musiqpad

An open-sourced alternative to Dubtrack & plug.dj!

[musiqpad]

Get Your Own Pad Now!

Ok ok ok, so we’re a little slow on updating the blog! Anyway for those of you who don’t know, we released our code on github! Yes it is pretty technical, but if you’re up for the challenge get started here! Also the best place to stay up-to-date on all things #musiqpad is Facebook and Twitter! 

[musiqpad]

New API

For those of you who know what to do with this, here's our newest client API documentation https://musiqpad.com/api.html # musiqpad #socialmusic #plugdj #ttfm #dubtrack #beatsense

[musiqpad]

Self-Hosting Is (Almost) Here!

Thanks for all of your support during our first few months, we’re excited to bring the next phase of our project to life!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

So we’ve been hard at work getting our code up to snuff so we can allow you all to self-host  pads. We’re almost ready to release that code and in anticipation of that, we are going to reset the databases. Since we told you all to try out musiqpad using any valid email format, we realize many of you didn’t use an email you actually own. We felt the best way to move forward is to have you all sign up with an email you own.

Obviously this means the playlists and usernames you’ve been using on our welcome pads will not be saved by our servers. This means if you want to keep the playlists you’ve created during our initial alpha stage, PLEASE DOWNLOAD THEM NOW. The tools you need to do so are already built into the site. If you need help, please let us know!

We will most likely release the code to our GitHub account this Saturday, with the database reset occurring before this. Please come in and download your playlists BY FRIDAY, MARCH 4TH. Once the databases are reset, you will all need to register again using an email you have access to (so we can help you recover your password if you forget it).

As for self-hosting, we will provide documentation to help you get up and running soon. Once we do, feel free to contribute by posting issues and proposing pull requests. We’re looking forward to all of your contributions!

[musiqpad]

Musiqpad Alpha Version 0.2 Changelog

Hi everyone! we’ve pushed out some new updates, bringing us to Alpha version 2.0. Here is the changelog:

Version 0.2 - 9th Feb 2016

[Features]

Playlist Import (musiqpad, YouTube & Plug.DJ)

Playlist Export

Playlist Name Editing

Playlist Shuffle Button

Force Badge for Role

Banned & Current DJ Specific Badge

Improved and Additional Settings

Toggle Emojis

Auto Show Inline Images

Toggle Mention Sounds

Leave Confirmation

Extra Emoji Categories

Regular

Twitch.TV

BetterTTV

Tastycat

Chat Message Limit (Number of messages shown)

Time Format (12hr/24hr)

Song Advance InfoUser Join/Leave Messages

Chat History (Server Config to show the last X messages on pad join)

History Filter (Search History by DJ, Title and YouTube Video ID)

Signup Captcha

Dragable Player (Right Click to reset)

Auto Complete Commands

Added Hotkeys (The following will only work if a text box is not selected)

Plus Key = Volume Up

Minus Key = Volume Down

M = Mute/Unmute Toggle

L = Lobby

S = Settings

P = Playlists

H = History

Backspace Key = Disabled to prevent accidental navigation

New Inline Image Types

YouTube Videos

prntscr.com

giphy.com/gifs

500px.com

pixabay.com

flickr.com

Emote List

Staff Chat (Use '/s message')

Basic PM Implementation '/pm user message'

Password Recovery

[Bugs]

Fixed Guests being unable to see chat

Now Shows Ban Reason to the Banned User

Fixed Visibility of Mod Tools to Regular User

Grab Song Multiple Times

Version 0.1 - 16th Jan 2016

Initial Release

[musiqpad]

Open Alpha FAQs Part 2

Hi everyone! We’ve been getting a few questions from our users since launching our open alpha that we’d like to address here. Hopefully this will provide you with some answers! 

Why should I use musiqpad instead of the other sites out there?

We realize there are some other alternatives to musiqpad. We’re not saying what we are doing is the best, but we do believe in our model. If you’re reading this FAQ, then odds are you’re passionate about the social music platform, as is our team. Having lived through the demise of Turntable.fm, Grooveshark, Soundrop, plug.dj, Thisismyjam and others we’ve come to the conclusion that there is never going to be longevity when relying on any company for social music. Many of us have built up friendships over the years, and when these sites go offline our lives are often never the same. OK so why use musiqpad? Simple. Permanence. You own the server your pad is hosted on. As long as you maintain your server, you will never have to make another move. This is the last migration you will ever have to make. Is the musiqpad model perfect? No. We will probably never have the diversity of rooms of a plug or dubtrack, but we will have permanence. Also keep in mind we will be releasing our code publicly once we are finished so it will be available for everyone! 

