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Important - The Reactions Release!

 

As you may know from my recent forum post, I was as surprised as you all by yesterday's site upgrade. (Somehow the advance notices about it never made it to my inbox, or I would have warned you.) Anywho . . . since the upgrade, I've been running around, testing the various changes and figuring out which ones most impact you, so I could give you this update.

In short, lots of small (and a few big) things changed, but essentially only two changes really impact you. They are:

1. Reactions Replace Likes. In the past, you could like a clip, blog post, or forum post, but NOW you have a whole host of "reactions" from which to choose to express your sentiments about a photo or other content. Those reactions include:

Screen Shot 2020-03-14 at 10.06.08 PM

So, where do you add likes and other reactions now? Simply look under the clip or forum/blog post (in the lower left) for a small blue smiley face icon with a plus sign next to it, like so . . .

Screen Shot 2020-03-14 at 10.05.48 PM

Click on that icon, and the reactions will come up . . .

Screen Shot 2020-03-14 at 10.06.25 PM

Then simply click on as many icons as you want to express your feelings about that photo or post. All reactions will get catalogued to the left of the smiley icon (for now, anyway). For instance, in the example above, the photo has received three hearts.

Hopefully, this addition will allow you to express yourselves more creatively, and to have a little more fun! Onto the second change . . .

2. New Comment Box Formatting. To accommodate the new reactions area, the comment box formatting changed in a number of ways. The reaction icons were added, of course, but, for some reason, all of my predetermined color settings also changed. I've reinstated some of the colors, but I'm still working on other changes that require more complex coding (and, thus, paid professional computer help!). These changes are purely cosmetic, so hopefully they won't throw you for too many loops.

While on the subject of changes . . . Depending on my computer guy's availability, it may be a few weeks before these changes can be made. But here's a heads-up on the refinements I am hoping to incorporate:

1. Move the "reactions" summary info (i.e., the three hearts, in the example above) from under photos to the top of them (near the number of views and comments), where the "likes" summary was positioned before. I think it makes more sense to have all of this "community response" information in one area.

2. Give the forum topic (primary post) a different background color than the comments that follow it. Right now, both topic and comments have the same background color, so it's a bit hard to differentiate the two.

3. Reorder the reaction icons, so more commonly used ones (like the thumbs-up) are closer to the top of the list.

That's all for now. Please let me know if you have any feedback or questions as you start to use the new reactions feature.

Thank you!

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Images (4)
  • The Reactions Release Banner: Royalty-free clip art from Shutterstock
  • Reactions Options on Cookie Connection: Screenshot from Cookie Connection
  • Location of Reactions Icon: Screenshot from Cookie Connection
  • What You'll See When You Click on Reactions Icon: Screenshot from Cookie Connection

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Comments (22)

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Thanks so much for the explanation, dear Julia!! Changes are good, they keep us thinking and alert, and out of our comfort zone! Especially when we have reached an age where these changes happen so quickly 😆❤️

Manu posted:

I like the new “reactions” feature.

I played with the reactions and just found out that I can “like” the post by clicking on the ❤️ as usual and also add a reaction to this post on top of my like (I added 👍) @Julia M. Usher. Actually I could go on and add more reactions clicking on the different icons (I added a 🤔). The reactions are displayed ordered as they appear in the icon choice box. 

Yes, you can add as many reactions as you like, which is fun. You just CAN'T react to your own post. If you do, the site will delete that reaction.

I like the new “reactions” feature.

I played with the reactions and just found out that I can “like” the post by clicking on the ❤️ as usual and also add a reaction to this post on top of my like (I added 👍) @Julia M. Usher. Actually I could go on and add more reactions clicking on the different icons (I added a 🤔). The reactions are displayed ordered as they appear in the icon choice box. 

Tina at Sugar Wishes posted:

It’s great you are always updating an already fabulous site. ❤️  Thanks Julia. 

Well, I don't do it so much as my site hosts do. I just wish they'd give me more than a few days heads up when they do, as each change usually creates loads of unexpected work for me  - testing, reporting bugs, communicating the changes to members, etc. This one seems to have settled down now.

*** UPDATE - MARCH 16, 2020 ***

To answer @Aproned Artist's very good question (above) about how to know if you've previously selected a certain reaction, here's what site support said:

"Hover effects are not supported on mobile, since everything is tap-oriented. Thus, you are right that there is no view of who reacted in mobile, since that is tied to a hover action and the tap of the icon allows the user to react/un-react to the reaction. However, we add a shading to the reactions for the ones that you have previously used for the post and that is how you can always tell that how you previously reacted, in all cases (mobile and desktop). Thus, if the reaction button background is shaded, you previously used that reaction for the post."

So, in other words, you will only be able to hover over an icon to see a full list of all who reacted on a laptop. BUT . . . on either mobile devices or laptops, you can tell what you previously selected by looking at the shading behind the icon. If it is white, you have not selected it. If it is grey (on a main post) or tan (on a comment), you have already selected it.

