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

[kyrielle]

No diced-up interfaces. For LJ, I like Semagic, except for the diced-up interface. A Windows app that looks like one big form should act like one big form, to wit, I should be able to tab through ALL THE FIELDS without having to make with the mouse clickies to get between parts of it. If there are multiple tabs, ctrl-tab should work to move between them. Shortcuts should work (Semagic has one underline that, yannow, looks all elegant but alt-whatever-it-is DOESN'T WORK). Been a while since I used Semagic - I use the web interface on DW directly since Semagic doesn't play nice with all the new features here.

Must let me accomplish the following tasks when writing a post (for mobile or desktop clients): select mood, icon (userpic), title, text, tags (for the love of little green apples, let me see my tags list if I want to, but do NOT auto-complete in any way that is hard to make it stop auto-completing if it's wrong), and security, including custom securities; post to a community or to my own journal; adjust comment settings (screening, who can comment, ip logging, etc); and for DW, adjust cross-posting settings. For the userpic, I prefer to select only from keywords, but I'd suggest both the option to use keywords and the option to view and select by images be supported.

For desktop clients, it's nice if it will let me save drafts and load them later to post. That's not as critical given plans for scheduled posts here, but then the flip side is one scheduled posts are available here, the clients (desktop and mobile) should be able to handle them. So if the client is written before that happens, it'd be nice if it was easily extensible in that area.

Configurable UI is good (ie, I never use location, so drop it from the form), if it can keep the ability to move through the form freely.

Ability to browse and edit my past posts (with all options supported for a new post, other than scheduling, supported in editing) is highly desirable.

I do not care if it alerts me to new posts on my friends page, displays posts from my friends page, allows me to view private messages on the site, allows me to view comment notifications, or channels the ghost of my apocryphal great-aunt Edna. I DO mind if it has any alert I don't care about that I can't beat into submission without the use of a mallet. Pop-up birthday alerts: Do. Not. Want. Annoying incessant flashing because there are now eleventy bajillion new posts on my friends page because someone started a recipe-a-thon: do. not. want. (Don't mind if it can do those things, as long as my copy of it can be made to not do them.)

For mobile, I'd dearly like an iPhone app, but I realize that's probably a long stretch. I do not want a little hover-over number in the lower right covering anything at all (see the lack of desire for flashy alerts). Again, as long as I can turn it off (and do not have to summon an elder god to do so), I don't mind if the feature is supported, I just don't want to see it.

Not for my sake, but I'd also suggest anyone interested in working on this review general accessability concepts - there's probably a lot to be done in terms of accessability that could make it easier/better/shinier.

ETA: Must allow me to enter the raw code. WYSIWYG is fine but I do not want to use it personally. Both options would probably be ideal for maximum users. Ability to edit reading/access lists, and filters thereof, would be nice but not critical.

[i_xerxes]

Just to clarify for my own understanding, when you say the "hover-over number in the lower right", do you mean the numbers in the red circles symbolizing alerts that often appear in the upper right hand corner of icons (ex. the App Store has this when an update exists for an application you own)?

[kyrielle]

*facepalm* Yes, yes I do. My apologies for the wrong description. I don't know why I try to describe visual things from memory rather than reference, given my track record at it. :P