PROFILE UPDATE Q&A

Well, it's nearing the time to update the profiles. I'm not going to lie to you... it's a HUGE upgrade. That means a lot is going to go offline and I'm gonna need your help to make sure all the links work and whatnot. (This is a complete code rewrite for the profiles.) I have had a few questions emailed to me, so here's a quick little FAQ!

Q. Why did it require a complete rewrite?
A. The profiles section of pacdot was the first feature to come online. The design paradigm has changed since we first came online. With Blogs, Tags and the upcoming Esprit's (*wink*), we needed the profiles to be MUCH more dynamic than we originally intended.

Q. Will we loose any features?
A. In the long term, no. In the short term you will not be able to edit the profile colors. With the added features and the dynamic nature of how we generate the profiles, it's becoming difficult to keep track of everything that needs custom fonts/colors/backgrounds/etc... We are writing the software to do that, it just takes time. But that should be the only thing disabled when the new profiles come online.

Q. How long should it take?
A. We are still tweaking the design and the feature set for the profiles. Luckily the code that actually runs the profiles is complete (ie, the back end code). We are just working on the new design and incorporating the ability to eventually add features easily and change the look of the page. You will also be able to add custom pages to your profile. To make a long answer short (or longer, depending on your point of view), profiles should be completely online in the beginning of November.

Q. Will [the new design] look as blocky as the current design?
A. NO! The one thing we're shooting for is a nice flowing design that's easy on the eyes AND easy to navigate. (EDIT: I've been itching to change the design for months now... new features have taken priority. -Nick)

Q. I know some HTML!! Can I help?
A. We're about 90% done with the design, so it's just a matter of implementing it. The best way you can help is to invite your friends and help us spread the word!