Also, if you accidentally select an icon twice, the effect will be decrementing your previous selection, so you will see the count next to the icon go down, and the shading go from grey (or tan on a comment) to white.

As an example, on this main post, I selected the "100", man thinking, AND fire icons, which is why those three appear gray to me, as shown below. I hope this clarifies this point.

Screen Shot 2020-03-16 at 9.40.54 AM

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Images (1)
  • Icon Shading Example: Screenshot from Cookie Connection
Last edited by Julia M. Usher

*** UPDATE - MARCH 15, 2020 ***

1. Okay, so the answer is: yes, you can react to your own content using as many DIFFERENT icons as you want. But you can't select the same icon twice. Doing so will reverse your previous selection. HOWEVER, reactions to your own content ARE NOT factored into any of the trending displays on the site. THIS IS GOOD NEWS, as it prevents members from gaming that system and artificially inflating their ranking on the site by reacting to their own posts.

2. I cannot easily change the location of the "reactions bar", now under each post, but I am hopeful that a summary of it can be moved back up to the top. I will know more in April.

3. I have adjusted most of the colors in the comments areas to my liking. Initial forum posts appear with a yellow background; all subsequent comments with a pale tan background. I do have the option of allowing colors on the slender tan bar (left side of comment box) to change depending on who made the comment - i.e., each member commenting would have a unique color. However, I feel this makes the site look too busy and has limited benefit, since we can already see who is commenting on each post. If you disagree, please let me know and we can try the full-color mode for a while.

Tina at Sugar Wishes posted:
Julia M. Usher posted:
Tina at Sugar Wishes posted:

It’s great you are always updating an already fabulous site. ❤️  Thanks Julia. 

Well, I don't do it so much as my site hosts do. I just wish they'd give me more than a few days heads up when they do, as each change usually creates loads of unexpected work for me  - testing, reporting bugs, communicating the changes to members, etc. This one seems to have settled down now.

So if I go to a page and use all the icons on a picture will all those icons be factored into the trending of that cookie? 

Good question. Each user gets at most one "vote" from a trending perspective, so there's no way to game the system to try to inflate any post's trending score. 

Julia M. Usher posted:
Tina at Sugar Wishes posted:

It’s great you are always updating an already fabulous site. ❤️  Thanks Julia. 

Well, I don't do it so much as my site hosts do. I just wish they'd give me more than a few days heads up when they do, as each change usually creates loads of unexpected work for me  - testing, reporting bugs, communicating the changes to members, etc. This one seems to have settled down now.

So if I go to a page and use all the icons on a picture will all those icons be factored into the trending of that cookie? 

Aproned Artist posted:
Julia M. Usher posted:
Aproned Artist posted:

It’s hard to tell if I’ve already liked an image. Is there some indicator I’m missing?

If you run your cursor over the reactions accumulated on any clip or post (to bottom left of post right now, though I am thinking of moving this info up), you can see who chose that reaction (just like on Facebook). If you already selected an icon, "You" will appear on the list. Here's an example of what I see when I scroll over the heart icon under this post, which had seven people "hearting" it as of taking this screenshot:

Screen Shot 2020-03-15 at 11.07.51 AM

I see. I was using an iPad so no way of "hovering", but I get it now. Thanks for the clarification.

Thanks for pointing this out; I can't seem to hover and see anything on my iPhone either. I'll inquire if this is expected functionality, and what, if anything, they can do about it. Seems like that should be doable and valuable.

Julia M. Usher posted:
Aproned Artist posted:

It’s hard to tell if I’ve already liked an image. Is there some indicator I’m missing?

If you run your cursor over the reactions accumulated on any clip or post (to bottom left of post right now, though I am thinking of moving this info up), you can see who chose that reaction (just like on Facebook). If you already selected an icon, "You" will appear on the list. Here's an example of what I see when I scroll over the heart icon under this post, which had seven people "hearting" it as of taking this screenshot:

Screen Shot 2020-03-15 at 11.07.51 AM

I see. I was using an iPad so no way of "hovering", but I get it now. Thanks for the clarification.

Julia M. Usher posted:
Julia M. Usher posted:
Manu posted:
Julia M. Usher posted:
Manu posted:

I like the new “reactions” feature.

I played with the reactions and just found out that I can “like” the post by clicking on the ❤️ as usual and also add a reaction to this post on top of my like (I added 👍) @Julia M. Usher. Actually I could go on and add more reactions clicking on the different icons (I added a 🤔). The reactions are displayed ordered as they appear in the icon choice box. 

Yes, you can add as many reactions as you like, which is fun. You just CAN'T react to your own post. If you do, the site will delete that reaction.

That’s fine as it has very rarely happened that I “liked” my own content (although I like it! 😊).

But actually I tried to leave a reaction to my own comment above and it has accepted it. So I tried with the swing tutorial and it has accepted a ❤️ as well. I left the hearts so you can check it out. . .

