Open tech thread: what do you want to see fixed at OpenLeft?

by: Adam Bink

Tue Nov 17, 2009 at 19:00


I have some good news to announce. As Chris wrote, the money we raised from our recent fundraiser goes towards maintaining our website, internet tools, and technical support. Part of the money you've given to support OpenLeft will be used to hire on a new technical consultant who will be working for all of us to make the site better.

We have a list of things we think will help improve the site in terms of design and tech, but since you're our readers and you paid for it, we want to ask you what you like, don't like, and want to see fixed, in terms of technical work.

Spacing? Ways to improve Quick Hits? Formatting in different browsers? Anything you've got, leave it in the comments.

Adam Bink :: Open tech thread: what do you want to see fixed at OpenLeft?

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Open tech thread: what do you want to see fixed at OpenLeft? | 72 comments
Speaking as a software engineer (4.00 / 2)
You should be wary of using a technical consultant like this.

If you aren't hiring the person who originally designed the software then you probably don't have enough money to do anything more than minor spacing issues or bug fixes.

The people over at dailykos make it look easy, but I assure you that that is generally not how these things work out.


http://transgendermom.blogspot....

Yup, really, no consultant! (4.00 / 1)
Hire someone who knows what he's doing, not one of those halfwits. And isn't it true that the soapblox guy himself isn't exactly overemployed? Why not let him do the tuning?
[ Parent ]
This is good advice. And the right person for the job. (4.00 / 1)
And politically its the right thing to do.  

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
Bolded links (4.00 / 2)

A larger space between the subject and comment body.

The four is for the bolded links. (4.00 / 1)
I hates underlines, and turn them off. The blue/black contrast for links is less than optimal. But the space tween subject and content is fine with me.

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
Searching (4.00 / 2)
...would be awesome, I can't tell you how often I want to search for a specific article months old and have to spend a lot of time clicking "older posts."  Maybe you already have this and I haven't found it.
Search tool (0.00 / 0)
Is on the right-most column under the state blog list.


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[ Parent ]
You should correct the typos on the front page (4.00 / 1)
You have it spelled "Better Demcrats 2008" under OpenLeft campaigns.  It's always been that way, and it drives me crazy.
Done (4.00 / 3)
I blame Chris.


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[ Parent ]
Passing the buck (4.00 / 2)
Typical liberal.
[ Parent ]
Comments I make on Quick Hits don't appear in "my comments" (4.00 / 5)

Links to comments in Quick Hits don't work properly, either (4.00 / 2)
You can actually link to them but you have to figure out how to do it. Using the link of the date should work but it doesn't-it usually refers to an entirely different comment.
[ Parent ]
And what about rating for QHs? (4.00 / 2)
Already promised oh so long ago. And we need it to hide commercial trolls comments in QHs.
[ Parent ]
I would like to be able to change my password (0.00 / 0)
But maybe I'm just ignorant of how to do this.
Changing your password (4.00 / 1)
Near the top of the right-hand column, you should see a link that says limpidglass's links.  Click that.  You will see tabs for Diaries, Comments, Ratings, and Profile. Select the last.  Below that, you will see choices for Account info, Comment Prefs, Display Prefs, Email & Password.  Choose the last.  You should see the form for changing your password.

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[ Parent ]
Thank you. (0.00 / 0)

[ Parent ]
I would like to be able to change my sig line! (0.00 / 0)
I know how it should be done, but doesn't work. It's broken in my profile since about a year ago. Last time I asked Chris to change it - dunno what hack he did to accomplish that.

So, if anyone here wondered why I still run with that line from Obama's inaugural speech, there's the answer.

[ Parent ]
Sig line test (0.00 / 0)
Any change?  
[ Parent ]
Nope. Doesn't work. (0.00 / 0)
Regardless how often I change the line and click "save", the system doesn't accept it.  
[ Parent ]
We need a one-stop guide that details all the markup codes (4.00 / 4)
As a few people here may know, I didn't know how to include hyperlinks in text for the longest time, and there was no markup code guide that I knew of.  I was reduced to having to ask desperately on a random thread, and lord_mike was kind enough to help me.
We've been asking for that since the MyDD days. (0.00 / 0)
Alas...
[ Parent ]
Two questions (0.00 / 0)
Would you like to see it placed? In the red header at the top? Placing it in with the comments is probably not possible.

And what would you like to see explained? Linking? Bullet points? Embedding video?


