Hello all,
Some news to announce!
This week I convened with alexp and he transferred me the code base for the website. Basically, what this means is that I can now start to work on fixing some of the bugs and implementing some of the features that have been requested. I think this is really great news and we have the opportunity to really improve the website; hopefully, 2017 can become a renaissance of sorts for the CYS codebase. I’ve already implemented a few changes on the test website (not online – more on these features later) and they should get pushed up to the live website sometime in the near future. At this point, I’m not willing to commit to a date or even a more specific timeframe.
Okay, so now that I’ve got your hopes up, it’s time to temper your expectations. There are three major reasons that development of site features could be slow:
Additionally, I’ll probably create new bugs as I try to fix things and implement new features. You’ll have to be patient with me as I figure out how to handle this rather large and unwieldy project. That said, I’m super excited! I’ve wanted to work on the CYS code for a very long time.
The first update will probably be quite small as I’m mostly just figuring out how things work. Here’s what you can expect:
Small changes and bug fixes
Profiles and Trophies
Forum Games
The forum games forum will be removed and replaced by a new forum called the ‘Creative Corner’. We’ve been consciously trying to steer CYS further and further toward sophisticated and excellent writing, and this is the natural next step in the progression. The Creative Corner will be a place to write stories (including collaborative stories), to share your poems, or even to share artwork that accompanies your writing or might inspire other people to write. We feel that the forum games forum does more to detract from great writing than to encourage it, and this transition should be a continuation of the great trajectory that CYS is currently on. I would really like to encourage anyone who currently spends a lot of their CYS time in the forum games section to branch out and explore some of the storygames, and eventually, even contribute your own. We’d all benefit from your excellent creativity!
Please back up any content in that forum that you wish to keep.
Hooray! Congrats to Berka ^_^
Haha! If anyone's getting a glowing personal trophy it's me. Just kidding, maybe we'll save that for a 10000 point reward.
#MCYSGA
Thanks JJJ!
And thanks everyone for continuing to make great content despite having such an ancient site.
*Reads username 100 times*
Is this the one i've heard so many legends about?
*Checks profile of alexp then realizes he's the creator of this site* Woah, It's the legendary alexp! He has finally arrived! Huzzah! :)
Woah, It's the legendary alexp! He has finally arrived! Huzzah! :)
Wow! Your reaction was like, almost exactly the same as mine! Great minds think alike, now let's drink some fizzy apple juice! :D
I don't like apple juice. I prefer Orange Juice!
I'm pretty sure our reactions were different. Also, I'm pretty sure I heard this sentence before: "Great minds think alike." Must be my imagination...
How would fizzy orange juice taste? o.o
It's a famous quote from Prof. NobodyKnowsMyName.
Yes
No, you have witnessed the divine presence of the creator himself.
Holy shit! Alexp is here!
He was on late last night too :)
Woo! It's about time Berka got a trophy.
I'm looking forward to these imporvements :D
No more forum games? I'm going to be on this site a lot less now.
what!? I totally missed that part! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE
It's not an outrage! It's a chance for you, and others like you, to contribute meaningfully to the writing website.
Well i've written seven storygames and still manage to balance forum games..
Consider yourself an excellent manager of time!
While i'm incredibly sad about the removal of forum games, i'll still try to understand and accept it I guess. If the mods hink its for the best then I guess they have good reasons. I'll still try my best to be active and stuff even without the forum games.
That is a wonderful attitude. I'm really glad to hear it because I think you have the potential to write a featured story or two.
Every time major changes are announced, there is some controversy, but we've got a very good track record of making the right call.
Seven fairly shit story games, so maybe not the best balancing act in the world.
Only four were shit. The other three were semi-shit.
Four were scummy dogshit, three were just shit.
Fair enough.
I thought "The River of Fire" and "Insanity Castle" were pretty decent, but meh.
I hope you'll reconsider and try to contribute by writing a quality storygame or two. At the end of the day, if you're only looking to play forum games, then there are a number of other websites that you can access.
