Exciting Changes Coming To allnurses

[Joe V]

To do this we need to change. We need to start thinking outside of the box.

In no particular order, here's a snapshot of the top 10 suggested areas for improvement...

1. Search
2. Page Speed
3. Content Discovery (eg, nurse may just want nurse related topics)
4. Problems with Signing In
5. Lost Passwords
6. Lost Posts (ie. Can't find my post, Can't find topic)
7. Faulty Editor
8. Hard to follow anything
9. Too many ads
10. Old topics bumped

We agree with all of the above!!!

As with all great advances and improvements, there will be change. Change that may affect the way information is delivered to you, our valued members. We think the changes will give you a richer experience.

*The following will be affected...

1. Post Count
2. Saved Private Messages
3. Saved Signatures
4. Smilies/Avatars

Post Count

Your Post Counts could change. Two reasons why this may happen ...

1. Deleted and merged posts were previously counted in your Post Counts. After the upgrade, these will no longer be counted in your Post Count total.
2. allnurses and the Breakroom are separate sites but they use the same database. When we upgrade, each site will use its own database. This means that Post Count will differ per site. For example, if your Post Count is 12,000 but 5,000 is from the Breakroom your new allnurses Post Count will drop to 7,000 and your Breakroom Post Count will be 5,000.

Private Messages and Signatures...

The number of private messages and signatures in our database is excessive and most are from inactive members. Neither will be moved over to the new system. We recommend reviewing your Private Messages and download those that are important to you. You have until December 20 to do this.

For those who have the Signature option, you will be able to create a new signature.

Smilies/Emoticons...

We will be using industry standard Emojis. Emojis work across mobile and desktop devices.

Emoji Features

1. Many to choose from.
2. You can search for emojis.
3. Skin tone modifier fully supported for emojis.
4. Can be resized.
5. Autocomplete Short Codes (eg. :grin? and ASCII emoticons (eg. :D) now available

Some smilies will be dropped. But, most smilies have an equivalent Emoji.

Avatars...

We will no longer provide a set of avatars to choose from. Everyone will be assigned a new avatar with the first letter of their username. All uploaded avatars will be moved over to the new system. But to be safe, we recommend you download your favorite avatar(s) to your computer for later use.

NEW FEATURES YOU CAN EXPECT ON THE NEW ALLNURSES.COM

New Comprehensive Search Engine

1. The latest in search engine technology with advanced search features such as synonyms, stemming**, and misspellings.
2. Precise controls for finding what you need.
3. Search Members, Topics, School, Products, etc
4. Fast results

**stemming (example) when searching for the keyword "walking" the system will also look up "walked" and "walk"

New Robust Cache System

Improved page speeds across all devices.

New Content Discovery Engine

1. Allows you to see the content you are most interested in. For example, you will now be able to follow content posted by people you most admire, sections that you visit frequently, etc.
2. 'Save Actions' and reuse the same filters for the next time you visit.

New Powerful WYSIWYG Editor

1. Drop-n-Drag uploads
2. Rich embeds that will automatically embed a rich preview in a post when adding links from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any content on the site.

Members will now be able to Mention other members simply by typing @name. When using @name, the mentioned person will be notified, if they have opted to receive notifications.

Improved Security & Privacy

All members can protect their accounts using Two Factor Authentication.

Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security for your account to ensure that you're the only person who can access your account, even if someone knows your password.

All members can log in using their Facebook, Google, or LinkedIn accounts.

In addition, we will now offer alerts to you for unusual account activities. For example, if someone tries to login using your credentials at a different location or device.

Changing your lost password is now more user-friendly.

Robust Profile/Account

This is YOUR space. You will be able to...

1. Status Updates ( aka Activity Wall - where you, your friends, followers, and community can share, learn, and interact with each other )
2. Update your Notification Settings.
3. Update your Security Settings.
4. Update your Personal Information.
5. Manage Membership Account.
6. Manage your Followed Content.
7. Search past Activities.

A new Notifications System that will help members stay updated with new content. Members will now be able to follow everything on the site. The power to customize - which notification and where to send - is set per individual.

