Messages

2911

Bugs? On www.shmax.com? Ha ha, you kill me... / Re: this isnt rattrap..

October 19, 2007, 06:02:52 PM

http://www.shmax.com/part_details/491/Rattrap

is it?

Sure it is! To be sure, I'm no expert, but he looks a bit like the rattrap on the package illustration. I'm guessing that's Rattrap! Any other know-it-all types want to chime in?

2912

Help Us Build the Database / Beast Wars Basics Packages done

October 19, 2007, 02:16:54 AM

I put in another long day, and voila! Thanks again to Menbailee...

http://www.shmax.com/Database/325

2913

Help Us Build the Database / Beast Machines Packages

October 18, 2007, 04:20:46 PM

Are entered, thanks again to Menbailee. However, they are missing UPC numbers! If any of you have them in your collection in the original boxes, please let me know!

http://www.shmax.com/Database/221

- shmax

2914

Help Us Build the Database / Beast Wars Anniversary

October 17, 2007, 11:02:16 PM

Thanks mostly to Menbailee, the Beast Wars Anniversary figures are now all in the database. Tag 'em if you got 'em!

http://www.shmax.com/Database/324

- shmax

2915

Bugs? On www.shmax.com? Ha ha, you kill me... /

October 17, 2007, 10:49:41 PM

How's that? WIdth is now 500, height is less than 200. Also, I've been approving some beast wars figures... tag away!

2916

Bugs? On www.shmax.com? Ha ha, you kill me... /

October 17, 2007, 10:30:01 PM

Well I had never had a sig box before
But the PM i got from the staff said it had to be 500 x 200
so i guess its got to lose some lenth?
Its not a matter of serer space its about keeping post data to a sertan size
You call also get more info in the Allsparks Ask the staff forum

Well, it would be the width they don't like--lemme see if I can massage it real quick...

2917

Bugs? On www.shmax.com? Ha ha, you kill me... / Re: My sig box is to big the allspark staff said..

October 17, 2007, 10:13:12 PM

it needs to be 500x200

Really? Lemme see what I can do...

That doesn't make much sense:

500x200 = 100000

682x141 (current size) = 96162.

In other words, if I use the dimensions they suggest, the sig will be BIGGER, not smaller. Can you ask them if they're sure that's what they want? Also, do they understand that the image is hosted on a different site, and therefore not taking up any of their server space?

- shmax

- shmax

2918

Bugs? On www.shmax.com? Ha ha, you kill me... / Re: My sig box is to big the allspark staff said..

October 17, 2007, 10:06:05 PM

it needs to be 500x200

Really? Lemme see what I can do...

2919

Feature Requests/Announcements / It WORKS! It wooooorrrrrrkkkkks!!!

October 17, 2007, 09:22:29 PM

Well, I've been thinking about it for a week, and dreading it for a month, and working on it straight for the past 36 hours, but the long-promised category-picker is now available. It is now impossible to unwittingly fail to pick an appropriate sub-category when entering an item, because the entry form won't validate if you haven't used the new category widget (um, "inspired" from eBay's) to pick a final sub-category. It sounds more complicated to use than it is, and it could still use some fine-tuning, but I look foward to seeing what you folks make of it. Enjoy!

- shmax

2920

Help Us Build the Database / Re: What about odd stuff that wont fit into a known database

October 17, 2007, 09:06:53 PM

Like say the Transforming Plushies
or McDonalds toys

Softimus Prime
Slumble Bee

Hehe I pick Prime up for my self and BB I gave to my 3 day old neice/godchild
There tags and packageing looks like the Classics packageing

No prob, all we have to do is figure out exactly where in the category hierarchy they should go, and it's simple for me to add them. Got any reference links, or do you have any ideas?

- shmax

2921

Help Us Build the Database /

October 17, 2007, 03:47:50 PM

Thanks for the thoughtful response.  Web databases can frequently appear and then vanish, and people generally want some assurance that the ball is rolling and will keep its momentum before they join in.  In that spirit, I just created entries for practically every Beast Wars toy.  And hey, it looks as if you PMed me a thank-you before I could even finish this post!  Glad to help build the site.

It's curious that you'd mention that I hadn't browsed to the correct subcategory for Grimlock, since I was most definitely in the Classics category at the time.  Will the database register entries in their subcategories correctly regardless of whether the user is in the Collection, Wishlist, or Missing section?  If not, that might explain the problem--I might have been in one of those, and all the same categories appear.  The data entry appears to have worked correctly for the Beast Wars toys.

