Book Reviews 1.0.1

[onthefly]

As I have been adding books to the new review section I have noticed some of the books dont have a thumbnail image or a page image. It would be nice to have the option of uploading a image when this happens. If there is no image no one will click on the book to view. Also it would be nice to see a views number to see how many members are checking out this section of the site, cheers.

This is a freeking awesome addon and as other have said, it would be nice to see it expand to other products in amazon. Nice work!

 

[Rob]

It seems the amazon widget on book pages isn't showing correctly for some amazon domains. If you are affected by this then please pm me the amazon iframe embed code which you can get get by being logged into amazon with your associates login and then clicking on the 'link to this page' link at the top of all book pages.

Thanks!

 

[Rob]

As I have been adding books to the new review section I have noticed some of the books dont have a thumbnail image or a page image. It would be nice to have the option of uploading a image when this happens. If there is no image no one will click on the book to view. Also it would be nice to see a views number to see how many members are checking out this section of the site, cheers.

This is a freeking awesome addon and as other have said, it would be nice to see it expand to other products in amazon. Nice work!

It seems that for amazon domains that are not .com or .co.uk there are issues with images and also widgets on display pages.

I hope to address this once I can get more information on what is happening.

Rob

 

[Andy.N]

Feature suggestions:
Sidebar block that shows the latest 5 reviews. configurable by categories (if this added in future versions)
Ideally, we can use Widget Framework to show this block

 

[Paul]

Hi guys,

This work with books - out of interest does it work with other things from amazon (dvd's etc for example) since they usually have an ISBN number, or will it only work for books?

Cheers
Paul

 

[Paul]

It seems that for amazon domains that are not .com or .co.uk there are issues with images and also widgets on display pages.

I hope to address this once I can get more information on what is happening.

Rob

Hi Rob,

Noticed it's not just those - i have for example a standard paperback (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0916870146/) book that doesnt appear, however listed on the .co.uk site, with the settings in the adminCP set for .co.uk. Image on the right does, not the larger on the left.... However this one (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0764337858/) works fine... both on .co.uk site..

Cheers
Paul

 

[Rob]

Hi Rob,

Noticed it's not just those - i have for example a standard paperback (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0916870146/) book that doesnt appear, however listed on the .co.uk site, with the settings in the adminCP set for .co.uk. Image on the right does, not the larger on the left....

Cheers
Paul

I believe all images are being pulled from the .com as I have not yet found out a universal way of pulling images consistently from all amazon domains. some books are only available in certain countries so I am not suprised by this. I will look to fix this in the next release but I really need access to some non .com or .uk associates accounts so I can see how all the formats for images, buy links and widgets differ and importantly, what they have in common.

Hi guys,

This work with books - out of interest does it work with other things from amazon (dvd's etc for example) since they usually have an ISBN number, or will it only work for books?

Cheers
Paul

This should work for any amazon category. You will just need to change the phrases in places (books -> videos). Just enter the products ASIN into the ISBN field and it will function fine. Just ignore the kindle asin field in those cases. You will want to change the names also of these phrases:-
br_service_1 ,br_service_2,br_service_3,br_service_4,br_service_5

 

[Morgain]

For those like me who want a generic reviews addon for various kinds of item, the word from Jon of waindigo is that this Book |Reviews addon cannot be altered that much. It includes someone else's code so it is not allowed to make it into an addon which is that different.

So the pathways are-

Jon of Waindigo's Library addon which has just been updated a lot with new bits. Next it looks at the Library listings page - stickies/ Latest/ virtual or duplicate listings in different Libraries.
Then it'll be templating to allow us to create different fields - this could adapt for Articles/ Reviews / Quotes/ Bibliography/ Webliography/ Timeline/ Gallery.
To make it a power Reviews system it would need another sponsor in addition to me to add the Amazon grab feature as my budget is getting stretched bringing in all of the above.
Likes/ Ratings not a big problem as far as I know to code, though that too might need a sponsor as not a priority for me.

Alternatively -
Rob of Waindigo to do a standalone generic Reviews addon if he is interested in starting that. That would also need sponsors to pay.
Might be good for the two guys to consider the comparative costings and the best alternative in terms of coding - which pathway.

 

[Keith]

I could help sponsor a modification if it were considered to allow it to be a general purpose reviews addon (for me specifically computer games, but we also review moveis and books)

As well, I can also underwrite the mod depending on the overall cost (which I would need to know first) if others failed to pay up.

 

[surfsup]

For those like me who want a generic reviews addon for various kinds of item, the word from Jon of waindigo is that this Book |Reviews addon cannot be altered that much. It includes someone else's code so it is not allowed to make it into an addon which is that different.

So the pathways are-

Jon of Waindigo's Library addon which has just been updated a lot with new bits. Next it looks at the Library listings page - stickies/ Latest/ virtual or duplicate listings in different Libraries.
Then it'll be templating to allow us to create different fields - this could adapt for Articles/ Reviews / Quotes/ Bibliography/ Webliography/ Timeline/ Gallery.
To make it a power Reviews system it would need another sponsor in addition to me to add the Amazon grab feature as my budget is getting stretched bringing in all of the above.
Likes/ Ratings not a big problem as far as I know to code, though that too might need a sponsor as not a priority for me.