Wolf God Empire (Run by Derpbacon) for all your forum game needs.
http://empireofthewolfgod.proboards.com/
Mod approved forum game location!
nah, they love me there. Derp actually unmodded someone for banning me, and then unbanned me.
Thank's End, this is my new favorite site. :)
I'm currently in the process of writing two storygames.
Excellent news! If you have any writing related questions, you should put them in the Writing Workshop. Opening your work up for critical appraisal is one of the best ways to get better.
My thoughts exactly. It was fine when it was used for Continent, Commander, and the like, but right now it's definitely more of a distraction than an asset.
The man only lists his own games XD
Noooo!!! I can't be a useless degenerate anymore!
Time to start being useful for CYS as a useful degenerate!
Definitely cool for Berka to finally get his own trophy.
I cri. I cheer. I cri again. I mostly cheer. I decide to cri again. Someone probably slaps me. Whelp. Nothing I can do about it but accept these changes and adapt, tho I do have to say, no offense to others who use Discord, but I can't stand RP's on that, but I suppose I won't be a bum and quit because Forum Games are being removed. I cri. I die, I get over it.
A lot of avid RP players are really creative people. If we can do anything to aid your transition from RPs to writing, please let us know.
Chocolate cake?
I don't like Chocolate. I like Stawberry. And thanks 3J. I'll keep that in mind.
Unfortunately, my powers only extend so far. . .
Thanks mizal. I hear so much about you, all negative things, don't worry, and I'm glad my first interaction with you isn't bad. I'll also have to check that out. Has DerpBacon been on lately? I haven't seen him around..
Once you start posting in the Writing Workshop, you'll see she's not so bad.
Dammit! I was trying me level best!
Rest in peace, all 20000+ forum game posts i've made on this site.
I'll always vaguely remember you.
Whoa! A wild legend appears.
I don't know :'(
It seems like you're taking on quite the endeavor. Good luck, JJJ!
Thanks Orange! I'll do it at my own pace and only for as long as I'm enjoying it, so don't worry about me. That said, I've really wanted to do this for awhile so it's kind of a dream come true.
This I haven't decided yet. Definitely profiles and forum posts and probably storygame pages... but maybe not in scripting windows. I'm really not sure yet. I get that there are big advantages (see: Zikara) but I'm worried about security.
Thank you! I'm pretty nervous.
The Writing Workshop will be for writing related questions ("how do I progress a plot?", "does this character motivation make sense?") where the Creative Corner will be for posting WIP stories, or other forms of art.
Thanks!
This is excellent news, coagulations to Berka
RIP Forum Games
We had some good times.
Looking forward to the new forum, and congrats to BZ for finally getting his trophy.
This sounds great 3J! Thanks in advance for making CYS great again.
Thanks for your contributions! Expect to get your hard earned contest winners trophy as well.
YES! CYS will no longer be completely stagnant in terms of updates! I'm especially looking forward to Creative Corner and a built-in word count.
Also, are you able to access and change/delete articles?
Articles are definitely a huge priority, and probably something I'll look to do on the second update.
I used to be very obsessed with Forum Games, but I understand why they really need to stop. Looking forward to Creative Corner.
And congrats to JJJ and Berka :)
Well shit. I CALL FOR A REVOLUTION! TEAR DOWN THE SITE!
Just kidding, I understand that this is a writing site and not an RPing site. Hell, maybe this will finally motivate me to focus on my off-site RPs or actually get to work writing Hazelmyre (I wrote two sentences last night and reworked some of the existing story. That is the most progress I've made on it in months). And the Creative Corner sounds like it'll be a great new addition to the site.
I look forward to the new changes and Berka finally getting a trophy.
'much-needed social practice'
Pffft. Man, I don't need any social practice. Girls drool all over my Cheeto-stained neckbeard and Drive jacket.
Exciting! May I suggest we change the name of the site to temporaryaccount.com?
Denied.
Well, I'm pretty sure that's what he expected xD
I upvote this.
That domain is actually currently for sale. The more you know!
Banned.
Right before the big update too. That would suck.
