+Nathan Strum Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Just wondering about the shiny new version of the blogs - when the upgrade might be complete, and what sort of features/fixes can we look forward to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Unfortunately I have not had much time to work on this today. I spent a buttload of time on it yesterday, which involved: Taking the Blog and Gallery modules offline. Performing the software upgrade for both the Blog and Gallery modules. Installing new versions of the following skins: Mobile, Splat, Deflection, and Clean Cut (unfortunately this is not a straightforward process, but thankfully it will be much improved in the next version of the forum software). Updating those skins with minor mods I had previously made (such as the "My Posts" link at the top). Fixing the Blog headers for each of these skins (pain in my ass). Started work on updating the AtariAge skin for the Gallery and Blog, which is a large amount of work.. This is where I got stalled. I also need to update the Classic Blue, IP.Board Pro and IPSBeyond skins, but those should be relatively easy I believe, and I'll turn the Blogs and Gallery back on before I tackle those skins. I just need to finish up the default AtariAge skin before I can do that. I'll be able to spend a lot of time on it tomorrow. So, as far as the improvements go.. Here are the major highlights that Invision posted when they announced the release of IP.Blog 2.1.0: User Interface The user interface has had a complete facelift to bring it up to standard. The new look feels more 'bloggish' and enhances the experience. We have added drop down menus at the top so that you can quickly access common areas and start new entries where you have permission to. The post screen has been overhauled to add functionality. You should find the new version much easier to navigate and easier to use. Group Blogs This is a new feature that allows you, the admin, to set up a group-wide blog. This blog is a normal blog in every other way. For example, you could set up a blog for your staff and everyone in the staff group will instantly be able to start writing new blog entries and managing comments, etc. Blog This! This is a brand new feature that adds a "Blog This" button to every post. This allows you to use post content in your blog entry. Furthermore, the relationship is remembered and all linked blog entries appear at the bottom of the topic when viewed. Per-Entry Rating You can now rate each blog entry rather than just the entire blog itself. The blog rating is still shown on the homepage as an aggregate of all rated entries. Report Item and Reputation You can now report an entire blog entry, or just a single comment. You can now also give someone a reputation increase/decrease in comments. List View A common request was the return of a fully sortable and filterable list view for blogs that emulated a forum view. We have added this in. You'll notice you can click the table headers to sort on that column and click again to reverse the sort. There is also a "List Blogs" sidebar block to quickly filter and list the blogs. There's even a little 'preview the latest entry' icon that shows the entry excerpt in a pop-up so you don't have to leave the page to preview it. Dynamic Sidebar We have moved some the footer links (Top 10 bloggers, etc) into a dynamic sidebar along with Recent Entries. This makes it easier to locate and saves a bit of space. RSS Imports Another long requested feature was to be able to create entries from an RSS feed. This is now a feature. You can control which member groups have access to this as well as limit the number of items imported on each cycle. Banish Entries You can now banish entries from the front page to remove any 'clutter' such as 'testing' blogs or other unsuitable content. Efficiency We have removed several slow queries and introduced several more caching layers to substantially reduce SQL overhead when dealing with large numbers of blogs. There are lots of minor tweaks as well. One thing that I pushed for and they added is the ability to subscribe to individual blog entries so that anytime a new comment is posted, you'll receive an email notification. This makes it MUCH easier to keep track of blog discussions you're in so you can have a look immediately when there are new replies. I also pushed quite a bit for the return of a more usable "List View" as described above. They have also added Categories back as a proper feature, which I'm sure will make many people happy (I complained loudly about this as well). The tags are still there, so you can use both if you'd like. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 Installing new versions of the following skins: Mobile, Splat, Deflection, and Clean Cut (unfortunately this is not a straightforward process, but thankfully it will be much improved in the next version of the forum software). Updating those skins with minor mods I had previously made (such as the "My Posts" link at the top). Fixing the Blog headers for each of these skins (pain in my ass). Started work on updating the AtariAge skin for the Gallery and Blog, which is a large amount of work.. This is where I got stalled. I also need to update the Classic Blue, IP.Board Pro and IPSBeyond skins, but those should be relatively easy I believe, and I'll turn the Blogs and Gallery back on before I tackle those skins. I just need to finish up the default AtariAge skin before I can do that. I realize this is probably a stupid question... but why not just have one skin? Seems to me it'd be a lot less work. I would think most people could happily live with one. List View A common request was the return of a fully sortable and filterable list view for blogs that emulated a forum view. We have added this in. You'll notice you can click the table headers to sort on that column and click again to reverse the sort. There is also a "List Blogs" sidebar block to quickly filter and list the blogs. There's even a little 'preview the latest entry' icon that shows the entry excerpt in a pop-up so you don't have to leave the page to preview it. Yay! Banish Entries You can now banish entries from the front page to remove any 'clutter' such as 'testing' blogs or other unsuitable content. Uh oh... I'd better start writing better entries. Thanks for all your work (and feedback to them to fix/improve stuff). Myself and the two or three people who semi-regularly read my blog appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I realize this is probably a stupid question... but why not just have one skin? Seems to me it'd be a lot less work. I would think most people could happily live with one. Well, yes and