Alternatively -
Rob of Waindigo to do a standalone generic Reviews addon if he is interested in starting that. That would also need sponsors to pay.
Might be good for the two guys to consider the comparative costings and the best alternative in terms of coding - which pathway.

ill help sponsor as well!

 

[Rob]

At the moment it's a toss up between starting a from scratch modification for general reviews that is very flexible and categories based and integrates with other affilate systems.... or extend the resources manager. Since we do not yet know the best route to take (waiting for RM release) we'll place this on hold.

I think there is little merit in extending the libraries mod for this purpose if I am 100% honest. Jon may feel different of course but my feeling here is that when a mod has a specific purpose, additional features should be added along the lines that will improve it's purpose generally. The library mod should not be a 'library', 'blog', 'reviews system', 'wiki', 'blah'..... Not all content fits 'forums' in a one size fits all fashion - over the years we've made forums fit 'any' content and made do, however moving forward we realise there are better ways. I'm suggesting that the library mod shouldn't be a fit for all content either. I've always thought of it as perfect for resources, articles, tutorials and at a stretch a knowledge base. Isn't it best to extend the library mod with features that will enhance it's purpose rather than fragment and confuse its role? I may be way of base here but just my $.02

 

[Lisa]

I fully agree with Rob. This is a Book Review system, I'd personally like to see it developed further along that line - adding options that benefit Book Reviews - and not start adding bloat and additional options that turn it into something it wasn't initially designed for.

 

[Morgain]

I fully agree with Rob. This is a Book Review system, I'd personally like to see it developed further along that line - adding options that benefit Book Reviews - and not start adding bloat and additional options that turn it into something it wasn't initially designed for.

The Book Review addon here CANNOT be developed into a Generic Review system for legal reasons.
It uses another coder's work which has to be left intact. That means the Book Reviews addon stays strictly for Books (though see above for drawing films from Amazon with a tweak). Development will be limited on what Book Reviews can do for the same legal reason.

Rob my Library addon always had the purpose to develop a flexible templating system so it could support many kinds of Article, according to the site's needs. My Library roadmap back in January got lost when the Resource Manager took over because it did not integrate existing addon threads.
I have now posted an update of the Library roadmap over on waindigo

http://waindigo.com/threads/updated-roadmap-for-library.23/

 

[Lisa]

The Book Review addon here CANNOT be developed into a Generic Review system for legal reasons. It uses another coder's work which has to be left intact. That means the Book Reviews addon stays strictly for Books (though see above for drawing films from Amazon with a tweak). Development will be limited on what Book Reviews can do for the same legal reason.

Since the code used belongs to me, I'm fully aware of that, I'd appreciate it if you quit the lecturing tone Thanks!

 

[Morgain]

Since the code used belongs to me, I'm fully aware of that, I'd appreciate it if you quit the lecturing tone Thanks!

Azhria I'm sorry I offended you. I had no way of knowing that the code belongs to you. I gathered there was a separate addon you used exclusively on your site. I haven't seen it stated that this addon here uses your code.

I was concerned to stop anyone going on with the push to get this Books Review developed into a Generic Review as that cannot happen and talk of it is a waste of everyone's time.

As you said you disagreed with the calls for generic development and wanted this addon to stay simply as a Books Review, this could have opened up more discussion on generic development which is pointless. I was trying to block this off with the crucial information people need so as not to waste time on the issue.
That it's your code was not available to me so my post was also meant to be reassuring towards you so you'd know the addon will be the way you said you wanted it.

You're right that providing information can easily sound like a lecture. I'm also a professional teacher, writer and editor of 30 years so that totally affects my style of presenting information. Sorry I can't do chatty very well any more - too many years of writing in the other ways.

 

[Lisa]

I wasn't offended, Morgain. But you do have a tendency to come over sometimes like you're a little superior to everyone else. I rarely take that personally though.

Thing is I know you're trying to be helpful, but really it's not your place to tell people what is or isn't going to happen with this add on - that's down to Rob and Jon, since they have been given my full permission (and Alan's) to work with the code as they see fit within the remit of Book Review system.

 

[ragtek]

[offtopic] I think this was posted in the false category of the resource manager(ATM conversations^^)
http://xenforo.com/community/resources/book-reviews-by-waindigo.712/
[/offtopic]

 

[Rob]

I think it should be in 'new applications'.... Im sure it was originally posted there.

 

[Rho Delta]

So Azhria Lilu can we sponsor a new application with you to get an addon that does general reviews and could be compatible with amazon associates as well as other affiliate systems? It seems like there is a large demand for this and I am sure we could raise enough money to make it happen.

 

[Rob]

Is everyone able to wait until the resource manager is released? I have a strong feeling that it will include a lot of the functionality needed for this system I would far rather extend the resource manager core than work on something from scratch which duplicates much of the RM. Just an idea but I think it makes sense to see what the RM is capable of.