Thread "Alright, seriously, we all need an update." in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 5:03AM, Mar. 27, 2008

—OFFICIAL UPDATES—

To make sure everyone is kept up to date without reading through the whole thread, I will be editing new information into this post. These will be unedited quotes.

We're all filled in now. Admins that is.I don't know how much is confidential though… Some things yes, other things… maybe.

Whether Volte6 posts here or not is his own thing, but we know more than enough to fully answer your questions now. I'm just not sure if we're really allowed. :(

The best answer I feel safest to give is that: fixes WILL happen, but at a very gradual, bit, by bit pace. The image bug is first with other things prioritised in order of importance to general user experience and site wide functionality.

-That's the utter, absolute essence and core of it. More detail is just superfluous really.

Password thing? Haven't seen it. I looked just then. If it's so great you go and get my password and see what you can find out in the admin forum. :)
Absolutely incorrect. This is almost quite literally the same thing we have been hearing for the last, what, month and a half?
No. It is how it is. No milestones, no dates, nothing. What I told you is all.

Think of it like updates on Craving Control. Which I know you love. :)
Literally, that's how it will progress.

It's not ideal, but that is the situation.

The general lack of communication was one of the main themes that was brought up repeatedly in the admin forum. It's why Volte6 later proposed a meeting and yesterday we had our second monthly one. From those meetings, we broke down tasks for Volte6 to look into in hopes that it would be more realistic (baby steps first, giant leaps later.)

Below are the three fixes that we all agreed upon:
1. Image bug
2. Favourite bug
3. Security issues

Changes to the front page will occur after those are addressed (in particular, the tweaking of the features and the news). It is worth noting that nothing is set in stone. We're trying to be flexible here as well. I am simply relaying things to you guys so that you know what was discussed in the meetings. Please do not use that list, braid it into a rope, and hunt Volte6 down for a lynching.

Regarding the DD book, there is very little I want to talk about publically. I will say though that I had everyone's files and I had checked them, both three years ago and this year, to see if the resolution was correct. Newer contributor's files were checked by either me or SpANG. I was always available through e-mail and I made my concerns known. Volte6 is a nice guy because it's the only explanation I have for him not blocking me on Google Talk even though I ask him every single week (sometimes daily) about the book. (And he wasn't even involved in it!)

(If you are a contributor though and have a concern or complaint, you can still contact me at blackkitty (at.) gmail (dot) com. I don't know how much help I can be for you at this point but I'm actually around.)

I don't know anything about WWLA so I can't offer any commentary.

Basically, I think what we can expect is something like this:
(admins, correct me on anything that is out of order, I'm just going in what seems the most logical priority)

1. Security fixes
2. Image bug
3. Favourite bug
4. The main page

I understand that you're going for what you feel is the most logical but that is not what I listed. ^^;; I don't want to sound cranky but what I listed is what we're expecting. Why would I put image bug as first but then expect you guys to think security is first?

You guys are all free to ask questions but please keep in mind that we may not have all the answers. Sometimes I don't even respond to these kind of threads anymore because well…how many times do you guys want to hear "he's working on it?"

In regards to getting another coder:

We ask that on every possible occasion :)
There is someone coming to help with that now ^_^

(about. fucking. time.)

—END UPDATES—

(08:39:41 AM) Blues: is there ever a DD post just asking what the hell volte is doing?
(08:40:34 AM) TheDoctor: You know what?
(08:40:38 AM) TheDoctor: THERE'S GOING TO BE
(08:40:40 AM) TheDoctor: RIGHT NOW

We've been waiting a long time now for an update to what's going on with the site. We've got a buglist that's a mile long, features that haven't been fully implemented yet still give us the option of trying to use, numerous slowdown issues and massive security holes in the site. So seriously now:

What the hell is going on?

It seems there are at least MEETINGS with Volte, in which things are discussed, but is any time allotted by anyone in charge to get anything done around here? Was the new layout specifically commissioned by Platinum to be rolled out on the date it was, causing most of these issues, or was that Volte's idea? What level of control has Volte had over the changes that were made to the site, and what other projects does he have to work on that are taking priority over what has essentially been his baby for the past 6 years?

This is getting a bit ridiculous, especially since there are still issues that are preventing this site from functioning as a comic host in the first place.

Posted at 5:03AM, Mar. 27, 2008

i dont thikn its that big of a deel, at least the site the looks good. you know, the front page. and its sushi belt.

