Major Site Update Archives - 2005

For the newest updates, please click here.

12.18.05

  • New Look and Feel
    • Updated every page with new code and removed some old, unnecessary code
    • New page layout
    • New logo
    • New headers
  • Medieval Forums
    • Minor updates to the look and feel because of new logo
  • Medieval Glossary
    • Updated links to make it easier for search engines to crawl through this section of the site

11.22.05

  • Upgrade
    • Upgraded gallery software from version 2.0.3 to 2.0.4

11.17.05

  • Upgrade
    • Upgraded IPB SDK from version 1.6 Beta 2 to 1.6 Beta 4

11.14.05

  • Medieval Forums
    • Added thirteen new emoticons

11.13.05

  • Medieval Articles
    • Added an author biographies page
    • Added support throughout the articles section for the author biographies (the names of authors who have biographies are now clickable)
  • Medieval Forums
    • Added a leper emoticon
  • Minor Edits
    • Edited a few minor errors

11.07.05

  • Site Search
    • Fixed a major bug preventing searches of the glossary and timeline from completing due to a change in the structure of the database
  • Medieval Wiki
    • Clarified instructions on two of the wiki's pages and fixed a minor bug
  • Login Page
    • Minor update to change layout and improve functionality

11.03.05

  • Upgrade
    • Upgraded the forum software from version 2.1.2 to 2.1.3

10.30.05

  • Upgrade
    • Upgraded the gallery software from version 2.0.2 to 2.0.3

10.16.05

  • Form Updates
    • Fixed several minor bugs
    • Added the ability to preview medieval timeline submissions
    • Added the ability to preview medieval glossary submissions
    • Added the ability to preview medieval quotations submissions

10.14.05

  • Upgrades
    • Upgraded the forum software from version 2.1.1 to 2.1.2
    • Upgraded the blog software from version 1.2.0 to 1.2.1

10.06.05

  • Site Reorganization
    • Removed the Medieval Pages section
    • Moved much of the site's content into direct subdirectories below the main site
    • Reorganized the site's navigational menu
  • Upgrade
    • Upgraded the gallery from version 2.0.1 to 2.0.2

10.04.05

  • Miscellaneous Updates
    • Updated the link pack with new banner/button images
    • Updated the affiliates page

10.03.05

  • Blog Change
    • http://blogs.shadowedrealm.com/membername now redirects to http://forums.shadowedrealm.com/blog/membername for blog users with friendly URLs enabled
    • This change fixes a bug in which scripting was not working for the content blocks on the blogs

10.01.05

  • Structural Reorganization
    • Changed the name of the "Medieval Period" section to the "Medieval Pages" section
    • Added the wiki to the Medieval Pages section
  • Wiki
    • Removed "Medieval" from the title of the wiki
    • Upgraded to version 1.1 - bugs fixed, upgraded security
  • Search
    • Fixed a bug in which searches using multiple keywords resulting in "More Results" resulted in an error when after clicking the "More Results" link

09.24.05

  • Upgrades
    • Completed gallery upgrade from version 2.0.0 to 2.0.1, allowing the gallery to reopen after temporary closure (due to bugs in version 2.0.0)
  • Glossary
    • Added and updated dozens of terms
    • Glossary now contains over 1,000 terms
  • Search
    • Fixed bug that prevented new searches from working from individual search pages

09.23.05

  • Upgrades
    • Completed forums upgrade from version 2.1.0 to 2.1.1
  • Random Medieval Header Images
    • Increased the quality of the 99 previously uploaded images
    • Added 89 new images

09.21.05

  • Upgrades
    • Completed gallery upgrade from version 2.0 RC3 to 2.0 Final
  • Updates
    • Reorganized the major update archives

09.20.05

  • Upgrades
    • Completed gallery upgrade from version 2.0 RC1 to 2.0 RC3
  • Forums
    • Fixed a few display errors
    • Uploaded old avatar galleries and images

09.17.05

  • Upgrades
    • Completed upgrade of the forums from version 2.0.4 to 2.1
    • Completed upgrade of the gallery from version 1.3.1 to 2.0 RC1
    • Completed upgrade of the blogs from version 1.1.2 to 1.2
    • Completed upgrade of the IPB SDK from version 1.5 to 1.6 Beta 2
  • Shadowed Realm's Look & Feel
    • Changed the main site's template to lighten up the site a bit
    • Applied new skin to the forums
    • Removed scroll graphics from the main site
    • Changed the random images that appear in the header to make them bigger and to match the new template's background
    • Many of the random images that appear have changed - there are now 99 random images instead of 40
  • Medieval Wiki
    • Removed the http://wiki.shadowedrealm.com/ subdomain, mostly due to a bug preventing authentication from working with upgraded member database
  • Bug Fixes
    • Fixed problems with the announcements display on the front page of the site and the announcements page itself
    • Fixed a problem with the site map

