• Broken Comment Box Fixed / Drawing Training Ground

    So, you all may have noticed the lack of a comment box at the bottom of posts earlier.

    I have no clue at all why it broke.  It broke on my beta blog too, and I haven't modified that one in a week.

    So I had to revert all templates back to default and rebuild everything.  Unfortunately, this means I lost my cool blue "reply" button, and star ratings refuse to move back to the bottom of posts.  They are now right below the title, driving my OCD absolutely insane. 

    You can still reply, it's just going to be a [Reply] next to people's names until I shop a new one. 
    ----------------------------
    In other news, the Drawing Training ground post was a huge success! Too much so actually...

    Poor Phoe can't be asked to do that every single night.  300 images takes a long time to upload/label.

    I am not completely sure how to handle this.  I have been stressing over for the past few hours.   The event is awesome, but that's too much work for one pony to handle!

    Maybe a random selection of 50 of them nightly would be best, but that still hurts the point of the event... to see people improve and grow over time.

    Maybe we can commandeer a ponychan thread every night and fill THAT up with them, but they wouldn't be stored forever.  I just don't know.

    If anyone has any ideas, feel free to email me.  I'm going to bed now though!  This broken code nonsense kept me up late yet again!

    75 comments:

    1. (no-fanfic tag)

      write a bash script that extracts them from your mail and post them here :p

      ReplyDelete
    2. Make a google doc for them and every day put all the pony pics in a zip an upload it and then we can put them on the doc.

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    3. I don't know anything about computers or what to do but Equestria Fallout updated so even if I did Im going to be to busy reading that to post it...but not to busy to post this.

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    4. Maybe if people just dump their images on imgur or something and sends in the link, and EqD links to those? A LITTLE less work...

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    5. Get a group of about five people willing to upload, label, and post all the submissions, and cycle through them each day. I'd totally volunteer to do it 100% of the time, but that's probably out of the question, what with trust issues.

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    6. I am banned from ponychan though.

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    7. This^

      Honestly? Just contract some other people to help out. Bronies are capable of anything.

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    8. Sigh, and by "this^" I was referring to the post above the guy who was banned lol.

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    9. Just so you know, comments worked for me in Firefox earlier but were crapped out across all blogspot pages for my Chrome, not just EqD. They're currently still derped on my iPhone, so I'd be willing to bet it's just Blogger that needs to work out some kinks.

      On the Drawing Training front, I have a few potential workarounds in my head, and if I think of a solid plan I'll give you a holler tomorrow. Alternatively, I'd be down with helping Phoe out with uploads/organization. Throw me an email if this is a possibility I suppose.

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    10. What about just making a booru?

      http://booru.org/

      or asking the guys over at

      http://ponibooru.413chan.net/

      Then just have people use a specific tag for related to each day.

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    11. I actually noticed that when I had to add a comment via a link, my comments went through like they should.

      Now that the comment section is back to normal(?). I have to write my comment as a reply, and then remove the reply html tags for it to go through.

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    12. I say get a group of a few people to cycle through. Cause its only going to grow. I didnt do yesterdays but Im going to try today's if I can get the scanner to work.

      WC2W Ill take a picture of it.

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    13. Maybe create a Facebook group and dump the images there? Have a handful of people help tag images, too?

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    14. I actually like stars on top better than below....

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    15. @Anonymous
      Making a booru sounds like a very good idea, actually. I'm all for it.

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    16. I think making a Picasa album filled with them which we could all access would be fine... right?

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    17. Well, I don't have much to offer. You could have people put their names on the pictures, so that way you wouldn't have to label each one?

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    18. Perhaps you could extend the contest to 2 or 3 months, and have an new task and the old one uploaded every second or third day? That would reduce the load on Phoe and give some flexibility to the people who might not get the time to draw something.

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    19. Or maybe just one thing per week instead of every day...having one every day won't leave much time for other things, what with having to find references, then draw/color/scan and what have you...that would also cut down on the amount you have to load all the time...maybe take a few days to upload the submissions at the end of the week after announcing the next weekly draw, that way people can get to work.

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    20. SCRIPT, GUYS.

      SCRIPT.

      Humankind can't handle this amount of ponies, we need an automated script which takes "Artistname.jpg" files from one day, compiles them into one post, and you only have to post it on EqD, with it sorting everything.

