Keenspace.com Giving Season wishlist 2004

[Faub]

Any kind of ranking system not based on stats is going to take a fair amount of work. It might be fun to do the the latter, but because there is no gaurantee a site visited is a comic, it may be no more effective than google.

It would only need to be between Keenspace sites where you already have the hosts file available and you could ensure that one Keenspace comic is linking to another Keenspace comic. Simply add a check on the domain of each link as you parse it to see if it's a comic. I don't see a reason to index the everything anyone links because google already does that. It would be nice to see how interlinked Keenspace is.

Something that would would not add a load on autokeen: site templates. If a user is totally clueless about HTML or doesn't want to mess with it, don't give them an online editor. Just give them a wizard that lets them choose from a couple default styles, lets them mess with colors, add a logo and upload comics. The resulting site could be XHTML and CSS compliant without the user touching the code. You could even allow the wizard to add tagboard or counter code that the user copied from another site. Best of all, this wouldn't require autokeen to be modified.

The forums actually have the same functionality, The problem is getting a css "wizard" for people to play with. A lot can be done with xhtml and a DOM level 2 browser to make a site. However I don't see this as viable in the short term. Maybe a default template+css and have a css value editor like livejournal.

For an HTML newbie who wouldn't want to change their site much anyway, giving them the ability to changes the colors with CSS would be more than enough entertainment for them. You wouldn't need to have anything special in the way of database info because the generated HTML/CSS would become the indextemplate.html/dailytemplate.html and webpages/site.css and that would be the end of it.

I actually wanted to write something like this but I've barely started on the FTP updater. (I have code to do passive FTP in java! )

It should be noted however that my Jesus sex strip was not taken down. Instead the Burst ads were taken off my page (which worked out for the best anyways).

Really what I was thinking of was a list of items that the advertisers considered offensive. Your strip may not have been taken down but the ad banner was, which amounts to the same thing. The advertiser wanted nothing to do with your comic because of that particular strip. Basically, a score card for people to gauge the prudishness of the advertisers.

[Kisai]

Some support for sites that don't want the comic on the index page.
(basically an option to change the page the ***next_day*** from the second to last comic sends you to)

If you don't want the comic on the index page, don't put todays_comics on it. Changing the reference for last comic will always be index.html since otherwise it would point to the last /d file which would have a next that goes to itself. I can look into this maybe

Yes, you can simply remove the comic from the index page, but that doesn't solve the problem: you need to create a separate page to hold the latest comic, and then you link to it, the buttons on the page will work, so it's all fine...
If you want to read the comic backwards.
But if you want to read it forward, you will reach the second to last comic, and then the link will send you to the index, that has no comic!
And then you need to figure out you need one more click to see the latest comic. :-? It's not the single click that bothers me, it's the counter-intuitiveness of it.

That's what happens at Twelve Dragons and it annoys me.

"Changing the reference for last comic will always be index.html since otherwise it would point to the last /d file which would have a next that goes to itself."
Actually, simply removing the code that changes the last link would be an almost perfect sollution.
I checked a couple of sites, and the "next" button doesn't even appear in the last /d file. It should be easy to change it to use the "next_day_ghosted".
But even at the current state, simply removing the code that makes "next" point to index would work, and there'd be no threat of endless loops.

On the other hand, setting it as default may be confusing, as going [back] [forward] doesn't take you back to index then... and most people have index pages with extra features as compared with the archives.

So it would need another checkbox in the siteadmin, and all the stuff. >_>

No, just different tags. Okay, try next_day_arc and last_day_arc and see if that works, it's just the same code without the reset to index if lastcomic=todayscomic code.

(arc for Archive mode)

there's another bug... i think... on the dropdown txt. When i call it as ***story_archive*** , it indeed displays the list but it has double http... check it out: http://fate.keenspace.com/archive.html

i'm in for the gallery folders =D or better, the permission to make different comic folders. i think it was allowed before, at siteadmin... now it's a no no maybe access to the cgi-bin, so we could run other scripts besides autokeen? (yes, i had to ask it )

I didn't program the story_archive... hmm let me see, fixed, let me know if this breaks it for others.

You can make different comic folders, just autokeen won't check them... this is "technically" possible, just it requires an additional comic db entry
NO CGI, NO PHP. I'm sorry but since this is a big security hole, nobody can run server side scripts except admins.

Yeah, I'm not sure if this counts as already being covered in the big #5 above, since I'm slow. But here goes anyway:
My comic is made up of 12 different mini-comics. The comic of any given day is one of the 12. So you'd have maybe comic a one day, comic b the next, then comic c, then comic a again, then comic f, and so on in a manner that is effectively random.
Could there be a button to browse only between specially tagged strips? To go from a specific comic A to what, chronologically, would be the next installment of comic A, even if it were a week later?
That is, for one of the comics ("Neon Lives"), the buttons on the end, then, would read "tomorrow's comic" and "next Neon Lives"?

Falls under 5, basically you'd define a keyword for that story line, and the next/prev would jump to the next comic with that keyword.

[Artsangel]

Okay, so there is the http://guide.keenspace.com/KeenspaceNumPL_1.html page, but for newbies it's hard to find. And the name "by pages loaded" to me doesn't say "most popular comics".
How about just a link from the home page? Along with login, forums, help etc have a link to KeenspaceNumPL_1.html saying "top 25 comics"?

I just think the page needs to be easier for people to find without having to search through the guide.

[YarpsDat]

No, just different tags. Okay, try next_day_arc and last_day_arc and see if that works, it's just the same code without the reset to index if lastcomic=todayscomic code.

(arc for Archive mode)

Cool!
I don't use that myself, but I'll contact people and have them test it.

