Site Post » Fimfiction 2.5-ish · 4:34am Dec 10th, 2012
Edit: I forgot to set all group notifications to on by default, so I've blanket set them all to on now. Sorry to those who had already conciously chosen that they didn't want notifications from some groups, but you can just turn them off now
KNIGHTY WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE SITE?!? UR JUST AS BAD AS YOUTUBE
Ok, ok, chill. You've probably noticed the site is looking a bit different. Well the site has gone through some huge changes on the back end and a lot of changes on the front end too. I will try and write up about a bunch of stuff later, but for now you'll see a lot of it yourself.
There *will* be bugs. I can almost guarantee you that. If you find any, feel free to report them here but make sure you see if anyone else reported first, it'll help us sorting through them!
If you have security related bugs please pm myself or Xaquseg
Updates from NTSTS:
Morning folks. It's very difficult to reply to every comment that's popped up over night, but as we're still addressing bugs (I'm not sure Knighty slept), I wanted to at least let people know what the dealio is.
Firstly, many of the critical bugs that people have pointed out have either been addressed or are top priority at the moment. These include:
- Published chapters disappearing
- CSS not loading for several pagesThe other critical ones we are working on right now are:
- Unpublished chapters being visible to everyone
- PMs being broken
- Notifications being also slightly broken (this one seems to be hit or miss)
- Broken pagesEDIT: All of the above issues have been fixed now. Hooray!
Other things are of minor priority, but we'll do our best to let people know as fixes come along.
Finally, there's the issue of people upset with the redesign as a whole. There's not much for us to say about that other than that the redesign was chosen after careful consideration and repeated testing. There will always be kinks to iron out: but even with that being the case, seeing people spew vitriol in the comments with things like "this is the ugliest fucking thing I've ever seen" and "Wow you completely ruined [X Y Z]" are really uncalled for. The site update has been pending on the backend for a long time, and in addition to all the changes you guys are seeing, it's also necessary to help Knighty keep things running smoothly behind the scenes. I understand that change is scary and that if you're used to a certain appearance or behaviour when visiting the site that you might not like all the changes; all we ask is that you give them time, and try to be more constructive with your feedback than 'this sucks change it back'. Several of the design issues people pointed out are being taken into consideration - but as with any post-update amendments, things take time.
Thanks to everyone for their patience, and we promise we're working as hard as possible (well, okay, Knighty is, and the rest of us are hitting him with sticks) to get things up and running smoothly again.
Update #2 from NTSTS:
We've got a very rough list of bugs going right now - the problem is that Knighty is usually working on bugs already as we find them, so it's difficult to keep track of what has and hasn't been addressed. This is far from comprehensive, but here's what we have written down (all of which are being worked on);
- Browsing stories shows numbers incorrectly ([x]-0 etc.)
- Expanded view/compact view not toggling
- Apostrophe/punctuation display in user pages
- Browse all groups is broken
- Broken img if you have no followers
- Punctuation formatting in ePubs (and ePubs in general) is borked
- Author names overlapping in favorites modules
- Chapter numbers missing from comments on story main page
- Quote tags used in stories, viewed in the dark scheme, give white-on-white text, made only barely readable by a black shadow dropped from the text.
- Character tags on stories contain empty links (old bug)
- Can’t tell what groups a story is in unless you’re in those groups
- Some character tags not browsable
- Sorting by column headers in compact view on an author's story list queries the whole database of fics, not just the author's fics (old bug)
- Quote links in email notifications are brokenIf you encounter a bug not listed above, please let us know and we'll do our best to address it (including whether or not it should already be corrected :P)
Also, note that this list does not include design issues, which are being addressed separately as they will take more work to resolve, and are subject to discussion.
NTSTS update #3:
Hey all. Another day after the update and we're happy to report that most of the major functionality bugs have been squashed. The ones remaining are in the list above, as well as a few other nit-picky ones that we haven't collected enough examples for, aren't conducive to being recreated, or aren't affecting site functionality in a way we consider prescient. That brings us to the focus of the next few 'fixes', namely;
Design updates! While Knighty (and a lot of the people he consulted) are quite happy with the layout and aesthetic choices of the site upon launch, we've gotten a couple people very vehemently suggesting that some of the choices made might be counterintuitive to the site's readability, specifically the colour and margins/line size. You'll be pleased to hear that the latter of these complaints has already been addressed, with a special option added when chapter viewing to switch between Knighty's new default line height, 1.8, and something smaller and closer to a published book. The color issue is another one we're taking into consideration, though from repeated consultations it's difficult for us to tell if this is as big an issue as people are saying... that said, there were never any complaints about the old site colours (that we remember), so we're working on considering different colour choices that might be more conducive to user's viewing experience. Unfortunately, this decision is going to take a lot of work and testing on Knighty's part for the contiguous nature of the site layout to remain intact, but rest assured it's a key priority that we're focusing on at the moment.
