SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
Site Stuff => Announcements => Topic started by: shavethewhales on June 25, 2008, 11:55:15 PM
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The sixth major revision to SDCFans is underway. Right now pretty much everything is functional except for the user controls. I'll be attempting to integrate the main site's user features with the forums, so it may be awhile until you can post comments on the main site.
A lot more stuff broke than I thought, but I got pretty much everything that I needed to stay up for done right now. There's a lot of styling issues to go back and fix.
Anyway, tell me about any browser bugs you encounter. I think I've got it pretty well adjusted for Firefox and IE7, but I haven't had a chance to try IE6 yet - I'm sure it's as bad or worse than the old site there.
The ride attraction pages and some of the other content pages have been totally skrewed. I'll be re-doing them anyway I guess.
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Wow. I opened the main page and was like "WTH!"
;)
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As I said before, I like the new look.
I'm wondering, though, why you have White Water listed as "WWB Info". White Water in Branson is White Water. White Water in Oklahoma City became White Water Bay when it sold to Frontier City.
Also, how about a tab for "Other HFE Enterprises"?
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^I'll make those changes tonight.
Additionally, I'll be whipping out a calendar feature later tonight as well, though it will lack the color-coded feature that displays the guesstimated attendance level of the given day. I'll add that in later. Hopefully I'll get around to adding an RSS feed as well, for the few who actually use them.
I'll also be working on the new attraction review system, which will replace the static pages used now. The park info pages are being left in their crappily formatted state for now due to this.
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You rock!
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Spoke too soon again. The Calendar is actually done (well, enough for now), but I ran out of time to add it to the site, and I know what to do for the RSS feeds now, but I spent a lot of time trying to figure out whether or not my server would support PHP5 so it didn't get done either. I'll get those features up in the next couple of days.
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I like the new site too! Great job Steve!
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Does anyone have any comments on how the site works for them? What do you all think of the tabbed news box? I still have a lot of changes to make, including a lot of styling on the news pages and especially some of the content pages, but as far as getting to the content, is everything working all right?
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^The events pages and calendar are pretty screwed up right now but you just put them up so they'll be fixed soon I'd suppose.
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I like the tabbed news box a lot. I also really like the latest posts feature.
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^The events pages and calendar are pretty screwed up right now but you just put them up so they'll be fixed soon I'd suppose.
Yeah, I plan to sort out the events and news pages eventually. I'll add a side menu that sorts the news/events into months and then a select box so you can choose news/events for each separate park. Plus, that calendar will be fixed up to show crowd levels and events better.
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Sorry for all the errors and down-time today, but I got the new login system for the main site working - sort of. When you log in on the main site it sends you to the forums, so you have to type sdcfans.com back into your address bar and hit the site again. I'll try to fix that tomorrow. Still, you can now write comments on news stories again and write reviews for your favorite rides using the new attraction database.
I'll be rolling out the new main site profiles and maybe some other stuff tomorrow.
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UUUUUUUUGG
I wasted away several hours today trying to get the login box to redirect back to the page logged in from, but to no avail. So for right now I simply added a couple of links from the forums back to the main site. See the new 'Main Site' tab? Should have added that by now anyway.
I'm moving on to the new user photo and video modules now - I'll fix this later.
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The Main Site tab is something we've needed for quite some time. I'm sorry I didn't actually ask for it before you added it.
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Redirects can be a pain.
I always enter the forum here:
http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?action=unread
That's the standard SMF way of displaying new, unread posts. I realize I don't see the main page content at sdcfans.com, but I figure that if there's anything there I need to see, someone will link to it from within the forum. I subscribe to several other SMF-based forums that are wrapped within a website or wiki (and I even own/administrate one), and that's how they work best.
And by the way... thank you, thank you, thank you for choosing SMF instead of phpBB or vBulletin!
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So there's some weird stuff going on right now with certain aspects of the site.
Some of the content that was on the History pages isn't showing up anymore, even though it's in the database, and I can't see why. Also, the login on the main site no longer works, and I had it fixed finally so that it would redirect. I don't know how stuff like this randomly breaks all the sudden, but I'll get it fixed as soon as I can get around to it.
Also, I would have been done with the user photos feature by now, but I've been having some weird troubles with some code there as well...
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The login sort of works now, and the user photo galleries are really coming along.
By the way, the comment boxes on new stories are working now, as well as the user reviews for all SDC/CC rides, attractions, and eateries. Tell me if any bugs pop up though, a lot of this stuff is turning out a lot rougher than it should've.
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The user galleries are finally done - I think. I need some help from you guys to test the system out. Head over to the main site and click the 'Your Profile' link in the little blue bar under the big banner (If this isn't showing up, you may need to log out of the forums and log back in again manually).
From there it should be easy enough to figure out what to do. Click on the Upload Photos link, add a gallery, upload some photos, and try deleting them and the gallery. It should all work, but it's hard to test it myself because I code for what I will do.
