Voting for Wanted Features

Hi guys,

I've recently read tons of interesting and constructive suggestions here on the Feedback forum, such as asking for other tournaments formats, for example. Actually, that's where the Shield tournaments are coming from. These ideas were heavily discussed, and it turned out that many members were demanding for those.

So what I'm suggesting here, basically, is to add a way for members to say, to vote for which elements they think Lichess lacks. There would be a list in the Feedback forum or on the main menu with all features having been suggested by members. Next to them would there be a way to vote for or against the adding of this feature. There could also be a thread linked with all of these features. Indeed, members could add, at any moment, a new suggestion and a create a thread, explaining why it should be added as a feature.

The advantages of a "feature wishlist" :
- a compact, clear list of wanted features.
- an easy way to find the threads related to each feature.
- a way for @thibault and others to know exactly what the members need and ask for.

In summary, this would be a great improvement for Lichess feedback and development.

Yes, I totally agree. Feedback badly needs to be clarified. Ironically though, this suggestion might stay unsought precisely because of this fuzziness.

Interesting... although we have an issue tracker github.com/ornicar/lila/issues tagged with labels and managed by release milestones, it's infrequent that we run polls about what features players think they want; and even when we do usually it's voting from a staff-collated list of possible features.

We do also have a Discord and pay attention to this feedback forum, and the most common "problem" in this forum is when someone starts a topic with multiple subjects and the discussion branches to the point of becoming unreadable.

A complicating factor with a community-submitted list is that the features volunteer developers find interesting to to develop & test (and the project maintainer, agree to maintain) aren't necessarily the features players want. I try to help set expectations between developers and community and keep lines of communication open, although that has led to bikeshedding (of my feature ideas in response to community feedback) in the past, which (predictably) quickly kills an issue:
github.com/ornicar/lila/issues/3970
github.com/ornicar/lila/issues/1811

Also to consider ... what % of players participate in the feedback forum or Discord? I think the overall % is extremely low.
If "polls" were to be taken, it would only be justified if a notification were sent to every member, asking their opinion. Many players simply accept things as they are, but may not be in favor of a suggested change that a minority voted on. Voting on possible changes, adding/deleting features by the membership is quite impracticable, besides leaving management at the "mercy" of the masses. I know of no examples of an owner agreeing to letting the public dictate how the company is to be run. Sure, board members get elected, advice is given, but voting ??? Can't see it happening. Suggestions get made. Overall positive feedback wants a specific addition to be made. All good stuff. But the final decision rests with management.

@mdinnerspace

> Many players simply accept things as they are, but may not be in favor of a suggested change that a minority voted on.

Well, I don't see how suggestions made by members here can be so serious that it might offend users.

> Voting on possible changes, adding/deleting features by the membership is quite impracticable, besides leaving management at the "mercy" of the masses. [...] But the final decision rests with management.

Anyway, this is only a way to KNOW what the members want. If a suggestion happens to be a troll, @thibault can well decide not to add it. What is suggested here is only a simplified way to know what to add/modify according to the users' needs.

> I know of no examples of an owner agreeing to letting the public dictate how the company is to be run.

Lichess is not a company.

@Toadofsky

Yeah, sure. But this is not a way for members to impose their will over the site. It is only supposed to be a tool for developers, allowing them to know what the members need; they would not be obligated to follow their demands.

"Vote" is the wrong terminology. It's context often implies the results are to be implemented ... as in "elections"
2nd. Vote where ?? In the forums ? Only a very small minority participate. Is every new suggestion to be "voted" on?
51% want a new feature, 49% think it is useless. I seriously think many here are clueless about the implications of membership voting on what features to add entails. A new feature may be a great idea, but impractical to implement. Members are most often clueless regarding the required programming, changes that need to be made to adopt new bells and whistles. But the new feature is wanted by a majority, gets rejected. What then ??? Nothing but animosity towards the site will follow.

Suggestions need not be voted on. Feedback is given. If the idea is a great one, it may just end up being installed tomorrow.

Where ?
In the Feedback forum or on the main menu.

This would only be CONSULTATIVE. There are already and there will always be people expressing animosity towards the site because they do not get what they want, whatsoever.

I like the voting idea. I would love to see that.

If the idea is hard to implement, then the developers will say so and we will understand.

Are we to vote on what new bell or whistle is to be voted on?
Will every member get a notification? Absentee ballots ? Will developers inform us ahead of time of the man hours involved? The necessity to eliminate other features to make room for the new one?
How long will the polls be open for? Will ballots be provided in every language? Can minors vote?
There are teams with alot of members who are here for the chat and social interaction. They rarely play chess. Can every member vote? You'll need another site. Voting may not work here. Delete cookies and cache and multi-votes may be possible. Who will verify results?
God help us if the inmates get their wish for a vote.