The grand hub site feedback thread

[Acid Bubbles]

Thanks @SupaRioAmateur I checked with builtwith but it didn't say xenforo So there is an API but I'm afraid it's an admin only API https://xenforo.com/xf2-docs/dev/rest-api/ - so it's probably feasible using some curl magic, I'll figure this out somehow. I'll share whatever I find in a separate post.

Drafts look like a built-in feature (at least from reading their forums), but that's not available in the current "Add resource" form. Is this something that can be enabled? I'd automatically build everything in the release from GitHub Actions, and toggle it once I entered the release notes.

 

[meshedvr]

What I'd really love would be to:

1. Have a "draft" for new versions, i.e. being able to create and share the post but don't enable listing just yet.
2. Be able to create new versions using an API. I'm not sure which tech was used to build this site (I didn't search much though) but if it doesn't have any method for an API, then I'd have to resort to ugly selenium automation. I'm at release 101 of Timeline, and I have 11 maintained projects... so filling a form every time is not going to be fun.

Another thing is when sharing links, there's no image link even though there's at least the icon. Example: https://socialsharepreview.com/?url=https://hub.virtamate.com/dev/index.php?resources/timeline.94/

Is this "dev" version temporary? Or is this a throwaway version for testing?

Yeah I'm pretty sure drafts or private resource is possible. I probably just need to enable it.

dev part of path will go away at public launch. I won't be wiping site.

 

[meshedvr]

Why does this site need to hosting package, those upload download stream could hinder site performance and reliability. everyone use external cnd method iirc, why not just stay that way.

All uploads go to S3 storage and then when downloaded are pulled from CDN. So that should not hinder site performance. you are welcome to use external url, but uploaded var files will eventually get scanned and more meta info will be displayed

 

[Acid Bubbles]

Oh so it's _prefered_ to upload here? Or will you have a deamon that will read from some trusted sources like github eventually? I'm OK uploading the releases here too, I just won't upload things twice if it's not necessary.

 

[Acid Bubbles]

Actually I checked and I cannot change my post from "External" to an upload. So I'll need to delete and re-create. I'll be waiting to hear back from you, as if uploading is preferred I'll do that.

 

[meshedvr]

Might I suggest individual threads for feedb

Oh so it's _prefered_ to upload here? Or will you have a deamon that will read from some trusted sources like github eventually? I'm OK uploading the releases here too, I just won't upload things twice if it's not necessary.

We are working on separate link walker for VaM itself to be able to get var file links. This is for the auto downloaded.

I was not planning on having resource post itself attempt to find the external var files.

I don't think you need to post twice just yet. There is a way to change your resource type. It is in the menu on the right, but it is possible that is mod permission locked. I will check tomorrow.

 

[Acid Bubbles]

Thanks, I'll switch the post type them (found the link).

I'd suggest you add a "Feedback" section (or rename the bug reports section), or I can just add stuff to the General section if you prefer. It would be nice to have forum feedback, vam feedback, etc. centralized here though.

In the meantime another piece of feedback and/or question, I see that we can create albums and media, but it's not obvious how to get video uploaded. Files are only image files, and I tried linking twitter video (embed media) but they only show up as a still anyway. Regardless of the method, it would be nice to have video in there (might be there already but couldn't find it easily).

 

[MacGruber]

@MacGruber So it looks like I might be able to do some coding to make it so users could move their own resources around (from free->paid->free, etc.) to remove that burden from moderators.

While I don't mind moving the posts on my own, it would be still rather strange that a resource is sometimes under "Free", sometimes under "Paid". Just to make clear we talk about the same use-case:

• Any new major update is in EarlyAccess for a while, usually for 2 weeks. After that set date, it becomes free.
• I post updates to my resources when they are done. These could be a week or a month apart.

When we use the moving-the-thread idea that could mean the resource is free for a week, then I have to move it back to paid. However, that would probably break the auto-downloader and is also very strange for users.

I think given the available board there is no perfect solution. However, I think just maintaining two resources (one free, one paid) provides the best solution. Even if the reviews, likes and comments are split. Possibly you can add two additional URL fields in the resource that are only visible when used and just link to the other resource:

• "Free Version"
• "Early Access Version"

Also it might be helpful to have some kind of tag or label to identify these EarlyAccess posts among the paid resources. Cleanest in my opinion would be just an entire resource category of "EarlyAccess Scenes", "EarlyAccess Looks", etc. The free version of the resource could just be labeled with "Free Scenes", "Free Looks", etc. OR use the same tags as the paid version, but live in the free category. (Not sure the latter is possible)



Just to make sure it is confusing enough, there are some other creators that use the inverse of EarlyAccess. For example AmineKunai posts resources that are free for a few days but then switch to paid. I find the concept rather strange as it gives the content to the community but makes it harder to use it in shared scenes. However, its what some creators are doing. This could potentially be handled by using two resources as well. First they appear in an "Early Bird" or "Early Free" category, but then either the resource is moved to "Paid" or, in case of an asset with multiple versions, the "EarlyBird" resource is deleted and then reposted as an update to an existing Paid resource.

