Hi all,
The title almost says it all but I’ll try to elaborate.
What
I think this specific widget (Visitors in Real-Time) needs an icon that will let us know with just a glance whether the widget is still regularly fetching new events from the server. Maybe a plug+socket icon right next to the “Play” icon?
Why
The reason I’m suggesting this additional icon that might seem like unneeded crowding: I have two websites with distinct hosts, I have installed Piwik on both and I have a laptop that I move from office to home and vice-versa, putting it in sleep or hibernation. I OFTEN (actually, almost everyday) notice that the Visitors in Real-Time fails to resume activity like I’m expecting it to. On both sites.
Having Firebug open quite often, I’ve also noticed that a mere 10-second network failure is enough to stall the regular requests. A single 300 or 500 class HTTP error effectively stops the automatic refresh for good.
All that, in my eyes, makes the widget unreliable and it’s a shame.
How
I suggest that an icon informs users of the status of the refresh: the widget loads with a green icon that remains green as long as each successive network request is successfully completed. As soon as a request fails, whatever the reason, the icon turns red.
Even better, when a request fails, the widget moves on to a longer interval timer, say 3 minutes and shows a third icon meaning that the widget has backed off regarding the frequent updates and it is now in active standby. Now, THAT would be a killer widget
OK, the elaboration turned out longer than I expected but you got the idea.