We're also still considering what to do with the front-page; there's been a lot of back-and-forth on the layout and how it affects the goals we have in mind for the site - namely, encouraging people to go there and explore the new and undiscovered stories in the 'updated' and 'new stories' list. Right now the view has been expanded significantly from it's original 2.5 status, with the 'short description' lengthened to 250 characters. The compressed nature of the display is something in discussion, with preference appearing on either side of the debate - current plans may or may not include further revisions, or possible customization options, depending on how much work we can get Knighty to do :P
Lastly, the remainder of the bugs above will be taken care of in as short an order as Knighty can manage, with the key focus being on hammering out the design feedback to get the site into a fully cohesive state.
Thanks to everyone for their patience while we continue to work out the kinks, and please continue to share your feedback if you have any, as well as bug reports if you see things not listed above.
qft
edit: At least Youtube is still useable. More pressingly than the eyerape gradients and buttons turning blocky and disproportionate, any blogs I post turn up empty for some reason.
edit again: and so I don't look like I'm being contrarianist, the new theme does have some good, qualitative and quantitative improvements; it's just a shame that it's like writing the Lord of the Rings on rice paper. I'm sure the new code is super great but the oily fingers makes it fall apart in one's hands.
So much change! My mind cannot handle this!
Actually, at first glance, these look like some wicked awesome changes.
The site has been ruined forever. Time to delete my account.
Ever since Disney bought Star Wars this site has been going down the drain. I'm switching to Gravity Falls fanfics.
I quite like the new format. It's very modern.
Hmm... I'll get used to this new look in time, I think. I seem to be getting a lot of 502's whenever I try to use a link I haven't used since this update, but after that it works fine. And then sometimes I just get 502's. I am going to assume this is part of the magical internet machine connecting all the things for now. If the problem continues, I shall post about it later.
-azore24
I quite like the new format. It's very modern.
then again, I also liked the old format. it was very user-friendly.
one question:
WHERE DID THE FEATURE BOX GO?
is it only on the main page?
I just lost an entire unpublished chapter for a story. Six thousand fucking words.
This is bullshit.
It says there are three comments, which is obviously false
I went to https://www.fimfiction.net/statistics, and it says "Page not found"
No love for those of us with widescreen? :(
While the number of unread chapters is still the same in the bar, in the favorites section chapters already read have been reset to unread by default
Gah, so many 502's. Ah, that takes me back...
Anyway, loving the new look (even if it'll take me some time to familiarise myself with it) so I say "It's all good in the 'hood".
Good work knighty!
in dark mode there is little to no room between the edge of the black section and the beginning of the lines as well as the font size has become smaller.
There is a crapton of 502s.
593173
Oh god man that's gotta hurt. A compelling argument to store everything elsewhere, I guess.
Also, I seem to be having issues with creating a new chapter. Could just be the request timing out, mind you, what with the barrage of 502 errors.
WHERE IS MY CUSTOM STORY BANNER
WHERE IS THE FEATURE BOX
WHAT IS 502FICTION
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/364/763/f61.gif
There are problems with html entities displaying in the feature box. EDIT: And looking at this comment, displaying UTF-8 in comments. To clarify, when I had a UTF-8 character, german eszett specifically, in my comment the client-side javascript mojibake'd it and the server generated page didn't display it at all.
593181
No shit.
Is there a way around all these 502s? like just keep trying or anything of that kind?
You need to get the 502'ed Fimfiction banner back up there. Other than that, it actually looks better.
One suggestion though, modify the "New" and the "Updated Stories" boxes so both are one column wide and are next to each other. Just something that irks me.
Also another thing - The thumbs up/down on the stories are slightly misaligned.
imageshack.us/scaled/thumb/600/thumbsyt.jpg
While I'm not one for change, I'll get used to it rather quickly.
Only one problem: No feature box on every page makes me sad. Very. Sad.
Also, getting used to reading new stories with the format will take a very. VERY long time to get used to. I'm just hoping I don't get depressed about the change and leave for a while while I mope in the corner.
This has some visual appeal. The layout is satisfying as there aren't large tabs to navigate on the front page to change between new stories to latest updates. I like what you've done with the various "blocks" of information on the front page, with each dedicated to a different subject manner. The featured box is quite sleek, a little lag when transitioning from one featured story to another, but it appears to function just daintily. Although, a problem that may arise is the lack of a feature box on "any" navigated page in the website, which some people have taken notice of.
Whether the banner art is intended to be cut off in such a manner (the art looks to be larger than it is presented, but obscured by the various panels of the page) was intended, then that's beyond me. But, it might be a concern for others, myself included. Also, the comments seem to have some issue with interpreting how many there are, as best shown by this thread.
Also, 502 seems to be popping up a lot, but that might have to do with the transition and massive traffic right now.
Edit: That seems to have subsided, seems like the server has stabilized.
593173
I feel really sorry for you right now. Considering that story is wonderful so far, it's a shame to see the entire WiP go under the knife like this.
too much 502 errors and the borders around the stories is broken so its quite painful to read.
