The official opening date is growing ever-closer...

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Pete
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The official opening date is growing ever-closer...

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<p><strong>The official opening date is growing ever-closer...</strong> -- Posted by <a href="mailto:pberg1@ithaca.edu">Pete</a> on July 20, 2004<br>
I have done a huge amount of work on this site in the last week, and it is really starting to come together. Here's a quick listing of what I've done:<ul><li>Added about 250 QB links to create the largest <a href="/sections/links/main.shtml">QB links</a> database on the Internet. All of them have a button image, a brief description/review and a star rating. If the site didn't provide its own button image, I made one for the site. And if you're wondering, no, Collin's QB Links page is much smaller than my new links page--his only has 180 links, and half of those are broken. This Links section contains 250 WORKING QB links for your pleasure...and I have more to add when I find the time!</li><li>I have reformatted the <a href="/downloads/downloads.shtml">Downloads</a> section and outfitted it with an automatic user rating and commenting system.</li><li>Created the <a href="/sections/topten/topten.shtml">Top Ten Programs</a> section (and gotten it to work too)!</li><li>Added a <a href="/sections/tutorials/beginners.shtml">Beginners' tutorial section</a>.</li><li>Added the QB <a href="/sections/qbchat/qbchat.shtml">Chatroom</a>.</li><li>Added a <a href="/sections/webrings/webrings.shtml">Webrings</a> section.</li><li>Created the <a href="http://www.petesqbsite.com/coranto/main ... html">Site Updates</a> section, which lists the news archives as well as the Top 20 most recent additions to the site (in all categories).</li><li>Created the <a href="/sections/affiliates/affiliates.shtml">Affiliates</a> section.</li><li>Fixed as many of the old <a href="/reviews/reviews.shtml">Reviews</a> as possible. That means I fixed broken links, broken images, and some of the reviews which had somehow been replaced with other reviews. For example, BattleCraft99's <i>Around the World</i> review was replaced with the text from the <i>Arrakis</i> review. I was able to find his original review on the hard drive of my old computer and restore it. I did that with several reviews.</li><li>Wrote a news article about QB45.com for the front page.</li><li>And many other small tweaks and additions.</li></ul><p>So what's left to do? Well, a lot. Most of it involves adding or reformatting content. I've got to redo the tutorials section so that it's script-run and auto-updatable. I have to add all of the programs with reviews to the Downloads database, including writing short descriptions. (That will take a whole day, I'm sure). I have about fifty more links to add. I have a lot of tutorials and FAQ entries that I'd like to write too. Maybe some reformatting of the Downloads section once I've got a large selection of downloads added - right now with five programs listed, I can't really tell if the formatting is working as expected or not. Oh, and I still have to figure out how this site is going to be moderated and updated -- maybe a few admins to help control the content that gets added by random users? Or will I make it so that users submit articles that first must be approved by an admin? And then the most important addition: the new reviews format and the methods for users to submit their own review. That will take a lot of work, since a review will naturally have a LOT of fields for a user to fill in. There will be a TON of formatting, and I'm still not sure how I'm going to set it up with the Coranto news management script.<p>I also have quite a few ideas on the backburner for new, original sections that I have never had on this site before, even in the past. I want to make this site as unique as possible so that people will keep on coming back. And I also want it to be updated by the users, regularly, so that its dynamic content attracts visitors too.<p>When is the official Re-Opening coming? Any day now. I know I said I was going to open this site in an unfinished form on July 1st. Well, I had a change of heart. I want this site to really wow visitors when it finally opens officially to the public (and not the handful of little sneaks who have found their way here before the opening day)...</p>
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