3.12.2010. Server move just about completed…
Finally. Seems like all the server issues have been worked out. There are still a few new things I need to add, mostly under the hood type of stuff. Way too late to go into details, but I think it’s something that everyone will like.

3.3.2010…Been a while
As you can see, there’s been some time since I really talked about anything here, but that’s mostly because there are a ton of things going on behind the scenes. Let’s just say that I know it’s stuff all of you will like. Also, I can’t get over how many great battle requests have come in recently – new characters, great scenarios and some very strange but interesting matches as well. Be patient, I am getting to them and there is a method to my madness! FactPile is starting to get some attention from other parts of the web, and I really want this year to be the one we all look back on and think: “Remember how FactPile was BEFORE it sold out?!” – Just kidding. You know I’m not getting rid of this site. But, I am actively trying to get more attention to the site, so if anyone has any ideas, feel free to let me know.

Cripes…1.12.2010
Yes, FactPileTopia is currently down as I was trying to install some mods for some fun stuff to take place. Instead, I had to update to the latest version of the software and CRASH! fatal install. Am waiting for the hosting company to respond so that I can at least get the previous version up…

Gotta make the donuts…12.15.2009
Look out over the next day or so as I try to get to the final “tweaks” done to the site. Don’t be surprised to see something appear and then be gone when you goto the next page. I will be adding some minor items to make the site function better and hopefully, it won’t cause too much trouble…

Commenting…11.23.2009
For whatever reason, commenting decided to stop working on the site today. I’m not sure why, so I’ve been scrambling like crazy to figure it out, and have some techs looking into it now. Hopefully, this won’t last too long.

Design and Cache…10.20.2009
I’ve FINALLY seen a design that I like for the site that hopefully makes it easier to navigate and find what you’re looking for. I’m going to condense the topics in the hopes of making battles easier to find, and I am considering the retirement of the “MC vs” category. Also added a “cache” feature which should help the site run faster as it will serve up static pages where needed instead of hitting the server every time a page is called. And Finally, congrats to Jwlynas for finding the Easter Egg here on the site. I have some cool schwag ordered and once I get it, I’ll be shipping it across the pond…

Hackrz…10.14.2009
I know there is no absolute way to prevent hackers from hitting the site, but before the new look arrives, I wanted to make sure the infrastructure of the site was better built. I feel foolish for waiting this long, but there is finally a daily db backup in place so that the next time a hacker hits this site, at the most we’ll only lose a few hours worth of data. I’ve also been working on cleaning up the database to make it easier to work with, and had to create some new tables for some of the new things on the horizon.

Pagination…8.24.2009
So I tried to add it and it blew up the site. I know this sucks, but for the time being I have to take it off since nothing I try gets the pages to function normally. The re-design is now in my hands to move forward and since I have the results of the survey to shape the layout, I’ll be working alot on it. What does that mean? Hopefully it won’t impact the site too much but I’ll have to spend less time monitoring to get it done. The poll question has a benefit of allowing instant posts to go through – the downside is that since I won;t moderate them, I won’t be able to see the “pulse” of this site. And instead of answering through the comments, you’ll most likely have to contact me via email to get your questions through.

More info – 8.21.2009
The survey is going well, getting some great feedback, will talk more of that in the future. Since I’m always tinkering with ways to build up this site, I had a “happy accident” in which I stumbled upon something that will greatly increase the size and content of this site. Will keep it under wraps until the re-launch, but let’s put it this way – you could spends days at a time and never see the end…

What’s in store…8.15.2009
First thing – permalink structure was updated. So instead of “factpile.com/samus-vs-darth-vader” it’s now going to show “factpile.com/samus-vs-darth-vader.htm”. It’s a stupid thing done only to please Google, but it’s time for this site to grow.
Speaking of which, as some of you know, I’ve been tasking everyone’s favorite person to hate, ExpertImp, to make a new design for the site. The hold up has been on my part since there are some server issues that need to get resolved. On top of that, I’m going to re-structure parts of the site to give some sections more personality, and you’ll know what I mean when it happens. But, this is going to take some time to get it done right. I am actually having an IA (Information Architect) review this site to see how we can improve navigation, easy to get understand sections, and help define the “brand” that has become known as “Factpile”.

