Social App with Dating Functions, Beta Testing

By Vorail, 19 November, 2015

Forum
App Development and Programming

many thanks to the applevis community for helping create better voice over implementation, and leading the way to build a better app for folks (sighted, visually impaired, and blind) who want to make new friends, or seek casual dating and long term relationship opportunities.

Vorail is a voice-only messaging community to ask, answer, and make new friends. The Vorail community includes folks who are married, single, and divorced. Some are looking to make new friends, while others seek casual dating or a serious relationship.

please join our beta testing community, your voice matters.

"you fall in love with the voice first, there’s so much richness and intonation within a voice that gives clues to a person’s personality" (Kevin Satizabal, Royal London Society for the Blind)

thanks,
tom

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Comments

By Apple Khmer on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

Max can have his own folder with all of his answers, question. Same with me, Lupida, and so on.

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Apple Khmer. we have experimented with three different formats for inbox. the first i do not recall. the second is as you describe, each person has her/his own folder. eg. in your inbox, there may be a folder for Max, a folder for Lupita. the most recent version of inbox is one table, but each message auto disappears after you listen to it and leave vorail. eg. if you listen to a message from Lupita, then leave vorail, next time you tap inbox, the old message from Lupita will be gone. this keeps inbox clear, and reduces the need to flick through messages you have already heard. you are currently using build 160205?

thanks,
tom

By Apple Khmer on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

I'm sorry, I should have been a bit moer clear. I was referring to the home screen. As you can see, there are over five hundred answers on the home screen. How about all of the voices have their own folder on the home screen instead of just haing everyone be all over the place.

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

got it! if someone answers 500 questions, do we really have to flick right 501 times to hear the next person? we were thinking about the magic tap, two finger double tap. how about if two finger double tap skips to next person? in previous example, we start on row 1. magic tap takes us to row 501. that seems like potentially fewer taps than each person having their own folder. what do you think?

By Apple Khmer on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

That could work too

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

i added your comments to our tech issue #229, which is magic tap skips to next person. your feedback makes it a higher priority, as soon as tech does the magic i will publish to new build to beta group.

thanks,
tom

By Apple Khmer on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

Thanks.

By Earle on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

I think using the magic tap to move to the next voice could work very well. Right now the home screen is very frustrating to go through! I really hope this gets changed soon. I love this app though.

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

new:
.. magic tap to skip to next person: when on home feed, two finger double tap will move focus to next person. how will new users know this?

.. tabs: per user feedback, changed to tab user interface. previous buttons like inbox and match are now tabs (total of five tabs). four finger tap moves focus to tab row. is this type of navigation better?

fixed more bugs. please continue the valuable feedback.

thanks!
tom

hi @Earle, magic tap to move to next voice is working on newest build. with magic tap, how does it feel going through home feed?

thanks!
tom

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

The recording does not work well. I was communicating with someone and she and me or I were having problem with recording. Also when I record voiceover still goes down I have to tap again on record to get voiceover back.

By Earle on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

I am not experiencing any problems while recording. I am able to send messages back-and-forth with people with no problems at all. Voiceover stays at the level it is supposed to stay at for me. I am fortunate in that I have never had any problems recording in this app. I know others have had problems in the past and it seems like others are still experiencing problems, but I have never had any so far.

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Holger Fiallo, i heard very clear replies from you to questions; "Did (or do) you like school?", "What is a favorite place of yours?", and Anna's ask-all. did recording start working better for you? on my device, i have not been able to replicate recording issues, except when i change device orientation after recording starts. i am experiencing same as @Earle, recording is working well, although in past versions recording did not start until after folks started talking.

thanks,
tom

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

I had to do it several times before it works.

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @holger, what finger gestures are you using to start, stop and save recording? tom

By Earle on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

For the first time today I have had a problem playing a message from one of my matches. I was sent a message and I played it just fine. I replied to the message and received another message from my match, but it will not play. I've tried completely closing the app from the app switcher, as well as restarting my phone. Nothing will make the message play.

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

I use one finger tapping twice. Also regarding profile. In profile, only have the many recording that person made. Is there away to know about the person info?

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Earle, our servers are showing an empty message from Jewel to you. Jewel uploaded two empty messages yesterday, she was using magic tap on recording screen and found a bug, but later in the day, she returned to uploading messages with sound. later today we are scheduled to release a new version, that has magic tap working better on both main feed and recording screen. i also sent you a voice message using the mutual likes IM interface. we can do a few back and forth to verify everything working, or recreate a bug.

thanks!
tom

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Holger, new version scheduled for later today has magic tap shortcut when recording. on recording screen, magic tap to start recording, magic tap again to stop recording and save. does this make a difference in your recording experience? on the profile question, i added your idea to our Issue #236, which is to improve the profile. thinking about adding an extended profile with the traditional dating questions/information. thanks! tom

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

per feedback, improved magic tap:
.. magic tap on home feed announces (activates) where it lands.
.. magic tap on record screen first time starts recording, second magic tap ends recording and saves.

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Earle, i made the demo video (audio). Q & A with Earle “Totally open, totally honest…”. i was planning to email the url to you, but i do not know which beta tester email is associated with which vorail account. for privacy reasons, vorail app does not know your email address. i loaded the video to vorail facebook and twitter pages, folks have told us it is important to build the vorail social media pages. your url's pasted below. i know very little about facebook and twitter, where i lived, both sites are banned. do you think the Q & A highlights video would be useful for you inside of vorail? would it be useful outside of vorail? i am biased, i think your q & a highlights sound great, show's what makes you special, in a way photos are text do not.

https://twitter.com/vorail/status/698287584758231040
https://www.facebook.com/Vorail/videos/1219826781380114/

thanks!
tom

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

Good idea but I do not twit or facebook. It is not my thing. However all people who will be using probably will want it. If you add it, make sure do not forget about those of us who do not care for twit or facebook.

By Rolando Jr Ogayon on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

Hi Tom,

I'm always asked for the invite code to redeem the latest built of Vorail...

Regards,

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Jhon, we do not use redemption code, you do not need it to run beta version of vorail. did you receive the email invite from apple? the subject is "TestFlight: There is an update available for Vorail". if you open that email in your device, there is a link to get or open test flight, and run it with vorail inside of testflight. according to google, there is a redemption code as part of the link in the apple email, but users are able to run vorail beta by tapping the link inside the apple email invite. there is general release version of vorai on app store, but it does not have the features or bug fixes that beta has. first question, did you receive the email invite from apple? one should have been sent to you within the past few days.

thanks,
tom

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Holger, vorail will always work independent of facebook and twitter, but as you say, for folks that want the feature, we may add ability for users to share their voice 'about me' (answers to ask-all questions) outside of vorail.

thanks,
tom

By Earle on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

I just saw the video and thought it was really well done! It would be nice to see more videos like this. I think it would definitely help with marketing. I am loving the latest build as well. I'm loving the uses of magic tap the the way it has been implemented.

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Earle, thanks for your feedback, helps clarify our next steps. this week will be improvements to inbox and matching. next week may start coding to:
.. enable each member of vorail community to easily make their own q & a highlights
.. add new tab, like home feed, but tapping on the row plays persons q & a highlights

Max recently introduced vorail to the american foundation for the blind. would like to show Max our appreciation. when folks share vorail with others, twitter, facebook, friends, etc. it helps everyone in the vorail community (more members equals more chances for each member). may call the new tab 'Ambassadors' and limit who shows on that screen to all members who have represented vorail in new lands. how does this idea sound to you?

thanks,
tom

By Vorail on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 05:12

pasting a reply to Lupita, i think she raised question that many of us share.
--
"What do you think about adding a deleting feature"
.. i am thinking similar outcome, but different approach. how about a "Revive" feature? inbox messages still ephemeral, after being heard they disappear, but with "Revive" feature member has ability bring back voices that have disappeared. this way, default (zero extra gestures) is the cleanest inbox, but with extra gestures, member can revive (recover) old voices.

"[in matches] it is harder to find the messages that were recently sent."
.. thinking to have all voices ask, answer, messages go to inbox. should be a single place where we can pickup all / any new message... look to inbox for all new messages. inbox will have label if message is from someone you liked, someone that liked you, or mutual likes. for mutual likes, replying / communicating will use the instant messenger.
.. for matches page, will continue to list who you like, who likes you, and mutual likes. order of list is most recent 'status change' (likes you, or you like him/her) on top/beginning.

the design objectives:
.. clear logic
.. easy to find the content we want with the fewest gestures

next weeks's build should address the issues in your email, but we will probably need a few more passes to get it right :)

i am posting this reply to applevis, because i think there are others who also would like to see improvements to inbox and matches screen.

thanks!
tom

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

new:
.. per feedback, updated magic tap (two finger double tap) on home feed to not only move focus to next person, but also play her or his answer (saving us a double tap).

next:
.. plan to make inbox and match screens more clear. in future build, all new voices will go to inbox. inbox will link to ask and answer screen, or instant messenger, depending on whether there is mutual like.

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

new:
.. when magic tap skips to next person, announce her name before playing her answer
.. when answer is being played, flick left or right will move focus and stop voice playing
.. all new message notifications go to inbox, notifications disappear after being played. for mutual likes, messages are saved in IM
.. fixed errors, such as magic tap not working when next person is within the screen.

next:
.. improve matches screen

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

Got email about a new beta update. However when I went to test flight. I got messageunavailable.

