Have you tried Google Slides? Not sure about the hotspots thing tbh, but doesn't require any account at all to view, AFAIK.
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Yeah, like most of Google docs, it pretty much sucks. What they do have is mostly a basic, straight copy of Powerpoint, but with all of the advanced features removed. It's just slides (although they did finally add some animations). I found an add-on called MagicLink for Google Slides, but it only links to files in Google Drive (not URLs) and it's its own type of object...you can't tie the links to an empty graphic object, which is what I really want to do to create hot spots on a larger graphic in the background.
Thanks for the idea, though, but yeah, I've tested like 3-4 other slide tools and none of them have even 25% of the functionality of Powerpoint. I guess there's a good reason that it's the defacto standard...it's just actually a lot better than everything else.
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grez, there was an "advent calendar", a graphical one, obviously not hosted here, that had huge success here... can't find it anymore :(
any of you remember that awesome "thing"?
edit:
was this one...? https://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/rv4YH/steamgifts-community-christmas-calendar-2017-its-over
i remember was hosted elsewhere, and every day there was something new, plus music!
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Yeah, that thing was great. But I have a feeling that the tool just specifically makes advent calendars. I don't want it to be that obvious where to click and I want to be able to use a totally custom background. Still, a good idea, and I'd love to be wrong about my assumptions of the narrowness of the tool, because the result was really nice.
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thought that was an... image map, really old stuff that i hardly remember :D
just googled a bit, tho, and there's also online tools that should help you a lot (was checking this one)
btw, idea and work (i think) was by MachinesAreHuman, and you should also be aware of this:
In the last two days we had 5382 pageviews and 6.3gb traffic! :)
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Hmmmm...very good idea. I had thought of image maps, but since I'm looking at multiple pages, I was kind of going "well, now I have to host the page somewhere, and then I'll need to build links [although in reality, it could probably be all one page with scrolling], and then I have to write the code for the image map." But the utility you found looks like it might largely do away with the hassle of that last bit. I'll definitely think about it. Although, it looks like another person had good luck with a test they did with Powerpoint, so we might be ok after all.
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i will read this later, but first: thinking to make a thread like "SteamGifts Labs" where we can share our ideas for new ways of doing giveaways.
...that's why i love you! :P
edit: any further click you'll put in that method is something you should avoid, imo. no logins/downloads of any sort either.
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SteamGifts Labs would be pretty awesome. I volunteer to be a test subject. :)
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That's kind of what I was thinking, but I'm just bracing myself for that first complainer that just has Microsoft hate or whatever (don't get me started on how ridiculous that concept is in the first place 😁😉). I want to make sure that I'm not missing something here and that most people think this is ok so that if I get one or two people trying to ruin the fun, it'll be easier to shut them down. ;)
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The majority of people (probably 90%) already have a Microsoft account
I think you might overestimate the number of account users. I'm on Win10 without an account, because it is completely unnecessary (imo).
For MS Office files I'm using LibreOffice. Which might or might not have compatibility issues with your file. We'll see. ;)
Looking forward to your next crazy event either way.
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Good point, I may be overestimating. But I will say that you're definitely missing out on a lot of what Win10 can do if you're not using your MS account. I use OneNote and my OneDrive literally every day...I even use Cortana on my Android phone. OneNote is the best thing to happen to Office in like 10 years. 😀 That MS account keep everything sync'd...I pull up a OneNote doc on my phone, edit it, and when I'm back at my PC, my updates are already there. Anyway, I'll save my praises of OneNote for another time, but I'll contend that it's a really good app. :)
So yes, this might be an interesting test, too, to see if the way that LIbreOffice reads Powerpoint files is fully compatible or if it just read static slides or basic animation (like transitions and stuff). If it doesn't understand the full multimedia embedding or action embedding, it may not work in LIbreOffice and you'll have to use Powerpoint Online. But hey, at least we'll know. And if it does work, it would be interesting to see if LibreOffice can embed automation the way that Powerpoint can since it's free. 👍
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(and if you're a paranoiac and running a local-only account and missing out on all of those cool web things that Win10 does really well, I'm surprised that you're willing to sign up for SG 😅😜)
Well damn, you got me. Okay, I have a Microsoft account and even Office and stuff, I just don't like the idea of needing to use some sort of service to use my PC. Is that paranoia? Whoops.
Sounds great, though. But I can't complain because I have PP, so...? Good luck.
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You ever do a search on Google? Ever do it when you're logged into gmail? Oh my...you just sent 80 bazillion times more personal information out to the web that big bad ol' MS collects through Win10. ;-P :D
Seriously, though, you can hook up that account and turn off most of the info-collecting things in Win10. That's what I did, other than things that were necessary to sync the info I care about (like calendars across devices, contacts, and blah blah blah).
