Message #460

[cheesey]

A new project has been started within the journal, which will "unify" the appearance of older updates, integrating them with newer ones. Also, many of the updates will be "decluttered" (removing any unnecessary graphics, etc). In addition the "cross-commenting" in the replies section of each update will be cleaner and easier to read. Replies from other sites will be posted in a smaller font, and quotes from previous updates will be removed. Also, the twitter page, which never really got anywhere, will be removed from updates and will be retired.

The "decluttering" stage will remove the main journal banner from each entry (meaning it will only be present in the introduction entry), leaving just the replies banner. Also, pictures larger than 1024x768 in previous updates will be scaled down.

In future updates, larger photo sizes will be used (1280x1024 or higher), and will be posted in high-definition PNG, with an 1024x768 posted on the forums linking to the larger version, each photo will also have brightness/contrast adjustments as well as bump-mapping to improve the quality, but will usually not have any more photoshopping than that, as I don't believe that excessive photoshopping actually makes a photo look worse. Also, over time, NewsWhitewater will be refined to look much more professional and less "rushed".

My aim for future updates is also to make them much more interactive, by retiring "the reader's opinion" and integrating off-site polls (since polls here can only be deleted by moderators...) into most issues that arise within the region. Also on occasion readers will be able to choose what happens in future updates. Finally, more integration within the three sites which this journal is posted on (cross-linking each site, for example) will happen.

Many of these operations will also be performed on the journal's web-site. There will be no more updates until the project is complete, but afterwards the next  mega-update (a thirty picture one), as well as the start of the Whitewater Run Mayoral Elections will take place.

You'll see that a few updates have already taken place, and more will gradually happen in the future. Also, I'd like to thank my readers for keeping this journal alive, especially since it isn't very well known, not being posted on the "big sites".