Keep in mind that I'm not done styling things yet. The table that holds the gallery information, for example, is really crappy looking. Luckily, after this and the video feature is done, I'll be able to focus on things like that and finish this upgrade up.
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^Most of it worked fine in Firefox. I was able to add a gallery, upload some random sample photos from my computer, and delete the photos. I actually never tried to delete an individual photo. I just tried to delete the entire album. When I did that, it deleted all the photos, but my album still shows up. The thing is, I can't edit anything relating to the album (title, description) because it tells me the album doesn't exist. Yet it's listed as an album. Kinda weird.
EDIT: Nevermind. I did all of the above in Internet Explorer. When I try to log in to the main site using Firefox, it takes me to the forums. When I click to go back to the main site to view my profile it gives me the prompt to log in again. I can't do anything regarding my profile on the main site in Firefox because it won't let me log in to the main site, only the forums.
EDIT #2: FYI, I'm at work and the version of Firefox they have is old (1.0.7), so that might have a lot to do with it.
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Ah, so it's actually deleting the album, but it's holding on to the entry in the database - I'll fix that right away.
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The login on the main site is down currently. It got really buggy, so I'm going to have to re-do it.
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Man, sorry you are having all these bugs popping up on you.
Good luck on having a speedy and "easier" time with the rest of your upgrade
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Alright, so now the login on the main site works a little better (though it will not remember you: when you close your browser you log off), but the log out function is partially broken. If you go from the main site straight to the forums, the log out won't work. To log out you need to go through a page or two on the forums, then click Logout. Yet another thing I'll fix soon - it's just really weird making the forum code work with the main site.
Anyway, I'm about to crap out the video module and then I'll fix up the news and events pages a bit. That will almost finish up this upgrade, leaving a few superficial things to add like a new footer, a rotating banner and events box on the home page, and a fixing up some of the old content that got messed up somewhere in this upgrade. Oh yeah - I almost forgot that I was also going to whip up some new T-shirt designs and look into a new forum skin.
I'm about to go on a short trip though, so the rest of this will have to wait until mid next week.
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^Thanks for all your hard work, Steve! The site is great! What's the video module?
Enjoy your trip! :)
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I really like the new look and all the user features. I've been away (I'm still away actually) and it all looks really great. I can't wait to use some of the user features later on.
It looks like the site is getting closer to being community driven just like you wanted though! Great job!
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Anyone getting the main site login to work? It seemed like I had fixed it, but now it's down again... I'll have to look into it again tomorrow.
I just noticed again how much content is still messed up, I'll try to get that fixed as soon as possible.
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^Nope, I'm not getting the login on the main site to work. When I log in it transfers me to the forums, and when I click to go back to the main site I'm not logged in any more.
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^^It's always worked for me. I haven't had any problems with it. I haven't mentioned this but I love the new Main Site tab here on the forums. Makes things A LOT easier.
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What about now? I don't know how solid it is, but it works most of the time for me now. It's kind of dependent on the individual browser and what sessions are being carried. Someday I'll figure something better out.
Anyway, I'll crap out the video thing tonight. It'll only actually be a title and a place to paste the embed code from youtube. I thought about using several other methods, but I don't want to mess with all that right now. It's simplest just to upload to youtube.
Also, most of the content has been fixed up. The Lost SDC concepts in particular are looking better now.
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^Yep, it is still working for me. I think being able to upload videos on the site will be a great thing. I bet we can find some great stuff.
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Ugh, it's still not working well enough, and it's not the only thing that still isn't working.
Sometimes coding on this site just wears me out. I spent a long time today trying to figure out a bug, only to find that my code was perfect - my database is just outdated or not functioning correctly.
I'm just going to design some t-shirts now. :P
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Woo! I just figured out how to solve the log in/log out problems! I should have it all fixed tonight, and everything should run smoothly here on out. I really had to dig to figure it out, but it was actually right there in front of me the whole time...
Anyway, I've also added a sort by month feature to the news and events pages, and I've fixed up the site footer a bit.
If I can finish the video feature tonight (I just need to figure out the youtube API), then this upgrade will be more or less complete.
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Woohoo! That looks great right now. I love the new footer Steve!
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^^Cool! Thanks for all the hard work, Steve! :D
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The shop is back online now with a new t-shirt design as well as a keychain and stickers. Don't rush to buy a t-shirt yet though unless you really like the plain design, because I plan to knock out a few more designs tomorrow that will be a little more upbeat. Once I gain a few more photoshop skills I'll try out a few more ambitious ideas I have. Also, I plan to buy one myself to test out Zazzle's quality, so you may want to wait until I can give you an honest review.
Oh yeah - the video feature is now fully functional along with pretty much everything else. Feel free to write an attraction review, upload photos and videos, or comment on my news commentary.
