I just completed another code push, mostly to introduce a new home page with a new RSS feed, the last 10 approved links. This is all just trying to figure out new ways to increase the exposure to our link owners. I realize that there needs to be better ways to bring people into the site, instead of just providing a list of parent categories. This way, with our TOP 10, EDITOR’S PICKS and now LAST 10 APPROVED, a casual user gets an immediate snapshot of what’s in the site.
In addition to the new home page and RSS feed, I also pushed in a fix for the search results page. There was a bug in the report link feature. Mostly in that I forgot to update the template during the last code push. So, that’s all better now. Also, make sure to read Sol’s latest post regarding categorization. Big changes are afoot.
Well, things went really smoothly. The entire code push was done in about 20 minutes and everything is up and working fine. You’ll notice some changes, like the link reporting feature. Instead of just reporting a link as “dead” we think being offered a few choices as to what type of report it is will not only be helpful for us, but also give you a better idea what the function is all about.
You’ll also notice our editor has been busy. New parent categories, like SCIENCE and HARDWARE/MODS. Our editor is a real science geek and she really wants to incorporate the wealth of do-it-yourself projects people are actively engaging in that are outside the “traditional” realm of DIY.
So, check things out. Oh yeah. Something else that will be enabled within the next few days is a notification system to keep you up to date when things happen with your links (like when they get approved). Very helpful information will be sent to you automatically. No, not spam messages… just little system notices telling you “hey your link got approved” or “hey, I think your link is busted, might wanna fix it” sort of things.
In case anyone is reading this and cares, a rather significant code push has just begun. You won’t notice anything for at least another 30 minutes or so. This latest code push represents a lot of work in making this site run better, be more connected with our users and provide a more solid foundation for ensuring links are relevant, filed correctly and work.
This latest push also has a few bug fixes (like the back-slash problem). For more information on what exactly is going in tonight, read this entry.
You may notice the site going down for about 10 minutes or so. That is just me swapping out the WAR application file in JBoss, and then giving JBoss a bounce. Total down time shouldn’t be any more than 10 minutes.
In the next few days there’s going to be a moderately significant code push coming into production. Basically here’s what is coming up:
- Extended link reporting (when submitting a link report you’ll be given a choice as to what type of report to help us better manage link reports)
- System notifications (The system will be sending out notices to users for significant actions that occur with their links, like when their link is approved, if a link report is confirmed and needs your attention). That kind of thing
- Administrator category filing. We know that sometimes you file your link in a category that doesn’t exactly meet up with what we had intended. Well, instead of just flatly refusing to approve your link, there is now a special administrator capability to re-file your link for you.
- Editor link feedback messaging. If we are having a problem approving your link, or we confirmed a link report, the editor will be able to send you a message detailing what the problem is, and how you can remedy the situation.
The development for these enhancements are nearly complete and roll out should occur this week. I’ll post when it does happen, in that it will require a minor outage of the application (about 15 minutes).
In Other News: DiyShare is coming along. Its a rather large project and is taking longer, but I’m making progress on it almost every day. A huge chunk of the Java code is complete.
I’ve been getting a small trickling of emails asking me to add their link to Diysearch. This is not a new phenomonon, that has been happening since day one.
And my typical, canned response has been to refer the particular individual to the create account page and tell them they can add links themselves.
So, here’s the deal. We cannot add links to the site. There are philosophical as well as technical problems with this. The philosophy is actually tied to the technical in that every link in the database has an owner. An owner is a registered user. If I were to add your link, then I would own that link entry in the database, and you (who actually “owns” the URL) would have no way of making changes.
The philosophy being that because this is a DIY effort, ownership must be made very clear, and control must be in the hands of the owners. I know its mostly a symbolic reference, in a philosophical sense, but in a technical sense the relationship is at the very core of the system. The User ID (the number assigned to your account when you create one) is then used to associate everything you do in the system. No, this is NOT to watch you, in fact, we have almost no reporting mechanisms in place to do extensive reporting (aside from what Google Analytics gives us). The relationship is for your benefit, in that it allows you to add your links, multiple links, it enables you to have a universal login to the blogs and other systems coming on line, it will play a key role in the new DiyShare system for the rating/ranking/commenting sub-systems.
So, the long and short of it is that please don’t ask us to add links to the system for you. I mean, its not like we are jerks, but I wrote the system to enable you, the user, the controls to do just that.
