4.0 Ramblings

1. 4.0 Ramblings

   #1

   This is more an exercise to keep track of what I do for my own record as well as a motivator. If I think somebody cares then I am more apt to keep from falling into the doldrums.
   
   
   http://strolen.com/main4
   
   
   Step one. Upgrading to Bootstrap 2.0 (beta) and getting rid of the jqueryui which is a lot of overhead for the few things it provides. The pretty buttons most everywhere, tabbing and the sliding in the user panel. All that can be done with lighter code (some now even included in bootstrap!). CSS for the jqueryui is huge too. So slimmer is better.
   
   
   So that will probably be the work for the next little bit. That and cleaning up the login code to minimize what is snagged.
   
   
   I mentioned in another thread that the style will remain pretty basic while we work on the ebook. Once that is done I will decide if I want to drop another dime and get the designer to help me with webpage design as well. Will still mess with colors and backgrounds and stuff but will concentrate on making it easier to customize and theme. Current one is actually pretty plain with only the most basic of modifications and such.
   
   
   So it begins!

2. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

   #2

   FOILED.
   
   jqueryui has autocomplete which is so darn easy to use and it is already working. No easy replacement for that. Will leave that working for now but still replace the other parts. Trimmed down .js and I cleaned all the .css but still..... Other additions will probably require extra code as well. Guess I will eventually have to pick the best of the two evils.

3. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

   #3

   Why not make a custom jQueryUI distro? They've got the tools right there on the website; you pick what modules you want, and they generate all the minified code and CSS that you need for it. No more, no less. I'm currently doing it for a webapp I'm building for a client; when I needed to add Autocomplete, I just rebuilt the distro and swapped out the included files. It took maybe 20 minutes, and that was mostly me figuring out exactly what modules I was already using.
   
   http://jqueryui.com/download

4. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

   #4

   I did. But even with that it is still 20kb for minimum core UI with autocomplete and then whatever I can parse the 20kb css down to. Just a lot of bloat for the core infrastructure that is made to do way more than just autocomplete. When I was using accordian, autocomplete and tabs it made more sense. But now that bootstrap handles that I only really want one feature from it I would rather lose the weight.
   
   Will have to look at it as I go though, it has a lot of cool features that I haven't found a way to use yet. If it is worth it, it is worth it.
   

5. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

   #5

   Sick of netbeans. Love the CTRL-S save local and remote but I can't stand the autoquotes that it forces on me everytime. Yes, I unchecked that option but it doesn't care and am running the most recent. Reading forums many have this issue that is "fixed."
   
   So giving PhpStorm a try. A bonus that it supports all the versioning styles so may mess with bitbucket again for fun. Anybody have a preference? I still have a sourceforge account as well but nothing else. Although I did take a look at Springloops but only allows one other user and I couldn't figure out the interface in the 20 minutes I wasted trying.
   
   By the way, Teriyaki Boyz -> thumbs up

6. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

   #6

   Netbeans is in the trash for now. PhpStorm is my new favorite. Local versioning, great closing bracket identification, nice autocomplete, excellent sync and conflict resolution on upload. Just does a ton of sweet stuff that netbeans did poorly or I didn't notice being useful until this new interface.
   
   Happy!

7. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

   #7

   Testing main Citadel bracket linking mod. If this works you should be able to use all the bracket linking that is available on the main site.
   
   [Random Castle History Tables]

8. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

   #8

   Forgot, have to do double brackets on either side because of the platform. :(  Not as easy as I thought.
   
   Random Castle History Tables

9. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

   #9

   Well, was going to get the local storage thing going as it is a very simple process but, alas, the damn text editor has major issues allowing it. ckeditor
   
   Upgraded again to the most recent that is starting to support HTML5 but because it is built on top of the forms, you can't just use the local storage stock. You have to do some gymnastics to get to the ckeditor state of it. It is a beast and if there was a better alternative I would be happy to change it!
   
   So nothing is easy.
   
   Will keep trying though as it would be cool: https://github.com/simsalabim/sisyphus/pull/13 seems to say it will work but not for me. Author seems to think he will get to it after the holidays so will try this implementation again in a few weeks.
   
   On a side note, I cleaned a ton of code on the frontpage ( the new one - strolen.com/main4 ) and am about ready to move on to the browsing pages.

10. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #10

    CKEditor is a true pain in the ass. Even programming a plugin for it was insanely hard. Took far too long for what I wanted to do. I do not envy you your task.

11. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #11

    Still playing around with it little bits at a time.
    
    http://strolen.com/main4
    
    Those scroller with the categories would be links. Need to tie them together so they both move but not sure I want to keep them yet. Just playing with it.
    
    Go see the submission page by clicking on any main sub and check out the comments. Except for those button colors, which I think can be made to blend better, what are your thoughts of that? Trying to minimize the shown information that you really don't need.

12. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #12

    ooooh! I think the stuff to the left of any given sub, in black, with the gray archway and horned skull and the bright blue stuff underneath looks awesome!

13. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #13

    Is it supposed to move. Ticker style? That made me ill in about 20 seconds... :)
    Please no ticker.....
    
