Hello all,
Apologies we had to take the site offline tonight to get started on the upgrade process, hopefully it didnt affect anyone too much. We are now in a really good position having laid the foundations of what will be a big upgrade, taking place over the course of May.
Much of tonights work were behind the scenes activities to do with table layout, the way data is passed etc, but even after this first stage completed this evening, you will notice some improvements here and there. Quite a few of the tools now have improved functionality loaded up and we have managed to meet quite a few member requests in different areas. Also look out on quite a number of areas for tomorrows cards options, we are aware many of you like to study in advance.
The upgrade work will now continue consistently throughout May. It is our hope by the end of May the vast majority of pending items shall be resolved. Please note at the moment we are focusing almost all our time in to trying to get this upgrade done and as a result, I apologise if you have to wait a little longer for a reply to an email than we normally manage. That said, please keep all the feedback coming, I hope you are aware how grateful we are and can see your comments helping the site grow.
The Ratings project is still ongoing but we are making very good progress and the ability to backtrack ratings better will become a reality in the not too distant future.
I have learned many valuable lessons and these include accepting some of my past mistakes and realising at times I was completely focusing on the wrong things and at times being naive. What pleases me however, is that throughout this learning curve the one thing which has not and never will change is my basic philosophy of the site and its purpose. To summarise how I have always felt - there are lots of good people out there, but you have to accept they are at times hard to find.
The whole purpose of HorseRaceBase is to provide horse racing enthusiasts with a platform built by all of us together, where every little suggestion and thought is put into the mix and if possible implemented for the benefit of all. It is donation based to allow the small time punter, the betting pros and all of us who fall somewhere in the middle to fairly contribute based on how much use we obtain from it, how much we rely on it and how far we want to see it develop.
What is abundantly clear is when you adopt such a policy as ours, there will always be some who decide its perfectly acceptable to give the bare minimum even though they are reliant on the site, share their login with others, try and find ways round having to contribute etc etc. This will no longer be tolerated and eventually impossible.
To finish off, let me return to the upgrade works and confirm, the first part has been done and this allows us to proceed to the next stages, which we are confident can be completed in May. The next imminent stages of upgrade will see improvements to the System Builder, new features added and continued enhancements to existing tools.
If you experience any issues at all, please do get in touch. Cheers for your ongoing support, its really appreciated.
Chris
Monday, May 9, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Upgrade Provisional Date
Hi all,
We have made some really good progress and are now confident we will be able to proceed with the first stage of an upgrade this forthcoming Sunday 8th May.
We will have to take the site offline during this process. Of course this will be after all the days racing is over.
The first part of the upgrade will basically include as much as we can get on in the timeframe permitted. I will then post a blog afterwards advising how its all gone.
Remember this is a provisional date and we will not proceed if for any reason we think it will cause issues.
Thanks for your ongoing support of the site
Chris
We have made some really good progress and are now confident we will be able to proceed with the first stage of an upgrade this forthcoming Sunday 8th May.
We will have to take the site offline during this process. Of course this will be after all the days racing is over.
The first part of the upgrade will basically include as much as we can get on in the timeframe permitted. I will then post a blog afterwards advising how its all gone.
Remember this is a provisional date and we will not proceed if for any reason we think it will cause issues.
Thanks for your ongoing support of the site
Chris
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Progress Update
Hi all,
Quick progress update to confirm things are coming along, but we have struggled over the last week as the amount of racing at Easter borders on ludicrous!
Of course the priority has to be maintaining the existing service and keeping the database up to date so other items have taken a bit of a backseat during this busy time. Nontheless as each day passes we grow closer and Im hopeful my next blog will confirm a date to put through some changes.
I shall keep it at that for now and carry on with the work behind the scenes, when this is complete we will be in a much better position to advance.
Cheers
Chris
Quick progress update to confirm things are coming along, but we have struggled over the last week as the amount of racing at Easter borders on ludicrous!
Of course the priority has to be maintaining the existing service and keeping the database up to date so other items have taken a bit of a backseat during this busy time. Nontheless as each day passes we grow closer and Im hopeful my next blog will confirm a date to put through some changes.
I shall keep it at that for now and carry on with the work behind the scenes, when this is complete we will be in a much better position to advance.
Cheers
Chris
Monday, April 11, 2011
Dull but worthwhile
Hello
Just a quick update on the progress we are making behind the scenes. The ratings backdate option is coming along but I have no realistic timeframe yet to give in terms of when they can be added to the Builder. Will keep you updated but its a slow process and we are trying to test every eventuality to prevent a future repeat of it having to be pulled like last time.
In terms of the site restructure, with improvements being added to areas as we do them. This is proving to be an extremely tedious (and to be honest dull) task. Yet, even as we make the small steps along the way we can see how worthwhile it shall be.
The aim is to offer a far more user-friendly layout and provide better tutorials/explanations/examples of all the facilities plus get all the upgrades on we have pending. The outcome will provide a platform to really progress to the next level and utilise the hugely powerful potential of the site for the benefit of us all.
