The Template Project Idea

[AuWolf]

OK I saw this on the wish list and I thought that honestly this would be a cool idea if people were willing to submit to it. I did a lot of work with I frames to make my site look like it was done up with normal frames and would like ot offer that for the more advanced users that are having a hard time or that just don't want to put the time into the code. If anyone else is interested I was also thinking about including an FAQ on how to set things up. If you know HTML you could easily customize from what I have. I was thinking that a package might include:

indextemplate.htm
dailytemplate.htm
main.css
(Insert other needed files here)
and a read me for how to set it up/FAQ

I'm willing to package something up but I want to know if it would be liked/appreciated first.

So yea Reply if you want to help or if you would like someone to do this to help out.

If the poll gets to having a total of "Go for it" (anything not "Are you insane?") over 14 I'll get cracking on reverse engineering what I did. Man I love Dreamweaver.

Thanks,
Keith Gold
AKA AuWolf
AKA The Writer of <a href="http://gurry.keenspace.com" target="new" comment="This will open Gurry the Gothic Furry in a new page">Gurry: The Gothic Furry</a>
Yeah shameless plug :-p ENJOY!!!

[War]

People don't tend to like frames at all. I-framing different keenspace pages will much up your statistics. Your current design will inflate your pageviews by around 133%.
There are currently 3 templates available for use. The two provided by Ping, and my old template here.
These are just fancier looking basic templates. If you want to add more it'll mean the newbie has to play around with html, so the whole thing becomes pretty pointless. However, standardising templates is a good idea. Making it so all templates obtain their colours from the same stylesheet makes the newbies life a lot easier, a couple of lines in a stylesheet is a lot easier to understand than a buttload of html.
A couple of us (me and faub) have been playing around with template generators. This would be the best option for newbies, but faub doesn't have the time, and I got distracted by something shiny. If you know a good coder, bug them into making a template generator, all the coders here are too busy unfortunately.

[Faub]

This is a good idea that will not get done unless somebody does it. Asking probably isn't going to help much because, seriously, Kisai has more interesting problems to handle at the moment. Things get done because people participate and strut around like they own the place.

Here is the project as I see it.

1. A local copy of your keenspace site. This would have the same structure as the /workspace directory on your FTP site.
   Easily done with a scriptable FTP client. See below.
2. A webserver that will display this local copy in any web browser you like exactly (or as reasonably exact) as it would appear on Keenspace. This way you don't need to upload and wait for an update to see if your changes look right.
   This has already been done (in Java):
   http://stripedb.freeshell.org/java/httpserver.html
3. An automatic updater that will synchronize the changes you made in your local site with Keenspace. This requires three parts: a scriptable FTP client, a scriptable HTTP client (like a web browser without the browser) that will log in and make changes to siteadmin.keenspace.com for you, and finally a user interface that will let you make all the changes you like and click "GO" The complexities of managing your FTP site will be taken care of for you.
   I have a scriptable FTP client. I'm working on a script that will do the automatic update.
4. A template generator that will allow the user to select a base template, modify the colors. Add pages (and navigation bar items) such as character descriptions, contact info, etc. Add items like a tag board or live journal news, etc. Update the local copy then run the FTP updater.

The newbie Keenspacer would not need to understand HTML, FTP or any other acronym to create a smooth running comic. They WOULD need to install about 50 megs of Java runtime and be able to create the web ready images.

Select an image from the File -> Open window. Select the date you want it to appear as a comic. Click Go to send it to keenspace.

[Phalanx]

my old template here.

OOooh! I didn't know about that one! Permission to link from The Gear?

I tried to make a template generator before as well. It was a dismal failure.

Currently, if you have a template to donate, just send it to me (sphingx AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk) and bug, heckle and nag me until I update it /host it on Gear.

I plan to make another template soon. If I ever get around to it, that is.

[War]

I got as far as making something that could let you choose a base template (pulled info from ini file, only had charcoal) and was essentially the same kind of system as the tags in autokeen. The only modifiable thing I've implemented is to choose whether you want the monthly calender displayed on the page or not. Other things would have included a colour selector to generate a css file, and a navigation bar generator (for stuff like cast pages). But that would then probably need something to generate cast pages and whatnot which meant more work.

Then I got distracted by something shiny.

I prefer the list of basic templates to pick and choose (with stylesheets for easily modifiable colours). If they want something more advanced, they can go learn html themselves .

[Toxic]

I-framing different keenspace pages will much up your statistics.

That is so sleazy. I briefly had a site design with frames, and each frame was counted as a page, which increased my number of pages two-fold.

Come to think of it, I was wondering how some sites (Which shall remain nameless) seem to have so many pages.

[Chibiartstudios]

Frames are more trouble than they are worth on all parts. I recently dropped mine like a rock. It was better for all of us.

[Collapse]

Frames are lame. I just have a template for the parts of each page that stay the same, and modify the middle.

[McDuffies]

Framers lamers.

*makes page with 7 frames*

[Joel Fagin]

This whole "iframes inflates you pageviews" thing... It wouldn't happen if the content of the iframe wasn't on Keenspace - Is that right?

- Joel Fagin

[War]

Aye. I-framing a blog on a different site wouldn't affect anything, it's just i-framing your own stuff.

[Joel Fagin]

Aye. I-framing a blog on a different site wouldn't affect anything, it's just i-framing your own stuff.

Actually, it would be my own stuff - it'd just be on my webspace. Anyway, thanks.

- Joel Fagin

[War]

By own stuff, I mean the content of the i-frame is within the same site as the page with the i-frame on . If ya think about it, what it does is if you have an i-frame with contents also on your site, every time you load the page with the i-frame it'll also load another page, so the server generates two pages for you looking at one. Double the pageviews!
RPin used to have this problem, though his wasn't as pronounced. He used old fashioned frames, which unlike i-frames, aren't reloaded every time you go to a new page. So it didn't inflate his pageviews too much.

[Joel Fagin]

How confusing of me. I meant webspace as in "the 30MB I get from my ISP with my internet account where I store my homesite, tutorials, personalised smileys and stuff."

- Joel Fagin

[McDuffies]

So, Joel is preparing something big, so it seems.

[Joel Fagin]

So, Joel is preparing something big, so it seems.

What? Don't be ridiculous!

*furtive look*

- Joel Fagin