[API Repository] Keeping up-to-date with my favorite scripts

What is the best way to get alerts when scripts I'm using are updated? With threads expiring after a certain inactive period, causing new threads to spin up, I find it difficult to follow where a particular script project is in development or when it gets updated. I found the API Repository , which is nice, but it I would have to create a GitHub account and "watch" the page I guess, and it doesn't list some of the scripts I use heavily...like PowerCards. Does the Roll20 staff think it makes sense to direct folks away from their tool/site? It's a fair question. I'd prefer to see a listing ( something like this one ), but with more pertinent information about each script for the user community (perhaps in a table format?). I see the script child pages have some of the info, example info block: Author: Aaron C. M. Version: 0.31 Last Modified: 2015-02-01 Code: UsePower Dependencies: IsGM Conflicts: None But what about whether it not it's in the Script Library, whether or not it's Officially Supported (by Roll20 Devs) or Community Supported (and perhaps have a 6mo timer in case the developer(s) lose interest), etc. Perhaps just turn that API:Script Index page into one or more tables and add the info block details from each script sub-page to it. Also, why don't I see PowerCards listed on that page? Is there some criteria that must be met before it can be on that page, or is it because the developer didn't add it to the page? I'm sure if you're heavily engaged on the API side it may be obvious where to go and how to keep up-to-date, but for non-scripters, occasional users, and those of us who just don't have the time to stay current with everything...it's quite frustrating. Anyway, thanks for any assistance, and for considering my suggestions.

The repository you've linked to is official. That's the place a script has to go in order to be available as a one-click install. IIRC, the reason Power Cards isn't there is because the author doesn't want to release his code under the MIT open source license, which is required for everything submitted to the repo. As for the wiki, you're aware anyone can edit it, right? =)

You've stumbled onto a somewhat complicated topic. There are basically several places you'll find scripts: 1) The 1-Click Scripts -- The ideal location for users in most cases.  These scripts are all in the official repo, have properly filled out script.json files describing them, are in the right format in the repo, and have had their authors request to have them included. 2) The Official Repo -- All scripts that have been submitted to the official repo, but not necessarily included in 1-click.  1-Click was added about a year or so after the official repo was created and not all scripts in it have been migrated or updated to work with 1-Click. 3) Other GitHub Repos -- Various contributors have their scripts in their own repos. All of my scripts are in my own repo immediately and are in the official repo when they get pulled (on a 1-2 week cycle depending on how busy the devs are) 4) The API Forum -- Posts generally happen here announcing new scripts, or discussing changes or additions.  I often post little 1-off fixes for problems people have (Snippets, I call them).  Some people only post their scripts here (PowerCards, for example). 5) The Wiki Script Index -- This was something Brian and I started several years ago which has really been obviated with the official repo.  Probably we should remove or at least mark it as deprecated. Mostly, it would be great to get everything in the 1-clicks, but some things don't work well with that.  Github, as you alluded to, is not the most user friendly thing, and git itself is hard to understand without some programming background.  Pretty much all of the API scripts are community contributed by individuals with varying amounts of programming experience. How you stay up-to-date with scripts will vary a bit with where they are.   For 1-click scripts, simply installing it means you always have the most up-to-date version.  For scripts you use, this is probably something to push the developer of the script to do (I'll try and get that done with RecursiveTable soon...). For scripts in a GitHub repo, subscribing to the repo will let you know when files are updated in it.  You'd then need to check if the files you're interested in have changed. For the API, subscribing to the thread is about the only option you have, along with watching the forum for new posts. (RecursiveTable you might notice was posted originally a year or so ago, and the new thread is just that, new) For the Wiki.... just ignore that thing...  =D

Brian said: IIRC, the reason Power Cards isn't there is because the author doesn't want to release his code under the MIT open source license, which is required for everything submitted to the repo. Actually, you're thinking of the author of Tracker Jacker.  HB would put his stuff in there... I was supposed to help with that... I should drive up and help... he's only an hour north...

Brian said: As for the wiki, you're aware anyone can edit it, right? =) Thanks Brian for the reply. I was aware I could add to the wiki, but I guess I'm quite hesitant to update a major API listing page with "what I think" or "what's helpful to me" fearing it might be the wrong approach.

