Kevin Beal Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 You may have noticed already, but if you select "Podcasts" from the FDR homepage, you are now directed to FDRPodcasts.com v1.0. It's a way of easily finding podcasts on all of the topics brought up here. It's got search, tags, sorting and lots of other features to help you find podcasts. There are a lot of gems in the archive that people new to the show are not likely aware of. Browse the lists! There are TON of podcasts to listen to. I brought this up as an idea to Stef a couple years ago, but it didn't work out for different reasons, and then Mike (MMD) and I talked about trying to make it work last year and so I started designing and putting some things together. Then JamesP and I talked and it turned out that exactly the things that was most worried about were things he was proficient in and it ended up being a really good match. So he ended up handling the server side details (and he did an awesome job of it) and I did the front end work. We got a TON of tags from work Adam Crowe did for a separate project which added a ton of value. Mike and I worked out how the design of the page should be, and so this is what we've got so far! There are plans to add more features, (e.g. timestamps), but probably the most important thing is content. There are probably some badly formatted podcast titles and/or incorrect podcast numbers and things like this, and also, we want to be able to have youtube links for every podcast that has one, timestamps, more tags, etc, and I'm currently working on making volunteering easier. I'll keep you posted! If you come across any bugs, feature requests, have any feedback at all, hate it, love it, let me know in this thread. A lot of the features and design decisions that I made originated as feedback from other people. Feedback makes things better! One known bug is that the yellow email button isn't popping up the modal with the form to send people podcasts by email (should be fixed shortly).
RicardoMata Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 Oh yeah i just listened to a podcast in the new website and it's GREAT. Lots of tags, nice layout, easy to use, easy to find that ONE podcast among the thousands that Stef made over these many years. Awesome job guys. Keep it up ! Btw how many people are in the Freedomain Radio staff ? Just curious.
MMX2010 Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 First, thanks so much Kevin for proposing this idea and sticking with it long enough to make it work. Second, I used the service today to find the best "My parents did the best they could..." Stef-criticisms. By typing in "best", and hitting enter, I was instantly directed to FDR 1777 - the perfect podcast to PM my friend who's going through shit with her parents.
Kevin Beal Posted May 4, 2014 Author Posted May 4, 2014 I don't know exactly how it's broken down, but I'm not on the staff. I am a volunteer. I did this free of charge because the show has had such a profound impact on my life. There's Stef, obviously, and then Mike is the only employee (I believe) and then JamesP is the wizard who did the migration from the previous forums technology to the new forums and has done other cool stuff like the streamer that's in the chat. Other volunteers have been paid (animators for the documentary, for example), but they aren't "staff" per se. I think the board moderators are Mike and James and that's it. I'm not entirely sure how that's all broken down. I think you'd have to ask Mike about that. I'm glad you guys like it! And sorry to hear about your friend, David . I hope those podcasts are of help. I know they were helpful to me.
Tyler Durden Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 It looks great, you guys really did an awesome job! As for constructive feedback: When you click on a title it automatically starts playing and it also automatically loads the entire podcast. I think this is going to cost you unnecessary bandwith. Because when people click on a title that doesn't necessarily mean that they want to listen to the podcast (right away). They might just be scrolling through them and clicking on titles to see the descriptions. So in order to save you guys bandwith and money I think it would be better if the podcasts only start playing and loading after someone clicks the play button.
Kevin Beal Posted May 4, 2014 Author Posted May 4, 2014 When you click on a title it automatically starts playing and it also automatically loads the entire podcast. I think this is going to cost you unnecessary bandwith. Because when people click on a title that doesn't necessarily mean that they want to listen to the podcast (right away). They might just be scrolling through them and clicking on titles to see the descriptions. So in order to save bandwith and money I think it would be better if the podcasts only start playing and loading after someone clicks the play button. That's an excellent point. Thank you for bringing it up! There is actually an option to make it so it doesn't play right away. It's the blue squared refresh button next to the shuffle which I'm calling "autoplay". But maybe it should be turned off by default... I don't know. What do you think? I guess, alternately I could make that happen on double click and show the description on single click... You've got me thinking
Tyler Durden Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 That's an excellent point. Thank you for bringing it up! There is actually an option to make it so it doesn't play right away. It's the blue squared refresh button next to the shuffle which I'm calling "autoplay". But maybe it should be turned off by default... I don't know. What do you think? I guess, alternately I could make that happen on double click and show the description on single click... You've got me thinking You're welcome. Yes I think it would be a good idea to turn it off by default. And the second idea might be good as well, I would definitely try it out.