Posted at 6:03AM, Mar. 27, 2008

I used to think the caching issue was my computer… but, for instance, AnonymousPosterChild's latest avatar is supposed to be Scangrade from Clone High. He did this before I got my new laptop… yet… on this new laptop, I see his old avatar of two babes kissing the cheeks of a grumpy old bastard.

Posted at 10:03AM, Mar. 27, 2008

From what I heard Platinum likes to keep him busy on other things. Other things that nobody seems to talk about. Almost like… it's a secret.

Posted at 1:03PM, Mar. 27, 2008

Anyone else notice that the DD staff or whatever in the cam feed thing is always trying to be, like, the hip comic staff that you can totally relate to?

That's bad, because I'm a lazy shit.

Volte I'm pretty sure is just working on Mr.Tiki, a site he obviously cares more about than DrunkDuck. When he does get free time from Tiki, he's probably catching up on projects commissioned by Platinum for DrunkDuck that's he's pushed aside till the last minute. This is only an assumption, and everyone knows what they say about those. But shit is so hush-hush here. Like the CIA or something. :/

Posted at 2:03PM, Mar. 27, 2008

The problem is, which been explained many times, that Volte is the ONLY one that can make changes and updates and that guy just isn't here. At this point maybe DD is this neglected wife to Volte. He still likes her, but spends most of his time with his new hot mistress. ;)

It's a little tragic but it's almost as if DD is slowly heading towards that website limbo where a website is abandoned and never updated and is just haunted by errors and dead links. As a guy that was here since the first days of DD it's all kinda painfull to watch. :(

Posted at 2:03PM, Mar. 27, 2008

The problem is, which been explained many times, that Volte is the ONLY one that can make changes and updates and that guy just isn't here. At this point maybe DD is this neglected wife to Volte. He still likes her, but spends most of his time with his new hot mistress. ;)

It's a little tragic but it's almost as if DD is slowly heading towards that website limbo where a website is abandoned and never updated and is just haunted by errors and dead links. As a guy that was here since the first days of DD it's all kinda painfull to watch. :(

Yeah, well I'm making my OWN hosting site. With blackjack and hookers!

Posted at 4:03PM, Mar. 27, 2008

I'm with you posterchild!

Also, I'm sure this issue has been brought up and locked many times, but the new look is really, really bad in my opinion. Seriously, when I first saw it I thought my computer had broken and I was seeing some sort of site template or something. You had such a cool look going on for a while. The newsposts aren't even on the main page so I never remember to look at them :( DD died a little bit for me that day.

Posted at 5:03PM, Mar. 27, 2008

new hot mistress. ;)

It's new and a mistress but in no way is it hot.

Posted at 9:03PM, Mar. 27, 2008

Volte = Valve

Both start with V, both end with e, both have 5 letters, HOLY SHIT.

Posted at 9:03PM, Mar. 27, 2008

Volte = Valve

Both start with V, both end with e, both have 5 letters, HOLY SHIT.

… But Valve got things done and produced Steam, which is the opposite of drunkduck. Steam is a content delivery system that started out shitty and progressively got awesome. Drunkduck started out awesome and progressively got shitty!

–edit–

Also, when I say we need an update, I mean we need an update from the most responsible person. We need an update from VOLTE HIMSELF. I don't want to make it sound like this, but in a lot of ways it feels like he's being spoken for, which leaves us kinda explicitly in the dark. We, at this point, need a full status report from Volte on why we should stick around on a site that seems to be progressively, well, falling apart.

Posted at 11:03PM, Mar. 27, 2008

…

He said Tiki isn't taking over. He also said he's working on the DD buglist and the image problem.

It was exactly a month ago when he told the admins personally that he was starting on the image bug exclusively. As far as I know it's still not fixed and I won't believe it is until he tells us himself.
…it must be a very tricky problem…:(

That's all I know.

Posted at 11:03PM, Mar. 27, 2008

That's all I know.

A month ago. He could have written entirely new scripts to handle the images on here in that time, even with a limited work flow.

Now, I quoted that specific part there because it is a BIG problem. You guys are, in part, our lifeline to volte and what the fuck is going on with the site. It is a BIG DEAL if you guys are out of the loop as well. At this point I'm starting to think that volte was killed sometime after the new layout was introduced and now everyone is just covering until they find somebody to replace him.

