I think that in addition to the four/five icons in the legend (contains profile information, profile contains photos, profile updated within 6 months, attending reunion, In memory/deceased), it would be good to also show the following icons:

(Icon) Protected Profile or Viewable to classmates only - this would show which classmates have protected their personal data and other classmates would see that they can protect their data and review their profile to find out how to protect their data.

(Icon) contains Yearbook Photo - so that people can know that if they click on a profile, they will see a photo - the yearbook photo.

I think the admin should be able to "turn on the Classmate Profiles Legend/display of icons to logged in guests only". If a person is not logged in to the website, they should not be shown specifics about the classmates, including if there is profile data or photos or deceased.

Thanks for the suggestions. We already have the "red rose" icon coming up for In Memory entries, and one of my concerns about adding ANY more icons at this time, is we're going to truncate Classmate names like crazy if we add any more. At some point we're going to have to widen all templates, and we should have some more icon room at that time.

Let me nitpick a couple of the points here. And please, understand when I "nipick" I'm just brainstorming in a construtive way, never a critical way. I appreciate every recommendation made on this board.

If we hide the key for non logged in Classmates, I'm not seeing the purpose off adding the restricted profile icon to the key/page. If only logged in Classmates can see any of this, they can already get to every single Profile anyway. It would only have real value if the key is visible to the public, in which case the public could see at a glance which Profiles they CAN'T access. I think your point is one of trying to ensure Classmates understand Profiles can have security restrictions, but if they can't see the key until they're already a member, then they've already gone through the signup process where they've already been asked whether or not they want to restrict their Profiles. Thus they should already undrestand this concept without having an extra icon. Just thinkin' it through....

Yearbook photo icon: What would you think about simply displaying the regular camera icon if a Classmate has a yearbook photo but no other photos? With the red rose icon already coming, it's important we don't get too "icon crazy." There's something to be said for having too much of a good thing. I like your idea here, but wouldn't the regular camera icon suffice so we don't need to include 2 separate images to indicate a Profile has photos?

One thing we definitely cannot do is hide the key for non logged in Classmates. Trust me if I did that I'd receive thousands of complaints in about 2 seconds. Numerous classes like to share their pages with other classes, family members, co-workers, etc. and numerous classmates (in fact most) do not restrict their Profiles at all. If we hid the key, then anyboyd not logged in would have absoultey no idea where to click to see info. It would be like throwing darts. In your case I recommend you password protect your Classmates Profiles page -- this way you'll have exactly what you want -- i.e. nobody but logged in Classmates will ever see the key. Doing this does create some additional steps for new Classmates to get signed up with your site, but that doesn't last very long. If hidding the key is a concern of yours, you should exercise your option to restrict that page from public viewing.

Oh, I also meant to say I liked your idea about showing the Profiles that are restricted. We'll only show it if the viewer is not logged in though. That way the public will know what to NOT click on. Unfortunately I don't think that's quite what you were after, but it's a very good idea nonetheless. In your case I still think your best bet is to password protect your Classmate Profiles page. But for thousands of other classes who have public (i.e. non logged in) readers, I have no doubt those readers will apprecaite knowing what Profiles CAN'T be accessed so they don't waste their time clicking, only to find out the click lead to a "restricted" message.

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If there is not any way to distinguish between a yearbook photo and a classmate uploaded photo, I would prefer to leave it the way it currently is, only showing a photo icon if there are uploaded photos.

But if you had a different type of icon, maybe a smaller camera icon to represent a yearbook photo and the larger camera to represent uploaded photos - both icons would never appear at the same time (larger camera would take precidence).

Or maybe have a different color camera for uploaded photos and the black camera for any photos, then still only show one camera icon. Doing something like this would not increase the space that the icons use on the display.

Or maybe a 3-D camera image (a multi-camera icon like there are several camera icons stacked in front of each other) to show that there are multiple images to be displayed. This could mean that there is one image (yearbook image - display a single camera, or no yearbook but one uploaded picture), or multiple images (either a yearbook image AND one or more classmate uploaded picture, or no yearbook photo and multiple classmate uploaded pictures)

I think that is what I meant - some way to know that the page will only show information after logged in. If you click this page without being logged in, you won't really see anything, so don't waste your time.

Next time I need ideas on something, I'm turnin' to you! Thanks!

Most schools either upload all senior photos, or none. My only real concern is one of confusion. Different icons for images and/or different colors could get confusing. But, maybe not. Anyone else wanna comment?

I seriously vote for the icon / indicator that a profile is "restricted"!!! I go surfin' around other class sites looking for ideas and randomly click on a class member with an updated profile and feel a "GRRRR" when I get the "must log in message"!

Regarding multiple colors / sizes of icons, while it's a good idea, it could get complicated for casual users. There would need to be a separate legend to explain it, or, a "Click here to understand what all the icons are and what they mean", i.e. an icon help 'button'!
R

Yea, one of my concerns too. Everybody using the system already will understand what one additional icon means. Anybody new has to process it all at the same time.

Regarding the restricted profiles when NOT logged in, how far do you propose we take it? ONLY on the class list? What about the Profile updates box on the home page? Missing Classmates page? Do we want to go crazy with lock symbols everywhere? Thoughts?

Yep - understand how crazy it can get! My intuition says to put a small lock icon on:
1 - Classmate Profiles
2 - In Memory
3 - Profile Updates on Home Page
4 - Site pages that are password protected

I'd be inclined to leave the Missing Classmates open just in case one of the missing just "happens by". That of course can leave it open to interested hackers who figure out the trick to get in! And, when the hackers hit, you and your team will know you have really hit the big time!!!

On another thought, maybe it's only administrators who go traipsing around other member sites. I do it looking for ideas!

That being said, maybe it's best to leave it like it is! Or at least wait and see what other comments come in. Maybe Cathy (of Maple Syrup fame) will read this thread and add her comments. She's a very clear thinker!

R

My first inclination was to only put it on the Classmate Profiles page and the Missing Classmates page.

The problem with the lock on places like the home page Profile Updates box is it could be confusing. Sure, everybody knows a lock means some type of restriction is in place. But what is the restriction? Who is restricted? Why is it restricted? What options does one have to get in? I think people will wonder these things if they're from the public just casually viewing the page. If we put it there, then I think we'd also have to put some sort of lock explantion. I'm against things that can be confusing and have no explanation. And then if we did this, I'd fear we're adding a whole bunch of clutter to a page that really didn't need it. There's something to be said for keeping things clean and simple.

Maybe I'm overthinking it though. I tend to do that.

Over thinking is necessary! That's why your product is so good! For now, I'm all for letting it lie until there's more input!

Totally agree with you on clutter and lack of consistency! I do not like sites that have 50 different colors of text, lots of things blinking, or too many distracting variations in fonts, sizes, etc. I think simplicity makes for a much finer looking site!

R

For now I'm going to put a padlock icon next to restricted Classmate Profiles only if the viewer is not logged into the site. I think this makes good sense. We'll take it from there.

Sounds Good!

The original idea for showing which profiles had yearbook photos was because I was in the middle of uploading the yearbook photos and wanted to know if I missed anyone.

I found out that I can know this information by downloading the class list. If I see any classmates without a birthday, I know that that profile hasn't been touched, so there is no yearbook photo either.

Just sharing the knowledge.