Post by: fesworks on November 09, 2006, 01:27:04 am
But I am wanting to have small image links to other webcomics, but I would like them to cycle through either timed, or per refresh... either as an ordered list or random... and then with each image that shows, there is a new link associated with that image. I think I used to be able to randomly display images before, but never with changing the hyperlink.
is this easy to do? does anyone know how to do that, or at least tell me some key words of which I should look for the "how to" myself?
Thanks in advance.
Post by: dragyn on November 09, 2006, 06:30:59 am
Post by: Xepher on November 09, 2006, 08:09:12 am
Code: [Select]
$random = rand(10,13);
if($random == 1) { $logo = "xepher_logo_fredirc.gif"; }
if($random == 2) { $logo = "xepher_logo_nerdboy.png"; }
if($random == 3) { $logo = "xepher_logo_gwyn.gif"; }
if($random == 4) { $logo = "xepher_logo_icy.gif"; }
if($random == 5) { $logo = "xepher_logo_nerdboy2.png"; }
if($random == 6) { $logo = "xepher_logo_technostyle.jpg"; }
if($random == 7) { $logo = "xepher_logo_gwyn2.gif"; }
if($random == 8) { $logo = "xepher_logo_willsan.png"; }
if($random == 9) { $logo = "xepher_logo_databits.gif"; }
if($random == 11) { $logo = "XepherNet.jpg"; }
if($random == 12) { $logo = "XepherNet2.jpg"; }
if($random == 13) { $logo = "XepherNet3.jpg"; }
if($random == 10) { ?>
XEPHER.NET
Free Hosting for Free Thinkers
}else{
echo("
");
}
?>That file is http://xepher.net/logos/randomlogo.php and is included at the top of all main xepher.net pages to rotate the logo. You'll note in the code, I'm only using logos 10 through 13, as the other logos were user-submitted years ago, and no longer fit the layout. Logo "10" is a special case, and spits out a two line text logo. Hopefully you can see how you can easily include additional code to change the hyperlink in the same way. Also note this is VERY ugly/primitive code, being that you have to add a line for each new image you add. Of course, it adds a bit of security that way, as no one can trick it into including a file I haven't specifically listed. If I had a ton of images to rotate, I'd write something that just pulls from a directory listing, but as I've yet to do that, I can't actually post code here for it.
Post by: Databits on November 09, 2006, 05:03:53 pm
Post by: fesworks on November 09, 2006, 09:33:06 pm
Quote from: Xepher
That file is http://xepher.net/logos/randomlogo.php and is included at the top of all main xepher.net pages to rotate the logo. You'll note in the code, I'm only using logos 10 through 13, as the other logos were user-submitted years ago, and no longer fit the layout. Logo "10" is a special case, and spits out a two line text logo. Hopefully you can see how you can easily include additional code to change the hyperlink in the same way. Also note this is VERY ugly/primitive code, being that you have to add a line for each new image you add. Of course, it adds a bit of security that way, as no one can trick it into including a file I haven't specifically listed. If I had a ton of images to rotate, I'd write something that just pulls from a directory listing, but as I've yet to do that, I can't actually post code here for it.Ah yes! Thanks you! this will help when I re-vamp the site and images.
I suppose I could also do this code a few times with seperate sets of images for each, so I can have 2 different Webcomic Links in 2 different spots (so I don't get the same).. though I am sure that doing more would make the load time of the home page much longer...
Quote from: Databits
or if you wanna be more complex, ...ooh, no no, that's ok ;)
Post by: Xepher on November 10, 2006, 12:28:06 am
Lemme give this a shot...
Code: [Select]
$random = rand(1,3);
if($random == 1) { $img = "comic1.gif"; $link = "http://www.comic1.net"; }
if($random == 2) { $img = "comic2.png"; $link = "http://www.comic-2.net"; }
if($random == 3) { $img = "othercomic.jpg"; $link = "http://www.comic-other.com"; }
echo("
");
?>There's a three-way example. Just add more lines and change the "rand(1,3)" to a match the number of lines to scale it up.
Post by: dragyn on November 10, 2006, 12:53:18 am
And yeah...that's plenty complex for me.
Post by: dragyn on November 10, 2006, 06:56:29 am
Eventually, I'm trying to have a banner for all my characters, but for now, I only have 4.
Thanks for asking, Fes. It's always fun to use the answer to someone else's question.
Post by: fesworks on November 11, 2006, 02:43:42 pm
Post by: dragyn on November 13, 2006, 08:27:46 pm
Post by: fesworks on March 02, 2007, 02:13:59 am
AND, like that one where it shows text instead of an image, would I be able to show an Image w/link AND text?
I'm thining about that "Xepher.net Comics" cycling image thing I was talking about. That other code is copyrighted and specially made, And I can't really get a hold of the author.