    

14. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #14

    I like the ticker-style slow-roll!!  :) It only does it if you hover over it, val. How bad can that be?

15. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #15

    On my iPad, it stayed scrolling. There is no mouse cursor on that device...
    

16. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #16

    From ipads and such, I think I would hide it completely for those views.
    
    How does http://curiosity.discovery.com/ look on the ipad? That is where I got the idea. If they have it working there then I just have to figure out some new code.

17. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #17

    Interestingly enough - your implementation is better :)  The scrolling allows for the headers to fit if ones waits for them to crawl into view.
    
    However, they do not appear to do anything when I touch them.
    
    The curiosity site does not fit on my ipad's screen and does not allow me to scroll sideways to see the cut off headings. they do however allow me to click them when viewable.
    

18. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #18

    Thanks for taking a look! I have not made them into links yet. Just initial playing around.

19. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #19

    Please, please, please, and for the love of all that is and is not holy, no sidescrolling tabs! I beg of you!

20. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #20

    The "main4" experiment is hereby canceled. I had a meeting with myself and decided it sucks. However, the experimenting with the twitter bootstrap was a lot of fun and there are a lot of benefits from using it that the current site doesn't have. The main part is that if I do it right it will form better for phones/ipads and such.
    
    Even though I am keeping the same style, there will be some subtle changes...to most of the site. The frontpage will get a makeover. I had a 3rd party assessment done of it and, while it works OK for us users that travel to the Citadel often, it is not very helpful to random Joe Newbie. I think we knew that, you may have, but I didn't realize the extent of it.
    
    No side-scrollers. Down with the devilz.
    
    

21. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #21

    Whew! Ok, I'm sure the shaking will stop soon now that the danger has passed.

22. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #22

    The new look is nice. It threw me for a second until I realized that the tabs had been moved to the right sidebar. The size of the menu bar is a bit large and pushes the search over the top of the "Most Recent" header. Overall, though,  :up:
    
    It's comforting to see the site continue growing and changing.

23. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #23

    Ahh, thanks for that observation. I design on a 4350 wide screen so it doesn't wrap for me. :)
    
    Still a work in progress so will mess with that to make it look better on 1024 monitors!
    
    Thank you!
    
    
    

24. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #24

    That wrapping you saw was more problematic than I thought. Any smaller screen sizes and it just got worse. Phones trying to see would be horrible. So I had to redesign the header around it a bit....and put in my old favorite font for the title. Not sure if I am the only one but...
    
    Going to start moving the new header through the site. Bigger issue than it sounds because I am converting the boilerplate I was using to the twitter bootstrap version which is just frick'n awesome and fun to use!. Also messing with a few other small things that I have had on my todo list forever.
    
    Will get the quest up as well.

25. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #25

    that big bar, seems...too big. Any chance of "recent comments" and "random subs" bars again?

26. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #26

    I don't disagree with you and we can figure something out to make us happy.
    
    The reason for all the changes was I got the opportunity for a free web impact assessment from http://menwithpens.ca/ and jumped on it. In a 20 minute voice review of the homepage they went through a lot of issues and confusion that would be had by a newbie just getting to the site.  I am slowly trying to incorporate ALL the suggestions whether I agree with them or not. The request was centered on attracting new authors to the site and since they came in with a very fresh perspective and understanding what we are trying to do (he was a roleplayer too so he gets us) he made a lot of suggestions to simplify, explain and make it more obvious what we do and what we want visitors to do.
    
    I am meeting a lot of resistance with myself to implement some things but I am slowly getting there. I told myself going into it that I was going to go for it but it is harder than I thought. Many of my opinions and thoughts keep encroaching. Which is why I moved on to some other pages for a break. Homepage isn't done yet but it is a good start with the suggestions given.
    
    So that is the reason for the changes. The perspective recieved there will push some other changes elsewhere to hopefully make the site more understandable and enticing to newbies as well as maybe reintroduce some features that have been around but not really noticed or taken advantage of. I spend so much time building features I knowingly skip the documentation...because that isn't the fun part. Now I am slowly retracing my steps (and my code) to figure out what I built and how to explain it.
    
    Won't be any huge updates but I am committed to the grind. Stuff I started but didn't finish (tracking collaborators as was mentioned yesterday) and other things will be fully implemented and somehow explained.
    
    So that is what I am doing right now. Feedback is always welcome and I will put it in my pocket.
    
    Recent comments I am thinking is handled by the recent activity for the moment. The random could be brought back at some point but probably not on the front page. There are random in your Citadel Profile page, random unvoted anyway which is probably better. Author page will get a rework to in order to make it easier to use.
    
    Lots to do. All aimed and better explaining things and making thing easier to find and use....I hope.

27. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #27

    Well, ok, sounds good then. A kind of combination of spring cleaning, consultative review, and newbie magnetization  :)
    
    Excited to see what the end result looks and feels like!

28. Re: 4.0 Ramblings

    #28

    Phase 1a.ff45 of the category list pages is sort of done for now. Done enough to give it a rest for awhile to get some perspective.
    
    Now these pages I am definitely willing to add some crap to!

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