Re: [Freeciv] Re: [Freeciv-Dev] patch to allow more : on chatline

[Michael Hohensee <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Nick Lamb wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 16 Dec 1998, Michael Hohensee wrote:
> 
> > Proposal:
> >
> > Why not avoid the ':' problem entirely by assigning a unique number or
> > character to each player, and send messages as follows:
> 
> [workable, but IMHO unpleasant protocol described]
> 
> I think the idea of the present system is that it feels fairly natural
> New system described seems klunky, and the obvious fix (add a field for
> the destination, either a drop-down or a text box) is missing the point
> that people like to just natter away without point-and-click or having
> to figure out what the code is for Elizabeth or Hitler.

It doesn't have to be that klunky.  You'd naturally add the number to
the player dialog box, so names/numbers are available at a glance, and
you can also send a player's number with each message they send.  Thus,
a message that currently looks like:

Elizabeth: Sending riflemen now.

would look like:

(0) Elizabeth: Sending riflemen now

Having these numbers sitting on the message board makes it unnecessary
to look up peoples' numbers, since they're right in front of you.

> As I understand it, right now Freeciv aims to make it so that...
> 
> --
> Elizabeth: German capital is vulnerable: Attack from the south
> Mike: Do you have Democracy yet? I am nearly there
> Is everyone else on the Southern continent?
> --
> 
> Sends the first two messages to Elizabeth and Mike respectively and
> the last message goes to everyone playing. That seems fair enough.

Yes, and it works fairly well, but breaks down when you want to use ':'
more freely in your messages.  While the current method looks fairly
intuitive after it's written down, it can be a major pain to actually
use, compared to the method I'm proposing.  Let's face it, which would
*you* rather type?

Lord PooBaa the XVII: Hello

or

m0Hello
 
The interface I'm advocating is currently used with great ease in the
world of netrek, where fast and easy message directing is critical to
team coordination.  The current interface, on the other hand, reflects
the authors' xpilot bias, and is simply harder to use.  It can actually
hurt players, if they have to prefix each message with "Alexander:"
while trying to coordinate an ongoing attack on a common foe.  I've lost
a few carriers stuffed with nukes this way. ;)