Sometime tomorrow (hopefully), we'll be unleashing our "Spring Forward" software update for Crowdstack. This update is focused on two major new features-- Pips and Reactions. 

Pips

Pips are short, subject-less posts that can be used for quick notes or status updates.  They function somewhat like Tweets, in that there is a character limit on these posts, which can include an image. 

Pips are accessed via a new Pips main menu area, but they are also showcased on the Home / All page, like so:

Pips have their own permissions for viewing and posting and managing and are also incorporated into Content Management actions, advanced search, and advanced reporting.

Current sites will need to enable Pips via their admin control panel (Basics > Structure); going forward, new sites will have Pips enabled by default.  Also note that Pips are exclusively available on Version 2 sites; if you are still on Version 1, this feature will not be available for you.

Reactions

Reactions are an expansion on the "likes" you are already familiar with, with a much broader palette that allows community members to quickly express their feelings about a particular post/reply/comment.

All sites are gaining Reactions, though existing sites will have to enable the feature (Admin Control Panel > Basics > General Settings), by choosing the "Support All Reactions" option (otherwise, only simple "likes" will be allowed).

If you prefer not to use Reactions, you can scale back to only use simple "likes", which is the equivalent of the "heart" reaction, via the admin control panel, though we highly recommend that every site use this enhanced form of expression.

Note that a member can add multiple Reactions per post, though for the purposes of trending stats, we limit the impact of each Reaction to one per member per post.

New Post Box Design

We've completely redesigned our "Post Box" interface component. One of the main drivers for the change was to add support for Reactions, but also to improve the overall experience. For instance, Post Boxes now have a left-side border color that is uniquely associated with the person that made the post. This will allow readers to quickly associated posts in a comment stream, for instance, with particular members.

You'll find a newly enhanced Post Box theme section for customizing the look of these boxes, which are applied to reply/comments and topic posts.

Because this is a fundamental change, you may want to take a screenshot of your post boxes on your current site, if you wish to recreate your old style.  Note that these new Post Boxes do not include an outer box border, so you would have to apply that with custom CSS.

API Changes

The Crowdstack API no longer supports "likes" and instead supports Reactions.  Anyone currently using the API to handle liking/un-liking should update to use the new Reaction API endpoints instead.

FeePod Subscriber Reminder Process Changes

For Crowdstack sites using FeePod, please note that the system will now always send a payment renewal reminder email to premium membership subscribers.

Permalinks Are Now "Copy Link"

Previously, we included "permalinks" to allow users to easily reference specific pages/comments.  We've improved that by changing this function to be "Copy Link".  Clicking on the "Copy Link" button/action will now copy the URL for the reply/comment/page to your device's clipboard.

New Basic Stats

We've added some new "basic" stats in the Reporting control panel.

As usual, there are many other minor changes, bug fixes, and tweaks included in this software update. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know in our Support Area.

As a side note, we've opened a new discussion forum area here on Hey Stack! and we use that to give advance notice on upcoming features and changes, as well as engage the community on topics concerning audience engagement on all levels.  If you are not following that forum, you can do by clicking on the "eye" icon here: https://hey.crowdstack.com/topics

Keep on 'stacking!