Currently, I'm removing the ability to use the body, style, or script tags. It will be something that you can probably find a way to get around, but you could face serious punishments if you do. If you use HTML/CSS to make a non-intrusive, non-annoying profile page, you won't get it any trouble, regardless of the technology that you use. However, if backgrounds/cursers/music/etc. is implemented, then you'll be in some trouble. Also messing with the site roles will get you in trouble.
No backgrounds. You probably shouldn't be staring at your own profile for long enough to matter. They just look really bad. Very clashy with the rest of the site.
The half white screen thing is definitely annoying and something I'll look at in the future... but obviously not with a repetitive space background lol. That looks awful.
I'm not very familiar with the HTML/CSS format of the site yet so I don't know if you can change that container. I'm guessing not, but if you do it, take screenshot, then undo it, we can see.
Chanbot cannot keep his dark theme.
Right, that makes sense.
What do you want to do to Main Content besides setting a background which is now illegal?
Like I said, if you can do something that is seriously not intrusive, then I probably won't have a problem with it. Wait for the update to get pushed to the site, then do what you want, just don't do anything intrusive that clashes with the site.
What if Users can have the ability to change the Background color of their choice, which doesn't affect other users of course, just for them, I mean, it'd be useful...
That's called 'skinning'. Go ahead and suggest it in the FWW. That won't be a high priority feature for me though.
Yeah! I totally meant to say 'skinning', but didn't know if you guys would understand it >w>
You are all so much smarter than me.
No more script tags? Well, there goes the changing quotes on Brad's profile (and on mine, albeit I can do without it).
I'd suggest re-reading the OP.
Oh. Right. Didn't see the part about no more Javascript on profiles.
You're not supposed to have embedded music players? How about on storygames and stuff? That's fine, right?
Music players are fine as long as they don't autoplay on profiles. I'm more lenient about stories, no hard/fast rules there.
Just to be straight:
No background
No cursors
No music
No fancy titles
Man, I'm gonna miss all that stuff.
Now I can conform with this all without complaint. But honestly -- I like the idea of being able to customize profile pages. It's where people come to learn about said user, so the whole background decorations and all are kind of like their own corner of the site. You're in charge and I'll deal with it, but you know other than the more eye-jarring ones, I kind of think it's harmless. I don't even put lies in the title or anything; it says Reader, straight and true.
C'mon, man, think of poor Brad.
This is a writing website! Hopefully whatever you write there will be meaningful. Beyond that, you can still customize your profile page, you just can't clash super hard with the site's CSS in doing so. The custom titles make titles meaningless. Earn 5000 points and you can have one of your choosing!
"This is a writing website! Hopefully whatever you write there will be meaningful."
True. When you get down to it, it's needless. So, if you happened to be opposed to it, you'd have the final say.
Beyond that, you can still customize your profile page, you just can't clash super hard with the site's CSS in doing so.
Err... Would you say mine clashes too hard...?
Earn 5000 points and you can have one of your choosing!
Wait, what?! Why was I not told this?! Ok, I'd like to reserve "Grandmaster of the Damned!"
"Err... Would you say mine clashes too hard...?"
Uhh, yeah. It's one of the worst offenders.
"Wait, what?! Why was I not told this?! Ok, I'd like to reserve "Grandmaster of the Damned!""
It's literally in the opening post. . .
Well, I'll just cut the whining and do without then. It's not like I know anything about coding anyways. Oh, and sorry about missing that piece about the points. Must have blanked out a bit or something. Long live CYS; I'll look forward to further improvements.
You're not whining!
Oh god, don't start with the direct quotes...
And it said in the OP!
Man, 5,000 points...
Well, I did conquer Calradia. I guess I can conquer CYS too.
Music is a thing you can do?
You could still embed a music player with HTML, just no autoplay.
Can you guys give me an example of a profile that does this? I have never experienced this, and I'd like to before it's gone.
Go to T-Count's profile.
... Oh shit, it doesn't work for me.
Wait on the profile for a few minutes.
Nope, nothing,
Hm.. That's odd. Works fine for me.
Difference is, Tim uses mobile.
That's probably it.
No Yearbook?
Not in the first update, no. There are a lot of things I want to accomplish, and not all of them are going to happen immediately...