09.04.05

  • Submitted Articles
    • Added "Usama and William of Rubruck: Creating Ethnic Separation" by Jason Colman, the runner-up winning article of the Grand Medieval Historian Competition - Summer 2005
    • Added "The Order of St. Lazarus in the Latin East" by Natalie Kohout, the grand prize winning article of the Grand Medieval Historian Competition - Summer 2005
  • Submissions Forms
    • Added a form field for source information to the timeline event, glossary term, and quotations submission forms
    • Updated many of the submission forms to include more information to confirm the visitor's or member's submission
  • Grand Medieval Historian Competition - Summer 2005
    • Announced the winners
    • Updated the contest area with prize winner information

09.03.05

  • Glossary
    • Added a new category: Christianity - General
    • Added many submissions

09.01.05

  • Glossary
    • Added a new category: Places
  • Timeline
    • Added new submissions
  • Template Changes
    • Completed some changes to lighten up the template a little bit to make it more easily viewable on different types of monitors
    • Completed changes to the front page of the site - removed the right sidebar ads

08.26.05

  • Glossary
    • Added a great deal of member-submitted content over the past couple of days
    • Changed the name of 'The Church' cateogory to 'Western Christianity'
    • Added five new categories: Architecture, Art and Literature, Eastern Christianity, Islam, and Universities and Education
    • Minor changes to the term display settings
  • Timeline
    • Added member-submitted content over the past couple of days
    • Fixed a bug in which the links for the first half of the eleventh century for three of the different browse actions was creating a 404 error
  • Articles
    • Fixed a minor display error on the main listing of the exclusive and submitted articles page
  • Graphical and Color Changes
    • Slightly changing colors and modifying graphics over the past few days for a better look to the site and increased readability
  • Contests
    • Reorganized the contests area

08.22.05

  • Medieval Forums
    • Added a new blog feature to the forums
  • Modified Site Structure
    • Removed the subdomain http://medieval.shadowedrealm.com/
    • Modified and reorganized many of the site's navigational menus
  • Contests
    • Reorganized the contests area

08.20.05

  • Forums
    • Added a new gallery feature to the forums
  • Graphical Improvements
    • Added a new background image to the site
    • Modified the graphics on the front page of the site
    • Modified other miscellaneous graphics throughout the site

08.17.05

  • Site Search
    • Updated the search to perform searches limited to certain areas/sections
  • Timeline
    • Added a search function directly to the index page of the timeline and placed all of the original options to view the timeline under a browse heading
  • Glossary
    • Added a search function directly to the index page of the glossary and placed all of the original options to view the timeline under a browse heading
  • Forums
    • Peformed minor modifications to the forums, including slight changes to some of the forums' descriptions and categories

08.09.05

  • Status Bars
    • Slightly changed the colors of the status bars for the glossary, timeline, maps, and quotations areas, as well as the Medieval Wiki
  • Template Changes
    • Changed the look of the right bar on the main page of the site to make each ad look like a scroll attached to a wooden post
    • Changed the front page of the site to include "Welcome, Membername" (when logged in) or "Welcome, Guest" with some links (if not logged in)
    • Slightly changed the color of some of the text on the site
  • Miscellaneous Page Updates
    • Updated the donations, about, and legal information pages

08.08.05

  • Forums
    • Purchased a license for the forums
    • Upgraded the forums from version 2.0.0 to 2.0.4
  • Graphical Updates
    • Slightly modified header images
    • Updated the link pack

08.06.05

  • Glossary
    • Added new terms
    • Fixed a bug with terms containing apostrophes in their titles
  • Timeline
    • Added new events
  • Site Search
    • Fixed a bug with the search: prior to this update, searches containing apostrophes resulted in errors
  • Miscellaneous Page Updates
    • Updated the glossary submission form
    • Changed the look of the index page of the links area slightly

08.04.05

  • "Shadowed Realm" Logo Change
    • Changed the text of "Shadowed Realm" in the header images to a typeface of my own creation
    • Updated the link pack
  • Glossary
    • Added new terms over the past couple days
  • 404 Error Page Update