Fewer Ads! Our goal is to get the average of ads displayed per page to 3. On long pages, you may see a max 5 ads. On very short pages, just 1 ad.

We will also offer a new membership that provides 100% Ad-Free experience with many extra perks.

MOVING FORWARD

Our goal with the new system is to improve your community, identify and recognize site leaders, and highlight great content. We know you will love all the improvements coming to allnurses.com.

ETA 2019

[Joe V]

NICU Guy said:

Under "What's New" tab, it would be nice to be able to search by thread start date. Currently, it is listed by last post date. I don't really care about a thread that has been dead for 5 years, but a new member decides to post a question to the OP that hasn't posted in 4 yrs.

What's New is a list of the latest activities. There's no changing this.

What's New is getting replaced with our new discovery tool, Timeline.

Timeline works similar to What's New with the added option to save your own "discovery" streams. For example, you can create a discovery stream from your favorite forums. You can have another stream of people you follow.

If that's not good enough you can always use the Search function that offers even more options. ?

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

cool! very exciting! Keep up the good work, Joe V and team!

[Joe V]

Here's another tease ... this one shows a few new features...

1. Sorting (custom option)
2. Mark As Read (now easily accessible)
3. Following
4. Topic status (hot, popular, poll, you posted)

[Farawyn]

But...what of the app, Joe V??? What Of The App?

[JKL33]

"Exciting changes" is no longer a good way to announce anything to nurses.

Just kidding. I'm sure a lot of work has gone into continually improving AN, so I look forward to seeing what's in store.

[Joe V]

Farawyn said:

But...what of the app, Joe V??? What Of The App?

Our focus is on improving experience and speed on the mobile site. No app.

[Farawyn]

Joe V said:

Our focus is on improving experience and speed on the mobile site. No app.

*cries*

Have a great Thanksgiving, Joe!

[No Stars In My Eyes]

Well, okay, then. Change happens.

I don't really understand (or use) 2/3's of the stuff you spelled out, Joe, but that's okay as long as I always have access to the Blue Side. I need those people in my life!

Going to ATTEMPT to save my avatar of the frazzled, google-eyed creature...Would really hate being automatically avatar'd as "N".

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I do have one thing that I'd love to see change: if a new response is added to a poll post, it will show up as unread replies in the what's new search. However, it takes the reader to the last post of the thread when clicking on the little arrow. Is there a way to differentiate new reply vs new poll response?

[No Stars In My Eyes]

I have tried and tried to download my Avatar picture, but can't get in to enter a new file (or even an old file) so I can save it.

I can get on the page to edit it so it can be down or up-loaded (whichever), but it goes nowhere from there, no matter what I try. It's like the instructions are missing a step or it just ignores my attempts.

Joe, or Anybody ... Can you clue me in on how to "SAVE THE AVATAR!" ? It has to be in layman's terms. ie I am practically computer illiterate and things like 'cut and paste' mean nothing to me except ...safety scissors and Elmer's Glue. See what I mean? If there is someone who could actually save my avatar FOR me, well, is that even possible?

Help me; I DON'T want to have the letter "N" for my avatar!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

No Stars In My Eyes said:

I have tried and tried to download my Avatar picture, but can't get in to enter a new file (or even an old file) so I can save it.

I can get on the page to edit it so it can be down or up-loaded (whichever), but it goes nowhere from there, no matter what I try. It's like the instructions are missing a step or it just ignores my attempts.

Joe, or Anybody ... Can you clue me in on how to "SAVE THE AVATAR!" ? It has to be in layman's terms. ie I am practically computer illiterate and things like 'cut and paste' mean nothing to me except ...safety scissors and Elmer's Glue. See what I mean? If there is someone who could actually save my avatar FOR me, well, is that even possible?

Help me; I DON'T want to have the letter "N" for my avatar!

Can you take a screenshot of it and crop? That would be a quick and easy solution.

[No Stars In My Eyes]

Rose_Queen said:

Can you take a screenshot of it and crop? That would be a quick and easy solution.

I've got a little acer laptop. I have no clue how to screenshot anything. It's a little pic and I don't see how it would need cropping, and even if it did, that's another blank space in my so-called 'knowledge'.

Thanks, though.