Royal Carnage looking for site re-design and webmaster

[JayKeeley]

Hey everyone,

So here we are in 2005 and RC is almost 2 years old since launch. Without a shadow of a doubt, it is much bigger than anyone could have anticipated and now needs some tender lovin' care...

As the staff have been discussing behind the scenes, we're essentially looking to rebuild the site. Since there is so much existing content, we want to move away from the standard HTML & frames etc, and migrate everything over to a better architecture. I am no developer, but I've tried the best I could with my limited knowledge of Dreamweaver etc. If I had the time, I would rebuild this myself, but alas, family matters take precedence.

Anyway, here are some examples of what we're looking for:

- New look & feel structure: removal of all frames and implementing style sheets or templates. Graphics, logo, color schemes, review format etc can all remain consistent.

- Database architecture: storing content in database & templates, search functionality - whether this be through ASP, JSP, PHP, or TMA (Too Many Acronyms)

- Migrating all existing content into new site design: perhaps some scripting tool can accomplish this? Cutting and pasting would probably take 3 years.

- Centralized content management: template design, remote publishing/uploading. This is a 'nice to have' requirement.

The last requirement is also dependent on the availability of a new webmaster. Someone would join the staff to help run the site, and the writers would therefore send she/he all their content for uploading, so remote publishing wouldn't actually be necessary. All writers would be expected to edit their own content before submission, so it would just require formatting and uploading.

The servers exist, the domain name will be kept, all maintenance costs are covered - I can provide the sandbox for someone else to play in.

Anyway, if you have the capability/interest, let us know. You can PM me or send me an e-mail to discuss further, otherwise put the word out and help support the cause!

Cheers.

 

[Nate The Great]

Way over my head, but I'll mention this to a few people.

 

[JayKeeley]

I could do this, and I could do it pretty well, the question is just whether I'll actually get around to it and if I have time etc etc...

OK, so is that a yes or a no?

(BTW: to be perfectly blunt, importing the existing content is going to be TOUGH. You'll probably have to do a lot of cut and paste work in the end, because all the features have custom formats, reviews on the site have poor HTML structure and reviews on the forum have no coherence in layout/etc. so writing scripts to import all of this is going to be hell at best and probably impossible.)

I interpret this then as 'impossible'.

However, one possibility is to redesign the review format with a new layout, and take the existing body texts only from each review. That is regular HTML and therefore portable. It is all the munk that sits around the review text that causes the headache, and perhaps we can do away with that.

Yes, the reviews on the subforum would take cutting and pasting - again though, just the body text, and fortunately, there aren't as many reviews on the subforum.

(BTW 2: does the server support PHP? What database(s)?)

Yes, the servers are running on Linux as far as I know. Both PHP and ASP (Chili!Soft) are available, as is "MySQL". I have no idea which DB platform it is, but it is SQL.

Not sure if you saw all the recent e-mails, but write me a note and I can send you further tech details, or point you in the right direction. Cheers.

 

[IOfTheStorm]

JayKeelay check out the following sites
www.monolith.gr
www.choir-macabre.com
the webmaster is a friend of me, so if you like their desing, say it to talk to him.

 

[JayKeeley]

Thanks man.

The first site looks very cool, but it uses frames that we're trying to move away from. The second one is still under construction but I did manage to order a choir robe to spice up my marriage.

Still, no harm in having a conversation to see what can happen. Do you want to PM me his name etc?

 

[lurch70]

I'd like to help with this, but my developer guys ... well I pretty much used up all my freebie points with them.

 

[NAD]

FWIW, here's my idea for a new frontpage. The layout is much simpler, and wouldn't necessitate frames.

Anywho, I don't know any code/formatting beyond html but am a fast learner and willing to help migrate old stuff to a new site. Basically I'm volunteering to be the bitch on this one, just let me know.

 

[JayKeeley]

MySQL is good, that's what we want generally. Could you check if it's PHP 4.x or 5.x? 5 is preferable because it has far easier database features..

It is v.4.3.3

There needs to be extensive planning and thought put into this, like we need a standard template for features such as Testament/Maiden/Bathory/Sabbath and live features and interviews, and we need to stick to it....

Well, how about we keep the existing features in their current format, and for future features we leverage a new template etc? Sure there would be a difference in look & feel between new and old features, but we can live with that right?

it means that I can write the back-end software and the HTML/CSS code, but I am not going to migrate all the content alone, and I am not going to be the guy who uploads/formats/whatever. However, I think an automatized content submission system will be better, provided everyone can deal with doing <b>this</b> instead of using boldface in Word in their submitted reviews, this will make everything much smoother for everyone.

I'm sure each respective writer can migrate their own content once a central upload procedure is in place. Likewise, they can add their own song title listings, scores, etc.

Btw, if we have 'automatized content submission', this will require a content management tool, no? Something that allows us to publish remotely and post content into a central database? Is this a tool we buy or build? Also, what about search functionality -- is that an inherent feature within PHP?

Also, some webmastering would still be required to at least tweak the site, fix links, etc wouldn't you say? That central person still needs to be established.

It will also mean that RC will become a continuously updated zine, like SSMT, instead of like now uploading stuff in big batches.

Erm, I would put this down MUCH more to readily available new content. Having a system to continuously update is pretty much overkill if only 3 reviews are written a month.

I would suggest you check your e-mails with regards to discussion on labels etc.

 

[Papa Josh]

This discussion is freakin' awesome. :Spin:

I like the idea of the form, would seem to make everything 1,000,000,000 times easier.

