Two simple and obvious things that presumably would be easy to implement but likely won't be

[roymccoy]

My customary cantankerous opinion here is that Lexulous is not presently under development, but that virtually everything proposed here is simply put on a list for possible later attention, if that. The boilerplate "thank you we'll send this to our team" replies testify to this, since at least in my experience the suggestions so replied haven't wound up being implemented.

There are exceptions to this, which makes it all the more annoying because they demonstrate that the program can be dynamically enhanced. One example of this was the immediate elimination of the alphabetize/shuffle alternation; another was the furtive lengthening of the active-arrow period. (Excuse the digression, but does anyone actually like the transient arrow? I can't imagine it, and if nobody indicates that they do – while providing a plausible reason – one may fairly suspect that nobody does and that this was simply another of the ill-considered "bright ideas" in the new version.)

In any event I think we can test this, with the proposals below of a keyboard shortcut for Undo and of activating the return key in Dictionary.

(1) I'm not the only one who has requested removal of the annoying, useless, and unnecessarily space-occupying hi, g1, u2 etc. shortcuts. If shortcuts are to be proposed, why not make them good and useful ones, like for instance one to simply clear the board. Why should we have to keep eternally mousing down to the now-pompously-named "Recall" icon (revert to "Undo", please) simply to start over? It would be nice if this were user-programmable as it could be, but there should be at least some keyboard shortcut for this and I'm sure any competent programmer could provide this in minutes if not seconds.

(2) Likewise, speaking of undesirable and undesired mousing, when we type a word that turns out to be acceptable in the Dictionary tab, we often want to see its definition (whether it exists or not, as it often doesn't). The Define button is nice, but why should we have to mouse to it? Why shouldn't the return key give us the definition (or indication of its lack) when the Define button is active? One would think this also should be a piece of cake and immediately implementable.

The pretext for not immediately implementing these obviously desirable enhancement might be something like "well if you're going to be that way we're not going to do it". But they wouldn't do it anyway, so this is of little validity.

I have a considerable amount of sympathy for the Lexulous developer(s), who presumably can't themselves program and have presumably already spent a wad on their new version and don't feel that they can (or actually can't) budget any more to pay the programmer(s???) at this time. This happens. It happened with Mac OS X and QuicKeys. It's still irritating for the unwillingly beta users, however.

I'm also cantankerously irritated by most of the users themselves, who rarely speak up in their own interest in regard to the new version, at least in this forum.

[zaph]

@roymccoy Hi Roy, there already is a shortcut to remove tiles placed on the board: hit escape.

As for suggestion two, I rarely want to look up words that way, so I don't care.
You might want to try https://www.onelook.com/ it's a lot more 'complete' than Lexulous's dictionary.

[A Former User]

@roymccoy 'Recall' = recall tiles to the rack. Pretty logical name for it and not pompous at all. 'Undo' works but sounds more like you're editing a text document IMO. You can always hide the names if you wish by disabling 'tooltip'.

And what's wrong with the little text shortcut buttons? They're a nice touch. How about complaining about things worth complaining about? AKA constructive criticism.

And I doubt admins have the time to wade through a huge wall of text to try and decipher what your 'feature request' actually is. Work on your concision (I need to as well), clarity and on getting straight to the point. And show some appreciation now and then.

[MapmakerE]

@Roymccoy, 1) Hundreds of people, maybe thousands, play this game--yes, a few seem to dislike the gm hi gl gg buttons, but because a few say they don't like them doesn't mean the developers will remove them. 2) Someone else addressed that so I won't bother.

[roymccoy]

@zaph said in Two simple and obvious things that presumably would be easy to implement but likely won't be:

@roymccoy Hi Roy, there already is a shortcut to remove tiles placed on the board: hit escape.

Thanks! Can you tell me where that's documented, so I can see where I missed it? I may find something else of use there. I couldn't find explanations of "Magic Tiles" and "Auto Zoom" when I looked for them, and my question to Lexulous on this wasn't answered. I now see "Magic Tiles" has apparently now been changed to "Magic Tile Placement", and with "Auto Tile Placement" on the same settings page I can perhaps guess what is intended by "Magic Tile Placement". I'll turn it on and check that... Yes, that's it, but I don't see the utility of it since it's easier for me to type the letters, so I've turned it back off. It appears that "Auto Zoom" has been eliminated (whatever it was), since I don't see it among the options anymore.

As for suggestion two, I rarely want to look up words that way, so I don't care.
You might want to try https://www.onelook.com/ it's a lot more 'complete' than Lexulous's dictionary.

I have a crossword-puzzle macro that brings up a relatively new tab for OneLook, but I'm still using mostly The Free Dictionary. I'd like the dictionary search to be less rather than more complicated (hence the suggestion that the return key be activated in the Dictionary pane), so I'm not anxious to go somewhere else. I could make a macro to copy what's in the "Type a word here" field to a dictionary site, display the definition(s) and return to Lexulous, but I'd want it to run only when the Define button is activated, and I don't know if my macro program can determine that. I might look into whether it can or not, however, if only out of curiosity.

[roymccoy]

@mapmakere said in Two simple and obvious things that presumably would be easy to implement but likely won't be:

@Roymccoy, 1) Hundreds of people, maybe thousands, play this game--

Certainly at least thousands.

yes, a few seem to dislike the gm hi gl gg buttons, but because a few say they don't like them doesn't mean the developers will remove them.

You can say that again.

