your social network and dating script provider

excellent work!

Maverick, Johnboy and myself were pretty close with our guesses!

The one thing I did notice there now, and i wonder if it is entirely necessary - is the seconds (in the time of each post).  Would it benot be  sufficient to have just the hours and minutes of the post.

e.g. 14:47 PM PDT
as opposed to:  14:47:12 PM PDT

hmmm, tho it has posted above post - when i hit send, i had an error screen on blog

http://www.datemill.com/friendy/processors/blog_comments.php

: Undefined index: comment_id
Last query run: SELECT `fk_user_id` FROM `dsb_blog_posts` WHERE `post_id`='14'

Array
(
   [0] => Array
       (
           [function] => general_error
       

   [1] => Array
       (
           [file] => /var/www/htdocs/datemill/html/friendy/processors/blog_comments.php
           [line] => 112
           [function] => unknown
       

)

Last edited by strawberries on 2007-04-24 21:02:34 GMT

Fixed. Just a file that I forgot to upload.

The way the times and dates looks can be customized in your settings. The application is using a general setting now, regardless of what you set there but this will be fixed in an update soon.

Last edited by dragon on 2007-04-24 21:26:52 GMT

Last edited by dragon on 2007-05-07 21:17:46 GMT

Great stuff, Dan.

The script is starting to look really good.

I like the new thing that you have added - tho i will have to have a think as to what I can include on it, on a regular basis.

OK, something else that I thought of:
On the home page, a person can see the:

Newest Members
and also
Newest Photos

I wonder if it would also be good to have a further row/listing showing new members that meet the person's saved search criteria?  

That would provide them with immediate interest on going to that home page each day.

And/or maybe they could get a periodic email that the site sends, telling them of new listings that meet their criteria.

Coming along nicely Dan

So far I like how you're keeping things simple, clean and well organized, makes it real user friendly. Also like the news feature on the members home page, can actually see myself using this instead of mass emailing newsletters, I've personally never been big on sending out newsletters.

i agree maverick.

Newsletters are not my thing either.

It's far better to have a place to say it on the website instead.

Ok I think the site has some great features compared to the old DSB, BUT, I am so lost with the navigation and how to ultilise all the great features.

At the top there are 4 sections with Tabs, and when you go into each section, the menu on the left hand frame changes to whats relevant in that section. Thats a great idea, EXCEPT for people like me with bad memory and short attention span.

EG: I will be in say the photos section, and wonder how I can get back to the whos online page. To do this I have to click on SEARCH(If I remember that its in that section) and then Click on Whos online.

Is it possible to have some sort of navigation that shows you ALL the sections of the site, or even a site map, or even better a help section to show you how to use all the features.

I know the site is still in its infancy and more will be done soon, I just really want to know if I(by paying Dan) can impliment these features.

Hi Johnboy:

I hear what you're saying about the navigation, but it's pretty easy to add items or create your own navigation system. For most things, when you click the link and go to that page, just use the URL that appears in your address field and add it to your navigation system. The default navigation code should be fairly easy to locate in the files, it's usually in the index or  header file (either a php or html file depending on the template system). In DSB 2 look in the index.html file under \skins\basic.

Once you find it, it's pretty easy to figure out the structure. Then just have to copy the section that creates the blog tab for example and paste it below that and rename the tab part to "Who's Online" and change the URL. This should then create a new tab link.

Last edited by maverick on 2007-04-25 05:27:01 GMT

I wonder if it would also be good to have a further row/listing showing new members that meet the person's saved search criteria?

And/or maybe they could get a periodic email that the site sends, telling them of new listings that meet their criteria.

I've personally never been big on sending out newsletters.

I am so lost with the navigation and how to ultilise all the great features

Great work, Dan.  This is turning into a helluva awesome script. It is so clean and so functional.

I do agree with Johnboy - in that i too have trouble remembering where some of the links are at - i.e. what pages they are on.

Glad you liked the idea for a third row, to compliment NEWEST MEMBERS and NEWEST PHOTOS.  I don't know what you'd call that third row - maybe NEWEST MATCHES

I claim my prize!!  

