MeetFighters News

Probably the most frequent complaints about the site have been about Chat. It was well deserved, too: the chat was a rush job. It worked, barely, with some problems:

• Some users just couldn't connect. Maybe it was the java applet verification, maybe something else. I could never figure out why.
• You couldn't look up member profiles from the chat window itself.
• Creating rooms, switching between channels was not very intuitive.

Thanks to Mibbit, we have a new site chat that solves all the above problems. Please visit your preferences to select which site chat you wish to use. Also, the site now includes instructions about how you can connect with your own chat software. The advantage of using your own software instead of Mibbit or java are many:

• Better usability than anything browser-based.
• You can log your conversations.
• You can customize font size, colors, use plug-ins, etc.

If you can do without these, Mibbit will hopefully fit you just fine.

Also, when you are logged into chat, you will get instant messages whenever you receive a new message here.

– Admin out.

I have made some small modifications to the Advanced Search:

• Tracker/2009-02-01 2: You can search by region (e.g. Europe, USA, South-America, ...)
• Tracker/2009-01-03 3: The search form is now hidden after a search. You can click on a link to make it visible again, to modify your search terms.
• Tracker/2009-04-14: You can now specify the number of results per page.

Happy searching!

– Admin out.

A little present for our shy members: I'm closing Tracker/2009-04-07 today, submitted by markaskey. Now you can see the list of members who have viewed your profile recently.

I started collecting this information a few days ago, and decided that now is the time to start showing it.

You can access this information by clicking on "Preferences" on the lefthand menu, and choosing "Who Has Seen Your Profile?" on the screen that follows.

– Admin out.

Now that all our wonderful members have had some fun marking past opponents, it's time to show you something cool:

Introducing the Great Fighting Cobweb: Who Fought Who? (or is that whom?) Once again it's proven that no man is an island... unless he is.

– Admin out

OK, I will try not to sound too proud about this one, but it's difficult. In fact, I am rather pleased to present you with the World Map of All Fighters! For now, you can access the map by clicking on Members' list, and then choosing "World Map of All Fighters" at the top of the page.

Basically, this is a Google Maps application that shows the world map, with the location of every member of the site. There are some rough edges, of course, so here's a list of stuff that you should be aware of:

• The map requires JavaScript to work. If you have disabled JavaScript in your browser, no map for you.
• Green arrows on the map mark a location where more than one members reside. If you hover the mouse cursor over the green arrow, a tooltip will show you how many live there.
• Clicking on a green arrow will zoom in on that location, expanding the members' markers.
• Clicking on a member marker will show you the member's name and primary photo. Clicking on that will take you to the member's profile.
• Blue markers show members who have a photo. Gray markers show members without one.
• The map is dead slow in Internet Explorer 6.0. If you are still using that dog of a browser, this might be the time to upgrade to something better.
• You might have to edit your profile to set your location on the map. Once you're on your profile screen, click on "location". This will cause the map to pop up. You can either search for location (e.g. by city and district name), or you can click the map / drag the red marker to a place near you.
• It is not yet possible to mark more than one location. That feature will be coming soon, along with some other neat stuff...

That's right, I'm tired but happy. I hope this new feature will help you find opponents easier. It also paves the way to many new exciting stuff, such as the traveller feature or the geographic search.

That's it for today. As always, ideas are welcome.

– Admin out