Update

So some of you may have noticed a slightly unpolished look to my recent changes to the site... well another issue recently arose which I've been forced to move my attention to. It's an important issue which needs to be resolved, and I am confident that the result we achieve will not only be done so quickly, but also in a fashion which benefits the TrekUnited membership. I look forward to being able to discuss more with you in the near future.

So lets see if I can't shed some light on some stuff being worked on...

We're looking long and hard for a European alternative to CafePress. We know y'all want it... and so do I so we're trying really hard to get it to you. Hopefully we'll have an update there soon.

hm... actually... thats all I've got on my list that's in any state worth talking about. there's ton's of other stuff... but it's at too early a stage to start spilling out. Last thing we need is for me to say we're working on this... only for it to fall through next week.


So personal stuff...

ok... My Video blog... I think I may have decided to basically stop before I've even started. It takes up to much of my time to prepare, record and edit... I will be investing in a new camera, which I hope to take to the many conventions I attend, to give you all a taste of what to expect from each con, and maybe a few treats along the way.

That's it for now... TTYL

Merging :D

ok... so for those of you who don't know, I essentially have 3 blogs running right now. I have the one on my site, roostervision.co.uk, which is relativly new, I have this one, which is the easiest for me to update, and I have the new Video Log I'm attempting. So I'm now going to make an effort to better combine the three.

So to begin, I'll start here with my "Coming Soon" videos.

NOTE: While I make every effort to keep my videos... suitable for most ages.... I can't guarentee it. This is a personal blog, not a TU blog. Also... the first "Intro" video is a little dark. I'll fix that in later videos.

First Video



I'm working on merging the feeds... so bear with me.

TU Website Development - 18/03/07

ok... so last time I said I'd be working on appearence tweaks. When typing that I didnt mean that you'd see any immediate results... but alas... my illness got the creative bug running, and on the site I began to work. So you may have noticed the site being down at intervals today... only ever for seconds at a time... so maybe you didn't notice... but the effects of that downtime are now visible.. if incomplete.

One of the biggest issues I've faced today is the server's inability to update the css as soon as I've uploaded it. For some bizarre and unknown reason, it just wont work... so the large majority of my css tweaks are now included in the basic skin template.... and the rest are sat in the CSS file... on the server... waiting for the server to finally wake up.

And how much of that went over your head?

Now something you can't see at the moment is a feature I'm calling "Pinned Articles". Basically, we're now able to pin article to the top of the front page, and keep them there for more screen time. The Pinned article is red, instead of blue, and I hope to soon include a pinned image on it... its the small details that make the difference. As there is no article we want to draw special attention to at the moment, you cannot see this "Pinned" feature. Speaking of small details... you'll also notice a nifty comments link in the top right corner of each article.... not as easy to put there as you might think.

So what's next.... well before I can do anything... the server needs to catch up with me and show me my CSS tweaks... once it has, you may have noticed the top left and right corners are missing from the article borders. Well I've still gotta put those in... again... not as easy as it might sound. After that, the site goes to one side, and I carry on with the forum tweaks. Forum changes won't be available for the public until they are actually complete... but I can go over some of the stuff we're working on.

We're going to basically rip apart the header of the forum (the site will be made to look the same) and almost start from scratch. As I said yesterday... we want it to feel like an evolution of the current skin... not a complete redesign.

So... first feature we're going to introduce is called "Most Recent". It's currently in a working state on the test forum, and here is what it currently looks like.


It's a block of code which enables us to display to you the 5 Most Recent items on the front page, forum and blogs. By hovering your mouse over "News", "Forum Posts" or "Blog Posts", you will change the list to display the appropriate items. The items will update on a page refresh. By clicking "News", "Forum Posts" or "Blog Posts" you will be taken to the main page of that area... so for example... clicking forum posts would take you to TrekUnited.com/community. And then obviously clicking on one of the listed items will take you to that item. Its a feature I've wanted to integrate into TU for a long time, and I'm glad we finally got it working.

