The Customize Feed option "Content source priority" has now been added.
You can slide this option towards: • More from Groups • More from Users
to affect where most of your feed content is coming from.
A configuration like this one (below), may in the interim, provide you with a feed that is a bit closer to the previous "Following" feed:
(The current options are still far from perfect. Still being worked on and improved, as we continue to receive more feedback.)
Smart Feeds v2
Possibly more importantly, we are looking into a Smart Feeds (Customize) v2, which will revamp the set of Customization Options available, and how they affect your feed.
At present, there is a lot going on with the options, where most of the slider settings shift priority of content from one source to the other.
We are looking into a possible change to this, which may be more understandable and easier for users to operate, and also, provide you with more refined control of your feed content.
The current Customize Feed options:
Customize Feed v2:(currently under consideration / planning)
With the v2, there will be more direct control of each source of content, that appears in your Feeds.
For example: A user can use the settings:
"Users you Follow" to Maximum and All other options to Minimum
to essentially get a close replica of the previous "Following" Feed.
As this will Maximize "Following" as the source of your content, while Minimizing or Erasing the other sources from appearing in your feed.
Conversely, if if a user prefers to see "All Users", similar to the previous Default/Global feed, they could use the settings:
"Other Users" to Maximum and All other options to Minimum
to get a feed that is mostly Globalized, and NOT specific to your Following, Subscribed Groups, Relevant Users/Groups.
Do feel free to let us know, if you believe the "Smart Feed v2" may provide you with better understanding and control of your SW Feed.
@SW-User Yes, they are the owners of this site and can in theory do whatever they want, yes. I've acknowledged this in conversation with others and in their threads multiple times. That said, they are a business venture that is reliant on their users for their site to be viable and as such criticism of their actions are still quite a valid action on the users part.
It can be debated whether the algorithm is poorly made or not, but from the responses they have given in previous threads as well as this one it is clear that some of the things that people strongly dislike are conscious decisions by them.
However, they have historically doubled down on the great majority of controversial changes, trying to convince people that their way is the only way. And as with the manner in which they use the statistic above, their methods of trying to convince people are quite dubious.
@Andrew why did you give yourself best comment? BC shouldn’t be given to admins. That’s kind of like the store that sells lottery tickets and keeps the winning ones for themselves
@Sunnykel76 because they do not care look what they did to the e pers deleted all there groups or made them inaccessable after they begged them to come here
Reverting all things as it previously was, will likely prevent the further growth and sustainability of SW, as the previous layout only works for a community that "Intends to remain Small/Stagnant".
To make sense of what he's saying: I believe he thinks that while some current users dislike the changes and a few even might leave, the changes will appeal to more people over-all, "potential future users" you could say.
The problem with the old feed, is in part that if there was a huge community here, new posts would appear every second, or even more frequently. That wouldn't work. So they're making these changes bearing in mind that they want to expand the SW community. I think they have already, or will advertise SW, to achieve this.
@Andrew or @Nuno can you confirm this? Perhaps it's important to explain why the changes are necessary. I think people might be a little more sympathetic if you did.
Maybe you’re still working on it, but no matter how I adjust the settings, I still only ever see a few people’s posts. I have to do a search for “and” or “the” if I want to see a couple of new ones.
I think the UI is a little clumsy but I like the idea of a feed that can be customized like this. Even if users hate change or don't get it, whatever your stats are showing better engagement and this seems like a better way to structure the site.
That said - downvotes should probably be hidden. The reason is downvotes are intended to train the algorithm but they are psychologically viewed by users as a personal attack and can be pretty devastating if someone is sensitive. Hidden downvotes will allow for that algorithm training without users badly reacting to seeing their content downvoted.
I really don't get this, I only see the last comment made by friends, as soon as they make another comment the previous disappears from my feed. At the same time I can se I have no new post, nor comment in a time span of 5 hours.
These SmartFeed are a nightmare to me, and far from smart. All I want is the ability to choose for myself to see ALL posts by any member I haven't blocked, muted or they have me blocked, and on top of this ALL comments made by friends and preferably also from the people I interact with most frequently on the boards.
The boards have simply turned into a mess in my eyes. I don't get the content I am looking for.
