Be the first to test out RonPaulRides BETA!!!!

[teacherone]

four sleepless nights and one pissed off wife later i think i got it!

check it out here: www.ronpaulrides.com

take her for a spin - if you notice any glitches or anything is unclear please drop me a line - note your browser / version number.

i hope to go live and start spreading this thing so people can start organizing transportation - so let me know what you think!

[Carehn]

lpac should be a destination i think. http://www.lpac2011.com/ that is if i understand the site and what your up to. Very cool by the way .

[teacherone]

lpac should be a destination i think. http://www.lpac2011.com/ that is if i understand the site and what your up to. Very cool by the way .

cool thanks!

putting it up there now!

[teacherone]

got lpac up now.

anything else?

[Carehn]

trying to do my thing. what is Marker Type, please.

[teacherone]

make it fixed marker.

i'm trying to disable the other options.

[IDefendThePlatform]

That's awesome. I like the "need a ride" and "have a ride" pics.

[teacherone]

That's awesome. I like the "need a ride" and "have a ride" pics.

thanks man! can you test it out and make sure it makes sense?

[teacherone]

disclaimer text looks weird in firefox :mad:

[TruckinMike]

OUTSTANDING!!! Just what the doctor ordered. It appears to work from my end. Firefox/3.6.17 (no text problems)

TMike

[goRPaul]

+rep and bookmarked!!

[teacherone]

thank for your words of encouragement!

it would be cool if somebody could try to sign up and embed a marker - want to make sure the process is understandable and works for first time users!

[TruckinMike]

I set up an account... AT first I clicked the picture and began the process of "I got a ride" when I clicked submit it said
You are not authorised to view this resource.
You need to log in.

-- doh.:) My mistake, maybe place a flashing red "register Here First" button somewhere??

Also at the bottom left where my login name is displayed -- the red "X" for logging out is covering the Mike in TruckinMike. ------- Firefox/3.6.17

TMike

PS- And check spelling on authoriSed

EDIT: I 'll be back later this afternoon for follow-up

[teacherone]

I set up an account... AT first I clicked the picture and began the process of "I got a ride" when I clicked submit it said

-- doh.:) My mistake, maybe place a flashing red "register Here First" button somewhere??

Also at the bottom left where my login name is displayed -- the red "X" for logging out is covering the Mike in TruckinMike. ------- Firefox/3.6.17

TMike

PS- And check spelling on authoriSed

EDIT: I 'll be back later this afternoon for follow-up

hey man! i see your marker!

i'm battling with getting them color coordinated to each event. will get there!

ok - i need to make the registration module more prominent. will do it!

thanks so much man for testing it out.

what a long drive! you sure are truckin!


You have given out too much Reputation in the last 24 hours, try again later.

will get you back - promise!

[po14015]

So I tested it out.

My thoughts are that you should pick an event. And then a map to that event comes up. Otherwise, you will have so many locations that it will make you dizzy. Also, add a Road Rally marker if you can. This is the permanent point where people would meet to carpool towards the event. We did this very effectively in Florida in 2007 for several events. The locations are about an hour apart.

An example of the markers would be for Southwest Florida:
Naples, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Tampa, Lakeland, and then to Orlando: which all would be at fixed times.

Also, an added question would be: Would you pay $30 for a round trip bus ride to this event?
That would help organizers know how many people along a given route would pay to ride a bus.

You are doing great!!! This is one of the best ideas in 2012!!!

[teacherone]

So I tested it out.

My thoughts are that you should pick an event. And then a map to that event comes up. Otherwise, you will have so many locations that it will make you dizzy. Also, add a Road Rally marker if you can. This is the permanent point where people would meet to carpool towards the event. We did this very effectively in Florida in 2007 for several events. The locations are about an hour apart.

An example of the markers would be for Southwest Florida:
Naples, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Tampa, Lakeland, and then to Orlando: which all would be at fixed times.

Also, an added question would be: Would you pay $30 for a round trip bus ride to this event?
That would help organizers know how many people along a given route would pay to ride a bus.

You are doing great!!! This is one of the best ideas in 2012!!!

great comments - thanks so much!

i was going the route you suggested at the beginning - but then i thought - since i know my departure address all i have to do is look at a nationwide map, zoom in on my departure city - and find someone who is heading where i want to go.

i.e. the map will look chaotic(ly cool) when first seen but then after zooming into my state/county/city it will be much easier.

also, the toolbar to the left has a search function and once the markers are color coded by event it will be easier to sort out.

my thoughts on this project is to leave it as p2p carpooling - i cannot "schedule" any buses or carpools from afar - but i can allow anybody in the world to do so.

if you have a bus or a car leaving at a specific time from a specific location you drop the marker there and fill in the description field with details and contact info.

does that all make sense???????

a good idea would be to have an input form for those looking for rides so the process can work in reverse. ...

hmmm so many complications. thanks so much for checking it out.

[teacherone]

GOT IT COLOR CODED!

so now you can easily see that TruckinMike will be truckin from Texas to the LPAC in Nevada.

if TruckinMike needs directions - he clicks the LPAC icon, types in "texas" under directions and sees it takes .... ONE DAY ONE HOUR!

quite a trek!

http://ronpaulrides.com/index2.php?option=com_google_maps_vision

[123tim]

Stupid question here....

I assume that the information from this beta test is going to be deleted?

I'd like to test it out for you but can't help feeling like I'm signing up for something that I actually won't be able to attend.

[teacherone]

sign - up under 123tim and i'll delete whatever you put in.

thanks for trying it out!

please give some feedback to make it more user friendly/speedy.

[Mahkato]

If they're supposed to register and login first, don't even allow people to do anything else. I shouldn't be able to see the maps unless I'm logged in already, right?

[Nate-ForLiberty]

this is great! the pictures made me lol!! :D

[teacherone]

If they're supposed to register and login first, don't even allow people to do anything else. I shouldn't be able to see the maps unless I'm logged in already, right?

yeah...good point.

well...i don't know.

i let the people looking for rides see the map so they could get one or directions quick if need be...

bad idea?

[teacherone]

this is great! the pictures made me lol!! :D

thanks nate!

[dannno]

Wow, this has a lot of potential...

[TruckinMike]

Do we have a way to edit our "ride" info? I put in 10:00am and forgot the date, how can I change it?

TMike

PS- All "ride" info is for testing purposes only ---- delete my "ride" after test is completed.

[Kludge]

this is great! the pictures made me lol!! :D
Same here.

Grats on the superbly simple design, TO.

[123tim]

sign - up under 123tim and i'll delete whatever you put in.

thanks for trying it out!

please give some feedback to make it more user friendly/speedy.

Teacherone,

Works great with Linux and Firefox 4.0.1.

I hope that a lot of supporters put this to good use.

One thing that I didn't understand (probably everyone else does) is what I'm supposed to do with the metadata and description fields. Maybe some sort of short explanation to help people like me? :)

Thanks for an excellent resource!

[teacherone]

Works great with Linux and Firefox 4.0.1.

I hope that a lot of supporters put this to good use.

One thing that I didn't understand (probably everyone else does) is what I'm supposed to do with the metadata and description fields. Maybe some sort of short explanation for people like me? :)

Thanks for an excellent resource!

in the description you can say how many seats in your car, if you want gas money, what type of car ... whatever you want

if you click the florida republican leadership conference marker you can see i've added html description of the location.

meta data isn't necessary - i'll be adding whole word search for cities, towns, and events.

thanks for trying it out!

would it help to put a embed a quick youtube instructions?

[teacherone]

Do we have a way to edit our "ride" info? I put in 10:00am and forgot the date, how can I change it?

TMike

PS- All "ride" info is for testing purposes only ---- delete my "ride" after test is completed.

working on this!

[Cleaner44]

I noticed Truckin Mike is on the map with the destinations for need a ride, is that how it is supposed to be?

[123tim]

in the description you can say how many seats in your car, if you want gas money, what type of car ... whatever you want

if you click the florida republican leadership conference marker you can see i've added html description of the location.

meta data isn't necessary - i'll be adding whole word search for cities, towns, and events.

thanks for trying it out!

would it help to put a embed a quick youtube instructions?

Thanks for the reply.

A utube video might work, but maybe some are bandwidth restricted?

I was thinking of maybe a short blurb (close to the entry field) like you wrote here? "in the description you can say how many seats in your car, if you want gas money, what type of car ... whatever you want"

Whatever you finally do, I think that you've done something great.

[teacherone]

Thanks for the reply.

A utube video might work, but maybe some are bandwidth restricted?

I was thinking of maybe a short blurb (close to the entry field) like you wrote here? "in the description you can say how many seats in your car, if you want gas money, what type of car ... whatever you want"

Whatever you finally do, I think that you've done something great.

hey man! thanks so much!

i'll add that blurb in - good idea.

[teacherone]

I noticed Truckin Mike is on the map with the destinations for need a ride, is that how it is supposed to be?

hmm... not sure what you mean.

say you, Cleaner44, need a ride.

you click Sad Ron and you get to the map.

you see truckinmike has the same color as your destination. he's from your town too!

you write him a message and take off.

this seems to be requiring too much explanation - can you think of a way to make it clearer?

[teacherone]

added some more instructions to the front page - want to keep it clean and simple.

hope that helps? :confused:

[sarahdeez]

Wow that is impressive! I have IE 8.

I too think that once you click on the RP pic it should direct you to register or log in. I mean it says register and login but I didnt do it first. I was clicking along and then realized I have to go back to register.

On the I have a ride...
I would add Iowa to the Ames straw poll just for clarification. Maybe make the box bigger on the selection so you can see all of the new orleans selection.
When I fill in my information to offer the ride, the bottom section (where the contact info goes i suppose) is not visible unless i scroll down. It was tempting to leave it blank and click submit. maybe submit could be at the bottom so they have to scroll down to click it or create a how would you like to be contacted field and make it manditory. Will people be concerned about putting their email or phone number on the internet? I guess having a registration process makes it more difficult for people to gather info for spam. I agree above the discription it would help to say to put no of seats available, smoking or not, when leaving, when coming back, money for gas etc. maybe those should be a separate field? and above the map it might be nice if it said, "place a marker for your origination location (or leave from location)."

I cannot see the color markers in the map navigator. I can see them on the map. I may just have something turned off. Can you make the map automatically zoom in on the US?

On the I need a ride...
It would be nice for the "map navigator" to say "Available rides" or something like that.

Nice for red X to say log out.

Would be nice to be able to edit the offered ride once it is posted. People will surely forget things or need to update as rides are filled up.

Is it designed for the person needing a ride to just find a person to contact? There is no way to submit that you need a ride right?

All my test rides say delete. They are not true rides.

[sarahdeez]

Oh tell your wife thanks :-) I have been on both sides of that. It is difficult to share your spouse when you need things yourself.

[teacherone]

added filter links to the frontpage under need a ride.

clicking the event will show the map with only that event's listed markers displayed.

[teacherone]

Wow that is impressive! I have IE 8.

I too think that once you click on the RP pic it should direct you to register or log in. I mean it says register and login but I didnt do it first. I was clicking along and then realized I have to go back to register.

On the I have a ride...
I would add Iowa to the Ames straw poll just for clarification. Maybe make the box bigger on the selection so you can see all of the new orleans selection.
When I fill in my information to offer the ride, the bottom section (where the contact info goes i suppose) is not visible unless i scroll down. It was tempting to leave it blank and click submit. maybe submit could be at the bottom so they have to scroll down to click it or create a how would you like to be contacted field and make it manditory. Will people be concerned about putting their email or phone number on the internet? I guess having a registration process makes it more difficult for people to gather info for spam. I agree above the discription it would help to say to put no of seats available, smoking or not, when leaving, when coming back, money for gas etc. maybe those should be a separate field? and above the map it might be nice if it said, "place a marker for your origination location (or leave from location)."

I cannot see the color markers in the map navigator. I can see them on the map. I may just have something turned off. Can you make the map automatically zoom in on the US?

On the I need a ride...
It would be nice for the "map navigator" to say "Available rides" or something like that.

Nice for red X to say log out.

Would be nice to be able to edit the offered ride once it is posted. People will surely forget things or need to update as rides are filled up.

Is it designed for the person needing a ride to just find a person to contact? There is no way to submit that you need a ride right?

All my test rides say delete. They are not true rides.

thanks so much for testing it out!!

i'll go through your points step by step see what i can do - this is third party software i'm modifying. any php experts in the house?

btw-- what do you think is the best way for people with rides to find people without?

i didn't want to get the map too cluttered with both :)

thanks again! your descriptions made me lol.

[teacherone]

bump!

[SanDiegoForPaul]

First off, very cool website. It is things like this that really make an impact in the whole play of things and I thank you.

Browser: Chrome/12.0.742.53 beta-m

Need a ride page:

Your list-style-type is set to none, but there are still square bullets showing up in the "Map Navigator".

You could more clearly list rides and destinations, maybe something like:


Ames Straw Poll

Mark's Carpool
Four open seats
Free ride

LPAC Conference

Someones Ride to LPAC
Another Ride

Florida Debate and Straw Poll



Page title is "Google Maps".

Also, there could be a header for site navigation instead of a full screen Google Maps.

When a users selects a destination on the Google Map there could be a button to "Add a ride" that links to the "I have a ride" page (with data populated?).

I Have A Ride Page:

I can draw shapes with the Polygon tool on the surface of Mars. I don't understand the importance of marker type?

Maybe have a note above the description box telling people to remember to include some kind of contact information. "Don't forget to include at least one form of contact information."

I would make the map smaller and move it up on the right side of the forum.

Not allowed to submit a ride. "No authorization".

Auto place marker at address.

Pictures of Ron for header/footer areas :D



Overall very cool. Good idea, nice execution.

Max

[teacherone]

thanks max! + rep

i'm using joomla to build the site - the map comes from third party open source which i am modifying.

lol at polygons on mars :) no idea why that is integrated.

do you know any php????

[SanDiegoForPaul]

I have worked with some PHP. I'm mostly a .Net coder, but I can find my way around anything. Need a hand?

[teacherone]

I have worked with some PHP. I'm mostly a .Net coder, but I can find my way around anything. Need a hand?

yes!!

just posted a new thread:



do you know any PHP?

could you help me modify this map program to be more user friendly at www.ronpaulrides.com. (click download - i'm using the component).

i think i may have done all i can :0

these changes are wanted:
--ability to login and alter previously place map marker
--modified and limited site marker input page
--modified map sidebar
--larger event icons but still color coded rides
----and more suggestions already in this thread

map program can be downloaded here: http://mapdemo.110mb.com/

[SanDiegoForPaul]

Hmm, could be possible. Might be easier to work from new Google Map implementation. I'll have to take a look at it after work today.

[teacherone]

Hmm, could be possible. Might be easier to work from new Google Map implementation. I'll have to take a look at it after work today.

any help is well appreciated :)

[Cleaner44]

hmm... not sure what you mean.

say you, Cleaner44, need a ride.

you click Sad Ron and you get to the map.

you see truckinmike has the same color as your destination. he's from your town too!

you write him a message and take off.

this seems to be requiring too much explanation - can you think of a way to make it clearer?

Ok that's all good. I was wondering because all of the other markers were destinations.

[Carehn]

So now that i have done it will i be able to see others or im i the only one going to reno that has posted on your site? How will this work?

[Carehn]

just testing it out and i cant find a way to contact myself if i needed a ride. It shows my town and name but no email or anything like that. Its most likely me and just giving you all the shit i can think of to help you make this work. I think this idea of yours is beasty for sher.

[teacherone]

just testing it out and i cant find a way to contact myself if i needed a ride. It shows my town and name but no email or anything like that. Its most likely me and just giving you all the shit i can think of to help you make this work. I think this idea of yours is beasty for sher.

changed the input form - you have to enter an email address under "address" to be contacted.

[teacherone]

ronpaulrides change log:

ride input form:
removed map digitizer
removed marker options
removed latitude/longitude
forced geo-coding (enter city, state, marker placed automatically)
marked address label as "email address"
moved description input box up

ride map:
color coded
removed bullet points

login -
moved login module
red X no longer over name

banners:
added banner module to google bump quality ron paul sites!


still to do:
homepage - 5min instructional video how to use site
login

force login to get to need a ride / got a ride page.

almost there!

[IDefendThePlatform]

I think you should let people see the map with the destinations and the routes planned overlayed before they login, just my .02.

I think a lot of people will go to the site but might not take the time to register if they don't visually see what they are getting into.


Awesome site. I'll be promoting it to everyone I can for sure.

[thehighwaymanq]

NICE! This site is really good!

Great job and great work. I'm going to explore this idea today!

[Roxi]

Hey I have a suggestion.... add a banner for the site down at the bottom with the rest of the ones you have down there so when sharing on facebook you can choose an image for the actual site rather than having to choose from one of the other sites you have in there. If you don't have time to make one I can come up with something for ya. :)

[teacherone]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxYyC4QVwyA&feature=player_embedded
bump!

[Eric21ND]

Just letting you know, the email sent to confirm my registration came up in my email as suspicious and blocked links and everything. Not sure why.

[QueenB4Liberty]

ok so no one is going to SLRC yet?

[teacherone]

ok so no one is going to SLRC yet?

no one's left any rides yet :)

22 people signed up - no rides :P

we need people with cars :D

[teacherone]

Just letting you know, the email sent to confirm my registration came up in my email as suspicious and blocked links and everything. Not sure why.

weird - maybe it's hushmail.

youtube wouldn't even let me sign up with husmail - called it suspicious .)

[teacherone]

Hey I have a suggestion.... add a banner for the site down at the bottom with the rest of the ones you have down there so when sharing on facebook you can choose an image for the actual site rather than having to choose from one of the other sites you have in there. If you don't have time to make one I can come up with something for ya. :)

that would be great!

could you use the colors at the top? the font is capture i think! :)

[Roxi]

that would be great!

could you use the colors at the top? the font is capture i think! :)


Sheesh, I am so sorry I just now saw this!! anyhow here is the banner. Let me know if you want me to make any adjustments or changes.

http://laughterandliberty.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/rprs.jpg