I agree that newsletters have their place, for years I used to send out newsletters and for a time they worked very well for creating stickiness and increasing sales, but once the anti-spam software began to become more prominent and sophisticated, it started to become more of a pain in the a** than it was worth, so we just quit doing it. Part of it too was, I think I just kind'a got burned out from creating and sending out mass newsletters.

However, things like allowing members to choose to receive notifications when they get new messages etc. is a real good idea.

I think putting the 'My Account' menu on all pages is an excellent idea, and something I'd actually been pondering over for the last few days. Maybe also include where the 'My Messages' link is, something that lets them know when they have new messages, maybe even a simple blinking gif icon that says 'New Messages'. By having the 'My Account' menu on all pages along with a notification or alert when a new messages arrives allows users to immediately know when they get a message, no matter where they are on the site.

Last edited by maverick on 2007-04-25 11:19:41 GMT

Yes, perhaps a simple blinking icon, to alert the user immediately when a new message arrives, would be good.  

Then again, I already get an immediate alert here via my email (immediate pop up from my task bar).

re website 'stickiness' - I think the automated sending out (if turned on) of new messages (re a person's blog, individual picture comments, flirt, etc) as well as the new feature Dan mentioned (regular email alerting the user of newest matches) is gonna mean people are gonna keep coming back.

I am really excited about this script.

Then again, I already get an immediate alert here via my email (immediate pop up from my task bar).

true, maverick.

my account is with yahoo.  I have yahoo messenger going most of the day, thus i always get a pop-up when new mail arrives.

but i know what you mean....some folks will have other free email accounts, that they sign up with, and they won't check them that much.

Last edited by strawberries on 2007-04-25 20:59:46 GMT

A TINY BUG

not that important - but when i get a message, and go to reply.  The person's quoted text  e.g.

Hi strawberries, how's it going!

...and we thought it was a feature
We even thought of usability there: the subject field is selected by default and when you hit <tab> the cursor goes to the message body, above the quoted text.

In the regular email client we use to reply above the quoted text. The blank line is there to invite you to write above. Not a biggie if you're not used to do it this way it can be changed.

ahhhh I see....i always by default type BELOW quoted text.

It just doesn't read correctly otherwise, in my opinion.  Things should follow on. imho

I actually came across the most bizarre discussion board earlier this week.  It was a massive massive board, been going for many years, with tens of thousands of members, but the threads took me a minute or two to figure out.  For some reason, you had to read the thread back to front, bottom to top.  

i.e. say for example a thread was 5 pages long, the original post that started the thread off, was at the bottom of page 5.  And you had to read upwards, and then backwards, onto page 4, 3, etc.  Strange strange setup.  I have seen thousands of forums in the last 15 years, but never one like that.  lol

Last edited by strawberries on 2007-04-26 12:24:13 GMT

Just personally, I hate replying underneath the original message, I prefer it at the top of the page, so its the 1st thing the recipient see's. I cannot understand why people do it underneath. Some say so you can read the whole thing out later from top to bottom, But how often do you read all the replies once you have already read them?

Also thanks Maverick for the explaination about the links, much appreciated, and I have to agree with you about the blinking email icon, doesnt even have to be blinking, just have it somewhere on ALL pages that changes when there is an email.
eg: you have (0) emails                              you have (2) emails.

To Dan:
I like the whos online tab
and having the my account links on everypage is a great idea. Also I'm starting to like these blogs and can see they will be an excellent feature for my members.

One other thing..... How come you cannot see your own profile on the whos online page anymore? The old DSB does.

Otherwise I say WOW!!! great new script and well worth the wait.

For a forum where people might not be there from the start of the discussion this is, indeed, a bad thing.
For email (which is supposed to be a dialogue between 2 people) I find it annoying to have to scroll down to read one's answer because I already know what I said in my email, I don't need to see it again in his/her reply. So I made a rule here - the customer support answers above quoted text.
But if you want I'll write a tutorial on how to reply below the quoted text.

friggin ell, I KNEW we shouldn't have let the Romanians into the EU!  :-} :-D

Hey, now you can use words like #######, ####### and #######

LOL  

Dan, your english is better than mine.  Is english taught in schools there as the main second language?

PS - I wish I had access to your emoticons - i had to go google for my previous post's emoticon.