 

[MacGruber]

After some more thinking about the EarlyAccess issue: I think I now understood the "moving resources from paid to free". This definitely is the best solution for any resources that do not have versions. E.g. looks or clothing usually won't. What could be done is creating a new resource for every version of the asset. That would correctly transfer the reviews, likes and comments. These are rather important of course for advertising and would be lost when keeping two separate resources. The only downside would be not using the cool feature of having those versioned resources with updates, etc.

Still, having some official way of tagging a resource as "EarlyAccess" would be cool.

 

[meshedvr]

It appears you can copy directly from clipboard into post edit area. I just used snipping tool to make this. Hit Ctrl-V to paste it in.

 

[meshedvr]

@MacGruber I have added Early-Access Resource categories & prefixes & corresponding forum nodes/prefixes. This will allow users to easily distinguish.

If you add Early-Access Resource you will be asked to specify date where early access ends. This will be displayed above the description of your resource.

Now I'm working creating Xenforo addon that will allow users to move their own resources from one category to another.

I realize this does not solve case where you would want to switch back and forth, but keep in mind these are just labels. One version of your resource could point to freely accessible link while another could point to a paywall link. You can also make an update be a file upload while it is in the free categories. This allows mix-and-match. Here is example:

Early-Access Scenes - Another test - History

hub.virtamate.com

 

[meshedvr]

Thanks @SupaRioAmateur I checked with builtwith but it didn't say xenforo So there is an API but I'm afraid it's an admin only API https://xenforo.com/xf2-docs/dev/rest-api/ - so it's probably feasible using some curl magic, I'll figure this out somehow. I'll share whatever I find in a separate post.

Drafts look like a built-in feature (at least from reading their forums), but that's not available in the current "Add resource" form. Is this something that can be enabled? I'd automatically build everything in the release from GitHub Actions, and toggle it once I entered the release notes.

You can make forum thread/post drafts, but not resource drafts. There is no option for that unfortunately.

 

[meshedvr]

Thanks, I'll switch the post type them (found the link).

I'd suggest you add a "Feedback" section (or rename the bug reports section), or I can just add stuff to the General section if you prefer. It would be nice to have forum feedback, vam feedback, etc. centralized here though.

In the meantime another piece of feedback and/or question, I see that we can create albums and media, but it's not obvious how to get video uploaded. Files are only image files, and I tried linking twitter video (embed media) but they only show up as a still anyway. Regardless of the method, it would be nice to have video in there (might be there already but couldn't find it easily).

I have added some new forums and re-organized a bit with a new Feedback section.

For video, I have disabled video upload because they are generally large in size and more difficult to moderate. The embed option does work. I was able to see your videos before you removed them. The thumbnail will show a little play icon. Only when you click on item will it allow you to see the video. I have a sample Youtube video in the gallery. The software does not support video thumbnails.

 

[kemenate]

Looks good on mobile, too.
Feedback:
- For Media content it would be super handy to have a tagging system. Especially porn content heavily relies on labels and tags.
- Maybe it would be useful to have a "Guides" subforum, where how-tos and general info can be posted. The wiki is not extremely popular and Reddit or discord get flooded after a while. At least we could pin a FAQ post on top of the help section. If we post guides into help they'd get buried under a lot of help requests, too.
- Speaking of subforums: What about a "Chitchat" forum for random (off topic) posts and shitposts. As long as this doesn't derail into heated discussions of course.

 

[meshedvr]

Looks good on mobile, too.
Feedback:
- For Media content it would be super handy to have a tagging system. Especially porn content heavily relies on labels and tags.
- Maybe it would be useful to have a "Guides" subforum, where how-tos and general info can be posted. The wiki is not extremely popular and Reddit or discord get flooded after a while. At least we could pin a FAQ post on top of the help section. If we post guides into help they'd get buried under a lot of help requests, too.
- Speaking of subforums: What about a "Chitchat" forum for random (off topic) posts and shitposts. As long as this doesn't derail into heated discussions of course.

