Hello all!

It’s been 3 weeks since our last blog post on Furry Network, and we’ve been hard at work! We have been focusing on admin functionality, site layout tweaks and squashing existing bugs. If you’re still waiting for a beta key, have patience – we’ll resume sending them out once we’ve ironed out some issues with the import tool (which is currently broken, but which we expect to be fixed in a day or two).

We are excited for the future, as we’re getting close to being ‘feature complete’ for the general site functionality. Next on our roadmap is content organization, commission management and stories!

Changelog

• Flag Post functionality! You can now report posts for Code of Conduct violations right from the post page. The flag reasons are still placeholders for now – but it’s working!
• Updated language on importer tool for clarity and to communicate security of passwords (we don’t store them, we use them only for import)
• Updated registration form content and layout for improved understanding
• Fixed message inbox layout issues reported by some users
• Fixed errors with following/unfollowing users from artwork pages
• Fixed blacklist redirects that would cause an infinite loop
• Fixed display name not updating in header
• Fixed count displaying for following and followers modal in IE
• Various other bug fixes and improvements to the API
• Users can no longer follow themselves
• Comments can now be deleted when viewing on a mobile device
• It’s now prevented to add the same tag to interest and blacklists
• Homepage and activity feed bugs with displaying the wrong author of comments
• Improvements to the fresh and popular feeds
• Implemented function for thumbnail items to ease up on the CPU usage when scrolling through large sets of images
• Fixed issue with tags longer than 30 characters
• Fixed issues with feeds crashing on certain devices to improve gallery performance
• Fixed issues with follow/following self, adding same tag to interests/blacklists, and posts displaying with wrong author
• Fixed line breaks not appearing in private messages
• Profiles have been updated to allow users to customize with markdown
• Search/filters on feeds stay open to inform users of options to refine results

Beta Keys

As Furry Network is a true ‘beta’ – that is, an opportunity for us to get real users in to find bugs and point out flaws, and to try out the site before it’s officially ready, bugs and all – we are taking it slow when it comes to handing out beta keys. We want the site to be ready for everyone when we launch, and for the majority of users to have an excellent experience. We know it can be frustrating waiting and waiting for a key – but we are totally confident that you’ll love it when it’s done!

As mentioned earlier, we will resume sending out beta invites once we have the import tool working properly; we’ve made a lot of improvements to its performance and reliability including auto-cancel of failed imports and tweaks to better handle the peak import loads we typically see when people first join the site. We expect a fix to be ready in the next day or two.

Bug Reports

Thanks to everyone who submitted bug reports via the ‘feedback’ tool on the beta site; they have been invaluable in figuring out which issues are the biggest pain points for users, what things could use improvement, and solving some really weird bugs. You’re all heroes. Keep up the good work reporting bugs and we’ll keep on squishing them!

Thank you!

Thank you everyone for your participation and interest! We cannot wait for the site to be finished, but we also know that it’s only the beginning. Code is only a very small part of a successful community – and we’re committed to giving all aspects the attention and care they need!

Varka and the Furry Network team

Hello everyone!

We’ve been hard at work implementing administration functionality to the site, and are making good progress. Today, we pushed a bug-fix update that includes the following tweaks/fixes:

• Flagging of content is now supported for any artwork or photos added to the site. See below for more about content flags
• Character profiles have been improved to be more robust and allow for more customization and control. Introducing markdown in the character profiles!
• Enhanced user settings menu gives users access to various account settings, quicker managing of submissions and more. Menu options all in one place? Done!
• Importer performance has been improved. Harder, better, stronger, faster
• Popular feed loading issue was corrected. Now featuring scrolling past the first page
• Numerous bug fixes and improvements across the site

Administration Tools

Our team’s been focusing on administrative functionality for Furry Network, in particular flagging, ticket queues and other behind-the-scenes items that are essential to the smooth operation of a popular furry site. We thought we’d share with you this little sneak peek of flagging posts for moderator attention:

(Note, the ‘flag reasons’ are placeholders – we’ll be doing a final list of these as we complete the Code of Conduct).

