Logged in? I don't even have an account. Consider making the comment form available, with a request to log-in / sign-up on form submission. (Also, do you really want comments to be used for feedback as you've suggested here, rather than for comments on the value (or otherwise) of the educational resource?)
Yeah, making the comment form available would be a good idea. And I didn't mean that people should use them as feedback to me, but to the author of the link description. Need to add a way for people to edit the descriptions.
What I meant was, do you intend comments to be used for feedback on the educational resource for the benefit of your site users, or for feedback to the author of the link description? If I use comments to contact the link author, and they update the link or description, then my comment will be out-of-date. (Which is not to say that users observations on linked sites won't go stale, but less so.)
I, too, see no way to submit a comment when logged out. I think the interface is the problem here - when you are logged out, it should say "[Sign up] or [log in] to leave a comment.". That would guide the user on how to create a comment. It's not obvious that you have to sign up first, because some site allow users to leave anonymous comments.
I really like the "upvote" system you have. Let me know if you want access to all of the URLs on coursebacon (I can send you a copy of everything that's already on there).
Many of the descriptions aren't nearly as good as they could be. I think if they were made to be editable like wiki pages they would be much better.
I have another idea: what if the link data were stored in the git repo, with pull requests to merge them, and only the votes and comments were added with the website?
If you ask me, upvotes-only (as here on HN) works great if post get hidden when x time goes by. But AFAIK links "value" will not devalue over time on TYTC and therefore the early submissions will get ahead by far, even if they are of lower quality than the links posted later on.
Downvoting does not mean bullying, and I cant imagine people will be afraid to publish links with the risk of getting a downvote or two.
But I may be wrong, and please point that out, HN!
EDIT: Also, I wouldnt mind if there was an adsense ad on the left side of the list. A small tower one that would not be in the users face. I'd turn off adblock for you!
Or have "value" exponentially decay over time (e.g. continuously & adding up to 50% decay per year. Which is equivalent to the value of a vote being 2^(year the vote is cast).)
But that would need a constant growing userbase, otherwise new (and not neccesary better) would get a favor. In the system that 1 upvote === 1 point old links get a favor.
If upvote===1 point and downvote===-1 point old posts would get a head start (from being in the top lists) but it wouldnt be that hard for a competing link. Bad links would quite quickly get low rankings though.
An important thing to note is that this isn't a social news site (as reddit or HN) but a social link sharing site, and thusly doesnt need to have fresh link at the top, but only best links.
Great job for launching something! Not only did you accomplish that, but you're also making a noble attempt at sharing educational resources. Great work, and best of luck!
Really nice work. I will add to my favs to see how it grows. I am working in a voting system similar to this, but about books. The way that you handle the "language" on the right sidebar is simple and effective.
I don't get what the "<-- Back to Index " means. Maybe something on the views / links / index.html.haml
Looks promising. However I selected C++ and the first result was railscast? 2nd results also rails.
Seems like you are just pushing matched results to the top instead of removing unmatched results? Anyways with some work this could go in my bookmark bar.
Congrats on launching something cool. I think your server might have just gotten slashdotted, or something odd happened, as I'm getting an Application Error.
If you need any help debugging, shoot me a quick email (this username @ gmail.com)
Awesome stuff, blows my 'learning to code' tumblr out of the water. I'll definitely use in the future. Any background on how you put this together? I've got a vertical I think this would work really well in.
Kateray, this is awesome. I'm probably at the same place as you learning how to code and loving every minute of it. I couldn't agree more, everyone should know how to code - at least enough to be dangerous and prototype something up.
RailsCasts: "Early screencasts are free to watch, more recent ones require a $9/month subscription."
Not correct, Ryan still produces weekly free RailsCasts. Advanced topics and refreshed content require a subscription.
"all in the most soothing, wonderful voice to be heard on the Internet"
Steady there! And to my ear, it's a bit nasal (not intended as an insult, just an observation in light of the gushing comment quoted.)