Kevin Beal Posted May 4, 2014 Author Posted May 4, 2014 Anyway to download the podcast? I will be adding a button specifically for this soon, but in the meantime you can get the url to the mp3 file in the description box and go to that page. The actual browser implementation will be different, but in chrome you just right click and "save as". In internet explorer, I think it just downloads it. At least, it used to in older versions. Unless you mean downloading an entire feed. In which case, you can get the RSS and iTunes feeds toward the bottom of the page, under the heading "Subscribe to the Freedomain Radio Podcast Feeds". Good question!
RuralRon Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 awesome job guys, simple and fast, clean interface. I'd like to see the number of podcasts that match the query somewhere on the page, but I can't think of any other additions. I like the ability to sort the columns, that way I can find the shorter podcasts or those that will fit on a CD. I also like that you included the original posting date. All in all great work, congrads!
Daniel Unplugged Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 You may have noticed already, but if you select "Podcasts" from the FDR homepage, you are now directed to FDRPodcasts.com v1.0.Hi Kevin. I just tried the podcasts link from the FDR homepage. It doesn't seem to be working. I went to the website manually, and everything is fine. Website looks great, thanks.If you need any funding for web hosting of upload, I can help with that.I think it would be good if the FDR logo in the top left corner linked straight to the FDR homepage.
Kevin Beal Posted May 4, 2014 Author Posted May 4, 2014 Hi Kevin. I just tried the podcasts link from the FDR homepage. It doesn't seem to be working. I went to the website manually, and everything is fine. Website looks great, thanks.If you need any funding for web hosting of upload, I can help with that. Thanks! And this issue seems to be fixed now. And it's hosted along with freedomainradio.com, so your donations already go toward hosting. And thank you for that!
cynicist Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 That page itself is great, the only concern I have is over the disappearance of the torrent links for those that want a way to grab all the podcasts without creating a huge burden on the server or having to use itunes. Did you guys decide they weren't used enough to warrant being listed?
Daniel Unplugged Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 Thanks! And this issue seems to be fixed now. And it's hosted along with freedomainradio.com, so your donations already go toward hosting. And thank you for that! I'm still having dramas with the podcasts link, maybe it's because I'm browsing on my mobile. All the other links work ok. "The webpage at http://http//www.fdrpodcasts.com may be temporarily down....."
Jot Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 That page itself is great, the only concern I have is over the disappearance of the torrent links for those that want a way to grab all the podcasts without creating a huge burden on the server or having to use itunes. Did you guys decide they weren't used enough to warrant being listed? You may have noticed already, but if you select "Podcasts" from the FDR homepage, you are now directed to FDRPodcasts.com v1.0. It's a way of easily finding podcasts on all of the topics brought up here. It's got search, tags, sorting and lots of other features to help you find podcasts. There are a lot of gems in the archive that people new to the show are not likely aware of. Browse the lists! There are TON of podcasts to listen to. I brought this up as an idea to Stef a couple years ago, but it didn't work out for different reasons, and then Mike (MMD) and I talked about trying to make it work last year and so I started designing and putting some things together. Then JamesP and I talked and it turned out that exactly the things that was most worried about were things he was proficient in and it ended up being a really good match. So he ended up handling the server side details (and he did an awesome job of it) and I did the front end work. We got a TON of tags from work Adam Crowe did for a separate project which added a ton of value. Mike and I worked out how the design of the page should be, and so this is what we've got so far! There are plans to add more features, (e.g. timestamps), but probably the most important thing is content. There are probably some badly formatted podcast titles and/or incorrect podcast numbers and things like this, and also, we want to be able to have youtube links for every podcast that has one, timestamps, more tags, etc, and I'm currently working on making volunteering easier. I'll keep you posted! If you come across any bugs, feature requests, have any feedback at all, hate it, love it, let me know in this thread. A lot of the features and design decisions that I made originated as feedback from other people. Feedback makes things better! One known bug is that the yellow email button isn't popping up the modal with the form to send people podcasts by email (should be fixed shortly). I was just cleaning my disk to make space for Stefan's podcasts, I have downloaded 3 torrents and was planning to get all of them...then the torrents suddenly dissapear, not to be mean or anything but why was this even necessary I can't figure out...