Aside from numerous performance enhancements, this is the only new feature currently working on the updated skin. The next job is to play basically... design a header that not only works for the forum layout... but is also something that will work with the main site. It needs to be visually attractive, without being distracting, and it needs to be functional, without becoming a resource whore. It also needs to be easily adaptable... so we can apply it to our Blog, Video and Image Centers... or so when Invision release a large upgrade... we are able to smoothly transistion with minimal effort...

That's it for today. Send in your comments, and let me know your thoughts.

Made some Site Changes

Howdy folks

Just wanted to take a brief moment of your time to update you on some of the changes we've made to the site. I dont want to really announce it in anyway because its mostly just small enhancements, and stuff we're working on.

Front Page Staff
Ok, so first and foremost... bravo to Captain_hair for putting in the time for keeping our front page active, and thank you to those who have been submitting news. We cant possibly keep the news up-to-date ourselves, as we have only a very small team working on the front page, so anything you can submit is greatly appreciated. We're also looking to expand this team, so if you keep your eye on the news a lot, and have the ability to find news, and write your own article based on it, then you could be perfect for the job. Drop me a PM.


Front Page Submissions
So on the topic of submitting news, we're looking to upgrade our submission system. Currently, you simply send us an email. While this method will remain... we want to open the door to a tool that will help to reduce our workload, and also reduce the length of time it takes for your submissions to reach the front page. And here is what it looks like...



Now we're still playing with it... so the appearence may change... but this is the nuts and bolts of it. Currently, this will only be available to registered members, but we're looking at various systems that will allow non-registered users to use it. We could just open it up to guests right now... but we would then leave our website open to a truck load of spam, which we're not about to invite in.

Front Page Comments
We've just upgraded our commenting system, and I am really excited by the new features. It also looks a lot better than the previous system. Please do comment on our articles, as it helps us to judge its usefulness. Again, this feature is currently only available to registered members.

I should also say here that some of you may have noticed the main site was down for a short while this evening. I could lie and say it was expected temporary downtime because of the changes being made, but the truth is I somehow managed to do something (I still don't know what or how) which killed the front end of the site. Nothing was lost... (the information was all there, it just wasnt loading) and I quickly fixed the problem... somehow. The ole saying behind the scenes here at TrekUnited is... if it doesnt work... whack it and see.

Fan Film NewsAnd Other Tweaks
We've now added a Fan Film News section to accomodate the ever growing amounts of news from that area. We've also made various other tweaks to the layout, hoping you will find it more user friendly. We've increased the number of visable articles on the front page, and moved from the table view to a blog view in the news categories. We also fixed a glitch in the poll which, for some users, displayed all of our previous polls, and in some cases it overlapped the main content.

And What Else Is On The Way?
I'm glad you asked. We're looking into a tool which will allow us to "pin" a single article to the top of the main page. The idea is that important articles get more screen time. Its a tool we've been looking for for a very long time, and I think we're close to settling on one that will do the necessary job.

We're also looking into an advanced, multiple banner system for the front page. Don't worry, it's not for advertisments. While it will help us to better manage our existing adverts, the main purpose of the tool will be to highlight, through banner type links, useful areas of the site. So for example we might choose to highlight the latest HFO edition, or an upcoming chat, or new features.

And finally... I believe that in order to to get the absolute best out of the resources you have, you should always review your current systems. I apply this same ideal to design also. With this in mind, I want to be able to start giving you progress updates on how we intend to physically alter the appearence of both the site and default forum skins, to better suit the changing needs of the site, and the changing demands of our users. While we have no intention of doing a complete redesign, we will be altering the look and layout of the site. It is what we are referring to as an evolution of the existing design. It will include visual enhancements, and technical enhancements, to make your time on the site smoother and more appealing. I hope to bring you more on this as it develops.

I think thats about it for now. Please comment and let me know your thoughts.