So I'm thinking about using this generator and using it in an iFrame tag, so that it can be clicked back and form within a page, without reloading the main page (also to save the loading time of the main page, the iFrame can load seperately).... unless there is a PHP way to make a reloadable field.
I know I don't know PHP code, but If I can get the basic code, I can do all the tedious work of getting banners and and the list making.
Post by: Xepher on March 02, 2007, 09:43:15 pm
As for the second bit, you can make it output anything you want. It basically just selects a snippit of HTML to spit out. You can make that snippit anything you want, from IMG tags, to text, to links... whatever HTML you want. It's just replacing any of those $variables with the text they're set to. Add more as you need.
If you do it in an iframe, you need to make a full "page" of html around the php code... you know, the HTML and BODY tags and such.
Post by: fesworks on March 03, 2007, 01:37:14 am
as far as the "order", basically the PHP "random" is a piss poor randomizer. I got a lot of repeats... I want something that will display a differentthing each time until all have been displayed... I mean the first one could be random, but then there should be a Hyperlink to click that will go to the next one in series.... and so on...
see, I'm trying to figure out a way to do a PHP version of that other Java Script one that I can't get permission to use... plus This might be easier if I can get the basic codes.
Am I making sense? I hope I am :P
Post by: Omega0 on March 03, 2007, 03:14:43 pm
Code: [Select]
if( isset( $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS['BANNER_NUMBER'] ) )
{
$banner = $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS['BANNER_NUMBER'];
$banner = ($banner + 1) % 3;
}
else
{
$banner = rand(0,2);
}
setcookie( 'BANNER_NUMBER', $banner, time()+(60) );
?>When someone first visits the page, they get a rand() banner. Then each time they reload it after they get the next banner in series (you'd want to change the (60) in the setcookie to something longer, like (60*60*24*30)).Demo: http://omega0.xepher.net/stuff/banners.php
If you want to be really tricky, and randomize it further, you could do something like this:
Code: [Select]
if( isset( $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS['BANNER_ARRAY'] ) ) {
$banners = split( '#', $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS['BANNER_ARRAY'] );
}
else {
$banners = array(0,1,2);
}
if( count($banners) == 1 ) {
$banner = $banners[0];
$newbanners = '0#1#2';
}
else {
shuffle( $banners );
$uns = $banners;
$banner = array_shift($banners);
$newbanners = array_shift($banners);
while( $temp = array_shift($banners) )
{
$newbanners = $newbanners . '#' . $temp;
}
}
setcookie( 'BANNER_ARRAY', $newbanners, time()+(60*60) );What this does, is store a list of undisplayed banners in a cookie like 1#2#3. On each load, it mixes up the list, pulls of the top one to display now and then stores the remaining choices in a cookie. So the viewer can't get the first one again until all the others have been viewed, but he won't get them in the same order every time (but you could get a repeat like this: 1,2,3,3,1,2 since after the 1,2,3 they've all been viewed and it could very well start with 3 on the next run through of the list. With a large list though, this becomes rare, and you could modify the code to exclude the last one when reloading $newbanners with the full list).Demo: http://omega0.xepher.net/stuff/banners2.php
If you don't care about tracking each user individually (or care about those people who turn off cookies), you can do something like this:
Code: [Select]
$f = fopen("bannerlist.txt","r");
$banner = fgets($f);
fclose($f);
$f = fopen("bannerlist.txt","w");
$next = ($banner + 1) % 3;
fputs( $f, $next );
fclose($f);
?>All this does is store the value of what the next banner should be in a text file and does open, read, increment, save on each load. And you could always combine #2 and #3.Demo: http://omega0.xepher.net/stuff/banners3.php
The text file is: http://omega0.xepher.net/stuff/bannerlist.txt
So, does any of this do what you want?
And does anyone know a simpler way for what I did in #2? I can't believe that (in a perl-like language no less) there wouldn't be an easy array->string converter.
Post by: Xepher on March 04, 2007, 10:08:18 pm
And no, I don't know of a better way to do array->string off hand, though I'm sure there must be one... there always is, no matter what function I'm trying to do. :-)
Post by: fesworks on March 05, 2007, 03:33:27 pm
Also, I can't tell from your code where you put the code to say what to display "Banner 2 gets displayed this time" etc...
might it be something like this? :
Code: [Select]
if($banner== 1) { ?>
A description of above site.
if($banner== 2) { ?>
A description of above site.
if($banner== 3) { ?>
A description of above site.and where would this be placed?Personally, I was thinking of a pre-set list of sites, with the first one being randomly picked (which I think does not need cookies, thus less searching and loading?), along with links for "Previous" and "Next" to go along the given list.... also, as a new thought, I'll also need a link that will point
Also, the thing is that , for people to be able to put this onto their HTM pages, this is going to be a seperate page, so people can have an iframe code. I'm going to have a button link within the iframe'd page to reload itself... that or I was going make a link for "next" in the list. How would I make a "next" link in PhP for this banner array?