 

[JayKeeley]

OK Erik, what you're talking about is custom building a software engine all in itself, and to that I take my hat off to you. Of course, as you say, this is dependent on your availability etc so at some point you and I can discuss timelines (if you wish to choose this mission).

I guess the next steps are:

0 - Erik determines his availability and timeline schedule
1 - Build a framework design (without frames etc) and database SQL structure
2 - Implement the forms/templates for staff login, review upload, interview upload etc
3 - Upload script to have the content automatically update the site, the index, etc.
4 - Start migrating existing content [assuming each writer takes ownership of his own content]

If you can handle bug fixes etc, I'll do the rest.

Furthermore, we can do this all off-line so RC will just stay "as-is" until the new RC v.2 is ready for launch (and replacement). We'll try to make this as seamless as possible.

What say you, Erik? If you wish to discuss details via PM, please do so.

P.S. It would be a real shame to lose our existing features. I have to say, the Iron Maiden feature is one of our finest accomplishments. Still, like the reviews, maybe we can salvage the texts and migrate them over.

P.P.S. What about graphics? Who's going to do feature graphics, resizing, image creation, etc? Do we need to look for a graphics guy too? My brother-in-law did our logo etc, and Haddsie would do the rest for features etc, but both are now unavailable.

 

[JayKeeley]

This all sounds fantastic.

Yes, some stuff we'd want to keep the same - our logo, colour scheme, etc. And fortunately, album covers are easy to find. The End already resizes them to 100x100 if we don't have them already.

Our tagline "Cattle Die, Kinsmen Die..." isn't even on the site anywhere today. Maybe we can fix that. While we're at it, can we finally get rid of this concept of "banner exchanges"? We'll host banners for sites that have some relevance to our RC agenda, regardless of whether they host our banner or not.

I agree with the "less is more" look when it comes to graphics. The sort of things I was talking about was what Haddsie would have typically done for features, interview images, etc. She did all that stuff for Testament, Seven Deadly Sins, etc but I'm sure this is stuff you can throw together yourself. Definitely don't need new illustrations and whatnot -- more just manipulation of existing imagery.

All good stuff, Erik. Now I'll respond to your PM, heh.

 

[Evil C.]

I say graphics can be split up between members that know how to do some, like myself and erik. I can create some custom graphics, etc. but on reviews and such like he was saying, it should be the reviewers responsibility.

so, I can help on custom graphics and stuff.

check out the ste i just did for a good friends band. www.insidiousdecrepancy.net

c

 

[JayKeeley]

Cary - what exactly did you do on that site? Which graphics in other words?

 

[JayKeeley]

Just re-reading this thread - good stuff.

Overkill? It's the EASIEST way to do it. Imagine this -- every writer submits his stuff in a form, and it gets immediately and automatically put on the front page with no intervention from a human being.

Yeah, sorry, what I mean by "overkill" was in the build of the engine itself, not the use. In other words, it would be a shame for us to invest so much time and effort in building a content management tool such as this for it only to be used a few times a month. But that is a different matter....

 

[Carbonized]

I wouldn't mind helping out with graphics if you guys need it. I have lots of time on my hands so yea. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask. Several of you should be familiar with my work if not let me know and i'll post some crap in this thread.

 

[JayKeeley]

That would be awesome - thanks for the support. Early days yet, considering we're in the process of rebuilding a new structure, but yeah, down the road, we'll be sure to call on you!

 

[Carbonized]

yea i know it could be a while yet but you can never have too many graphics people heh. good luck getting the new site up

 

[jimbobhickville]

Depending on your time frame, I might be able to help out. I have an existing site engine that I've built in Perl and having running on my server. I've been meaning to update Librarius Metallicus to use it, but haven't had sufficient time. It already has user logins, automagic image resizing, skins, etc. I would be willing to do the code and database work, but I have no time nor desire to do the graphic design or HTML code. I'd need someone else to do mock HTML pages for the layout and I'd simply chop them up to work with my existing engine. Also, if we use my code, I would need to host it on my webserver. I will probably have some time later this month or next month I could do this, but right now I'm redoing my own home page.

Let me know if you are interested.

Greg

EDIT: go to http://www.swd6.net/ to see an existing site using the engine. The site is incomplete, but you can see that it works pretty well so far.

 

[JayKeeley]

Depending on your time frame, I might be able to help out. I have an existing site engine that I've built in Perl and having running on my server.

That's very generous - I'll defer to Erik since he's also building an engine for this already, but I'm wondering if anything can be leveraged from yourself, such as user-login scripts etc. Granted, he's deploying it all in PHP and CSS/XHTML, but perhaps he can chime in here.

EDIT: go to http://www.swd6.net/ to see an existing site using the engine. The site is incomplete, but you can see that it works pretty well so far.

Yeah, that's nice. Who's the chick in the red outfit with the blaster gun btw? I want to gently caress and then aggressively fondle her mammaries. Also, a wookie with an eye-patch!?

 

[jimbobhickville]

Those are all characters from various campaigns my friend and I have played. The girl is Kuna Bellis, a character played by his ex-girlfriend. After they broke up, she became the love interest of the sith lord in the campaign The wookie is my friend Phil's character Chinchilla.

That's fine to defer to Erik, I just thought if he didn't have time, I could do it. He mentioned he was rather busy. I'll pass on helping out with the PHP implementation, since I've got a list of my own side projects I need to get caught up on.