Why do I need a new account for each pad I visit?

As it stands now, each pad is hosted independently. This means data is not shared across pads. Part of what we are doing now is to work on this sharing of databases among the various pads. It’s not an easy task however, since we must take self-hosted pads into consideration as well. 

When will I be able to make my own pad?

As we stated in the above question, we are currently working on how each pad shares its data with other pads. Once we are confident that this has been accomplished with most of the bugs worked out, we’ll move on to users being able to create (and host) their own pads. 

Will I have to pay to use musiqpad?

Musiqpad is free for users. If you would like to own a pad however, there are costs. If you have the skills, you can self-host a pad. The costs of self-hosting a pad would obviously vary on your particular setup. If you don’t have the tech skills to host your own pad, we will provide a hosting service. We are still evaluating the costs of our hosting service, but be assured it will be reasonable. We are not developing musiqpad to make money, we just believe that this format is the most sustainable.

Who are the developers? 

Front-end:

marciano - lead developer

caipira

thebanhammer

Back-end

derpgoncz - lead developer

foodbandlt

thebanhammer

caipira

Desktop Client

thebanhammer - lead developer

marciano

caipira

Social Media

chadzilla - manager

colin

jdubb

The rest of our staff includes:

burkes - killmesoftly - mycto - captainslope - funky - igor - margotron - raptorjeebus - that_random_guy

Please be sure to say hi if you see them online!

I’d like to help! I’m a kickass code monkey!  

Thanks for your interest in helping out! At this time we are not currently adding new members to our staff to make keeping everybody on the same page easier. If this changes, we’ll be sure to put out the word!

What do the colored names mean? 

Each color corresponds to staff roles. There are currently five roles: Owner (orange); Co-Owner (green); Supervisor (blue); Bot (pink); Regular (purple); no role (white). The ring around the badge will denote staff role as well.

[musiqpad]

Open Alpha is Here!

Wooooohooo! Our open alpha site is ready for launch! Here’s the address to our lobby. From here you can join any of the pads we have available for our launch. Just make an account with any email. This doesn’t have to be a real email account, just in valid email format ([email protected], for example). PLEASE NOTE: this is alpha and therefore not all functions are working perfectly! Also, don’t get too attached to your account and playlists, as we will most likely be erasing the database when we move on to the beta version. We hope you like our work!

[musiqpad]

Long time no see! Sorry about that! Anyway, we’re opening up our alpha site today. In anticipation of that, we’ve made a ‘How-To’ video explaining how to use the site. Enjoy and see you soon!

[musiqpad]

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

What is musiqpad?

Musiqpad is a social-music software platform for users to host their own 'pads' (rooms). Each individual pad will do the hosting and you will be able to connect your pad to our central lounge (lobby) to allow other people to join and jam with you. More information can be found here.

Where are these pads hosted?

The pads can be hosted locally on your computer, you could host your pad on a VPS. We are also working on pricing if you’d like us to do the hosting!

Will you allow some kind of third-party modifications for custom-owned pads?

Musiqpad is an open-source project. This means that anyone will be able to modify the code, however the base will be working even if the code remains un-edited by third parties.

Do you directly connect to the server with your web browser or is it a JavaScript/whatever from the lobby that connects to the server? In other words, can the HTML code be edited as well from the position of a pad owner?

Everything you need in order for you to have your own pad + UI will be available on GitHub to allow you to fully customise it. The pad owner hosts the front-end on their own if they decide to host a server. The central server redirects users to the address that the pad is hosted at.

Is it going to have those childish dancing dolls, a.k.a avatars?

That’s a funny question. And the answer is no. Avatars would make our project look like a game and we’re all about the music.

Why the name ‘musiqpad’?

We chose the name for a number of reasons. First, we want music to be the focal point of this project and so the name had to have 'music' in it (spelled with a 'q' because well, why not??). Next, we were looking for a name that conjures up an image of "hanging out". For some English speakers a 'pad' can refer to a home or hangout spot. Also 'pad' makes us think of launchpads, which again goes back to the focus on music. Lastly, the 'qp' part of the name looked like earbuds to us. So musiqpad is a place for you to come and hang out with your friends and listen to music! Deep, huh?

