After our downtime, the site is back up and has graduated to version 1.0.

The main feature added is the mixtape creation system, so try it out, and let us know what you think!

We still didn't feel completely confident in releasing the revision today because there are a number of small things that are annoying us right now, that we plan to fix over the next week. However, we believe that functionally, everything should be working. So if anything seems odd or doesn't work, please let us know by filling out the form found in Contact.

We will continue to fix minor bugs and graphical problems this upcoming week!

Alright...so Eric and I have a bit of work left to do, but we are going to be shutting down the site in order to release our revision. We have to shut it down because we have to restructure some of the database (something that cannot be done while the site is live).

We will be resetting all points/ratings, but it will be worth it.

Hopefully this shouldn't take longer than 24 hours. If it does, we'll keep you posted.

So, our target date of a May 5th v1.0 release was a bit ambitious. Corey and I underestimated the number of tasks we have to complete before we can get the ball rolling. Plus, I was at Coachella last weekend, so not much got done on my end of things.

Yesterday, I finally got a chance to sit down and do some work -- and we're almost there. Corey has been working like a champ getting his side of things in order for the big release and there are just a few minor touch-ups before we can release the next version.

And believe me, it's going to be a lot of fun. There are many badges to be had, contests to be won, points to be gained, people to meet and mixes to make. We’re really excited.

Keep an eye on your inboxes, we'll be sending out an e-mail announcement sometime next week. Rock on and thanks again.

Just a heads up, Eric and I are still working away. This next update is pretty large (probably more content than everything else currently on the site)...we're shooting to release on Friday May 5th. This may change as the deadline comes closer.

Anyway, it is turning out pretty cool so far...the site will go from its current state (not much to do other than to look at profiles) to havings tons of things to keep you entertained and busy.

Anyway, we apologize for everything going haywire right now. I fixed the current tag posting for now (it is being replaced with a better system in the update). Points continue to be screwy but have some fun with it!

Thanks again for helping us out.

As some of you may be aware...the points are being screwy. They will be until we make our revision. Basically, in our development environment we have made the transition to the new level system, but it uses the same data that is available to you...To make a long story short...when I go to a profile in our development area, it is level 0, which means all of your ratings are changed to reflect that...however, when someone views a profile in the live version it thinks it is a different level and the points get adjusted again to something completely different.

Hey, just checking in to let you know we're still working. Our next update is going to be quite massive, hence why it is taking so long, but it should be worth the wait. We've been working a ton on this (due date for the project is in 4 weeks...don't worry though, we will be continuing with the site for a long time after that). There are a lot of really neat changes I think, but we'll let you discover them we unveil the next revision.

Just to let you know we're back from Spring Break and are working away on the site.

It will still be a week or two before our next revision, but we plan on adding a lot of functionality.

We have been working on the mixtape creation interface and it is coming along really well. We are both pretty pleased with our results as they are highly interactive.

Anyway, just a few tidbits:

People using Firefox. If you are using an outdated version (anything prior to 1.5...check your Help/About to find your current version), we suggest you upgrade to 1.5. You can download it here http://www.getfirefox.com. Problems with crazy flickering when hovering over the [?]'s and various other things are problems with the browser itself.

Opera/Konqueror users: Unfortunately, we have to let you know that in our next update, when we add the mixtape creation functionality, we will be utilizing some javascript that uses AJAX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX) and sadly, your browser doesn't support the XMLHttpRequest object, and that is crucial to provide our interface.

Some people might be frustrated by this, as one of the common guidelines for building a website is accessibility. However, this is a service that you can choose to use. With that said, we feel we can make the site much better if we utilize these technologies. (I have a feeling AJAX support will be added in those browsers subsequent releases).

Oh, we have had a number of comments regarding the sharing/distribution of copyrighted material (music, mixes) on the site. We have looked into this, but as it currently stands, for legal and financial reasons we can't conceivably do this.

