9 replies to this topic

[Reboot]

How about Ports Work In Progress (WIP)? Is it on Port Database?

[Hans]

Shouldn't those be more of a discussion in the forums rather than in the database to avoid confused newbies downloading them and bitching about them not working?

[devilhunter]

I don't actually know where to put these yet.
We have the W.I.P and the Port Graveyard ports that don't fit well into the Port Database, but make most sense there.
The WIP Ports could also fit into the Forum, and can be transferred over with syao's converter.
That's not the case for the Dead Ports In the Port Graveyard, where these Ports usually start in the Port Database and end up dead.
Transferring Dead Ports from the DB back to the Forum could be done with a reverse-converter, but this is just stupid.

I'm not really sure about this yet, but i left some categories open when i styled the Port Database just for these things. (normal users can't see these yet)
The dead ports get moved into the (Port Graveyard) section in the Port Database, from their spot when the download links die.
So dead ports are moving from one category (rpg, action...) to another (Port Graveyard) when they die, and can be transferred back when they get reuploaded.
If another user uploads the port, he will take over that Port Topic. (with a little help from an admin)

For the Work in progress Ports, they can be also submitted into the new W.I.P Section of the Port Database then.
Discussion can also take place there, since the Port Database is like a little Forum.

The negative side however, is that the non-working stuff gets mixed in with the working stuff.
Which could also be a positive point, since the Port Database will get more user responses than the Forum and therefore the Wrapper could improve faster if more people thinker with it.

All this is still a discussion worth, so lets start here.

Where to put the Work in Progress Ports and the Dead Ports?
I'm don't vote for either side, but i lean more to put both of them into the Port Database, rather than the Forum, for reasons above.

Discuss.

[HiPhish]

How about putting WIP ports in the port database but having them somehow flagged as WIP? The uploader could set the flag and then that could change what the download button looks like. For example this:

Spoiler

would become this

Spoiler

(I wonder who rated the port poorly and then didn't even bother leaving a comment...)

Everyone should be able to understand that a red button and the words "work in progress" mean the port won't work 100%

[devilhunter]

See the ATI/Nvidia/Intel icons to every Port to the right?

We can add a big red button/banner/small warning sign that says this for every Port in the WIP section.
Also see-able from the category view.

I can make a mock up how this looks like.

IPB is too locked down with the name of the Buttons, hence changine the name of the Download Wrapper button changes it everywhere else, too.
syao could come up with a check similar to what we have for the fullgamebutton for this, but too much tinkering can yield unexpected results.

[devilhunter]

(ugly) Mockup:

This can be done fairly easily.
Instead of the ATI/Nvidia/Intel logos it will show this warning sign in the WIP category.
Same in the Topic.
The general status symbols for the WIP ports would also make less sense, since users already list the bugs & the rating for their video card in the description of these ports as well.

[syao]

Yeah, there's no point in keeping the port graveyard in the forums and moving dead ports back and forth. I'd rather keep them in the port database, flagged as 'abandoned' or something.

Maybe, rather than putting them into a separate category, we could just use a custom field, and have them displayed at the end of their original category with an 'abandoned' icon. It'd require some more modding, but it shouldn't be impossible. I'll keep this for when I'm bored and I have some time to spare.
This would allow, for example, an user coming back and willing to update again one of his/her old ports, to just remove the 'abandoned' flag and add the new, working, links. It'd also help keeping the game or application bound to its own category, without moving it back and forth everytime it changes status (the thing I'm worried about when moving ports between categories is that some categories have different info fields - i.e. games have graphics card status details while applications don't, and so on).

About the WIP section, I have no real preference between forums and port database, but maybe, since everything else is going to be in the port database, we could keep those there as well.

HiPhish's mockups look nice, but a little had to do. It's easier to do it the way devilhunter suggested (we already have some custom code for the graphics card icons, and I now know well enough where and what to edit for that sort of things). It should be also possible, with a little more effort, to add some banner above the first post (where the green announcement area is) with a warning sign.

[devilhunter]

The 'work in progress' Button also doesn't tell that a download hides behind it. The 'Download Wrapper' name should stay.
Or else most people would ask 'Where's the download link?'

[Reboot]

Ah, I like dev's mockup... True, they always asking 'Where's the download link?'.

[HiPhish]

Yeah, you're right "Download Work In Progress" was too long and "Download WIP" seemed cryptic. Dev's suggestion seems good.