      Rule34/gore/etc shit can be deleted with a quick overlook of that post. DONE.

      Do it, Seth and Phoe :)

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    21. I don't know if Blogger is capable of this. Might have to go to a different site, but...

      You could just create an editable doc or some form of file that everypony could manually add their drawings to themselves Vs. submitting them directly to Phoe. Instead of Phoe being the poor soul to have to sort/name/tag all those drawings she can just be the document admin to monitor what people are uploading and keep it even. (One hell of a burden lifted from her end at that point)
      For some added security you could set it to [Public Only to those With Link] and put the link to each day's Doc in the announcement thread here. Though this isn't going to make a lot of security, we'll know that most people following it are people from this community.

      Add some general rules to the doc on the top like "KEEP IT TASTEFUL" And the like and you're good to go I'd say. As long as people don't start fighting over document-positions at least, that'd be my only concern.

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    22. Yeah, I'm in favour of preserving our delicate Phoe-queen through the construction of a legion of internet kill-bots who will harvest thousands of pony pics on her behalf.

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    23. Yup, three hundred pony pictures plus one pony just doesn't adds up.

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    24. @Anonymous

      Yeah I'm in the middle of my own personal Applejack moment. Save me, Invisible Twilight Sparkle!

      Gotta stick to things the way they are for at least one more day. My D&D group is going to be so pissed at me... >.>

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    25. @Anonymous at 6:27 +1 for Big MacIntosh paraphrase. ^_^

      I like the idea of a submission form with one field for the image, one field for the artist's "name", and one field for the day. Phoe's task would be to weed out the inappropriate images, after which a script could number them, post them and post a survey so people could vote for a favorite. Would that be easier?

      I'll try to keep up, but a drawing a day could be difficult, especially after a 10 hour day at the rat race.

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    26. @Anonymous
      eyup

      ponibru tags sound like a pretty solid idea though.

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    27. The amount of pictures will probably decrees depending on the theme.

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    28. I'm not familiar with Blogger to know if this is possible, but like Frith said, having a form to upload your submissions would work well - everything would already be labeled and uploaded to the site - all you would need to do it filter out any invalid or inappropriate submissions, then make the post.

      Also, as WiseWolf pointed out, as the themes get harder, you'll get less submissions.

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    29. How about making each day challenge a thread on GitP 'art forum' subsection and making everyone upload their own picture? They don't delete threads, they have subforum devoted to art challenges, it's perfect!

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    30. Make it weekly instead of daily?

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    31. Why don't you hire some additional people to help sort through the images and such? I'd gladly lend a hand.

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    32. Keep it daily, please!

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    33. Frankly it doesn't have to be every day. Some people might not even be able to draw something they want to show in a day, so I think making it once a week would be good.

      Then, people have time to draw something, even if something non-poni (GASP) comes up, and Phoe doesn't have to sort through over 9000 ponies every day.

      .... Aww horseapples, I looked through the comments just now and this has already been said a million times. Oh well. Vote +1 for weekly objectives!

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    34. I really, really like the stars where they are now! Sometimes I open a story just to see the rating and then close the tab, even if I'm going to read it later. Being able to see the rating from the listings page is very helpful for me...

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    35. @Keiya

      I was thinking of this as a solution.

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    36. I second (or third or 16th, whatever) uploading to imgurl or DA, etc and sending links in. I end up throwing my stuff into DA anyway.

      >Hi Cupcakes!

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    37. A booru sounds like the most reasonable solution by far if we can agree on how to label them properly.

      A new task each day is very daunting so maybe make the events weekly. Maybe by the end of each week, somepony could select a group of pictures and give some sort of pointers or generel critiscism on how we can improve.

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    38. Augh! Keep the challenges daily! Half the fun of it is that you only have one day to draw!

      Out of the ideas above, I'm likin "scripts" and "gather volunteers." I don't use ponibooru, but I'm sure we don't want to flood it with low-quality (no offense) ponies. Using Google Docs could be interesting, but then there's the problem of trolls and stuff.

      Don't overwork yourself, Phoe!

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    39. Whatever you do, please please do not limit it to a random or top 50. That would ruin the whole point of the event. I'd rather you put the entire thing on hiatus until you sort out a submission form than that.