Like the Bugs & Problems forum?
lol no one gets banned for criticizing Alexp. There's no need to put anything in the B&P that doesn't effect people who aren't trying to mess with site's CSS. That's very low priority for me.
Yeah, they're a pain in the ass to get around while you're doing something that's not sanctioned or needing to be supported by the website. It's not a high priority to help you scrape things haha.
Hmmm, yeah I probably should try and get points considering how long I've been on the site.
Definitely before me, with my measly 175...
Wait, 175?
You've put that in scare quotes as if to suggest that you not getting a trophy for something that you've already been rewarded for is really unreasonable.
Hah!
Don't points affect things like ratings and contest entries though? They have uses.
No, she means stop rewarding DMA threads with points.
... I don't think there'd be many good, charitable samaritans, willing to donate their time...
Both mizal and I agree with that statement. Her post was rhetorical. Notice that her first statement is conditional.
TBH, I think I would be in favor for not giving points to the person who recommends a comment be featured, and only giving points to the writer of the featured comment.
I like both, personally. I like incentivising people to find featured comments.
Basically what Mizal said. I stopped after there were no more quality comments to suggest, and even noted during one of my suggestions that I was "lowering my bar quite a bit for this one."
While it is sometimes true that something is better than nothing, perhaps not when it comes to featured comments.
The easy answer is more storygames! More (quality) stories, more reading, more comments, more points, more more.
Well, I would assume the feedback sort of dampens the mood...
50 Forum Games You Will Miss Forever!
http://tinyurl.com/hc68m6w
You won't believe your eyes!
But, for the actual important parts, huzzah! Some well needed and interesting developments.
???? ????????edgy shit edgY sHit ??thats ??some edgy???? shit right ??th?? ere?????? right there ????if i do??a? so?my self ??i say so ?? thats what im talking about right there right there (chorus: ????? ?????) mMMMM???? ???????O0??OOOOO???Oooo??????????????? ?? ???? ???? Edgy shit
Well, there's no need to be condescending about it...
I can name at least, at least 3.
Commander, The Tavern, anf Bunny Simulation.
I can name the Pokémon one :D
Gotta catch em all!
Uh. It at least needs that chart.
Just don't mess with the site's background, etc. Also, I think it looks fine in the second picture. Maybe bold the usernames, space out the table a bit, I dunno.
Sorry, Ford. Your bot's functionality doesn't rely on this and I think the site looks better the way it is than with a background that doesn't quite match anything. That's the final answer, man. If you think you can make something that's not an eyesore, then do it and send me a screenshot, and I'll let you know.
You can still have a colored table, you just can't mess with the site's background css.
Listen, Ford, there's no CYS API and there's no guarantee of support for 3rd party bots. When you write a 3rd party bot, you assume the risk that things might change. That's a really, really basic lesson for someone who writes code. This conversation is quite over. Things have been made really clear to you.
Yeah, ideally, there'd be a CYS API, for sure. That's not a priority, though.
So I'm a honorable mention :D
Well I may not be important, but i'm an Advanced Noob.
@Ford
Your current profile looks great and is totally acceptable.
It looks acceptable, like visually. The script will fail when the update is pushed.
Congratulations Berka, it's about time you received that trophy! :)
I'll be a bit sad about the Forum Games being removed, but now I'll have more time to work on my storygames so that I can add my accomplishments with the site. (I need to make up for earlier mistakes anyways). I already know the new forum is going to be great, so this will be a very good update.
Overall, I'm excited about the update, so thank you.
You're welcome! I like your attitude a lot.
Thanks 3J. I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've ever spoken to each other XD. Nice to meet you! :)
That sounds promising!
"The deed is done."
Good Job BZ for finally getting that trophy that took you a long time to get!
Good Job 3J for somehow convincing alexp to give you the site's code thingy...
Anyways, 3J you mentioned there would be consequences if you find a way around making a cool profile. What exactly are those consequences?
Bannage. Point penalties. Insults. Things like that.
NO!! Not insults! How horrid!
Ikr! They're so hurtful!