I really think we should just mothball that set of pages...

though it looks like people are still editing it...

The Aaron said: Brian said: IIRC, the reason Power Cards isn't there is because the author doesn't want to release his code under the MIT open source license, which is required for everything submitted to the repo. Actually, you're thinking of the author of Tracker Jacker. &nbsp;HB would put his stuff in there... I was supposed to help with that... I should drive up and help... he's only an hour north... Brian: &nbsp;<a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/1521460/" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/1521460/</a> &nbsp;=D

Ha, just noticed who the last person to post on that thread was. =D

Yeah, I'm lazy and don't use PowerCards anymore for my own games... haven't for several years, but I kept updating it.

The Aaron said: [....] For scripts in a GitHub repo, subscribing to the repo will let you know when files are updated in it. &nbsp;You'd then need to check if the files you're interested in have changed. I threw together a simple bash script that I run every now and then. It will pick the scripts that I'm using from my local clone of the Github repo and combine them into one&nbsp;humongous script. Then I only have to update one script (which I normally do after our bi-weekly session, so I have time to sort things out if something suddenly stopped working). The script is not really beautiful or elegant, but it's proven to be a real time saver. &nbsp;I can share it if you're interested. I'm sure The Aaron could come up with something more sophisticated, git based, gulp driven, that does all of that automatically. A deploy script for the rest of us... ;)

I was on the verge of writing a Chrome Extension that did that when the 1-click was released...

The Aaron said: You've stumbled onto a somewhat complicated topic. There are basically several places you'll find scripts: ... ... ... For the Wiki.... just ignore that thing... &nbsp;=D The Aaron, thank you very much for taking the time to type up a fairly comprehensive reply. It looks like you helped make my point....things are a mess and it's not easy for the common Roll20 user to figure out the where/how. I believe this to be a business decision that Richard, Nolan, and Riley should take a close look at. I imagine that the ratio of users creating scripts vs. those using what's been created is pretty lopsided in favor of the latter. If they're trying to drive sales for Pro level (for which the API access is a big perk, and the target market is both creators and users of API scripts that enhance "the tool" in a number of fantastic ways), then making the 1-Click solution bigger and better than it currently is seems pretty important. I know it's not an easy problem to solve, but I am quite certain that there are enough brains to combine into an elder brain to figure it out. If I look a bit deeper into what you wrote, part of problem seems to be lack of motivation for script authors to work with the dev team to make their scripts compatible with 1-Click. If that's a fair deduction, why not provide some motivation....like a 1-yr Pro subscription? $120 seems pretty cheap compared to the number of Pro subscriptions a robust, "feature rich" 1-Click library would generate. You said, "...ignore that thing." I'm guessing that comes from seeing it as something that gets little to no attention. Instead, how do we make it better...make it THE place to go to for script details? Or if you truly feel it's not the right approach, help push for something better. I'll reiterate that I feel whatever that "something better" is, it should at least be part of the site, if not part of "the tool" itself. What about an API Script Compendium accessible from within the game? You mentioned time being an issue (isn't it always). If R-N-R (see what I did there...HA!) agree with my points earlier, then I'm sure they'll figure out how to reallocate dev resources to getting it done.....less time on the forum?....hire more resources? If my points are not...on point, then we'll continue along like we have been, and I'll still have fun using the tool. I've rambled long enough. Thanks for your support and great scripts The Aaron. Thanks to all you great scripters in the community. And thanks R-N-R for such a great tool. Cheers! :)

The Aaron said: I was on the verge of writing a Chrome Extension that did that when the 1-click was released... Why am I not surprised? Oh well, I actually am. I thought you'd reply with a "Well, here is my Roll20Deploy solution in v0.4.27. There are still some rough edges, mainly with the interface (which is always the hardest part!), that's why I haven't published it yet, but you can find it here at github. Happy Rolling!" SCNR O:)