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    40. @Anonymous

      I promise that will not be the option I wind up taking. It feels entirely contrary to the spirit of the event. However insane it might wind up driving me, I'm going to give as many of you your chance to shine as my little pony hooves can hold.

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    41. If the amount of images stays this high, space is going to be an issue. 300 images/day * 0.1 MB/image * 30 days = 900 MB

      I suggest people should upload the image somewhere, then use a form to enter the image's url and their name. A moderator can then approve/reject them.

      I think I'll write a little something...

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    42. So everyone has been having this problem. Well, thats a load off my mine. I though Rockmelt had a virus or something. I set up 3 gmail accounts trying to sign in and post.

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    43. @Phoe

      Bless your heart, but we don't want to overwork you, either. I definitely understand that some other method is required.

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    44. I think making a booru just for this event sounds like a good idea.

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    45. Why not make a submission script on a separate site?

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    46. Change it so that instead of having it everyday. How about every two days? One day doesn't seem like alot of time. I know getting my entry in last night was quite a job. Between school and my family taking me out I ended up finishing at 11:50. 2 days seems more reasonable plus that is more time for you to sort.

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    47. Ponychan FUCK YEAH! Seriously though, Chans are overrated.

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    48. There are already a few pony boorus...
      But a Pony Proving Grounds booru might not be a bad idea. I mean, it seems to fit the bill to me.

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    49. I think the amount of submissions will drop down after a few days. People will get bored/frustrated.

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    50. @Anonymous

      So a new boorus for this event? Sounds like a good idea to me, but I have no idea how difficult it is to set one up and will not be implementing it, so take that with a grain of salt.

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    51. Personally, I think, as others have suggested, that everyone should upload their art to another site and just send a link with their name, not only to make it easier, but as others have pointed out, also to conserve bandwidth for both the site and the people viewing (some people might have their bandwidth throttled or even *gasp* not have broadband). I would think that most of us ponies wouldn't have a problem to click a link to open the pic in a new window, then just close it. This also would be especially helpful for those on DeviantArt, as people would be able to comment on it from right there if they chose. As far as the timeframe, I do think that one day is a bit fast, but anything over three days seems too long. A lot of us newer artist (especially those of us that still have training wheels on our pencils :D )would probably go crazy having something done the first or second day, then have to wait another five for a new theme. I understand that a lot of us have full time jobs (I myself work 12 hours a day), but everypony I've ever got tips on drawing from has always said "Draw *something* every day, even if it's just a small sketch"... Anways, that's just my two bits :)

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    52. Picasa or Flickr album would work best, I think.

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    53. Maybe make a DeviantArt? I've never tried uploading stuff there, so I don't know how slow it is.

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    54. Ponies can help speed the process up by naming the .jpg/.png files by the names the artists are known by, rather than a random number string or date. That won't solve the problem in a grand scale, but it may keep Phoe and friends from renaming each file and hopefully saving time.

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    55. I agree with those who are suggesting using a photo-hosting site to upload images to. Even if submissions drop down over the course of the event, it's still going to eat a ton of bandwidth and storage space by the end.

      Using a submission form with image URL and name would probably be the easiest way to do things if you can get the script/program for it (been years since I took coding, so I'm not sure how much work that would be).

      But I think anything that would reduce the work to mostly going through submissions and hitting "accept" or "deny" would make things much easier.

      I don't think restricting the number of submissions (even if by random) is the way to go about things, though. Some people will end up feeling hurt and discouraged if they submit something only for it to not be shown :<

      Hopefully you can find some solution that works for everyone. Perhaps make a DeviantArt group for those who have an account on that site to submit to in the meantime, if you guys can't figure something out? It won't fix anything, but it would at least reduce some of Phoe's work.

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    56. I like the position of the star ratings. Please leave it.

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    57. I'd be willing to lend a helping hoof at sorting through the submissions, if assistance is needed.

      I mean, I've got a few events going on this month that might inhibit me helping a bit, but other than that I'd be perfectly impartial (which, I dunno, does impartialty matter when it's just "don't post naughty stuff"?), on the computer almost all day every day, and with an open G-mail inbox ready for flooding.

