Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/index.ez?viewStory=13050

We are very excited that the time is near for the unveiling of the Fresh New Galleries here at Renderosity!!

Thanks

This has been something that we have anxiously waited for, so I'll be very interested to see the new galleries. Thanks for the heads up, Stacey.

I do have one question: when the instant message (private message) system was converted to the new site mail, there wasn't any advanced warning (that I'm aware of) that we'd no longer be able to easily (permanently) save the archived messages (using the "save page as" feature on our browsers)...just a little mention of that lost functionality would have been very helpful...in the grabd scheme of things, not a BIG deal.

So my question is whether there is going to be any sort of similar situation with the new galleries that, if the members know about it ahead of time, we can take some action before the conversion...if we choose to?

For alot of us here (myself included), the galleries are the most important part of the site (except for the store, of course :biggrin: )...people are just going to get very angry if suddenly something is lost that could easily have been saved if we had just been given some warning. So please put yourself in our shoes and ask yourself whether there's something that you'd want to know about ahead of time if it affects something that you've poured your heart & alot of creative energy into.

Thanks for any answers/assurance  you can give...and best of luck with the conversion!

:scared: fastens seatbelt

Not that I can think of. Comments and views will move over to the PHP on the gallery images.

Maybe if you could look around your gallery and see anything that you'd specifically like to ask questions on, let me know and I'll get with the programmers....

I understand the need to make sure of any kinds of losses so feel free to ask me specifics and I can confirm, okay?

Thanks

Hi Stacey...Okay, I will do that and see if I can come up with specific questions...at least I'll try my best to think of something.

Well, it's actually pretty hard since I haven't seen the new set up for the galleries...I presume they will look different...the store looked different when it was converted, as did the forums and the site mail when those were converted. This is probably something that needs to flow from the admins/moderators rather than from the members who haven't seen or tested the new setup...we've been told that the admins/moderators thoroughly test the new setups before they go live, so I'm just hoping that as that testing is done for the new gallery setup, they can put themselves in the shoes of an average member and "see" how the new changes will affect us.

I could have thought about it for hours and wouldn't ever have come up with the fact that the new site mail would change the way archived messages are displayed, and that they could no longer be easily saved on a "Save Page As" file as I mentioned earlier. Similarly, I would never have anticipated the possibility that when the store was converted that suddenly you could only leave product reviews on items purchased in the previous 60 days and anything that was older than that we had permanently lost the ability to leave a review. Those are just two examples I thought of when writing this that someone (admin or moderator) should have been able to identify when the beta testing was done...I mean, someone decided to make those changes when the conversions were done so someone had to know, right? So I'm just asking is that those types of things be shared with us ahead of time.

The gallery images, more than anything else at this site, represent the heart & soul of the typical member's creativity. So if something's going to be lost forever, we should be warned ahead of time. I think all hell WILL break out if that type of heads-up fails to happen. What the specifics might be I really have no way of guessing. Someone might decide the maximum # of images in a person's gallery will be limited to 200 or 500 or whatever. Or thumbnails are going to be 100x100 instead of 200x200 and that causes some problem for members that wasn't anticipated. Or only images containing the color purple can be uploaded on Thursdays...okay, I'm being silly now, but there really are probably dozens or hundreds of possibilities...someone must know what is being changed with the new galleries, right? All the other areas that have already been converted changed quite a bit...so I'm just guessing that the same might be true with the galleries.

One last thought...I remember a couple of years ago (yes, I think it was in the month of September), one of the admins suddenly started deleting images from people's galleries...images that related to contests that apparently had not been run through the "normal" contest procedures...anyway a few hundred images were deleted without any sort of warning...and ALL hell did indeed break lose. Eventually, most of those images were restored back to the gallery, but only after alot of anger and hurt feelings. I'm mentioning this not to re-hash an old topic, but to provide a clear example of how sensitive people are about their artwork.

Thanks, Stacey, for reading all this...if I think of something I WILL ask...but mostly I think that those people who are directing the changes probably have to tell us first. regards, Jen

I understand what you are saying and the entire team (mods/coords/admin) did test the galleries and of course it will be different but I can't think of anything that would be "lost" so to speak which is what I thought you were asking...

Thanks

I was just going to use the gallery search feature and noticed some of the options missing. Will there be an option to search by keyword or product in the galleries after the changes?

Sometimes when I am thinking about purchasing a product, I do a search in the galleries here to see what it looks like in use.

