Its already month 2 of the year!
I know that it hasnt been that long since the last site update, but that doesn't mean there isn't stuff to update everyone on!
Personally, the month has been busy and annoyingly I think my next 6 months are looking busier, my boss at work has piled on another project. I'll still be janny'ing ofc but I may get a bit slow on some updates. I've been doing exams and such this month too which is fun! With that out of the way.... The blogpost begins!
Emote reactions
There has been an update to the emote extension, so now we can have proper names for the emote reactions
As it stands, we have...
Zug
Picture of the WC3 Orc Zug Zug face
Starfish
Fuko from Clannad giving you a starfish
Shock!
umpa from Steins Gate giving a shocked face
Love
asuka from Evangelion giving an appreciative face with a heart
Thanks!
Feris from Steins Gate maid emote with thank you text
There may be more in future or these may change, if you use them be sure that they convey what you want to react.
If you have any suggestions for them please post them in the...
Community Feedback thread
I am going to have an updated post in the thread rather than make a new one for 2024. I will give some more ideas for the types of feedback given and such, although if the thread gets busy with one topic i may move that into its own thread.
The Community Feedback thread is here
Other sites and future services/sites
I've ran SheepishPatio for over a year now and I think the site has come along great. I'm incredibly grateful for everyone whos been an active member and everyone whos given the site a look.
I am looking at any other services or sites I could host that would be beneficial, ofc I dont want to cannibalize the site especially, but I also dont want to compete with some of the smaller image-boards and such I/and a lot of you frequent.
I think the current status of the site, which i'd summarize as 'a chill old school forum with a modern feel' is a great one and has its own place. I am also conscious of the fact that the site covers almost all topics except one. The site is maybe a bit too vague in its theme for some, but I think that works in its favour, as you never know when someones going to make the next flag thread or other surprise.
I'd really like to have some game servers and fun stuff like that but I think thats not quite in the cards yet. So i've been looking at more web services and sites. So far this is the main one i'm thinking about, although I think that it requires more thinking and some input:
Political/conspiracy/drama site idea
I was debating making another site, feature parity with this, but for "less chill" things, ie overt political topics or internet drama and such. Functionality wise, being a highly compatible with mobile site, I think there is quite a bit of value there that isnt on any of the current crop of sites.
I know it would be a challenge to moderate and ensure attitudes there dont make their way over here. I'd need to have quite specific requirements for posting to avoid a lot of the issues with many of the other boards/sites etc.
So I am a bit conflicted on the idea, as well as any reputational issues it may cause with this site.
I just wanted to spitball my current thought process a bit on that one. Please let me know what you think about that.
When it comes to other sites, i'm a bit of a lurker these days which i'd like to change. There are lots of other sites i'd like to list on our friends of the site but I havent been posting on there enough lately to justify requesting imo 🙁
I think I may add another section, maybe under the services I host of just other fun sites that are worth a look.
Web-Rings
For those that don't know, A web ring is basically a list of websites you join, where everyone links to each other. There are lots of these that have come back in style somewhat again. I may in future look at joining a couple, to give users other sites to take a look at, or for their users to stumble here. It is very reminiscent of the old days of the internet, particularly in how people stumble onto others sites that they wouldnt have found otherwise. We may be rejected and find it hard to join one though, given our status as a 'modern' site. If you have any Web-Rings you like using or think would be a good fit, feel free to post about them in the community feedback thread, and if you run a site on one, feel free to get in touch. Although I may need to do some more size banners...
If you have any sites you'd like to suggest I link to on our links/friends page, or are worth me taking a look at/speaking to the owners of for any reason, let me know!
Messaging
We may have messaging functionality on the site soon. Someone has revived an old messaging extension for flarum. I want to have a little look through the source code for any obvious red flags before I add it. (The dev hasnt really made any changes public so i'm a little apprehensive.)
If/When I add the extension to the site, we may find some issues with it so please be aware that it will be a bit of a rockier go and may have to be removed in future.
This messaging extension is not encrypted, so do not use it in confidence like you would with an XMPP or other E2EE service.
Profile Comments
I had been attempting to develop a profile comments extension myself a couple months ago, although I couldnt get it anywhere near done (Apparently winging it doesnt work).
In order to get something more worthwhile, I have created a extension request/fundraiser for the feature on the flarum software forum. You can keep an eye on the progress there if you are so inclined, but I wanted to mention that I still have a desire to see the feature on the site.
Extension Proposal here
SheepishPatio App
As part of my 'looking at ways to get the site infront of people', and also making access to the site easier. I am looking at releasing the site as an App on the Google Play Store. You can already have the site as an app via the PWA functionality (thats where on some browsers it may ask if you want to install the site as an app). With that functionality I can package the site as an app. I will not be massively shilling it when I do, no moreso than saying its available and to maybe check it out if you dont use anything on mobile/tablets currently.
Thanks
As is always relevant
Thanks again for using the site and for taking the time to read this months update.
Have a great rest of your day!
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