Site Updates: Facebook & swap "types"
May 31st 2009 07:20:24 am
Last night we switched Swap-bot to new servers and made a few minor changes to the site. We did not make any major adjustments, so hopefully you will not experience any problems, but let us know if you notice anything odd.
So, what all did we do? Let me explain…
- New Servers! - Travis (the web programming side of the Swap-bot team) assures me that the new server set up will provide three times our previous processing power, which is really important as the site grows. There are also a lot of technical benefits to the new servers which makes Travis happy… and that makes me happy!
UPDATE: Travis is still messing around with the servers (as of 2:30 EST) which is causing everyone to get logged out and making things slow. He should be done soon.
- Time Zone Change - With the change to the new servers, we also had to change the entire site to US East Coast time. This will affect swap sign up and send deadlines slightly. We are still observing how the new time zone will work for everyone, so let us know if it causes any problems. The switch to East Coast time also affected the forum post time stamps, setting all of the post made before last night back three hours. Not a big deal, but it might have been confusing this morning if you were searching for a specific post made at a specific time yesterday.
- FACEBOOK - Do you use Facebook? You can now integrate your swap activity with your Facebook wall and news feed! Sweet! Now, after you sign up for a new swap, a box will appear at the top of your dashboard asking you to connect to Facebook. If you would like to, simply click on the Facebook Connect button and then type in your Facebook login info. Once you have entered your Facebook info the first time you will always have the option of publishing each of your swap sign ups to your Facebook wall. Your friends will be able to follow your swap activity and click on the swap link to sign up for the same swap if they would like. Your swap activity will look like this on your Facebook wall:
- Swap Types - When you create swaps from now on, in addition to all of the usual info, you will be asked to pick a swap type. There are three swap types (email, letter, package) which I will describe below. This additional information will help us give a more detailed and descriptive rating overview for all participants. Beginning to gather the swap type info during swap creation is laying the groundwork for future additions to the rating system and the automatic suspension system.
Here are descriptions of the three swap types:
- Email - All electronic-only swaps fall under this type. Swaps of email letters or surveys, e-cards, blog links, Etsy favorites, Flickr favorites, digital photography, etc. Email swaps are any swaps that are done over the internet and do not require postage.
- Letter - All mail swaps that only require one or two postage stamps, like postcards and simple letters in standard-size envelopes.
- Package - Any swaps that must be mailed in a package. Most swaps will fall under this type. Anything sent in a box, bubble mailer, or large envelope.
Of course, there may be some swaps that are hard to fit perfectly into a type. Two dimensional craft swaps, like hand-made postcards and ATCs, are items which may be hard to fit into one of the three types… Personally, I think handmade postcards that are mailed naked with a postcard stamp should fall in the “Letter” type. ATCs which are mailed with protection in an envelope could go in the package category. There will have to be some level of trust in coordinators to pick the correct type for their swaps. The system cannot be absolutely perfect, but it will help separate simple e-swaps from time and money-intensive package swaps. Iwill be adding the type descriptions to the swap creation page and the Swap-bot FAQ as soon as possible. Also, as swap coordinator, you can edit your past swaps in order to choose a swap type if you would like. Past swaps will receive an “undesignated” type category if they are not edited by their coordinators.
Those are all the (intended) changes that were made this weekend. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Like always, we will continue to work to improve Swap-bot!
Categories: site updates
Anything Upholstery on 31 May 2009 at 9:46 pm #
The topic above is very useful to know lot of matter like swap types, changes of time zones etc……. It is really a good blog..
cats on 01 Jun 2009 at 5:15 am #
Since new server I don’t receive any mail from swapbot!
Kim Petroske on 01 Jun 2009 at 8:08 pm #
Since you did your server change I’m not getting email either.
Kim Petroske on 02 Jun 2009 at 6:53 am #
My currently enrolled swaps are gone from my page I can’t find who my parnter is or check on the swap.
camelsamba on 06 Jun 2009 at 8:45 pm #
I hate to sound like a whiner, but I have encountered multiple and repeated delays at the site since the upgrade. For example, just now it took nearly 5 minutes to load a user profile and a swap description. Is the server getting wedged or something?
Xanthe on 08 Jun 2009 at 1:51 pm #
Hello…quick question. Can I link Swap-bot to Facebook now without adding a new swap? I have enough at the moment and don’t have time to join more but would love to have them liked up!
I LOVE SWAP-BOT SWAPS!!!!
ps I didn’t get Swap-bot mail at first but I do now! Yay!
Jen on 13 Aug 2009 at 9:34 pm #
What am I doing wrong? I can’t get my Swap-bot account to show up on my facebook account. I created a swap on SB and it wanted me to link it to my FB page and it said it was restricted. I have searched all over FB and I do not find anything saying that I have SB restricted. HELP!!!!