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[ Parent ]
(where) (0.00 / 0)
Would you like to see it placed that is most helpful?


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[ Parent ]
Either in the red header or the section with "Your comments," etc. (0.00 / 0)
Obviously, it would be good where you can comment also-or at least a link in that explanatory section.

List all the acceptable HTML. If some tags are not accepted, state that also.

Actually, that should also be part of a more general Help section. For example, someone recently made a comment that something posted as a Quick Hit did not qualify as a Quick Hit but I couldn't find any guidelines anywhere. So if there are general guidelines (I'm not sure if there are), it's good to set them out somewhere also.

[ Parent ]
What jeffweinberg said (0.00 / 0)
I would add that putting a link to the guide in the comments box, next to the ones that italicize, bold, quote, etc., would be most helpful, if possible.

Also, if possible, make linking one of the standard boxes, alongside italicize, bold and quote.

[ Parent ]
Knowledge Base/Skill Sets/Business Services (4.00 / 2)
I would like to see an addition to the site where registered members can provide information to other members about areas in which they have expertise and skills, and if they provide business and consulting services in these areas.

When I read other members' diaries and comments, I often get the sense that they are very knowledgeable in specific areas, and have skills sets and maybe even run businesses that could help me in what I do.

In some ways, I think that many of us here at Open Left are in the democracy-building business, and that we could help each other quite a bit in our various initiatives and undertakings -- if only we could search a database, identify and get in touch with other like-minded members so that we could pool our resources and maybe even do business with each other.

 

What about negative consequences of such commercialisation? (0.00 / 0)
I'm sure there will be lots of new users who will only join to offer their crap here. Do we want this?
[ Parent ]
I dont think you need to worry. (4.00 / 1)
Its about us, helping, each other. So that for example, Ms. Bordier would know which ol'ers could do coding, and so let each help the other.


--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
Let's look at the positive aspects (0.00 / 0)
rather than the negative.

[ Parent ]
RSS (4.00 / 2)
Right now there are two different main page feeds, and both are serving up bad urls (at least in Newsfox - example: hxxp://www.openleft.com/diary/16079/new-poll-do-you-see-what-happens-max?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenLeft-FrontPage+%28Open+Left+-+Front+Page%29).  Urls in the Quick Hits feed lead to a blank page (example: hxxp://www.openleft.com/quickHits.do?quickHitId=12110).
re: RSS (0.00 / 0)
I was going to add this one too -- I'm also getting the exact same problem at MyDD. I use Google Reader, FWIW.
[ Parent ]
RSS (0.00 / 0)
Me too, I just get a Sorry we can't find that link, Please return to the front page... and that link doesn't work either. Same thing happens on all the SoapBlox sites starting several days ago.

I have noticed that if I delete the query string from the URL then it goes through. The query string seems to be telling SoapBlox where the referral came from, not what to display.

I'm using Sage 1.4.3 in FireFox 3.5.5

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US; rv:1.9.1.5) Gecko/20091102 Firefox/3.5.5 (.NET CLR 3.5.30729)

[ Parent ]
This is now fixed (0.00 / 0)
Thanks for bringing it up. Major pain in the ass. RSS works fine now. Feedburner changed something over the wknd.


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[ Parent ]
Better contrast for hyperlinks (4.00 / 2)
From the start I have complained that hyperlinks do not have enough contrast. They are too much like regular text.

Jeff Wegerson
Me too (4.00 / 1)
Even in QH I find myself looking for the magic phrase. To be helpful, I tend to include enough words when I post links to make it easier to locate.
[ Parent ]
Put the diaries along side the quick hits (0.00 / 0)
most of my wide screen is wasted with fat gray borders.
Fine, but take care the site is still scalable! (0.00 / 0)
Uh, I'm surfing the Web with my ole Notebook because it's much more energy efficent than the big PC, and that Thinkpad antiquity still has a 1024 resolution...
[ Parent ]
can't post from Opera (0.00 / 0)
The weird JavaScript used to bring up the comments box precludes posting from Opera, a grade A browser.

If this appears, I am mistaken.

Mistaken but welcome! (0.00 / 0)
And while Opera is wonderful, Firefox is your friend. I use five count'em five different browsers for different purposes.

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
My nits (4.00 / 1)
Autoformat should be available when writing comments as it is when adding a diary or quick hit.

