Randomland.net - Test Site Discussion

[Nick]

I installed the latest version of the drupler on  the test site (http://test.randomland.net/) Have a look. Its the latest and greatest drupal 7 alpha.

Seems I will have to remake the theme from (nearly) scratch. If you have any design ideas, requests or suggestions then let me know. Or put them in yourself


Updated by zourtney

The following is meant to be kept as a running list of TODO items for the Randomland test site. If it seems like something we should actually do, add it in here. To discuss ideas (or if somehow you're on this forum, have valid input, and are not an admin), just post a reply on the last page of this thread.

Theme
We will need to create a new theme, because Drupal 7 is quite different. I would like to see a more simplified and unified theme (the one right now feels a little mish-mash, to me). I would also really like a mobile-friendly version.

Calendar
One of the things I'm missing is the calendar functionality we have right now in Drupal 6. I downloaded the dev version today (10-28-2010) but have not had a chance to play with it. Sure, it's dorky, but I like the calendar thing.

For the wish list: if we could get a Randomland calendar that'll sync with mail accounts (ie, on my phone), that'd be sweet

Trim down arbitrary sections
I know, I know. I pushed and I pushed for segregated sections on Randomland. But I take it all back; a few simple tags and a decent site layout would fix all of that. So let's trash the pseudo-sections, tag posts appropriately, and just make the top nav links view a specialized landing page with a list of posts with that tag.

Image system
We need to decide what we want here. I still like uploading pictures to Randomland. It is a good thing. I am still willing to work on the image module, but I want to avoid reinventing the proverbial wheel. I'm open to opinions. I do like image as nodes, the "ImageStream", and the idea of a way to add images to posts without referring to their filename on the server.

Wiki, forums, and nodes
What goes where and why do we need it? As good of an idea as the Wiki is, it just fragments the site worse. Right now, I find the forum to be the best part of the site (probably because it actually gets used). How can we merge these 3 CMSes into something usable? (If you've never been, you might want to check out Stackoverflow.com...they have a huge user base and incorporate all of these ideas into a pretty usable site). Is the Drupal-based forum worth looking into again?

Web 2.old
We should at least try to add some elements of websites which have emerged within, say the past decade or so. Gravatar, OpenID, Digg, Facebook crap, AJAXy interface, usable node comment systems, etc.

[zourtney]

Cool, yo. We should make a better theme anyway. I'm up for that. It needs to be done anyway.

What all has changed? Are views and bunches of other stuff included with the download now?

Did you lose my module code? Is was in the base modules directory. If you did, don't worry, because everything got checked in to the SVN.

[Nick]

I made a copy of the old test site folder so nothing is lost forever. All that is installed at the moment is the base drupal 7 and a ultra basic zen theme. They changed the way themes work a little so the current one is not compatable the way it is. I also installed the new version of SMF, but I have been having trouble getting it to import the older SMFs database. I didn't see a guide for importing all the drupal database stuff into the new drupal, but I am sure there is a way. It needs allot of work and looking at to see if its usable. Send me a message and I will set you up an admin account on the test site (that goes for Brad and Cody too.)

[zourtney]

Ok, cool. I was thinking that I should make the base styling of that module tsupabland, and let user themes override it as they see fit. That's how theming is supposed to work and it'd help me learn how to do module style overriding properly.

I definitely think we should try to migrate to the new SMF. It seems to be where the development is happening. Then we can have necessary features, like blink text!!

I sent you a message about getting an account on the test site. It was obnoxious, I know.