now. Yes, it's more work with the additional skins, but it's not as much as you might think. With the previous version of the forum software (2.3.x) there was basically just one skin available, the default "AtariAge" skin. There was also the "Lo-Fi" version of the forum, but that was not handled through a skin as it is now. With the current version of the software (3.x), I have enabled the standard IP.Board skin for everyone, as well as the default "AtariAge" skin. I have also purchased a nice "Mobile" skin for modern cell phones/portable devices, including the iPhone, iPod Touch, Android and Palm Pre/Pixie. I then added several additional skins for Subscribers, which is a nice bonus. These skins include Clean Cut, Splat, Deflection, IP.Board Pro, IPSBeyond, and Classic Blue. Some of them are quite nice in my opinion. When new versions of the forum (or just certain forum modules) are released, sometimes the skins need to be updated, depending on what's changed. For minor updates, oftentimes nothing needs to be done. For more significant updates, there can be more work involved. In the case of the third-party skins (most of which are commercial skins), the skin authors update them so I don't have to. All I need to do is install the updated skin and make any minor modifications I've done, such as the "My Posts" link I mentioned before. Once IP.Board 3.1.0 is released, updating skins will be even easier since there will be a built-in mechanism for doing so (right now it's a bit of a pain--you can't simply install a new version of a skin on top of a current skin). For the default AtariAge skin, I have to do all the work myself to maintain it. The new Blog and Gallery modules I am working on have seen significant changes, especially the blog (as you can see from my earlier post). I basically had to "revert" all of my skin work for these two modules and start from scratch. Mostly it's a lot of CSS changes, but there are HTML/code changes that need to be made to many files as well. This is the really time consuming part, depending on how much effort you want to expend in "tweaking" the skin until you get it just right (there's always something you can improve upon). So, guess what I'm trying to say is the bulk of the work I would have to do regardless, and the extra skins don't add a terrible amount of overhead since other people maintain them. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdub_bobby Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Thanks for the update, and thanks for updating the blog software - the current blog software is pretty bad and IMO a pretty big downgrade from what we had before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Can you possibly delete the current tag cloud content in the DB and recreate it from scratch based on the currently existing entries? The counts in mine were mostly wrong and it even displayed phantom tags like "Microprose" where I had actually removed all matching entries. Otherwise I'm looking forward to the changes, hoping that it's an upgrade instead of a downgrade this time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Have they added the ability to search a specific blog yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Have they added the ability to search a specific blog yet? It doesn't appear so. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Have they added the ability to search a specific blog yet? It doesn't appear so. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Have they added the ability to search a specific blog yet? It doesn't appear so. Thanks. You're welcome. I'm going to suggest Invision add this as a feature, since you can search both individual forums as well as individual threads. It makes sense to extend this to Blogs and Blog Entries as well. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Can you possibly delete the current tag cloud content in the DB and recreate it from scratch based on the currently existing entries? The counts in mine were mostly wrong and it even displayed phantom tags like "Microprose" where I had actually removed all matching entries. I'll look into this once I have the Blog back up. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I'll look into this once I have the Blog back up. ..Al Do you have a time table for having the blogs back up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Have they added the ability to search a specific blog yet? I have a new answer for this. Invision just announced today a HUGE overhaul of the search system. I nearly creamed my pants when I read over everything they've changed. This will include the ability to search individual Blogs and Blog Entries. You can read all about it here: http://community.invisionpower.com/blog/1174/entry-4573-ipboard-310-dev-update-search-overhaul/ I've been complaining about the search system for a long time (it's really one of my pet peeves) and it's fantastic that Invision has basically redone the entire search system from scratch, adding pretty much everything I've wanted to see improved and more beyond even that. :D ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I have put the Blogs back online, although I have only done a small percentage of the work to get the default AtariAge skin looking as I want. So, please ignore any aesthetic issues until I've finished working on the skin. I just haven't had much time this week to work on it, but I didn't want to keep the Blogs offline any longer. Please do feel free to comment on changes to the blog itself. And please explore a bit, not all the changes and improvements are immediately obvious. Don't forget, you can also use the default IP.Board skin (selectable at the bottom of the page), and the Mobile skin can now access the Blogs. For Subscribers, the Clean Cut, Splat and Deflection skins have all been updated for the new blog (I still need to look at the others). I should have the main AtariAge Blog skin updated soon enough--I have a checklist of items I need to update. ..Al 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 As much as I cheered to hear that the categories return, it now actually looks as if I'm supposed to set them again manually for all 300 entries? Or am I just missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I have to be honest and say that I don't at all care for the dual column layout of blog entries. The layout becomes especially constrained if any feature blocks, like tags or search, are added. Is there any way to set things back to a single column? A single column is the universal standard for blog layouts; I think with good reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted March 11, 2010 Author Share Posted March 11, 