So what's an alpha release?

Alpha means we've gotten most of the major bugs taken care of, but not all of them! That being said, there WILL be errors and bugs. Also please don't get too attached to your account or playlists. We will most like wipe the database clean when we move onto beta!

Is there a way I can give you my feedback?

Yes! If you want us to see your feedback, just send it using this form

Why should I use musiqpad instead of the other sites out there?

We realize there are some other alternatives to musiqpad. We’re not saying what we are doing is the best, but we do believe in our model. If you’re reading this FAQ, then odds are you’re passionate about the social music platform, as is our team. Having lived through the demise of Turntable.fm, Grooveshark, Soundrop, plug.dj, Thisismyjam and others we’ve come to the conclusion that there is never going to be longevity when relying on any company for social music. Many of us have built up friendships over the years, and when these sites go offline our lives are often never the same. OK so why use musiqpad? Simple. Permanence. You own the server your pad is hosted on. As long as you maintain your server, you will never have to make another move. This is the last migration you will ever have to make. Is the musiqpad model perfect? No. We will probably never have the diversity of rooms of a plug or dubtrack, but we will have permanence. Also keep in mind we will be releasing our code publicly once we are finished so it will be available for everyone!

Why do I need a new account for each pad I visit?

As it stands now, each pad is hosted independently. This means data is not shared across pads. Part of what we are doing now is to work on this sharing of databases among the various pads. It’s not an easy task however, since we must take self-hosted pads into consideration as well.

When will I be able to make my own pad?

As we stated in the above question, we are currently working on how each pad shares its data with other pads. Once we are confident that this has been accomplished with most of the bugs worked out, we’ll move on to users being able to create (and host) their own pads.

Will I have to pay to use musiqpad?

Musiqpad is free for users. If you would like to own a pad however, there are costs. If you have the skills, you can self-host a pad. The costs of self-hosting a pad would obviously vary on your particular setup. If you don’t have the tech skills to host your own pad, we will provide a hosting service. We are still evaluating the costs of our hosting service, but be assured it will be reasonable. We are not developing musiqpad to make money, we just believe that this format is the most sustainable.

Who are the developers?

Front-end:

marciano -- lead developer

caipira

thebanhammer

Back-end

derpgoncz --  lead developer

foodbandlt

thebanhammer

caipira

Desktop Client

thebanhammer -- lead developer

marciano

caipira

The rest of our staff includes:

burkes; captainslope; chadzilla; colin; funky; igor; jdubb; killmesoftly; margotron; mycto; raptorjeebus; that_random_guy. Please be sure to say hi if you see them online!

I’d like to help! I’m a kickass code monkey!  

Thanks for your interest in helping out! At this time we are not currently adding new members to our staff to make keeping everybody on the same page easier. If this changes, we’ll be sure to put out the word!

What do the colored names mean?

Each color corresponds to staff roles. There are currently five roles: Owner (orange); Co-Owner (green); Supervisor (blue); Bot (pink); Regular (purple); no role (white). The ring around the badge will denote staff role as well.

[musiqpad]

Coding Soundtrack

We’re hard at work coding your new favorite social music site, but we have to listen to something while we’re at it right?? Our staff has put together a playlist of their favorite songs to code to! Enjoy!

[musiqpad]

Who are we?

So what is musiqpad and who is developing it? Let's start by saying we don't want to be a new plug.dj nor Turntable.fm. Our main purpose is to continue the vision established by these trail-blazers. Having endured the closing down of both of these sites, our team decided it was time to try a new approach. Our approach will be to provide a software platform for users to host their own 'pads' (rooms). No more wondering how many months your favorite music site will be in business, since individual pads will do the hosting! You'll also be able to connect your pad to our central lounge (lobby) so that others will be able to join and jam with you.

Our User Interface will be simple and clean - no more points or avatars - so you can listen at work without having to hide your screen. We are focused solely on the music and the chat (which makes social music so unique and fun!), and not on the whimsy of points and dancing bears.

As for the musiqpad team, we are ex-TT and plug users from all over the world. We have a passion for social music and are committed to keeping the format alive! This platform is so fun and unique, it would be a shame for it to disappear.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/musiqpad Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/musiqpad Github: https://github.com/musiqpad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musiqpad

Try us at https://musiqpad/com/lounge