Im really hopeful it will be done in April, but as most of you will appreciate, it is a very very difficult task to get everything just right. We are having to hold back certain pages that are ready, because other areas are directly affected by them and need altered to fall in line, so in many cases we will need to just put it all through at once.
Anyway, thanks for your ongoing support. We will get there and it will be worthwhile. I have promised a loyalty bonus and this will be forthcoming to everyone who has been fair to HorseRaceBase and understands the donation policy exists to encourage honesty, good relationships and long term partnership.
Cheers
Chris
Just a quick update on the progress we are making behind the scenes. The ratings backdate option is coming along but I have no realistic timeframe yet to give in terms of when they can be added to the Builder. Will keep you updated but its a slow process and we are trying to test every eventuality to prevent a future repeat of it having to be pulled like last time.
In terms of the site restructure, with improvements being added to areas as we do them. This is proving to be an extremely tedious (and to be honest dull) task. Yet, even as we make the small steps along the way we can see how worthwhile it shall be.
The aim is to offer a far more user-friendly layout and provide better tutorials/explanations/examples of all the facilities plus get all the upgrades on we have pending. The outcome will provide a platform to really progress to the next level and utilise the hugely powerful potential of the site for the benefit of us all.
Im really hopeful it will be done in April, but as most of you will appreciate, it is a very very difficult task to get everything just right. We are having to hold back certain pages that are ready, because other areas are directly affected by them and need altered to fall in line, so in many cases we will need to just put it all through at once.
Anyway, thanks for your ongoing support. We will get there and it will be worthwhile. I have promised a loyalty bonus and this will be forthcoming to everyone who has been fair to HorseRaceBase and understands the donation policy exists to encourage honesty, good relationships and long term partnership.
Cheers
Chris
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Review
Hi all, It has been a demanding period. Id like to first offer my sincere thanks to everyone for being supportive over this time. As promised I will now give a detailed update on how things are after the Builder upgrade, what we are doing now and our plans for the future.
First thing to discuss is the ratings into the builder. We were inundated with requests to introduce backdated ratings as a criteria to the System Builder. We believed this had been achieved, however the ratings created for the past were not calculating correctly and unstable in a live environment when using temporary tables etc and as such we have had to remove them. It is going to be a huge task to resolve but we will be find a way. I regret that we have to take them off but there is no other choice. If you did save a system using the ratings, I apologise for any wasted research time.
We have increased the number of races in the Ratings Machine backtrack area to 750 and there is also a new area within My Systems where you can apply Ratings specifications to daily qualifiers. As an example you could set up system criteria for Top Weights in Handicaps and then request to be shown only the Top Rated for any of your ratings sets who also match this criteria.
The rest of the Builder is now functioning fine and we have got all the pre 03 races back in there for users of the Major Races area. The increase in Fullset Extra will hopefully keep going, it now stands at 10. The digger will soon be in line with the rest of the Builder and go back to 03 as it now goes as far as 2004.
There is a new daily report based around official ratings, for anyone interested. I mention it as we receive a lot of requests based on this type of research.
As things now settle down, we are going to perform a complete review of the site, in relation to layout, user-friendliness, help and maximising potential. At each stage we will be adding in upgrades that are pending. It is worth noting this will not cause anywhere near the amount of hassle as upgrading the System Builder does. In fact it should all progress without any disruption whatsoever.
The way the site has developed over the past year or so, is that I have received requests for functionality, added it in where possible and in all honesty neglected to maximise the site set-up to ensure everyone is fully aware of what can be done and how to do it. I should be spending far more time making the site illustrate to users how to make the most of the facilities, how to investigate potential angles effectively and setting things up to suit their needs. This will now become a priority.
The approach I have taken till now of responding to user requests for the benefit of all will continue as that is what HorseRaceBase is built upon, but it is utterly obvious to fully realise the potential of the site we must make these things easier to reach for the benefit of all.
As an example we have received numerous mails from people asking where the next days cards are. This is my fault and the site should be set up in a way where such a common request is immediately identifiable. The point really I am making is we have so much stuff available and so many options, it just needs to be laid out better and more user-friendly.
Our other priorities for the near future include the Ratings backtracking functionality, finalising some very important new data and introducing a way of easily combining different areas of the site.
Over April you will hopefully see a dramatic improvement in the site, please do continue to offer feedback, requests and suggestions.
Cheers Chris
First thing to discuss is the ratings into the builder. We were inundated with requests to introduce backdated ratings as a criteria to the System Builder. We believed this had been achieved, however the ratings created for the past were not calculating correctly and unstable in a live environment when using temporary tables etc and as such we have had to remove them. It is going to be a huge task to resolve but we will be find a way. I regret that we have to take them off but there is no other choice. If you did save a system using the ratings, I apologise for any wasted research time.
We have increased the number of races in the Ratings Machine backtrack area to 750 and there is also a new area within My Systems where you can apply Ratings specifications to daily qualifiers. As an example you could set up system criteria for Top Weights in Handicaps and then request to be shown only the Top Rated for any of your ratings sets who also match this criteria.
