kJams server "Events" list

[DeusExMachina]

I have already discussed this with our Dave, but figured it might be helpful to hear what others have to say.
In an effort to eliminate paper slips to the greatest extent possible, I am going full bore on server. One helpful feature I have proposed is an "Events" window, where every song request, login, etc. issued from either iJams or kJams server is listed. This would act just like a pile of paper slips, allowing me to know when people log in, scroll through and double check submissions, etc.. It is also useful in dealing with Duets, until a new duet feature is implemented, since I can just add songs to one or the other singer, and then know what to call out based on the event listing. This lets me keep one singer/one song/one rotation, so things are fair.
If there is anyone else out there using server to any extent, or if you are interested in transitioning away from paper, let's hear what you think about this.

[dave]

i like the idea of using Growl for notifications.

[DeusExMachina]

I'd still like a scrollable list (even a playlist) but Growl is certainly a start!

Apparently I am alone in server use? Where is everybody?!?

[DeusExMachina]

For the record, if it were a playlist, it would need to use a new type of "singer" field, since part of the point is to manage duets, by adding things like "Mary K. and Jim S." as the singer for the song, even though the song is ACTUALLY only added to Mary's tonight list. This lets one manage duets and know whom to call up, and makes it so that I do not have to create a NEW singer, for the duet.
Creating new singers for duets is both cumbersome, as well as pointless in server, as there is little need to save duet history or favourites lists separate from the individual singers.

[dave]

a list of some kind, not technically a playlist, maybe an "event list" but yeah.

[DeusExMachina]

Yay growl support is here!!! Hammered away at it, after it being persnickety about turning itself on, and now it is chugging away nicely! (Still want a persistant list, but this is a GREAT start!)

Thanks!


(Dave replies: )

[dave]

Obligatory:

I could write the persistent list to a secondary log file, would that cut your mustard? you could then use Console to monitor it?

Also: What other events would you like Growl notifies for? I've added "disc ripping complete", but what else?

[DeusExMachina]

Well, let's see, contrary to our last discussion, Growl notifiers do NOT go through for non-server initiated singer events, so that is GOOD! As to additional ones, I had some ideas, but I forgot them all!

Console monitoring is kinda a pain in the butt; not sure if it outweighs the benefit, but maybe I can hook into the file and make some sort of live pop up window I can scroll through when I need to view the info.

[dave]

Growl notifiers do NOT go through for non-server initiated singer events

yeah i fixed that after we talked

Console monitoring is kinda a pain in the butt

hmm, so i think you're asking for like a "playlist" that just lists events and their times, yes?

[DeusExMachina]

Um, that would work, but in my head I had something more akin to the tasks window in mind, that listed these events in chronological order. As new events occurred (songs were added to the rotation) they would be inserted at the bottom. (Having it editable would just be a nice plus.)

The whole point of server to me is to mimic books and slips for the singers. That is why I run my setup with Safari in Kiosk mode, full screen, no menubar, with three tabs, the server login, a tab for a locally stored PDF of my songbook sorted by Artist, and another tab with the songbook sorted by song. For those who need that almost tactile interaction, or who use the books for inspiration, they can use the PDFs. (I have already discussed with you and Nik the idea of just D/Ling the songbook to the local machine on startup and having it available in the server tab, which would eliminate this part.)
That covers the singer-side.

The point of an "events window" would be to sort of mimic paper slips for me, host-side, so that I would have a record of what came in, when. This also lets me see a number of errors that server users make, like submitting the same song 15 times!!!
It also lets me catch one of my big headaches: when someone submits a song that someone else already has in. When you are doing things with hard copy slips, this is pretty easy to catch, just by memory, and you can leaf through the slips to verify. When it happens via server, even with growl, you can easily miss it, and even if you catch it, there is no easy way to check to see if your suspicion is right. An events window/playlist would let you scroll through the events and check for all those sorts of discrepancies. Heck, if it was editable, and operated like playlists do now (highlighted, active field hovers in same spot as you scroll through the list) then you could even do side by side checks!

The other thing it would do is act as a stop gap measure for duets. I can let singers know that they can make a new account now, for duets, and when they come in via server, I can go ahead and move that song to the tonight list of what I consider to be the main singer. But since I have a listing of the duet add event in the events window/list, I know who to actually call out.
I do this because duets are fluid, and it is doubtful that the same pairing will happen on a regular basis. As such, it makes little sense to save history lists, and favourites for them. That is just wasted disk space, and more chaff in the singer lists. So at the end of the night I can just delete them. But since the song is actually sung by the main singer as far as kJams is concerned, they still get it in their History list.

Does any of that make sense?

[dave]

well, the log file thing is something i can do "today", but the new "events" window won't happen for like 2 years.

[DeusExMachina]

I figured. That is why I will just look into a quick and dirty application to stream the log file to a window.

What about the playlist idea?

[dave]

that's also a lot more work. it's like zero work to make a new log file.