Retrolife: The Social Network for Abandonware and Freeware
 

EDIT: Since the project has launched, changed the thread title. :max:
http://retrolife.isgreat.org/beta/
http://retrolife.tk/

Hey guys. Just wanted to throw something out there.

If anyone knows me, then they know I'm constantly into different projects. I've learned what works on the internet, and what doesn't. I have also created some social networks in the past.

Btw.. if anyone googles for social networks, you'll find social networks for pet fans, gaming nerds, adult talk (:perv:), and pretty much every other topic.

But none for us abandonware and freeware fans/reviewers/developers/players. :no:

My idea.. build a social network themed to abandonware, and freeware. Members can post what games they are playing, where to download, etc. On the freeware side, developers could register and interact with our members (which already happens on Reloaded.org)

And unlike AB and AR.. I wouldn't overload the site with obnoxious advertisements. Though if Abovo/Studentis wanted to work with me, I'd think it over.

I would most likely use phpFox for the software. I'd pickout some fancy themes, and use a .tk address until I could pay for a domain name. The host I'm using, allows me a pretty massive amount of bandwidth. And since it's 2011, my usage has been reset.. have plenty of bandwidth ready to be used.

Even though I just started college, I want to do SOMETHING. Plus I want to setup a few painless Google ads to make a little cash. But main reason for this: I see how the internet is evolving. Forums are great, but social networks with forums allow for more flexibility, and a better social experience.

This would NOT replace AB or AR. We will NOT host game reviews. Instead, our games section would link to AB, and AR. Instead.. we are just about the community.

I'm looking for thoughts, and partners on this. I'll need logos, name suggestions, and other things like that. It's sort of.. building a social network by abandonware & freeware fans, for abandonware & freeware fans.

So tell me what you think. Nay or yay? I have nothing to lose except freetime.

A preview of the software I would use:

http://live.phpfox.com/demo/

For the name, I have thought up "Retrosocial". Hmm..

RetroSpot? RetroLife?
A good name is a key to catching peoples attention. A good platform is the key to keeping them there.

I think the idea is worth exploring, and you might have something there. What features are you thinking of having? Explain MOAR!

I like the name RetroLife.

As for features, a nice list.

-Shoutbox
-Activity Feed
-Blogs
-Photos Section
-Forum
-Polls
-Bulletins
-Friends
-PMs
-Start groups
-Videos Section
-Quizzes
-Events
-Music
-Marketplace
-Multilingual
-Instant Messenger

A full list: http://www.phpfox.com/features/

Basically, I'm not starting this project without support from members on AB and AR. After all.. what good will this social network be without members? I'm going to need some staff as well. People who will be active.

As for the overall use of the site, instead of hanging around the AB & AR forums, just staring at a shoutbox, you have a full-blown social network to chat on.. with shoutbox.

We are aiming for the people who love freeware and abandonware, want to chat on a social network, but don't want the stupidity if you will.. of Facebook.

This sounds great, Nick. :D

I love the idea of a social network based around freeware and abandonw ware. When can I sign up? :OK:

Glad you like the idea Frodo.

I'll be honest, I was expecting more support from AB members. :p But oh well.. I'll see about it.

Will it cover other platforms besides PC?

First I think you should enable users to log in with a Twitter or Facebook account, so they don't need to make a separate account for this, unless they want. But I think you already know how to do that, you did it in AR.

I would so join this. Retrolife is catchy. You can't call it retro game life, can you? You need a tiny gaming cursor icon, or a tetris L block. I feel sorry for the guys who made tetris. But anywho. Can't have a green tentacle or a space invader or a pacman eating a space invader. But something small and green, and a gold-green loom-like futuristic font. I wouldn't like to have my real name associated with internet activities, though. Facebook is bad enough. But i love the thought of game pages you can 'like', links you can post to obscure abandonware titles, places for indie game developers to gather customers and followers. And above all, if someone is looking for a member for their team, they can just search for devs or graphic designers. I like it. It has style. And i get to have Abandonia Crew on a virtual T-shirt, at least. :D I love it.

Yes. The social network would cover any platform, as long as the game is either freeware or abandonware. :OK:

As for the log in feature, as you can see in the phpFox demo, the Facebook login feature is preinstalled. If I recall, I could also add a twitter login option as well.


