Desktop/mobile client brainstorm post

[denise]

Many of our Google Summer of Code applicants have mentioned that they'd like to work on desktop or mobile clients. Since the application phase begins today, I thought I'd post an entry for people to mention what features and functions they consider essential in a desktop or mobile client. This will let our GSOC applicants see the thoughts of people who use the site regularly, so they can work those thoughts into their specs as they build their application.

So, this is a post for people to comment with:

* What features/functions do you consider essential in a desktop/mobile client?
* What features or things would you not want a desktop/mobile client to do?
* What are things you've loved and hated in clients you've used previously?

It's okay to answer separately for both desktop and mobile clients, since the two are only very loosely related. The more feedback you can give, the more it will help our GSOC student applicants as they design their application.

Comments

desktop client

[allchildren]

Above all: WORKS FOR MAC.

I loved Semagic, I like XJournal a lot. iJournal is faily and its failures (like random fuckery of html) are probably worth evaluating. I still compose all my DW entries in XJournal and copypasta the results in DW's box, in fact. My perfect client would include:

- simple unflashy interface
- good html preview that shows dw-specific tags and indicates cuts, preferably that updates as I update the text box
- shortcut buttons for link, dw &lj user markup, italics, underline, bold (but not wysiwyg)
- customizable shortcuts/macros
- multiple saved drafts
- ability to switch between accts & post in comms
- ability to edit last entry, including in communities if the last post is yours or if you're a mod
- autodetect music
- poll builder maybe?
- icon manager thingy perhaps?

But mainly that it works on a Mac and doesn't poop out or do weird shit for no reason, that is all I really care about.

Re: desktop client

[pne]

good html preview that shows dw-specific tags and indicates cuts

Yes, this: it should show both "cut" and "uncut" forms of the entry (e.g. by showing the cut form by default, and clicking on any cut-tag will show you the uncut version).

It should also render poll code so that you can see what it looks like (this basically falls under "dw-specific tags", but e.g. Semagic didn't support poll code at first).

Re: desktop client

[green_knight]

I use Phoenix, which doesn't support custom groups, but otherwise works quite well as a desktop client.

Re: desktop client

[denise]

Just FYI, the reason that none of the LJ-based clients support custom groups is because of how we changed the system for the access/subscribe split of 'friends'. Any DW-native client will have them work, but the ones written for LJ won't.

Re: desktop client

[green_knight]

I worked that out (and it makes sense) - where can one find the documentation for the API?

Re: desktop client

[denise]

We haven't updated the documentation from LJ's documentation, but we still use essentially the same protocol.

Re: desktop client

[green_knight]

Thanks, filed away for the future (I'm not yet at the point where I can make full use of it.)

Re: desktop client

[umbo]

But mainly that it works on a Mac and doesn't poop out or do weird shit for no reason, that is all I really care about.

Yes, this.

Also, I'd like to be able to easily toggle between allowing comments on my crossposted entries (which I like to do on locked/filtered entries) and only allowing them on DW (which I like to do on public entries).

Re: desktop client

[azurelunatic]

I came to depend on Semagic's insert-username. Not that I didn't know myself, but a three-finger command once was much faster than <lj user=""> by hand. And it even inserted the cursor in the middle of the quotes ever-so-conveniently, so I could just nerve-pinch and type.

User-mappable shortcuts would be nice.

Re: desktop client

[allchildren]

I hate to admit it but I still struggle with the DW username tags! They're never quite how I think they should be. Shortcuts are v. necessary.

Re: desktop client

[msilverstar]

I do exactly the same thing. xJournal is a good balance of features vs. complexity. The main missing thing is large access & subscriber list handling.

Multiple saved drafts is vital.

Editing the last entry is not as useful now, I edit on DW and cross-post. But I miss it..