08.01.05

  • Site Search
    • Updated the search script to work properly with phrases in quotes and multiple terms - for real this time
  • Articles
    • Added new submitted article: Catholicism and the Medieval Church by Lori M. Netahlo-Barrett
  • Glossary
    • Added new terms
    • Removed the 'Places' category
  • Links
    • Added new link
    • Fixed error with connecting to the database
  • Small template updates

07.27.05

  • Site Search
    • Updated the search script to work properly with phrases in quotes and multiple terms
    • Removed advanced search upon discovery that it was not working properly
  • Glossary
    • Added quite a few new terms
  • Timeline
    • Added events
  • Miscellaneous page updates

07.26.05

  • Template
    • Changed the main site's template to make it more medieval looking (stone borders, parchment, cobblestone under menu, color changes)
  • Glossary
    • Changed the name of the Vilages, Towns, and Cities category to Village, Town, and City
    • Added new categories: Dynasties and Groups, Heraldry, Places, and Troop Types
  • Timeline
    • Changed the name of the event categories to match others on site
  • Miscellaneous page updates

07.22.05

  • Medieval Wiki
    • Published Medieval Wiki version 1.0
    • Shadowed Realm members can add and edit pages
    • Stats, updates, and history pages included
  • Search
    • Updated search scripts to include support for the new Medieval Wiki
  • Shadowed Realm Member System
    • Updated header bar to allow member to login/register or logout
    • Updated header bar with new, personalized quicklinks
    • Added new login page
    • Added new logout page
  • Miscellaneous page updates

07.09.05

  • Glossary
    • Renamed the Medieval Period Index (MPI) to the glossary
    • Added and updated several terms that are related to polearms
  • Timeline
    • Added new events
  • Quotations
    • Added new quotation
  • Miscellaneous page updates

06.29.05

  • Maps Area
    • Redesigned the area to contain three different categories of maps: political, military, and other maps
    • Added 23 new maps
    • Updated the site map

06.28.05

  • Miscellaneous Site Updates
    • Added and updated MPI terms between over the past two days
    • Fixed an error that prevented most of the exclusive articles from displaying
    • Updated a few pages with minor revisions

06.21.05

  • Medieval Period Section
    • Performed miscellaneous updates
    • Fixed problems with the maps area, quotations listing page, and links index
  • Miscellaneous Site Updates
    • Shadowed Realm will no longer be known as Your Guide to Medieval History - the name will now be accompanied by the phrase Medieval Content and Discussion
    • Changed the images in the link pack to reflect all of the changes to the site since January
    • Updated several pages

06.15.05

  • Changed Web Host
    • Performed miscellaneous changes for pages to work on new host
    • Fixed some bugs

06.06.05

  • Search
    • Added a new advanced search option
    • Changed search pages to reflect this change and allow visitors to perform simple and advanced searches
    • Fixed several major bugs
    • Modified the search bar in the site's header
  • Forums
    • Added an RSS feed for announcements
  • Miscellaneous Site Updates
    • Slightly changed the template of the site and added a new header graphic

05.31.05

  • MPI
    • Added new terms
    • Fixed spacing on listing pages
  • Miscellaneous Site Updates
    • Updated the about the site and affiliates pages

05.24.05

  • Site Search
    • Fixed a bug in which visitors were unable to search when pressing 'enter' or 'return' on their keyboard instead of the 'go' or 'submit' buttons on the page
    • Moved and slightly reformatted the search bar
  • Articles
    • Added a new exclusive article entitled "Richard and Saladin: Warriors of the Third Crusade"
    • Added additional author information all of the article pages
  • MPI
    • Fixed the spacing of output of terms
  • Forums
    • Fixed the spacing of the header
  • Miscellaneous Site Updates
    • Added another ad - this new ad appears in the header of the site's pages

05.20.05

  • Maps Feature
    • Added a new maps feature to the medieval section
    • Includes 35 maps
  • Site Updates
    • Updated the site's search script to include the new maps area
    • Revised the legal information page
    • Miscellaneous updates

05.16.05

  • Search Feature
    • Added a new search feature to the site
    • A search bar is now included at the top of every page
  • Site Updates
    • Added dozens of new images for the site's header
    • Miscellaneous updates

05.09.05

  • Medieval Squared Section
    • Removed due to inactivity and visitor confusion
  • Site Updates
    • Fixed lingering broken hyperlinks
    • Fixed quotations index so that it displays properly in IE
    • Updated the legal information page
    • Updated the about the site page