I mean with that in mind I could do it with a bunch of HTM pages and code, but I'm sure it would take a much longer loading time and a ton of extra space and code.... to what would certianly be a something horrifically archaic to the both of you.
ok, here, this I was just thinking about doing:
(http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l40/fesworks/sample-3.jpg)
The "<<" and ">>" would be linking to "Previous" and "Next" on the given list.
Inbetween that would be static text and/or a custom Xepher.net image with some sort of moto or such like I have listed there.
Under that would be where the banner and description would be. The banner will carry the link to that site.
under that is my new idea and "Link1", "Link2", "Link3", and "Link4" would point to different list sets (either as a different page altogether or just a different TEXT LIST (which I think is what you were talking about). The lists would be like what is one Xepher.net.... one link for "Art", one for "Comics", one for "Fiction", and one for "Others"... and if they click on "Comics" while already on the comics list, it could just pick something from the list at random.
ok, I hope that is descriptive enough, and not too complicated. Those multiple link sets are the new idea, so that is an extra thought.
Also, I greatly thank everyone for their help with this! I don't mean to look all needy/difficult because I can't do this myself : When I can piece everything together (including either snatching or creating banners for all sites here). I'll post it. I think this could be a really cool addition for those that would like to pimp other xepher sites in an interactive way.
Unless I'm making this more complicated than it needs too be :P
Post by: Omega0 on March 05, 2007, 05:54:39 pm
When cookies are disabled, it follows the else-branch from the isset() and chooses a random one from the full list.
>> Also, how does #3 work? I mean, it looks like it may need to make a new file for each and every visitor, or that every visitor shares the same file?
One file. Visitor 1 gets banner one, Visitor 2 gets banner 2, Visitor 3 gets banner 3, Visitor 4 gets banner 1 and so on. There's just one current banner, whoever loads the page next gets it.
>>Also, I can't tell from your code where you put the code to say what to display "Banner 2 gets displayed this time" etc...
My code just sets a variable $banner which later in the page is used in the if's to display the text; I think you have the right idea in your code (though I've never used that construction in PHP). Since cookies have to be set before any output occurs, the banner selection code is at the top of the file and the if's come later where the banner is supposed to go. The link at the end of this post shows the code I used.
>>How would I make a "next" link in PhP for this banner array?
With HTTP_POST_VARS[] overriding the cookie or random behavior. If the current banner is #2, The next link would be something like "bannerbox.php?banner=3" The code would be something like
if isset( HTTP_POST_VARS['banner'] then $banner = HTTP_POST_VARS['banner']
else $banner = COOKIE or random as previously
Demo: http://omega0.xepher.net/stuff/bannerbox.php
Code: http://omega0.xepher.net/stuff/bannerbox.txt
Post by: Databits on March 05, 2007, 08:02:39 pm
Contrary to belief, there is nothing insecure about having a website set a cookie in your web browser. The only problem is when some dumb sites store sensitive information in their cookies, which even in that case, other sites can't read that information anyhow.
It's under the same situation as people who disable Javascript for security, also really dumb. There's a lot of commerce sites that make use of things like Ajax, which is impossible for people to use when they have no Javascript. People shouldn't need to set their sites up to give leeway to those who don't really know what they're talking about and wanna disable everything thinking it'll stop the virus from getting on their computer while they browse porn and download illegal software.
Post by: Xepher on March 06, 2007, 12:03:02 am
Data: Blocking cookies doesn't really improve anti-virus measures, but it does help with your privacy, if you're the sort to be concerned about that. Many ad/banner companies send cookies with with ads, effectively giving you a fingerprint. As you browse around other places, they track your usage patterns for market research. Some people feel that's an invasion of their privacy, and block cookies. Now, that said, if something's broken because you're blocking cookies indiscriminately, that's your own dang fault! :-)
Post by: fesworks on March 06, 2007, 01:34:45 am
as far as the code. Well, I'll see what I can do with what I can figure out from these code pieces. But from this point I think I'll be able to make something. I'll need to work on it later in the week though.
Thank again for the ongoing help, and don;t worry about me asking questions.... because I sure will ;) :P
Post by: fesworks on March 08, 2007, 06:47:42 am
All the images should exist in the same folder... all of the comics with their image and text should be listed in it's own array....
