymous manually by adding people to a secondary user group that makes you logged in anonymously. Just based on what I am aware of, this is not done on request for members.

 

 

I know that the moderation staff should be able to see users when they're on private browsing

 

Anyone with any level of ACP access can see anonymous users in the online list as well as their online/offline status on their profiles and elsewhere on the site. They just appear with an asterisk next to their username in the online list. This means that some Poniverse staff, all moderators and all administrators can see this. I'm not sure if that is intentional, or just how IP.Board works.

 

 

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To comment specifically on Rivendare's suggestion, I do see his point. I think it's interesting to see how much time people spend on the site, but it does provide an opportunity for bragging and judging and such, which is not good. I would not at all be opposed to users being able to choose whether or not this information is displayed on their profile. 

 

I'd also be alright with time online only being viewable for yourself, but I wouldn't want it to be removed completely. It'd be nice to know how much time oneself had spent on the site even if no one else necessarily needs to see that as well.

 

However, moderators and administrators should be able to view it for everyone, because it could come in handy in staff recruitments. While it's only a single indicator and by no means a deciding factor, it could be useful to, at a glance, get an initial/preliminary idea of how active someone may be on the site. I'm not even sure if it's used in that way, since the administration largely manages all of this, but I don't see the point in removing a value that may be at least somewhat useful for the staff to see.