[roymccoy]

@dan-mitchell said in Two simple and obvious things that presumably would be easy to implement but likely won't be:

@roymccoy 'Recall' = recall tiles to the rack. Pretty logical name for it and not pompous at all.

It seems pompous to me – though not as much as you do, so I'll give it that much. But among other things it reminds me of Gavin Newsom, and I don't need that. I have tooltips turned off (because they covered the rack tiles) and so I don't see it, but I still know it's there and it continues to stand as a good example of an annoyingly unnecessary change.

'Undo' works but sounds more like you're editing a text document IMO.

FWTW, which I don't think is much.

And what's wrong with the little text shortcut tabs? They're a nice touch.

No they aren't. They're stupid. Do you use them yourself? If so, you're a remarkably inept typist.

How about complaining about things worthy of complaining about? AKA constructive criticism.

I've offered plenty of constructive criticism, also in emails to the developers, and the post currently in question consisted of two constructive proposals, one of which was so good that it's already been implemented (wherever the documentation on it may be). It's my opinion that others share my annoyance with many of the things I've griped about, whether they express it in the forum or not. Are you implying that the transient arrow isn't worth complaining about?

And I doubt admins have the time to wade through a huge wall of text to try and decipher what your 'feature request' actually is. Work on your concision (I need to as well), clarity and on getting straight to the point.

Good God. I'm a retired editor and don't need any writing lessons from you. If you can't read, that's your problem.

And show some appreciation now and then.

Okay, fine. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for the gold star and the permanent green arrow of the old version, as well as for its displaying the words you didn't get when you roll over them in analysis, rather than having to click on each word individually (which I don't do, as I always go back to the old version for this purpose). How's that?

[A Former User]

@roymccoy You were recently peeved because there's now a simple arrow in the chat boxes instead of an 'enter chat' message, or something along those lines. You seem to get annoyed by the most trivial things. Not sure how serious you are anyway but just try and chill out and enjoy the game. The basic gameplay is working fine and the old version ain't coming back. There are more serious issues that need addressing e.g. people who can't place tiles, people not receiving email notifications, people who can't chat and so on. And then there are a few extra legit bugs that need sorting out.

[roymccoy]

@dan-mitchell said in Two simple and obvious things that presumably would be easy to implement but likely won't be:

@roymccoy You were recently peeved because there's now a simple arrow in the chat boxes instead of an 'enter chat' message, or something along those lines.

Thank you for beginning your latest snide denigration with a straw man so blatant that you discredit yourself without my having to say a word (though of course I will, since I always have such a good time here). The "arrow" you refer to is the send icon, whose function is less immediately clear than "Send" was previously, but icons vs. text buttons wasn't the issue on this. It was rather the rank inconsistency of the text-entry fields in the three panes: nothing, Type a word here (without ellipsis), and Scribble [cringe] notes here… (with ellipsis). I appropriately proposed that these be made properly consistent. If the word "reply" is a problem, they could then be Type chat here, Type a word here and Type notes here, respectively. In any event I wasn't simply peeved, but offered a concrete and sensible suggestion that should have been immediately accepted and implemented. There should generally be more action and more flexibility. Would anyone have minded Type chat here, Type a word here and Type notes here? I doubt that very much. I also very much doubt that anyone would mind the return of the (functioning) permanent green arrow or the gold star. Etc.

You seem to get annoyed by the most trivial things.

That's what sloppy people always say in defense of their inattention to detail. I've heard it before, always from slobs.

Not sure how serious you are anyway but just try and chill out and enjoy the game.

How about I don't tell you what to do and you don't tell me what to do. Deal?

The basic gameplay is working fine

That depends on how you define "fine". In any event there are serious problems with the gameplay, whatever you blithely say. The arrows don't work. The transient arrow is ridiculous (and there's still been no defense of it). "There are [...] people who can't place tiles." These are serious impediments involving basic gameplay.

and the old version ain't coming back.

Look again: it's still there, and thank God for this at least in regard to game analysis (PLEASE RESTORE WORD ROLLOVER IMMEDIATELY IF THE CURRENT PROGRAMMER KNOWS OR CAN FIND OUT HOW TO DO IT, THANK YOU LEXULOUS).

There are more serious issues that need addressing i.e. people who can't place tiles, people not receiving email notifications, people who can't chat and so on. And then there are a few extra legit bugs that need sorting out.

Do tell. I haven't been like you and pooh-poohed any of these. The glass is half-full and half-empty, that's indisputable. You have your marvelous opinion, great. Mine is that Lexulous's first priority in making the new version should have been to recreate the old one, and then jump in with the bright ideas. As it is, they've got something that's buggy by your own admission, perhaps irremediably so though let's hope not. And yet, as I've said before, it's been presented as a definitive release rather than a beta version, and we have to learn to like it. I like some of the things about it, but it should have remained principally in beta and still be in progress, rather than be out there with the attitude, accepted by you, that this is the way it is and the way it's going to be, so there.

Since you've occasioned such a digression here, I'll repeat my second suggestion (the first one already having been implemented):

[W]hen we type a word that turns out to be acceptable in the Dictionary tab, we often want to see its definition (whether it exists or not, as it often doesn't). The Define button is nice, but why should we have to mouse to it? Why shouldn't the return key give us the definition (or indication of its lack) when the Define button is active? One would think this also should be a piece of cake and immediately implementable.

Thank you again Lexulous. Buzz off Dan Mitchell.