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A lot of progress has been made.
Again, I encourage you to try this on a mobile device. I think that will help you to understand some of the decisions for formatting.
I have implemented a view that's very much like the current approach. The only difference is that you can't peek at the text. I could implement that, but I'm more focused on efficiently and pleasantly showing threads both in the context of the index and while viewing a post.
Efficiency is still a challenge and you'll likely bump into errors related to the backend, which I'm still trying to optimize. I have implemented client-side persistent storage which will make things very fast once everything is downloaded. Eventually, I could implement a *download all* option which would trickle in data and keep it in synch (subscribers only).
Note that what's out there right now isn't "lazy loading" so there's a wait when you first try it.
The reset button is a means to clear local data, which will not be necessary once I get some of the cache control stuff worked out.
The stuff at the top is still a mess that I'll sort out. Formatting that hasn't been my priority. A settings type drop-down will likely be where that goes. I'm also going to implement a "sidebar" like you see on index pages now that can be hidden (will default to hidden on small screens).
Once I get lazy loading back, I'm going to implement an *infinite scroll* option, starting with BrickPix but eventually being used on the forum index. In this mode, pagination navigation won't be necessary. The local storage had to precede this since I don't want people crashing their workstations or phones with too much data in memory, but I also don't want constant fetching of data that has already been fetched.
Once the basic interface stuff is done, I'll implement authentication and posting, including a reasonable way to attach images. Eventually, I could add other attachment types.
Once stable, I look forward to other, optional interfaces. A twitter-like or facebook-like interface for example. I know most of the site's audience won't like that, but I'm thinking about launching a separate forum to attract a different audience (likely highly private and invite-only due to... ah..., I'll talk about that on the new medium).
Finally, I think it would be relatively easy to implement an Alexa *skill* once I have authentication. Please let me know if you'd be interested in that. For example, you could say "Alexa/Computer, play the latest brickboard posts" or "play replies to my brickboard posts." I'm only interested because it's easy and I know already how to make a skill. I wouldn't encourage people to use these services due to privacy concerns, but for those who have it could be a great modality. (Note that I'm looking into a free alternative called Mycroft that could be implemented with privacy. However, as these things go, the devices aren't subsidized and cost a bit more or you can make them yourself... which is what I'll do as a hobby project."
Have a great holiday weekend. Don't be anyone's product. Don't despair. Don't buy into narratives that are built on hating others. Truth is eternal. God is good.
-Jarrod
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