That shouldn't have happened on your tutorial. Did you stay long enough to watch the count? It will initially look like it took it; then it cancels it out and the count goes back to what it was.

Hmmm . . . I'm seeing it do different things now. If I click directly on an existing icon, it takes it. But if I try to add one through the smiley icon, it won't take it. Going to have site guys look into this. So frustrating; I really wish I'd get more heads-up when they make big changes, as there is such a ripple effect on everything.

Now, it's taking my own reactions on my own content everywhere. I need to get this fixed for various reasons. Errr . . .

Julia M. Usher posted:
Manu posted:
Julia M. Usher posted:
Manu posted:

I like the new “reactions” feature.

I played with the reactions and just found out that I can “like” the post by clicking on the ❤️ as usual and also add a reaction to this post on top of my like (I added 👍) @Julia M. Usher. Actually I could go on and add more reactions clicking on the different icons (I added a 🤔). The reactions are displayed ordered as they appear in the icon choice box. 

Yes, you can add as many reactions as you like, which is fun. You just CAN'T react to your own post. If you do, the site will delete that reaction.

That’s fine as it has very rarely happened that I “liked” my own content (although I like it! 😊).

But actually I tried to leave a reaction to my own comment above and it has accepted it. So I tried with the swing tutorial and it has accepted a ❤️ as well. I left the hearts so you can check it out. . .

That shouldn't have happened on your tutorial. Did you stay long enough to watch the count? It will initially look like it took it; then it cancels it out and the count goes back to what it was.

Hmmm . . . I'm seeing it do different things now. If I click directly on an existing icon, it takes it. But if I try to add one through the smiley icon, it won't take it. Going to have site guys look into this. So frustrating; I really wish I'd get more heads-up when they make big changes, as there is such a ripple effect on everything.

Manu posted:
Julia M. Usher posted:
Manu posted:

I like the new “reactions” feature.

I played with the reactions and just found out that I can “like” the post by clicking on the ❤️ as usual and also add a reaction to this post on top of my like (I added 👍) @Julia M. Usher. Actually I could go on and add more reactions clicking on the different icons (I added a 🤔). The reactions are displayed ordered as they appear in the icon choice box. 

Yes, you can add as many reactions as you like, which is fun. You just CAN'T react to your own post. If you do, the site will delete that reaction.

That’s fine as it has very rarely happened that I “liked” my own content (although I like it! 😊).

But actually I tried to leave a reaction to my own comment above and it has accepted it. So I tried with the swing tutorial and it has accepted a ❤️ as well. I left the hearts so you can check it out. . .

That shouldn't have happened on your tutorial. Did you stay long enough to watch the count? It will initially look like it took it; then it cancels it out and the count goes back to what it was.

Julia M. Usher posted:
Manu posted:

I like the new “reactions” feature.

I played with the reactions and just found out that I can “like” the post by clicking on the ❤️ as usual and also add a reaction to this post on top of my like (I added 👍) @Julia M. Usher. Actually I could go on and add more reactions clicking on the different icons (I added a 🤔). The reactions are displayed ordered as they appear in the icon choice box. 

Yes, you can add as many reactions as you like, which is fun. You just CAN'T react to your own post. If you do, the site will delete that reaction.

That’s fine as it has very rarely happened that I “liked” my own content (although I like it! 😊).

But actually I tried to leave a reaction to my own comment above and it has accepted it. So I tried with the swing tutorial and it has accepted a ❤️ as well. I left the hearts so you can check it out. . .

Last edited by Manu biscotti decorati

*** UPDATE ***

After some conferencing with site support, there appears to be no way to change the order of the icons (point #1, above) and no EASY way to change the location of the icons (point # 3, above). I am still not giving up on point #3, and will explore more complex coding with my personal computer guy, but I will not have an opportunity to meet with him until mid-April. I am still trying to get an easy fix to point #2.

Last edited by Julia M. Usher
Aproned Artist posted:

It’s hard to tell if I’ve already liked an image. Is there some indicator I’m missing?

So, for instance, when I hearted your comment on my snowdrop post, this is what I see when I scroll over the heart:

Screen Shot 2020-03-15 at 11.32.08 AM

You just can't react to your own content. The site will delete your reaction if you try to like or heart (or whatever) your own material.

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Images (1)
  • My Hearting of Aproned Artist's Comment: Screenshot from Cookie Connection
Aproned Artist posted:

It’s hard to tell if I’ve already liked an image. Is there some indicator I’m missing?

If you run your cursor over the reactions accumulated on any clip or post (to bottom left of post right now, though I am thinking of moving this info up), you can see who chose that reaction (just like on Facebook). If you already selected an icon, "You" will appear on the list. Here's an example of what I see when I scroll over the heart icon under this post, which had seven people "hearting" it as of taking this screenshot:

Screen Shot 2020-03-15 at 11.07.51 AM

Attachments

Images (1)
  • People Who Hearted My Post: Screenshot from Cookie Connection
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