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posted by davidt
on Sunday June 11 2000, @10:00AM
After two months of late nights, early mornings and full weekends, the conversion of the site's codebase is complete. I'm now using the same code as the site Slashdot by way of the Open Source Slash code. Just about all of the data is now stored in a database, which although may not be immediately obvious, is a major step up. After working closely with the code, I cannot express how amazed I am with the whole package, how it's organized and the people behind it. It really is an incredible piece of work. Rarely do I ever come across a perfect fit and I believe this one of those situations. Although my old code worked fairly well, I was more than happy to scrap all of it and install this new, much more powerful system.
I don't know if any of you are familiar with Slashdot, but there are a lot of new and interesting things that can now be done. The main idea is that the good content will filter to the top (better comments = higher score), but in order for the system to work, it relies on the site's frequent visitors and posters to help in the process. I will go into more of the features of the Slash system later but for now, please:
* create a login account. (note: this is a completely different system and separate from all previous logins)
(cont.)
In addition to helping the site work, if you are logged in you can also customize:
- The way comments are displayed (new scoring system)
- Personal info such as your time zone
- the look of the homepage (slashboxes)
A few people have expressed that 'Big Brother is watching' whenever I mention a login system (before it's even been seen). Take my word, this is not the case and to those who have complained -- please don't flatter yourself in thinking I care about who you are and where you go, because I don't!
Seriously though, I do respect your right to be anonymous and the system is setup so you can view the whole site fine without logging in. You can still post anonymously (the standard term is 'Anonymous Coward'), with or without being logged in. I hope people can see that I am just trying to make a better site, and there is no way that I know of to create a 'reputation' system that's not easily abused without a login system.
Plus, you never know, a low login account number could come in handy some day.
It will probably be a little while until the system gets up to speed. As with any new system, maybe it won't work -- time will tell. In any case, the management of the site will be much easier for me now and will already the whole site is more organized. For now, check out the new links on the left and also some of the older ones as I have cleaned up a lot of the site. If you've made a contribution to this site in the past and would like to add/change any info or see any problems with the conversion, now is a good time to let me know.
davidt
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