Sounds like the "last_day_arc" tag wouldn't work though. Because the link will be changing all the time, autokeen would need to recreate ALL the /d/ files after EVERY update. And it doesn't.
A simple work around of making a separate html page to hold the latest comic, and using a regular "a href" instead of a keen tag works every time.

[ZiRta]

I didn't program the story_archive... hmm let me see, fixed

Thank you so much! *___* You were quick! =D

You can make different comic folders, just autokeen won't check them... this is "technically" possible, just it requires an additional comic db entry

How can I do that? I remember we could change the "d/" folder at the siteadmin, but not now... What I mean, I want to be able to start another comic, in another folder (with its subsequent new indextemplate, dailytemplate, buttons, etc) after I've finished one, and not having to sign up for another keenspace account...

[[geoduck]]

I'd like to see the title graphic/layout of the Guide page(s) (guide.keenspace.com) updated so that it matches the new look of the main Keenspace page. And maybe do something about the Newsbox there as well, so it doesn't look like it was just jammed into the corner of the screen and left to rot...

[Kisai]

I'd like to see the title graphic/layout of the Guide page(s) (guide.keenspace.com) updated so that it matches the new look of the main Keenspace page. And maybe do something about the Newsbox there as well, so it doesn't look like it was just jammed into the corner of the screen and left to rot...

It has to be done through CSS, and I haven't changed it in well over a year. Anyone want to try it?

[Jops]

one thing i'd like would be a calendar-like tag that allows me to have a comic archive like this:

Chapter 1
page 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06...

Chapter 2
page 01, 02, 03....

This may fall into the improved-calendar tag that has already been wished, but i'm not too sure... ^^

[Joel Fagin]

It has to be done through CSS, and I haven't changed it in well over a year. Anyone want to try it?

Sure, I'll do it. I can't give you a time frame, though. End of semester means much extra pointless paperwork for college lecturers.

- Joel Fagin

[RPin]

It has to be done through CSS, and I haven't changed it in well over a year. Anyone want to try it?

Sure, I'll do it. I can't give you a time frame, though. End of semester means much extra pointless paperwork for college lecturers.

- Joel Fagin

I can help too if you want, and the same thing could be done with the forums, I think.

[Xmung]

this isn't so much a global-for-the-good-of-all request (so much as a selfish-good-for-xmung request) it would be great if the page load stats page could be updated... i just got a shitload of visitors (10 frickkin' thousand) (via something awful) and wanna see myself on page 1 dammit!!

pwease?
pwetty pwease??

[RandomActs]

I think a nice change would be to update the mainpage (http://www.keenspace.com) in a way that highlights the top Keenspace comics in a manner reflective of the main Keenspot page.

You know how 'Spot has a big block showing a comic and brief blurb that changes each time you update and then all of their comics underneath by subject? Well something like that except instead of showing all the comics we offer, maybe just show the top 25-40 or randomly show 25-40 comics that have updated recently.

[Spazkake]

I tried to run my comic and really tried HTML but I couldn't do it so I ended up having to go to geocities (Pagebuilder), if Keenspace had temlates, or some thing like pagebuilder that would be so great.

[CodeGuy]

I would like to request 2 new tags: Rant and RantDate

Right now you can make a file named 20041110.jpg and another named 20041110a.txt. The txt file will be right below the comic image.

This isn't a great way to have a rant tied to a comic page. Most good looking comic sights have the rant in its own little box somewhere. If you want to do that now, you have to put a lot of html in the txt file to make it fit, which makes it hard to set up a page so that it will look fine on the days that *don't* have a txt file. If you want to put it somewhere other than below the comic, that's really hard.

The <rant> tag would look for the most recent file that is dated and has a .rant ending and place it where the tag is. the <rantdate> tag would put the date of the most recent rant. This would allow people to put their rants where ever they want on the page.

Having the page use the most recent rant (with a date older than the current comic) would allow us to put in several new comics without having to do anything to get the same rant to appear at the bottom of the page.

the <rant> tag would also be useful if you don't want the rants to appear in the archives. You wouldn't have to delete the dated txt files manually every update. Then if you changed your mind later, just add the <rant> tag to the archive template and they'll appear.



If it didn't take much more work, then <rant2> and <rantdate2> tags would also be useful. That way you could have two sets of rants like Megatokyo and other multiple contributor sites.

Thanks.

[War]

That's all easily done with div positioning using the current system.

[Ferguson]

I would like to request 2 new tags: Rant and RantDate

That is a fabulous idea!!! I take back anything I asked for before. This is it!

[Rhellik]

I'd vote for that. Since were sorta supposed to agree on ONE feature I'd say this is it

[JexKerome]

Like War said, judicious use of DIV and ***include*** can fix that.

[Joel Fagin]

Like War said, judicious use of DIV and ***include*** can fix that.

But unless there's a tutorial in an easy and obvious place which says exactly how, it's easier and more straightforward to make a tag.

I think a rant tag would be very useful - although as a proponent of changing the standard and accepted interface for comics (which is largely propogated by Keen), I remain behind the idea of chapter buttons.

- Joel Fagin

[CodeGuy]

The **include** method doesn't work very well if you want to keep your rants in your archives. Careful div use can allow you to work around this, but you have to make some odd choices on how you want to layout your stuff.

Thus, very few comics doing anything more than an **include** that only shows on the main page. Yes, it *could* be done with some extra trouble and some ingenuity, but very few people are doing it. Count Your Sheep is a good example of a site that just jammed them under the comic for the first several months.

That's why a new rant tag would allow even novice web people to make professional looking rants.

So, that's why I made the request.