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    58. just want to toss this out here:
      I built a contest system for EXACTLY THIS TYPE OF EVENT.
      http://toastbeard.comli.com/pony/
      ...but I did not design it for this scale. It's designed for about 50 entries at a time.
      300+ entries a day would probably overwhelm my server. :\

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    59. y not just upload the souces/links, and have ppl post their images elsewhere on the internet, if able?

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    60. Before you go and do that, sg_06: I spent the last couple of hours writing just such a system, although it's nowhere near as nice as yours. It's almost done, just give me 15 more minutes.

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    61. @Mr. Wonko: aw man, I was kind of hoping that nobody was developing the same thing separately. awkward. <_<

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    62. I don't know a lot about blogger, but I'm a web designer/developer.
      I fail to see how any of these things could be so hard to fix. Unless blogger and it's built in functions are really restricted.
      And if that's the case I think you should just migrate. Make your own php database, clone all the blogger functions and edit them as you want.

      Maybe you should post all your technical problems - thoroughly explained - somewhere so skilled bronies could lend a hoof?

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    63. +1 for booru idea
      If we upload them wherever on the net and make these posts just lists of links I can promise you I won't be looking at them all.

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    64. @sg_06: Wait, so you coded that just now? It sounded as if you had already had it...

      Anyway, obviously I need a little more than 15 minutes. Whatever, I'll be done soon™.

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    65. @Mr. Wonko: yeah I've had this for a bit now. (see the creation date for TEST1).
      It took a while to make, too... ;)

      but: with your own system, that makes two websites with the same purpose, more or less. I guess.

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    66. +1 for Pony Proving Grounds booru. Make sure to tag each pic with which Day of the challenge it's for. And when the challenge is over . . . start it again! It'd be interesting to search the booru for Day 1 and see the difference between 'Day 1 - Round 1 - Draw a pony standing' and 'Day 1 - Round 2 - Draw a pony standing' and see the progress ;)

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    67. Okay, check this out! I mean, if that's not a problem...

      Would that work? There's a basic password protected admin area for accepting/rejecting entries and adding/modifying themes/days.

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    68. @Mr. Wonko: ok, I see what you mean when you said mine's fancier. :P

      BUT this looks like it'd be way better because it [appears to] supports external images.

      also, an aside: you forgot to unescape your string: "If I don\'t see"

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    69. @Luna
      WHAT? But I haven't been on facebook for over a year and a half!
      I would have to trade habits...
      But I can't give up ponies, soo... if that happens, I guess it's goodbye food or school...

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    70. Oh Phoe, don't you see?
      When I was a little filly and moral was going dooowwwnnnnn
      The big responsibility would always make me frooowwwnnnnn
      I'd hide from all the workload, that I knew there was
      But Grannie-Flask said that wasn't the way to deal with things 'cause
      She said: Flaskgarg, you gotta get some help,
      Even if you were Brony Phelps.
      Just ask for some and We'll be heeerrree.
      "YOU BRONIES? HELP?"
      SSSOOOOOOOOO!!!!
      Ask and you are home free
      This ain't the way its gotta be
      Com'on I know you can see
      Get some good Bronies
      It's not like it's scary trees
      And to tell that big ol' scary work to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he's alot than he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna HAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA ASSSSSSKKKKKKKKKKK!

      I dedicate this song to all the hard working bronies in the world.
      FOR YOU SEF
      FOR YOU PHOE
      FOR YOU CEREALVELOCITY
      FOR YOU WORLD

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    71. I've also been working on a submission form and moderator controls so that the discussion can take place on Eq.D. Should be done soon.

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    72. Just for the people that say change it from daily/weekly...

      The idea I take from this event is to prove to your self you have what it takes to be an artist.

      The first thing you learn as an artist is for every 1 part of learning you do 50 parts of practice. Really it would be interesting to see a system setup so that, it was possible to make more then one submission per day/theme.

      I'd wager the hope of this event is to give everypony a goal oriented way to practice pony art and become full fledged contributing artist in the community.

      One of the reasons I think a system such as a booru is a good idea is that with Artist Tags along with Day tags you can then see all of the work sorted in many different ways, and see how each person grows over the course of the event.

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    73. I've been uploading everything to my FA so far.. so, perhaps just copy-paste the link would help a little. Maybe upload a few at random, cycle though the list each day, as it were.

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    74. think the amount of submissions will drop down after a few days. People will get bored/frustrated.

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