IPS is killing status updates. Shrug or OMG?

[JoelR]

The alpha releases of IPS is making the rounds, and one thing that's come up again (not new, it's something that IPS has previously announced) is that status updates are being deprecated.  

Are you devastated? Or is this a non-issue? Do you have many users who rely on status updates? 

In my primary community, I have a small subset of users who do use Status Updates similar to social media. They'll post their life updates and photos on their profile page.  They exist in their own little world, and I find it fascinating that some of them post such consistent updates even though these updates are never mixed in or integrated to the broader community.  But they're happy doing their own little things.  

I've personally used status updates to communicate moderator events that are very mild.  Something like, "hey I moved your topic, thank you so much for posting" or "hey I didn't approve your file because it wasn't zipped." They were like a public message to the user.  

[XwReK]

6 hours ago, JoelR said:

The alpha releases of IPS is making the rounds, and one thing that's come up again (not new, it's something that IPS has previously announced) is that status updates are being deprecated.  

Are you devastated? Or is this a non-issue? Do you have many users who rely on status updates? 

In my primary community, I have a small subset of users who do use Status Updates similar to social media. They'll post their life updates and photos on their profile page.  They exist in their own little world, and I find it fascinating that some of them post such consistent updates even though these updates are never mixed in or integrated to the broader community.  But they're happy doing their own little things.  

I've personally used status updates to communicate moderator events that are very mild.  Something like, "hey I moved your topic, thank you so much for posting" or "hey I didn't approve your file because it wasn't zipped." They were like a public message to the user.  

Unfortunately, IPS now spoils everything that was cool and useful.  This has no logic.

[PrettyPixels]

I am currently on xenForo and was being tempted to come back to IPS with the new version. However, I find the depreciation of status updates very disappointing and has been another tick in the "no" box for me.

Many of my members currently use the Status Updates feature on my community, even though it's not highlighted and feels hidden to me. They still seem to ferret it out. 😄 I suspect it's because many are coming from social media and the format feels more familiar to them. It is something I am considering monetizing as a bonus for paid members.

IPS does many thing well, however they have a history of making changes that aren't popular and leave clients in the lurch. One such recent example is the Marketplace closure. Being able to find all the add-ons, styles, etc in one place and update them from my dashboard was amazing and a huge selling point. Now that is gone and it's made user experience much more difficult for third party developers and customers alike.

IPS markets itself on being a flexible suite that offers a wealth of features out of the box with minimal need for add-ons. However, I feel that depreciating status updates is a step in the wrong direction and will have a negative impact on many communities. I would love if they tied it into commerce and made it an option we could sell to our members, either stand-alone or as part of a membership subscription. IPS has stated they are working to monetize communities and this would be a good option.

Bottom line, I feel status updates should remain in the suite with the option for the admin to enable or disable it, just like other apps.

Edited July 10 by PrettyPixels

[Square Wheels]

It's like anything else they remove.  There appears to be no evidence of the tool they deprecate, then we complain, then they respond "we have lots of evidence no one cares".

It's only a matter of time before most of us are forced out anyhow since it feels clear they are moving to hosted only.

[V0RT3X]

The profile pages are already one of the biggest weaknesses in the suite. Without status updates they are even worse.

[JoelR]

19 hours ago, XwReK said:

Unfortunately, IPS now spoils everything that was cool and useful.  This has no logic.

Genuine question. 

How many of your members actually use status updates, and what's that proportion to your total active userbase? How do they use status updates? 

Most forums - and this is a personal observation, but a strong one - don't rely on or use status updates in a meaningful manner.  So I'd love to see a community that's using status updates in a cool manner! 

[Como]

On 7/11/2024 at 3:48 AM, JoelR said:

Genuine question. 

How many of your members actually use status updates, and what's that proportion to your total active userbase? How do they use status updates? 

Most forums - and this is a personal observation, but a strong one - don't rely on or use status updates in a meaningful manner.  So I'd love to see a community that's using status updates in a cool manner! 

I can understand why, for niche forums, Status Updates' deprecation could be quite a loss. But since its use is so niche, of course Invision will wish to give up it up; it is just legacy code (in an already enormous system) they need to maintain. I expect it could be quite easily recreated as an app for those who need it.

On 7/10/2024 at 5:10 PM, V0RT3X said:

The profile pages are already one of the biggest weaknesses in the suite. Without status updates they are even worse.

Well, I think the use of profiles in general is not something which is much valued any more beyond as a hub to locate content associated with an individual member.

[V0RT3X]

And then people are surprised when they lose users to social networks.

[JoelR]

15 hours ago, V0RT3X said:

And then people are surprised when they lose users to social networks.

We can have a whole discussion about this, but forums are not the same as social networks.  Do we overlap for the attention of users? Yes, absolutely.  But are we the same structure? No.  

The real question is if users would have stayed on our forums to post their status updates, or if they would have gone to Facebook anyways.