I just made a 20-minute video going over 9 main improvement ideas I have for Lichess at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFi75rfm6qoI know that there are already many suggestions made here, but I think many of mine are very easy to implement and aren't commonly mentioned.
What I heard from the video:
1 Static opening name on analysis board.
2 Add notes on player's page.
3 Bigger penalty for players with lower completion rates. Filter players on game completion rates. (Assumes that unfinished games are losses.
4 On the profile page, have drop down box to included different rating systems other than the big 3. (I just feel excluded.)
5 On the coaches page, add sort by price. (Bring back non-titled coaches.)
6 In the practice area, add more content, maybe more advanced material.
7 Why are opening names chosen?
8 Expose cheater names. Right to know who cheated against me.
(There was a ninth dealing with mobile devices, but I wasn't paying attention.)
My responses:
1. The name is visible longer than the 8th move as he suggested. This could easily be implemented, but I don't think it would be necessary/helpful.
2. I don't like his reasons for adding notes on another's profile page. If I find a need to block/friend someone, forgetting the reason isn't useful information. One exception is friending someone for learning purposes, but them the lessons are over but not the friendship.
3. As the reason for not completing a game is unknown, a penalty must be wrong. I understand that the biggest reason for not completing a game is a rage quit. If it's that important, look it up on the profile page, and you can even store all the names in a text document.
4. The more systems in place, the more difficult it would be to filter based on rating. I'd prefer uniformity over pride.
5. A sort by price filter is a good idea, but what about the "rate available upon request" or rates that vary be student's age/rating?
Another issue is the student feedback. I'm already wary the the coaches stuff the box, but now I know that the coaches can filter this feedback. It's a useless and untrustworthy system.
6. I agree that the two bishop mate and simple rook endgames would be helpful, but I don't think it should be more advanced than these.
7. Names have changed throughout history, and you probably choose the most current/popular one from US standards. A solution might to provide a link which provide alternate names.
8. As a cheater is banned and easily found, I see no harm in revealing the name. However what about the right to know about accusers? If I accuse someone of being insulting, should the accused be informed? What about the victim? What about additional accusers?
(I don't use mobile devices, so I have no input.)
1. You can achieve this with userstyles, e.g using Stylus.
Chrome:
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stylus/clngdbkpkpeebahjckkjfobafhncgmneFirefox:
addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/styl-us/Then add these styles:
@-moz-document domain("
lichess.org") {
.opening_box { position: sticky; top: 0; }
}
2. Click on Notes on user's profile page.
3. This is somewhat complicated. We need to distinguish between deliberate actions and the ones as a result of poor connection. Currently, people stalling on time and aborting too many games get an automatic playban and it increases with each new infraction. But devs are working on improvements in this area. So one can expect harsher punishments for people doing this deliberately in the future.
8. We do not appreciate public shaming. On a very rare occasion a mistake can occur, person appeals and gets unmarked. In the meanwhile, I don't think he or she would appreciate you or somebody else pointing a finger at him/her. Secondly, it is pointless. It doesn't mean the person cheated against you, not everyone cheats in every single game. And regarding linking to the games, it would be resource consuming and would also help cheaters to improve their ways to try to avoid detection.