From all three a button should be available that converts the highlighted text to a link, as other sites have.  Yeah, I can type <a href=''>text of link</a> and then paste the link between the quotes but it's sort of a pain.

sTiVo's rule: Just because YOU "wouldn't put it past 'em" doesn't prove that THEY did it.

Could you create a version of the (0.00 / 0)
page for people with no javascript.  I occasionally post from an ancient computer with netscape 3.04, because of taking care of an old aunt.  I must turn off javascript to use it, then I can't sign in.

My blog  
No css would be nice too. (0.00 / 0)
.

My blog  
[ Parent ]
These are not really feasable. (0.00 / 0)
Do your aunt a favour and add firefox to her list of applications, it is the direct, though reformed descendant of Netscape, it works well, isnt bloated, has fewer insect and disease vectors and she already owns it, as do you and I.

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky

[ Parent ]
It is windows 3.1, so firefox won't work. (0.00 / 0)
I use firefox at home, but can't at her place.

My blog  
[ Parent ]
3.1? Can't you at least run 98SE on it? (0.00 / 0)
Or, even better, find some unused disk space, repartition, and install linux on it?
[ Parent ]
nope, it only has eight mb of ram (4.00 / 1)
which would allow me to squeek by with 9x, but won't allow for browser use.  Linux is just not a possibility with something that old.

My blog  
[ Parent ]
8MB? That's an old 486 or something? (0.00 / 0)
For heaven's sake, I have better hardware lying around here that I don't use anymore. If I were in the US, I would send the old lady a better PC...
[ Parent ]
she doesn't use it for anything but email (0.00 / 0)
and aim, and even for that not very often.  It works for her, and works for me when I turn of javascript, unfortunately it just won't let me sign into this site. I can only read.

My blog  
[ Parent ]
Teaching people a new system can be a pain (4.00 / 2)
Especially if they are older and not computer-inclined.  
[ Parent ]
Can Volunteer (0.00 / 0)
I do a small amount of volunteer work each month for non-profit clients. Would be happy to help here if that was useful and helped get more bang for what you do spend. Have worked on at least one big high volume blog. But would be happy to work on the small annoying nits like stylesheet changes, stuff like bold links and layout. Transgendermom's point above about scope I'd also second: hopefully you have very clear technical requirements.
Social Network-friendly (4.00 / 3)
It'd be great to have an OpenLeft image (probably hidden w/CSS) that services like Facebook pick up on when you post links, instead of displaying nothing, or a random ad image.

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I hate it when comments end up crammed against the right margin (0.00 / 0)
On a long threaded discussion, the replies to replies to replies get all squintched up against the right margin. If there's any way to avoid that, it would be a nice change.
Best (?) way to alleviate this problem (4.00 / 1)
is to dump the central column when a viewer clicks on a diary. The rightmost column can be retained, but only used for advertisements. Obviously, if comments get nested deeply enough, they'll still be crammed, even with this extra real estate.

It's not a perfect world....

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TheRealNews.Com

[ Parent ]
This is basically what dailykos does (0.00 / 0)
[ Parent ]
A mobile version of the site? (4.00 / 2)
When I'm checking my comments from my phone, it is grating to wait through all of the loading involved in getting the front page running.  I'd certainly appreciate a streamlined mobile version of the site.  
Yes (0.00 / 0)
That is a top priority.


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[ Parent ]
Allow html in Subject lines (4.00 / 2)
I'm not the only one who would like to use bold or ital in the subject, I've noticed. Has this suggestion been denied previously? /:)
no no no (4.00 / 1)
Do your art in the comment. The subject line is great just the way it is.

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
GEO-LOCATE MEMBERS BY ZIP CODE OR US REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT (4.00 / 2)
It would be cool to browse profiles by geography so members could form local caucuses/discussion groups.

USA: 1950 to 2010
Minor niggle (0.00 / 0)
After rating a comment, I can't then look at other people's ratings without refreshing the page, presumably because the information has changed. I get a page not found error.

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Fix Server Problems (0.00 / 0)
Recently, during peak hours, I and other Open Left members I communicate with, have been denied access to the site, or the ability to refresh pages, because of "gateway timeouts", which I construe to be overload on your website's host's servers.

Sounds to me like you need to upgrade your server capacity.

I only very seldomly have this problem, and never seriously. (4.00 / 1)
A single reloading of the site always solves this if there really is a timeout. So, I guess the bottleneck must be in your conncection, not at the server...
[ Parent ]
The last time there was a timeout, I contacted two different Open Left users, (0.00 / 0)
one on the West coast and one on the East coast and all three of us had the same problem, so I think your conjecture that the snafu was on my end is not supported by what occurred.

