Keep an eye on this thread for the latest release and bug fix information.
We just applied a fix to an authentication problem we discovered. Although users were logged in, the system wouldn’t show you your groups until you hit the browser refresh.
We apologize if you experienced this inconvenience and have fixed it. That’s what this beta process is for, and it was great that our users informed us and we were able to fix it almost immediately.
The following functionality has been released this week:
- After an event is announced to the members, event reminders are automatically scheduled to be mailed 1 month, 1 week, and 1 day before the event
- You can now add images to the event description by uploading them directly from your computer (jpg, png, bmp, and static gif formats are supported)
- The Co-Organzier functionality is now available. Go to your Member’s list and you can make any group member a co-organizer. Co-organizers can create and manage events. They will receive the same email notifications as organizers.
- You now have the option to not display the group name over the group cover photo (this is useful when you have text in your cover photo)
- A new setting to enable “Maybe” as an RSVP option (some organizers need this option)
- Dashboard speed optimization
- Overall bug fixes
The following new functionality has been released:
Ability to create copies of an event
Ability to save an event as a draft before announcing
Event deletion
Predictive locations (automatically suggests locations/addresses as you type the first few characters of the location)
Show recent/previously used event locations
Show map
Ability to select a location by dropping a pin on a map (especially useful for outdoor events)
Other improvements and fixes
The following new functionality has been released:
Direct messaging between users
Approval required to join groups
Setup recurring events
Other improvements and fixes plus several large tasks in progress
The following functionality has been released:
Group Messaging
Automatic waitlist
Event hosts can now be assigned for specific events
Option to ask questions before joining group
Option to require a profile photo to join group
Rotate photos during upload
Event attendance - manually add users who didn’t RSVP
Option to disable new member invitations by group members (important for private groups)
Sharing on Facebook - added detailed event information to be passed into FB posts
Filtering by categories on Discover page
…
Other bug fixes and enhancements
The following functionality has been released this week:
Added calendar functionality:
- Group calendar that displays group events
- Personal calendar shows all the events for the groups you’ve subscribed to
- Personal calendar synchronization with your own calendar, showing events you’ve RSVP’d to
Group Privacy and Event visibility settings are now separate. Group Privacy controls which info about the Group is visible. Event Visibility controls how the particular event is visible to non-members
Group cover photo now maintains the same aspect ratio on all platforms. You can now adjust it vertically by clicking the Update Cover Photo button on the top right of the cover photo. Profile photo adjustment is coming next.
Added photo thumbnails to the event page. If there are photos in the event album, the thumbnails will be visible on the event page.
Multiple small enhancements per users’ requests and bug fixes
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Major system and architecture development was done which was a prerequisite for new functionality.
Significant enhancements site-wide
Improvements on the mobile version of the site
Restructured URLs
Added an Event Organizer role
Several individual additions:
- Ability to re-position group’s cover photo
- Ability to adjust profile photos
- Added group messaging preview option
- Ability for an Organizer to remove or block users from a group
Over the last month, we’ve been hard at work on many process-enhancement tasks, making the site more intuitive and mobile device friendly, and streamlining the underlying processes:
Refined the announcement process
Added sharing via text on mobile devices
Added sharing via Viber, WhatsApp, LinkdeIn
Improved mobile views for Discover and events pages
Improved mobile discussion pages
Added separate My Groups menu for mobile devices
Added collapsible menus for mobile devices
Added the double-tap functionality to magnify photos on mobile devices
Changed the group approval process
Added an option to attach files to events
Added virus scanning for uploaded files
Added lazy-loading to all lists
Created detailed error pages
Improved attendance taking pages for Organizers
Added cover photos to My Groups in the left menu
Added search for members in all the lists
Moved group activity into a separate tab
Added an option to add sponsors for groups
…
and many more small features and enhancements
Just wanted to say this is awesome. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the kind words, Tucker!
In September/October, significant effort was made in refining the existing functionality, as well as working with Organizers to make the site more user-friendly and intuitive to use. Additionally, the following new features and functionality has been released:
Event reviews/rating
Group and event search in Discover by categories and keywords
Emoji support
Additional event repetition rules for scheduling events
PDF/Excel download for RSVPs and attendance
Option to ban users and lists of declined/left
Website responsiveness: lots of updates
Easy calendar for mobile devices
Option to customize member and organizer names
Option to rotate photos
Option to set album cover photo
Anti-spam system
“My Groups” listing users’ home pages
Option to message users from a list of users
Pinned forum posts
Email deliverability improvements
Custom keywords for groups
Expanding text-boxes for ease of writing long text entries
Timezone and daylight savings support
Added WYSIWYG editor for forum
…
and many more improvements and features.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve completed a significant amount of feature enhancements bug fixes, and new functionality including:
File Manager
Organized repeating events into series
Replaced Bio with a separate Introduction in members’ group profile, adhering to group visibility settings
Added new messaging notifications
Added an option to pin events (Featured Events)
Changed search on Discover page to allow suggestions beyond selected interests
Added an option to make answering questions mandatory
Added option to change email address
Organizer Dashboard:
Added Event Manager
Created Series event manager
Created batch event deletion
Created an option to restore accidentally deleted events
2018 has been a very busy year for us. We’ve developed tons of new functionality for the DownToMeet service based on organizer requests, and there’s more to come. This will be the last of the release notes for this year.
Below, please find some of the functionality developed last in the last few weeks (not in any particular order):
Added an option to write customized welcome message to new members
Reply-to user name added to second level comments (threaded comments)
Added rich text formatting for Bio
Added option to edit answers to group and event questions
Added event visibility badges. Color-coded triangles at the top left of event description
Added previous event discussion topics to the event page
Added an option to create informational events in the past, to show the group’s history
Added an option to zoom profile photo
Added QR code for group and events
Added automatic chronological sorting of photos in event albums
Added option to Like comments
Added group info when sending messages
Added an option to enable event creation by group members. Suggested events are subject to approval by organizers
Add to calendar option on mobile now calls the correct calendar for the specific smartphone instead of showing all available calendars
- many other bug fixes and feature refinements
A lot of new features are coming next year. We hope you like them.
Development Status Update:
For the last months, we’ve been working on optimizing internal processes. After getting so many new groups, we were able to see how our systems perform under heavy load conditions and realized that some process tune-ups and architecture changes are required. We estimate that we’ll spend the next month or more working on the internal system improvements and then switch back to adding features requested by users. Thanks for bearing with us during this Beta stage development.
Development Status Update:
We are currently working on a mailing system upgrade which includes customization of member notifications. It’s a massive task that will take some time. As always, we’re constantly working on bug fixes and site optimization and appreciate all your feedback.