allnurses.com's vision is to empower, unite and advance every nurse, student and educator. Therefore, it is important for us to listen to your comments, input, and suggestions. We have listened, and we are very excited to announce that exciting changes are coming.
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...
Search
Page Speed
Content Discovery (eg, nurse may just want nurse related topics)
Problems with Signing In
Lost Passwords
Lost Posts (ie. Can't find my post, Can't find topic)
Faulty Editor
Hard to follow anything
Too many ads
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...
Post Count
Saved Private Messages
Saved Signatures
Smilies/Avatars
Post Count
Your Post Counts could change. Two reasons why this may happen ...
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.
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
Many to choose from.
You can search for emojis.
Skin tone modifier fully supported for emojis.
Can be resized.
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
The latest in search engine technology with advanced search features such as synonyms, stemming**, and misspellings.
Precise controls for finding what you need.
Search Members, Topics, School, Products, etc
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
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.
'Save Actions' and reuse the same filters for the next time you visit.
New Powerful WYSIWYG Editor
Drop-n-Drag uploads
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...
Status Updates ( aka Activity Wall - where you, your friends, followers, and community can share, learn, and interact with each other )
Update your Notification Settings.
Update your Security Settings.
Update your Personal Information.
Manage Membership Account.
Manage your Followed Content.
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.
Specializes in Programming / Strategist for allnurses.
No Stars In My Eyes said:
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!
On desktop...
To save any image, move your cursor over the image and Right-click > Save Image As...
Save to your local machine/device ... then on new system, you can upload the avatar, keep the new avatar 'K' generated for you, or upload a new one
Specializes in Programming / Strategist for allnurses.
Rose_Queen said:
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?
I really liked this idea so I started looking into this.
No promises for launch but the plan is to include poll updates in the Activity Timeline (What's New). So when someone votes in a poll, it will show up on the Timeline.
Specializes in Programming / Strategist for allnurses.
All Signatures will be removed from our system December 20.
Quote
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.
Yes, you will have the option to add a new signature after the new year.
We agree with you. Our strongest asset is anonymity.
I think you'll find the options are stronger ... clearer ... No gray area.
For example, there's no longer a need for a 'privacy setting'*. We grouped information that we collect from you into two groups:
Private Information - Any information shared here is protected. Only visible to Admins.
Public Information - Any information shared here can be viewed by the public (Guests/Members).
(*We've learned that the current 'Privacy Settings' option can be confusing to members.)
If you're logging in from facebook or LinkedIn, can you still be anonymous here, or will the profiles/posts be tied together? Will "find a member" be searchable via facebook or LinkedIn names?
I could definitely see situations here where being discoverable could lead to real-world harassment.
Specializes in Programming / Strategist for allnurses.
UPDATE Dec 19, 2018:
Starting Dec 23, allnurses.com and the Breakroom will temporarily disable signing in and posting on the site for maintenance. This may take a few days.
Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.
Joe V said:
UPDATE Dec 19, 2018:
Starting Dec 23, allnurses.com and the Breakroom will temporarily disable signing in and posting on the site for maintenance. This may take a few days.
Ooooo, some of us are addicted to AN and to the Breakroom!
Will you post this in the GM thread (or I can do it)?
Joe V
7 Articles; 2,625 Posts
On desktop...
To save any image, move your cursor over the image and Right-click > Save Image As...
Save to your local machine/device ... then on new system, you can upload the avatar, keep the new avatar 'K' generated for you, or upload a new one