Thread "Inquiry on the development of The Duck" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 11:11AM, Nov. 4, 2014

So I've noticed that The Duck has gone/is still going through some serious issues when it comes to site design. And that's all right, so long as steps are being taken to improve the site to be a user-friendly hub of comics.
The problem I'm seeing is that in every bug post there's always that 'We'll fix it. Maybe. If we can.

This is definitely one of the first things on the to-do list if/when we can fix some things on the site.

I'm just wondering what's preventing the admins/mods/devs from fixing some of the more annoying parts of the site.
Things that should be easy to deal with (in HTML, JS, or even ASP) are still left hanging:
Personal Quacks:

This one unfortunately isn’t a bug so much as a misguided ‘feature’ from the site’s big redesign. Just try to check PQs frequently to avoid missing them.

Telling the user how to work around a problem is fine. But saying it's a 'feature' and leaving no indication of a future fix is… well… wrong.

Unless it is imperative to keep every single PQ ever received, it is a good idea to organize/handle the number of PQs because opening too many can actually crash the site.

That's just bad database handling. If you need to keep bandwidth down, give users a PQ cap and auto-delete after so many. Strings take up the most storage, but it's really not that much.
Stats:

Yep. :( Sorry. This is definitely one of the first things on the to-do list if/when we can fix some things on the site.

If it doesn't work, why even enable the tab for users to see? Total Pageviews is pretty easy to deal with, and that's the only thing that doesn't seem to work.
Comics:

This happens when you don’t give the image files for your pages unique names. So if you upload a new page called “page5.jpg” and you have an older page with the same name, the old one will be replaced with the new page.

BAD database handling. WORST database handling. Just run uploaded images through a generated hash with an index that allows you to see the comics in whatever order specified, without overwriting duplicate file names. Muliple chapters should be able to have 'page 1' instead of annoying work-arounds.
Lastly, something that I haven't seen any feedback on: Comic size. TDWC resizes my comic images to roughly 1.25x their original size, giving them a blurry look. The option to keep the initial resolution is either well-hidden or nonexistant.
So with these things in mind, I ask:
What is keeping you from fixing the site? I see constant activity from the admins on the bug lists and workarounds, but no real progress on the site. Did you pay someone to re-design it instead of making it yourself, and that's why there's no development? Or is it just that you have no time to work on the site?
I ask because I'm frustrated with the current state of the site and would like to see it fixes. I have great respect for the creators of the site that have made a great place for people to share their comics. I just wish it were slightly less confusing that Fotobucket's UI.
Mark out.

Posted at 1:11PM, Nov. 4, 2014

The thing that bugs me the most is the lack of notices when anyone comments on a comic. I've logged back in to find comments on my comics that were weeks/months old, and there's no way to tell when someone has commented without manually going through and checking every single strip, which is insane. I always feel bad to find comments have been added that I knew nothing about, because readers are just going to think the creator is nonresponsive, when in reality I just didn't know.

Posted at 1:11PM, Nov. 4, 2014

I have few enough strips that I hadn't run into that problem yet.
Yeah, that would be a nice feature.

Posted at 2:11PM, Nov. 4, 2014

I definitely understand the frustration! I think the admins (all unpaid volunteers btw) get it more than anyone… The short answer is that the site is in the process of transitioning to being community-run, but there are some tedious legal things that need to be taken care of before we would want to start putting money into the site. And none of us have the skills to fix things ourselves. Ozoneocean can probably give you a better answer, though. :)

@kentuckyfriedpopcorn: That's something we'll have to keep in mind! Years ago before the redesign there used to be a desktop widget that I seem to recall would notify you when you got comments, favourites etc. But other than that I don't think that's ever been a feature of the site.

Posted at 3:11PM, Nov. 4, 2014

what the site probably needs is a complete overhaul, to start over with new code. The difficulty is the archives, no one want's to lose all that.

