Folks,
The site changes and updates are proceeding well on the test server, but I’m having some major issue shoehorning some things together (old plugins with the new comment engine). So I need some help from someone experienced in JavaScript/PHP/WordPress development. It’s beyond my hacker skills; without a week or so to dedicate to learning all kinds of things, I’m pretty much at a wall.
I also need some testers. If I can get some programming help, then the testing will be Friday afternoon, Monday at the latest. Testers will be emailed a link to the test server, and will be asked to take a peek, critique, and participate in a comment thread or two with other users so I can analyze performance, etc.
I’ve had to rebuild the site from virgin theme files, and have fixed and tweaked many things along the way. This is why the test is so important – it’s too easy for me to make a change and not notice side effects on other parts of the site, but a bunch of experienced users should help ensure that such side-effects are managed and don’t negatively affect things. It’s also important to get feedback on the new comment system, so there are really two areas of testing – the site/appearance, and comments.
Major Issues Fixed
- The page controls at the bottom of the site
- Blockquotes
- Long HTML links
- Site spacing/columns/cut-off ad
- Numerous tweaks to the theme
- Reduced lots of complications in styling, reducing load on your browser/device
- Prepped for cache/CDN/minify steps coming soon.
- Documented all tweaks and changes to theme files so that when future theme updates hit, these tweaks can be applied immediately. Ie., styles and custom functionality won’t get blown away when the next theme update comes out.
Note the first: fixing #1 required many hours hours of painstaking work rebuilding everything from virgin theme files so that #8 is useful and complete for me or anyone else in the future.
Note the second: I am still reviewing the lists I have of complaints/requests, and I expect to incorporate some of them before/right after the new stuff goes live, so don’t lose hope if you don’t see your issue mentioned here!
So, that all said, if you can help as either a programmer or a tester, please email me [email protected]. If you’re offering to help as a programmer, please include a phone number as I’ll call you immediately! :) I will likely respond from an email address from the getmechamot.com domain, so add that to your whitelist so you don’t miss my emails!
Testers, you will receive an email from me tomorrow (or later, when the server is ready for testing) with the test server link and my phone number for questions. So far, I have Watergirl and JRinWV, and need at least 5 more.
I will also include a link to a brief Survey to get your feedback on the site. It’s much easier to have your responses in an organized fashion, so I thought this would promote that. I will of course take emails, etc., but I hope that the survey is sufficient for 95% of feedback on the test server.
Well, that’s about it for me. I will be in and out of this thread, responding to comments as I can, but I won’t be here full-time. Thanks to all for your patience and goodwill.
benw
Scotty, I need this blog working in 3 minutes or we’re all dead!
PaulW
As long as you can use this new blog to siphon off money from Trump’s SuperPAC using the salami-slicing algorithms and ship them over to one of my accounts in an overseas bank, I will fully back your play.
John Revolta
Whatever it is, I’m against it.
No One You Know
I test people’s patience all the time. Mail sent. Looking forward to breaking code ‘n stuff.
Mike J
@John Revolta: No matter what it is or who commenced it.
Starfish
I can help test.
ed_finnerty
i might be able to help with some php stuff
Yutsano
@John Revolta: @Mike J: Ain’t you two one thread above where that joke should be?
Francis
clicking on blogroll entries doesn’t actually do anything in ipad/iphone.
waysel
@Mike J: I’m against it!
Alain the site fixer
Please email me to test or to program/help – [email protected]
@Mike J: I think I emailed you yesterday based on Watergirl’s recommendation. Please check your spam filter!
But if I didn’t please email me!
@Francis: That’s a setting in IOS preventing pop-ups. We’ll get those to JavaScript soon, but it’s not a priority!
Davebo
I’m pretty solid in JavaScript/PHP/WordPress development and I accept all major credit cards.
Sorry, no Paypal.
Alain the site fixer
@Davebo Hmmmm
That is all.
Davebo
@Alain the site fixer: Sorry. This may be a hobby for you but it’s not for me.
Alain the site fixer
No worries; given the sarcasm and humor around here, you never know if folks are being wiseacres or serious.
SuperHrefna
One thing I’m not sure if you know about: reading on an iPad there seems to be no way of knowing how far down a page I have read anymore. Can you add that back in? It’s handy knowing roughly how much of a thread I have read.
Mike E
Oh noes!
Rand Careaga
About fifteen years ago I inherited the maintenance of a website for a Bay Area nonprofit. I was constantly turning around and knocking over some load-bearing code. The original designer presumably would have been aware of her own cheats, shortcuts and workarounds, but I didn’t. A few years later, using an incredibly idiosyncratic (and now extinct) brand-name authoring environment, I did a redesign, which was probably even more of a mess, but at least I knew how to work with it. By the time the nonprofit and I parted company three or four years ago, I’d left them with a considerably stabler third-generation site that my heir appears to have been able to work with. Good luck.
Garbo
If you end up doing testing on Monday, I’m in. I actually do that as part of my J. O. B. So hit me up if needed.
NotMax
Is it just my set-up or is it that the three-column format is being wasted as there is nothing in the leftmost column?
Moving Recent Comments to that side (and maybe a few other things, perhaps Random Quote (which doesn’t appear anyway with javascript turned off, unlike with the pre-update design) would at least justify – no pun intended – that column.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: I think Alain might have said he has figured out the fix for that.
Alain the site fixer
@Rand Careaga: I think you accurately capture the situation and thanks for the goodwill.
@NotMax: No it’s not a real column, it’s an issue with the theme and how the settings were originally setup, with one column and one sidebar, and how other CSS settings were interpreted by the theme, etc. I just got it working well on the test site today, with more text/wider content column, then wider sidebar which means the ad isn’t cut off (and on some mobile displays, the right edge of John’s Twitter feed in no longer getting eaten). So when this new stuff launches, it will be substantially better!
Alain the site fixer
@WaterGirl: I have that fixed. I need the Other Chuck’s help so if you know him, please have him contact me.
What I need is some PHP/JavaScript programming – hacking in some stuff into well-written code. For someone who is a skilled programmer in this general area, it should be easy, but I am not such a programmer.
Alain the site fixer
@Garbo: Pop me an email; at this point, I think Monday is very likely.
Wyliecoat
Please, please optimize it so I don’t have to zoom the page in my Samsung phone.
amk
Feedback/Complaint: The back button is still borked in the desktop version. Also. Too. Blockquotes aint fixed.
The mobile version is fine (back button works perfectly, the tweets are shown as they are meant to be shown). The go to bottom button is borked in mobile version.
Doug R
If I flip through too many threads, my phone can’t find any more links. I am getting tired of restarting my phone.
Paul in KY
Alain, #1 not fixed. I hit ‘3’ at bottom of page & it brought up Betty’s Friday morning story.
Alain the site fixer
I think some folks misunderstood me – the issues I mention as fixed are on the test site, not the live one. So you won’t see the fixes until they go live…
@Doug R: I’m curious about this – can you provide me more detail? Like what phone/model, are you using the mobile site or the normal dekstop one, etc.
jeffreyw
I tried to comment this morning but got an error:
Latest Firefox build – 43.0.2 windows 10 32 bit
Using Chrome to send this