Sets is now open to all.
I'm happy to report that my new project, Sets, is now open to all. It's a great way to build curated lists of links, either by yourself or with other contributors.
Random Member
Kyle Bragger
developer
The Toolkit
I'm working on a product that helps folks build curated sets of links. The Toolkit is a set myself and some internet folks are contributing to; our goal is to share stuff that we feel is of value when building web/mobile products day to day. Enjoy!
Something coming soon.
Here's a preview of something new we're working on. It's a big rewrite with a lot of moving parts, so not making any promises yet, but it's pretty awesome. Also, the design isn't final, so keep those pitchforks put away. ;)
Ruby ownership pattern
def owns?(obj)
!!(obj.respond_to?(:user_id) && obj.user_id == self.id)
end
Here's a little Ruby snippet I tend to use when I'm dealing with record ownership in apps, so I can do stuff like @user.owns?(@post) (such as when writing view logic to display post author-only controls).
Strange behavior with HTML5's History API and AJAX requests
if (typeof history !== 'undefined')
history.pushState({
title: document.title,
url: el.attr('href')
}, document.title, el.attr('href'));
I'm currently refactoring our old endless scroll code for the new Forrst we're rolling out in a few weeks, and I'm using the new History API where supported. I'm noticing some interesting behavior though. Here's what I'm doing:
- Load the page in browser as usual
- Scroll, loading data via AJAX and pushing a new state (see above code)
- I follow a link (e.g. to a post page)
- I hit back, and the browser uses the proper URL but seems to be serving cached data, and data from the AJAX request; I don't ever see a request in my logs
For reference, the URLs are not using any type of hashbang stuff, just pure path + query string.
Here's a screencast: screenr.com/…
Any ideas?
Are context and thoughtfulness really all that bad?
We have a minimum length requirement of 100 characters for Forrst posts. While it's something I've wanted to do for a while, it actually was only rolled out fairly recently. Since then, I've seen a bevy of, shall we say, creative ways to get around the limit.
Forrst is increasingly all about providing context and being thoughtful about what you're sharing here. It's why we ask you not post tiny cropped screenshots, photos of your screen, vague questions, code issues without actually providing much/any code to look at, and why we ask that job posts have real details in them, not just "need developer ASAP!!!". It's also why posts need to be at least 100 characters long. Saying "made this today LOL!" or "it's a button" isn't providing enough context for folks to really understand not only what you're sharing, but why you're sharing it, what you're looking for from the community, and perhaps most importantly, what your process is like when writing code or crafting designs.
So, my question is this: Why do you think folks are so averse to taking the time to share and explain their work in detail?* I'd much rather see 10 well-thought out posts that are thoughtful and share context and process than 100 quickfire, "did it because I was bored" posts.
I should add that this applies equally for comments. Is there really a point in saying "love it!", "great job", "sucks" or similar? Does that add anything to the greater conversation that hitting the Like button can't?
As you've probably figured out, this is a very interesting and potentially fantastic time for the growth community we're all part of here; part of that means really finding our voice and purpose as a community, and context will play a very important role there. We've started to get more aggressive about moderating posts that don't meet our expectations in terms of thoughtfulness and context, and I suspect that comments will follow suit.
I'll leave you with this closing thought: next time you're interacting here (or for that matter, anywhere), just remember that your future boss, colleague, client, or employee may be here as well. How you present yourself publicly can have a very positive, or negative, impact on your success in our line of work.
* Don't get me started on sloppy, poorly formatted stuff thatlook lyke i tiped lik this :))))) !!!11
OpenPhoto
http://theopenphotoproject.org/
Just came across this again, after having checked it out over the summer. I'm a big fan of what they're doing.
User Interface "Kits": What's the point?
I've noticed these more and more on Forrst, et al. and can't help but ask this (I've been holding back for a while, but no more):
What's the point of all of these UI Kits folks are sharing/giving away/selling?
Most are just a bunch of layer styles and look hard/impossible to translate to HTML/CSS, not to mention are designed without the entire look/feel of the app in mind. It seems like another design trend that isn't pushing any boundaries of design. Thoughts?
Forrst API wrapper roundup
I'd like to use this post to keep tabs on the Forrst API wrappers you're building. Comment with the link to it if you've made one and I'll update the post.
Pinecone: a Chrome Extension for unread notifications
http://bit.ly/jxCxWy
@zackkitzmiller just whipped this little guy up. It's a Chrome Extension that displays an unread count for your Forrst notifications. Clicking on it takes you to the notification feed.
Enjoy, and please let us know your feedback below.