Glad to hear that you have Office...that'll be a good test as well...to see how well it works in the purely free PP Online vs. full Office vs. who knows what else. And hey, if it's problematic, then I'll try to find something else for the next go-around. 😎
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Oh, you thought I cared about privacy! Hahanahnahnahnah, I've sold my soul to the NSA like 50 times, I am resigned to my fate. I'm not one of those people that tape-over their webcams and use DuckDuckGo XD
I mean more, "I don't like having to rely on an account which can get iffy because it's going through a network connection" kinda thing. If I want to log into my PC, I just like it being reliable, like a key through a lock. None of this two-step verifying, it connects you to a whole lotta other stuff drama. MS account? Extra crap? I have no use for it, may as well not bother ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anyway yeah, let's experiment with this -- here's to trial and error, baby! PP is underrated, preach it.
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Ha ha ha ha...Ok, I literally, physically laughed out loud reading that first sentence this morning. :D Thanks for that.
But no worries on the MS account as a login when you're disconnected...it still works when you're completely offline. You might get a prompt saying you're offline and asking you to type in your password a second time, because once it realizes that it doesn't have a connection, it wants to be sure that you use the password that's encrypted locally (so there's still a local account that's just coordinated with your MS Account) to log in. That's your worst case scenario. I've only had to do that a couple of times, and I rolled my eyes when I had to, but I understand the reason and it wasn't a big deal.
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While you collect data from the userbase, you may also want to check directly with Support (via an Other support ticket).
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Have you tried "Prezi"?
I haven't used it in a while but at least back then you could create presentations online for free and anyone with the link would be able to see it without creating an account or downloading anything.
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Yeah, it's pretty neat...unfortunately, not free anymore. Standard is $7 per month. That's just for a presentation tool (and the lower end...you spend more for the full-blown version)...heck, at that rate, you may as well get O365 for $99/year and get all of the other tools plus all of the extra cloud storage.
Plus, I still don't think that Prezi does any automation, but I could be wrong about that. Great idea, but once they realized they had a good tool, that free thing eventually went away. You can still try it for free, but it's like a 2-week trial or something.
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I feel it's fine, plus it's a unique idea to make a GA <3
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Yeah i don't see an issue with it.
It's the individuals choice to have or not have a M$ account, and their choice as to whether to use, or not use the medium you are supplying to find those links..
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I've just test by creating a PowerPoint and share it by link, and people can see it without an account. I try to create shape with an hyperlink and it work, I don't know if there are all you want but I think you can try :)
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Yeah, I can definitely share a folder on my OneDrive without needing a signup...it's just needing the signup for the free PP online viewing tool if you don't have PP. That's why it's weird...there's no signup needed for access, but people might need it to get the tool they need.
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I remember that there was an option in PowerPoint to save a file in a format that will open on computer even if there's no MS Office installed on it at all. And there was no registration needed. IIRC it has saved as a bunch of files, it kinda look like a small application that doesn't require installing, just copying it on your computer.
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Yeah, I checked some old docs and that's the "show" format that I saved it in. Hey, we should just try this out. I'm going to add a test link to the top of the post and we'll see if someone with no MS account and no PP can view the thing without issues. I should've thought of that before. 😖🤓😏
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Maybe. Good idea. If I can't make this work without hassle directly from the source, then I'll see if Slideshare will solve the problem. Thanks. :)
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As long as this is not seen as violating SG guidelines, then you can present GAs as you see fit. I don't have an issue with that - it is your prerogative.
But I do want to address some of your comments:
I mean, honestly, everyone should have a freaking Microsoft account
Why? I think you are assuming that everyone uses Windows 10, and therefore would benefit from a Microsoft account? But not everyone has, or wants Windows 10. There are a minority of members here that use Linux or Mac exclusively.
I'm just bracing myself for that first complainer that just has Microsoft hate or whatever
I'm going to be that guy! Actually, I'm not complaining, and I don't hate Microsoft - that's a little strong. But they aren't quite out of my bad books yet. I still view Microsoft as anti-Linux patent troll, (yes, I've chosen articles supporting my opinion, feel free to post counters). I don't like vendor lock-in (I view Apple as the worst offender here, though Google seems to be trying hard), and would prefer to use open source over proprietary software.
So I probably won't be entering this event. I will not be creating a Microsoft account, I'll try in LibreOffice Impress, or maybe I'll be cheeky and try on a work computer after-hours, assuming the download is not blocked.
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Sure thing, and FWIW, I mostly agree with everything that you said here. My only point of contention would be the patent troll bit (not saying that they haven't ever done this)...they're investing hugely in the linux space right now. They see where market share is going in servers because the cost of the linux OS for hosted VMs is so much lower...I believe that linux will crack 50% of the servers hosted in Azure in the next year or two. So, my understanding is that MS is fully on board here. If they're claiming that there are patented bits being used, then I fully believe that they believe it's legit. Whether it is or not is the matter for debate, and I don't have an answer there...just saying that I don't think this is really nefarious. We're talking about a company that open-sourced the compiler engine code for Visual Studio & .NET. They've come a long way. Trust me, I've, uh, done a lot of business with those guys and used to hate them...they're a far cry from the old 90s/early 2000s MS.