Posted at 8:11PM, Nov. 4, 2014

This makes sense, and thanks for the speedy reply!
I'll mess around with a possible redesign in my spare time, along with easy database handling. Can't promise anything, and definitely can't promise speed, but if I can get something working would you be willing to look at it?

Posted at 8:11PM, Nov. 4, 2014

Ethentianknight -
All excelent points! Well thought out questions and proposed solutions there. :)
Hippie has the right answer.
It's hard to take the site to the next level so we can do that stuff ourselves; i.e. be able to have the resources to pay someone to do it for us, because none of us really have the skills. -_-

Posted at 4:11PM, Nov. 5, 2014

That's got to be a tough situation. I admit I'm kind of boggled at how it came around that a site of this size and scope ended up being run by unpaid volunteers - This just seems like WAY too much work to cope with, to not be getting paid for it. In any event, I wish you guys the best, though I do not envy your responsibility load.

Posted at 5:11PM, Nov. 5, 2014

Haha, thanks! The "how" is a long, sad story. In any case we're chugging along okay (and hey, it's a welcome distraction from my coursework), it's just the getting to the point where we can actually start improving things that's the hard part.

Posted at 9:11AM, Nov. 6, 2014

I hope you guys find the time/ability to revive this site and turn it into something hugely user-friendly.
Two more things that would be useful, but not feasible with the current setup:
A 'download all comics' option available to the authors (in case they needed backups). This could also turn into a feature for viewers of comics that authorize it, maybe available to viewers that donate?
I'm not one for pay-locked content, but because a zip download would take up bandwidth, I think it'd be a fair deal.
The other feature is replying to comments on comics, possibly doing a reddit-style comment system. It'd be nice, that's all.
So long as there was ample warning, if the site were to flush all comics and start brand new I think it could be good. There are a lot of dead comics out there just taking up space (I'm referring to the ones that are one strip/title page that haven't updated since '10) and anybody without backups of their comics really should have learned their lesson with the 2010 crash.
It would allow for a total re-work of the site, and you could keep the old one archived for a while if people want to go back and get the old comics.

Posted at 12:11PM, Nov. 6, 2014

Well of course I'd love for some of the 'features' of the site to be better, but seeing as it's a free site, and unpaid volunteers are doing what they can in their sparetime to fix it, I'm just grateful.
I work in IT (though mostly business applications, not pretty interactive websites), and I know well the teethpulling pain of going through someone else's (now long gone) older, gigantic projects, and trying to fix/modernize them *shivers*
Now were I paying for this service and I knew the people that worked on it got paid (esp. if it was their full-time job), I'd probably scream my head off about a couple things lol… Nah, I'd still be nice - just a little less empathetic ;)

Posted at 2:11PM, Nov. 6, 2014

@KimLuster: Thanks for the support, as always! :)

ethentianknight wrote:
So long as there was ample warning, if the site were to flush all comics and start brand new I think it could be good. There are a lot of dead comics out there just taking up space (I'm referring to the ones that are one strip/title page that haven't updated since '10) and anybody without backups of their comics really should have learned their lesson with the 2010 crash.

You're right about the dead comics taking up space, but I can't see that being something that people would ever be okay with. Some comics on DD have 1000+ pages (Charby, Used Books, The Pirate Balthasar…). "Flushing" those wouldn't just mean having to re-upload comic pages, but also losing author notes, comments, etc. going back years. There are also some really great abandoned and completed comics that I think it would be a real shame to lose.

I like the idea of reddit-style commenting, though.

Posted at 10:01PM, Jan. 4, 2015

I can see how that would be frustrating. Database migration might be the way to go, painful as it is.
I hope you guys manage to get it further optimized, because the site itself is pretty amazing, it's just the quirks and lack of utilities that throws it off.
I'll go get a degree in web sites or something and get back to you on that.
For now, I'll just keep making terrible comics and starting ten other projects I have no hope of finishing.