Members location

[Daniel Robertson]

I know that I am a new member on here, and I do not wish to push in....

It is always nice looking through to see if I can offer help and to see what other members are up to. However, I do like it when members include their location when signing up. Maybe it should be mandatory.

If you feel I am pushing it, please tell me off....

Daniel.

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

I agree with you Daniel - at least that entering a location should be encouraged, perhaps with a dialogue box that appears during new user registration if the user doesn't enter a location, to remind them of the good reasons for entering it - it tells us their mains voltage and frequency, and other country-specific information that may be important; it tells us which supplier(s) to recommend; and it probably has other benefits too.

 

[Arouse1973]

Yes I agree it can be annoying.
Adam

 

[Ian]

Thanks Daniel - it's always good to have site feedback .

I agree that having the user's location would be nice to have for all users, however I want to stop short of making it mandatory. From experience, if we require date of birth and location, it deters users from registering - as there are concerns about data privacy (and understandably so, given the recent media attention of poor data handling from big organisations). A few months back I tried to see if I could get a popup notice working so that it would encourage a user to enter their location in the registration process by explaining why it was useful, but wasn't able to get it to display correctly (at least not in a way that would be purposeful).

I've submitted a suggestion to the developers of the forum software to make the location user field something that can be hooked in to the notices system. For example, if a member has no avatar I've made it present a notice after 5 posts to encourage them to pick a picture. If the location field was selectable, I could do something similar again.

 

[Harald Kapp]

I like this idea vey nuch, Ian.

 

[hevans1944]

Perhaps you could use member URL and/or ISP to give an approximate location?

I just responded to a post with a recommendation to visit Radio Shack, but then realized not everyone has a Radio Shack nearby, or even in their country.

 

[Gryd3]

Perhaps you could use member URL and/or ISP to give an approximate location?

I just responded to a post with a recommendation to visit Radio Shack, but then realized not everyone has a Radio Shack nearby, or even in their country.

I wonder if the avatar pop-up is an add-on, and if so. Can it be edited to hook into other details?

Yeah, Canada used to have RadioShack... now it's just RadioShack's inbred little brother that ditched the electronics scene to sell Cell Phones, TVs, Various USB devices (fridge anyone?) and a small handful of video games... It's kind of embarrassing.

 

[Ian]

I've coded an addon this morning which may go someway toward resolving the problem . Check out the country flag under my avatar (only visible to members).

This is requested from all new members and can be edited by existing members on this page:

https://www.electronicspoint.com/account/personal-details

It's currently in testing, so we'll see how it works .

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

Cool Ian

I don't suppose it's possible to put it on the same line as the location? Many posts are short, and adding a line in that section can add up to significant wasted screen real estate. Man I'm a picky bugger aren't I. I should just say thanks and shut up!

 

[Ian]

Cool Ian

I don't suppose it's possible to put it on the same line as the location? Many posts are short, and adding a line in that section can add up to significant wasted screen real estate. Man I'm a picky bugger aren't I. I should just say thanks and shut up!

Haha, that is possible, but it would cause some other rendering problems elsewhere, as I've had to exploit some oddities to get the flag working like this. I agree it would be nice if space was saved, so I'll have a think on what I can do - it's very much in "beta" at the moment .

 

[shrtrnd]

I could go for a flag ID, or country ID if it becomes mandatory. I've referenced my location in posts before when a particular issue seems connected to symptoms seen, but because of my work, I'd paint an unwanted
target on myself if I posted specifics in my profile. I don't concern myself with what other people think about my 'personal privacy', I just know my job depends on it. I come here to learn what everybody else here
knows that I don't. Ian's right in that forcing people to give specifics about themselves will hinder some people, and their insight/opinions. This is Ian's baby, that's just my opinion in the matter.

 

[Neal]

Mine is added now