More beta keys!

We also sent out another wave of beta keys today; check your mail to see if you’ve got one. If you haven’t filled out our beta application form, it’s not too late! We’ll be releasing these on a regular basis as new features need testing.

Thanks everyone!

Varka and the Furry Network team

Hello everyone!

Today, we have launched our latest update to Furry Network. As part of this process, we’ve sent out another wave of beta keys! Check your email to see if you got one. Thanks to everyone who filled out the survey / beta application form – we’ll be doing another round soon.

Our survey form has produced some very useful insights as to who wants to use the site and why. Some of your explanations were very clear, detailed and lucid – so again, thank you for being so productive with your input.

Of course, I know you’re all dying to know what the distribution of answers to the last (and most important) question was:

It’s official. 10% of respondents hate Haddaway’s “What Is Love”. What a shocker.

This Week’s Bug Fixes

This week’s bug fixes include the following:

• Various bug fixes from community feedback:
  • Import tool now uploads from oldest to newest. If you’ve got a bunch of artwork in reverse order, you’ll probably want to delete those submissions and re-run the importer tool, so it’s ordered correctly.
  • Ad blockers no longer block follow buttons
  • Flashes of adult content upon page load fixed
  • Adult titles are now hidden if adult content is turned off, and adult content in avatars and banners does not show in character profile feeds
  • Fixed import tool so descriptions are correctly imported. Again, you’ll likely want to delete affected submissions and re-run the importer to fix them.
  • Verification emails can now be resent. Look for the link after signup.
  • Fixed issue with birthdates set to 1/1/1970
  • General fixes to import tool authentication errors. If you’re still having trouble with the importer, try going into your account settings on the site you’re importing from and turning off some of the restrictions, to see if it helps.
• Furry Network emails should no longer end up in spam
• Links to Twitter and Blog added to homepage
• Continued performance improvements and monitoring. We are also doing staff training for how to manage the performance of the site and keep things running fast.
• View count tracking implemented (not visible to users yet!)

New Bug / Feedback Form

We’ve implemented a new bug / feedback form! If you click the ‘Feedback’ button on the bottom right of the beta site, it will open up a comment box and screenshot editor. Simply enter your email address and a detailed summary of the bug, and it’ll automatically submit a screenshot to us along with logs to help us diagnose the issue.

What’s more is you can also circle and highlight things on the page, as well as add annotations and notes, to explain what you’re seeing! We think this submission form will make things easier for everyone to improve the site.

As always, we continue to welcome feedback and comments as well as actual bug reports. Is something confusing? Highlight it and show us!

This Week’s Focus

This week, we’ll be focusing our development on admin tools – flagging functionality site-wide, administrator accounts that can help you with your account, and an admin ticket queue. A good site is founded on great moderation – and having the tools to do that is key.

Let us know what you think of the site in our feedback form, or hit us up on Twitter!.

Thanks,

Varka and the Furry Network team

Have you tried visiting the Furry Network site from a mobile device? You just might be in for a treat: the entire site is designed to work flawlessly with smartphones, tablets and mobile devices!

Here’s what the site looks like on an iPhone 6:

This isn’t a separate page or version of the website, and you don’t need to do anything to get this view. The website will automatically detect the size of your device (And its orientation – portrait or landscape), and adjust its layout accordingly. No features are lost – you can do absolutely everything from a mobile device, including signing up in the first place!

Here’s what it looks like on a Nexus 7 tablet:

It even automatically resizes when you rotate your tablet:

We are very excited for the opportunities this presents – not only can you browse wherever and whenever you like, but you’ll get the same fast, responsive, full-featured experience regardless of where you choose to use it. Oh – and you don’t get kicked off if you switch devices. You can stay logged into the site from multiple devices for as long as you like – no buttons to push, no options to set.

Got a mobile device handy? Visit the site here and try it for yourself!

– Varka and the Furry Network team

Greetings everyone!

Today’s the day – Furry Network is going live with our closed Beta test!