Even with settings that supposedly mimic the original "global feed", I encounter situations where I see a post in the feed from 7 minutes ago, then I refresh the page and that post is now gone and the latest one I see is from 20 minutes ago. That post was not deleted, I can find it if I search the username. But why should it disappear? The algorithm seems to think I have already "seen" it, but I didn't even get a chance to respond to it yet. I don't like the feed changing every time I refresh it. I want to see all the most recent posts in order of when they were posted AND comments from people I interact with. But there's no way to see that, since the sliders control posts and comments simultaneously. So if I lower the "relevant" slider all the way, I see posts in order, but now I no longer see any comments at all, which is not what I want.
You already have 2 feeds. Presently one says "Posts, and the other says "New", but we can only make one selection. I like having a "Following" feed and a "Posts" feed, so that I can vary what I see by going back and forth between the two without needing to adjust settings back and forth each time I do. Not expecting you to do anything about that....but that's how it used to be, and most of us liked it that way.
THIS ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH, ANDREW!!! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE EXPLAINED IT BETTER!!! I DON'T LIKE THE COLOR OF THE SLIDERS!!! ALSO THEY'RE 4CM TOO LONG!!! CHANGE IT!!! I MISS THE OLD SW!!! GO BACK TO MS.DOS WHERE WE HAVE TO MANUALLY TYPE IN CODES TO DO EVERYTHING!!! 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤👊
Seems like a lot of customziation for a forum that is basically entertainment. It is nice that the admins want people to be able to do such. Just seems a lot of hassle when most of the content here is idle banter.
Thank you for the update. Between Customize Feed v2 and the current options available, I like the idea of Customize Feed v2. If I'm correct, I believe that would put it closer to how it used to be, with the option of being able to slide it to "less" for "other users".
I understood in some why you made and will keep the changes and it seems like we can customize our feed better to our preferences in the future. That sounds good. I'll wait and see how it will work when everything is fixed.
Thank you very much! I think V2 would be a bit more clear, but the examples to replicate the old feeds with the current sliders is helpful in the meantime.
Just go back to normal. Put in options to block certain groups and add a line next to the user names so we can have notes to ourselves and can I have a group?
All kidding aside thank you for trying to better the site, we know you work hard and even on Sunday's but I think the majority of us liked the feeds better before. Maybe bring us together now. We want to be here. We support you.
@LunadelobosIAMTHEDRAGON no honestly I don’t get it either but i was stuck between looking dumb and being kind to admin for trying. 🤷🏻♀️ I don’t know what all this means. I study all day and I can’t even read this my brain power is gone and i need to relax for my study session tomorrow. No it is difficult. I just don’t know what to make of it.
I am changing my settings and nothing changes. The new “smart” feed seems dumb to me. Since you don’t care that we liked the feed before version 2 seems better than this current feed.
There are other methods to prevent a site from being "small and stagnant."
People have been trying to say this, but they are utterly convinced their way is the only viable way, and will fight tooth and nail to defend their change.
They want to appeal to certain demographics, at the cost of a good amount of the current demographic. They have gotten what they need from us, a start, and the only importance we really serve now is for our content to carry them until they've tapped into their new demographics.
@Tminus6453 Likewise. What was in order according to time posted is now jumbled up. And having it set to friends/following only has never worked for me. I actually see less posts when I select all posts.
Thank you for the update. I prefer the old way if I'm honest tho. I don't understand how these new options make stuff better. It only makes it more complex and thus more prone to bugs. As you have no-doubt seen and read there are quite a few bugs right now. Also I think the new options are just more confusing for users and most just won't bother. KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid
Or, as a wise man once said: simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Hmmmm... I know you guys get this, and other IT boffins will get it.... But for us superfluous Neanderthal mental knuckle draggers... May I just say...
But I have a possible suggestion for the ignorami like me :
Do a 'suggested settings' list....like the example you did for "like the original feed".
It might help people utilise it to their need better, than just haphazard sliding and hope.
I know you mean well, but at some point it can get so nerdy, some of us just start weeping in confusion 😩
@OogieBoogie Yeah this is the type of dumb shit that only excites IT shut ins who get the belly button tingles over pointless complexity and convolution. The types who appreciate a toaster having wifi or their refrigerator and toilet being connected to their cell phone and tablet.
@Really From the home page there is a green box right under the search box. Click on it and you will see a sliding graph like pictured where you can customize your feed.
@Nuno, @curiosi - Thanks for the 'hint'. The feed options include reference to groups; but here are no groups or ways to create them - do I have that right?