05.01.05

  • MPI Update
    • Added 37 new terms
    • Fixed a display bug
    • Modified/updated some terms
  • Site Updates
    • Fixed some broken hyperlinks
    • Added new images to display in the header

04.23.05

  • Template updates
    • Added a randomly changing graphic to the site's header
    • Fixed bugs such as bad URLs throughout site
    • Changed colors of parts of template
    • Added graphics to main/home page of site
  • Forum updates
    • Added Medieval Workshop forum
    • Changed the header to match the main site's new header

04.21.05

  • New site published
    • Includes main site and the medieval section
    • Entirely coded in XHTML 1.1 Strict
    • More streamlined than the old site
    • Few graphics for faster load time
    • No longer includes any Flash
    • Removed unnecessary sections (the help section, for example) and reduced the number of links
  • New Medieval2 (Medieval Squared) Section
    • Based upon the old site
    • The hi-fi version of the medieval section
    • Contains the same content as the medieval section
    • Completely re-coded in XHTML 1.1 Strict

01.28.05

  • MPI
    • Modified CSS code of status bar to support more browsers
    • Added updates feature that allows visitors to view all additions and/or modifications by month
    • Edited MPI database for consistency
  • Timeline
    • Modified CSS code of status bar to support more browsers
    • Added updates feature that allows visitors to view all additions and/or modifications by month
    • Modified 'Previous' and 'Next' buttons to display correctly in Firefox
  • Edited and updated Shadowed Realm link pack images for consistency with new site header
  • Updated the site information links on the main page
  • Added two new submitted articles since last update: one on King Alfred the Great and the other on Charles the Bald
  • Various other small improvements, updates, and bug fixes from previous version

01.14.05

  • Articles
    • Added a new submitted article about King thelwulf
  • MPI
    • Added support for two more related topics (up to six)
    • Rewrote the status bar in CSS code to better integrate it into the site's design
    • Added functionality to the status bar to display the four newest additions to the MPI, providing visitors with a direct link to these terms
    • Changed the name of the topic search to the term search
    • Added new functionality to the term record display that allows visitors to move through the entries alphabetically by clicking a 'previous' and 'next' button
  • Timeline
    • Added a new option to allow visitors to view the entire timeline
    • Rewrote the status bar in CSS code to better integrate it into the site's design
    • Added functionality to the status bar to display the most recently added event, providing visitors with a direct link to it
    • Added support for two more regions (up to six)
    • Updated all of the regions currently contained in the database to be more specific
    • Fixed the category page view
    • Changed the listings available in the search options
    • Fixed an error in the display script that would incorrectly display some events twice on the timeline
    • Updated the browse by century to use the new 'previous' and 'next' buttons designed for the MPI
  • Quotations
    • Rewrote the status bar in CSS code to better integrate it into the site's design
  • Links
    • Added two new links
  • Medieval History Submissions
    • Updated the timeline submissions form
  • Front (Home) Page
    • Slightly increased size of red text to make it more readable
    • Modified text in the medieval quotations box to more accurately display in non-IE browsers
  • Fixed Flash components (quick links and updates)
  • Added scripts and a new page to direct visitors in the event that the site's databases once again go down while the site's Web server remains up
  • Cleaned up scripting throughout the medieval history section
  • Performed some graphical improvements and alterations
  • Added code in an attempt to make user input more secure
  • Improved MPI topic search function so that it can now look for singular forms when plural forms are entered (in some cases)
  • Rewrote the CSS code for the site information box on the front page of the site
  • Joined a history Web ring and added it to the site affiliates page

01.02.05

  • Added a new quizzes area to the medieval history section
    • Area includes three quizzes: General Medieval Knowledge, The Carolingians, and Vocabulary Quiz 1
  • Added a quiz question submission form
  • Added recently coded PHP validation to forms
  • Added an archival area that contains older version history information and some older site content
  • Added an updates area to the top banner (accessible through a link in the quick links area)
  • Updated title header with a new (more realistic) tower design
  • Removed title header's holiday snow effect and holiday banner
  • Changed the name of the resources and links section to the links section
  • Updated all of the site's forms once again
  • Removed JavaScript hyperlink effect
  • Darkened cobblestone background image for easier viewing of pages
  • Changed pages to full justification throughout the site
  • Fixed forums' registration page
  • Fixed date scripting issue in the quick links header area
  • Updated the site affiliates page and the forums' site affiliates dropdown