This is getting stupid. We ALL need a definitive statement from Volte. The users, the admins, everyone.

Posted at 3:03AM, Mar. 28, 2008

We've told Volte and Plat people that we really need to know a lot more and that we want to know when things are happening so we can pass that on to you guys. I'd LOVE to have an ongoing thread where we can post what things are happening. They agreed it was a good idea and communication was an important issue, but it seems that either nothing is happening, or we have to really get on their backs about specific things we want to know.

I'm as fed up as you guys to be honest, I just try and ride with it because I'm in a position to try and improve the site whether I can code stuff or not.

We're meeting with them again tonight and you can bet 'so uh, what's going on exactly and why and can you tell us please be specific we want answers' is going to be on our agenda.

I don't want this thread to become about 'problems with the recent updates' btw, if it does I'm going to lock it :)

I don't think a thread where people gang up on Volte or start being rude about him will be useful either.

Lastly, APC, I know you are the most vocal person about all this, and I appreciate your persistence, but you are starting to kick a dead horse here.

Posted at 5:03AM, Mar. 28, 2008

…it must be a very tricky problem…:(

yea right. this is the only site, and i mean the ONLY site that i have even been on that can't handle even uploading avatars right. It's only a tricky problem if you don't know what you are doing. Seriously… I think this thread goes back to the old thread i started called apathy. i mean it's so clear now, there's no denying it. No one here knows what they are doing or are able to do their jobs well if at all.

Really, you admins are the only ones that can talk with the people who can do something. The users are not happy with how things are now, and the admins can't manage without power.

Get us out of this limbo -keep pushing for us. if it's a dead horse then….sounds like it's more like a dead duck :(

Posted at 5:03AM, Mar. 28, 2008

I try not to be near as negatively vocal as our friend APC, but I have to agree here. And I know other members that agree, it's just not really much use, too much trouble, or we/they don't want to stir up anything/bring more negativity.

I mean, aside from stirring up the admins that can't do anything and are frustrated enough with the situation as is, I don't really see this thread accomplishing anything.
Many people's faith in Volte(and in result Platinum) has really diminished do to the ever increasing amount of bugs that don't get resolved. The icing on the cake was the new layout that brought about more bugs and that many don't like. Not to mention the less hits featured comics get. Shoot they even get less comments. I remember when a featured comic of any kind got at the very least the featured page littered with dozens of comments.

Again, I am NOT trying to sound harsh or cynical. I appreciate everything this site has done for me and as such I will faithfully follow it even if it's to a bitter and stale end… which I sure hope is NEVER the case.

I just want to give a glimpse that many not vocal people are upset, I'm sure you already knew this and all, so I guess I really didn't have a point huh!? (oh my username fits me so…)

Maybe I just wanted to get that off my chest a bit. :nervous:

Posted at 8:03AM, Mar. 28, 2008

Here's something which may get them moving on fixing this problem:

The Comic Challenge is fast approaching and Drunk Duck is the place where artists competing are going to come to post their comics and get the word out.

I would think that for Platinum and Volte and anybody remotely involved in the comic business, they would see the major need to have things fixed and up and running smoothly.

"Why?" someone may ask…

Because who wants to do business with a company whose first appearance or exposure to these up and coming artists is a poorly running hosting site? It looks unprofessional and sophomoric. I really love this site and the community here but it is getting hard to be proud of the site in its current condition and its usability troubles.

Posted at 9:03AM, Mar. 28, 2008

Get us out of this limbo -keep pushing for us. if it's a dead horse then….sounds like it's more like a dead duck :(

I just want to reassure everyone that we have. It's why we have monthly meetings now (today being the second monthly meeting we're having.) I know it seems like I'm not around but I am (and so is SpANG). It's just very difficult for me to offer any information when I don't have a lot to offer (and how many times would people want to hear "he's working on it" anyway? :S)

Anyhow, I just want to chime in so you guys don't feel like I've fled the coop.

Posted at 9:03AM, Mar. 28, 2008

just get the thing about uploading avatars right. As well as changing the thumbnail page for the comic.

Thats it. I'm not here to whine about a million things. :)

Posted at 12:03PM, Mar. 28, 2008

just get the thing about uploading avatars right. As well as changing the thumbnail page for the comic.

Thats it. I'm not here to whine about a million things. :)

There's a whole forum for bugfixes, this thread is about the lack of concise information we're getting from volte.

Lastly, APC, I know you are the most vocal person about all this, and I appreciate your persistence, but you are starting to kick a dead horse here.

I've been vocal about the lack of updates to the buglist and the features that we need working again. Now I'm being vocal about the fact that we aren't hearing anything about WHY these things haven't been fixed. As somebody else said, this is leading to a lack of faith/trust in Drunkduck and consequently Platinum. It gets worse though. Since one of the issues is that apparently it's possible to actually get any user's password emailed to you in plain text, which was mentioned in the bug forum, there's a huge security hole that we NEED to know what's going on about. It also shows that if volte is making the image server a priority over the whole being able to have your password easily stolen thing that a lot of people might probably have to start looking for new hosts.

Posted at 2:03PM, Mar. 28, 2008

I've been vocal about the lack of updates to the buglist and the features that we need working again. Now I'm being vocal about the fact that we aren't hearing anything about WHY these things haven't been fixed. As somebody else said, this is leading to a lack of faith/trust in Drunkduck and consequently Platinum. It gets worse though. Since one of the issues is that apparently it's possible to actually get any user's password emailed to you in plain text, which was mentioned in the bug forum, there's a huge security hole that we NEED to know what's going on about. It also shows that if volte is making the image server a priority over the whole being able to have your password easily stolen thing that a lot of people might probably have to start looking for new hosts.

This is pretty much what i was going to say, and you said it perfectly. I love DD, and i hate to see it like…well…this.

what was the reason for changing the layout in the first place? (curiosity)

I liked the old one better…

Posted at 8:03PM, Mar. 28, 2008

what was the reason for changing the layout in the first place? (curiosity)

So it looks like Zuda? I think it looks like Zuda. A poor imitation but the similarities are there.

Posted at 8:03PM, Mar. 28, 2008

Now I haven't been around here for years and years like some of you have, but word on the street sounds like there's been a LOT more trouble with this particular site update than with any of the ones previous. I'm sure each update has brought with it its fair share of whining by those opposed to the change in the look, and to be honest I kinda like the new look (With the exceptions of things like news and featured comic descriptions not being on the front page, naturally) but this is different because it appears nobody's trying very hard to fix the many bugs this update has brought. Some people seem to even be concerned that it might be the end of the site entirely, and while I really don't think it's anything nearly that drastic, I still think that there should be some real red flags going up here for the admins. Which it sounds like there are, and even they aren't the ones at fault.

So it sounds like everyone's in agreement that the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of volte, not for not getting things done per se, but for not keeping anyone updated. Hopefully there will be some light shed on this at the meeting tonight…

Regardless, I really don't think I have much right to complain about any of this. Drunkduck may be more buggy, but it still provides an excellent free service to hundreds of people, and that alone is enough for volte to be able to say "Shut up and eat your carrots" if he wants to. I'm not saying that would be wise, but seeing how I'm not planning on going and starting any comic hosting sites of my own in the near future, I'm not gonna criticize.

Though it is good that people's opinions are known about this, and I hope it's enough to actually start getting some work done. Let's cross our fingers.

Posted at 8:03PM, Mar. 28, 2008

Regardless, I really don't think I have much right to complain about any of this. Drunkduck may be more buggy, but it still provides an excellent free service to hundreds of people, and that alone is enough for volte to be able to say "Shut up and eat your carrots" if he wants to. I'm not saying that would be wise, but seeing how I'm not planning on going and starting any comic hosting sites of my own in the near future, I'm not gonna criticize.

But that's the thing, the alternatives are less buggy. DD right now is riding on one thing only it seems: reputation. For the longest time, DD was a good host that ended up having few shortcomings. Now it's getting worse and worse and we are losing functionality. Losing it to the point where in some cases, the site is barely doing it's job as a host.

And volte can't tell us to shut up and eat out carrots, since volte went out for a pack of smokes over a month ago and still hasn't come back.

Posted at 9:03PM, Mar. 28, 2008

We're all filled in now. Admins that is.I don't know how much is confidential though… Some things yes, other things… maybe.

Whether Volte6 posts here or not is his own thing, but we know more than enough to fully answer your questions now. I'm just not sure if we're really allowed. :(

The best answer I feel safest to give is that: fixes WILL happen, but at a very gradual, bit, by bit pace. The image bug is first with other things prioritised in order of importance to general user experience and site wide functionality.

-That's the utter, absolute essence and core of it. More detail is just superfluous really.