Curtains

[Michael Allan]

This is about curtains for the stage.
http://zelea.com/project/votorola/_/javadoc/votorola/s/gwt/stage/StageV.html

Thomas said:
> What priority has the new curtain version [of votespace] for you?

My thinking hasn't gone much beyond step 1.  But here goes:

  1. Maximize exposure of the running software, spreading it across
     pages that get traffic.  So we cast a wide net.

  2. Code the bare minimum of attractors.  Mostly I think we're on the
     right track(s) for this already. ;^)

       a) The 5 tracks we have, either in place (link, poll vote), in
          pipeline (talk) or planned (geo).

       b) Tie them to the scenes in interesting, useful ways.  So if
          Metagov agrees, we'd maximize track interaction with the
          Metagov wiki and list archive, which are high traffic
          compared to ours.  So we start to catch potential users,
          developers and other contributors.

       c) Strengthen the net till it holds them.  I don't really know
          what this entails.  I think we have to discover it.

  3. Let the folks we catch set the remaining priorities, or free us
     to each do our own thing.  (Conseo wants to work on the RAC for
     instance, but we can't afford to drop the track work just yet.)

Curtains might come in at step 3, or (if tracks aren't enough) 2c.
But they'd probably get developed faster at step 3 because we'd have
at least one more developer by then.  So I'm hoping tracks are enough
to get us to step 3.  They should be, right?

> ... And also, how long, do you think, would it take?

Timewise, it's just a question of the curtain mechanism, especially
the control for raising/lowering.  It shouldn't be hard to code (under
a week) once we have a design, especially where to put the control so
it doesn't disfigure the stage.  Probably 10 days in all, not sure.

Finishing votespace itself will take much longer.  It's going to be a
major piece of software (I guess most curtain scenes will be).  But
it's already semi-functional, so it should just be a matter of step by
step improvements.

The votespace curtain is crucial to the RAC (which Conseo is keen on),
and the RAC is crucial to crossforum ranging (which I still think is
the killer app), so all this *could* come together at some point. :-)

Mike


Thomas von der Elbe said:
> 
> On Tue, 06 Nov 2012 6:50, Michael Allan wrote:
> > It's the same size, just a different shape (more starlike). [...] I 
> > added some extra "rays". Still, it might not be enough.
> 
> It is visible enough now, I feel, but for my taste, the starlike shape 
> is to complicated somehow. All other symbols are very very basic. Isn't 
> there another realy basic symbol we could use? (Somehow I can't believe 
> that I'm asking this. It's my perfectionism driving me. Please be aware 
> of that!) But in case you want to stay with the starlike symbol, please 
> add those rays and the brightness also to the mouse over view.
> 
> > That's a cheap Christmas gift, I can afford that one. :-) 
> > http://zelea.com/var/db/repo/votorola/rev/9cf01f27cb1e 
> 
> Thanks! :-)
> 
> >> And in vote-space, if I expand the tree a lot and have to scroll the
> >> screen to the left and right, I'd like all the tracks stay stable at
> >> the top and not move.
> > We could probably do it by gluing it to the screen, like in the
> > drafts.  Normally I wouldn't put much effort into the old votespace,
> > since we'll have the new curtain version at some point.  But it's
> > probably only 1 day.
> 
> What priority has the new curtain version for you? And also, how long, 
> do you think, would it take?
> 
> > I feel it's a higher priority now to expose the software more. So the 
> > home page, the mailing list, and (if others agree) Metagov pages. 
> > That's maybe 2 weeks. I'm hoping we'll get more developers at some 
> > point. It's always a long shot, but the earlier we try the better. But 
> > I'll do these two improvements (above) whenever you say. 
> 
> Yes, lets do the exposure first and the others after that.
> 
> Thomas