Forums » Suggestions & Development Discussion » Two Suggestions Around Member-Made Template Usage

I was just recently reminded that I actually created a couple public templates awhile back (which I think I haven't yet updated for 2.0, eep!) and that there are... actually people using them. And so a couple things occurred to me.

First, I think it'd be kinda cool if there was an easy way to see a list of the profiles using templates you made. I figure that's technically public anyway, since you'll obviously be seeing the template used in any profile you look at; this would just mean the template creator could see how the template was being used without having to go digging through every profile on the site, whether just to admire how folks are using it, or maybe even get an idea of improvements they could make based on the usages, work-arounds folks might be using to get specific arrangements, etc. I do understand that this might be outweigh by its potential to make folks uncomfortable (whether users worrying about appearing on such a list, or creators finding a usage that bothers them, or even underage creators not being able to actually look at profiles with adult content restrictions); by how some of those lists would likely be really long and unwieldly; and by potentially adding more or easier methods for harassment. I think it'd be neat to have, but beyond whether or not it's figured to be worth the effort it might take to add, I'll totally get it if it's figured more of a risk than a benefit.

Second, much more useful (assuming there isn't already something in place for it, I admit I haven't looked in a long time), would be some sort of automated or semi-automated notification to those using a template if that template gets update. At the moment, I'm guessing all there is, is if the creator decides to post somewhere that they're about to or have just updated a template, and if those using that template actually follow that. I'm guessing a lot of folks won't know if a template they're using gets changed or even deleted until they happen to check that character again. I'm thinking a standard little PM from Server could be sent out to everyone using a given template when it's updated or deleted, so they'll know pretty immediately if they need to go possibly readjust some things themselves or select a new template. It could be annoying to get a bunch of messages at once while a template creator is still working, of course, so maybe there could be a separate button in the process they hit once they're done working to prompt Server to send out the message. Even better if the creator can input what changes they made - like if backgrounds were changed to some different color/pattern/image, or if a typeface was swapped out, or if it was just a slight adjustment to padding/margins, or if something that was fixed-width has been updated to be more responsive, etc.

I guess sort of an addition to that would be a button that could inform folks in advance if a template is going to be majorly edited or outright deleted. Especially if it's going to be deleted. That way, users would have a window to switch to a different template before their profile (possibly many profiles!) gets thrown into disarray.