iSoaker.com Developments / Feedback

[isoaker]

You can't say I don't build. So far, apart from some server hiccups, the upgrade to iSoaker.com is working well and many of the new back-end features have already proven very valuable to help reduce old-page misdirects and identifying broken links, not just from within current pages, but also from remote page calls to files that no longer exist as the site has gone through many iterations through the years.

Also, being close to Spring, the acquisition of most of the new 2012 water blasters from the major manufacturers means I'm busy with photographing, testing, and reviewing various water blaster models. Reviews, apart from range testing, should be more or less completed by the time spring rolls around.

Once reviews are done, I want to dive into other content development for iSoaker.com. Bit by bit, but continued development is how iSoaker.com has managed to grow over the years.

If there are any interested individuals who'd like to develop content for iSoaker.com, feel free to create an account there if you haven't already and ping me with article ideas.

Enjoy and soak on!

[isoaker]

Though I'll end up somewhat duplicating some online content, I will be partially restoring some water warfare and water warfare game information back onto iSoaker.com. This information was migrated from iSoaker.com to the WWn wiki and, while I do not intend on removing it from its new home, I do wish to offer a scaled down version of the water warfare games section on iSoaker.com. The reasoning behind my decision to restore some of these files will become apparent in due time. For now, I need to go through my archived files and see what makes sense to push back up.

[SEAL]

Hey, how do we upload an avatar picture for our user accounts? I can't figure out how to do it.

[CA99]

Go here. ucp.php?i=profile&mode=avatar

[SEAL]

No, no. I meant for iSoaker.com. Of course I know how to do it here.

[isoaker]

No, no. I meant for iSoaker.com. Of course I know how to do it here.

You need to create a Gravatar. It is, yet, another place to register and sign up, but that one propagates your avatar across all sites that use Gravatar (WordPress-based sites and some others). I should look into whether phpbb can be made to use Gravatar images as well.

[atvan]

What exactly do we do on iSc again? Other than leave comments on your news posts of course.

[martianshark]

I don't actually know what I can do either.

Also, I don't know how to log in.

[atvan]

on the main page, on the right-hand column, under meta, is Login.

[isoaker]

What exactly do we do on iSc again? Other than leave comments on your news posts of course.

Apart from being able to comment, the idea behind allowing people to register is for anyone interested, they can create articles and content directly and be able to format their articles the way they wish to (within reason, of course). If various individuals end up being avid contributors to the site, they may end up having their account upgraded so as to bypass some of the initial moderation steps.

In essence, for those who do not wish to build their own site, but are happy contributing to one, it offers a direct means to do so as opposed to emailing in submissions.

[martianshark]

By articles do you mean war reports and stuff? To make an article, do I use the QuickPress thing on the Dashboard? What happens then?

[isoaker]

By articles do you mean war reports and stuff? To make an article, do I use the QuickPress thing on the Dashboard? What happens then?

Articles means anything except for water blaster reviews. Well, you could write a water blaster review using the WordPress interface, but I'll need to move those into the proper review pages.

As for articles, stories, comics, game ideas, water warfare tips and tactics, etc. The main catch with writing stuff for iSoaker.com, though, is that it must exclude talk of performance modifications (including straps) and/or homemade water blasters. BBT was willing to provide links to iSoaker.com since it is considered a "safe" site; less likelihood of someone doing something improperly and subsequently blaming BBT for the link. iSoaker.com can, of course, provide links to sites that have information, but two steps is far enough at least from a potential liability issue. If your article really requires the need to include modded or homemade blasters, it is better to be put into the WaterWar.net wiki.

As for how to actually do it, use the QuickPress or click on "Posts" > "Add New". If you're logged in, the top menu should also have a "+ New" dropdown menu that has the "Post" option there. Just be sure to also categorize your new post/article as well as you can.

Hope that makes sense!

[atvan]

(ignore) Aha!

(don't ignore)
Where do you draw the line for repairs? Some repairs unavoidably act as a mod.

[isoaker]

(ignore) Aha!

(don't ignore)
Where do you draw the line for repairs? Some repairs unavoidably act as a mod.

That one is easy; repairs are things done to a broken water blaster in order to return it to approximately its original performance level. The most unclear type of alterations are what some call reinforcement mods where changes are made to a blaster to keep it working as prevent parts from breaking. The way I look at those; so long as the change is not actually altering power, output, or other blaster capability (e.g. adding a strap or handle is considered a true modification), I'd let it into the repair section of iSoaker.com. If a repair is written that more-or-less would return a blaster to a functional state, but then goes on to increasing performance over the original level, I would request the additional portion of the repair/mod to be removed for posting on iSoaker.com, but that a full version can be posted on the WaterWar.net wiki and a link supplied from the iSoaker.com repair article.

[martianshark]

But a lot of the time, fixing and modding are the same thing. For example, when my Arctic Blast's triggers broke, I had to plug the small nozzle with epoxy and then epoxy the big valve open, and put a ball valve on the big nozzle to get it to work.

[isoaker]

But a lot of the time, fixing and modding are the same thing. For example, when my Arctic Blast's triggers broke, I had to plug the small nozzle with epoxy and then epoxy the big valve open, and put a ball valve on the big nozzle to get it to work.

No, that one is clearly a modification. It would be a repair had you replaced valves where they were. Once general function is altered (e.g. the addition of an external ball valve since the change meant the original trigger is no longer functional), that falls into the realm of being a modified water blaster. In your example, your Arctic Blast lost its normal stream function; that's a performance alteration. Now, you may argue that some repairs are not really feasible since access to the right sized parts to replace broken ones is often impossible. That, I would have to agree with, but that does not mean that a true repair is impossible; it is simply difficult to source proper parts. Using non-standard parts in non-standard ways turns a so-called "repair" into an actual modification, IMO.

