Add comprehensive improvement ideas and implementation roadmap

ideas.md

@@ -225,3 +225,224 @@ Matlaging
         Rask til å svare
         Avslappet kommunikasjon
 
+---
+
+# 🚀 Improvement Ideas & Implementation Roadmap
+
+## Current Status Summary (as of December 2025)
+
+The VeganColiving app currently supports:
+- ✅ User authentication and basic profile management
+- ✅ Home listings (browse, register, edit, view details)
+- ✅ Interest/commitment tracking per home
+- ✅ Map view of homes (Leaflet-based)
+- ✅ Localization (English/Norwegian)
+- ✅ Basic community member directory
+- ✅ Multiple images per home
+- ✅ External URL links for homes
+
+---
+
+## 🎯 High Priority Improvements (MVP Enhancement)
+
+### 1. User Preferences & Matching System
+**Impact**: High | **Effort**: Medium
+
+This is the core feature that would differentiate VeganColiving from generic housing sites.
+
+*Note: ApplicationUser already has basic preferences (MinMonthlyRentalPrice, MaxMonthlyRentalPrice, MinFloor, MaxFloor). This enhancement would extend those into a comprehensive system.*
+
+- [ ] Extend existing user preferences or create dedicated `PreferenceSet` entity
+- [ ] Implement preference categories from the list above:
+  - Location (city, country, proximity to transit)
+  - Price range (min/max monthly rent) - *extend existing fields*
+  - Floor preferences - *extend existing fields*
+  - Room specs (furnished, size, availability dates)
+  - Lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, noise, visitors)
+  - Coliving details (residents count, gender mix, age range)
+  - Environmental practices
+- [ ] Add preference editor UI component with "Requirement" vs "Preference" toggle
+- [ ] Build matching engine that scores homes against user preferences
+- [ ] Display match percentage and breakdown on home cards
+- [ ] "Top Matches For You" section on homes page
+
+### 2. Search & Filtering for Homes
+**Impact**: High | **Effort**: Low
+
+Currently the homes page shows all listings without filtering capability.
+
+- [ ] Add filter sidebar/panel with:
+  - City/country dropdown
+  - Price range slider
+  - Capacity filter
+  - Status filter (Potential vs Active)
+  - Availability date picker
+- [ ] Full-text search across titles and descriptions
+- [ ] Sort options: price (low/high), date listed, match score
+- [ ] URL-based filters for shareable searches
+
+### 3. Active Listing Renewal System  
+**Impact**: Medium | **Effort**: Low
+
+Ensures data freshness and user engagement.
+
+*Note: Home entity already has DateListed and DateActivatedUtc. Consider adding renewal tracking either as a field on Home or as a separate audit entity.*
+
+- [ ] Add `LastRenewalUtc` field to Home entity (or create RenewalRecord for audit trail)
+- [ ] Require monthly confirmation that listings are still available
+- [ ] Show "last confirmed" date on listings
+- [ ] Background job to send renewal reminder emails
+- [ ] Auto-archive listings not renewed within 60 days
+- [ ] "Renew" button on home details for owners
+
+### 4. Group Formation & Collaboration
+**Impact**: High | **Effort**: High
+
+Enables the core use case of forming new vegan collectives.
+
+- [ ] Create `Group` entity with members and status (Forming/Active/Closed)
+- [ ] "Create a Group" wizard for users seeking roommates
+- [ ] Show compatibility scores between potential group members
+- [ ] Group chat/discussion thread
+- [ ] Shared wishlist of homes the group is interested in
+- [ ] Waitlist functionality for full groups
+
+---
+
+## 🔧 Medium Priority Improvements
+
+### 5. Enhanced Home Details
+**Impact**: Medium | **Effort**: Low
+
+- [ ] Add floor number field
+- [ ] Structured amenities/facilities (washer, dishwasher, parking, etc.)
+- [ ] Transportation proximity info
+- [ ] Lease term preferences (short/long term)
+- [ ] Availability window (from/to dates)
+- [ ] Square meters / size field for the full home
