Do you miss flashing IMs in Windlight and RC? Please vote!

There is a Jira about the fact that, in the latest Release Candidate and Windlight viewers, new IMs are much harder to notice due to a change in color scheme of the tabs and the fact that tabs with new IMs no longer flash. (SuezanneC Baskerville posted a screenshot in another thread that illustrates how it looks now. If the tabs seem easily readable or identifiable to you, your monitor is better than mine.)

I consider this an accessibility issue, because hearing-impaired residents can't hear the IM 'ding' and with these recent changes it is extremely difficult to tell by the subtle color changes that new IMs are waiting.

I personally am not hearing-impaired, but I listen to music while I'm in-world, and for the past two nights I have missed out on a lot of business and personal IMs because even though the IM window was open on my screen, I simply did not notice when new or updated IMs appeared, since my eyes were elsewhere. The flashing is essential, because it's detectable in your peripheral vision. With the current white-on-light-gray color scheme, you literally have to inspect every single IM tab (at least on my 17" laptop LCD screen) just to tell if you need to check that tab for updates.

If you feel the same way I do about it, please vote to have this issue fixed:
http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-4575

EDIT: SuezanneC's screenshot is at the following link. On the monitor I'm using now it's kind of easy to tell the difference between the current tab and the ones with IMs waiting, but on my notebook it is very difficult to tell the difference, and the color changes in tabs do NOT get my attention if I'm looking anywhere other than the IM window on my screen.

Yes I am missing IMs due to no continuos flashing now.
Also very cross about the Camera and movement controls being in a daft place and yes I can drag them to a better possition but they go back at relog in.
When I TP to a new location I have to start music again, before it stayed on.
Have these other matters been logged to Linden?
Love
June

Voted, thanks for the link!

I agree with both problems. Had someone upset with me the other night because hey thought I was deliberately ignoring them and refusing to talk. I need to be able to have my local chat window open but tell if I am getting an im.

The camera controls is the other thing that relly bugs me about the new interface.

My guess is that some people complained about the flashing IMs being a nuisance.

It would be nice to have a client setting that allowed some sort of IM alert beacon to show more visibly and that could be toggled on or off.

I , personally, haven't had enough time to spend on the new client to see the issue that you have described.

(though don't get me started on the release button....I may go in and editthe code to remove it if it continues to bother me)

Yes!!!!

I noticed this last night! I had received at lest 5 IM's and didn't realize it until a few minutes had passed. I apploigized to everyone and mention it must be related to the new release.

I hope they address this issue quickly.


I've also added my comment to the jira site as well!

The lack of constant flashing is a huge improvement to me.

Imagine getting new text in several IM's at once for as long as you are online.

Which would go 24/7 and *never* stop.



But that's just me. I can understand people not using SL the way I do.

I can sympathize with Des, having 10 or so IMs flashing at you isn't exactly relaxing. However the new functionality is too far to the other extreme. So for that reason it gets my vote. I need to know when people have updated the conversation in a timely fashion so I can carry on my 8 IMs at once with ease

This is why I'm thinking maybe a UI option to disable the flash might be nice? I don't get the volume of IMs you do, but I almost always have 3-8 business/personal IM conversations going whenever I'm logged on, and it's just become a real problem lately... especially with my customers thinking I'm ignoring them. I REALLY counted on the flashing to help keep my responses timely.

And a simple 'ding' just isn't enough. As I mentioned, hard-of-hearing folks or people with audio off won't hear it. But what if it dings when you make a potty break or grab something from the kitchen?

(Haha, Darien was one of the people I kept accidentally ignoring last night!)

So thats your excuse... ;P

I wanna know why an item with 2 votes gets INTO the client in the first place.

Oh? Was that a Jira to begin with, Winter?

EDIT: Wow, you're right. 2 votes and this feature so many of us rely on was taken away.

Yes, I've been missing IMs ever since I got this new version. It's horrible in that regard.

Off to vote...

Grace

Shouldn't it be optional?

You can have it on or off?

Or is that too complicated.


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Guess we should just be glad we still have ims

I personally hate the flashing, but then I hardly ever get any messages from individuals, because practically no one likes me enough to send me a message. There's actually only one person that sends me any messages from friendliness. A few people every once in a while ask for help. I don't do any sort of business, so I don't have customers wanting quick responses. People are always posting messages in the groups, and I don't care whether I see them promptly. I hate the flashing, and have complained about it in the past, but since I'm usually ignoring everything in the virtual world on the monitor on the left and paying attention to the browser with the forums and mashable.com and facebook and gmail and so on on the monitor on the right, the flashing is not all that offensive.

As much as hate the flashing, the new grotesque abomination of a color scheme may be worse. It's at least as bad. I suppose if we complain too much we'll probably get the new hideous and illegible color scheme made to flash.

I'd like a color change, like white text on blue for no new message, white text on green for new message. If one has to have flashing, use the colors and flashing, let people set the colors and the flash rate.

this sounds kinda scary

If one has to have flashing, use the colors and flashing, let people set the colors and the flash rate.

Sounds kinda optional to me. Optional colors, flash rate 0 = off, flash rate <> 0 = ON, rate of your choice.

Using two monitors is hardly scary.

I LIKE the flashing, and I NEED the flashing when I'm trying to follow more than on conversation at a time. Making it optional would be fine. Yes, I've changed ButtonFlashCount to 9999, but the contrast is still seriously inadequate.

I'm really irritated with the new UI, between the changes to the communication interface, the stooopid Release Keys button placement, and the apparent removal of the IM received button.

I encountered this for the first time last night using the new Windlight viewer.
Missed several IMs, some of them kinda important.
The buttons are utterly useless, and I had to keep a very wide communicate window open to try and keep track of various IM convos, which makes seeing anything else a bit of a joke. Squinting at my screen is not my idea of fun.
Enough to turn me off Windlight to be honest, no matter how nice the pics can look.
I want my flashy buttons back!!!

.

Clickable link to JIRA issue
http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-4575

For moar votes!

(Sometimes the img tag trick makes invisible url's, but if the URL has a question mark in it, it works)

To get rid of the "release keys"button,

Quit Second Life
Go to your root second life directory (C:/Program Files/SecondLifeWindLight)
Go to skins/xui/en-us/
Look for a file named: panel_overlaybar.xml
Open it in a text-editor
Delete the following

<button bottom="1" follows="left|bottom" font="SansSerif" halign="center" height="20"
label="Release Keys" label_selected="Release Keys" left="229"
name="Release Keys" scale_image="true"
tool_tip="A script has taken control of your keys. Click here to release them."
width="102" />

Save the file
Open second life and log in, presto, button gone.

Theres a slight catch, once Second Life gets updated again, and changes are made to the UI, its most likely that the button will be there again and you'll have to delete it from the XML file again..
Other then that, its working for me.

Hehe, you forgot the 'slight catch' of not being able to get free if you play a scripted game that takes your controls and you want to abort xD

Voted!

I rather dislike the changes they made. This is one of the changes I rather dislike. So this change is only in the Windlight and RC? Not the regular viewer?

I am with Desmond on this.. the constant flashing tends to increase my blood pressure significantly. I've missed new IMs because the tab comes off the Communications window so having another way to tell that you have outstanding text in an IM that is visible but not as irritating as the constant flashing would be my preference.

Just my 2c.

.d