The rest of the Builder is now functioning fine and we have got all the pre 03 races back in there for users of the Major Races area. The increase in Fullset Extra will hopefully keep going, it now stands at 10. The digger will soon be in line with the rest of the Builder and go back to 03 as it now goes as far as 2004.
There is a new daily report based around official ratings, for anyone interested. I mention it as we receive a lot of requests based on this type of research.
As things now settle down, we are going to perform a complete review of the site, in relation to layout, user-friendliness, help and maximising potential. At each stage we will be adding in upgrades that are pending. It is worth noting this will not cause anywhere near the amount of hassle as upgrading the System Builder does. In fact it should all progress without any disruption whatsoever.
The way the site has developed over the past year or so, is that I have received requests for functionality, added it in where possible and in all honesty neglected to maximise the site set-up to ensure everyone is fully aware of what can be done and how to do it. I should be spending far more time making the site illustrate to users how to make the most of the facilities, how to investigate potential angles effectively and setting things up to suit their needs. This will now become a priority.
The approach I have taken till now of responding to user requests for the benefit of all will continue as that is what HorseRaceBase is built upon, but it is utterly obvious to fully realise the potential of the site we must make these things easier to reach for the benefit of all.
As an example we have received numerous mails from people asking where the next days cards are. This is my fault and the site should be set up in a way where such a common request is immediately identifiable. The point really I am making is we have so much stuff available and so many options, it just needs to be laid out better and more user-friendly.
Our other priorities for the near future include the Ratings backtracking functionality, finalising some very important new data and introducing a way of easily combining different areas of the site.
Over April you will hopefully see a dramatic improvement in the site, please do continue to offer feedback, requests and suggestions.
Cheers Chris
Monday, March 28, 2011
Scream
Hello I could scream in frustration but will just get to the point. Basically we got really far into the upgrade and it then failed at about 3:30. Parts worked, other parts didnt. We have identified another issue which has to be rectified and its going to take a while for the table required to run. As with last weekend, the proper thing to do is ensure you have normal service for the day and therefore we have switched everything back. If at all possible we will try and do the upgrade on Monday night, if not Tuesday. Once we get the System Builder upgrade complete the rest is a lot easier and it flows naturally, but we need the new builder workings to 100% function correctly. Sorry for another delay. Thats the one trouble with advancement, however this particular upgrade is extremely frustrating as we felt it would be ready for Cheltenham and its still giving headaches and a lack of sleep! Oh well, life goes on and we will get there soon. Will reply to all outstanding emails from past day or so ASAP, many of the things raised are going to be resolved with the upgrade. Cheers Chris
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Update on the update
Hello
My apologies the anticipated upgrade date of this Sunday did not materialise. Ultimately when we tested it live, we simply were not in a position to proceed without severe risk of potential problems, so of course it was only sensible to delay.
I have left it till now to write this blog as I wanted to be clear in my own head how things stand and in order to get a full overview, had to fix one particular issue. This has now been done and after review I can say it may be a few more days before we are able to get the upgrade done and dusted. Primarily this is down to data passing and table structures requiring amendment in areas within the site that talk to each other behind the scenes. Its dull as can be to bore you with the full details but basically until we are convinced all is okay we cant proceed.
Although this is a little frustrating and we were all really excited about Sunday, in the long run its without doubt the correct course of action. This upgrade will be a major one, the biggest we have done for over a year, so getting it right is vital.
I shall not waffle on for much longer just now, other than to say I can assure you we are working round the clock to get everything just right and that the benefits shall far outweight the slight delay as we finalise everything. I shall post again later in the week.
Sincere thanks to all members who have been in touch with messages of support and contributions. What goes around comes around. Everyone doing their bit means HorseRaceBase has a very bright future.
Finally, if you are emailing us please be patient during this really busy time. We will reply to every request, question and comment. Your feedback is what builds the site.
Cheers
Chris
My apologies the anticipated upgrade date of this Sunday did not materialise. Ultimately when we tested it live, we simply were not in a position to proceed without severe risk of potential problems, so of course it was only sensible to delay.
I have left it till now to write this blog as I wanted to be clear in my own head how things stand and in order to get a full overview, had to fix one particular issue. This has now been done and after review I can say it may be a few more days before we are able to get the upgrade done and dusted. Primarily this is down to data passing and table structures requiring amendment in areas within the site that talk to each other behind the scenes. Its dull as can be to bore you with the full details but basically until we are convinced all is okay we cant proceed.
Although this is a little frustrating and we were all really excited about Sunday, in the long run its without doubt the correct course of action. This upgrade will be a major one, the biggest we have done for over a year, so getting it right is vital.
I shall not waffle on for much longer just now, other than to say I can assure you we are working round the clock to get everything just right and that the benefits shall far outweight the slight delay as we finalise everything. I shall post again later in the week.
Sincere thanks to all members who have been in touch with messages of support and contributions. What goes around comes around. Everyone doing their bit means HorseRaceBase has a very bright future.
Finally, if you are emailing us please be patient during this really busy time. We will reply to every request, question and comment. Your feedback is what builds the site.
Cheers
Chris
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