Arthur B said: Why am I not surprised? Oh well, I actually am. I thought you'd reply with a "Well, here is my Roll20Deploy solution in v0.4.27. There are still some rough edges, mainly with the interface (which is always the hardest part!), that's why I haven't published it yet, but you can find it here at github. Happy Rolling!" SCNR O:) I'm not saying I haven't prototyped something that would be an improvement... just that I haven't had time to write it. =D WWQuicksilver said: The Aaron said: You've stumbled onto a somewhat complicated topic. There are basically several places you'll find scripts: ... ... ... For the Wiki.... just ignore that thing... &nbsp;=D The Aaron, thank you very much for taking the time to type up a fairly comprehensive reply.... The reason I don't like the wiki approach is that it required manual interaction to setup and maintain. &nbsp;Someone has to go to the page and make changes when they release a script or change it, and it's very far removed from where the script and the use of the script are. &nbsp;At the time, it was better than what we had, which was a stickied post in API that only the original author could edit and which had been closed due to inactivity long before. &nbsp;For a while, I maintained that (Moderator tools FTW), but then it was still one person making changes to the forum thread. &nbsp;The wiki was an idea to get more people involved in documenting the API scripts and make it easier to find them (people might be on the wiki more than the forum, and it had search which the forum lacked at the time)). &nbsp;With the advent of the official repo, it provided a centralized place for scripts to be sent. &nbsp;Basically, mature scripts would get put in the repo, most of the time. &nbsp;The scripts could have a README.md which described them, and would be (ostensibly) as up-to-date as the script checked in with it. &nbsp;That was a step in a good direction. However, the more process you add, the more people you cut out, so there is a balance of people who put things in the repo (a bit of a technical process) and people who don't (because it's too technical, or too much of a hassle, or some other reason). &nbsp;Finally to the 1-click. &nbsp;1-click is pretty new in the grand scheme of things, and it follows the same story as the repo. &nbsp;Getting things in 1-click requires just a little bit more and eliminates a few more people. I say all that to say that any perfect solution will need to perfectly address all the imperfections. =D &nbsp; For me, the gating factor is my desire to "do it the right way", (or as my brother says "better is the enemy of good enough"). &nbsp;I want my deploy process to handle the necessary details of getting scripts in 1-click (Documentation, configuration, etc). &nbsp;To do that, I've been rewriting my deploy script, but I also need to change the way I write scripts, and then migrate all my scripts into this new way of working, etc... &nbsp; See what I'm saying? Now I'M the one rambling. =D Anyway, incentivizing people is a reasonable thing to do at some level, but might not be completely effective. &nbsp;For one thing, should you incentivize someone getting this script in 1-click? on('ready',() =&gt; sendChat('API Watch','/w gm API Restarted')); Definitely useful, and some people would want an easy way to do that. &nbsp;But is it worth a year's subscription? &nbsp;Who makes that call? &nbsp;What about a dice roller for a homebrew game that only 7 people in the world play? &nbsp;Might be the greatest and most well written roller ever, but if only 7 people will use it, and they already are, what is your year's subscription cost buying you? Maybe you tie to the volume of scripts someone commits? &nbsp;And then you get 600 scripts that tell you a die of a particular size was rolled. &nbsp;(This is starting to remind me of that Economist tale about Russian nail factories...) Anyway, incentivizing brings in a whole bunch of administrative problems. &nbsp;Making it easy to "do the right thing" is probably time better spent. &nbsp;I imagine there is a solution, and I'd probably advocate something that makes it easier for script authors to get their scripts into 1-click, no matter their technical level. &nbsp;Probably the best incentive currently is the Patreon linking, maybe making that a bit more prominent, or even just documenting the process a bit better. &nbsp;I don't think there is a wiki on it yet... I should probably write one.. just as soon as I get these scripts in the 1-click....

The Aaron said: Anyway, incentivizing brings in a whole bunch of administrative problems. The obvious solution is profile badges. Here's a screenshot from my profile page at work: Those range from "my username is my first and last name", to participating in an email thread with &gt;100 messages, to launching something. And there are people here with many &nbsp;more rows of badges the me. (There's even a badge for having enough badges to exactly fill a set of rows of badges, so that your list of badges no longer perfectly fill the rows. :V)

BADGES???!??! &nbsp;WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING BADGES!!!!!! &nbsp;=D

I want that DJ PON3 badge.

Brian said: "my username is my first and last name" Favorite. Badge. Ever.