Hopefully, by next week, I will have a survey asking all readers for input on what they want this site to evolve into. Nothing is considered too crazy at this point, I want any and all suggestions.

WTF! Why was/is Factpile down!? – 7.12.2009
Ok, here’s the low-down. There was/is something going on with the database powering the site, and there were some server load spikes due to this site. Being that the site currently shares it’s hosting with other sites, ALL the other sites were being impacted. So the hosting provider had to turn off FP so that the other domains could operate normally. So, consider it “growing pains” as this site continues to evolve and get bigger. So now I’m in the process of getting Factpile it’s own server so that it can run on it’s own without affecting other sites.

“My God…It’s full of Stars!” – 6.8.2009
What movie is that from? First one to EMAIL me gets some schwag. I’m going to bet that Matapiojo gets the answer first. Anyways, changed the value of a star to 50 posts for each star on the site, that should reduce the number that appear next to some people…

Whoring out the site…5.18.2009
Today we added video game and movie trailers to the “playlist” at the bottom you’ll see affiliate links to buy or get the media shown in the post. This is a test that’ll run over the summer to see if it’s worth keeping or not (the affiliate part) – Otherwise, I think there is enough interest from the readers here to watch a few clips of upcoming and past games and movies. So, it won;t just be for the new releases, but as we find older ones that are classics, we’ll place them there too.

Something bigger in the works 5.5.2009
Besides fixing the above db error (which should be gone soon!), a decision has been made to “take it up a notch” and put this site on the same playing field as ign. Now we’re not claiming to be anything like them other than having more content on the site and hopefully not as cluttered. So the posting schedule won’t be interrupted as this happens, and some hints that were dropped before will soon come to pass. We’re looking to have everything ready by mid-June. This should be fun.

Tinkering with new design 3.31.2009
Currently experimenting with a new design that includes a new layout – don’t expect anything anytime soon as it’s causing some havoc on everything tested so far…

$#@!&* Filter off 3.26.2009
You know, I was trying to keep comments clean for the sake of advertisers, but since none of them pay for shit, I am letting loose on the language. Some obvious things will remain, as if you drop nothing but f-bombs that will be edited, otherwise, we’re forgoing the advertisers for the readers.

Blowin Stuff Up – like links – 3.5.2009
I know this will cause some trouble in the comments section, but we had to change the naming structure of the urls for seo reasons. So, what used to be something like: factpile[.]com/archives/60, it will now be: factpile.com/master-chief-vs-boba-fett

Forum Integration – 1.14.2009
We’re starting to work on a forum section so that more communication can take place without the ‘Admin’…
…and it’s proving to be more difficult than anticipated…

Site is acting wonky 12.11.2008
That happens as we upgrade, it’ll look ‘off’ but everything still works. promise.

Winner Award! (11.5.2008)
The first ‘official’ and decisive victory goes to the Star Wars universe over Halo. Congrats for the idea and as others clearly emerge, we’ll award this rare trophy.

POLLS! (10.14.2008)
So, polling ability has been added. Depending on your response, we’ll see if we include them in the battles to help determine the winner…

UPDATE: (10.1.2008)
We’ve been listening and are going to be starting a series where each character will have their most ‘Badass Moment’ or ‘Heroic’ or just flat out ‘Coolest’ moment that makes you like the character. We’re looking for suggestions as to naming this new section, so if you have any ideas, we’d love to hear them!

So, we realize we need to install some better ways to get the site organized, and it’s always an issue when you have a ton of information stored in a database.

We’ve heard your suggestions about a better site design, polls, ranking/rating systems, to even voting on which of the matches you want to see published.

We are listening and making changes. As hinted before, we are testing a new design and a part of that is how all the current site data ports over to the new look. In the past we just push it live and work through the kinks live. That’s still probably going to happen, so if you visit the site and it’s acting a bit wonky, that’s why.

Since there are soo many MC battle requests, we’re thinking about having a week full of nothing but Master Chief battles – about 3-5 a day – is that something you’d be interested in seeing?

That way we could even up the ‘Battle Request’ list and have a more even rotation of all the series.

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