Selection in portal list changes unexpectedly
magicmarkus
✭✭
Problem description: In the portal list provided during linking the selected portal may change unexpectedly and can therefore lead to the creation of unwanted links.
Detail description: When linking from a portal the agent is provided with a horizontal list of a possible target portals from which the desired link target portal can be selected. After the agent confirms the selection the link creation is started, the target portal is removed from the list and the next portal is selected. The agent can then immediately choose the next portal to link to.
If the link however is not fully completed within a relative short period of time (due to slow server response, slow network, etc.) the portal is reinserted into the list. If the portal selected at that moment is after (i.e. further away) the reinserted portal, the selection is changed to one portal prior the current selection. When the agent was just now about to confirm the next link, there might not be enough time to react to the changed selection and an unwanted link is created.
Furthermore if the original link is finally confirmed by the server, the reinserted portal is again removed from the list. This again causes a selection change and it selects one portal after the current selection. Here is another chance to create an unwanted link. This behavior is also very hard to predict, since the final confirmation can take quite some time and with rapid linking is it possible to schedule multiple links before the first one is confirmed.
I did have instances where one slow link caused me to create two unwanted links, because of the two selection changes. And although I am aware of this problem and I am extra careful before confirming a link, I sometimes still create unwanted links because the timing of the selection changes is unpredictable.
Side node: When trying to create a link to a reinserted portal (again) there is an immediate error message indicating that the link already exists.
Solution: The portal list must never change a selection made by the agent, even when the list is modified. Changing the selection has always the risk of creating an unwanted link.
I did observe this problem up to the current version 2.115.4 on Android 10.
Comments
The problem still exists with version 2.116.2
This is part of a more general problem that the scanner is very bad at remembering which item in a carousel was selected when it inserts or deletes other things from the carousel (see also: managing your keys, where you select several items to recycle and when you press the button the selection jumps; same with managing inventory items; same when filling KCs and the KC consumes some of your inventory). This stuff shouldn't be rocket surgery.
The problem still exists with version 2.117.1
The problem still exists with version 2.118.1
The problem still exists with version 2.119.1
The problem still exists with version 2.120.1
The problem still exists with version 2.121.1
The problem still exists with version 2.124.2
Sometimes list can show totally unlinkable portals. Problem if quick linking is a game style
The scanner should 'contemplate chaos before link' :>
I've had this happen to me to a few times, messes up your field plan for sure. Slowing down is the only thing that helps...
It will always show links above 200 km with no actual checks. It's been like that since the game's start.