On that note, we will be drafting up guidelines that must be followed if you wish to be a member of the Collective. In these guidelines, it will be stated that you will not post links to any copyrighted material. We don't want to be hardasses, but we would be held accountable for any legal ramifications.

Anyway, progress is going well. We will send out an official email upon our next revision to inform you all of the additional features.

Just a heads up -- both Corey and Eric are on Spring Break, so things might be a little slow around here. Much to do when we get back; keep an eye out.

Rock on.

We were pretty disappointed by the tag turnout on that last development post.

Shame on you.

Anyway, just checking in to let you guys know that we aren't dead. We've made a bunch of changes/fixes but we are going to wait a week or two to release them all in one big chunk. Here are some things to expect.

We'll be unveiling a new interface for rating, we think it is pretty cool, much easier, and far more intuitive.

We will also be introducing the stepping-stone to our mixtaping feature. We will be adding in an interface for you guys to help populate our artist/album/track database. There will be point rewards for participating. There will also be a contest.

Other than that, we have already made quite a few minor cosmetic changes and fixed lots of bugs. It should prove to be a pretty awesome update.

We'll keep you posted.

So, eric and I have about 2-3 months left to finish this project for school. The major task we have to accomplish by then is the mixtape creation/rating functionality. We plan to keep working on this site long after the project is due (as long as there is a demand for it).

Anyway, we're curious. What features would you like to see? This could be things we've already mentioned, or some crazy idea you have. Let's hear it.

We had some issues from the changes we made yesterday, we have resolved some of them, but others are still floating around.

Also, get your friends to sign up, we need more people!
There's even a little incentive if you do.

We are pleased to let you know that the beginnings of the ratings system are now in place. To give you all a better idea of how the rating system works, I will try to post a clear description.

Points are an important aspect of your profile. To a certain extent, they represent your credibility and influence on the site. Points can be a status symbol, they can be competitive, or they can be used to unlock new badges and features on the site.

The basic idea of our rating system is that the number of points you have is directly proportional to your power on the site. Basically what this means is that the more points you have, the more your say is worth.

To help visualize this, we have created a series of ranks...each one corresponding to a particular range of points. The first few ranks are below:

1. 0 - 74
2. 75 - 149
3. 150 - 299
4. 300 - 599
5. 600 - 1199
6. 1200 - 2399

etc, etc...

As your points increase (or decrease) you will change ranks. Many features on the site, such as 'Initiating in mixtape showdowns' and 'creating your own gang' will require you to have reached a certain required rank.

How do you earn points? Well, right now it is pretty limited, the only way to earn points is to receive positive ratings from other users. However, in the very near future we will be adding many ways to gain points.

The Power of Ranks:
Probably the most important aspect of gaining ranks is that as your rank increases, your rating power increases. When you rate someone's profile, you are given a range of scores from -5 to 5. These translate directly into points. So a score of 3 will add +3 points to that person's score. This scale of -5 to 5 will remain constant and you only ever have to rate the user one time (although you are always encouraged to re-evaluate your decision, and you can change your rating at any time).

So, if the scale is always -5 to 5, then how do ranks fit in? Well, the score you give the person will be multiplied by your rank. If you are rank 6 and give a score of -5, that user loses 30 points.

The beauty of the system is that every time your rank changes, every rating you have ever performed is automatically recalculated.

The ultimate goal is that the top ranked users (those who are rated most favorably by the community) are entrusted with the power to have a greater impact on the definition of 'quality' for the community.

Anyway, there will be many changes to this system as we go. So, please use it, experiment with it, help us find problems.

So...we made a pretty big breakthrough yesterday in discussing the implementation of the rating system...and we're pleased to let you know that it should be active today or tomorrow.

Unfortunately, in order to make it work to the best possible level, we have to rework the way we've been handling database queries, which means changing and updating a lot of code.

However, we think the results will be worth it. Stay tuned!

So...I don't think anyone reads these development posts...

I am going to put this idea to the test. The first three people to post tags on here get a badge.

Have at it.