(http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l40/fesworks/Clipboard02-3.jpg)
(opps, forgot to change the bottom images brackets to "Prev" and "Next")
Can't I just give one of you $20 (all I can do) to figure out the base code for this in a cookie-less, extra text file-less (if possible) code? I can be more exact and descriptive if needed... I just need the base, and I can plug all the individual banner img addresses and text phrases in.. I just need an exaple and placement markings.
If not possible I'll try and troll the internet for pre-made ones I can used, or do the whole thing in HTML and a 75 pages or something.
I just can't piece all of these PHP code fragments together. Sorry! I don'r mean to be so difficult sounding!
Post by: Xepher on March 08, 2007, 08:21:08 pm
Let me see if I've got the details straight first though:
1. Main image and text. These always go together... that is, a particular image always has a specific text block with it. Image & Description. These get shown...
2. ...Randomly on first view. Next + Previous buttons let people flip though them in order.
3. (This is the one I'm confused on.) You obviously want it to not show the same image over and over to the same person if they're viewing a lot of pages with the banner code in it. How do you want it to work though. Do you want it to rotate per person? (In which the script saves it's current position in a cookie) Or rotate for the site as a whole? (which would involve storing the current position in a small file.) You says cookie-less and file-less, but you really have to have one or the other unless you resort to URL trickery, with the code adding something like "index.php?session_id=297597829adf7897f09a0dfjd9d77" to each URL and link on your site. I don't think you want that. I'd suggest the cookie method, as it should work best for about 90-95% of people.
4. The buttons at the bottom (comics, art, fiction, other)... how do they work? I notice that they highlight based on the category of the current image displayed, but does the function change? That is, does it do something different when I click based on what image is showing, or is it the same link all the time?
Let me know on those, and I'll see what I can whip up for you.
Post by: fesworks on March 09, 2007, 02:47:16 am
2) Yep
3) My plan was for the think to be only shown on a sinlge page (home page or Links page... where evern other Xepherers would like to put them if they'd want one).... I planned to have all the code on a PHP page that could be iframed for loading and re-coding effieniency.
All I was thinking is that the first one would be randomly picked from the list (on first load and on refresh). Then just go in order from there and go back to the top of the list once you get to the end.
I don;t think that cookies would be needed because a list would be big enough for a decent random pick anyway, and should streamline the code and loading if it does not need to check a cookie somewhere.
4) Basically, i'm thinking of List sorting... "Arrays" are they? Like the link box would always start on "Comics", and then the random image/text set will be shown from a list or array of sets of just listed webcomics on Xepher.... You click "Art" and a new random image/text set will be selected from a list or array of only Art sites on Xepher.
Now I'm saying it like this because I'm assuming that having a sepperate list would be helpful with checking codes.
Like:
IF click "Comics" GOTO "ComicsLIST"
IF click "Art" GOTO "ArtLIST"
IF click "Fiction" GOTO "FictionLIST"
IF click "Comics" GOTO "OtherssLIST"
LABEL ComicsLIST"
comic_1_Image
comic_1_Text
etc..
END GOTO "ComicsLIST"
LABEL "ArtLIST"
Fiction_1_Image
Fiction_1_Text
etc..
END GOTO "ArtLIST"
LABEL "FictionLIST"
Fiction_1_Image
Fiction_1_Text
etc..
END GOTO "FictionLIST"
LABEL "OtherssLIST"
Others_1_Image
Others_1_Text
etc..
END GOTO "OtherssLIST"
At least that is what I was thinking... and then when one clicks NEXT or PREV they stay in that list. I'm guessing they may need to have different pages for seperate lists, But I don't know.
5) You know how the Xepher News Box is Editable? Well, If I make it an iframe, it may not work that well like that, so I'm probably make different pages. One for each of trhe four categories to start with. So an art site can link to the page that starts with the art section.
I'm sure this could be done like the Xepher news box.... all the code at the tope of the page with that one line to place it where you'd like it.. customize colors? But that, I'm sure is a bit fancier and more involved coding.... Not meaning to get really complicated! I mean, I originally meant it to be a simple alternative/addition to the texty Xepher New Box. I really wanted to better visually promote the Xepher.Net webcomic community :D
Post by: Xepher on March 09, 2007, 04:30:06 am
Okay, on item 4... I think I know what you want now. You used more technical terms than I want to guess at. I don't speak programming, I just know what I want in plain english. :-) On that note, you want people to click the "art" button, and have it load a random art banner/text, at which point next/prev buttons would flip through only art sites. Similar situation for the other buttons. Is that right?
As for customization, as per the XN newsbox... It's doable. Though for this idea, I'm not sure you want it. If site owners can change the colors and what not, you end up with radically different looks. So one artist designs their banner to go with how they have their box laid out, but then it shows up on another site and looks totally out of place. Or someone sets it to white-on-white or something. I'd say just make it as as simple as possible, but keep it standardized.
