usability features f or users and site admin

Wow, great ideas! :)

I like them very much, but before implementing them I would like to point out the design of this module.

usernode_guestbokk is *not* intended to be the fanciest Drupal guestbook ever. The intention is to benefit from all the features that are available already for nodes (or will be available). If users were nodes, user profiles could benefit very much of this. So this is what usernode module does and usernode_guestbook is just another use case for that in that it uses usual comments on nodes as guestbook entries.

When it comes to new features, I would prefer to either take this feature from a module that provides this for any node types. If this does not exist, we should first ask if this is a feature that would be interesting for other comments on node types, too, to have a more general solution to it. My ambition is to make usernode_guestbook as much integratable as possible.

Just some examples:

- if new guestbook messages have come show that 'n' number of messages have come
when the user logs in ( like private message or buddy notification )

Currently subscription module provides notification about new comments on any nodes. What you want is another channel for notification. I like that idea very very much! The approach of usernode_guestbook would be now to have subscriptions or a new module that handles this kind of notification for any node type.

- "leave a message textbox" - either at bottom or top - admins ability to toggle

You are right. Currently, comments module don't provide this. But I agree that it should. Again we could establish a sole solution, but your users would wonder why the textbox is in the guestbook at another place as it is when commenting on other nodes. If it's solved in a central place, this is a great usability advance! Please see if comments module provides this in future or suggest this feature there! And please come back and tell me about that!

- guestbook tab showing total no of guestbook comments received by a profile
and incase of my profile, showing also the no. of new ones receieved - admin ability to turn on or off this feature

Guestbook tab is something special so usernode_guestbook is the right place. What do you want to reach by counting guestbook entries? It would be another database query, so why is it worth showing the number?

- admin ability to define how many comments to show on profile page before showing a "more" link

Profiles are much larger than usual nodes are, so I agree. Options should also include to leave the number set for other comments.

- admin ability to define how many comments to show per page on the main guestbook page

I agree. Options should also include to leave the number set for other comments.

- just one reply button

Please explain.

- hitting that reply button opens up a reply box below the comment in the same page
and the reply gets deposited as comment in the commentor's guestbook
with a status message showing confirmation and link to that guestbook

Again, this should be a general feature for any comments. Please see if it is going to be implemented in the comments module or if there are other modules that provide an "AJAXy" (or jQuery) way of leaving comments and suggest that in those projects. And come back and tell me, I would like this very much!

- apart from the reply button a 1:1 button that shows the exchange between me and that commentor

Please explain.

- not showing leave a message textbox when viewing my own guestbook

I agree, guestbook entries are special in that compared to other comments.

A HUGE thanks for the discussions.

While usernode_guestbook need not be the fanciest, it can actually
take a central place in so-called social networking scenario
where users can send scraps(orkut.com) or write on another's wall (facebook)
which all are nothing but comments to an "user".

The subscription module needs activation of another module and
users may not want any subscription or to subscribe to comments. Note that the other
"guestbook" module actually has a menu item in side block which shows the number
of "new" comments received, when the user logs in or move from page to page.

When we post comment in reply to any node there is only one comment box, so its not clear
why two appears in usernode_guestbook.

Please explain.- just one reply button

All socialnetworks have actually discarded replying to a visitor's comment
in the user's own page.
You can see orkut.com. This makes commenting really easy and attractive.

Please explain - apart from the reply button a 1:1 button that shows the exchange between me and that commentor

1:1 button should be the equivalent of wall-to-wall of facebook.
It enlists the exchange between two users in a page.

In brief, I will like to discard "guestbook" in favor of "usernode_guestbook"
because
- it gives option to list comments on profile page by default
- it adds records to the tracker, which is very handy
but what stops me is :
- it does not give a default "'x' no of new gb comments" notification on log-in or change of page
- does not let me configure as siteadmin, the number of gb comments on profile or per page in guestbook
- does not allow an user to delete gb comment rcvd in her/his guestbook.

Can there be some quick fixes :)

Hey, thanks for the quick reply!

I understand your practical point of view. Sure usernode_guestbook was not made just to be a study of program design but a rich benefit in that you just use it and it behaves automatically the same way as a already configured your comments. Or later your comment notifications.

1:1 button should be the equivalent of wall-to-wall of facebook.
It enlists the exchange between two users in a page.

Ok, in my country facebook is not very popular, so I don't know that. But I understand. I wanted to implement that anyway. But here again - why just enlist the guestbook conversation? If I had such a page, I would like to know about all conversation including especially private messages. There will be no tab just for that in usernode_guestbook. For this feature just for guestbook, another module should be written. Maybe by you?

When we post comment in reply to any node there is only one comment box, so its not clear
why two appears in usernode_guestbook.

I really don't know why you have two textboxes. Did you read the README? There is certain configuration recommended until I have a more native solution that some Drupal gurus have to teach me first.

Can there be some quick fixes :)

haha! :) Yes, it's Christmas, but I'm not Santa and have to work hard for my money! ;)

> I really don't know why you have two textboxes

I see - you are right, normally with the steps suggested in readme.txt it should not be two.
But I have "comment submission form: Display below post or comments" - it gives two boxes.
[ So, what do I do if I want comment form below post ...]

I hope other readers will be seeing this and we will have more feedback.

(( If you can implement those features in description probably I can fill up any amazon wishlist that you may have so that you can go little easy with the money earning part :D ))

The intention of usernode_guestbook is to fit best to comments. As you noticed, there are some possible comment configurations that lead to strange effects in usernode_guestbook if you don't follow the readme's recommendations. This is because the guestbook entries are still not rendered natively by the original comment rendering functions. I would need some Drupal gurus' help to fix this. There will be no workarounds that fix the formatting without fixing the underlying basic renderings first.

I will make some admin settings for the amount of comments in profile view and profile tab soon. Other issues depend on other modules and should be handled there. Or they depend on knowledge I don't have yet and will take time. But you can help to improve this module the way you want: Did you search for approaches towards that in other modules and/or filed your issues there? This is something you can do without any php knowledge to push your interests. You can find this either as addition to comments module (maybe in drupal 6? They said it would be more interactive) or in JavaScript/jQuery/AJAX modules.

Please remember that usernode_guestbook is still in development state. If you need an immediate solution you will have to use a released module like guestbook or will have to consider a paid service. Otherwise you can expect this module to be released in about 3 months. Until then, your very good ideas are very welcome as they tell me about peoples guestbook needs. Thank you for your help so far!

Support advice on configuration is given so far, but I will leave this thread active for further discussion on that.

Thanks MarcoR,
I adore the principle "The intention of usernode_guestbook is to fit best to comments"
As stated earlier this gives a lot of advantage, particularly it adds the stuff to tracker
and I guess this also helps those who are using userpoints module.

The immediate needs seems to be two : limiting the number on profile page, and on-page on-login notifying that the user has received some comments ( ajax is a good thing here, that is what is orkut is doing which makes thing happening 'live' and in 'real time' )

I am surely trying hard to probe into the codes :)
Paid service is a good option too but I wish there was an amazon wish list, for example, buying 2 or 3 books for you could give me 1 guestbook of my wish :)