BTW, no attempts to refresh or re-enter the site helped, which was "down" for at least 30 minutes if not longer.  

[ Parent ]
Here's a short list. (0.00 / 0)
A.) Pick a progressive policy and fight like hell for it, regardless of what other people say the chances are.

The GOP doesn't get what it wants by caving in to Democrats at every opportunity, so why we engage in such stupidity is beyond my comprehension.  I'm seeing a huge disconnect between what the site owners claim to want out of health care reform and what they actually promote.  I'm tired of being told by top-tier bloggers that they want single-payer (to name but one example), but they're not going to bother pushing for it, and worst of all, taking us who demand promotion of this vital cause to task for not getting on board the capitulation train.  Maybe if there was some kind of serious effort by top-tier bloggers to promote things like HR 676 or a full withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, the excuse-making that such things aren't realistic goals might hold more weight.  But that's not what's being done.  Where are the entries from Chris Bowers discouraging giving money and votes to Democrats unless they do something substantive to pass progressive policies like single-payer or ending the occupations?  I have yet to read any more than tepid calls to action followed by arguments that we must settle for less because the other side won't allow more.  Obviously they're not going to allow more; that's why we have t take what we want.

B.) Respect for dissenting views from progressives.

I lurked here a while before posting, and I've seen some pretty shabby treatment by the site owners against people who criticize them for not doing enough to promote progressive policies.  For example, I read one entry taking Chris Bowers to task for being a hypocrite on site rules, and from what I gather the poster got banned.  But there's no explanation for this or any attempt to address the perceived issue.  And I've seen a lot of negativity toward people who aren't swayed by the "practicality" arguments.

C.) Allow issues like single-payer, real environmental reform, and movement politics (as opposed to party politics) to be promoted on the front page.

Except when making fun of it and its supporters, when was there ever a front page entry devoted to progressive issues?  All I see when it comes to such topics is support for "compromises" and talk of electoral polling as though it's a given that we should be supporting Democrats and dismissing Republicans' chances of repeating their 1994 victories.  There is such a thing as self-fulfilling prophesy, and by promoting the "compromises" and ignoring the entries that demand better, we're guaranteeing political failure if you take my meaning.

Single-Payer is the ONLY viable public option.

This is too good! (0.00 / 0)
pretty shabby treatment by the site owners against people who criticize them for not doing enough to promote progressive policies.

LOL!!!!

You criticized me for criticizing you!

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky

[ Parent ]
Personally I'd visit your site too. (0.00 / 0)
I kind of like the site you would like to make. But I like this better, and would visit / contribute here more than yours.

This is a site that takes the responsibility to act seriously. Actually get shit done. Others like to talk about all the things that could be done, if it wasn't America, wasn't 2009, didnt have all these people in it. And those exercises are useful and necessary. Like the drinking and dreaming about an addition on the back of the apartment. But this site fixes taps.

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky

[ Parent ]
But you are part of the problem. (0.00 / 0)
You presume to decide what can be done and what can't without even trying to see if what we're told can't be done really can't be done.  A good example of this is the health care debacle.  We were told that single-payer was off the table because the other side wouldn't allow it, but how and when was this proven?  You talk of acting seriously, but what's serious?  It's not this joke of a bill that looks likely to pass.

How about instead of headpatting condescension, you try to make a substantive argument.  Then you'd be taken seriously by the left.

Single-Payer is the ONLY viable public option.

[ Parent ]
That's a wrap (0.00 / 0)
This is a tech thread. Thx.


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[ Parent ]
I don't know enough about the tech aspect to make comments. (0.00 / 0)
But I know something of the content issues, so that's all I felt qualified to remark on.  How about a content thread next?

Single-Payer is the ONLY viable public option.
[ Parent ]
lol (0.00 / 0)
I beg to differ.

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
Your twitter links never work (4.00 / 1)
For example:
Open tech thread: what do you want to see fixed at OpenLeft? http://trim.li/nk/Cj1

Resolves to:

http://www.openleft.com/diary/...

Which displays only:
Sorry!
We were unable to locate that page. Please return to the front page.

Anyone else have that problem?

fixed (0.00 / 0)


--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
Open tech thread: what do you want to see fixed at OpenLeft? | 72 comments
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