Displaying Links

After many failed attempts at changing form inputs' ids, I finally got the link form to send the correct receiver type, albeit via some sketchy string splitting in the controller. So yay for that working. I also fiddled around with autocomplete some more, but that doesn't work yet.

As was brought up at last week's meeting, it may make sense to display links differently depending on their type, or the way they are shared. For example, links shared in the sense of "Hey, User, look at this cool world that you might like!" seem like specially formatted comments, and links in the sense of "This is chapter 2, and belongs after the world Once Upon A Time" feels more like it would get lightbox- or sidebar-level publicity. I've been going through and looking at how the different cases I mapped out for situations in which links are shared would fit into a categories based on the most logical display method. I've also been thinking about what ways make the most to share links to these different display styles, so whether sharing a link always occurs the same way, or if it can result from multiple routes, and what routes would be the most intuitive to users, as well as requite the least steps.

Another thing I've been toying with, is whether or not links should have a message component. Initially, it seemed like links were going to sort of take on the role of private messaging, only they would never be private. However, if the pathways by which links are shared are intuitive enough, the reason for sharing a link would be clear enough that a message would be unnecessary. Also, if a user really wants to leave a message with a link, that link would simply need to be a comment-style link.