[CA99]

iSoaker, what happens if a cylindrical bladder ruptures and it is replaced? No two bladders perform exactly the same, so if the new bladder is a bit more powerful, does it count as a mod? I'd say it can count as both but there's no way to judge exactly where said bladder replacement would count more as a mod or as a repair. (i.e. If the new bladder performs "significantly" better than the stock, but where does "significantly" begin?.)

Many or even most repairs end up involving small mods anyway. De-Max-D-ing a valve is both a repair and a mod.

Not sure what you mean by standard ports, because nothing in a stock blaster is standard as far as I'm concerned. (i.e. Can you buy a Flash Flood's ball valve in a store? Didn't think so.)

Anyway, I'd still go by defining a mod as significant changes to blaster functionality (which I'm finding to be the best way to define it despite what I mentioned earlier) while a repair alone is simply to restore full basic functionality. (i.e. Everything needed for the blaster to operate fully. By fully, that means that removing a ruptured bladder and plugging up the PC to turn it into a piston pumper doesn't really count as a repair.)

[isoaker]

iSoaker, what happens if a cylindrical bladder ruptures and it is replaced? No two bladders perform exactly the same, so if the new bladder is a bit more powerful, does it count as a mod? I'd say it can count as both but there's no way to judge exactly where said bladder replacement would count more as a mod or as a repair. (i.e. If the new bladder performs "significantly" better than the stock, but where does "significantly" begin?.)

Many or even most repairs end up involving small mods anyway. De-Max-D-ing a valve is both a repair and a mod.

Not sure what you mean by standard ports, because nothing in a stock blaster is standard as far as I'm concerned. (i.e. Can you buy a Flash Flood's ball valve in a store? Didn't think so.)

Anyway, I'd still go by defining a mod as significant changes to blaster functionality (which I'm finding to be the best way to define it despite what I mentioned earlier) while a repair alone is simply to restore full basic functionality. (i.e. Everything needed for the blaster to operate fully. By fully, that means that removing a ruptured bladder and plugging up the PC to turn it into a piston pumper doesn't really count as a repair.)

Well, let's put it this way. If a repair article looks too much like a modification to me, I'll suggest that it ends up on the WWn Wiki as opposed to iSoaker.com. As noted, there are no clear cut-and-dry answers for many forms of repair. In general, repairs are things done to restore original functionality and performance. That said, the more I think about it, any repair that involved attempting to repair/replace a pressure chamber now seems like it really falls more along the modding lines as opposed to a repair line, especially since there is the additional issue of someone potentially using un-rated parts. I think for repairs, I'll be sticking with letting in only structural repairs and leak repair. Now someone can bring up the point that some leaks occur in portions of the blaster that are pressurized. Of course, if we continue along these lines, I may end up just opting to remove all repairs from iSoaker.com and pushing them to the WWn Wiki.

I don't wish to lose content, but at the same time, I have no desire to burn any bridges that have taken a long time to build. The existing repairs on iSoaker.com were not red-flagged. My goal is to ensure nothing goes up that may be potentially questionable and I'll leave that to my personal judgement for specific articles. For those not wanting any sort of constraint on what they write about can happily create articles here for the WWn Wiki or for other sites willing to post them as well.

[CA99]

In all honesty, I think it's great that the connections you have allow you to go as far as including repair guides on iSc. I thought the risk of liability extended to any DIY in general (i.e. someone can hurt themselves with the tools, and that is much more likely than being hurt from a modded blaster), so I'm actually a bit surprised that iSc is allowed to have repair guides.

Main reason I commented however, was to explore the difference between a repair and a mod, and the fact that some work can really blur the lines between them. I'm actually fine with having all DIY material on the Wiki and limiting iSc to just internal pics if we had to go that far, but apparently not. (My rationale behind that is that people who really care enough to do it will uncover WWn anyways.)

Unfortunately, there's much work to be done. The push we wanted to make to the wiki before hasn't happened, and I've offered to bear some responsibility on it myself. Gotta really push to get things going, and for me I can merely see it as an extension of HBWW and link to the wiki guides on there.

[isoaker]

I thought the risk of liability extended to any DIY in general (i.e. someone can hurt themselves with the tools, and that is much more likely than being hurt from a modded blaster), so I'm actually a bit surprised that iSc is allowed to have repair guides.

I agree with the notion that it is easier to get hurt by tools, themselves, than most modded water blasters. However, getting injured by tools falls under either tool misuse or a faulty tool (faulty tool would be the responsibility to the tool manufacturer). However, were someone injured by a change they made to their blaster, there is precedent that had the toy manufacturer responsible for not preventing certain things from being done. I, personally, would think that if a person chooses to adjust/alter their water blaster, they are responsible for the consequences, but this is not the reality. That said, while for some repairs, there is a blurred line between being a repair and being a modification, there are also a number of repairs that most would consider falling squarely into the repair realm; there are also some actual modifications that would also fall safely into the repair realm. If a small piece of non-pressurized plastic falls off and one glues it back on, that's a repair. If you replace a missing cap on a non-pressurized reservoir with a rubber stopper, that's actually a modification (you've changed the cap), but it would be filed under repair.

In the end, I just wish to play on the more conservative side of things, but don't worry as much about doing so since there are other places that are interlinked that can house info that I may consider not suitable for iSoaker.com.