Obsidian Portal - Changes and Updates for 2018

OPAdmin
OPAdmin
edited January 2018 in General Discussion

Hey Everyone,

I want to start off by thanking all of you that have stuck thru with us. I know it's been a rocky road, and while I am a fan of off-roading...this particular ride has been a doozy. We appreciate all of you and we are working on getting someone on staff that can work within the infrastructure that OP was built on.

I'm doubling this is as a courtesy post to acknowledge that the site has gone down yet again, it will be back up in the next few hours. We have isolated this issue that continues to take the site down, but it's going to take a bit longer to correct it. We did have someone we thought could handle this change for us, though it turns out to have been a dead end.

We are not giving up and are in the process of looking for a developer that can help us correct the bugs and of course roll out new features and changes that we're all eager for. 

That being said, I would like to use this thread to discuss two things.

1. Bugs that need to be corrected

2. New features that are needed/wanted

The first point obviously being the most important and I would appreciate help on which are most urgent so we can address the biggest concerns first.

I'll kick if off by addressing what I know needs to corrected at this time.

1. Notifications

These were working for the calendar and forum posts, are both down again? Please clarify so we know where to look and apply a fix.

2. Maps not processing

According to the logs these are processing but at a very slow rate...and could sometimes take hours, the infrastructure is big enough to handle the background processes like this, but because the map upload feature uses a queued system and there are maps that take longer than others to load, this creates a "traffic jam" if you will and so the maps take longer to actually appear once they're uploaded as they are waiting for other maps to finish loading. To correct this we will likely need to change the algorithm which isn't a quick mod, so in the meantime please try to be conservative with the size of the maps you choose to upload.

3. Tags and Search

We did isolate the issue and according to our tech team it has been corrected but we are still monitoring it at this time, is this something that is still creating problems?

4. Media Library - The sub folders

I did some testing myself on this issue and noticed that sub folders were acting wonky when loading certain images into deeper level folder structures, we have this on our radar but will need a talented developer that understands the infrastructure OP is built on in order to fix it.

Those are our top four for the moment...well five if you count the changes that need to happen to prevent the site from randomly dipping out.

I'll continue to drop in here so that we can further discuss changes to the site that need to happen

Again, huge thanks to everyone that has stuck with us thru the year, we appreciate you so much!

Welcome to 2018!

Jameela

Post edited by OPAdmin on
«1345

Comments

  • Shmngg
    Shmngg
    Posts: 7 edited January 2018

    Thanks for the update.

    If I can add my two cents, I feel that OP could use some rather simple quality of life features that perhaps do not need that much programing.

    An obvious one, albeit not critical (as all QoL features I guess), is the addition of customizable character categories (like Player Characters and Non-Player Characters already present). When browsing through campaigns that rely heavily on OP, I see that the characters list are so long it's really difficult to navigate. I will usemy campaign as an example: http://mournblade.obsidianportal.com/characters

    Of course, the tags are there to help but it's not really a convenient alternative if, each time you want to browse the characters, you have to think of the relevant tags.

    Since the categories "PC" and "NPC" already exist, why not expand this feature by making categories customizable and making it possible to link a character to a specific category?

    Anyway, thanks for asking the community about the features it would like to add.

    Post edited by Shmngg on
  • Bortas
    Bortas
    Posts: 645 edited January 2018

    Thanks for keeping at it!

    Tags and search seem to be not causing server errors, for the moment, but something about that system is very fragile - it seems to work for a time, then go down for a time. Its not clear to the end users if there is an external force breaking the tag, or if it may be related to some change the developer is doing on the back end. Either way: while it currently isn't giving hard stop server errors, it is also not showing any results.

    You are right: sub folders in media libraries are straight up wonky. Map processing takes excessively long. Notifications are...fragile.

    -bort

    Post edited by Bortas on
  • weasel0
    weasel0
    Posts: 435

    E-mail invites also seem to be wandering off again and thus no delivery.

    Something must have happened to the maps processing system as it never took days in the past and I'd guess there are much fewer user now then in years past when it was faster. Hours yes. That was understandable at times as there were many more active users and then a bump in allowable map sizes, but now? Doesn't add up.

    So +1 to Bortas' Summary  and addendum to specify it's all Notifications generated from anywhere in a campaign.

  • Keryth987
    Keryth987
    Posts: 1,047

    JSON Error when trying to change or add an avatar image. This has been going on for more than a year now and seeing how its something one does when making an account, looks bad to new members.

    Link to topic regarding it here:

     

     

  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006

    Thanks for the thread.

    Notifications are paramount.  I believe that should be prioritised as it is essential to the smooth working of most campaigns.  

