In this meeting, the State Changers discussed how to effectively manage and present the intricate database relationships present in their system, which is built to connect artists, nonprofit organizations, and patrons. Specifically, they debated whether to horizontally tie data elements together or nest data points within each other. The consensus was to initially go for a "breadth rather than depth" methodology as it is easier to navigate wide data than deep, nested data.
The system, which appears to operate using JavaScript and possibly the platform Xano, checks whether user submissions are genuine by requesting a small donation to a nonprofit. The system conceptually maps the artists, their art, and the corresponding donations from nonprofits and businesses, turning these separate actions into a harmonious process. A significant part of the meeting involved troubleshooting a slideshow display problem. The arrows for navigation in the slide were not visible, and there was an unusually large open space between each slide. This issue was traced to a CSS dimension problem: a container was surprisingly large at 5000 px. Although a solution remained elusive, it was suggested that other carousels could provide relevant insight or could be a better fit for the platform. The State Changers agreed that they should only optimize the system for performance after identifying any bottlenecks. This way, they could ensure the design remained flexible and easy to understand, which could help when the data points start to increase in complexity.
(Source: Office Hours 1/12 )