cynicist Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 I was just cleaning my disk to make space for Stefan's podcasts, I have downloaded 3 torrents and was planning to get all of them...then the torrents suddenly dissapear, not to be mean or anything but why was this even necessary I can't figure out... Here are the magnet links for all the podcasts. My favorite thing about torrents is being able to start a download by clicking a simple uri I'm seeding all of them at the moment (up to 22, not sure if there are any more) Given that adding torrents is as simple as linking to a webpage, I'm assuming it was overlooked or that having to install a torrent client was deemed to be asking too much of our less technical members. I think it's possible to explain how it works in a simple and friendly way, and as a bonus you get the satisfaction of being able to share with other FDR members directly and help the site on bandwidth costs! However, it's easy enough to assemble them into torrents and share links that if it's not on any official page a thread could be created for that purpose. Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 0Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 1Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 2Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 3Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 4Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 5Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 6Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 7Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 8Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 9Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 10Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 11Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 12Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 13Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 14Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 15Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 16Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 17Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 18Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 19Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 20Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 21Freedomain Radio Podcast Torrent 22
cynicist Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 Lol, you just click them. Sorry, the first time I posted them they got mangled so I had to input the html manually, they work fine now. (unquote my post if you don't mind, your quote contains all the broken links)
Kevin Beal Posted May 4, 2014 Author Posted May 4, 2014 Torrents will be added back. It may be different torrents, tho
andkon Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 This is excellent. Good job! I found a few issues: 1. The Facebook button is broken: "Sorry, this page isn't available." 2. Scroll button click on the mouse does not work. I cannot open links like "Watch on Youtube" into a new tab. 3. http://www.fdrpodcasts.com/ redirects to the latest podcast. Social media icons could not be used to spread the frontpage then. SEO may not like the redirect either. Feature requests: 1. Seekbar remembers the position if you close the browser or click on another podcast. 2. Install a Wiki. Each podcast has its own page on that Wiki. People can write transcripts or summaries. 3. "Watch on Youtube" opens inline, like videos on Facebook.
Daniel Unplugged Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 Torrents will be added back. It may be different torrents, thohi kevin.podcast link from fdr homepage is now working. Thanks.
Devon Gibbons Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 2. Scroll button click on the mouse does not work. New tabs for scroller-clicks would be helpful as mentioned My feature requests: 1. Move all of the show information such as date, description, URLs, and social media buttons on top of the FDR show list GUI - it will look more professional 2. Shrink the rediculously long search bar at the top - this will make room for the other to be brought up there 3. I have a pretty widescreen monitor (about 21") and IF you do not consolidate the things to the top as I mentioned, add a blue border around the screen - because I have to view ugly wide white background margins on either side of the page as it is currently designed to fit the show information and links in the same viewing area for my convenience. PS: Great work, this already is a huge improvement
Kevin Beal Posted May 12, 2014 Author Posted May 12, 2014 1. The Facebook button is broken: "Sorry, this page isn't available."2. Scroll button click on the mouse does not work. I cannot open links like "Watch on Youtube" into a new tab.3. http://www.fdrpodcasts.com/ redirects to the latest podcast. Social media icons could not be used to spread the frontpage then. SEO may not like the redirect either.Feature requests:1. Seekbar remembers the position if you close the browser or click on another podcast.2. Install a Wiki. Each podcast has its own page on that Wiki. People can write transcripts or summaries.3. "Watch on Youtube" opens inline, like videos on Facebook. Issue 1 is fixed now, thanks! Issue 2 comes at the expense of a few features and I'm not going to enable scroll-click at this time. However, if you wanted to look at descriptions of podcasts without changing the track, you can do that now. If you wanted scroll click for a different reason than that, then perhaps another feature is in order. Issue 3 is actually the intended behavior. And what do you mean about the SEO bit? I'm not aware of any SEO issues to do with the sort of redirecting this page does... Feature 1 is a good idea. I'll write that down. Feature 2 is kind of sort of happening soon-ish Feature 3 Also happening soon.
