Notify
Notify is the latest evolution of Userplane’s notification system, which organizes important announcement information for a chat user, into a simple button / menu interface that is persistent across your website. These notices are calls-to-action for the user, and Notify handles a variety of them, including presence updates, friendship requests, conversation messages, and upgrade notices. In the near future, Notify will also be able to incorporate your website’s internal messages for users, via RSS. For further information on Notify, keep reading…
The Notify Interface
- the embedded Notify button
- the Notify menu
- the Conversations group
- the Requests group
- the Activity group
- expand / collapse button
- timestamp / close button
- contextual options menus
- call-to-action buttons
- unread messages indicator (conversation-level)
- unacknowledged notifications indicator (group-level)
- unacknowledged notifications indicator (button-level)
- the Notify button-tab in Presencebar
Notify Groups
The Notify menu is comprised of three expandable groups – Conversations, Requests, and Activity – each keeping a chat user informed about communication opportunities related to their account.
Conversations
The Conversations group handles notifications related to direct communication between two users. Each notification represents a conversation with a particular user, showing the most recent message, and if necessary, a pending indicator for any messages that have yet to be viewed by the user. If a user has insufficient privileges to communicate with the user on the other side, Notify displays upsell messaging that encourages users to upgrade their account, or notifies the sender that the person they are trying to contact needs to upgrade. The call-to-action button invites the user to “Chat!” or “Upgrade” their account, while the options menu allows for more discreet handling of the conversation. Further information on user roles and upsell scenarios can be found on the Roles and Preferences page.
Requests
When you send a friend request to someone, or they send one to you, the Requests group alerts users when these types of events occur. When a friend request is accepted, the user is added to your BuddyList (friends list). The options menu enables a user to cancel or refuse a request, or even to block or report the other user if evasive action is required.
Activity
Activity notifications are driven by user presence. When a user’s friend comes online, they receive a notification in the Activity group. The user can click to chat, or the options menu gives a user the option to “unfriend” if they no longer wish to receive presence updates for the other user.
Notify Preferences
Notify’s locale texts, as well as positioning, can be customized by setting specific preferences in your Dashboard account. Numerous text labels are used throughout Notify, and these can be tailored to suit your needs by updating the preference settings for those particular items. The location of Notify on the page depends upon the Userplane application you’ve selected. If you’ve chosen to use Presencebar, Notify appears in the Presencebar itself, next to the BuddyList roster tab. When using Webmessenger, Notify can appear in a container you’ve set via your Dashboard preferences. Or, if no container is declared, it will appear in a fixed position on the edge of the browser viewport – a position easily customized with CSS. The Notify button is aware of it’s position on the page, and will orient the display of the Notify menu within the visible area of the browser window.
Looking Ahead…
This initial version of Notify is a first look into the next stages of Userplane’s notification system. In the near future, Notify will be able to feed additional information to users, such as your internal website messages via RSS. As Notify continues to evolve, we’d love to hear from you, and welcome you to provide your feedback by clicking the Feedback button on the right side of the browser window.