Mere dollars away from the 3/4 mark, here is Status Update #3. I'll answer some more questions, and reveal another tidbit about the revamp. Once again mimicked from the main site!
Thing have been going great. Never, ever in my wildest dreams did I think we'd get this far. And every time somebody donates, or donates TWICE (God forbid), I realize that ZU is so much more than a website... so much more. And it makes me feel so great that this place really does have a community where everyone cares about the main site, the forums, the people running it - it's staggering and unbelievable to see this kind of thing! If you can't understand the way I feel right now, you'll understand it better once you're in a similar position
.
Alright! Well, with that off my chest, let's get to some questions:
Will the existing forum skins still be available after the relaunch?
Yes, absolutely. No point in getting rid of perfectly good forum skins. Also, I've received a threat that I will be severely mauled through the internet if I get rid of the blue skin.
Do I get multiple Patron banners for donating multiple times?
Depends. How much of a second donation are we talking here?
Wordpress is software for a blog! How can it run a site like ZU?
Very good question. We've given Wordpress a good kick in the butt to make it work how we want it. We're utilizing everything, while using Wordpress's HUGE pkugin library to extend its features to work more like the software the site runs on now, while still having all the speed and stability benefits of Wordpress. It's highly customized and configured - so it's not like your normal Wordpress blog.
Darnit, Jason, who is this designer for pete's sake?!
Nevar! Sorry, you'll just have to be surprised. I've told a few (very small, think lower half of the single digit area) select *big* donators who we're hiring, but they're sworn to secrecy. They've all said that it's going to be amazing, though!
Questions have slowed down, which is good now that we're this far in the donation drive. It means that people aren't as skeptical, curious, or confused. Anyways, I'm not going to babble on - I'll give you something that you'd rather hear about ZU's revamp. Now, last time I said that images would pop up in Lightbox, but if they didn't it would be in something else. Well, Scott didn't like that "something else," and together we decided that it was a stupid idea! So it'll only pop up in lightbox. However, we're rethinking that idea to be used in some less significant spots... therefore, that idea is no longer of any importance.
But hmm, I haven't even said anything about what the new ZU is going to
look like. I still can't, really. But I can say two small things and one big thing:
- ZU's getting a logo. A real one. Woohoo!
- The game menu is being revamped - it's going to scroll. That way we can fit an infinite amount of games in the game bar. Think Apple - Mac.
- The layout isn't going to be done simply in Photoshop. Do to the unique layout we're requesting, the designer has said that he feels is it better modeled in 3D, then altered in Photoshop. Yeah, that blew me away as well
We're not at the 3/4 mark yet, though! The amount we've raised is STAGGERING. How much can ZU's community possibly raise? I don't know - but $1 from anyone is still great, and well appreciate. We're almost there, folks!
And if you're not convinced yet to donate,
I'll even sing Wind Waker music for you.
(I don't actually know what relevance me singing Wind Waker music has to the donation drive, but I feel like spreading my voice
)