About embedability... that is, putting it as part of the actual page like the newsbox: That only works (via PHP) on one server, since all the boxes would get displayed by the same server, it can do that. To enable it to be done on other servers, you need iframes, javascript, or another server with a rather insecure PHP installation that allows inserting code from remote servers. Bottom line is that anyone can use an iframe, only people with pages in PHP can use a direct PHP insertion.
Post by: fesworks on March 09, 2007, 05:53:44 am
Quote from: Xepher
I've actually had plans for a while to eventually integrate images into the Site Descriptions you can set for your site, and they'd show up in the newsbox instead of just a text description. Also some code to make it so you can see different banners/text BEFORE selecting a site to go to from the dropdown. I just never got around to it.Well I was hoping to make something like that because your text version is boring :P but, alas, coding this stuff is not my forté.
Quote from: Xepher
Okay, on item 4... I think I know what you want now. You used more technical terms than I want to guess at. I don't speak programming, I just know what I want in plain english. :-) On that note, you want people to click the "art" button, and have it load a random art banner/text, at which point next/prev buttons would flip through only art sites. Similar situation for the other buttons. Is that right?Yes.
Quote from: Xepher
As for customization, as per the XN newsbox... It's doable. Though for this idea, I'm not sure you want it. If site owners can change the colors and what not, you end up with radically different looks. So one artist designs their banner to go with how they have their box laid out, but then it shows up on another site and looks totally out of place. Or someone sets it to white-on-white or something. I'd say just make it as as simple as possible, but keep it standardized.k
Quote from: Xepher
About embedability... that is, putting it as part of the actual page like the newsbox: That only works (via PHP) on one server, since all the boxes would get displayed by the same server, it can do that. To enable it to be done on other servers, you need iframes, javascript, or another server with a rather insecure PHP installation that allows inserting code from remote servers. Bottom line is that anyone can use an iframe, only people with pages in PHP can use a direct PHP insertion.Well I was thinking that people would just get the iframe code from me, so they would not have to worry about uploading the image sets or whatnot... and people could just iframe it to a PHP page on my account, so if I need to add a newly approved account, I could easily change it for everyone without having people bothering with the code again.
If you know what I'm talking about... basicaly make it easy for others to implement, so they would be more inclined to do add it to their site.
I mean, if you want to take these ideas and use it for your new News Box, go right ahead, The only part that would be difficult would be the image display, which would mean that by how people have the news box on their site, the images would have to be Avatar size instead of Banner size, like that Cornstalker thing I showed you earlier..
Post by: Databits on March 09, 2007, 06:16:39 pm
Then you'd have something like this for images on your site:
Code: [Select]
Post by: Xepher on March 09, 2007, 07:48:22 pm
Post by: Xepher on March 11, 2007, 01:38:05 am
Working example at http://xepher.xepher.net/Banners/banner.php
Code for that file is http://xepher.xepher.net/Banners/banner-source.php
Now, back to trying categories... to database or not to database, that is the question. :-)
Post by: fesworks on March 11, 2007, 01:55:47 am
I can use this as the original idea as the Xepher Comic thingee (to start) at least.
Thanks! I'll work on this :D
Post by: fesworks on March 11, 2007, 04:27:32 am
Post by: fesworks on March 11, 2007, 05:18:37 am
Now that daunting (sp?) task of copy-pasting descriptions and making Banners.
... heh... Nerdboy :P
Post by: Xepher on March 11, 2007, 05:27:24 am
Now, I think I've redone a much better script in the past few hours. The actual output is ugly as sin, but that's the part I assume you're going to tweak. The code itself is a lot more functional, allowing you to upload images and descriptions, and delete things from a web interface, as well as get a quick thumbnail-ish view (it doesn't actually thumbnail, but just lays them out the same way) of all the banners. It's not perfected yet, but I'm tired tonight, and it's mostly functional. I'd like you to go play with it and find out what's still broken, and then I'll fix it tomorrow.
The display code. http://xepher.xepher.net/Banners/bannerDB.php which doesn't have many banners installed yet, so it doesn't really show much.
The admin interface is accessed by adding "?admin=1" to the file's url. http://xepher.xepher.net/Banners/bannerDB.php?admin=1 It's set up to ask you for a password on initial install, and after that require you to login (with cookies) in order to add or delete banners/descriptions. The current password is "slingshot" so you can try it out where it sits.