Also, as a funny aside, I have a friend that I used to work with years back and he's an IP lawyer for Apple now. I cannot tell you how much unmitigated crap I give him about their business practices. :D You're dead-on when you say that they're the worst. Again, I think that the majority of it, at least, is not nefarious (well, at least with Jobs gone...when he was alive, it was totally nefarious), but it's super douchey, like suing Samsung over round corners on their phones. Just ridiculous crap. lol
And hey, go linux! That's definitely a case where I would see someone not having an MS account (although I started using one when gmail began ticking me off, and hotmail turned into outlook.com and suddenly stopped sucking and became better [IMO] than gmail, and OneDrive became a handy thing). My pulled-straight-out-of-my-butt stat of 90% is probably a bit high, but I would still think that the majority (even if that's a smaller majority) of people on SG would have one almost by default given the percentage of gaming PCs that run Windows. That's kind of all I was saying. :)
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Maybe I'm just talking impossibles because it won't fit your requirements, but if all you want is uneditable files, would PDF work?
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I don't think that I can pull off the level of interactivity required by a PDF. But yep, I thought about it. :)
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PDF would be static pages. What @grez1 wants, as far as I can understand, is clickable presentations, where you click on slide 1 (after gleaning its contents, ie, the GA link(s) in this case) to move on to slide 2 & so on.
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I use a throwaway MS account for my 10 and all the "cool" features are mostly what I would instantly remove given the option. I'm already using Google to go with my Android phone, so MS doesn't really offer anything at all other than annoying spam and waste of screen space. OneDrive for example sucks majorly compared to other alternatives which give you a simple link to a picture, not go through 10 MS authentications and then maybe show a picture, often not. Also I'm never touching MS Office crap as long as there are free and better alternatives to that too, like LibreOffice. How about instead of using inferior non-standard MS crap that can only cause problems for some people, you switch to using some free standard alternative to PP? :)
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Also I'm never touching MS Office crap as long as there are free and better alternatives to that too, like LibreOffice.
I would definitely challenge you on this. I can probably go point-by-point and really pick this apart if we get bored, but I don't want to get too far OT in this thread. 😀 LibreOffice is good, but I don't think nearly as powerful as MS Office (and I really like LibreOffice). I haven't seen one free alternative that is actually "better" IMO. Now, that is a matter of opinion, and I'm probably in the minority that actually use a lot of the advanced features of Office. So, for most people who are just putting together slides with simple transitions or animations, or are doing straightforward spreadsheets that are mostly just totaling up columns, yeah, there are free, lightweight tools that work really well and make a lot of sense (easier to navigate because there aren't so many options, etc). But there is a lot more power available in MS Office compared to the competition.
I agree with what you say on links to picture in OneDrive, though. That part sucks. You simply can't use it for hosting pics that you want to link to on boards/sites. You can completely turn off authentication for folders/files, though, so that doesn't have to be a hassle. And having the availability of authentication for doing more formal sharing and collaboration is a good thing for other scenarios, because there is a much greater level of granular security available there for doing actual work collaboration, etc. So yes, I use OneDrive for some things where it works well (hosting OneNote, co-authoring slide decks or spreadsheets, etc.) and I'll use Dropbox/Imgur/etc. for more casual things like hosting pics, etc. Every tool has its purpose. I've always been the guy with a full tool box, with fit-for-purpose tools to be as effective as possible. I have friends that want to be minimalists and just have a couple of multi-tools that are adequate at doing most things. But they're usually over at my house eventually, asking to borrow my tools to get something done the right way. I think that metaphor applies here, too. The MS stuff is always going to be a little more complex and less convenient, but more secure and with broader functionality, because they're thinking about enterprises as well as individuals. Stuff like Dropbox is good (and better) for a lot of consumers because it's targeted at them, not enterprises. There's a time and place for both, I think. Anyway, just my $0.02 worth. 😉😎
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I've been using MS Offices from Works to whichever it was that started forcing ribbon crap on everyone, so I know what they are, but I think you're underestimating the alternatives as too lightweight. :)
You like having tons and tons of features that most people will never use, I like getting things done with minimal hassle and problems. I could get a free Office 365 with 1TB OneDrive if I wanted, but don't see any need because they just keep making them worse and worse with each new version. Last time I had to use it at a friend's place to print an online document, it always duplicated the last line of text sideways in the marginal. There was nothing in the document to cause this and only way to fix it was to save in some archaic O9x format and reopen. I use Google Drive, Dropbox and Puush for hosting pictures and other files in addition to my own Linux server, so I wouldn't really say my toolbox is half empty even if I'm not using MS crap.