Glad you like the idea Arete! :smile2:

I love all your suggestions. In fact.. I'll start work on a logo. I think Retrolife is perfect. In fact, using a coupon and some extra cash on hand, I may be able to buy the domain "retrolife.info". I'll look into it. :)

*starts working on the logo*

The wheels have begun to turn. :OK:

Okay. Here's some logos. Fresh from the oven. Opinions?

http://i54.tinypic.com/2aj2kna.png

The second one looks the best to me, but the yellow doesn't fit to well with the other colours to my eyes. Maybe if it got toned down a little it would fit better.

If you could join all people that loved old computer an consoles, that would be something indeed. Spectrum, Amstard, C64, Atari, Amiga, MAME... and that's just without mentioning consoles, with many sites with reviews and download and even online emulators... Sounds like a social network for me.

I don't really have time, but have to offer help if you decide to give it a go. I use ASP so far and know C++, so I guess that PHP shouldn't be that much of a problem. I already read some tiny book about PHP since I wanted to learn it and eventually learn Drupal, but job got in the way.

Right now, I'm looking into free hosting. I'd probably use the amazing Byethost. But their control panel is still down for upgrades. Byethost offers enough space, enough bandwidth, and great features.

Just thought it would be nice place for LPers of old games to help boost their fans...like me.

Wonderful! I love it! And I love Arete's suggestion of the Tetris 'L', as well as her gold & green idea. :woot:


As for the logos.:

I like the first one best. It really has that nostalgic retro feel, and I like how the letters stand out.

The third one is good too, but personally, I think it's a little hard to read.

The second one... I like the font itself, especially 'e' and 'f'. But the way it shoots out makes me think of some futuristic science fiction film for some reason (:lol:), but that's just me. :bleh1:

I would be up for this.

Regarding the colours, I'm sure all my fellow Aussies have no issue with green and gold :p

I'll start editing the logos later today.

Right now, I'm uploading the platform to a temporary webhost. The script is made up of 3900+ files. :omg:

I don't want to sound like I want to burst your bubble (heck, I'm in the middle of creating a whole new online database myself), but...


RetroLife? Swell! I was listening yesterday to that gramophone record with that chic 1930s starlet singing and...

wait...

you mean "retroGAMINGlife" right? For most people "retro" brings black&white images of Clark Gable or Carol Lombard... for example retro+boobs

***

Only freeware and abandonware? So if I want to ramble about an old game that's still copyrighted as hell...? ...I'm out?

***

I can never get that social networking trend. Forums are not enough? Stupid old phpBB gives me IM and email addy for every user below their avatar and there's personalized profile page too... please enlighten me as for the benefits of creating a new specialized social network, as opposed to existing forums or other widely used networks like Facebook or MySpace. And I don't want to hear just "FB is gay, let's make something like it but sans gayness".

Retrolife is only a working title. Nothing has been decided yet. So far, it's a good name. I may go with Retro Game Life (RGL) or something like that down the road.

There are other gaming themed social networks out there. Why on earth would I create another one just like them? This social network would be based of AB and AR.. in other words, you could say the same about AB. "Why doesn't AB open up to all game types? Instead of just abandonware?" Your point makes no sense.

Forums are good. But being able to post comments, videos, and other content is more modern. After all.. the social network INCLUDES a forum. As Arete stated before: "the thought of game pages you can 'like', links you can post to obscure abandonware titles, places for indie game developers to gather customers and followers. And above all, if someone is looking for a member for their team, they can just search for devs or graphic designers.".

But you can limit it to oldware in general, of course you can't check the status of a game only to allow talking about it?

I say make up your mind before you start making logos.

Because Abandonia's key feature is being able to download those games. Let's face it: there would be much less traffic if we were only chatting here :)
Opening to everything would mean offering warez - and that would get this site into trouble.

I'm all for it if your network is about retro gaming.
If it's only about "old games you download claiming they're abandoned" better change the name once more.

I'm not a great fan of social networks, but your idea sounds interesting and I wish you luck. :)
If you want to have success your idea should be innovative and different from the other Social Networks around.
Maybe those applications that let you play old games using a browser?