Michelle

Michelle, if you try this link, all the search options are still there:

http://www.renderosity.com/search.ez

just a word of caution...most of the time you'll just get a "time out" error after a few minutes of searching because of the slow speed of the galleries...perhaps especially so while they're now converting the data...your best bet is to try during the slow periods (middle of the night?)...plus you have a better chance of success if you DON'T use the "All" option but instead search under "Image Credits" and "Notes" separately.

I agree with your interest in seeing a product in action before buying it, and that's been very hard to do because the search function has been very difficult, well, since late 2005 I think. Which I guess is one of the main reasons I haven't bought anything in the store here for months.

Good luck with the searching!

StaceyG wrote:> Quote - I understand what you are saying and the entire team (mods/coords/admin) did test the galleries and of course it will be different but I can't think of anything that would be "lost" so to speak which is what I thought you were asking...

 Thanks

Okay, thanks Stacey...I'll just cross my fingers and hope for the best...

btw, I've only been pressing this because I care alot about the galleries...

...I think many people would say Rendo's past track record on communication with members has been rather mixed...I simply was trying to avoid another such episode...

Thanks for your time...Jen

I understand completely Jen and I want to keep you all updated as much as I can so I'll try and answer any questions to the best of my ability:)

There are some gallery search options missing that I just found out about a few minutes ago. They will be back after the conversion is complete but due to the pull it was creating on the conversion script we had to turn some of the search options off:(  Sorry.

Also I edited the front page article with some more information about weirdness you will see in the galleries right now regarding number of views, comments, etc so you may want to check it out again for the updated version.

Thanks

I am so sad as the number of page views are missing. Are you planning to put that back or have we lost that forever?

Everything else looks great though.

@SusiQ:  According to the bulletin, they should be back up after June 13th.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/index.ez?viewStory=13050

Thanks I saw that story but hadn't seen the previous comments about the views. Sorry for the repitition.

Here's a poem for the site admin people in humble apologies....

Grinding my teeth
In deep despair
At the blindness of others,
I'm tearing my hair.
The site will be back
And better than before
Should you not agree
Go! There's the door!

Hugs people!

**Careful, if it's a door at Renderosity, it may just lead to a parallel universe or another dimension! ** :biggrin:

LoL at Denger.

Bring it on!
I'm always up for a challenge or new adventure!   :thumbupboth:

Well one thing I wish to note as when the store went to the all white format,my purchases dropped to almost nil as I used to have fun just lurking in the store and occassionally even buy a total stranger a gift after seeing their artwork.My eyes aren't that bad but they are sensitive to bright light which got even worse when I upgraded to an lcd monitor.If the gallery denys me the right to change the color scheme or there are bugs like having to erase the previous comment everytime I send a reply to someone here,I'll probably stop visiting altogether just as I stop purchasing from here except on rare occassions. Please consider that in upgrading you've also been getting rid of features we don't just prefer...in some cases it affects the very reasons we come here.There's nothing wrong with giving us color scheme options or skins even...everyone who does php knows these are mainstays in php and wouldn't be hard to incorporate here unless you just wish to lock everyone into a light color scheme. My twos cents...which as you know,it costs more to make two cents now than what two cents is actually worth lol

Amorbeast,

Just as you can do a stylesheet for the forums, you will have the same option in the galleries.

Converting to the new PHP platform is something we are very excited about.

With change comes added features and there are some features that won't feasible any longer. We realize of course that not everyone in a site this size is going to be happy with some of the changes but as we've seen with the Marketplace conversion, the majority adjust and come to love the new Marketplace.  The bigger picture of the PHP platform is what we need to keep in mind. Going forward after the conversion will make adding new things much easier and more efficient.

Thanks

So the gallery backgrounds are NOT going to be tied to the forums where some of us already changed our scripts?? I hope it will just be one script that carries over to the gallery pages too... I have a lot of friends with poor eyesight where white pages can actually DAMAGE eyes...

and I for one can't wait till the cross linking is back, so I can instantly TALK to both an artist (where did you get that thing you used in your art!??!)...and to send messages without trying to remember the exact spelling of user names... and we only have to log in once....and.... that the galleries will be EASY to use...and enjoy the comments... and .... !  :)

What might perhaps allay some of cliff-dwellar's fears would be screen shots of a converted gallery.  I would think that the conversion is far enough along that you have some samples that are functional enough to capture into images.  Give us an idea what the main/community galleries will look like, the individual artist's gallery page, and then the individual art page.  We might then be able to spot if something seems missing or otherwise troublesome.