JamesP Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 There is a git repo but I'm not yet ready to make it fully public. Contact me privately if you are interested.
RuralRon Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Any reason not to display the number of results found from the search query? As a web developer I know that's pretty easy. Perhaps you don't find it aesthetically pleasing or very useful? I can't argue against subjective claims like those. The reason I mentioned it was I used this wonderful new website you put together to draft a message to a friend of mine about peaceful parenting. I wanted to say how many podcasts FDR explicitly has on that subject. I will use it again on various subjects and would like to see how many podcasts match the query. It seems like a reasonable, typical and somewhat useful piece of information about a query result. Hopefully Kevin will agree. Either way, I'll say it again, great work
Kevin Beal Posted May 12, 2014 Author Posted May 12, 2014 Any reason not to display the number of results found from the search query? No reason not to, and like you said, it's easy enough to do. I've written it down. Thanks for the suggestion!
andkon Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 Issue 1 is fixed now, thanks! Issue 2 comes at the expense of a few features and I'm not going to enable scroll-click at this time. However, if you wanted to look at descriptions of podcasts without changing the track, you can do that now. If you wanted scroll click for a different reason than that, then perhaps another feature is in order. Issue 3 is actually the intended behavior. And what do you mean about the SEO bit? I'm not aware of any SEO issues to do with the sort of redirecting this page does... Feature 1 is a good idea. I'll write that down. Feature 2 is kind of sort of happening soon-ish Feature 3 Also happening soon. The site is using number signs (#) for URLs. Traditionally, this has been used as intra-page linking like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Nobel_Peace_Prize#Barack_Obama . As such: 1. Facebook does NOT give a unique title and content when a podcast is shared. Each podcast shared has the same generic "An archive of public Freedomain Radio podcasts. Our interface makes it easy to find podcasts on any of the many topics discussed on the show, from anarchism to psychology to metaphysics. Freedomain Radio is hosted by philosopher Stefan Molyneux." 2. Google does not index each podcast as a unique URL, with its own title and content. See https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Afdrpodcasts.com
RuralRon Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 No reason not to, and like you said, it's easy enough to do. I've written it down. Thanks for the suggestion! Thanks Kevin, for everything you're doing to help FDR and the world through it!
James Dean Posted May 19, 2014 Posted May 19, 2014 when you play the podcasts on 'automatic play' it goes through the files backwards, podcast 1001 plays after 1002 etc. Could there be a way to listen to them in release order from the beginning?
_LiveFree_ Posted May 19, 2014 Posted May 19, 2014 The word "Title" appears right above the list of podcasts. Just to the left of "Title" is "#^". Click that and it will resort the podcasts lowest to highest.
Wesley Posted May 19, 2014 Posted May 19, 2014 A couple of us in chat were talking and we think it would be awesome if there was a way to link not just to a podcast, but to a specific time-mark in the podcast. It would allow for easier quoting and referencing, and especially for call-in shows where highly diverse subjects could occur in the same podcast but minutes or hours apart.
James Dean Posted May 19, 2014 Posted May 19, 2014 The word "Title" appears right above the list of podcasts. Just to the left of "Title" is "#^". Click that and it will resort the podcasts lowest to highest. Thanks a bunch! I thought it was weird that it wouldn't be in there, it seemed like a really basic thing to forget to add; should have guessed it was just me being inattentively blind.
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