> : (
: D
o . O
| o
- . -
8 )
: ~ (
> : )
: doh :
< . <
: grr :
^ , ^
: h :
: huh :
: lol :
: x
: ,
: O
: r :
: (
: )
: t :
: P
: u :
: w :
: .
; )
: ! :

See the chars at the icon's right. Just don't use spaces between chars.

English is indeed main second language here. Almost everybody understands it and most of us speak ok.

Last edited by dragon on 2007-04-26 20:30:26 GMT

yee-haaaa!



Last edited by strawberries on 2007-04-26 20:28:23 GMT

Last edited by strawberries on 2007-04-26 20:29:06 GMT

Dan, with things preogressing so well, would it be amiss of me to ask that old question that you so dearly love?  

When do you imagine you will release the script?

<runs for cover behind maverick, traderjoe and johnboy>

Not counting an installer, docs and the backend (for license management and your-site-our-server interconnection ) I would say that in 2 weeks we could have a version that certain customers might be allowed to beta test.

That's excellent, Dan.  

May I ask if the instant messenger plugin is already made, or is still work-in-progress?

Also, with the new datemill, if your server is down, does it effect my ability to log-in and administer my own website?

Also, I was thinking today, re the NEWEST  rows - i.e. you have two so far - Newest Members, Newest Photos.

I suggested a third last week - Newest Matches.  

I was thinking today that we will probably need a fourth row for FEATURED MEMBERS.  i.e. those who will pay a premium to be on the front page of the site.

Last edited by strawberries on 2007-04-27 14:01:06 GMT

Also, with the new datemill, if your server is down, does it effect my ability to log-in and administer my own website?

wooow, we can download new plug-ins and updates, from datemill, directly from our website's admin.  Excellentae.

Will plug-ins be free, Dan?

Last edited by strawberries on 2007-04-27 14:51:25 GMT

Another idea worth considering, is having a feature in the admin panel, that allows the webmaster to automatically put up temporary homepage (useful when there is a problem with the site, and/or he is updating it, or has it down for maintenance)

e.g. a temp page saying something like 'sorry for the inconvenience, we're doing some maintenance, back shortly'

joomla has that feature.....very cool.

Not sure if this is an oversight, I have just noticed that there is no way to delete your account. ( Not that we would want to ) but some OTHER people do. *g*
Just another tid bit that I have added to my message board that would be handy for blogs is a spell checkerrrr.

Last edited by tpandtp on 2007-04-29 13:37:29 GMT

wondering how things are progressing.

I heard things are going very well I am not in town now, that's why you didn't see any update on the demo site but we're working on not so visible things anyway.
I'll update the site in the weekend, when I return. The admin part of the site should be available for demo soon.

It's looking so good, Dan.  You have all been doing great work.  I imagine once the admin part of the site is up and running, you are almost on the home straight (as we say here in the UK).

I love how 'clean' the whole script looks.  You have built in so many great features, and yet it looks very simple (because of good layout and pre-planning).  

I wonder how many members the script could cope with.....i.e. registrants/users.  BTW, does it use one database or two?  (thinking maybe a second database for the blogs section)

Hi all. I just figured the forum moved into the blog here

I have a search question. Well 2 questions
firstly can you make a "any" option in the education drop down choices, and also in the     marital status drop down,?

Secondly how about an option for a simple search by basic criteria such as age,location,gender so that the user does not have to fill in the whole form on the advanced search each time they want to find a search result.

Thanks and regards
Clive

Hi Clive;

I agree that it would be a good idea to have both a basic/quick search along with an advanced search appear by default when you click the main search button. Although it would be fairly easy to copy the snip of code for the basic search from the main home page and add it pretty much anywhere you want.

One thing the blogs needs to have is only so many comments loaded per page, maybe somewhere in the area of 24 - 36 ?

Last edited by maverick on 2007-05-05 23:14:03 GMT

yes, the search page isn't that useful as it stands.

for example, i don't want to have to enter in an 'eye color' choice.  

i think, like maverick, that there should be a simple search thing on the same page, above the more advanced search feature.  

And rather than choose an eye color, from a drop down, have any features/choice options as boxes......thus if you leave some aspect  blank (e.g. eye colour), that feature gets ignored in the search.