The raw code for the file is viewable at http://xepher.xepher.net/Banners/bannerDB-source.php if you want to copy it to your own folder and start playing with it. You mainly just need to edit the "$baseurl" variable to tell it where it sits, and it should install itself from there. Note that the admin view uses a lot of fancy graphics and some javascript files that are located in my particular install. You don't need them for it to work, but if you want them, you can just download them from my install with the "save as" thing or I can make you a zip file of all of it sometime tomorrow. You can pretty easily strip out the java/pics or replace them with your own if you want. If you try your own copy and get it screwed up, delete the database file "banners.sqlite" and it will start back at the install screen and ask you for a new password.
Oh, if anyone else wants to play around with it, feel free to log in and add your own fake banners to see how it works. Let me know if you find bugs.
Hmm... one more thing. There's a couple bits of code leftover from my image catalog program. Two variables, $width and $height which are set to 400 and 200 respectively right now. If you decide to go with different sized banners, you may want to change those to match, or it could make some of the stuff look funky.
Post by: fesworks on March 11, 2007, 05:33:25 am
I'll check this new code later. For now I'm going to stick to making some more banners.
Post by: Xepher on March 11, 2007, 05:43:13 am
Post by: fesworks on March 11, 2007, 05:49:31 am
That admin section is wild though 0_0
cool :D
This is all I have been working with so far:
http://fesworks.xepher.net/Banners/banner.php
getting descriptions and banners going ;)
Post by: fesworks on March 12, 2007, 02:56:00 am
Post by: fesworks on March 12, 2007, 03:39:17 am
http://fesworks.xepher.net/Banners/Display.htm
I finally checked the new code.... code shock o_0
I'll have to definetly tackle that after the PSI and Ardra updates this Mon and Wed.
Still really awesome! thanks for helping so much!
EDIT: Actually, for the time being, it's been kinda fun making the banners! I've been going in order as listed on the Xepher Site Directory, and descriptions... adjusting them slightly.
DAMN PHP! hpw come PHP can't produce special characters? I've noticed this with "©" and "ñ" thus far... Remedies?
Post by: fesworks on March 12, 2007, 08:30:24 am
(boy, I'm blabbing a lot :P )
EDIT:
All done with the comic list:
http://fesworks.xepher.net/Banners/Display.htm
I excluded the disabled account ones, a couple I deemed as "art" because there were not actual webcomic on the site, and I also excluded Two comic sites had their entire archive taken down. I only e-mailed one of them.
I included ones that seemed to have not updated since summer of 2006 or earlier (for at least archive purposes at this time.)
If you would like a semi-comprehensive list of the sites in question just ask.
Post by: Xepher on March 12, 2007, 03:47:02 pm
Official font: Umm... there's not really one. The one currently in the logos on the main site is "Dragonwick" but that's not really something suitable for paragraph text (or really anything but logos) due to it's weirdly sized capitals. What is it you're wanting to do?
Code Shock: Well, as you can see, I didn't document much of it either, as I'm not really planning for you to change much of it. Really only the bit at the end where it actually outputs the HTML, and a few minor settings like the $baseurl one. Ask all the questions you want and I can try to help you understand it though.
PHP and special characters: PHP does unicode just fine. Show me an examples of what works in a normal webpage, but doesn't work in php, and I'll figure out how to set it up. Usually you just need to use UTF-8 for the character set. The two characters you mention, are they showing up okay in the forum here? I see a circle-c (copyright) and an "n" with a ~ (wiggle line) over it. If that's correct, then you should note that this forum is PHP and uses UTF-8 character encoding.
Something weird... the banners for PSI and Nerdboy don't show up in my browser (Firefox 2.0.0.1) and I also note they're the only two .gif banners. Both images work fine if I view their URL directly though. I have no idea why that is.
Post by: fesworks on March 12, 2007, 09:57:09 pm
That is wierd with the GIFs... when I get a chance, I'll make JPEGs.
RE: Code Shock RE: yea, I figured as much, but I was on a roll with the old code. I'll look at the new stuff later.
What am I planning to do? Well, I kinda wanted to make a slightly more visual Site directory, starting with webcomic. Figured I'd get some uniform text images of the Xepher Name on a page listing all the webcomics (then the Art section perhaps, though it'd get a bit harder to properly work out from there). Not trying to go over your head or anything, I'd just thought it'd cool to work on when I have free time here and there.
Post by: Xepher on March 13, 2007, 12:05:14 am
Now, that said, if you're okay with that possibility, feel free to work on this and do it however you want for now. Ask me whatever you want, and I'll try and help you as best as I can too. One small note, I don't know if you're actually contacting site owners about this or not. I would suggest you should get people's permission (and possibly approval on banner/description) before putting them into this in any sort of finalized way. Don't worry about it while you're just testing and and working on it, but before you make it live, it needs to be an opt-in thing.
Post by: fesworks on March 13, 2007, 12:47:29 am
And don;t worry about making something better. If this sort of things gets you inspired to do it yourself, go for it :P I just think I could boost visitors by putting some purty pictures along with the text ;) Some people don;t even realize this is a "Free Thinker" comminity as much as some sort of host service like Stormpages or something, though mysteriously without ads.
