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Development of Side 7 v4.0 Re-starts - Started by: BadKarma

@BadKarma

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Development of Side 7 v4.0 Re-starts

Posted: 03 Oct 2006, 12:25 PM

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Greetings Ladies and Gents.

I know many people are wondering what's going on with Side 7. Please allow me to fill you in.

Coding for v4.0 has restarted. The forums was the beginning of that effort, and development of the forums continues. That being said, the forums is only the first step, and its continued development will be brought inline with Side 7's new codebase.

This is an entirely new codebase. No code from the current site is being reused as it has become completely unscalable and inflexible, and that has seriously hampered updating and upgrading the code along a normal upgrade path. So, we're going with a brand new codebase. This is the third time we've done this, and it's proven to be better each time, as well, as to teach us many new things.

Version 4.0 of Side 7 has a new feature list that is twice as long as the current feature list. There will be a significant number of art categories added to the site, as well as new portfolios for Favourites, Art Trades, Serial Art, and more.

Account Credits will become usable in a large number of ways, and won't simply be stagnant in your accounts anymore.

We have brought on a number of new people who are fullfilling a number of roles on the site, meaning that there is more than just my head and hands in the game. These people have volunteered their time to help with trouble tickets, moderating, and more. As the tools they need are brought online, you'll see more and more of their presence on the site. Please respect those people, as they represent the administration of Side 7 and carry with them that authority.

Much more of the account administration will be automated so that site members have greater control over their accounts without the need for admin intervention. This will put a greater amount of responsibility on the individual members to keep their account login information private. We've spent a lot of time working on security for the new site, including its login system, to minimise any ability to harvest passwords, forge logins, or crack into an account. We believe that the new security is strong enough to give members more severe account tools, such as "Remove My Account".

I'm sure many of you have seen what's coming up on Side 7, but just in case, I'll post it here:

Changes to Entire Site:

Modification of layout code to better facilitate site skins.
Update numerous places where additional sorting should be.
Addition of Site Skins.
Improved Username visibility site-wide.
Random Image button on main page.
Complete redesign of main page.
Removal of splash page.
New Announcements Mailing List.
Improved login system.
Referral rewards system.

Changes to Account System:

Merge First/Last Name records into one "Public Name" field.
Addition of Account Avatars
Login notification of new additions in your Museum since your last visit/login.
Fully automate the Account Upgrade system.
Fully automate the Account Application and Approval system.
Fully automate the Account Removal system.
Add Visitor -> Basic Account upgrade ability.
New uses for Account Credits: AotD showings, Additional Avatars, Additional Uploads.
The ability to give Account Credits to other site members.
A realignment of the Account Types so that they are easier to understand.

Changes to Biography System:

Addition of Commission Rates Listing System.
Addition of member Commenting Rules: member defined requests for commenting (i.e. "no cutesie comments, only serious critiques")
The possibility of a minor journaling system, but this is still in debate. Art first.
Better management of character biographies, and all biography images.
Biography will be linked to the Side 7 Forums.

Changes to Commenting System:

Display of member's Commenting Rules.
Ability to edit your own comments and replies.
Change "Gallery Comments" to "Member's Guestbook".
Reintroduction of Anonymous commenting. Site members will be able to choose to allow anonymous comments both on an gallery-based and image-based setting.
A member-defined minimum comment length will be configurable for those who want serious critiques.
Ability to turn comment signature on/off.
Ability to customise comment signature. This signature will be used in both the comments and in forums.
Display of Public Name with username in comments and replies.

Changes to Gallery System:

Addition of Customisable Portfolio Pages.
Addition of Customisable "Main" Page.
Addition of thumbnail view for gallery.
Addition of a Favourites Portfolio where an artist can list their favourite works of art by other site members.
Addition of Art Trades Portfolio where an artist can list images they've done for other people, and list images done for them by other site members.
Ability to customise how your gallery looks.
Friends-Only image uploads - image uploads that are visible only to members you designate as able to see your Friends-Only portfolio. These images will not fall under the normal image rating and category rules, as they are not visible to the public.
Ability to obtain additional daily uploads with Account Credits.

Changes to Side 7's Store:

Completely overhaul the web store to remove dependence on sites like cafepress.com and 99dogs.com.
Build stock of new and unique Side 7 merchandise, including high-quality screen printed shirts. Looking into customised lead holders, drawing pencils, and other art-related items, as well.
Add AotD, account upgrading and corporate membership sign-ups from the Side 7 store.
Add gift certificates to the web store.
Add the ability to use Account Credits to the Side 7 store, to generate discount coupons for merchandise.

New Art Category List: