http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/categories/building-cookbooker/feed.rss Mon, 07 Apr 25 12:27:05 -0400 Root → Building Cookbooker en-CA http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/332/notifications Sat, 01 Feb 2020 10:40:18 -0500 kaye16 332@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/329/amazon-search-not-working Sat, 12 Oct 2019 09:06:55 -0400 foske 329@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/318/is-anybody-getting-notifications-from-cookbooker Mon, 27 Aug 2018 09:20:06 -0400 kaye16 318@/test-dir/forum/discussions ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/320/uploading-image-of-cookbook-cover Sun, 28 Oct 2018 13:17:55 -0400 kaye16 320@/test-dir/forum/discussions ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/308/most-reviewed-recipe Sun, 09 Jul 2017 16:30:00 -0400 Queezle Sister 308@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/283/18000-reviews Sun, 03 Jan 2016 23:04:10 -0500 Queezle Sister 283@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Hoping that number 18,000 would be a biggie, I am postponing my review of pumpkin pie.
That is about 1,000 reviews in the past year. Terrific.]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/290/adding-tags-to-a-book Fri, 27 May 2016 13:32:00 -0400 kaye16 290@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/198/the-future-of-cookbooker Mon, 21 Oct 2013 12:19:49 -0400 andrew 198@/test-dir/forum/discussions
As loyal users of the site will have noticed, it's been extremely quiet lately on my side of things. I've come in a few times a while ago with a hurried apology, but nothing has changed with the site and I wasn't even able to update the recent challenge a few of you ran in September. The truth is, I am simply overwhelmed with the rest of my life: my work, my family, and writing (I'm an author... or was an author and am trying to get back into the writing life) and Cookbooker has slipped down to the bottom of my priority list.

Starting Cookbooker was an amazing experience, and although it didn't take off as I had hoped (it has never been even remotely financially viable), it is obvious that we've developed a core group of users who have found it useful and continue to spend some of their valuable time putting recipe reviews into the site. I will be forever grateful for those of you who've supported and spread the word about Cookbooker over the last few years.

This sounds like a farewell address: but it's not, exactly. I don't want all the work that has gone into Cookbooker to go to waste, and I don't want to be one of those websites that abruptly closes one day, leaving users high and dry.

So, I'm opening the discussion to those of you who've been here and have put time and effort into Cookbooker to get your feedback on how to go forward. As far as I see it, there are three main options:

1. Do nothing new. I still pay the server bills, but don't update the site. This is what's happening now, and it's not a viable option. It's not a lot of money (a basic server is only $25 per month or so), but if the server and site are not updated eventually something's going to break and nobody will have the time to fix it. Plus someone has to deal with the spammers who sometimes appear. So really, this option might as well be: close the site.

2. Hand it over to someone, lock, stock & barrel. This would mean transferring all the source code, the database, the email accounts and the domain name, to someone willing to keep running the site and improving it. This would require someone with time, as well as experience with MySQL (open source database) and PHP programming. If these two terms don't mean anything to you, however well-intentioned you may be, you won't be able to keep Cookbooker going. It took me two years to teach myself to program well enough to create Cookbooker, and even so there are still bugs that should be fixed, not to mention that my code is very messy!

3. Merge with another related site. Someone suggested Goodreads, but that's not likely. Not just because they're enormous and would not be interested in a little site like this, but also because they have no way of capturing reviews of recipes, just books themselves.

More possible is Eat Your Books. I emailed them recently and they are quite interested in helping out. First we would have to see if the data could be easily moved over, but ideally what would happen would be that they would create accounts for everyone who has an active Cookbooker account (and merge if you already have an account there I presume), then move the reviews all over, so they're preserved. It would be some work on both ends (probably more for them), but it would ensure that the reviews continue to be useful and available. Also they have forums there, so people could continue their challenges and perhaps even suggest that EYB have some similar challenges in the future. They generously offered to give everyone free accounts for several months in order to try out their site. No money would change hands in this deal - I'm not trying to make any money from Cookbooker or the review database.

The great thing about EYB is that they're a site that charges a (modest) subscription. Although everyone loves free, the problem with free websites is that they have to get very large to make any sort of advertising money to support themselves. Paid sites are much more likely to last online.

------
So, that's my 2 cents. I'd be happy to hear from people. I'm strongly leaning towards #3, unless one of you is or knows a programmer who has time on their hands and a love for cookbooks.

Best,
Andrew]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/227/searching-my-bookshelf Mon, 18 Aug 2014 03:14:56 -0400 kaye16 227@/test-dir/forum/discussions Style sheet's gone awry? Something's gone awry. Hope it can be fixed soon.
(Mac OS 10.6.8, Safari 5.1.10)]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/117/errata Fri, 31 May 2013 16:46:04 -0400 kaye16 117@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/228/indexing-issue Sat, 23 Aug 2014 14:00:50 -0400 kateq 228@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/220/missing-cuisine-type-for-tunisia Wed, 30 Apr 2014 09:39:23 -0400 kaye16 220@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/188/spreading-the-cookbooker-word-... Wed, 21 Aug 2013 08:09:16 -0400 kaye16 188@/test-dir/forum/discussions ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/189/feature-request-... Fri, 23 Aug 2013 07:14:19 -0400 kaye16 189@/test-dir/forum/discussions This feature is missing on cookbooks, though. It would be nice to be able to link to external book reviews too.]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/119/incorrect-magazine-issue-title Thu, 04 Jul 2013 01:25:53 -0400 digifishbooks 119@/test-dir/forum/discussions
http://www.cookbooker.com/title/21702/donna-hay-magazine-autumn-2005

It is indeed Issue 2 but should be Autumn 2002 (not Autumn 2005). Is there any way I can edit the magazine title? Alternatively, how do you delete recipes from a magazine or can I transfer them to the correct issue, i.e. http://www.cookbooker.com/title/1561/donna-hay-magazine-autumn-2002
]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/114/connecting-book-editions Thu, 23 May 2013 06:05:32 -0400 digifishbooks 114@/test-dir/forum/discussions
is there a way to connect these two editions:

http://www.cookbooker.com/title/1989/how-to-be-a-domestic-goddess-baking-and-the-art-of-comfort-cooking

and

http://www.cookbooker.com/title/1899/how-to-be-a-domestic-goddess-baking-and-the-art-of-comfort-cooking

thanks,

Laura]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/113/spammers Tue, 21 May 2013 20:59:01 -0400 andrew 113@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/99/bugs Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:37:29 -0500 andrew 99@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/3/site-improvements-suggestions Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:18:32 -0400 andrew 3@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/88/isbn-scanning-tool Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:21:04 -0400 lisakelsey 88@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/98/how-many-reviews-are-there Mon, 14 Jan 2013 07:50:08 -0500 kaye16 98@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://www.cookbooker.com/recipe/37503/spicy-tunesian-carrot-frittata
it says there are two reviews. Even after I click the Reviews tab, only one review (Queezle_Sister's) is shown to me.

When I look at the list of recipes for the book: http://www.cookbooker.com/title/19399/the-very-best-of-recipes-for-health-250-recipes-and-more-from-the-popular-feature?recipes=all&editions=&orderby=recipes.page_number&ordersort=asc&page=5
it says there are three reviews.

When I click the link on the list-of-recipes page, I see one review again, but it's not the same one; it's mine instead.

One two or three. How many reviews are there? And why can't I see them all at once?

(I've complicated matters by correcting the spelling in the recipe title (my typo), but the problem was there before I did that.)
]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/96/ipad-vs.-cookbook-page-numbers Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:57:52 -0500 BethNH 96@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Personally, I find adding page numbers to reviews very helpful as it helps me to quickly find that recipe again. I was not able to simply review this recipe and add the correct page number because another review had already been written. Instead, I slightly altered the recipe title so that I could enter the recipe with the correct page number.

What would be the best way of handling this situation?]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/67/10000-reviews-and-counting Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:19:51 -0500 andrew 67@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://www.cookbooker.com/recipe/25282/rutabaga-turnip-carrot-soup

Fabulous work, everyone! Thanks for helping make Cookbooker not just a useful resource but also a fun place to hang out. I'm working behind the scenes on a couple of fairly big additions to the site, and I'll announce them later this winter once they're actually confirmed (and working). They should help make the site even more useful for everyone. ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/76/email-notifications Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:01:04 -0400 andrew 76@/test-dir/forum/discussions
You'll get notifications when recipes are reviewed from cookbooks you own and comments are made on recipes you've reviewed or commented on.

Let me know!]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/78/forum-update Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:19:07 -0400 andrew 78@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Just a quick note to let you know the forums are updated. They look very similar, but have some new features, including the ability to quote other members in your replies, to flag spammers and the very important ability to add smiley faces! :)

Plus it has a great mobile version for iPhones and the like!

Don't forget you can also set up email notifications for the forums by clicking on 'My Settings' in the button bar above and then clicking 'preferences' on the left menu. ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/30/linking-recipes Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:57:40 -0500 BethNH 30@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/49/classification-question Fri, 10 Jun 2011 03:10:58 -0400 Leeka 49@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/46/new-features-for-recipes Tue, 17 May 2011 12:26:03 -0400 andrew 46@/test-dir/forum/discussions
1. Ingredients. Now any member can add and edit ingredients for any recipe on Cookbooker. Right now, they are all blank, but as people add ingredients we will build up another useful tool for everyone. For myself, I know that for some of my favorite recipes if I just have a list of ingredients I can put the recipe together without having to go back to the cookbook itself, so I'm going to be entering the ingredients for those. This will be searchable eventually, but since there are no ingredients yet, there's no sense in putting this into search.

Example: http://www.cookbooker.com/recipe/14481/coconut-oil-roasted-sweet-potatoes?view=ingredients

Extra feature: every member has a private substitutions/instructions box under the ingredients list. You can put directions in here which will be visible only to you. What does this mean? Well, you could combine the ingredients list and directions to store your favorite recipes on Cookbooker. We will keep the substitutions/instruction box private to protect the copyright of the recipes.

2. Links. Are there versions of a recipe online, blog posts about them or news articles? Here's where you can post links.

3. Chatter. Do you have a question or comment about a recipe which isn't suitable for your actual recipe review? Put it here.

Bugs: as usual, with a new feature there may be bugs I haven't noticed in my testing. Please let me know either here or by email (click 'contact us' on any page) if you discover one.

Going forward:

Upcoming features related to this will be the ability to comment on an existing recipe review as well as a better way to keep track of activity in the cookbooks, magazines and websites you own, and members you have friended. In addition, we'll be adding the ability to create your own custom cookbook and enter your own recipes in it, either privately or shared with the rest of cookbooker. This last item may be part of a group of features available for a modest fee as we move cautiously into a 'freemium' model for Cookbooker. ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/53/new-feature-recipe-tags Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:32:52 -0400 andrew 53@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Right now the tags are connected to your individual recipe reviews, enabling people to add and edit their own tags. So you can't tag a recipe you are indexing. But otherwise, go crazy! Tags will show up on each recipe page right under the photo of the recipe.

We'll be using this for the new challenge, summer grilling, so people can tag recipes from all over the place (cookbooks, magazines, websites) and have them show up in the challenge. This will start after the holiday weekend, but if you're doing some grilling this weekend, keep some notes and you can go back and tag the recipes with our challenge tag later. ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/32/new-feature-cover-uploads Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:15:24 -0500 andrew 32@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Now you can add cover images to any cookbook or magazine issue on the site. Look for the little add or view cover(s) link on the left menu, under the Title/Author information. You can upload a picture from your computer, or paste in a link to an image online. As far as we can figure, taking photos, scans or grabbing covers from the web (I've used Google image search quite successfully in the past), should fall under fair use since we're both commenting on the works and trying to sell them. There's a little warning on the page, just in case.

We take GIF, JPG and PNG files, up to 1MB in size.

If there is more than one cover uploaded, you can even choose one to be your default cover, to better reflect the cover on the copy of the book or magazine you own.

We've also set up a connection to LibraryThing, who generously offer access to scans of covers made by their users. When you add new books without Amazon covers (we get most of the images on the site through Amazon at the moment), Cookbooker will quickly check LibraryThing and import a cover if it can find one. This check will also happen when you visit the title page of a book that's already been added to Cookbooker but has no cover.

As ever, this is a new feature, and could have some bugs. Please let me know if you discover them. If you are pasting an image URL, be sure there are no mistakes in the link, or you'll get an error message. ]]>