I just need to add a log out button on the main site and fix a few IE bugs - then the site will be pretty solid for the first time in months. Time to start on the next upgrade! ;)
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I just need to add a log out button on the main site and fix a few IE bugs - then the site will be pretty solid for the first time in months. Time to start on the next upgrade! ;)
Lol, that is what I was just thinking. But the site definitely looks the best that it ever has. Great work Steve!
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Woo! I just figured out how to solve the log in/log out problems! I should have it all fixed tonight, and everything should run smoothly here on out.
Are you sure? When I go to the Main Site, it kicks me out, and I have to log in again (using Firefox 2.0.0.4).
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^Does it work after you log in the second time? It should be hooked directly to the forums, so it may have something to do with the particular way you've set your log in settings on the forum. Anyone else have any problems like this?
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I am using Firefox. The site looks and functions great. You ave out done yourself this time.
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I don't know, it's kind of strange. Just a quirk I guess. Sometimes it kicks me out, and other times I can go to a variety of other sites and return to discover I'm still logged in. It's not anything you need to worry about though. I'll try to pay attention to see if it's something in particular that I'm doing.
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Ah, I've just remembered that I never fixed the main site log out. That's why you stay logged in there even while you've logged off the forums. You can only log off the main site by closing your browser after logging off the forums for now. Another thing I'll fix as soon as I can.
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Another issue I found was that I commented the ThuNderaTion 15 year story and my comment never showed up on the site. Do you have to approve it first or something?
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^Should work now, sorry about that. I'm also adding editing and delete options to comments and reviews.
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^All right, thanks. What about the SDCFans Myspace and Facebook pages we were talking about? Is that part of the current upgrade? ;D
We just keep pouring it on don't we?
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Yeah, there's still more to tack on and fix up, but I don't know if I'll go through with the Myspace or the new forum skin. I really don't want to code a myspace layout, let alone actually use myspace, and the forum skin doesn't really need to be switched out - it just needs a little more SDC themeing and less grass.
I also need to bring back that calendar idea that I had awhile back. The trouble with that is it's just so hard to code, but I will figure it out eventually.
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^Yeah, the Myspace page isn't really needed but it'd be neat.
You've probably said this before but if you're going to change the forum please don't change the workings of it. (I don't know what you'd call it) It is so easy to navigate and use, I love it! The grass is almost natural on here now. I think it'd be weird not to see the grass on here now ;). The forums would look nice though with some SDC theming.
Also, (only one more question), for comments and things on the main site can anyone delete your comments or only you?
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^That's actually why I decided not to change anything major, this layout really just works, even if it is way different than the main site.
Only an individual user can delete their comments on the main site. Eventually mods will be able to modify and edit comments as well, but I haven't gotten that far yet.
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^Okay, sounds good. So has the new version of the site brought a lot more visitors to the site or is it all pretty much the same?
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I am having trouble uploading more pics to my current album. It locks up and errors out. I also have tried to add another album and get the same error. Just an FYI. I am using FireFox.
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^^The site has actually become a LOT more popular since the upgrade. We've more than doubled our daily unique visits.
^Arrg, of course. I thought I had that all worked out. Thanks for letting me know.
Hmmm, I'm going to have to do another upgrade soon just to clean up the code. ::)
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^^The site has actually become a LOT more popular since the upgrade. We've more than doubled our daily unique visits.
That's great to hear! It doesn't seem like we've got many new members out of the deal though.
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^All in good time, Coaster, all in good time. Remember, I browsed the forums for three weeks before joining. :)
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I think I browsed for five minutes.... :) My deal was was that I was wanting somewhere where I could find out anything about SDC and share the common bond with SDCFans. This place fits the bill all right ;)
I was like you on other forums though. I browsed for a long time and then joined. These are the only forums I visit anymore though. I don't have the time that I used to.
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This is one of those forums that not a whole lot of people will join, but there's enough fans around to make it interesting.
Anyway, I think the photo galleries are fixed now - don't know how I overlooked that before.
Also, I've just sent out a mass e-mail to every single person on the boards with an e-mail address, so disregard it. It's meant for all those who have posted before, but forgot about the site. Maybe they'll be more interested now.
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Hey Guys
Don't know if this is the right place for this, but I thought I read somewhere that logo ideas were being entertained. I GIMPed together a couple of photos and came up with this, although the inclusion of the log and axe may make it unusable due to copyright issues. Anyway, here it is.
(http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll238/Zephon907/SDC%20Stuff/LogoClock6.jpg)
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^OOh that is really nice! Good work Zephon. I hope we'll be able to use it. It'd look great on the main site or even as a header here on the forums.
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^^Very nice! I'll add it to the bottom of the forums when I make some planned changes to it later next week. Like you said, the log and axe make me wary about using it too prominently like on T-shirts and such, but it shouldn't be too big of a deal.