I seen that I forgot to check the boxes on these I posted last night... Rating: Allow viewers to rate image. Comment: Allow viewers to make comments In the pass I could edit it the next day when I upload a new image. But now I get " Due to the upcoming gallery conversion, you may only edit an image within 24 hours from the time you upload." So I can not edit and check those two boxes. I can see putting a limit on being able to edit but don't you think it should be longer then 24 hours. 4 days or so would be better but at least 48 hours so we can catch things the next day like I just did here on my last upload. Plus in the pass I have even goofed up and did not have the same thumbnail image as the full image it was for but fixed it the next night. I know all the people that come here that there has to be others that goof or forget something but see it the next day so we should have 48 hours to edit post. So how about it Renderosity.

Hewee, this will be resolved once the conversion is complete..you can see more info on the front page of this site

http://www.renderosity.com/index.ez?viewStory=13050

Thank you jumpstartme2 for the reply and link. Now to only get the forum cookies troubles fixed. http://excalibur.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2651686

You're welcome :)

And the cookie problem is due to some server switching...hopefully this will be solved along with everything else once it has all been converted over. :)

Thanks again. Are they going to have it so you have just the one cookie for the gallery and forum like they used to because that would be better.

Hmmmm good question...I will get with someone and see..Id like to know the answer to that one myself...and yea..it would make it easier ;) Let ya know soon as I find out something :)

Eventually yes.. I think as soon as the gallery is converted on Tuesday next week

ACK! Stac snuck up on meeeeee ROTFL!

Thanks jumpstartme2 and StaceyG. Your have lots of thanks from people with having the one cookie again for the whole site.

Dear stacey,

Can I PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAASEEEEEEEEE Keep my current color scheme in the new gallery side?

PREEEEEEEEETYYYYYYYY PUHLLLLLLLEAAAAAAAAAAAAASEEEEEEEEE with cherries on top?

Okay brace yourself.....You can do a style sheet for the new galleries just like you did for the forums but the one you have for the forums won't just "carry" over to the galleries but in you OPTIONS page you can..  We'll help you I promise:)

ok, its the 13th... where are they ? i'm still having "max allowed sessions for this IP" crap. :(

It's now the 15th - and surprise surprise!  No Galleries.

I know this comment may not be helpful to Renderosity - but it's exactly what I've got... So it's not a lie or anything and I really - no REALLY - wish it wasn't true.

It's not just the galleries that are down. EVERYTHING is down except the market place and the forums.

"Update – You will now see a box pop up when you put your mouse over the thumbnail that will tell you number of views, comments and date uploaded."

I have to tell ya that I don't like this feature at all. Sorry...it just detracts and in my opinion is really not necessary as clicking on the image will tell all amyway.

I don't like that popup either.

Hmmm, let me check here...

Quote - What might perhaps allay some of cliff-dwellar's fears would be screen shots of a converted gallery.  ....  We might then be able to spot if something seems missing or otherwise troublesome.

Ok, yeah, I did say something before.  Hence, "I told you so". 

I think we would have noticed the "zoom in" button and raised the question of image resizing BEFORE the conversion, been able to discuss it rationally, and saved us all a lot of bad feelings.

Please consider this kind of thing the next time you're updating a major component of the site.

:b_funny: yup

Quote - "Update – You will now see a box pop up when you put your mouse over the thumbnail that will tell you number of views, comments and date uploaded."

---

 

I have to tell ya that I don't like this feature at all. Sorry...it just detracts and in my opinion is really not necessary as clicking on the image will tell all amyway.

 

Me too.  It sounds like a good idea but actually it's just incredibly irritating.

Quote - > Quote - "Update – You will now see a box pop up when you put your mouse over the thumbnail that will tell you number of views, comments and date uploaded."

---

 

I have to tell ya that I don't like this feature at all. Sorry...it just detracts and in my opinion is really not necessary as clicking on the image will tell all amyway.

 

Me too.  It sounds like a good idea but actually it's just incredibly irritating.

Nope, same here, it's really useless and detracts from what little viewing pleasure is left.

Sorry for the newbie question but could someone sende me or post the correct set of letters and numbers so that I can change the background color of my galleries fron white to black and the text from black to white. I don't know how to change the style sheets.

Thanks,

Andres