+
+### 6. User Profile Enhancements  
+**Impact**: Medium | **Effort**: Medium
+
+- [ ] Profile photo upload (replace randomuser.me placeholders)
+- [ ] Bio / "About me" text field
+- [ ] Lifestyle interests tags (activism, cooking, sports, etc.)
+- [ ] Personality indicator (introvert/extrovert/balanced)
+- [ ] Work schedule (day/night/remote)
+- [ ] Languages spoken
+- [ ] Privacy controls (what's visible to non-members)
+- [ ] Optional verification badge
+
+### 7. Direct Messaging
+**Impact**: High | **Effort**: Medium
+
+Essential for users to communicate about listings.
+
+- [ ] User-to-user direct messaging
+- [ ] Thread-based conversations with read status
+- [ ] Email notifications for new messages
+- [ ] Message from home detail page ("Contact owner")
+- [ ] Inbox/conversation list page
+
+### 8. Reviews & Reputation
+**Impact**: Medium | **Effort**: Medium
+
+- [ ] Reviews for existing/active coliving homes
+- [ ] Rating dimensions: cleanliness, location, value, community
+- [ ] "Verified resident" badge for reviews
+- [ ] Review moderation workflow
+
+### 9. Notifications System
+**Impact**: Medium | **Effort**: Low
+
+- [ ] In-app notification center
+- [ ] Notification types: new messages, matches, renewal reminders, interest in your home
+- [ ] Email notification preferences
+- [ ] Real-time updates via SignalR (already available in Blazor Server)
+
+---
+
+## 💡 Lower Priority / Future Ideas
+
+### 10. Semantic Search
+- [ ] Vector embeddings for listings and user preferences
+- [ ] Natural language search queries
+- [ ] AI-powered matching recommendations
+- [ ] Integration with pgvector or similar
+
+### 11. Map Improvements
+- [ ] Marker clustering for dense areas
+- [ ] Filter controls on map view
+- [ ] User location display (with permission)
+- [ ] Distance-based search
+- [ ] Toggle between list and map view seamlessly
+
+### 12. Mobile Experience
+- [ ] Progressive Web App (PWA) support with offline capability
+- [ ] Mobile-optimized navigation
+- [ ] Consider Blazor Hybrid for native mobile app
+
+### 13. Community Features
+- [ ] Events calendar for vegan meetups
+- [ ] Discussion forum or Q&A
+- [ ] Resource library (vegan living tips, recipes)
+- [ ] Success stories section
+
+### 14. Sustainability Scoring
+- [ ] Home sustainability rating system
+- [ ] Criteria: recycling, composting, solar, LED, shared purchasing
+- [ ] Display badge on high-sustainability homes
+
+### 15. Analytics Dashboard
+- [ ] Home owner dashboard (views, clicks, interest count)
+- [ ] Community statistics
+- [ ] Demand heat maps
+
+---
+
+## 🛡️ Technical Improvements
+
+### Security & Privacy
+- [ ] Rate limiting on auth endpoints
+- [ ] Field-level encryption for sensitive data
+- [ ] GDPR data export and deletion features
+- [ ] Magic link authentication option
+
+### Performance
+- [ ] Redis caching for frequently accessed data
+- [ ] Pagination with "load more" for homes list
+- [ ] Image optimization and lazy loading
+- [ ] Consider migrating to PostgreSQL for better JSON/FTS/vector support (currently using SQL Server; Tech Spec recommends PostgreSQL)
+
+### Code Quality
+- [ ] Unit tests for matching/scoring logic
+- [ ] Integration tests for API endpoints
+- [ ] GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline
+- [ ] OpenTelemetry observability setup
+
+---
+
+## 📊 Suggested Implementation Order
+
+**Phase 1 (Weeks 1-4)**: Foundation
+1. Search & Filtering for Homes
+2. User Profile Enhancements (photo, bio)
+3. Active Listing Renewal System
+
+**Phase 2 (Weeks 5-8)**: Core Matching
+1. User Preferences entity & editor
+2. Basic matching engine
+3. Match score display
+
+**Phase 3 (Weeks 9-12)**: Communication
+1. Direct Messaging system
+2. Notifications
+3. Email integration
+
+**Phase 4 (Weeks 13-16)**: Advanced
+1. Group Formation features
+2. Reviews system
+3. Map improvements
+
+**Post-MVP**: Semantic search, mobile app, analytics
+