2010 (edited) I have to be honest and say that I don't at all care for the dual column layout of blog entries. The layout becomes especially constrained if any feature blocks, like tags or search, are added. Is there any way to set things back to a single column? A single column is the universal standard for blog layouts; I think with good reason. I agree. The double column is ghastly. On the main page, you can click on "List all blogs" near the top left of the pile column. That will show a list view (should be that by default, however). It doesn't keep that preference though once you change it. Nor does there seem to be a way to apply a single-column view within individual blogs. Hopefully that can all be fixed... Edited March 11, 2010 by Nathan Strum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdub_bobby Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 (edited) Is there a way to list the blogs you've "favorited" before all other blogs, like before? EDIT: So if you click the "List all blogs" link, that page has a "Favorite Blogs" sidebar, which is handy...except it (a) doesn't list all the favorites and (b) it lists them in reverse order of when they've been last updated - so the oldest, deadest blogs are on top and the newest, liveliest blogs are at the bottom. Or would be, if I didn't have so many favorites. Can this be fixed? EDIT EDIT: It doesn't keep that preference though once you change it. At the bottom of the list page there is a link with the text: "Keep list as blog start page" Click that and the default blog page is the list page. Edited March 11, 2010 by vdub_bobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I think I speak for most when I say I liked the way the blogs were before the forum update last summer. That is, kind of like this: http://web.archive.org/web/20080412074649/www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?automodule=blog It's not so much the format but the way the information was presented all on one page for easy access, that is: Blog name, Member, Entries, View, Last entry desc, Comments, Last comment. The new blogs and previous version had this information scattered around and there was no way to see it all on one page. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted March 11, 2010 Author Share Posted March 11, 2010 (edited) At the bottom of the list page there is a link with the text: "Keep list as blog start page" Click that and the default blog page is the list page. Now how could I have missed that? I think I speak for most when I say I liked the way the blogs were before the forum update last summer. That is, kind of like this: http://web.archive.org/web/20080412074649/www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?automodule=blog I agree. Even to the point of actually having used the + button to "vote this post up" for the very first time. I feel empowered. Edited March 11, 2010 by Nathan Strum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted March 11, 2010 Author Share Posted March 11, 2010 (edited) Guess what's missing from one of these entries? That's right! All of the images The "Read Full Story" link If you click on "Comments", then you can see the full blog entry, with images. However, they didn't hide the "Comments" link at the bottom right-hand side of the page, so I had a hard time finding it. Edited March 11, 2010 by Nathan Strum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 As much as I cheered to hear that the categories return, it now actually looks as if I'm supposed to set them again manually for all 300 entries? Or am I just missing something? I'll have to investigate this. I have to be honest and say that I don't at all care for the dual column layout of blog entries. The layout becomes especially constrained if any feature blocks, like tags or search, are added. Is there any way to set things back to a single column? A single column is the universal standard for blog layouts; I think with good reason. I don't like the dual column look at all either. Trust me, it's on my list to change. It doesn't keep that preference though once you change it. Nor does there seem to be a way to apply a single-column view within individual blogs. I'll be changing this, no need to fear. I think I speak for most when I say I liked the way the blogs were before the forum update last summer. That is, kind of like this: http://web.archive.org/web/20080412074649/www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?automodule=blog It's not so much the format but the way the information was presented all on one page for easy access, that is: Blog name, Member, Entries, View, Last entry desc, Comments, Last comment. The new blogs and previous version had this information scattered around and there was no way to see it all on one page. Most of this information is presented in the new 'List View', however, I agree that the default layout is less than optimal. I will be changing it back so all the information is in proper columns and formatted better. Again, I haven't had a chance to attack the aesthetics of the blog and stuff like this, but I will be doing so soon. Guess what's missing from one of these entries? That's right! All of the images The "Read Full Story" link Not sure why the images are being shown as icons like that, pretty strange. I'll take a look at both of these problems. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted March 12, 2010 Author Share Posted March 12, 2010 Thanks again for all the work Albert. I'm sure it's no fun filtering through all the complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 Thanks again for all the work Albert. I'm sure it's no fun filtering through all the complaints. I think it'll be fine once I'm able to put a good day's worth of effort into it. It has a pretty good foundation now, just needs to be properly skinned so it fits in better with the rest of the AtariAge skin, and fixing issues like the dual-column layout on the main and blog pages (this better be trivial to fix or I'm not going to be happy!) It's possible there's even a setting for that, although I'm not getting my hopes up. I'll also see if I can make the "List View' the default, instead of the much less useful "just throw a bunch of blogs onto the page" default layout.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted March 12, 2010 Author Share Posted March 12, 2010 I'll also see if I can make the "List View' the default, instead of the much less useful "just throw a bunch of blogs onto the page" default layout.. I prefer to call it "the monkeys throwing handfuls of crap at a wall" layout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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