Igor's list

[ram1009 42]

5 hours ago, millefleur said:

Lock people out of their accounts (or at least from posting in forums) unless they update their timelines...? That might be a little mean, just brainstorming here... 

How would you detect a failure to update???

[millefleur 5,043]

6 hours ago, ram1009 said:

How would you detect a failure to update???

No idea if it is possible or not. I just figured if someone started a timeline (so they at least filled in some of it) and had no updated it for x number of months (assuming within normal processing times as per USCIS), that it would send some kind of message/block from posting in the forum...but again, no idea if this is even a thing. Just wanted to throw it out there in case Ewok has similar ideas.

[ram1009 42]

8 hours ago, millefleur said:

No idea if it is possible or not. I just figured if someone started a timeline (so they at least filled in some of it) and had no updated it for x number of months (assuming within normal processing times as per USCIS), that it would send some kind of message/block from posting in the forum...but again, no idea if this is even a thing. Just wanted to throw it out there in case Ewok has similar ideas.

I've been thinking about this and there might be a way.  It's not possible to force people to update their timeline but it might be possible to compel members to log into their timeline at least once a month or be suspended as "inactive".  I'm thinking that if members log into their timeline page they will update the page while there.  I would.  Inactive members don't necessarily have to be dropped from Igor's list but they should be conspicuously identified and maybe another category added omitting inactive members from the list at the users discretion.  Anybody listening??????

[millefleur 5,043]

2 hours ago, ram1009 said:

I've been thinking about this and there might be a way.  It's not possible to force people to update their timeline but it might be possible to compel members to log into their timeline at least once a month or be suspended as "inactive".  I'm thinking that if members log into their timeline page they will update the page while there.  I would.  Inactive members don't necessarily have to be dropped from Igor's list but they should be conspicuously identified and maybe another category added omitting inactive members from the list at the users discretion.  Anybody listening??????

These are good ideas!

 

Ewok does seem to be checking in on this thread, so hopefully he'll read it.

[Captain Ewok 1,871]

Timeline changes are typically less than once a month.  We do send out reminders on email but perhaps we could add a pop-up on the site from time to time asking people to update their timeline.

[theresaL 408]

On 6/20/2019 at 12:29 PM, Captain Ewok said:

We very much care about Igor’s list. Do you have any suggestions on areas we can improve it?  It shows the under laying data behind those charts. 

Could  I-751 Nebraska Service Center data be added to the list since many of us have either been transferred or directly sent there for processing ?? Currently there is only data from 2009 and nothing going forward.

[ram1009 42]

19 minutes ago, Captain Ewok said:

Timeline changes are typically less than once a month.  We do send out reminders on email but perhaps we could add a pop-up on the site from time to time asking people to update their timeline.

OK, if timeline changes typically happen in less than a month (except NOA2) then is shouldn't be a burden at all to expect members to log in once a month in order to be considered "active" and remain on Igor's list.  My suggestion is meant to remedy what several people have brought up (including yourself) that the percentages on Igor's list are skewed by the fact that some members fail to update their timelines in a timely manner.  If inactive members could be factored out maybe members would consider the list more realistic.  Personally, I think timelines are the "heartbeat" of VJ and I wouldn't mind more emphasis on keeping them updated.

[Captain Ewok 1,871]

On 6/28/2019 at 1:37 PM, ram1009 said:

OK, if timeline changes typically happen in less than a month (except NOA2) then is shouldn't be a burden at all to expect members to log in once a month in order to be considered "active" and remain on Igor's list.  My suggestion is meant to remedy what several people have brought up (including yourself) that the percentages on Igor's list are skewed by the fact that some members fail to update their timelines in a timely manner.  If inactive members could be factored out maybe members would consider the list more realistic.  Personally, I think timelines are the "heartbeat" of VJ and I wouldn't mind more emphasis on keeping them updated.

So are you thinking last time on the site, or last time their timeline was updated (most do not touch the timeline for several month until they reach a new milestone)?

[ram1009 42]

2 hours ago, Captain Ewok said:

So are you thinking last time on the site, or last time their timeline was updated (most do not touch the timeline for several month until they reach a new milestone)?

I don't think it matters how frequently/infrequently timeline events occur.  When members log on then can be taken directly to their timeline page and a popup banner can tell them that they must update (if necessary) and click "save".  Clicking save allows them to leave the page whether they have updated or not.  My feeling is that if their timeline is right in front of them they will update it if necessary.  Once they click "save" they are considered active again for purposes of Igor's list.  Inactive members should be grayed out on Igor's list or possibly removed entirely since their inclusion in the math can only skew any conclusions.

 

Of course, I'm looking at this from the outside and you have a much better vantage point to judge if this would accomplish its goals.  I think you all  have done a good job so far so I'm sure you'll make the right choice.

[ram1009 42]

On 7/3/2019 at 10:42 PM, ram1009 said:

I don't think it matters how frequently/infrequently timeline events occur.  When members log on then can be taken directly to their timeline page and a popup banner can tell them that they must update (if necessary) and click "save".  Clicking save allows them to leave the page whether they have updated or not.  My feeling is that if their timeline is right in front of them they will update it if necessary.  Once they click "save" they are considered active again for purposes of Igor's list.  Inactive members should be grayed out on Igor's list or possibly removed entirely since their inclusion in the math can only skew any conclusions.

 

Of course, I'm looking at this from the outside and you have a much better vantage point to judge if this would accomplish its goals.  I think you all  have done a good job so far so I'm sure you'll make the right choice.

I forgot to mention one thing.  My  plan would require an "inactivity timeout" meaning that members would automatically be logged out after a period (maybe an hour) of inactivity on the site.  Otherwise, members would (as I do) stay logged in permanently between visits.

[Shiran 1,134]

Request members put their USCIS numbers, and automatically pull data from "old" site. The Receipt number doesn't need to be made visible to anybody, except the owner of the timeline. This is not different from what gazillion of Android apps do. And someone actually created scanning website at some point that polled that data as well, but I think he stopped maintaining it. 

It is relatively easy to automate polling "old" site. I have personal spread sheet that just that https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/mycasestatus.do?appReceiptNum=MSCXXXXXXXXXX substitute XXXXXXXXXX for your numbers and MSC for WAC or what have you. 

Now I do believe USCIS will lock you out after however many scans, so one will have to be mindful of that, or use multiple servers/VPNs. 

[Captain Ewok 1,871]

15 minutes ago, Shiran said:

Request members put their USCIS numbers, and automatically pull data from "old" site. The Receipt number doesn't need to be made visible to anybody, except the owner of the timeline. This is not different from what gazillion of Android apps do. And someone actually created scanning website at some point that polled that data as well, but I think he stopped maintaining it. 

It is relatively easy to automate polling "old" site. I have personal spread sheet that just that https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/mycasestatus.do?appReceiptNum=MSCXXXXXXXXXX substitute XXXXXXXXXX for your numbers and MSC for WAC or what have you. 

Now I do believe USCIS will lock you out after however many scans, so one will have to be mindful of that, or use multiple servers/VPNs. 

The lat part is what's tough.  We would want to pull several hundred k inquiries per day...

[Shiran 1,134]

4 minutes ago, Captain Ewok said:

The lat part is what's tough.  We would want to pull several hundred k inquiries per day...

Sounds like a perfect opportunity for VJ branded USCIS tracker app  with adsense support. Spread the polling across people using the app.

[Captain Ewok 1,871]

All ideas are on the table :-).  If you are a developer, let's talk!

[Simplytex 387]

On 7/13/2019 at 6:36 PM, Captain Ewok said:

All ideas are on the table 🙂

Sorry to resurrect a dormant thread... 💀

But as I'm currently an I130 filer, I've been more active in using this site once again (many moons ago, on a different account, did an F1 AOS for the now ex... 🥴)

But I do actually do quite a bit of "software user feedback" in my current role, though I'm not a developer. Some comments from me about Igor's List and the Trends page, related to I130.

• It seems like the I130 Trends page has a chart for NBC, but this is 'old', if I understand correctly. Additionally, the I130 trends page doesn't have a chart for Potomac?
• Igors List (looking at I130 timelines) doesn't match up with timelines that reflect a transfer of service center:
  

You can see in this example, that Npher, Jen, and Lecitania were all transfers, but they show up on Igor's List for TSC... and yet Samuel doesn't show up on TSC, even though not a transfer? (Does Samuel not show up on the list, because their PD was >12mo in the past? Just thinking, this might be an artifact of when filing times were 6-8 mo, instead of 10+, and so now we have data falling out of the desired viewing range...)

• Last thing, is when using the timeline explorer, I often switch to Advanced Mode to get more detail. The page stays like this, until I choose to filter by "Serv. Center (Xfer)" and click Set Filter, then it switches back to normal view (and if I click Advanced mode, it then removes the Transfer Service Center filter.) I've found that I can manually work around it by adding the "&adv=1" to the parameter arguments string in the URL, which is fine for me...