diff --git a/markdown/org/blog/roundup-2017-09/en.md b/markdown/org/blog/roundup-2017-09/en.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..6b9ba74b709 --- /dev/null +++ b/markdown/org/blog/roundup-2017-09/en.md @@ -0,0 +1,115 @@ +--- +author: "joostdecock" +caption: "Your new login background for the month of october" +date: "2017-09-30" +image: "https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hl5bw8cj/site-content/c6418b621228730525d835acff53c4cd6895a865-2000x1250.jpg" +intro: "This is your monthly roundup of the freesewing news of the last four weeks, and a look at what lies ahead in the next month." +title: "Monthly roundup - September 2017: Simon complications, email issues, and donations are up this year." +--- + +This is your monthly roundup of the freesewing news of the last four weeks, and a look at what lies ahead in the next month. + +## Looking back at september, and a bit of august +For this first edition, I'm looking back a bit further than one month, because [this site launched at the end of August](/blog/open-for-business/), so I'm including that week in this monthly roundup. + +### My name is Simon, and I'm complicated + +Since the launch, there's been [3 new path releases of freesewing core](https://github.com/freesewing/core/releases) --- you know, the thing that actually generates your sewing patterns --- and all of them were due to issues with [the Simon Shirt pattern](/patterns/simon). + +Full details are available in [the changelog](https://github.com/freesewing/core/blob/develop/CHANGELOG.md), but here's the gist of it: + + + - The seam allowance at the hem was incorrect when the lenthBonus was very low. + - The cut in the sleeve for the placket was too short + - There was a problem with the seam allowance at the buttonhole placket + - The sleeve length bonus was counted double + - The hip measurements/ease was not taken into account; The chest measurement/ease was used instead + - A number option defaults were tweaked + + +Thanks to [Tatyana](/users/yrhdw) and [Stefan](/users/kczrw) for reporting these issues. You get that funky bug badge: + +![I really like this one](https://posts.freesewing.org/uploads/badge_found_bug_d7d0c9055a.svg) + +#### What's your problem Simon? + +That these issues surface in Simon is not a coincidence. The pattern comes with a whopping 41 options that allow you to control pretty much every aspect of your shirt. + +Managing all those different combinations in the code leads to a lot of complexity. And were code complexity rises, bugs appear. + +![If Simon was on facebook, its relationship status would certainly be *It's complicated*](https://posts.freesewing.org/uploads/complicated_d8c872358d.gif) + +#### Is it time for an overhaul? +Simon is a port of the Singular Shirt pattern of MakeMyPattern.com. Back there, making a differently styled shirt would have involved copying the code over, making changes, and then maintaining two slightly different variations for all eternity. + +Things are better here at freesewing, where inheritance is baked in the system. +So I could (and should perhaps) have a basic shirt pattern, and then branch that out into a bunch of differently styled shirt patterns. + + - Brian Body Block + - Basic shirt pattern + - Casual shirt pattern + - Formal shirt pattern + - Some other shirt pattern + +It would not only cut down on code complexity, it would arguably also be more intuitive to see a bunch of differently styled shirt patterns, rather than have only one pattern and then have 41 options to juggle. + +A full Simon overhaul is going to be a bit of work, but it is possible. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter. + + +## Dealing with email delivery issues +I added a workaround for those of you who had trouble getting the registration emails. Basically, people with an email account managed by Microsoft. + +![If these guys run your inbox, then who knows what other emails you're not getting](msft.gif) + +You can read [my blog post on the matter](/blog/email-spam-problems/) for all the details, but basically if you have one of those addresses, you should get those emails now. The only downside is that you might get them twice. + +## Referrals +When people link to your site, and visitors click that link, that's called a referral. The bloggers among you might be familiar with skimming through your Google Analytics reports to see who's been linking to you. + +This site does not use Google Analytics --- there's [a blog post with details on that](/blog/privacy-choices/) too --- but still captures referrals. The overview of recent referrals is available for all to see on [the status page](/status). + +Linking to freesewing.org is obviously a nice thing to do, so I keep an eye on the referrals, and if a site shows up that belongs to a user, you get the Ambassador badge. + +![Linking to freesewing.org is one way to unlock the ambassasor badge](https://posts.freesewing.org/uploads/badge_ambassador_3dd1e722cc.svg) + +It's a small way to say thank you for spreading the word about freesewing. + +## Donations +During september, we passed last year's donations amount, so it's nice to see I'll be able to [send more money to MSF](/about/pledge#donations-history) this year than in 2016. + +You can always keep track of the donations on [the donations pledge page](/about/pledge#donations-history), but here's the current status: + +![Yay! Better than last year](https://posts.freesewing.org/uploads/donations_68e214d133.svg) + +## More download formats + +I've also added additional formats to the draft download page. You now have a choice of SVG, PDF, letter-PDF, tabloid-PDF, A4-PDF, A3-PDF, A2-PDF, A1-PDF, and A0-PDF. + +## The quality control badge +I've added the quality control badge for things like reporting (or fixing) typos, broken links, grammar, and other small improvements. + +![See a typo? Let me know and you get this](https://posts.freesewing.org/uploads/badge_quality_control_6acb8c10c2.svg) + +These might not seem like an earth-shattering contribution, but they are important nevertheless. + +On the spectrum between endlessly toiling over the perfect content before publishing it, or getting it out fast warts and all, I lean heavily towards the latter. +So I kinda count on you guys to let me know when I messed up. + +## Looking ahead to october + +There are 5 patterns I am currently working on. And all of them are ready to the point where I need to make them to verify that they work as intended. First a muslin, and then the real thing. + +That's a bit of a bottleneck for me because I have a long commute, so my sewing time is typically limited to the weekends. + +The only way I see to speed up the process of getting patterns released is to have people join in with the pattern testing. I don't think it's something I can ask people to do, because this is early stage testing. Not to mention that I have nothing to offer them to sweeten the deal. What am I going to give you, a free pattern? + +Still, on the off chance that some of you want to help out by making a muslin and letting me know how it went, here's what's currently on my drawing board: + + - A trouser block for men that should be better than Theo(dore) + - A block for selvedge jeans for men + - A zip-up hoodie for men + - A wintercoat + - A unisex leggins pattern + +Should any of you want to make one of these as a test, [let me know](/contact), it would really help me out. +