FRED upgrade

[peet]

Hi everybody-

FYI:
askFRED.net has just now gotten a minor upgrade. Version 3.4 fixes various minor bugs, tweaks the visual design in small ways, and adds the following features:

• Better way to select tournaments on upcoming events page and results page
• Organizers can upload their own waiver files and have them attached to prereg confirmation emails. Even use the same file for many tournaments.
• FRED now (optionally) stores event dates and close of reg times. Currently used in only a few small places on the site, but will become more useful later as those fields are more often populated
• Members may download vCal file of your preregistrations for import into PIM such as Outlook, PDA, iCal, etc. from their MyFRED page
• FRED gets his first sponsor, FencingFootage.com. Anyone else want to sponsor FRED? Contact me.

Questions? peet@askfred.net

cheers!

-p

[veeco]

Very cool. I like the calendar integration. I usually have this setup myself, with reminders set so that a couple of days before pre-registration ends, I can fax/mail my entry in.

[Rolls]

Ahhhh... The tournament selection is a HUGE improvement. I like it a lot, very nice.

Now, I'll be a pesky "always-want-more" user.

It would be nice to be able to select multiple items from these lists. I noticed that you accommadated that to a certain degree for gender and age. The idea being that you get all the tournaments you are looking for in one search without any irrevelant ones.

In paticular, I would like to be able select multiple sections and multiple weapons. I fence foil and epee but not saber. Also, I'm near the border of two sections. While I'm not sure this would be possible to implement without too much clutter, an advance search link that linked to a page with more options would be cool.

Of course, I still think the best interface is a single textbox, but that is most likely the most difficult to build.

FYI: Here's a competing site http://www.active.com/moresports/fencing/
I haven't ever used them, but I thought you might like to check them out.

Other features that I'm still looking for: zip codes! I would love to be able to put my address or zip code in and get all tournaments in X mile radius from me. While you're on it, can you store my address and provide a link to driving directions from my address to the event. Oh, and how about the host hotels too. You might as well have a link to book a room online, while you're at it

Just my wishlist. : )

Finally, since I went off on a tangent, I want to say that your site is the best thing to happen to fencing on the web (sorry Craig, you're second best).

Rolls.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

OooooH!!! Pretty Freddy!!!! Seriously peet, Askfred is awesome. The best thing will be when every section in the US uses it, and the USFA makes it mandatory for local tournaments to use askfred. Theres no reason not to.

[peet]

Thanks for the kind words everybody.

Originally Posted by Rolls

It would be nice to be able to select multiple items from these lists. I noticed that you accommadated that to a certain degree for gender and age. The idea being that you get all the tournaments you are looking for in one search without any irrevelant ones.

While I'm not sure this would be possible to implement without too much clutter, an advance search link that linked to a page with more options would be cool.

Yeah, i've been trying to avoid making it too complicated, or making it too easy for people to enter mutually exclusive search terms and get nothing.

An advanced search page could be cool though.

Originally Posted by Rolls

FYI: Here's a competing site
I haven't ever used them, but I thought you might like to check them out.

Yeah, I've looked at that one. Personally, If it were me, all those dating ads and that sneaky pop-back window that even gets around my browser's popup blocker would stop me from using it. But beyond that, i still think FRED does more stuff better. Plus their fees for using it for credit card payments are way higher than FRED's.

Originally Posted by Rolls

Other features that I'm still looking for: zip codes! I would love to be able to put my address or zip code in and get all tournaments in X mile radius from me.

On the way. I try to slowly add fields that organizers must enter. I hate to have them feel like it's all getting too complicated too fast. The zip search would be very cool. Plus a map of the US with little dots where the tournaments are. Big dots for big tournaments, different colors for different weapons; wouldn't that be cool????


Thanks again....

-p

[shango]

Originally Posted by D+F+P=Hadouken!

OooooH!!! Pretty Freddy!!!! Seriously peet, Askfred is awesome. The best thing will be when every section in the US uses it, and the USFA makes it mandatory for local tournaments to use askfred. Theres no reason not to.

Can you say monopoly? No offense peet.

[peet]

Originally Posted by shango

Can you say monopoly? No offense peet.

None taken.

Personally, i'd be happy if everyone in the US and Canada used FRED because he's just too cool not too, not because someone made them do it.

(still working on that "too cool" part)

cheers!

-p

[mrbiggs]

Originally Posted by shango

Can you say monopoly? No offense peet.

It would be very difficult to do it in a way that's not a monopoly. That's like saying that the FIE is a monopoly. They are, but only because the sport can't be governed, and tournaments can't be kept track of, well with more than one company.

[Rolls]

Originally Posted by peet

Plus a map of the US with little dots where the tournaments are. Big dots for big tournaments, different colors for different weapons; wouldn't that be cool????

Yea, I forgot that FRED also knows how big the tournaments are... That would be totally cool. And not as difficult as it sounds. You could just have pre-rendered pngs w/ a transparent background. One fore each level of event (A,B,C,D,E). If only google maps had an API...

Rolls.

[oso97]

Great updates peet, I plan on taking advantage of the waiver thing immeditately.

Only feature request I can think of right now is in the Bout Committee background in the "Manage Preregistrations" page. It would be nice to be able to move people back from the "Approved" list to the "pending" list if a) you make a mistake, or b) new information becomes available.

[peet]

Originally Posted by oso97

It would be nice to be able to move people back from the "Approved" list to the "pending" list if a) you make a mistake, or b) new information becomes available.

You're right. It's in the todo. I know i use that answer alot, but really it is in the todo.

-p

[Rolls]

On the topic of a fencing tournament map:

I found a "How to" article on hacking google maps. Basically, it's supposed to be easy to get it to show whatever you want.

I wrote about it on my blog if anyone wants to give it a try...

Rolls.

[fluidfencer]

I haven't decided for sure yet, but I am thinking about requiring AskFred for all RYC events in the Southeast. It's a balancing act between not being dictatorial with the clubs, and doing what's best for the fencing community as a whole.

Originally Posted by Rolls

On the topic of a fencing tournament map:

I found a "How to" article on hacking google maps. Basically, it's supposed to be easy to get it to show whatever you want.

I wrote about it on my blog if anyone wants to give it a try...

Rolls.

[Rolls]

Originally Posted by fluidfencer

I haven't decided for sure yet, but I am thinking about requiring AskFred for all RYC events in the Southeast. It's a balancing act between not being dictatorial with the clubs, and doing what's best for the fencing community as a whole.

I say require it (it won't effect me), but there's no harm to it and it's not that difficult to use.

[peet]

Originally Posted by Rolls

On the topic of a fencing tournament map:

I found a "How to" article on hacking google maps. Basically, it's supposed to be easy to get it to show whatever you want.

I wrote about it on my blog if anyone wants to give it a try...

Rolls.

Cooooooooool.
Too bad the method described in the page you link to requires some participation on the client side. If i can find/figure out a way to do independent of client side issues, that'd be great.

-p