I have finally bitten the bullet and put out version 1.0 of WordBay. Partly I just ran out of version numbers (if you ever looked for some logic in them, don’t, there ain’t none), partly I feel it is high time a respectable plugin like WordBay got a respectable version number.
WordBay now has a very solid user base, with some 2400 downloads during its lifetime (though not 2400 active users, I hasten to add!) and I feel that it is stable enough to be promoted to a one-digit version number. Since the last version there have been no bugs reported, at least not related directly to the plugin, so I feel fairly safe.
Many thanks to all the users who have made suggestions, reported bugs, helped me test and even written some bits of code! A special thanks also goes to those generous folks that have cut me in on a percentage of their revenue, however small, and helped me stay motivated - it’s usually when I get a little spike in my EPN earnings, due to a commission shared by a user, that I decide to set aside a few hours to work on WordBay.
This version is not critical, there are no major changes in functionality so you do not need to download it - it is more symbolic really. I just tidied up a few bits of code and clarified some instructions in the backend which were a little out of date.
Thanks again for the support, and one more thing I might ask you: why not go to the WordBay download page and give the plugin your objective rating 
It hasn’t had many votes considering the number of downloads.
All the best, and keep earning with EPN and WordBay!
Posted on March 12th, 2009 by markowe
Filed under: Uncategorized
That’s great Mark. Wordbay definitely deserves a praise! Thank your for this product and your communications with me over the weeks. Now I just hope that soon there will be a “real” release that enables country and listing number to be specified for single posts. If you don’t have enough time on your hands I can definitely understand that. Unfortunately I’m not that apt with coding….maybe somebody else here/ out there can help? I would appreciate it.
Thanks Dennis.
Yes, the per-post settings thing is now becoming a major priority. I have thought of a fairly simple way of doing it, but if we also want to have the possibility of including several separate “listings units” within a post, that will sort of clash. I have to think of an elegant way of implementing both together, which might not be so simple…
I will try to devote some time to this very soon! Help always appreciated, but I guess I started this, so I ought to see it through!
Separate listing units sounds really cool too but I think more important are the “simpler” per post-settings. At least to me. Let me ask you though: Does that mean you could have several different listings in one post and in between text?
Dennis, yes, the idea would be to implement multiple listings per post, as you say, i.e. throughout the text (which would be cool, you could practically use it like a little ad unit - like AuctionAds only better
)
Thing is, if we did per-page settings for the plugin I would have to make some kind of compromise - we could use the “Custom Fields” that Wordpress offers (on “Write post/page”) and the user could put what settings he/she wanted in there, but then if we had multiple listings you wouldn’t be able to specify separate settings for each one, unless they had some kind of ID no. too, which is getting really complicated!
Alternatively, instead of using custom fields we could do something with the tags, like some people have suggested, like:
[wordbay:10:43:1000]sea fishing tackle[/wordbay]
…so each occurrence would have its own parameters. But that’s complicated too, if I wanted to include a lot of parameters, the user would have real trouble remembering which was which.
I’ll think about it…! It’s certainly on my list!
I like the idea of setting the parameters inside the tags a lot better. That way you can easily place listings throughout your post the way you like it. I would keep the parameters simple and just offer a few. Such as country id, number of auctions, highest bid first, ending soonest first.
You’re right, placing an auction here and there in a page could make for really nice illustration instead of just having a list appear somewhere. Right now I’m putting extra images in the top of my posts while wordbay shows at the bottom.