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Top 5 Tags: slurl[10] musing[9] site features[7] aradia[4] patch comments[4]
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· thearidians.org (11) newest: We\'re Back apollo 18th Feb @ 15:32 EST
· quicklinks (3) newest: Snowball Combat apollo 1st Jan @ 18:34 EST
January 2007
Really Simple Archival
apollo [thearidians.org] Mon 22nd @ 16:16 EST
archive, site features
I added a really simple archive page to the site today. I intend to expand it further at a later date with a search function of some sort and a real tag cloud, but at least it's now possible to see everything that's been written here. Note that if you scroll down to the bottom of the journal there is a link "View Previous Content..." which points to the archive. Eventually there will be a navigation menu link for it, once it has better features.
SL Web Profiles and Feature List
apollo [thearidians.org] Thu 18th @ 12:26 EST
site features
I mentioned previously that I changed the way the site markup and CSS works in order to enable a mysterious feature. That feature is the ability for Aradia and I to have SL Web Profiles sized to fit in the browser frame in the SL profile panel. Of course being web-based content you can read them here too. I also want to throw out a shortlist of features I'll be adding that will benefit everyone:
- RSS feeds are still being considered
- A Blog Archive
- Full list of Blog Tags
- Neater presentation of existing Photo Tag Cloud
There's no specific ETA on any of these.
Subtle Redesign
apollo [thearidians.org] Tue 16th @ 18:49 EST
refactoring, site features
I took the liberty of redesigning the site, although I doubt anyone would have noticed because this restructuring has happened on the code level. I originally tossed the site together quickly using several full width images to bypass any potential CSS headaches early on, my reasoning being that I would be more likely to work on this project if it was fun for me.
Now that I have established some content here, I felt it was time to return to this basic design no-no and rectify it. The site now makes use of background colors where possible and should generally have a reduced image footprint. The CSS changes seem to display correctly in [the Windows XP versions of] Internet Explorer 6 and 7, in Firefox 1.5.0.9 and 2.0.0.1 as well as Opera 9.10 so I think I have a fair chance of it working correctly in other browsers that I have no way of checking, such as MacOS [versions of IE and Firefox/Mozilla], Safari and KDE's built in browser for example. I'd say "do let me know if there are any problems with these browers, however" but I realise that there is a certain lack of contact information here.
All this has a point beyond mere competency vanity; I can now implement a cute little feature I have been thinking of, which will debut sometime this week.
Photos: The Thin Code Line
apollo [thearidians.org] Sun 7th @ 12:13 EST
apollo, photos, site features
As alluded to recently, I have been working on a super secret feature for this website, one that I think will really make it come alive. Work on this new feature has consumed essentially every possible moment of my free time for the entirety of this week up to and including the weekend until about five minutes before this post, but I feel that every moment was well spent.
May I present you with our Photos page. This, as you might have guessed, is an entirely home-rolled image gallery system with most of the expected features present: photo metadata in the form of names and descriptions, tags, and the ability to package up photos into sets. I think it's a cool system and I know it will only encourage me to take more snapshots now that I have somewhere to put them.
The system may change in subtle ways, for example as [Aradia and I] upload more photos and the tag density increases, each tag's percentage distribution number will probably disappear in favour of the more aesthetically pleasing "font size representation" method employed in other tag cloud rendering systems. I may add "infinite share grouping" if the current Photo Set system proves too limiting; sets are greedy and photos are loyal in my world you see.
But enough of this wordy rambling: go enjoy the photos! I will be uploading more soon and I'm sure Aradia will too.
A Real World Interlude
apollo [blog] Fri 5th @ 17:05 EST
apollo, ordinal malaprop, real world, site features, slurl, snowball technology
There is an interconnected set of difficulties associated with returning to work in the real world, which run roughly along these lines:
- I am naturally a "night person" and tend to gravitate to this kind of schedule when I have more than a few consecutive days off [work]
- Returning to work also means returning to something approaching a less vampiric schedule
- The combination of driving to work and working through the workday has a tendency to exacerbate any fatigue in one's system while simultaneously subtracting available hours from one's day
The end result of this situation is therefore variously a diminished availability of time to be exploring new places in Second Life and a diminished reserve of energy with which to focus on SL, which means that honestly, I haven't been in-world too much this week.
I did stop by Ordinal Enterprises in order to purchase the Snowball Technology that was previously highlighted, with the full intention of reviewing said technology, but sadly due to the reasons outlined previously I have not even unboxed the devices or indeed ascertained whether or not any such removal of packaging is necessary or required. I have, however, been working on various site features; they will come into effect during the course of the weekend and should enhance the reader experience greatly.
Category Summaries
apollo [thearidians.org] Mon 1st @ 10:01 EST
quicklinks, rss, site features
One feature I added to the site backend a long time ago, before using it here even, is the concept of hiding certain posts so they don't appear on the front page while still allowing access to them. This allows us to post up quickfire entries without drowning out the more in-depth blog posts. One area where this is useful is the sharing of Quick Hyperlinks, where in most cases a short description and a SLurl is all you need. I mention this mostly to explain the "Summarized 1 of 6 Categories" banner that appeared near the top of the site yesterday.
Another feature that I've been meaning to add for a long time but haven't managed yet is configurable RSS, so you can get a feed of the "blog" category on its own, or grab the whole front page or just pick up on quicklinks or whatever you want. I think this would be cool and it's on my TODO list.
December 2006
Slurl It
apollo [thearidians.org] Sun 17th @ 09:22 EST
site features, slurl
While working on the site yesterday I came upon the idea of adding a small graphic to Slurled Links in order to make them more visually descriptive. I was engaged at the time, however, in disembowelling the innards of the scripts that make this website tick and so I noted it as a future feature to implement at a later date.
By some strange coincidence then, between the time of inspiration striking and the possible point in the future where I would have eventually implemented this myself, I happened upon the website of the sublime Ordinal Malaprop and in perusing her archives I happened across the very thing I had imagined moments prior!
Therefore this website is proud to use Ms Malaprop's Slurl visual aids with but a tiny change: I prefer the icon to be to the right of the URL and the background of my website is not white. I also brought the SL Hand icon into the bosom of my webserver and converted it to my preferred PNG format, but the essential principal is as described in that referenced article. A hearty thank you to Ms Malaprop.