Once I get this banner exchange done, I'll be emailing everyone if they'd want to change their Banner (because I basically made all but like 2 banners ;) ) or their description. Then I'll ask that people place the iframe code in their Links section and/or their front page (purely voluntary, I'm not going to remove anyone from the list if they don't post it.... just means I won't feature or showcase it on the "Hub Page").
So yea, Just an ambitious project I have... while it's not really in my "authority", I get these ideas from time to time and run with it! But if end up making it obsolette or whatnot, do it ;) If you have ideas here and there after I get mine up, I'll see what I can do! :D I'm still a quite a ways from full completion.
Also, is there a uniform font size that won;t change between IE and Firefox? Everything I make look good for Firefox it like 1 whole point small on IE... : Conversely (right word?) Comixpedia is written for IE, so everything is one point BIGGER on Firefox :
I mean, visitors will have various browsers... can I tell the code to display the size in pixels instead? That's uniform right? All I know is < font size=3 > etc... and that means "Points" I believe.
Post by: Xepher on March 13, 2007, 02:02:13 am
Hmm... thinking on that, and I think I see your problem. If the font scales at all, it's going to break stride (as it were) with the banner size. Generally speaking, is a really a big deal if one browser shows it a little bigger/smaller? Maybe make it with enough spare room that it doesn't visually break things if it's tweaked a tad. Keep in mind, if you use a font like Dragonwick, most people won't have it, so it won't show up for them anyway, and will look WAY different.
Post by: fesworks on March 13, 2007, 02:46:54 am
Well, What I do, since I know a lot of people DON'T browse with IE, I size everything to look nice at a maximum in Firefox. THAT way, when someone uses IE, it becomes smaller (instead of bigger) and does not mess up maximum set boundaries in line breaks, cells, tables and coordination with images.
And as far as cool fonts... I never uses them in plain text (unless you can force load them to viewers), because people just will not have them, then your site looks like crap because its the lame default font. So I always use images for cool fonts.
OOOO!!! OOOO!!!
Is there a way to detect the browser and then change the font size accordingly? Probably need cookies for that... I've come this far to avoid cookies, and I'm not going to start :P.
MWAHAHAHAHAHA!
*goes back to chiseling in stone*
Post by: Xepher on March 13, 2007, 05:34:08 am
Post by: Desh on March 13, 2007, 07:42:43 pm
I played with the html source from http://fesworks.xepher.net/Banners/Display.htm, specifically the page for Garnet. However I didn't know what PHP source you were using so I couldn't play with that.
In regards to installing a webserver on your own computer for PHP testing, you can find some all-in-one installers which make it easy. I use apache friends xampp (http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html); it's a combined installation of Apache with options for PHP 4 and 5, MYSQL, Filezilla FTP and Mercury Email.
For the special characters such as the wavy n and copyright, how are you entering them? The ASCII codes seem to work: ñ for the n and © for the c.
Font sizes vary depending on browser due to default settings. I think FF has a bigger default setting than IE. If you set font size in em or pt like Xepher suggested it should be the same.
With cool fonts that no one has on their computer, in CSS font-family, you can specify a list of fonts for the browser. Something like font-family: "Cool font", "Cool, yet common font", "Uncool font", general font-family;
The HTML source for the banner was messy, so I tried to clean it up, and ended up making it XHTML valid for some reason. Stuff like the DOCTYPE, title, img alt, and meta tag aren't really needed for this, but make it valid. Using CSS looks like a good idea though, as you can chop out all the tags. (I added a space to the n ASCII to make it display in the code, remove it and it'll make the n)
Code: [Select]
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
Xepher Free Thinkers Network
PREV
Xepher.Net Webcomics
NEXT
A dark, romantic story about a girl who, trying to save a man, follows a demon/vampire to another dimension and gets involved in a war between demons and humans. (Tambien en Espa&# 241ol )
I hope I've been helpful and not just random =)
Post by: dragyn on March 13, 2007, 07:49:02 pm
Anyway, I'm not at home right now, and I'd have to rework everything to fit it in, so I probably won't add it, even if you get it done. Well, eventually, but not immediately.
Post by: fesworks on March 13, 2007, 08:35:24 pm
Dragyn: I choose that scene because it was the clearest and most recent I could find a shot of beastling... and it seems like a good shot. Otherwise I was going to use a shot of his father, but I wanted Beastling for the Beastling banner. I had the hardest time finding the right thing for beastling, which is why the word "Beastling" takes up most of the banner :P The pencil sketching underneath was taken from the Chapter 2 title page and clone stamped.