Doesn't really have to mean that. Social network won't allow you to download games, but you can easily find links. If games are still protected, links will lead to selling places or there won't be no links. Similar like here. Also, there are lot of games for old computers that are no longer protected. Except for Amiga and PC (excluding coin-ops and consoles because I'm not sure about them) almost every game for any other computer is no longer protected. That's a lot of games. Not everyone will be interested in them, true, but you get the point.

Due to some issues in my life, I may be putting this project on hold.

Interesting idea, I like it. Might as well be the first and the last social network I'm actually going to join.

Nick, in case you get everything sorted out and decide to go on with the project, I might offer some of my free time and assistance. Possibly even a hosting for the network could be worked out. Contact me if you get back to this.

The social network is alive again. I'm also considering different software. Elgg seems great. Plus it's open source! Unlike phpFox. :3:

I've contacted Dino as well. Considering my free host is still down.

http://www.elgg.org/

Did someone say shoutbox? :)

:perv:

No matter which Social Network script I decide on using, each one has a shoutbox plugin. That will be our #1 feature. :D

*bows to the mighty shoutbox*

Sorry for the delay, guys, been quite busy!

Nick, you have a PM.

i remember sixape's attempt on this :) it wasn't "just abandonware" though, so i guess it's kind of a different thing

So here's an update.

My free host is back online again. I took the extra time today, to upload Elgg. Needless to say, I'm not pleased. It's bare-bones. Doesn't even include any mods for shoutboxes.. or many other features I need. Waste of time.

Heading back to phpFox.

I will give you guys the link, once I have a "Coming Soon" page online. :)

Right now, I'm naming it "Retrolife". Once the engine is all setup, I can change it if needed.

Retrolife has a nice ring to it. :rolleyes:

Glad you liked the sugestion that much!
RetroLife is a good choice due to many factors. A 2 word combo opens up for an easy short that is easy to remember and use in a sentence, in this case "RL".
- Gotta check my RL status!
- Seen the link i posted on RL?

and so on...

Good luck with the developement. Perhaps you can get Abovo intrested in supporting you in exchange for something minor?

About the domain, I don't think having one that could attract too many people, is a problem. If anything someone could want to secure both retrolife.* and retrogaminglife.*--although the latter is too long --but no sane entrepreneur or webmaster would prefer the latter to the former, it's simply worth less money, for a reason.

I've emailed Andreas about a possible deal we could work out. We'll see if I get a reply. :mhh:

Good luck with that. As long as their ass ugly ads remain in place, the owners don't seem interested in anything else.

Yeah, I actually have plenty of other things to say about Abovo. But I'll keep them to myself. :whistling:

If we all walked away from AB and AR, I don't think Abovo would really care. As long as the ads were in place.

But if Abovo will host my social network.. I'll go with it. :rolleyes:

Just to make sure... Are you looking for a free or commercial solution for social network? Or maybe a commercial solution that can be "borrowed"? ;)

At this point.. whatever works. :p

Placeholder site has launched. :OK:

http://retrolife.tk/

Yay! Just one little thing though, the grey text is nearly impossible to read on the blue background.

Yay for RetroLife :OK:

[Some irritating voice]
So if I get this swell, we have a fansite for dosgames (AB) and a fansite for freeware games (AR).
And now we will have a fansite about those two fansites.
How nice, can't have enough fansites ....
[/Some irritating voice]

Nevermind me, I'm in a bad mood.

Good work Nick02. :smile2:

Why Dosraider, WHATEVER ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Well played Lulu.

:D

Sorry for the ugly placeholder page. But it will work for now.

Time for the big reveal. After I tested multiple scripts.. I finally went back to the open source (and FREE!) Elgg. It's simple, easy to rework, and is VERY stable. :smile2:

I've already installed many mods, and have also installed a new theme. I want this social network to look darker than AB and AR. Anyway, here's a glimpse at what the network currently looks like. For a larger view, right click the images and view them in a separate window.

http://i54.tinypic.com/t7dhc0.png

http://i56.tinypic.com/25q3ct3.png

On my to-do list, is a proper homepage. As well as the fancy shoutbox that will be on every page. I'm also going to install a forum mod. But, it's only an addition. For most chat, members will use the shoutbox.

Now.. beta testing will be begin soon. If your a beta tester, you can also become a member of the staff. :OK:

:max:

If anyone wants to help, I need something to put on the homepage. Some kind of fancy welcome image/video.. welcoming the user to a social network for abandonware and freeware fanatics.

