Happy Diwali to all members. Due to resource constraints, the logo remains the same, but instead, we have chosen to present a slew of new features and enhancements on the occasion.
In the last month or so, the site has gone through many modification. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time/opportunity to make timely announcements of the same. A quick update of recent changes.
1. The login scheme has been completely revamped. Now there is a separate Register link for signups, and the "Forgot" link has also now been made more straightforward. Also, many of...
more... the bugs related to logouts and direct logins have been fixed. Due to the simplifications, there has been an uptick in signups to about 1500 members a day.
2. Train Zones were introduced recently and can now be seen. There are some errors, but Zone Edit facility has now been introduced, for quick corrections.
3. In the All Trains & Arrival/Departure tabs, trains can now be filtered by Zones. Also, Zone columns have been introduced in the various pages.
4. New Display theme: Sawan.
5. The Trip Diary was progressively refined after introduction, and has now stabilized. However, new features are continuously being introduced. Today, you can see a new PF# column in the Trip Diary.
6. Members can now be filtered by Nearest station. You will not only get members who have registered that station as Nearest, but also other stations that are close to that station. For example, if your nearest stations is New Delhi, you will also get members for Nizamuddin, Old Delhi and so on. The default sorting order is by their last login time. Also, there is a quick "Near Me" tab in the Member section.
A major overhaul to the train and station database was rolled out today to track detailed history of updates, as well as to maintain a higher resolution of information regarding trains and stations. The new system will show and update independent information on Loco, RSA, Rake Composition, Zone, News, Pantry, Technical Stops, Station Notes, Platform Number, Cancellation Note, and many more to come. A detailed timeline of updates will be maintained. The "Admin Note" field is now called "Recent News" - a short note + reference to a News link.
Most importantly, now we are moving to a "Shared Edit" mode on all aspects of this site. Members don't "own" their updates anymore. There is only ONE "Recent News", ONE "Rake Composition", and so on. Admins may edit the current entry to make it better. But no one owns it. Members' names won't show up underneath any of these fields. Each edit will be stored in history, and will be maintained in members' profiles.
Edit history same can be accessed through a new "Timeline" tab available in the Train and Station pages. So you can now see a progress of edits and who updated the previous entry. Each category of edits can be separately tracked.
Once again, a reminder that new fields are meant to be progressively edited and refined.
Quick Edits:
The Zone and PF# fields now appear in many other pages - Home Page, Arrival/Departure Pages, Trip Diary and the Search page. Admins may edit these fields right from within these pages, instead of going to the train page. This is expected to reduce unnecessary clicks and navigation.
Once again, Happy Diwali.
