Technical Crap

Technical Crap

After writing about the all the nuts and bolts of how I have set up parts of this web site, I decided that all the JavaScript, HTML, and other discussions should be moved to their own forum which I have titled Technical Crap. All of the gritty details I care to go into detail about are here. I will also keep a history of new sections here.

If you don't want to know about the gritty details, you can always return to raveller.com. Once I had a list of known errors on raveller.com but I really don't care anymore.

2004.01.16
The site has undergone extensive remodeling and reworking since the last update to this log. There is extensive use of server-side scripting (PHP) and very little Javascript left. Most recently raveller.com split from halfclosedeye.com to allow separate site foci and styles. raveller.com is hard core and will continue to be hard-core. halfclosedeye.com may tend to be artsy-fartsy.

With any luck monkeyproject.com with become the comic strip site if the comic strip ever starts (don't hold your breath).

1/27/2000
Revisions are complete for the REVERIE - Girl Art exhibit.

1/25/2000
What hasn't happened that is technical? I've moved the entire site to OLM. They had an offer I couldn't refuse: More space, more email boxes, site statistics, server-side scripting, and the list goes on. I've renovated nearly everything to minimize JavaScript. This will hopefully reduce the JavaScript errors previously found on the site. I've added a couple of pages including the Drinking Adventure and Musings on the Waiting God. I've renovated Art Galleries so they work without frames. I've set up password protected directories. The new site has some great features that allow me to put stuff online that I only want a few people to see. Itsa very nice.

12/13/1999
Revisions are complete for the FLOTSAM - Thought Art exhibit.

12/01/1999
After complaints from Opera head Budd, I have done some tinkering on Book Reviews by James and Opinions by James to make things nice for Opera 3.6 . So many versions, so little time.

11/23/1999
The new Downloads by James section is ready for public consumption. These are fun things for your Windows based personal computer. Enjoy!

10/25/1999
Revisions are complete for the MYTHOS - Fantasy Art exhibit of my Art Gallery. It now sports the frames interface made popular by EXHIBIT B - WoT Art and the same explicit frame technology used on my frame pages.

10/18/1999
I added the Known Errors page. I am already tired of the VT100 look and so I added a background and increased the font brightness.

10/17/1999
I have added the Technical Crap section. I thought aquamarine on black would give it a nice VT100 feel.

09/29/1999
I have once again enhanced the Javascript underlying my pages. It is considered bad style to use frames, and yet I continue to do so. The reason it is considered bad style is that the “Location” bar of your browser doesn't show you exactly where you are. Previously, I wrote Javascript that updated the location bar, but this flickered the frames and I didn't like it.

In order to direct you to a particular sub-page, I wrote in a feature that isn't at all visible to the reading public so I will tell you about it. If, for instance, you want to bookmark an article in Opinion by James, then right click on the page and select Open Frame in New Window. This will trigger some Javascript that appends a tag like ?101897 to the original Opinion location and redisplays the article in the frame environment. Bookmark this page and rename your bookmark appropriately. This method works for sub-pages in Book Reviews and Wheel of Time Art as well.

I have tested these pages on all mainstream browsers (i.e. Netscape 2.0 and up, IE 4.0 and up, Opera 3.5, NeoPlanet). I have also updated the Opinion selection mechanism to use selection lists. This works on all browsers except for Opera (Just click No Javascript?). You have to click the page after selecting to make Netscape 2.x work, but if you are still using Netscape 2.x I think you are stupid. Feel free to copy any Javascript code you like (except for the hit counter stuff, it will really confuse me if I start getting hits from pages I didn't publish).

05/14/1999:
I've made a few modifications to the Eye without telling anyone. They aren't that big but I suppose I should note them. The background and the Eye animation change depending on the second of the day if you are using Netscape 4.0 and Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher. There are just a few but you won't be able to see the difference if you don't use JavaScript. If you do use JavaScript you can simply press the Back and Forward buttons on your browser to make the page switch images.

Please don't upgrade your web browser just for the sake of seeing the new animations. Do it for the children. They need the latest technology or they won't be able to go to college.

I put my favorite animation and background combination up as default for those of you who use Opera, older browsers, and for the JavaScript sensitive. It should be beautiful and remind you of a Eye that is Half Closed floating on a Deep Blue Sea.

I once said that I was going to avoid JavaScript and Frames entirely but I changed my mind. It wasn't hard to do, but it was painful cleaning my old mind and putting it back in with the new one.

I modified my Opinions, Book Reviews by James, and EXHIBIT B to use frames. This may be painful for people who have trouble updating their browser past Mosaic 1.0 and Netscape 1.0 and their ilk. I have tested these pages with Netscape 2.02, Netscape 3.04, Netscape 4.0x, Netscape 4.5, Internet Explorer 4.0, and Opera 3.5 after an angry email from Mark in Fort Worth told me that none of my pages were working and forced me to toil feverishly to correct the errors of my mistakes.

1/25/99:
If anyone wants a POP3 mail box at my domain they cost me US$24 a year to maintain. Whereas if enough people want email redirection from a “raveller.com” address it will cost me US$99 a year for an unlimited number of those. Check out easyspace.com to get your own domain or to check up on my pricing (They host my domain).

11/19/98:
The Virtual URL trick wasn't quite as nice as I thought it would be so I shelled out some bones and set up a Virtual Domain. The difference is that addresses at raveller.com now resolve to raveller.com instead of where the Virtual URL sends them. In essence the URL in your browser actually says "www.raveller.com" instead of "www.geocities.com/sc/.../ratbait/". I think it is an improvement.

Once again I may backtrack on already stated, hardline stands because of a newfound knowledge of Java. Then again I may not. Who's knows? I'm going into politics if I get any better at contradicting myself. I am still adamantly against using a frames interface. For now.

back to raveller.com.