October 2020 Blog Entry

blog/2025-11-01-october-update/index.md

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+---
+title: October 2025 News
+slug: october-2025-update
+date: 2025-11-09T15:06
+authors: [ bpepple ]
+tags: [ comic, metron, opencollective ]
+---
+
+# October 2025 News
+
+## Monthly Statistics
+
+During October the [Metron Project](https://metron.cloud/) added the following to its database:
+
+- Users: **27**
+- Issues: **940**
+- Creators: **83**
+- Characters: **462**
+
+Thanks to everyone that contributed!
+
+## Website Changes
+
+I spent most of the month working on improvements to the site.
+
+### Major Features
+
+#### Wiki Integration
+One of the most substantial additions to Metron is the integration of **django-wiki** ([#403](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/403)), replacing the previous flatpages system. This enhancement includes:
+- A wiki with article creation, editing, and history tracking
+- Custom Bulma CSS styling for all wiki templates with dark mode support
+- Support for attachments and images through wiki plugins
+
+I've copied over the information from the old flat pages, but work still needs to be done on adding information that is of use to our users.
+
+#### Performance Optimizations for Detail Views
+A fairly comprehensive performance overhaul ([#412](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/412)) dramatically improved page load times across all detail views:
+- Implemented lazy loading for related resources using HTMX
+- Added `prefetch_related()` and `select_related()` to reduce database queries
+- Created reusable `LazyLoadMixin` to eliminate code duplication
+- Added count annotations to replace separate COUNT queries
+- Introduced pagination for related items on detail pages
+
+#### Edit History Tracking
+The project now includes comprehensive edit history tracking using **django-simple-history** ([#392](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/392)) compared to our fairly hacky prior implementation:
+- Historical records for all major models (arcs, characters, creators, issues, publishers, series, teams, universes)
+- Dedicated history views showing who edited what and when
+- Improved data audit trail
+
+### Feature Enhancements
+
+#### Issue Credit Duplication
+Added a convenient feature to duplicate issue credits ([#411](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/411)), streamlining the workflow when creating issues with similar creative teams.
+
+#### Variant Price Support
+Extended the variant model to support price information ([#391](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/391)), including price and currency fields.
+
+#### Money Field Migration
+Migrated the Issue price field to use proper MoneyField ([#390](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/390)) using a multi-step database migrations:
+- Currency support with custom widget for price entry
+- Safe data migration preserving existing price information
+- Enhanced API serialization for price data
+
+#### Reprint Story Management
+Added functionality to sync characters, teams, and story titles to collections ([#372](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/372), [#373](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/373)) from the issues being reprinted which should make it a bit easier to add collected editions.
+
+### Code Quality Improvements
+
+#### Refactoring Efforts
+A bunch of refactoring was done to improve code maintainability:
+- **Model refactoring** ([#409](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/409)): Cleaned up model properties and methods
+- **View refactoring** ([#407](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/407)): Introduced constants and mixins for DRY code
+- **API refactoring** ([#406](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/406), [#405](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/405)): Streamlined serializers across all endpoints
+- **Template refactoring** ([#374](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/374), [#375](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/375)): Reorganized templates with new partial system and improved Bulma CSS integration
+
+#### Query Optimization
+Optimized database querysets across all major views ([#408](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/408)) using `select_related()` and `prefetch_related()` to reduce N+1 query problems.
+
+#### Testing
+Added comprehensive test coverage:
+- README files for test directories ([#404](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/404))
+- ForeignKey history tracking tests
+- Improved test fixtures and factories
+
+### User Experience Improvements
+
+#### Template Modernization
+Significant template improvements focused on consistency and usability:
+- Introduced reusable partials for forms, pagination, and card grids
+- Enhanced empty states and error messages
+- Improved mobile responsiveness
+
+#### UI/UX Enhancements
+- User profile pages now show contribution statistics
+- Better icon consistency across the interface
+- Improved text contrast for accessibility
+- Integration of Bulma Calendar for date inputs
+
+### Infrastructure & Dependencies
+
+#### Django Updates
+- Updated to **Django 5.2.7** ([#371](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/371)) and subsequent patch releases
+- Added **django-money** for proper currency handling
+- Integrated **django-htmx** for performance optimizations
+
+#### Code Quality Tools
+- Updated pre-commit hooks and code formatting rules ([#401](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/401))
+- Enforced consistent code style with djlint and ruff
+
+### API Improvements
+
+- Enhanced pagination schema definitions ([#398](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/398)) (Artem Ryabkov)
+- Improved serializers for better API response efficiency
+- Fixed edge cases in various API endpoints
+
+### Bug Fixes & Minor Improvements
+
+- Fixed template rendering for mobile devices ([#395](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/395))
+- Improved empty state handling ([#399](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/pull/399))
+- Enhanced form validation and error handling
+- Better currency display in API responses
+- Fixed various template formatting issues
+
+## Future Plans
+
+I've started to think about what I'd like to work on next year, and the big item is to reduce the project reliance on me. In particular, I want to address:
+
+### Financial Independence
+
+  Over the past six years, I've covered the hosting costs and related expenses (domain registration, email services, etc.). Recently, I've started drawing from the project's [OpenCollective](https://opencollective.com/metron) funds, which currently provide approximately 11 months of runway at our current capacity.
+
+  **The Goal:** Build a sustainable funding base through many small contributions ($2-$5/month) rather than relying on a few large donors. This distributes the financial responsibility and ensures the project's long-term stability.
+
+  **How You Can Help:**
+  - Share ideas for attracting recurring financial supporters
+  - Suggest ways to recognize and thank contributors (I'm considering adding [OpenCollective widgets](https://documentation.opencollective.com/collectives/raising-money/adding-donation-buttons-badges-and-banners) to the site)
+  - Spread the word about the project's funding needs
+
+  If you have suggestions or feedback, please reach out!
+
+### Governance
+
+  As the project has grown, so has the need to evolve from a single-person decision-making model to a more collaborative governance structure. While centralized decision-making worked well in the early days, enabling quick iterations and changes, but as the project has matured it make sense to add more leadership.
+
+  **Why Change:** Distributing governance responsibilities will:
+  - Bring diverse perspectives to project decisions
+  - Reduce dependency on a single maintainer
+  - Create more opportunities for community involvement
+  - Ensure the project's continuity and resilience
+
+  **Next Steps:** I'm researching governance models from similar projects, particularly the [Grand Comics Database (GCD)](https://www.comics.org/), to understand what structures work well for community-driven comic databases. My experience with [Fedora Project](https://fedoraproject.org/) governance provides a foundation, though Metron likely needs a different, more streamlined approach given our scope and community size.
+
+  I'll be starting a discussion thread on our [GitHub Discussions page](https://github.com/Metron-Project/metron/discussions) soon. If you're interested in helping shape Metron's governance structure, please join the conversation or reach out directly.
+
+## OpenCollective
+
+If you would like to help keep the lights on at the project, we have an account at [Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/metron) to defray the servers costs and help with increasing future server capacity.
+
+Anyway, I think that everything for this month! Take care.