If you have an invite code, you can now sign up for an account on our beta site – beta.furrynetwork.com – and start uploading your art and play with the site!

Remember, this is our very first beta test, so a number of things won’t be quite as we’d like them – but it’s plenty for you to kick the tires and take it for a spin! Remember to read our Important Notes below.

Don’t have an invite code yet? You can fill out our Beta Application Form for a chance to recieve one. Oh also – you can still browse the site (as a guest) at beta.furrynetwork.com . (Adult submissions will be hidden, and you won’t be able to interact with anyone, but you’ll be able to see some of what we’ve done!).

We will be asking our first wave of testers up in the coming days for their feedback, thoughts and bug reports via email, so please make sure you’ve registered for our newsletter via the Furry Network homepage. Together we can make the best furry community site out there!

Important Notes

Want to give feedback? Keep an eye out for instructions on how to give feedback, your thoughts and bug reports in the next few days!

Post screenshots and show your friends! There is no NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) with this beta; you can talk about it all you like!

No confirmation email? Check your spam box! We’ll be ensuring they don’t get spam boxed in our next update.

Not seeing much art? Try turning on Adult Content in your account options:

See you in the beta!

– Varka and the Furry Network team

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since our public announcement, and we’ve been hard at work getting everything ready for you. We are pleased to say we have some screenshots to show you!

First up, our index page! This is also used to show search results.

Our ‘image list’ page; used for latest uploads, most popular and your favorites. The thumbnails are square – you’ll be able to pick your own crop of the image.

Next, we have the ‘view single image’ page. It doesn’t show it yet, but there’ll be forward/back button so you can navigate effortlessly amongst search results or a given artist’s profile:

What viewing a single image looks like. Note, there’s more information as you scroll down.

You’ll notice that all the details are ‘below the fold’ – this is so the artwork is front and center! Further down the page there’s comments on the left, and other works (later, including ‘similar / relevant’ works), along with a nice tag interface (not shown yet).

The same page, scrolled down to see comments, tags and other work from this artist.

Next we have the artist profile page. This is several things all listed in a dynamic layout – the first thing you’ll notice is the big banner art at the top of the page. This expands when you scroll up and shrinks when you scroll down – which lets you personalize your profile page with some great art.

There are tabs in the middle, which lets you categorize your works – we are currently testing a couple of different approaches here, including adding the ability to add custom tabs for organizing your works.

Scroll up and you’ll be able to see the image the user has chosen as their header image. This is a great way of exhibiting what you’re all about!

Scroll down, and you’ll see details of their activity and interests:

All types of content and activity will be filterable, so you can choose what you do and don’t want to see.

One thing we’re working on is allowing you to have the choice to separate your public and private activity – say, you want to publically promote some artwork you think is great, but you’d prefer to keep artwork you favorite private – we are going to be offering a way to do that. From our research a lot of people would like the ability to ‘collect’ art they love and organize it in a private way – and this is a step in that direction.

Organizing art you’ve created or commissioned can be hard work – so we’ve put together an amazing interface to help people do just that. You can upload files en masse via drag and drop, and use our intuitive tagging and editing interface to prepare them for public (or private) exhibition.

And yes – you can select (and edit) multiple submissions at the same time!

Journals will be supported, as will stories, animations and other kinds of content (including videos and flash files). We’re aiming high with our maximum file size – several gigabytes.

Now, these are more than just mere mockups or screenshots. Everything shown here today is code-complete, and is now live in our public closed beta! If you recieved a beta code at BLFC, we will follow up with a link for you to sign up later tomorrow (Monday 17th August 2015).

Don’t have a code yet? Fill out this brief survey for a chance to participate:

Furry Network Beta Survey

We hope you’re as excited about these developments as we are – and we’re committed to making a great site that the fandom can call home!

Keep an eye out for our next newsletter, where we’ll be making regular posts highlighting other aspects of the site we’re developing!

Thanks everyone for your support and interest! 😀

Varka, and the Furry Network team