PS: I've already added a partner section to the bottom.. AB and AR are already listed.

Looking good. :rolleyes:

What's 'The Wire', though? :max:

I will happily beta test the thing. I assume that would just mean me using the page, chatting on it and such...oh and telling you about probelms I find.

The wire is a complete list of the latest site activity. It auto-updates, and keeps rolling with the latest things happening around the site. :max:

I'll PM you when the testing stage begins. :)

Larger view? :o
They are HUGE already!


I'd like to Beta Test.
I will be painting Graffiti on the walls And use my Megaphone in the Shoutbox to be heard. :p

Whoops. I was thinking the forum software here, was like the software on AR. IPB 3 automatically resizes the images, and makes them clickable. :ph34r:

Sounds good :D

A look at the groups feature. Where members of AB and AR can join, chat, etc.

http://i53.tinypic.com/hrzcbq.png

http://i53.tinypic.com/34ep2mg.png

Beta testing has begun. Anyone who has asked to beta test RL, has been sent a PM. :max:

Retrolife has been updated from Elgg version 1.7.6, to 1.7.7. This will fix some security, and bug issues. Another reason I love open source software. :)

Retrolife has went public :max:

http://retrolife.isgreat.org/beta/
http://retrolife.tk/

Does it have Twitter/Facebook login yet?

Not yet. Tried, but having issues. Though the registration process is pretty simple. A couple spaces, and no need for email verification. :p

Yeah I know, I just like the idea of Twitter/Facebook login :D

Updated the RL shoutbox. No more obnoxious scrollbar. :OK:

60+ members. Not bad. :D

I've done plenty of updates. Including caching the site, so it now runs much faster. :idea:

Retrolife has passed the 100 member milestone! :)

http://retrolife.isgreat.org/beta/pg...rs-and-growing

I haven't read much of what has transpired so far so pardon me. I do have some ideas for a logo you could use; a picture that captures the spirit of those who play abandoned games--and I feel that a good logo for this would be Guybrush sword fighting LeCuck . I don't know about you but I feel that it captures the adventurous, daring spirit of those who play abandoned games in a society consumed with "modern" noxious, horrid-looking 3D games.

What do you all think?

EDIT: Here are the options I've come up with so far for a background for the bar at the top of the website...

A. http://files.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/24108...y-island-2.jpg


B. http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/11359...hting-468x.jpg

Without, of course, the green-lettered insults.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll work on that soon. :)

If you want I can add the project under our AB Network :), or do you prefer to wait for a non-beta version?

Sorry for the late reply, that would be FANTASTIC Dave. :D Thank you :max:

In fact.. we're now out of beta in 5..4..3..2..1..


Announcement:

After a few months of abandonment, Retrolife has been overhauled. We're now out of beta, and running version 1.0! :)

On the inside, RL has been upgraded to a more stable version of Elgg. Less errors and bugs.

On the outside, presenting the much improved (and very sleek) homepage. The theme all around the site has been overhauled, sporting new darker colors, faster menus, and a new shoutbox style with speech bubbles.

More updates on the way :max:

http://retrolife.isgreat.org/rl/
http://retrolife.tk/

I have a big announcement planned in the coming weeks.. RL is about to jump from being just a social network.. to much more. Stay tuned. ;)

Just added, congratulations for your achievement, I wish you luck for your project :OK:

http://retrolife.tk/

That is the link I used, let me know if you want to change it.

You mustn't say that there are less bugs now, you just say that there are exciting new features, and you don't say a word about its ever having bugs. :P

Thanks Dave :OK: That link is perfect, since it redirects no matter where I host the site.


And Japo, good point. lol Hehe, Let's forget the bugs. :D

Announcement:

Hello everyone. Retrolife has been shutdown. I'm currently in the process of launching a new forum, that will be a general forum. For all gamers, movie fans, roleplayers, and more. It will be a fork of Reloaded, and Reloaded's main roleplay will be continuing on the new forum.

Retrolife will live on in the form of Freeware and Abandonware subforums on the new site.

For now, the Retrolife domain links nowhere, but soon it will redirect to the new site.

Hope to see you on the new forum, it launches soon! :max: