root log: April 2006 (log)

So we're gonna try to get root logs back in the swing of things. It's funny to consider that after 7 years, we still have major developments on the site.

Minor but useful changes

• Your filled nodeshells - acsorbic did a fine job of this (with a little SQL help from yours truly), so now you can see nodeshells you made that other people have filled. (I forgot I had even created the Marathon Man nodeshell!)
• Random nodeshells - For nodeshell rescuing.
• Your nodeshells - now with user search. To opt out of having your nodeshells searched, please head to User Settings.
• Other Users XML Ticker II - now displays edev membership. Cat's out of the bag, kids.
• For editors: node notes from writeups now display on e2nodes - another good tool from ascorbic, to help eds on their path to Zen enlightenment.

Things we Actually Got Done

• (For editors only) the ability to (un)hide things on new writeups.
• Acting more or less as a proxy for the brilliance of call, we optimized the message table a bit and hopefully cut down on some of the longer database query calls.
  • Just FYI: If you have a lot of archived messages, please consider moving them off-site into a text file and deleting them from the system. We have 1.5 million messages, so needless to say, pulling them all down can sometimes take a long time, and it's those outlier "really long" queries that in turn suck up server response time for the rest of us, too. (Note: this is not some secret ultimate solution, but every bit helps.)

Major projects in current development

• Multiple Scratch Pads - expanding on Excalibre's excellent idea, we'll be offering multiple scratch pads to users. Some nice features:
  • The ability to post a writeup directly from a scratch pad.
  • The helpful formatButton feature donated from c2 by call for one-click paragraph and break tags.
  • link view to show broken links before posting (courtesy of rootbeer277's suggestion)
  • The ability to make any pad private or public. So you can share some things without sharing everything.
  • The (future) ability to have collaboration nodes. This is gonna be a level power, folks, but we're trying to make it happen.
• For Level 7+ users, the ability to change the main catbox topic. A few limits: only once per 24 hours, and we'll take it away if you don't all play nice.
• The New Frontpage - So far, I've gotten a lot of feedback, and hopefully we'll get some more after the first round gets processed. I'm going to work on some alternative designs, and we're going to open up a graphic design contest soon for ways to brighten up the place and make it better for guest users and more useful for regular noders.
• A new lede writeuptype. Details are murky, but it will essentially be nonvotable summaries of factual topics for a quick education. Bonus XP to be awarded to people who write gooduns. Like I said, murky, but approaching.

Ideas floating (read: not necessarily ever going to happen)

• Nodeshell searching
• auto-softlinking
• A new tutorial system
• The personal nodetype
• Your idea here