Insults would... Hertz my feeling!
Alright, No one would get that Pun
That was so punny!
Car rentals?
Isn't Hertz a car rental company?
I thought it was an ice cream bar.
Why would the points matter if they got banned anyways >~<
Imagine being shot dead. Now imagine being shot dead, then kicked. Same idea.
If i'm already dead that won't do much... unless they kill my ghost.
It's sort of an overkill thing.
Like when I docked Kain 5000 points and banned him for plagiarism.
I see.
First a warning, then a big point penalty, and then a ban.
So it's a three strikes and your out system?
Yeah, but in general, there will be leniency if the user isn't trying to get around the rules.
Yeah, it's not a joke!
This would make an amazing slogan.
"CYOA- don't fuck with us, it's no joke!"
No worries! Thanks for your contributions, Bucky.
If admins feel like moving them, then that would be cool but that's a pretty boring job, so we will see.
There's a very good chance this goes live early this week. Please back up anything you want to keep from the forum games section.
I might push all changes except forum games and postpone that to give people more time.
To be honest, I knew it was coming since Freeform was banned. I've made my peace since then.
I mean, removing the board was obviously the next logical step.
It's kinda like 1940's Germany and the Jewish population of 1940's Germany.
Well, if you're like that.
Yeah! Freaking Jews, scum of the Earth!
(Please don't ban me, I'm actually a Jew, I swear)
No, I compared the Forum Games board to Jews in the 40s.
Both are soon to be purged and about as shit, in Tim's defence.
Well this shall be interesting :)
Awesome! I've been waiting for these changes for some time. Vivre La Renaissance de CYStia!!!
These are all fantastic improvements to the site and I am very glad they are happening :D It is good that 3J is making these long overdue changes and I am sure they will make a big impact on the site: but the site is in a very good place to receive these changes right now. Personally I am excited/interested/intrigued about how things will develop but very grateful for 3J for making this commitment:D
Also BZ stands out as someone who has earned their trophy several times over, it is really great to see he is getting rewarded for all the hard work he has done :D
Agreed, and you're probably next on the list! I'm just revamping the trophy requirements so you might need to wait a little bit longer.
Thanks for the kind words, Will!
Question: If we were to run a game similar to Commander, would you want us to do that in the Lounge or on BHB?
BHB. That would work better anyway mechanistically.
Second questoin:
Is that a rule, or just perferable?
It's a rule. We're not removing the forum games so that forum games can go in the lounge. If someone were going to recreate Commander, they would have done it by now :)
Don't quote me on this, but it's entirly possile that I might make one based on the lore of Under The Bridge.
It's more work than you think it is.
I am slightly less lazy than you think I am.
Thanks Thara. :)
This was a somewhat ruffling announcement for me. May you find rest in Paradise, Forum Games. I'm going to have to save my threads.
I applaud Berka and 3J for their hard work. Ready yourselves for some stories to be written.
How do you save them by the way?
I know that normally when they are on the net, they're there forever but I don't know how you back up ones *Obviously the Jojo one is already backed up but Martial Arts in the Wastes is one of my favorites, I won't bother with the ones that never got completed, they just make me sad.*
Here, take this.
Likely going to be a site update tonight. I'm hoping we don't experience so long of an outage this time but we'll see!
Will this one shed light on the mysterious essence of those orders (which ironically only served to remove order so far)?
I hope so. Getting tired of Yusi and Minnie getting into fights xD
I've submitted changes for Alex to deploy. I've taken a totally unacceptable amount of his time this week, so I wouldn't blame him if he doesn't want to deal with things at the moment, but once he does, the urgent bugs will be fixed. No new features in this update.
I asked Alex yesterday to push some changes that would fix the current storygame bug (sorry) but I think he's swamped with work or out of town or something.
I'm at a Hackathon this weekend so I won't be around too much but I'll try to check in. Sorry again for the bug and hopefully we can get it resolved soon. You were promised bugs, and I have definitely delivered :)
Thanks :)
We came 2nd in the Hackathon! I think we should have won but the other team was definitely tackling a more buzzy challenge.
