Website Relaunch!

That would be a great feature... could possibly implement something like a facebook 'wall', but I don't think we'd be allowed to do anything that involves private messaging - for child protection reasons we want all conversation out in the open!

I'll have to look into this more next year though - I'll add it to the list of possible future features =)

I'm glad you approve of the above changes =) Did you want to test?

Here's a few things you need to know about the new theme

• The what's new page will be replaced on the actual launch date - see the new 'what's new' page .
• The home page will also be replaced - it will include a flash welcome panel which I've not done yet... I've made a little flash thing where a picture of the house will appear - please let me know if this doesn't work! See the new 'home' page .

Hi 200... I'm glad you like the new theme! - Which particular things do you like?

Regarding the above, I think I know what you mean... although that's very strange since the script that writes that part hasn't changed!

This is on the old WN page right? ( .../whatsnew rather than .../whatsnew2 )

Does it happen every time you load the page?

Thanks Alex... we used to have a videos thing when Ozzy set up the previous site but for whatever reason it broke and it never got fixed. I would be nice to restore it at some point. There are some limitations in terms of what we can show, though, because of copyrights and child protection... so I'm not sure if letting anyone add videos will happen... but that's something we can look in to when we get to it. Great idea.

Hey Elizabeth... I've noticed that problem before, but I was wondering if any of you would encounter it. The issue only happens with Internet Explorer (as far as I know), and since that's still what most people use I'm gonna need to figure that one out before the release! (added to list). Can you tell me which version of IE you are using? (type 'alt' then 'h' then 'a' (help > about internet explorer)). It will be probably 7 or 8?

Normally I would recommend getting a different browser (Firefox, Chrome, etc) or making sure you have the latest version of IE, but it would be cool if you stuck with it until I figure it out so you can let me know I fixed it! Thanks!

Nice spot Alex! I'll add it to the list.

I can see pros and cons to prizing the top posters - I can imagine it would increase the number of posts and make the site busier... but it might get silly and reduce the quality of the posts don't you think? ...I like that people post for fun or because they need help, and not because they think they'll win something. What do other people think? Maybe there are other ways prizes could be won?

Keep the ideas coming... even little things... here's an idea I had:

We could select a photo each month maybe, and people could write funny (not rude) captions for the picture - for example I'm sure you could come up with something funny for this picture

Elizabeth...

I think I've mostly sorted the main problem with Internet Explorer where the middle content area randomly shifts over/under the left side-bar. Please would you try it out for a bit and see if you can get it to break again?

If you're using IE7 or ealier (or IE8 in compat mode) A message should appear at the top of every page... does it for you? what does it say?

I'm glad you liked my idea 200 =)

Sounds good Mez... T-shirt for the most useful web tester!

...and excellent job Elizabeth for your findings! (Added some to the to-do list). I put the Open Days in two places intentionally (as well as Directions), because I think they apply to both categories and I'd want people to find it in the first place they look. With the activities, the images were cut short to line up with the text - but I can see what you mean now I look at it... so thanks for flagging it up - will switch the golf picture too!

Regarding the home page, I was gonna swap it completely and get rid of the comments and have a flash thing instead (see the test home page I made - does the animation work? is it fast+smooth or slow+jerky on your computer? Does it take long before it starts on the first view?

What I'd thought about for the flash thing would be to have pictures/news/adverts that keep changing (like on other websites) and then have some 'quick links' to commonly accessed pages below (eg camp dates, directions, etc). I'm not sold on this - does anyone have any other suggestions? Do you think that it's worth having some (updated) comments still?

Alex... I like games... I assume that's what you mean by arcade? However we'd need more specifics before saying yes, and that would have to wait 'til post launch since there's still a lot to do and I'd love to get it finished by New Year. Let me know what you find though - could be cool.

One of the things I've really wanted to do, but never had the time to get it done, is make an/some Oakes game(s) for the website - that's more of a dream than a reality at this point in time though!

A birthday message would be a good idea. The birthday was something I added a month or two ago with the hope of being able to use it. I'm not sure how many existing users have set their birthday since then, and I've noticed some users since have not even bothered to set it... so their birthday is the day they signed up. If they got their birthday greeting on the wrong day that could be a prompt to correct it! I think your suggestion is definitely easily doable - I think that'll be one of the first things I do post-launch when I get a chance =) Nice one

I fixed the links in the bookstall - good spot - should work now. I haven't really looked at the bookstall - I might revamp the whole bookstall post-launch, but if you spot any problems that make it unusable, they should be fixed asap really - just like those links =)

Keep searching... there's probably loads more things to find!

Wow! 12 new posts since yesterday - impressive!

Elizabeth - the Bible book summary idea is a good one... it should be possible in theory, but I'd imagine we'd have to write it ourselves to avoid copyright. I'll add it to the possible feature list. Links to the top and bottom of the forum is definitely doable so I'll add that to the post-launch to-do list.

Chris (and Alex) - the website isn't hosted at The Oakes, but there's still a bandwidth limit on traffic to and from that server through our domain name - I imagine we'd have to pay more if we raised that significantly... but that's something I'd have to ask Ozzy (since he set it up). That's why I was suggesting embedding an app to download someone else's content to use their bandwidth instead =P

The application you made looks very promising... well done! One question though... where would the music be coming from? (i.e. Is it coming from the same server? Do we have permission to play it on our website?)

200 - You're right about the home page link not being very easy to find - I should probably improve that =). The 'Website?' I guess was intentional, but probably makes more sense without the '?' - so now it's gone

You're also right about the wallpaper... I was planning on starting in January and trying to make them appropriate to the season - great minds think alike! Jezza's made two cool ones, but they're more autumnal so you'll have to wait for those! The 'December' one was put there as more of a WN layout suggestion. (Did you guys get snow this morning? We did!)