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Holger, not sure why you received message unavailable. could be because apple approved a general release for app store shortly after we released a newer version for beta testers. i uploaded a new build to apple earlier today, it is going through beta test review, should be released by apple tomorrow. maybe you will have better luck with that one? i have read that when apple approves a version for app store general release, it can effect some of the beta testers. the beta program will have the releases with most features and fewest bugs, and we keep the app store version as current as possible (which is often a few weeks old because apple takes my time for general release reviews).

thanks,
tom

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

new:
.. matches screen shows who likes you, who you like, and mutual likes in alphabetical order.
.. in IM, magic tap will start recording, and stop/save voice recording.
.. in inbox, ‘ask’ and ‘answer’ is replaced with ‘reply’.
.. voice over correction, to make it more clear that answers to ask-alls go to the home feed. please report places where the voice over is not correct or ambiguous.

thanks!
tom

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Holger, able to download today's build? we worked on record feature. are you able to record better with this version?

tom

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

Yes. Got new update. Question when I use magic tap It goes to the next person but it play the recording he/she made. Before you heard just name and you made a choice of playing. Now it does it automatic.

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Holger, feedback we received was to use magic tap to save maximum number of gestures, on magic tap:
.. skip to next person
.. announce next person's name
.. play her or his answer

we also added:
.. stop answer playback on next magic tap, flick left or flick right

this way users can hear every new voice just by magic tap through the feed. on last voice, just flick if you choose not to hear it.

let us know which way you prefer, and we can tally up the votes for the preferred magic tap logic.

thanks,
tom

By Lisa on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

Hello, when will this app be available for public use? Thank you.

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Lisa,

vorail is available for public use: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vorail/id1050527832

the most recent version with more features and fewer bugs is always in the beta program. we update the app store general release version couple times a month (sometimes apple takes only a week to review and approve, sometimes five weeks).

thanks,
tom

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

I prefer just moving to next person and having their name. I would like to have control whether I play it or not.

By Larry on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

Hello

I don't know if it is just me, but I find the description text for this App to be very confusing... Imo it lacks structure, flow, and clarity. I like the idea of this App and I would hate to see that it lost users because of an unclear description, because to be honest I don't clearly understand what I am supposed to use the App for from the description.

My suggestion is to re-write the description from scratch.

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Larry, the app description is ambiguous and confusing. people do see the description and do not download because the value of the app is not presented clear or crisp. based on your understanding after using vorail, how would you write the description?

thanks!
tom

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Holger, got it. maybe we should put this in a settings page, allow each user to choose what she or he prefers. would others like to comment on ideal way for magic tap to work on home feed?

thanks,
tom

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

It does not work to record. I did both magic tap to record and one finger tap to record. I attempted to respond to 2 questions several times without any success.

By Earle on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

Magic tap is working perfectly for me in all situations. I can record, play, move to next voice, all with no problems at all. I like the way magic tap currently works. I like that it announces the name of the person then starts playing the recording. If I choose not to hear the recording, flicking automatically stops playing and moves to the next item on the screen. It really does minimize the amount of tapping and flicking that a person has to use to get through the home feed. I really hope magic tap stays the way it is, or at least offers us a setting to have it stay like this.

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Holger, you get A+ for effort, i see you on the feed trying to answer questions. seems like some days it works for you and some days it does not. there were about three hundred recordings today, we do not see others having similar issue. one person did have a recording that did not save, it is because she received a phone call while recording, and app did not handle the interruption well. we are still digging and thinking how to recreate what you are experiencing (if we can replicate the bug, we can fix the bug).

thanks,
tom

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Earle, thanks for the feedback. thinking at some point to add a settings screen that would allow folks to change the way magic tap currently works, to choose how magic tap works on each of the screens.

thanks,
tom

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

hi @Holger, how much free disk space does your device have? also, please remind me, which apple device are you using? on test flight app, when you open vorail beta, just below the 'open' button, there is a 'send feedback'. if you double tap 'send feedback', apple will send us technical specifications on your device.

thanks,
tom

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

Using iPhone 6, 129 and iOS 9.2.1. Just right now recording is working by just tapping with one finger. I did a restart of home and power button.

By Vorail on Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:12

new:
.. adding ‘send private message’ action to more places in the app, eg. on the home feed

bug fixes:
.. show notification for all unheard ask-all replies, instead of just the most recent unheard reply to your ask-all
.. correctly announce who IM message is from.
.. handle magic tap from IM screen to start recording, and single finger double tap to stop and listen to the recording. as before magic tap from IM screen starts recording and second magic tap ends/saves recording. now app can handle if we mix and match magic tap with single finger double tap.
.. other fixes that i do not recall :)