    The JSON avatar error mentioned by Keryth987 is very important for the reasons he mentions.  It does not greatly affect current users (although it is extremely irritating) but it is a HUGE blocker to new members and a MASSIVE discouragement to possible Ascendancy.

    i can live with most other minor glitches so long as the site works.

    twigs

     

     

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • ESElrond
    ESElrond
    Posts: 5

    I think the most urgent fixes should address things that are core functionalities of the site, used by all or nearly all campaigns.

     

    This includes most of the numbered bugs mentioned in the original post:

    1) Notifications

    EXTREMELY important to keep working at all times.  Without them, one of the key purposes of OP -- to be a unified communications hub for a campaign -- is deeply compromised.

    For reference: Last night I tried editing a wiki page, modifying a character page, and posting to my campaign forum -- all with notifications enabled.  I received emails promptly for the first two (wiki edit; character edit), but did NOT receive one for the last (forum post).  I didn't try to trigger an event notification.

    3) Tags and Search:

    Another KEY functionality that really needs to remain working at all times.

    OP can't be a proper repository of information for a campaign without the ability to search by keyword (tags aren't enough, honestly).

    If searching is broken, it also makes incremental maintenance of a campaign site -- finding existing  references to a new wiki page so they can be updated to hypertext links, for example -- almost impossible.

    4) Sub-folders in the Media Library:

    This has caused headaches for my own campaign (content being "lost" due to a player dragging-and-dropping one folder inside another one, turning the first folder into a sub-folder and rendering its contents inaccessible).

    That said, it's possible to make do without the use of sub-folders, so I'd prefer a short-term fix (disabling sub-folders entirely, for example) so more pressing issues can be focused on first.

     

    Another core functionality often gets short shrift in these discussions -- basic editing of pages:

    A) My campaign has had the WYSIWYG editor enabled since it began.  Wiki pages and adventure logs use the WYSIWYG editor, but other areas such as "in-campaign" forums and character pages still use a Textile-based editor. This inconsistency is confusing and counter-productive.

    B) The WYSIWYG editor itself...isn't always "What You See Is What You Get".  Some formatting (nested lists, italics, and tables... to name three) appear one way in the editor, but are not displayed correctly or entirely broken when viewed as a final page.

    C) Wiki pages with "GM + player secrets" enabled seem to display a bizarre mix of both editors: some sections display the WYSIWYG controls, while others show the Textile ones.

     

    I do have one (simple) cosmetic enhancement I'd like to request: a visual indicator on each wiki page that's currently marked GM-only.

    By default, both the top level character section and adventure log area "grey out" any characters or log entries that are still marked GM-only (or "secret").  This easily identifies in-work content that I haven't yet made visible to all of the players at a glance.

    But nothing similar is done with wiki pages -- the only way to tell that a wiki page is GM-only seems to be via opening it with the editor and checking the relevant checkbox.

    Having GM-only wiki pages display with their own indicator (dark background, unique graphic, etc.), both in single-page view and in search results, would -- I think -- be quite handy and not too difficult to accomplish.

  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006

    Another new conscript troubled by the JSON Avatar thing!

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • Kallak
    Kallak
    Posts: 1,090

    I'm also still in limbo on getting my blog access restored. All of the CotM/CotY stuff is basically on hold until then. Help

    All the best,
    - Kallak
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006

    Jameela, please please contact Kallak to rectify this situation.  We are now three months behind with Campaign of the Month in terms of interviews.  November and December winners have been informed but have not had their interviews published, and the winners on the Campaigns Page has not been updated since May 2017!

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • Krothos
    Krothos
    Posts: 230 edited January 2018
    Personally, while the CotM / CotY awards are great to really showcase the awesome work that happens on OP, I feel issues that prevent users from using the basic functions of this website (avatars, calendar, email notifications, etc) should remain the priority for Jameela with her limited resources. Just my 2 cp from a user. :)
    Post edited by Krothos on
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006

    Krothos, I HEAR YOU, but I can report that Kallak's blog access has been restored, so thanks for that.  

    :)

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • GamingMegaverse
    GamingMegaverse
    Posts: 2,998

    Restoring the missing forums that had listed all the issues would be a great start at fixing the issues.  I still don't understand the logic of taking down user input.

    Just trying to help out.

  • weasel0
    weasel0
    Posts: 435

    It's not that difficult. Got tired of being held to a standard so quieted the dissenters. No complaints means no problems right?

  • joeschmoe998
    joeschmoe998
    Posts: 73

    Tags are not working (cannot select tags to tag a page).  Also the editor is weird ed out, the editing lines are only 1 1/2 lines long instead of 20 - 30 like before.

     

    Please try to correct this.

  • SkidAce
    SkidAce
    Posts: 830

    You can resize that editing window.  See the drag box at the lower right, just under the scroll

    bar.

