Important Notes and Things to Come

Astaroth

[*screaming into the void intensifies*]
Original poster
STAFF MEMBER
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  2. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
It varies a lot depending on my schedule, unfortunately.
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
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Preferred Character Gender
  1. Primarily Prefer Male
Genres
Psychological horror
Body horror
Supernatural
Giallo
Splatterpunk
Dark fantasy
Historical
Low fantasy
Magipunk
Weird West
Noir
Thriller
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Crime drama
Medieval fantasy
Hey nerds! We have some pretty important announcements today, so listen up.

First, a small (but important) announcement regarding a stickied resource in Help Desk:

Maybe DON'T use Stylish.

The browser addon Stylish was previously recommended there for users who wanted to set their own custom colors for usergroups on Iwaku. However, it's been brought to our attention that there has recently been trouble with the addon involving its data practices. In the interest of keeping our members safe, we wanted to let you know that you should consider whether or not you ever downloaded the addon and if you want to choose to keep it.

All is not lost if you like setting custom website colors, however. We did a little digging and found that alternatives are available. One of those alternatives that we found is called Stylus. It appears to be very similar to Stylish in its capabilities but without the questionable data practices and has very good reviews from users. This is now our officially endorsed addon for this purpose!

You can find the new sticky thread in Help Desk here.


Moving along, we have a series of related announcements. As some of you may have noticed, the on-site search function is borked. The good news is, we know what's wrong and what needs to be done to fix it. The BAD news is that the only way to fix it is to go ahead with updating the forum software to Xenforo 2.x.

This means a few things need to happen.

Save your Blog content now if you haven't already.

We will be updating to 2.x at the end of August/beginning of September. Once we update (as we mentioned earlier this year when we deactivated the ability to create new Blog entries), Blogs will no longer be compatible with the forum software. All Blogs will be deleted permanently and there will be no way to restore them.

If you need somewhere on the site to back up your content, you have options. Showcasing can be used for creative content such as plot ideas, stories, character bios, art, or roleplay logs. Roleplay Extras can be used for any content relating to your existing roleplays. The Coding Lab can be used to store a variety of content, including image dumps or WIPs.

If you want to be able to control who can see your content, getting a free blog through Wordpress or storing info in Google Docs might work for you. If you are interested in having more control and freedom for what you can post, paying for hosting through Atabyte and installing Wordpress software to make your own private blog might also be worth it! Atabyte also offers cheap hosting and free Iwaku subdomains for Iwaku users.

What is NOT recommended as a backup is Clans. Clans are permanently deleted after 60 days without new content, so unless you plan to post frequently, there is a good chance you will have to repeat this process all over again.

We'll be running this year's fundraiser coming very soon.

Obviously with the search function down, we have to update, and we need your donations to help cover the costs of all our purchases so Iwaku can keep as many of its shiny addons as possible. Especially because of the full version update to 2.x, we are going to need a little more than usual.

Fair warning, we may also be losing a few shiny things. If you're wondering why we hadn't updated before now, it's because many of our addons have not been updated for 2.x yet. Fortunately, we should be able to find alternatives for MOST things. Don't worry, no one is going to lose any actual content. We also may be getting a couple of NEW shiny things!

Keep an eye out for some shiny new announcements in August, including info for the fundraiser and a very special new contest as well!
 
Hey look I have money now that I'm almost a functioning adult. I might be able to contribute this time XD
 
SPECIAL NEW CONTEST HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH ROLEPLAY REALMS I JUST KNOW IT.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Jorick
SPECIAL NEW CONTEST HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH ROLEPLAY REALMS I JUST KNOW IT.
I feel I should cut off this hype train before anyone gets too disappointed: It's not! This is something that has been previously mentioned, we're just reminding everyone.
 
Ohhh. Boo. *puts my guess on BITE, instead.
 
  • Bucket of Rainbows
Reactions: Jorick
I will absolutely see if I can scrounge up some cash for the fundraiser. We'll see, hopefully I haven't spent everything on games and food.


Also NEW CONTEST?

admins pls stop you're making us nervous with excitement
 
  • Bucket of Rainbows
Reactions: Jorick
Hmm, I was thinking about starting a blog for some OC shenanigans. Good thing I didn't.
 
BREAK EVERYTHING. BURN IT ALL DOWN.
A REALLY BIG EFFING HOLE COMING RIGHT UP!
FrayedOddballAntelopegroundsquirrel-size_restricted.gif


IWAKU GETTING AN APP CONFIRMED?!? (Gone wrong) (not clickbait) (almost died)
I am in pain as I am reminded of one of YouTube's dark periods...

---------------

I hope this all goes smoothly. :D
 
I would love this but I'm guessing probably nah
I'll go ahead and destroy all hope here, because I enjoy killing hope.

There are no plans to get an Iwaku app made any time in the foreseeable future. The main reason for this is that a lot of work was put in (particularly by Diana) to make sure the site is mobile friendly, so we don't really have a need for an app for usability on mobile. Notifications are also not a huge issue since you can always set it up so you get notifications sent to your attached email address, and that allows all sorts of additional notification options depending on how you choose to set up your email, so that's also not a reason to make an app. Then, third but still an important factor, making an app takes either experience in app development or money to pay someone who does have that experience; we lack the experience, and because of the above two reasons we don't see sufficient reason to throw money at app development when it could instead be spent on maintaining the site as is or buying new useful features.

TL;DR no app now, no plans for an app, and it's unlikely there will ever be an app.
 
Will the update be affecting any of the bbcodes we have? o:
 
  • Thank You
Reactions: Nemopedia
Will the update be affecting any of the bbcodes we have? o:
We're still working really hard to find as many alternatives as we can to keep all our shinies (even making puppy eyes at some devs) but some of the addons that we have now that we're struggling to find alternatives for do have to do with some BBcode :( Like I said, we're still working on it, though! Nothing is for sure yet.
 
I'll go ahead and destroy all hope here, because I enjoy killing hope.
...
TL;DR no app now, no plans for an app, and it's unlikely there will ever be an app.

And last time I tested one of the popular free prefabricated apps back when Iwaku was much worse on mobile there were a couple major security issues with it. So before anyone makes suggestions, I will kill that dream too.
 
NO APP FOR YOU GUYS

BUT

THERE WILL BE SOMETHING ELSE EVERYONE HAS BEEN REQUESTING SINCE FOREVER. 8D
 
We're still working really hard to find as many alternatives as we can to keep all our shinies (even making puppy eyes at some devs) but some of the addons that we have now that we're struggling to find alternatives for do have to do with some BBcode :( Like I said, we're still working on it, though! Nothing is for sure yet.
Once you guys know which bbcodes will be dropped for 2.0, would you be able to let us know? Even if it's after the update, it'll help to know what to look for.