Cherry Pop!
Well, this is my first blog and this is the first time I’ve actually navigated the inside workings of this site. Interesting! There’s definitely some potential here. Lots of toys, choices and tools to play with. Something has changed though.
On my first time visiting this site, I was able to comment to Brian’s blurb without logging in. Today I was just checking the recent posts and I tried to leave a comment to Ed’s post from Yesterday. You’ll see the difference when I do finally comment. One was from Phil and one should be from Philastein, which Ed set up as my nickname and I had no knowledge until today. It wouldn’t let me comment until I logged in. Then I had to figure out how to. It was easier to edit Ed’s article than it was to get to the comments. Mostly because no one commented on Ed’s post yet, so it didn’t come up in the comments. You have to click view instead of the title. I know I’m a little punchy right now, running on about 2.5 hours sleep, but you’re going to blow peoples minds trying to navigate this. I thought you wanted to get away from Google because of the password. I know it’s still in it’s birthing stage but you’re going to have to make access to comments, links and tools much easier or the technophobes in the family will never make it past the gate.
I guess while I’m here I’ll comment on Ed’s piece from the 19th. I haven’t done much with the site, like I said previously. I just climbed out of Satan’s ass after spending three days there. That has sort of a biblical metaphor, doesn’t it? Makes me feel like a Jonah. Anyways, it’s nice to be able to breathe again. I still have to do my taxes but, with what little time I have been putting towards this, I’ve been using to check out open sourced web calendars: looking at layouts, user comments, ease of use, blah blah blah. Trying to find one that’s web based, easy to use and allows us to combine multiple users without sharing or passwording isn’t as easy as it may sound. Oh yeah, did I say free. Yeah free would be a perk too. So far all I’ve come up with is this…
http://www.k5n.us/webcalendar.php?topic=Screenshots
I’ve still got quite a few to go through so it doesn’t matter if you’re sour on it, or if you want to pay for a nice one. I don’t even know how to post something like that yet. Google’s is nice but you’ll have a link to a passworded account again, then everyone will have to set up shared accounts. It doesn’t sound like it would be very easy to get everyone synchronized.
Well, that’s all I have to say for today, except that I’ll be down at the Clubhouse later, slammin down some tall ones and gnawing on finger food. A co-worker of Leann likes to celebrate her birthday there. We’re going there after they get out of work. Come if you dare!
Posted on March 20, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Yeah, I was playing with the tags and categories now. I figure most of these early posts will be deleted in time anyway.
So will this OpenID work in sync with, let’s say google accounts? Will you be able to access a calender account from this site without needing an additional log-in to google?
I also understand the need for the password. It was just a brain strain for for a short time. If the site becomes too public that could turn off a few family members too. Some people don’t like to talk to strangers. And you’ve got to admit, some strangers are strange. You might want to think about adding members without admin privileges at first. Give them access to basic site functions and allow them to editing functions later, if they show an interest.
How do you post a picture? I don’t see an option for it in my profile editer.
Posted on March 22, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Pfft apparently I should either check here more often or thoroughly read posts more…. I could go for a drink but I hate to drink alone I do and Jeremy seldom is as into downing a hard one (shut up) as I am.
Posted on March 23, 2009 at 3:51 am
Do you prefer high balls or low balls Bri? 
Posted on March 23, 2009 at 4:11 pm
The higher the better!
Posted on March 20, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I can’t come to the bar tonight, as I’m picking up Marie today at the airport. Too bad too, because I’d really like to hear more of your feedback.
I disabled the hash cache thing for now. Seems like it’s way too overprotective by default. The hash cache thing’s an anti-spam tool, and I’m looking into some options so that spam doesn’t become a problem in the future. The logging-in thing is also a anti-spam measure. We DO NOT want just anyone to have the ability to post comments freely on our site. Some level of authentication does need to be in place, but it needs to be easy. For now, I limited posting comments to just members only (us) because the site is still in testing phase. You may see some shit added over time, whereupon I’ll look for a bit of feedback on your experience.
The OpenID thing is the new online hawtness, because it allows you to use credentials you already have, rather than having to create a new login. Many popular sites are beginning to adopt its use, including Google, Yahoo, and others. For example, I’m able to use my Gmail creds as my login (my access would be, by default, just a subscriber) if I so choose. I’ll go into more detail about it later.
Also, keep an eye out for some nice wordpress themes. The stock themes that the install came with are only ok, and this one you see here being one of the better ones.
Oh, and I do highly recommend getting in the habit of categorizing your posts and using tags. Very handy when you want to go back and find something, or look up anything new within a given category or tag.