Enhancements

One of my goals for Ducksnorts, aside from providing daily coverage of the San Diego Padres, is to make it a kick-ass site for everyone to use. I’m a web developer by trade, which is why usability and accessibility are important to me. I may use this site to test ideas and techniques that I’ll then use in my day job. With this in mind, here is a list of enhancements I am working on or at least thinking about right now. The list is fluid, and I always am open to suggestions, so if there’s something you’d like to see on Ducksnorts and it’s not already on the list, please let me know. I cannot guarantee that I’ll implement your idea, but I will evaluate and investigate it.

Last updated: 14 Jan 2007

Complete

  • Added “Related Posts” feature to bottom of individual entries using WASABI’s excellent plugin. (3/13/06)
  • Installed Scott Hanson’s Auto Shutoff Comments Plugin so that comments and pings automatically close after 14 days to help prevent spam. (3/14/06) I’ve deactivated this plugin for now; it’s been helpful in preventing spam, but it also limits our conversation, which doesn’t sit well with me. (1/14/07)
  • Installed Ryan Duff’s WP-ContactForm. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to contact me. (4/9/06)
  • Imported All-Baseball.com entries. (4/9/06)

Wish List

  • Unified archives. All blog entries have been converted to WordPress format. Woo-hoo! I still need to do some cleanup work (part of ongoing maintenance) and convert old articles going back to 1997. Potential resources:
  • Improved commenting capabilities. I’ve gotten requests to add “preview” or “edit” functionality to comments. I’m investigating a few options, but all have drawbacks. Philosophically, the idea of a “preview” function is more agreeable to me. Plugins I’m evaluating or planning to evaluate include:

    There’s no timetable for this one. If you have experience with any of the above plugins and wish to share your experience, please drop me a line.

That’s all for now. As always, let me know if you have any other ideas for enhancements, improvements, etc. My name may be on it, but Ducksnorts remains a group effort.