I enjoy the new look, but comment threads shouldn't so huge -- Three short comments to a page is a tad ridiculous.
On the front page, short story descriptions make the box end before the next one begins.
The banner stats page needs to be updated or removed.
Same for the stats page.
502s suck, too, although I don't think I need to even mention that.
can we please make our faved fics private if we want too, only thing i ever wanted
that nd for the word count to work gain, but heard it took to much resources to calculate.
also thanks for working on it, i thought you where dead or didn't care anymore to be responsible web administer. your trying and that's awesome.
I love the new layout, but please return to the the Sepia tones of the site. It is one of the reasons I prefer this site.
I just noticed all the new banners, and I must say, I like them.
Also, RSS feed for notifications? The feed for story updates getting fixed? Both those things would be nice.
Okay... if I may report some things that really ought to be fixed...
On my list of faved stories page, the read/unread status thing isn't working. Everything has been marked as unread. I read so much fanfiction that now I don't know what I've read and what I haven't anymore.
The lack of a featured box on every page is incredibly vexing. I almost never went to the front page. Having the featured box show up on every page was how I found new fanfiction on the fly
the first I really feel needs to be fixed, and the second is something that I HIGHLY suggest re-implementing.
Really, I don't know WHY this had to happen when it seemed like the site had FINALLY reached a state of bug-free nigh-perfection, but...
I finally got the site to load after all these 502 erro-
i.imgur.com/pQsbe.jpg
I love the new layout, but please return to the the Sepia tones of the site. It is one of the reasons I prefer this site.
Can't say I am a fan of the changes. But I am very set in my ways when it comes to things. I am sure I'll get used to it in time.
That's the message I got when I tried to create a new chapter. Care to explain?
Bug: The thumbs up button is out of place.
I can't access my purple epics. I have Halls of Reflection Scheduled. F'naaaa
I'm ok with the changes and what not but DAMN!
I have never seen so much 5's 0's and 2's since my last school report card!
593173 Just want to let everyone know that Xaquseg just announced on the IRC that unpublished chapters are NOT lost. There's just a display bug that is not letting them show at the moment.
Is there no more generic fim fiction banner? That's the only one I liked out of the old ones, and these new ones are kind of anime-esque for my tastes.
This looks better on first glance. The comments section seems very bloated though and the green beneath the names is a bit strange. I would also like the generic banner back. The feature box now takes up room normally reserved for new stories and I don't think featured ones really need the extra promotion by being centred on the page.
New Stories - What's new around Fimfiction?
Latest Updates - What's been updated lately?
Do these need the questions at the end? It is obvious that a box titled 'new stories' is going to show what is new around Fimfiction (what other site would it show?)
Also, banner doesn't load on user pages (or indeed anything user specific, by the looks of it). Huge props for finally fixing the replies though.
Browse pages always say "Viewing 1-0".
I do like the new feature box, but as others have said, it being only on the front page is kind of annoying.
593208
I was this close to punching Fluttershy in the face
so thank you for lowering my blood pressure.
I miss the feature box. I have a tablet and as such my browsing session is always saved so it just re-opens whatever story I was currently reading. I liked having it up there, because I almost never visit the front page, and if it was up there, like a constant little friend, always going through it's motions then sometimes I'd glance up and see an amazing fic I would never have found otherwise. Having it on the front page is very restrictive, it means I have to stay on one page to see it cycle through them. It's a step backwards, not forwards.
And would it have fucking killed you to give us a warning or something! I come to this site to do one thing: read fanfiction about colorful talking horses. That's it. All the rest is a bonus. So now, by updating everything at once, with no warning, I can't even fucking load one page to read a single story, which is the main reason I come here. Maybe I'm unnecessarily angry, that's fine, I can admit that. But come on you guys you know how the site was before with all the 502's, you could've released each update a little bit at a time, worked out the bugs and then stabilized it, then released the next update and so on and so forth, so that we could at least still do the thing we came to the site for, until it was fully done. You're smart people, I shouldn't have to tell you these things!
I am quite pissed right now. I like the changes I do, I just don't like that you dumped it on us without warning and that you did it so much and so fast that basic function is destroyed. If you'll excuse me, I'll be going to fanfiction.net, until this site is made functional again.
Edit: Okay, well I can see a blog post titled: Site maintenance in 30 minutes. This had not shown up before. I can't read it anyways, so if it was a warning I apologize for saying you didn't warn us. Everything else I still stand behind.
Also, sorry for the rant I'm just pissed that the site isn't working. Also, may I suggest making it possible to have the option to put the feature box back where it was>
593208
Is that why we can't create new chapters, either?
My only complaint so far is I miss the feature box...
Holy shit... this is awesome!
Concerning how new stories don't show up automatically on the homepage and that the popular stories list has vanished. I'm worried it'll be much harder for stories to get noticed now.
Holy shit... this is awesome!