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Editing Others' Stuff


Uaithne
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I'm going to be switching out a new profile template rather than our current one.  Is it weird / wrong / not appreciated if I go into people's profiles and switch out the coding for them so that they don't have to worry about it?  Historically speaking, when I've switched templates for things in the past on other sites, most people didn't take the time to update their profiles, so some of the profiles had the new template and some had the old template.  That's what I'm trying to avoid, but I don't want to be getting up into people's personal space if it's not appreciated.

 

(The core coding is changing which is why it has to be edited in each post rather than through the CSS in the admin CP.)

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You could also give members a timeframe and warn them that if they don't do it, you will. This way you cover both bases. 

 

 

Usually whenever I've changed anything, old characters were "grandfathered" in and I didn't worry about anybody having to go back and editing things. 

Edited by CovertSphinx
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My rule with editing anything for anyone else is to check with them first. Even if what you're doing saves them effort, some people still get annoyed by it being done for them, especially without even a warning.

 

I second the recommendation to give the players a time frame to edit by if you absolutely must have everyone on this new template, though I also recommend asking yourself *why* they must all be on the new template first. If it's really just for appearance, letting existing characters be grandfathered in on the old template might be better than just editing other people's stuff for them, but if the old template is going to break because of something you're doing to the site, then yeah, give that ultimatum. You can also tell your members that you'll be happy to do the template update for them if it's purely appearance reasons you're doing this, they just have to let you know. Then you'll catch the too lazy to do it themselves, but don't care if you edit for them people.

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What most of them said.

 

"Hey guys, we're changing XYZ thing. You have until Date to do it yourselves, after that point admin will be going around doing it!" Be sure to make sure they know why and what exactly you are editing. 'Cause most people see "editing your profiles!" and think you're changing their characters for whatever reason.

 

You're setting yourself up for a lot of work that might not be worth it, depending. But then, I still have character hanging around with our original bio that we had for maybe a week. <.<

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I gave them the opportunity to do it themselves, but most of them don't care or don't know why. So I do it after a few weeks and everyone is grateful I saved them work.

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If it's an application template that's in a post, I'd grandfather current apps in. If it's like the profile page on jcink, I'd give a time frame, and archive or pester after that date?

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Give them the option of editing it for them. If they don't want you to do it, then leave it alone because people might not like it. (This is probably why it's better to have relatively plain templates.)

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I think you should ask the community first. Show them the new template and get their opinions on it. 

Some of them may not like the new template and may want to stick with the old one. Others may not care either way but may want to change it themselves. Others still may be perfectly fine with you changing the template for them. 

 

I know personally, I wouldn't like it much if I was using a perfectly fine template that I liked and went in only to find a new one that I didn't care for in it's place. I'd probably be that ass and restore the old template. (Because invariably I'd have a copy of the old one somewhere. I usually save copies of them on my computer, fill them in offline and then post them when done.) 

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Thanks guys. ^^

 

It's a very, very similar template.  The previous template was pre-made by someone on a resource site and I adjusted the colors and images for my board.  Unfortunately there were features that couldn't be changed with the CSS - such as this awkwardly-sized image that no one ever used but couldn't be removed without editing the hard coding in the individual applications.

 

With the one I made, I tried hard to keep it as close as I can to the old one while fixing the areas that I saw as problematic.  I believe that it overall looks nicer, and it's going to be easier for me to edit directly from the CSS.

 

Because the old template wasn't mine but the new template is, all of the div names are different, and the structure is a little different.  I don't plan on updating the old template to match newer skins, and it kind of doesn't match our existing skin pretty well.

 

While I doubt that my current members will care if I edit their profiles, I'm going to do what you guys recommend and err on the side of caution.  I'll give them time to switch over, offer to help switch over for them, and if they don't switch over (or ask me to do it, or ask for an extension, or somehow contact me, etc.), then I'll take it that they're probably not active to begin with and archive them.  I already have the new one up for them to give input on and to provide feedback both on my site and on the Discord.

 

Edit - I also have it up on RPG Initiative, too, for feedback.  In case anyone was curious and/or bored.

Edited by Uaithne

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I've actually found that maybe 3 people WANT to help the admin. I've  just mass pmed people and have said if you want help feel free. I've even placed it on the chatbox a few times to see if people would have helped. In the end, I think my co-admin and one member helped me.  Giving notice is the best thing to do. Most people are not going to want to deal with doing the changes themselves. 

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