Author Topic: BTDT help and discussion  (Read 11502 times)

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PSMKay

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BTDT help and discussion
« on: Oct 11, 2010, 04:30 am »
Hey all - I'm guessing there will be some questions about the new features.  (Menu & Been There, Done That.)  Feel free to ask stuff here.  Yes, you can request more stuff.

I'll be looking for a couple of spelling geeks with some spare time and relatively recent operating systems to help patrol the lists of shows and venues.

I only request that if you find bugs, check with me first via either PM, chat or email before posting them live.  I'd rather not have any crazy exploits running around in public for too long.  The staff and I have beta tested until our modems squealed, but I'm sure we've missed stuff.

 :)
« Last Edit: Oct 11, 2010, 04:56 am by PSMKay »

lauria

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #1 on: Oct 11, 2010, 11:58 am »
One thing that would be great would be a complete list with check box features for the first time you're setting up your list. I found myself going through the entire drop down menu and selecting shows individually, as it was easier to pick out shows I'd done from a list rather than trying to remember them all. Going through the drop down list wasn't TOO bad, but as the list of shows gets longer, it's going to get more difficult.

Also, all the shows beginning with "The" are in alphabetical order. I think it will be easier to find them if they're either interspersed (if you can code it to do that) or as such: "Comedy of Error, The." That will prevent some duplicates and make it easier for people to find them.

I made a list of some duplicates I saw for when the list checkers come through (Speaking of which, I wouldn't mind being one. You know I like silly projects like this. I did it when you integrated all the links...)

Duplicates
Love's Labour's Lost       (Three different Spellings)
(The) Comedy of Errors   (With or without the "The")

I also went too fast and added some plays with author's first names in addition to last names, so I'll make it easy to fix MY mistakes:
The Sparrow
Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad
The Turn of the Screw
Angel Street
Always... Patsy Cline

Finally, "Angel Street" is the play's title, but the movie title is "Gaslight," which is what our production went by, even though it was the same play. I entered the title as "Angel Street (Gaslight)." Does that make the most sense or should it be done differently?

Thanks, Kay! This is a fun feature!

PSMKay

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #2 on: Oct 11, 2010, 01:44 pm »
Thanks for the input, Lauria!  I've gone ahead and made the corrections you specified for the time being. 

We had the titles listed with A, An and The at the end, but it looked really funny.  I'll muck with the code and see if I can't improve the sorting regardless.

As for a checkbox selection method, with 500+ plays in the system already it would probably crash your browser.

Regarding entering alternate names, as you did for Gaslight, the search is pretty fuzzy and can return any section of a title, so if someone searches on Angel, Gaslight or Street they'll get the same play somewhere in their list.

Oh, and I made one more little tweak, you can now access someone's BTDT profile from their regular forum profile.  I'm still working on implementing a route back in the other direction.  :)
« Last Edit: Oct 11, 2010, 05:47 pm by PSMKay »

loebtmc

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #3 on: Oct 11, 2010, 02:37 pm »
(and BTW PSMKay you totally rock - thanks for this new feature!)

I can help w proofreading, but my sched varies between nothing and insane, so as long as we have a few minutes (and the edit function becomes work-able) I can help

PSMKay

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #4 on: Oct 11, 2010, 06:13 pm »
OK, Sorting has been sorted.  Sort of.  It now ignores A, An and The.  I'm somewhat divided on whether to make it also skip Le, La, L', Die and Das.  Opinions, esp from the Ballet & Opera folk, would be appreciated.

You can also now link back to a member's full forum profile from their member detail page.

Thanks for saying all those nice things, folks, it's appreciated! :D

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #5 on: Oct 11, 2010, 06:47 pm »
Currently, the search by show feature isn't working (regardless of which show you select, it give the same list of people who've worked on the show, often listing the person multiple times).  ie. it says I have worked on "... Spelling Bee", and lists me having done it about ~8 times - in my BTDT, I have not listed ANY shows I've done, however, I did just recently add ~8 theatres I've worked at...

Side note: Kay, this seems like a really cool and likely useful feature!

PSMKay

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #6 on: Oct 11, 2010, 07:44 pm »
Woops.  Fixed that.  Sorry, was tinkering with the sorting some more.

PSMKay

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #7 on: Oct 13, 2010, 12:20 am »
OK, I think I've worked out the kinks in the back-end portion.  This means I can now start accepting requests for BTDT Editors.

If you're interested in helping to keep the plays/venues lists neat and tidy, head over to your profile, click on "Modify Profile > Group Membership" and request membership in the BTDT Editors group.  You must be an established member with a pretty clean history of posting without spelling errors.  Editing is all web-based, no coding required, and it should work across OSes and browsers now.  :)

When I have enough editors I'll close enrollment for the time being and edit this post.

In other news, BTDT now shows up on the "Who's Online" page. 

I've worked some SQL magic for stats: 31 people have entered at least one show or venue to their profile.  Most popular show is Midsummer Night's Dream (6 members), followed closely by Big River and The Miracle Worker tied at 5 each.  Venues are racking up more slowly, but three DC area venues are currently in the lead - Olney, Kennedy Center and Round House at 3 members each.  Eventually I'll have a little box with some tasty stats once I finish unloading my portal gun at the site.

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #8 on: Oct 13, 2010, 03:44 pm »
I have a request for BTDT.  When viewing my own BTDT list, the shows and venues show up in the order I entered them.  Which is completely random (not alpha, not in any sort of order or categorization).  Any chance they can be sorted alphabetically?

Also, when I entered L'elisir d'amore, I found that there are two listed there - one has Donizetti's name misspelled.

Thanks!

PSMKay

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #9 on: Oct 13, 2010, 05:02 pm »
Alphabetic sorting on the profile - done.
Merged the duplicate operas.

kiwitechgirl

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #10 on: Oct 13, 2010, 08:54 pm »
I managed to add "The Shape of Thing" rather than "The Shape of Things" - and I'm happy to help with proofreading :)

PSMKay

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #11 on: Oct 13, 2010, 09:53 pm »
OK, three new people have requested membership to the editors group, and have been approved.  Congrats to RuthNY, damjamkato and cschott, who now have access to the BTDT editor.  All existing moderators also have access to it.  I think I'll take on one more editor and then close applications for now.

Bear in mind folks, if you miss this one, there will be more new features coming in over the next few months that will also need moderate supervision.  While release dates aren't set in stone yet, I anticipate features pertaining to schools, links and the calendar. 

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #12 on: Oct 13, 2010, 11:06 pm »
Corrected! Your "s" is in place!

I managed to add "The Shape of Thing" rather than "The Shape of Things" - and I'm happy to help with proofreading :)
"Be fair with others, but then keep after them until they're fair with you."
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PSMKay

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #13 on: Oct 13, 2010, 11:08 pm »
Yay! She has the power and is NOT afraid to use it.  (I like that in an editor.)

I've just implemented a cleaner version of the live search drop down menus.  They should be much faster, and more importantly, they should now properly hide themselves if you click out of them or move to another form field.

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Re: BTDT help and discussion
« Reply #14 on: Oct 14, 2010, 12:41 am »
I added a couple of shows with author's first & last names because I maybe kind of didn't read the instructions until I'd already started entering them- I couldn't help it! I was just so excited about the new feature!

For ease of editing, they are:
Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin
Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts
Black Pearl Sings! by Frank Higgins

Also, can I just tell you how cool I think this thing is?  I think it'll be really useful once people start really using it!
You will have to sing for your supper & your mortgage, your dental coverage & your children's shoes, over & over again while people in desk jobs roll their eyes the minute you start to complain. So it's a good thing you like to sing.