After months of feverishly not caring that the 'close button' on the message box was out of whack, I finally fixed it.

A monumental occasion worthy of it's veyr own entry in the devLog.

Rock on!

So, we added a few badges here and there to spice things up a little bit. Also, we unveiled the badge award notifications...you should see a popup upon signing in, as we awarded everyone with a 'beta badge' as a sign of thanks for helping us out. Let us know if it seems to work correctly.

Like Corey said, thanks for the feedback. Opening this up to a limited beta has forced us into overtime, trying to fix things that we didn't even know were broken. Such is life, right?

Anyway, today I implemented a nice little error reporting system to handle both internal site errors as well as 404s, 403s, etc. It probably won't matter much to the end users, but it'll help us track down errors, as well as attempts to haxor our site.

I also hacked up the message center formatting, making it a little more clean looking, which allows for longer titles. I don't know anyone who types really long sentances, but it's always a nice option to have, you know?

I've also designed a few new badges. Keep an eye out. Many, many more to come.

Keep the great feedback coming -- Mixtape Collective for life.

Thanks for all of the feedback guys. Here are a few things that have been fixed and added:

- Random profile will no longer take you to your own profile
- Profile views counter on profile will ignore your own profile views
- fixed some date problems on the profile page
- added two lists to front page: 'recent signups' and 'recently updated' which show you the last five people to join the site, and the last 5 updated profiles.
- added # of users online to upper right corner. Clicking on the list will show you who is currently online
- capped the length of friends/foes/visitors lists in the right column of the profile page

We are aware there are some problems with the 'my account' page. We are going to try to make its operation more user-friendly.

There are also some CSS issues with older version of Firefox that need to be addressed (hovering over badges screwing up other columns).

Thanks for the feedback. Those who offer constructive comments and feedback will be rewarded.

I am posting this here in case any of you missed the mailing list email or signed up too late to receive it.

Hey Beta Testers,


Thank you again for participating in the beta test. Debugging this phase is very crucial to the success of our website (and class project).

Since you are all taking the time to help us out, here is a bit of what we have in store in the upcoming months:

- Mixtape Creation: Create and share your uniquely created mixtapes with the rest of the community. For clarification purposes, we won't be able to allow for streaming/downloading due to legal implications. However, we think you'll find that with the rest of the site's functionality, creating mixes will still be an engaging experience.

- Rating system: Rate other profiles and mixes. Top ranked users and mixes will receive special rewards, be featured on the top 50 ladder and much more. The rating system will be concerned with quality, not quantity. Your point score will affect the weight of your vote when rating others. What this means is that those who participate constructively and are respected by the community will have more control over the definition of 'quality' on the Mixtape Collective.

- Gangs: Join up with friends and others with similar tastes. Each gang will have its own private discussion area, gang insignia and more. This will be similar to groups on other community sites, except we want to avoid the 'group-whoring' that exists everywhere else. On the Mixtape Collective, you can only be a member of one gang at a time, so pick your gang wisely.

- Showdowns: A "mixtaping duel" if you will. Challenge others to a mixtaping showdown on any theme; be it "The Ultimate Glam-Rock Mix" or "So Metal It Makes Your Eyes Bleed"...the possibilities are endless. Showdown matches will then have a period of days in which they are voted on by the community and a victor is decided. There will also be gang vs. gang showdowns. To top it off, your records will be displayed on your profile and users/gangs can compete on a global ladder.

- More features: What you see now is just the tip of the iceberg. We will continue to expand on the user interaction layer providing a useful interface with the least amount of clicks possible. Expect to see contests, polls, lists, statistics, a forum and more. Oh, and there will definitely be a whole lot more badges to unlock.

Anyway, thanks again for helping us out. We hope you enjoy the site.

Again, a big thanks to everyone who is helping us by testing the first phase of our site.

We've already stumbled across a bunch of bugs and minor cosmetic problems.

Let us know if anything doesn't work, or if parts of the interface aren't as intuitive as they could be.