Crossposting while logged out

[holyschist]

Title:
Crossposting while logged out

Area:
Crossposting

Summary:
Create a setting so that if a particular journal is set to crosspost by default, posting while logged out or logged in as another account will still cause the journal to crosspost.

Description:
Currently, when posting while logged out or while logged in to a different account, journals set to crosspost to another service will not crosspost automatically. If the user then wants to crosspost, they have to log out, log into the other account, and manually edit the post to crosspost. This reduces the utility of the post-while-logged-out option, since the user has to log out and back in in order to crosspost.

For example:

1. birdaccount is set to automatically crosspost to an LJ mirror

2. user is logged into dogaccount, but posts to birdaccount using the "switch accounts" feature on the update page

3. birdaccount does not automatically crosspost

4. user has to log out of dogaccount and then into birdaccount to manually edit the post to crosspost to LJ, defeating the point of posting while logged out

I would love it if automatic crossposting settings for an account were respected no matter how the post to the account is made, so that

1. birdaccount is set to automatically crosspost to an LJ mirror

2. user is logged into dogaccount, or not logged in at all, but posts to birdaccount

3. birdaccount automatically crossposts to the LJ mirror

This would make it far easier to switch between DW journals while maintaining mirrors to other sites, without having to set up two browsers or constantly log in and out.

Poll #12624 Crossposting while logged out

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 44

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
25 (56.8%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
4 (9.1%)

(I have no opinion)
15 (34.1%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[arethinn]

Hmm. I'm not sure about this. I think it would depend on the behavior of the checkbox on the update page that normally controls this. If it always respected my default crossposting behavior, what if I wished to post a post this way that was not crossposted? I'd have no way of stopping it, because this "always perform default" would override that, yes? I think having crossposts occur only if explicitly selected (even if that is "I set that default and then didn't uncheck this box when it presented the choice") is better behavior.

But I don't actually use this feature in the first place - I always switch accounts, using LJLogin - so maybe I am not a typical use case.

[azurelunatic]

The entry crossposts when posting by email or client, both of which have no way to turn off. This is inconsistent.

[arethinn]

Sorry, do you mean something I said was inconsistent, or that implementing the option in the suggestion would make the post an entry page inconsistent with other posting methods?

[azurelunatic]

Actually, neither. The state of things as they are currently is inconsistent (not crossposting by default from the logged out form, but crossposting from other remote methods) and implementing the suggestion would make them consistent.

They could also be made consistent by turning this off for post by email/from client, but since it was specifically turned on there some years back, I don't think that would be likely or wanted.

[holyschist]

There are a bunch of options that, as far as I know, are always default in posting by email etc. I kind of think that if one really needs to override the defaults, that's when one can log out/log in--presumably people pick defaults because they want to use them most of the time?

LJLogin seems to only work for Firefox, which doesn't do people using other browsers much good, unfortunately (my old computer could only run Chrome without freezing from the memory use).

[montuos]

I agree; the reason to set defaults is so they will happen without further effort required; doing things differently than the default is what should require the extra effort.

Also, LJ Account Juggler is a Chrome extension that is highly similar to LJLogin. Still no love for other browsers, though.

[denise]

You will all be glad to know that very soon you will have to resort to such extensions much less frequently. </tease>

[holyschist]

\o/

[denise]

It's a hard design problem for many boring reasons, but we're solving the bits that are easy first and working from there!

[holyschist]

I thought that might be the case--I have no idea what logistics are involved! But I'm excited about anything that makes having multiple accounts easier.

[marahmarie]

Not just excited here, my mouth dropped open - is still open. I'm totally stunned.

(I never thought anything here could make me feel that way, either - not that DW doesn't come up with tons of neat-o innovations both large and small all the time, but this one is really neat.)

[montuos]

Oh, you rock!!! ;D

I'll still need them for LJ, though, since LJ's the one I actually have multiple accounts on... :-/

[denise]

You know what my answer to that will be ;)

[montuos]

Yes, but I'm trying to be good and not create any more accounts here until I can afford to do paid!

[denise]

We don't mind if you keep a few free accounts around. ;)

*ahem* Sorry, I'll behave, I'll behave!

[holyschist]

I'll try that out, thanks! But I do wish there were some kind of similar built-in functionality...

[marahmarie]

I voted against it not because I'm against it (but considering the hints Denise dropped above the suggestion might not be needed after all?) but because I'm hung up on a little bit of wording: "posting while logged out or logged in as another account" makes me knee-jerk reflex into thinking a) "But no one should be able to post while logged out!" (blame my utter literalness at times) and b) "But no one should be able to post from one DW account to another!" (again, I'm literal). You probably don't mean by either statement what I think you mean, but lacking more facts I just can't go with it - and again, not that I don't want to.

ETA: never mind...thought it over again and finally got what you meant by statement b) even though I'm still on the fence over what you meant by a) - and as for Denise's hint, it probably still doesn't cover this facet of log-ins (specifically, the crossposting behavior you mention in detail when you switch usernames on the posting page). Changing vote to a Yes. :)

[denise]

you can post to DW both while logged out and while logged in as another account, as long as you have the password to the account you're looking to post to. if you hit http://www.dreamwidth.org/update while logged out there's a username/password field to fill in along with the form for the post; if you're logged in, there's a "work as other user" dropbox (on the old update page) or a "post as: [username] [other user]" radio button in the "Journal" pane (on the new update page), both of which trigger a username/password form.

[marahmarie]

Yeah, the "work as/post as other user" option I know about, as well as the log in box being up top while logged out; it just never occurred to me you could fill in the username/password up there without pressing enter to log in, write your post, hit the post button and therefore log in and update all at once (which I think is what you're saying?). I've used LastPass here for so long now (and always log in while using it before I post so I can keep automatic drafts going in case I get knocked offline) that that fact just escaped me.

[denise]

Nope, that's not what I'm saying.

Log out. Load http://www.dreamwidth.org/update. In addition to the login box in the upper navigation bar, there is a field on the update page that will let you enter the username and password for an account and post to it without logging in.

[marahmarie]

Oh, OK, I've seen that, too (sorry to be so thick-headed). The thing is, I always ignore it because Lastpass does, too; it chooses the log in form on the upper right hand side of the page over the the form under the words "Post an Entry". I'm so used to ignoring it I guess I finally forgot all about it. *blushes*

[holyschist]

Sorry I wasn't clearer--I'm not good at explaining this kind of stuff. But what Denise said--posting while logged out entirely, without logging in at all, is an existing feature, not one I'm suggesting.

[marahmarie]

Yeah, as I just told her in a reply above, I forgot all about that thanks to my heavy reliance on LastPass, which chooses the standard log in form on that page instead of the one under the words "Post an Entry". *blushes some more*