If the field is searchable with a select box or with multiple checkboxes it is up to the admin. It's a matter of changing the search type in the field definition menu in the admin panel.
As for the 'ANY' option being available in the search select boxes, that's indeed an omission and will be fixed before the release.

Have space, will beta.

I did some validation and compatibility testing in a past life. I'd love to beta test this script when you get ready. Looks good so far.

Interesting comments posted here everybody. I'm looking forward to the release.

really looking forward to this new version.    It is so much more advanced than the previous version (and it was good).  It will be wonderful if people can come up with plugins and ideas for plugins, in the future.  Keen to see what the instant messenger will look like.

just reminds me - is there any way where when you post your comment, that the newly reloaded page automaticlaly scrolls down to  your new comment.  I have this on my vanilla chat script - very cool.  

Otherwise at the present time, I have to scroll down myself to see my newly added comment.

It's already implemented, you will get it when I update the site...probably tonight

excellentae!

You mentioned the admin section a few days ago, Dan.  Is it close to being ready?

Dan said: As for the 'ANY' option being available in the search select boxes, that's indeed an omission and will be fixed before the release.

if nothing is checked in a checkbox set, that field is not included in the search but I was talking about selects (drop down fields).

I'm trying for 2 days now to post a new blog saying that I've updated the demo site but had no time yet. So I've updated the demo site

apologies, I understand you now  re needing an ANY choice in the 'drop down fields'

yeee-haaaa re the new update.  Will we notice any obvious changes?  Thinking maybe just minor bug fixes.

How is the admin part of the script coming along, if I may ask.

The WHO'S ONLINE page always comes up blank for me i.e.

Search Results

No results found matching your search criteria. Please refine your search and try again.

The who's online search does not depend on your preferences. It shows who is online now, except for yourself.
For example it shows me that strawberries is online right now
And now maverick

Last edited by dragon on 2007-05-11 08:42:30 GMT

I figured it would work as you mentioned, however I don't see who's online, all I see is what stawberries is seeing ...

No results found matching your search criteria. Please refine your search and try again.

Noticed you implemented Thickbox, so far I've only noticed it being used for the reason photos are rejected. I'm using Greybox for the pop ups on my development, for things like the TOS, Site Policies, Contact form etc.

If you plan on using Thickbox for other things, such as photo galleries etc. maybe I'll switch and implement Thickbox for what I've already done to keep things consistent. I looked at Thickbox about a year ago but it lacked some features that Greybox had at the time.

Last edited by maverick on 2007-05-11 09:20:08 GMT

Noticed you implemented Thickbox

no, still nobody online

(Maverick, I too saw you listed as online once, but that was 2 weeks ago)

The feature just always shows nobody online.

ahhh, success - MAVERICK is now shown as online!!!

What did you change, Dan?

Ya it seems to be working for me now. Strawberries, try refreshing your browser after you go to the who's online page.

What did you change, Dan?

I agree, I try to avoid using javascript toys as much as possible. The only thing I liked about using the Thickbox or Greybox as a pop solution is they tend not to be affected by browser popup blockers and it also puts and keeps the popup in the forefront and closes if you click on the main page rather than staying open in the background as second browser window.

thickbox and greybox are great solutions.

Regarding WHO's ONLINE though - I'm not convinced as to how beneficial it is going to be.  

If I have hundreds, or one or two thousand members...I want to see online people who I might like to send a message to e.g. female, 30 to 40 years old.  I don't have any need or interest in wading through page after page of males who are online.  They have no interest to me.

I had a look over on the Advanced Search page, and it also doesn't allow me to search for online people (e.g. females) either.

I am probably missing something obvious here (usual for me)

Is there a reason for not being able to see yourself online, you could on the old DSB, why not on this script?

Hi Dan

Forgive my ignorance but when I do admin panel/site setup/edit TOS file or edit privacy file they seem to take me to a blog page?

Sally, it is true. It is happening only in the demo site because I removed some files from the admin panel in order to prevent people from changing settings in there. The same happens when you click on any 'save' button in admin panel but, rest assured, this happens only in the demo site.

I am also closing this post from more comments - please post your comments in the latest post so everybody can see your comments.