I was thinking that it would be a good time to solidify a few:

• theme -- what do we want the theme to look like. I'd like something a little "cleaner" than the current system. A mobile/lo-res version is still enticing to me as well.
• input modes/filters -- like the seemingly misnamed "full HTML", or the fact that PHP input filter must be enabled for the rlimg thing to work (which seems bad)
• node types -- we seem to have ones we never use (on purpose). I am still fuzzy on post/page/blog entry terminology. Ultimately they're all the same thing and seems to just add confusion. For example, whatever type Cody used on his desk project post does not allow for comments. Why not just always have comments enabled by default?
• taxonomy --maybe we should revisit the taxonomy debate. Our sections are becoming less and less distinct. Also, many concepts are missed entirely (such as photography or food). Should we just migrate to a flat tag system?
• image system -- everyone will agree that it's still a bit rough around the edges (and apparently unusable by the likes of Brad and Cody). I'm willing to work on the presentation aspect of this if we can get some consensus on what we want.
• oh yeah -- why nobody makes posts to Randomland anymore. Or, perhaps better stated as, "Define the roles of the main, forum, and wiki site and what content shall be provided in each." Because, we now essentially have 3 full-fledged content management systems running concurrently. This is probably the most important thing to figure out, actually.
  
  

These are the issues I see that think could use some refinement. So, take your shot. Someone? Anyone? Please?

[zourtney]

In response to Nick's comment about redoing gallery stuff, I say, "go for it!"

I'm not much familiar with how this works, but it seems like we could:

• 1) Create a dedicated node type. Call it gallery or whatever.
• 2) Add a field of type list or list text. This would store image node IDs. It could also potentially store gallery node IDs.
• 3) Also add boring fields, like a title, description, etc.
• 4) Look into creating an image-selector widget. There might be something built in already.
• 5) Party.
• 6) Maybe update the image module to embed galleries as well. [rlimg-gallery xxx] or something like that.

But, I don't know much. That's just what pops into my head. What are your[all's] thoughts?

[Nick]

You know more about the drupal guts then I do. I just smash modules together until things kinda work It will be fun trying to figure it all out though.

[zourtney]

It seems that the official documentation is still a bit light, though it does exist. Sometimes I have to open up the core modules and start scrolling through foundational modules, like image or field. But it's kind of fun. And I would be utterly stuck if it were not open source.

It's fun, you should try it. 

[zourtney]

With the Drupal 7 version of rlimg and rlimg-block stuff mostly working, I need a new project. Should we slide on over to setting up the gallery taxonomy? Or perhaps an write uploader? Or a UI for tagging stuff?

Or, drop the image stuff (for now) and concentrate on theming? Or data migration? Or...concentrate on writing something worth reading?

Suggestions? Have I overused the question mark? Should I end this post off with a question?¹

[Nick]

No, you defiantly should now end your post with a question. Statements are so much cooler.


I think we should work on making an actual gallery for the site. And all that that entails.  If we do a good one it might even get used by other people!

Themeing should be easyish once I figure out how to convert the existing stuff over. I hope.

[zourtney]

Ok. Sounds good. Shall we make a "gallery" content type? It seems like the right approach, but what do I know?

[Nick]

Sounds goodish. Perhaps even a 'collection' type to hold galleries.

[zourtney]

I think it'd be best not differentiate between the two. Just have collections whose contents can contain single images or collections. Now I need a diagram.

[Nick]

Self referencing containers! I will put this box in a box in a box that also happens to be in a box! Oh my!
The only reason I suggest the container idea is to make displaying things differently easier. You want a couple of thumbs to represent a gallery and just a thumb of the image to represent an image. But in reality they are simply both just lists of nodes. So it could probably be done with only one list-container type. Having two would be for usability (logically having a collection/list of galleries make sense to me just like a gallery is a collection/list of single images)

But just doing a 'gallery search' with parameters would do fine for creating what I have in mind. Then we would only need gallery nodes and image nodes and a page that can search either/or.   

[zourtney]

I started making a diagram, but figured it'd be half as much work to just do it (since it's on a test site, anyway). So, I did make the content type, but list is the wrong way to store node references.

It seems like the best way to do it is to make a custom field. As long as we're building modules and stuff, we might as well do it right. Besides, it sounds kinda "fun." I'll take this on if no one else feels like it -- or has a better suggestion.

Warning: I'm slow.

[Nick]

I'd like to help with it. Might move it along faster too. I will have a look at the test site and see if I can figure out what your trying to describe. I need to know more about the basics of making new content types (beyond the GUI thing) and displaying them. I thought it would all be easy but there is no views module for drupal 7.