Holly - you're in! Oakes clothing would be great to sell and may possibly happen in the future. It would need to be worth all the extra effort that would be involved at this end, and seeing as I wouldn't be the one sorting and sending the clothes I can't make that decision. But I can see it happening one day (hopefully)

At the moment I'm working on the flash thing for the home page, I'll upload it (and let you know) when I make a good amount of progress.

Yeah Chris that's great... it all comes down to what music we're allowed to play then. That'll be something that'll have to wait until later though seeing as today is kinda my last working day before New Year! Argh so much to do!

Thanks Elizabeth for your confirmation of my thoughts =)

When I switched you on to the new theme I did that already... hover over the arrow next to your name in the previous message.

Check out the home page again everyone - do a hard refresh (Ctrl+F5) if its the same - Labels should appear when you move over the icons. There's still much to do to get to where I want with that, but at least it's in a launch-able state... I think!

The new site is launched!!

I figured if it wasn't today it would be January and I'm too impatient! Please keep all the bugs and minor improvements coming in - I want to make what we've got as well-rounded and enjoyable as possible before we progress any further.

Feel free to keep suggesting features too - remember the two restrictions which seem to sadly suppress so much... child protection and copyrights. Also remember that simple/small features that are more easily implemented are more likely to be implemented sooner... for example, a website feature that does all your homework and household chores isn't likely to happen any time soon. =P

Hey guys! Sorry I've not been on in a while - I'm currently in California for Christmas and New Year and the next week or so... anyone jealous? =P Good feedback however - I'll try and fix those bugs when I get back, if not before. I also noticed on firefox 3.0 and earlier problems with the arrows on the left nav... and sometimes there are gaps or overlaps with the border/background depending on whats in it.

200... that message only appears when you're logged out? That's strange.

Alex, could you try a hard refresh to make sure it's not a caching problem (Ctrl+F5)

Thanks for your continued feedback everyone - I look forward to continuing the work! Need to work on a couple of mailings when I get back too (Oakes News and a special camper mailing about the extension!)

Wow! Just fixed a big problem which no-one noticed.... and the reason no-one noticed is because applies to all users who aren't website testers =P Apparently other users who logged on couldn't access the 'What's New' page, and were sent to an 'Access Denied' page instead (on log in!) - easy to fix, and hopefully we should get more votes on the polls now, etc.

Also I've changed Harry's picture to one where he's actually smiling - thanks Jezza! Also updated some other stuff, mostly to do with booking information.

I looked on the team computer, but it wouldn't show the upgrade message... doh.

Oh yeah... Mez... the version we have has no copyright issues. I'm not sure how we'd go about getting hold of a copyrighted version like the NIV. The module's website is down at the mo. I'll add it to the list =)

You can now make your text look just as you wanted it to - The smileys are also back, as requested!

You should get some icons above the comment response textbox allowing you to do the following...

1. You can do Bold and Italics ... just like you do in Word, etc
2. You can do numbered bullet lists (like this) as well as normal bullet lists
3. New lines now work as expected.
   (Shift-Return will go to the next line without starting a new paragraph or bullet (like this line))
4. You can turn any text into a link too using the link icon - the To-Do List
   
5. And here's the smileys:
   (I've fixed all smileys in posts that people have viewed in the last two months... if there's a particular page you want re-smiled, let me know!)
6. You can add images (like before) - but it's still not the easiest tool to use...

Please test it works! Have a good day =)

Hello. I finally figured out why it was being so random with the browser versions - When you're not logged in, it will save the whole page in the cache so the page doesn't need to be remade every time a new guest comes along. However, if the original copy is made by somebody with an old browser, then the message will appear to everyone who is not logged in too (I'm not sure why it didn't do it every time)!

So I just decided to show the message only to people who are logged in - which isn't ideal, but it will stop the message showing when it shouldn't =)

With the Bible, I updated the module, and re-tweaked it. It won't be much different than before... I removed that random purple background behind the verse references. I couldn't see a way of having references with overlap chapters to work (e.g. Col 2:6-3:8 ⁶ As therefore you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, walk in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving. ⁸ Be careful that you don't let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ. ⁹ For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power; ¹¹ in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; ¹⁵ having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. ¹⁶ Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's. ¹⁸ Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with God's growth. ²⁰ If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, ²¹ "Don't handle, nor taste, nor touch" ²² (all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men? ²³ Which things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but aren't of any value against the indulgence of the flesh. ¹ If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. ³ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. ⁵ Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; ⁶ for which things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. ⁷ You also once walked in those, when you lived in them; ⁸ but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth. ) without completely re-writing the module - which would take forever!

I'm not sure why sometimes the verses don't show up - but it seems they show up later! Maybe with the module updated it won't do that anymore... I can hope!

Welcome back! Hope your computer is feeling better now

Did you check out the newest forum topic regarding the what's new page?

Stuff I've done recently:

• What's New page revamp - I hope you like it! (Still want to add a couple more content types to display... like notices, new users etc)
• Built-in profile pictures - go to the part where you edit your profile picture... there are now some options for people who can't (or choose not to) upload a picture on registration.
• Wallpapers - I've revamped that page a bit and the page for viewing a specific wallpaper

Any feedback is always appreciated... don't think we've forgotten about that t-shirt (read above... somewhere!)

Yeah, the green triangles represent stuff you haven't read... is that what you meant by 'the second bit'?

Did you mean to have a link right at the bottom of the what's new page to go back to the top? I know I still need to add top and bottom links back into the forum topics as you requested.

The verses are confusing me... sometimes they work... sometimes they don't - I'll try and have another look today.