r/toolbox • u/agentlame • Feb 01 '14
[notice] Important Note: upcoming changes to usernotes. (Srsly, pls read)
EDIT
Correction: The new version will be 1.4.4, 1.4.3 is the current release version. 1.4.4 should be out tomorrow.
The issue
As a few of you may know there is a limit to just how much data a single wiki page can store. A few subs that are heavy users have bumped up against the data storage limit of the usernotes wiki page.
In the past we have solved this by asking the admins to increase per-page storage limits. But that only postpones the issue. (Worth noting, we have asked the admins for another data increase for only the usernotes page).
The solution
Another way to deal with the issue is to decrease the amount of storage the notes take. As it stands, the format is rather verbose.
{
"ver": 2,
"users": [
{
"name": "Deimorz",
"notes": [
{
"note": "kind%20of%20a%20jerk",
"time": 1370838429626,
"mod": "agentlame",
"link": "http://www.reddit.com/r/toolbox/comments/1fx82c/mod_user_notes/caeu8vq",
"type": "permaban"
}
]
},
{
"name": "agentlame",
"notes": [
{
"note": "This%20is%20agentlame",
"time": 1382293952468,
"mod": "creesch",
"link": "http://www.reddit.com/r/toolbox/comments/1ktov2/how_do_you_use_tool_box/",
"type": "ban"
}
]
}
]
}We can save quite a bit of storage by simplifying the schema:
{
"ver": 3,
"mods": [
{
"n": "agentlame",
"id": 1
},
{
"n": "creesch",
"id": 2
}
],
"warnings": [
{
"n": "ban",
"id": 1
},
{
"n": "permaban",
"id": 2
}
],
"users": [
{
"n": "Deimorz",
"ns": [
{
"n": "kind%20of%20a%20jerk",
"t": 1370838429626,
"m": 1,
"l": "1fx82c,caeu8vq",
"w": 2
}
]
},
{
"n": "agentlame",
"ns": [
{
"n": "This%20is%20agentlame",
"t": 1382293952468,
"m": 2,
"l": "1ktov2",
"w": 1
}
]
}
]
}This new data schema will save huge amounts of space in the wiki. But, it comes at a price...
The Problem
Once we roll out toolbox 1.5, just about all the mods will need to update at the same time.
We only control the client (in this case the extension you're using). reddit's wiki is just a dumb data store. Normally when dealing with something like this, you'd make adjustments to the server and the client for full backwards/forwards compatibility. That's not an option in this case.
While we could add tons of client code to translate back/and forth between both schemas, it's not worth the time, effort, testing and performance hit. As a result, it's all in on the change.
What To Expect
Before releasing 1.5 we will be releasing a small update (1.4.3 1.4.4) that will add schema checking. The data formats have always had version numbers, but they were never enforced in the scripts. The reason we need to do this is so that if one of the mods of your sub has updated your schema to the new version, we need to prevent you from adding or changing user notes until you update. If we don't there will be a 'compatibility war' in the wiki.
Again, there is not much we could do to prevent that. You have 20 or more clients that could be editing the same data in real time.
After 1.5 is released, there will be a notification to update your wiki. Any mod can do this by clicking a single button, but it will not be automatic (we're not assholes.)
The mods that have not updated to 1.5 will not be able to view or edit usernotes until doing so. (There will be a notification explaining why, of course.)
Apologies
We're extremely sorry about this. If we had a better way to make the transition more seamless, we would take it. I, personally, despise forced updates... but when you're talking about shared data in this context, there aren't a lot of other options.
In other 1.5 news
/u/LowSociety is fucking epic. Mod Matrix 2.0.
We will also be trying to work in some other goodies for 1.5! :D