• I'm considering turning on the tagging system. I was just trying it out on a developer copy of the software.
• I'm looking into a wiki-like addon that will allow creating official and community docs and guides right here on the site. You can post guides in the resources section as well. I made a dedicated category for that.
• Off-topic forum is a good idea

 

[MacGruber]

@MacGruber I have added Early-Access Resource categories & prefixes & corresponding forum nodes/prefixes. This will allow users to easily distinguish.

If you add Early-Access Resource you will be asked to specify date where early access ends. This will be displayed above the description of your resource.

Now I'm working creating Xenforo addon that will allow users to move their own resources from one category to another.

I realize this does not solve case where you would want to switch back and forth, but keep in mind these are just labels. One version of your resource could point to freely accessible link while another could point to a paywall link. You can also make an update be a file upload while it is in the free categories. This allows mix-and-match. Here is example:

Early-Access Scenes - Another test - History

hub.virtamate.com

This looks promising.

 

[meshedvr]

What I'd really love would be to:

1. Have a "draft" for new versions, i.e. being able to create and share the post but don't enable listing just yet.

I just discovered "drafts" do work for resources. You must hit the little save/disc icon in the Description section:

Next time you come back to add resource in that same category, your draft will appear. It even remembers any uploads you might have done. Slick!

It looks like you can do this via POST as well. By using index.php?resources/categories/scenes.3/draft instead of index.php?resources/categories/scenes.3/add

Hopefully this will help your automation process.

 

[VaMDeV]

• I'm considering turning on the tagging system. I was just trying it out on a developer copy of the software.
• I'm looking into a wiki-like addon that will allow creating official and community docs and guides right here on the site. You can post guides in the resources section as well. I made a dedicated category for that.
• Off-topic forum is a good idea

I think turning on the Tagging system would be a great idea. A year from now it will make it a lot easier to find specific content.

 

[meshedvr]

@Acid Bubbles

You were asking about the "hash" params. Those are actually returned to you when you invoke a new add page through this link:

index.php?resources/categories/plugins.12/add

Each time you open that you get returned a couple of unique hash params for the resource and attachments. Just search for hash in the response and you should find them. You can then use that in your POST back to save the draft at:

index.php?resources/categories/plugins.12/draft

So I think all the pieces are there to automate a draft post. I realize it is a pain, but I don't see another easy way through an API. I will poke around a bit more.

 

[Acid Bubbles]

Thanks @meshedvr, I will definitely check this out, I know not many people will want to do this, so if I have a method that works, then I'm good! Thanks for checking this out!

 

[meshedvr]

@Acid Bubbles

It appears I can create an API key for you so you can access the REST API. I can give you access to just the specific scope of adding resources as yourself. I'm not 100% sure how it all works, but here is a post from XenForo on it. https://xenforo.com/community/threads/rest-api.155632/

 

[Acid Bubbles]

@meshedvr this would be great, much simpler. Limiting the scope to a specific user (I mostly need to automate creating new versions of resources and their files, not new resources directly) sounds safe. I'd also need to upload attachments if I understand their API. The only thing is that drafts seem to be unavailable to the API (drafts are probably kept on the browser).

I think that's fine though. I just need to avoid publishing versions automatically unless I'm sure they're good.

 

[kemenate]

Nice to have feature for uploading resources:
For resource packs that contain multiple items (eg a look that comes with fitting cloth + hair) it's great to include an overview of all the items included. Could also be nice to showcase included color/style presets.
Here is an extreme example where I put all the VAM preview icons in one big grid in PS: https://hub.virtamate.com/dev/index.php?resources/male-modular-beard-pack.155/

To make this easier and easier to maintain and update: It would be great if we could just upload all the VaM icons in a special section and they'll be displayed as grid. Right now one can only upload 10 attachments and they have to be embedded into the text field.

Even more awesome would be automatic extraction of all the 512x512 px preview jpgs from the var, but this is probably not easy and there would be cases where it would not produce the desired results (like I generally don't include images for hair color presets to save space - or the other way around: multiple hair items that come with the same preview image, thus leading to duplicates)....

 

[kemenate]

Another thing about the Media Gallery: The way I understand it is that the categories should work as a place to collect finished sexy images. So a visitor can come to the Hub just to consume the content.

Maybe it would make sense to add another big category for images that are WIP, or are just behind-the-scenes screengrabs, or quick tutorial/explanation images, or physics freakout nightmare shots... So basically not the stuff you need to fap, but that can still be interesting to share.

Of course I could just create a "random stuff" album in General, but then it would be in the way for people who come there to find something pretty.

 

[meshedvr]

I was thinking private gallery's would be used for WIP, but yeah maybe having more categories and/or test category would be good. Images could be moved between categories.