Pre-Biorust v4 Design Proforma

**Man1c M0g** · 04-30-2005

As some of you know, I am working on the backend of the website before I work on the new design. Some of the changes I have planned are actually quite complex, so I've decided to write this little list, not only to remind myself what's needed, but to give you all a general indicator of how i'm getting along with the next revision of Biorust. I'll be sure to keep this thread updated and cross out the different stages as I get through them. So, without further ado, here goes...

Unify the tutorials resource page into one easy-to-use solution. I intend to eliminate the menu part of the side-bar menu in the next revision and make the menu a part of the header, so this is essential. - COMPLETE
Renovate the tutorial category pages to allow listings via section, with options to sort by alphabet, date added, etc, in both ascending and descending orders. - COMPLETE
Do the same as above, but with the downloads section. - COMPLETE
Rewrite the affiliates system and move away from the PhpAdsNew-2.0 system, which works well but is VERY resource hungry and overly complex. - COMPLETE
Decouple the Website Index from its integral template system. The Eagle made a very flexible system, but its impossible to integrate properly with the new membership system, and a simpler approach would work better, and make it easier to implement new designs. - COMPLETE
Make site voting & dead link reporting in the Website Index a member-only feature. This will keep the spambots out and maintain the integrity of the database. - COMPLETE
Write a form to allow users to submit downloads! - COMPLETE
Integrate proper search functionality into the Biorust design, so resources can be found more easily. This may look a little odd at first, but Biorust v4 will be designed around it, so it'll look right then... - POSTPONED
And lets not forget the addition of mod_rewrite to make our URLs simpler, easier to follow, and much more search engine friendly! - COMPLETE
Code a server-side script for weekly remote backups of all files and databases. I do this manually at the moment, but its very time consuming. - COMPLETE
Re-code the news page so that it doesn't use complex external interpreting scripts. - COMPLETE
Fix the annoying issue where random affiliates & tutorials occasionally show a blank. - INTERMITTENT ISSUE
Expand site membership to include more user statistics & generally just spruce it up a little more... - COMPLETE
Write a nifty control panel for Admins/Mods that allows us to commit changes (i.e. add downloads, process links, etc) without direct database editing... which can be confusing for everyone but me! - POSTPONED
Add voting and comment controls to the selected resources section on the main page. These will be available for members only. - COMPLETE
Add the ability to track new photo comments *AND* more specifically, photo comments relating to your pictures in particular. - POSTPONED
Final Step: Clean up all new code and make the site truly ready for the next incarnation of the Biorust design. This is a moderately-sized step, but is expected to cause great disruption as certain site features are re-written, optimized, and moved around... - COMPLETE

With a little luck I'll be able to get through a section each week. Is there anything you'd like to see added to this list? Well, post it and let me know!

scrowler · 05-01-2005

keep up the good work!

Order · 05-02-2005

Hurrah, a roadmap that be! Yarr... need any help, this moderator is around.

**Man1c M0g** · 05-03-2005

The tutorials page is now an all-in-one solution. Not ultra intuitive, but I can always add spruce it up later...

**Man1c M0g** · 05-11-2005

The revised downloads section is now online. Some of the elements (i.e. the option groupings) only appear in newer browsers, but that doesn't make it any less functional for older browser users - just less pretty!

I decided to ditch the cookies support though - its needless fluff and would tie up server resources. The V4 Biorust design will be quicker-loading anyway, reducing the lag when filtering the options.

PS. Yeah, the filesizes don't order properly... i'll fix that too =]

Update: Filesizes fixed now too! I should have the tutorials following suit with a nice list-box filter system shortly...

**Man1c M0g** · 05-13-2005

And now the revised Tutorials section is online! It is nearly totally finished, and the only thing I need to do is change the skill levels around a bit so that they order correctly. This will be a coding change - apart from the ordering, the skill level categories will stay the same. Hopefully i'll have this all done by Sunday...

Update: Ok, this is now totally finished. I also corrected a few bugs that may have been annoying you all since I started recoding the tutorials and downloads sections. Everything should be peachy now, but let me know if you find any further bugs and i'll splat them accordingly...

**Man1c M0g** · 05-26-2005

The affiliates system has now been decoupled from the over-bloated PhpAdsNew-2.0 system and works as a totally independant system. Whilst there are no user-visible advantages, the upshot to this includes vastly reduced server resource consumption (especially for such a simple feature), and hopefully a little boost in the speed of the pages too.

Loki · 05-27-2005

You are a machine, Mog!!

**Man1c M0g** · 06-03-2005

Oki-dokes... the new WebIndex system is now online. There are only a few cosmetic changes that users will notice, but it is actually a LOT more integrated into Biorust now, and easier to upgrade at a later stage (i.e. if the cookie cheat-prevention system fails to stop dedicated cheaters in their tracks).

The form that processes new link submissions is still being designed, but should hopefully be online sometime on sunday. In the meantime, the old form (which still works just beautifully) is still online if you want to submit a link.

Update: The new submission is now online, and ready to accept your lovin'! I'm particularly proud that I managed to integrate GD into the scripts, so that each submitted image now features a 1px black border around it - something I've been doing manually for far too long.

Order · 06-04-2005

Congrats to da m0ggy!

ConceptualMind · 06-04-2005

Wow, m0g is a beast.

Order · 06-04-2005

beast!

**Man1c M0g** · 06-07-2005

The form for submitting downloads is now online. It doesn't have any administration on the other end to actually add the results to the active resource mysql table... but that will hopefully come into realization this weekend when I code the admin console.

ConceptualMind · 06-07-2005

The Admin panel looks really interesting. I'm looking forward to it m0g.

I know I say this every time, but keep up the great work. I really mean it.

Lexiblue · 06-08-2005

The changes are great. Looking forward to what you have in store for us next.
Your hard work is appreciated.

Lexi