You, sir, are a hero. The entries are all appreciated, but they have some fundamental problems. I PM'ed you some of these issues, but I'll mention them here so other folks can get the gist as well. First, the package photos you used are all postage-stamp sized! They should be around 400 x 400, so they show up in their full glory on the details page (I've added a note to that effect on the entry form). They should also be displayed against a featureless white background. Next, some of them are mis-categorized. Don't worry about that one, I'm hard at work on a new category widget which will make it impossible to put them in anything but a "leaf node" category, and once it works I'll go back and fix any of your mis-categorized entries. Finally, you didn't really fill in many of the details, such as retail price, product and assortment number, and release date. All that info can be typically found on www.tfarchives.com (though I'm not sure they have a Beast Wars page), or other sites around the 'ol intertubes. The trickiest one is the UPC number, but it can generally be found on starwarsstuff So, we have a lot of fixin' up to do. I'm going to personally help out as much as I can, but if you could go back in and fix any you're able I'd be hugely grateful...

Oh, one more thing--Grimlock was in classics, which is correct, but he wasn't put into the "Deluxe" sub-category. Not to worry, my new widget will clear all that kind of thing up. Should be ready in a few hours...

- shmax

2922

Bugs? On www.shmax.com? Ha ha, you kill me... /

October 17, 2007, 01:41:48 PM

now go start approveing all the entrys so i can check thim off my list!
.....whay are you even here go go!!

lol you kill me. I'd love to, but they need a lot of work, and I'm busy trying to fix some of the flaws in the data entry system that allow data entry errors to happen (ie. items in wrong category). I'll try to do a few every now and then on breaks, though.

2923

Bugs? On www.shmax.com? Ha ha, you kill me... /

October 17, 2007, 01:37:05 PM

well thay are and there killing my avarage lol!!

Fixed! Your average's honor has been defended!

2924

Bugs? On www.shmax.com? Ha ha, you kill me... /

October 17, 2007, 01:28:59 PM

holy cow!! someones adding a heck of a lot of content
I get it now!

Yeah, it Menbailee is a data-entry machine! He'll destroy us all! But that is still sort of a bug--the entries haven't been approved yet, so they shouldn't be figuring into the sig. On the list!

- shmax

2925

Help Us Build the Database / Re: On the long-term viability of the database...

October 17, 2007, 01:01:21 AM

Hi Shmax.  My hat goes off to your effort here.  Making this database large enough to serve as a useful tool for the Transformers fan community is a monumental undertaking, which naturally only becomes possible if everyone starts adding the toys they have or would like to have.  I think a direct question is in order: what kind of commitment do you have to keeping this database up and running?  Just keeping an eye out for double entries is going to take a lot of work.  You'll need a very stable server and have all the concerns of running a website with (hopefully) major traffic.  Building the database to a comprehensive level will take a lot of time from a lot of people.  What's the plan for keeping it up and running for the long term?  Would you hand it over to Seibertron if you end up without enough time to take care of it, and would they want it?

I'm asking tough questions because I see the value in what you're doing, and I'm hoping it can stick around!

These are all great questions, almost too great, really--who sent you? You're not a cop, are you?

But yes, the enormity of the task is quite crushing, and though I've done my best to get things up and running by doing a ton of data entry myself, my long-term goal is to make the database friendly enough for the community itself to fill it in. Admittedly, it's not quite friendly enough, yet. There are flaws in the presentation that confuse folks. For example, no single user--including yourself--has quite "gotten" that you're supposed to browse your way to the appropriate sub-category before adding a figure or package (I'm in working on a solution for that, as we speak).

On the other hand, there are some safeguards in place. You mentioned double entries--well, in theory the database prevents this, though there will definitely be issues with some of our grammatically-challenged users forcing typo's and other mistakes through. But even then, all new additions are flagged as "pending", and must be approved by an administrator before they become publicly available.

As for my commitment, well, I've already spent a few years slaving away on this, so I'd be nuts to abandon all the work I've already done, but ultimately all work I do on this project is geared toward making it self-sufficient. There's no way I can personally take on the data entry AND handle support and new features, so the plan all along has been to open it up to the users. A little further down the line, I'll even be awarding one or more administrator flags to the user or users that seem the most capable, and they will take on data verification and other duties.

So, that's the general idea. I'm working at full capacity to beef things up to the point where I can start publicizing the site in earnest and welcome in the hordes, but in the meantime I'm still accepting any and all thoughtful input, suggestions, criticisms, and even wisecracks.

I thank you for your cogent post, and look forward to more!

- shmax

p.s. Thanks for Grimlock, he's been approved!