Also, (If anyone else from the Xepher.NeT comics sees this thread), any banner that I have done, and you like it, and would like to use it: Consider it yours. All images are taken from the sites the represent.
So, Dragyn, consider it yours if you really want to use it. I don't need any credit, props, kudos, or anything :P
Adversely, if you want something different, feel free to send me a new 468x60 Banner then ;)
Post by: Xepher on March 13, 2007, 09:05:27 pm
Try these two, and tell me what you see.
http://xepher.xepher.net/unicode-test.html
http://xepher.xepher.net/unicode-test.php
The first is a .html file, saved as unicode-test.html.utf8 Adding the ".utf8" to the end makes apache send it with the correct character set.
The second file has nothing special done to it (other than being written in a unicode aware editor) and consists of the following code.
Code: [Select]
echo "This string is echoed from PHP: ©Ññ®";
?>
This string is part of plain HTML: ©Ññ®
Post by: fesworks on March 13, 2007, 11:03:11 pm
Post by: fesworks on March 17, 2007, 01:20:19 am
I contacted Pareidolia, and they are going to repost their archive. Other than that I am unsure if I'll get people to e-mail me back :
Well, I'm going to tackle the art sites next. I wanna make sure I have plenty of people in this banner exchange, etc, if I don't get respinces from the @Xepher.net accounts.
Post by: Xepher on March 17, 2007, 06:26:02 pm
Anyway, what I wanted to ask, would mind keeping a list of who you emailed, and who actually responded? When I get a firm date for the server move, I'm gonna be emailing everyone with a notice, and it'd be nice to compare my response list to yours... effectively being able to call this a second strike against them if they don't respond.
Post by: fesworks on March 17, 2007, 07:34:23 pm
also, some of them appear to be skimping on what should be shown in the Newsbox... But then again I show everything except one or two things I think (some just had the title, the location, and the donate link).... someone had a static code from 2004 :
I'll get you that list for the e-mail thing.
Post by: Xepher on March 17, 2007, 09:48:06 pm
Post by: fesworks on March 17, 2007, 10:21:31 pm
EDIT:
and don;t give me that "You don't have to/shouldn't do that." It's cool. I need a comprehensive list for this project I'm doing anyway.... I also TOTALLY forgot about the Webmangas, now that I am going through the list!
Post by: Xepher on March 17, 2007, 10:45:13 pm
Post by: fesworks on March 18, 2007, 02:01:49 am
Quote
XEPHER . NETAlso, there are a couple that have this and the "News" part in there. I would think to be valid it would need at least this (even sans the "Visitors" part), but at least the Directory Pull-Down menu.... at the very least.
Xepher.net > Art > Other > This Site
Visitors: ### DONATE!
Please clarify the required minimum.
also I'm up to "Kinjutsu"
Post by: Xepher on March 18, 2007, 08:51:59 pm
Post by: fesworks on March 19, 2007, 12:17:50 am
Ok, well, knowing this I'll make adjustments to my documentations. A lot of people have what is "Valid-Min". I've only seen one that was a static code... but that was was not updated since 2004 I think... I'll take a look. I think I'm done with all the Art sites.
Are all the sites listed in the directory Phase II? Some are missing the news box completely, and I know Phase I sites are not required to have it. Some I questioned if they are new sites. You should get a really nice list once I am done. I'll be going back and double checking them once I am finished too.
Anyway, I'm kinda having fun organizing this stuff :D
Post by: fesworks on March 19, 2007, 02:45:39 am
Post by: Xepher on March 19, 2007, 03:28:03 am
The directory at http://xepher.net/index.php?page=users is Phase 2... on it, there's a link to Phase 1 users, but it's static code that hasn't been updated in years, so many accounts are gone. http://xepher.net/index.php?page=phase1users If you try a username and it just goes to the xepher.net front page, that means it no longer exists.
With the server migration, I'll be moving Phase 1 users (who are still active) into a database driven directory like the Phase 2 users. That's the side effect of requiring people to verify themselves via email, I can finally get all my data up to date.
Post by: fesworks on March 19, 2007, 05:46:55 pm
You should have an e-mail from me.... 10+ pages
The e-mail should be quite descriptive of how I documented each site (the newer sites might have been hard to spot properly for updates and content).
Any questions, just ask!
Post by: Xepher on March 19, 2007, 09:18:32 pm
Thanks again for the list, I'll be comparing notes against it as people verify their accounts for the move.
Post by: fesworks on March 19, 2007, 10:39:14 pm
Anyway, I'm glad I could help out :D
Post by: Databits on March 20, 2007, 03:35:22 pm
Well that and silly things like the guide here, but that can be moved I suppose.
Post by: fesworks on March 25, 2007, 04:32:53 am