  • Johnprime
    Johnprime
    Posts: 252

    I had an odd display of my wiki page earlier today where it didn't load everything, but the same happened in my webbase email window. I just chalked it up to slow internet speed with the browser not loading everything. I've also noticed that depending on the browser I'm using, I get varying performance. The browser that seems to always give me the best performance for OP seems to be Firefox, so that's what I always use.

    Johnprime

    Deadwood Deacon Banner

    Where the west is really wild!

    The Valley of Life Banner

    The Valley of Life

  • joeschmoe998
    joeschmoe998
    Posts: 73

    OK, I didn't notice the editing window resize, however, the buttons for embedding images or linking to other pages are broken. I tried in both FF, Chrome, Edge and .Internet Explorer.

    Any ideas on how to fix those?

  • SkidAce
    SkidAce
    Posts: 830

    Try resizing the window inward and down so it doesn't overlap with those buttons.  Just an idea, not sure.

  • A1_Alatar
    A1_Alatar
    Posts: 2

    Tags are not working; and cant add any links, this has been for 24 hours. Also after altering existing posts and saving them i get sent to the Take me home page...but the alterations did work so nothing to worry about.

  • GamingMegaverse
    GamingMegaverse
    Posts: 2,998

    500 errors abounding again...

    Just trying to help out.

  • Shmngg
    Shmngg
    Posts: 7

    The search doesn't seem to be working anymore. :(

  • tchristensen
    tchristensen
    Posts: 4

    A small issue my campaign is dealing with now is that forum posts default to be sent to everyone in the campaign. Wiki updates, character sheets, and adventure logs all default to only send to those who have selected that in their settings, but for some reason it doesnt work this way for forum posts. This has resulted in 30-40 people getting spammed with email that some of them don't want and is driving them away. For now we are just reminding people that they need to deselect 'Email all' and select the relevant players, but people forget easily. It seems like the original intent was to default forum notifications according to people's settings, so maybe that's an easy fix. Adding characters already active in the thread to the default would also be beneficial.

  • joeschmoe998
    joeschmoe998
    Posts: 73

    I can resize the window, but the buttons just move farther down the page, I can't get them to appear where they used to (inside/beside the window). The buttons still don't work, so no links or images. 

     

    Search leads to a 500 Server error with the "return to home" button on it :(

    Been over a week....any predications on how long before it is fixed?

  • Bortas
    Bortas
    Posts: 645

    Joe - does this still happen when your campaign's custom CSS is left blank (maybe move it to notepad for a test)? I'm reaching for ideas on why this would be happening!

    -bort

  • joeschmoe998
    joeschmoe998
    Posts: 73

    Yes it does. Removing my custom CSS (which I had already thought about doing), did not make a difference. I also changed my (increased) page width to default. Still no difference, the push buttons still do nothing.

  • joeschmoe998
    joeschmoe998
    Posts: 73

    I just noticed something, all of the buttons for inserting images or links etc. all point to the same location: 

     

    https://*campaign_name*.obsidianportal.com/posts/*page_name*/edit#

    So what ever they were supposed to point to has been either overwritten, or, broken in some way. Not sure what they pointed to originally (since they are currently broken) but I'm sure that they didn't point to the edit tag on the page you're editing.

  • Bortas
    Bortas
    Posts: 645

    Clearing your cache? Shoot, I just don't know.

    -bort

  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006 edited February 2018

    SEARCH is not working!

    EDIT MODE is not opening window....but thanks SkidAce - that little trick works for now.

    PREVIEW BUTTON links to a "Page that is NOT available"

    All of the above are MAJOR ISSUES for this site!!!!!


    Post edited by twiggyleaf on

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • cgregory
    cgregory
    Posts: 780

    @joeschmoe998 I looked at my button's links which are working and they should be pointing to https://*campaign_name*.obsidianportal.com/posts/*page_name*/edit# if you are on an adventure post if it is a wiki post you will have wiki_pages instead of posts.

    Like https://x-com-defiance.obsidianportal.com/wiki_pages/missions/edit#

    If the post is a new post you will get new# rather than edit#

    @twiggyleaf

    Search is working for me, but not tag search

    image

    Edit mode and preview are both working correctly for me so that would seem to imply that the issue is possibly intermittent or possibly tied to certain campaigns or certain users. 

    image

    twigs are you getting the issues on all your campaigns or just one? I can invite you to one of my campaigns and we can see if you are getting the same issues on there.

    They are among us!

    image

                       XCom: Defiance - Campaign of the Month November 2016

     

     

  • joeschmoe998
    joeschmoe998
    Posts: 73

    Well, I logged off, cleared my cache, restarted the browser, still the editing page is broken for me.sad

Sign In or Register to comment.

March 2024
Wrath of the Highborn

Read the feature post on the blog
Return to Obsidian Portal

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Discussions