One of the (many) things that makes Multiply different than the hordes of generic social networking-type services available are relationships.

On Multiply, your contacts are more than just generic "friends" – and your relationships with them are more than just a simple title. The relationship type you choose will determine how much of your contact's network you become connected to through your relationship with them. In addition, relationships not only help you determine which posts on your message board are worth reading... but also help us determine which users should be in your network. All relationship types serve to include new people in your network, save for one – Online Buddy.

While we realize that people may relate differently to those they know exclusively via the Internet, within the context of Multiply, the Online Buddy relationship connects users to one another, while not further connecting them to other users in one another's networks. This relationship type is great for, say, keeping up to date with someone who posts interesting content, but may not be someone you know well enough to accept into your network.

So if you have someone that you'd like to share with, but don't quite want to entrust with the immense responsibility of also connecting with the people you know, the Online Buddy relationship is there for you!



Source: http://multiply.multiply.com/journal/item/179/On_Online_Buddies

We've made a slight change to the way our blog compose tool works... for the better.

This change aims to clarify the two editor modes -- normal (where you simply type your post, using the blog editor toolbar for formatting changes) and HTML (accessible by selecting the "Edit HTML" checkbox you'll find in the editor).

Note: If you don't already write HTML for your blog entries by hand, there's no need to start now! You can still use our blog toolbar for simple point-and-click formatting -- this is just a notice for those who like to get a little more in-depth.

As the editor previously worked, one could manually enter HTML tags into either mode and, upon saving their changes, have them applied to their text. The downside to this was that it was difficult to enter HTML code for display (such as when writing a post explaining to others how to format text in HTML). And now it's easy.

So if I wanted to show people how to point others to a different site, I would simply enter the following with the checkbox unchecked:

<a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/ecch2004/petition.html">Help bring Chocodiles to the east!</a>

And if I wanted to make it appear as a link within the entry (such as when copying and pasting the HTML from the previous example), I'd enter the same text with the box checked, which would result in a link like this:

Help bring Chocodiles to the east!

Yes, it's that simple -- if the box isn't checked while HTML tags are entered, the markup won't be interpreted.


Source: http://multiply.multiply.com/journal/item/160/New_improved_HTML_editing

By now, you're most likely aware of how easy it is to add new Faceboxes to photos... just click a face to get started. However, as one user pointed out in a comment on our last entry, isn't this the way to view high-resolution versions of photos on Multiply?

There's your resolution... and your full-size link.

Well, in case you haven't noticed, there's always been a second way... which is now the way.

While viewing an individual photo's page within an album, have a look right below the resized version of an image. You'll find, right below the image, the image title—which may just be the original filename (as is the case in the screenshot to the right) if you didn't enter a title—as well as the resolution of the original, full-size version of the file.

Simply click the resolution below and you'll then be viewing the full-size version of the image. Click the image to add a new Facebox.

That's all there is to it.


Source: http://multiply.multiply.com/journal/item/169/Viewing_high-res_photos_Still_possible

From time to time, we look back at features we unveiled in the not-so-distant past, both because they're worth bringing up once again -- and to try and get more of a feel for what Multiply users think of them and how they use them.

This is one such look, but this time, it's a little different.

Today we're looking at a feature that's been available since day one: Multiply's extensive privacy options. You know, the ability to share what you want, with precisely whom you want.

While we've looked at this a few times in the past on this very blog, we think it's worth revisiting, particularly as more people join Multiply. We understand that newer members who've used other services to share their content may not be used to having such powerful ways of sharing while controlling their experience.

We took an extensive look at a few aspects of our privacy options about a year and a half ago, in a few installments that are still worth reading:

• Defining Relationships
  (or: Yes, there's a difference!)
• You Control Your Content
  (or: Extensive privacy options are yours!)
• Know What's Public
  (or: Always good to double-check!)

How do you use these features? Have they helped you share content online that you otherwise wouldn't?




New Feature: Default Access Option: http://multiply.multiply.com/journal/item/196
Source: http://multiply.multiply.com/journal/item/194/Looking_Back_Privacy_on_Multiply

If you've ever wanted both an easier way to constantly keep up-to-date with the latest from your Multiply network and a dead-simple way to post new content, it sounds like you want the brand new Multiply Toolbar.

Click that link; it's available now!



If the mention of the toolbar causes you to feel a strange sense of déjà vu, it might have something to do with the toolbar preview we showed you a little while back. Or perhaps, if you're in the MUDS group (yay!), you may already be using it, thanks to the sneak preview we posted there late last week.

One particularly nice feature is the integrated drag-and-drop photo uploader. Click the "Post" button followed by "Photos" and simply drag your photos onto the upload box -- no extra messy browser plugins needed!

As you probably already know, the toolbar works with Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers, so there's no reason to not give it a try.



Source: http://multiply.multiply.com/journal/item/191/The_Multiply_Toolbar_Its_here

Whether you practically live your life on your Multiply Message Board, or at the very least use it from time to time, you know how much easier it makes keeping up to date with the latest posts from a large (or small) number of people, all depending on how you choose to filter it.

Well, if you spend any sort of a good deal of time on the page, you'll appreciate the new preferences we recently added.

In addition to the old essentials, like choosing the number of items that appear per page, the way they're sorted and what view style you prefer, you can now choose which of the sidebar boxes you'd like to see.

You can now hide:

• Post New Content
• Upcoming Events
• Popular Tags
  

And of course, showing them once again is just as easy as unchecking the appropriate box.

Which boxes (if any) can you do without, and end up hiding on your message board?




Source: http://multiply.multiply.com/journal/item/145/New_Feature_Hide_message_board_boxes

Flexibility is one of the principles around which we've designed Multiply. For example, our e-mail alerts give you the option of being notified of new content and comments posted by your contacts... including the ability to reply to them directly from the e-mail. Or if you prefer to read your messages on the site, turn off the e-mail alerts. It's up to you.

One might say that the central Multiply feature is the Message Board, the thing that ties it all together and shows you what's going on in your network. If you just want to see what's up, feel free to use it as is. But if you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty and tweaking a few options, you'll find it to probably be much more powerful than you had previously thought.

Click "Preferences"... and there you go! In these three small boxes, you have the opportunity to shape the way you view your network on Multiply.

The options for customizing the "Look & Feel" of your Message Board are pretty straightforward. However, customizing your display options may take a little trial and error, and you may want to try out certain columns for a few days at a time to get a feel for how they affect the way you read your messages.

For instance, one of my favorite options is "Status Column." The envelope icon allows you to choose whether or not you are subscribed to a message and receive an e-mail every time a new reply is posted. The pin allows you to keep the message "pinned" to the top of your message board, which makes it easier to keep an eye on ongoing conversations, or just something you don't want to lose track of.

These preferences are just another example of how control over your Multiply experience is where it should be -- in your hands.



SOURCE: http://multiply.multiply.com/journal/item/59/Featured_Feature_Message_Board_Preferences