GPS plug-in: Request For Comments

This is about proposing two changes for my GPS plug-in.
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A) Removing the Shared WP's feature.

As I kind of expected, there have been critiques concerning the sharing WP's feature. On one side, there is the definite possibility of an uncontrolled increase of shared WP's, resulting in a huge list difficult to browse and making hard to identify what one would want to import into his own WP's. Someone has requested the sharing feature to be restrictable to admins only.

On the other side, some list management features (like deleting individual shared WP's) are in order.

It has also be noted -- rightly, I believe -- that this feature is a kind of 'poor man' version of the /tp plug-in, with less functionalities and less features and that that plug-in should be used in stead.

The summary, in my perspective, is that more code (with more debugging and maintenance) is potentially needed for a feature which would in any case have limitations and raise concerns, which amounts to a loss/loss situation.

For all these reasons, I am thinking about removing the whole sharing feature (personal WP's in themselves will remain, of course).
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B) Adding a Track Player feature.

This is a feature which I found myself needing occasionally but repeatedly. In practice, it would amount to:

1) Player A would select another player, B, among the currently connected ones
2) Player A would have name, radial and distance to B's current position displayed in the place where data to a WP are displayed, as if B be a (moving) WP.

For efficiency, the display would be only updated when A moves, but not when A stands still (even if B moves in the meantime).
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Comments from any interested user on either or both proposals are welcome!

Quote from Xalzia

So will you be removing just the sharing aspect of the waypoints or will you remove the entire waypoint feature?

Thanks for the precision. Only the sharing; personal WP's will remain as they are now, with all their features, except sharing. I have added to the OP a further clarification in this sense.

Quote from Xalzia

I do like the waypoint feature a lot. I don't mind losing the ability to share them though.

I do like WP's too! Thanks for exressing your position about sharing.

I'm replying here to this post by @Jon_miner, as it seems to me to belong here more than there.

Quote from Jon_miner

IMO, The Global WP capability should either 1) Be manageable somehow by only Admins 2) Be removed and replaced with capability of pass a personal WP to another Player 3) Be removed all together.
The Teleport plugin, IMO, is better suited for "World/Global Teleport Points".

I agree; I don't know if you listed those three options in some order; according to my personal preferences, I would rate them in this order:

1) Be removed all together: this would simplify the plug-in a lot (reducing server load and occupation) and, if another plug-in is better, let's it do its job!

then, at some distance:

2) Replaced by a single player-to-player WP pass: not sure how much useful it would be and it would raise a few user experience points, as there should be some UI to allow the receiving player to accept / refuse the sending and to select the destination slot. But, if there are some requests, it might be doable.

3) restrict to Admins: basically, the reasons for 1) still apply: whether it is restricted to admins or generalised to all players, either it makes sense or not; my impression is that it doesn't.

So, I am still inclined to remove the WP sharing feature.

Quote from yahgiggle

Moved by me as this is not a plugin its a discussion about a plugin

Please keep your posts in the right area

I was not sure: it is surely a discussion, but about an exiting plug-in, so in my view it was kind of in between. Anyway, you are the moderator and I respect your decision.

Quote from yahgiggle

@Miwarre this would have been better in your plugin post oO

About this I disagree: threads tend already to wander a lot by themselves; this is a very specific question, for which I was eliciting specific answers; so, for me, it was a separate topic.