But my main point was the maybe you don't need the full power of Enterprise versions for this SG project and it could be done as easily with an open source alternative that would produce files people on Linux etc would be sure to be able open too. Side point was that there doesn't need to be any MS hate or paranoia to not like using some of their products when the alternatives simply work better.
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Sure. I was just being silly there, anyway. Didn't really mean to stir the pot. ;)
Weird that you had some file/print issue...that's the kind of stuff that I usually experience with Google docs (although I have to admit that that toolset has gotten a LOT better lately), like the "I" bar not actually leaving the cursor where I want to edit...just basic fundamentals that didn't work well. I haven't had that issue at all with O365. Just goes to show that a lot of our experience with various tools is based upon the hardware we run it on as well as things like browser, etc. So many factors affect how stuff works.
And hey, FWIW, my toolbox metaphor wasn't directed at you. I was just using that as an illustration regarding the average person in the general public. I assume that a lot of the SG user base (especially regulars) are a lot more savvy. There's also nothing wrong with being an intentional minimalist (although it doesn't sound like you fit that category, either...you're just using a different brand of tools than I am) either...my beef is always just with people who complain about stuff about which they've never taken the time to educate themselves. Again, totally not directed at you. 😎👍
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No worries, I don't take things like this personally, just wanted to provide an alternative point of view. If you want a term, I'm a functionalist or hassle minimalist in this regard. :)
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YES!
Thank you for helping test this! I have added you to the blue heart club. :)
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YES!
Thank you for helping test this! I have added you to the blue heart club. :)
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I am not logged and it works.
Edit: I have Powerpoint installed, test irrelevant!
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Tested perfectly with my regular Google a/c (linked to OD-enabled MS a/c), Incognito & nerf a/c (not linked to OD-enabled MS a/c) on Chrome v69, no Opera a/c (not linked to OD-enabled MS a/c) on Opera v55 (w/ inbuilt VPN on).
I guess stating the results for MS Edge would be overkill at his point.
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Lol...yeah, probably. I switch between Edge and Chrome these days. I find Edge (now that they fixed it and it doesn't suck anymore) to be faster and has better memory management. But a lot of scripts that I want to run have only been tested in Chrome and FF (like stuff for SG :) ), so I use Chrome for a lot of that functionality. I usually have both open all of the time. 😎
Thanks for the extensive testing. You've also been added to the blue heart club. 💙🤜🤛
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Uh...Junk Drawer thingie? Wait, you're just messing with me again, right? :D
I should probably close this thread, eh?
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eh?
no, there's still something to say, as you've seen below.
and yes, messing again with you... i mean, why not :P
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Well, you were late to that conversation. :D
But I'll add the caveat on there of "unless you're a linux person, and don't have an XBox, and don't use MS Office, and don't use Windows." Then, I totally understand. Or, if you're a totally off-line person and don't sign up for anything (which doesn't really classify the SG crowd). The reason I don't say the same thing for Apple is that the #1 productivity software on the Apple platform is Office...and to get the best out of Office/Windows/Xbox, you need a MS account. Kind of like how you need a gmail (Google) account to rate things on Youtube, etc. Same diff.
But yeah, if you use 0% MS (which really isn't many people), then there's no reason to have one. Otherwise, it's a free thing that makes the MS stuff sync, so there's not a particularly compelling argument against it. And I was clearly being a bit flippant when I said that...didn't think I'd accidentally bait so many people. 😁😉👍
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Actually, most of the Windows users I know don't have one either.
Well, they're missing out. That local-only stuff is so 1998. 😜 I even switched to running Cortana on my Android phone because it's a way better digital assistant than the generic Google one or Bixby.
Also.."late to that conversation" which started ONE DAY ago?
Yep, this happened fast. It was actually really, really late the night before last that I started this, so basically just before 1am yesterday. :) Everything got sorted and a few hours later, I was able to turn all of that into the Junk Drawer Extravaganza last night! So go, have fun, win some free stuff! You can forget that this thread ever happened. 😅
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For anyone still wondering, this all got sorted out and now we have the Junk Drawer Extravaganza as the result! Go sort through my junk drawers and try to win some free games! Good luck!
Ok, so most people around SG know that I like to do some fairly, er...interesting trains or alternate ways of giving away tons of keys (like the Trash Tornado™). I have an idea that I don't want to fully explain yet (because it would spoil the surprise), but I want to run some factors that would be required by the community first.
Here's the thing: currently, my best solution for doing what I want to do with this mass GA idea would mean that I need to use Powerpoint. I can save it as a "show," which prevents editing, etc. Powerpoint is awesome for what I want to do, because I can layer graphics in the background and create "hot spots" that allow the user to click on them and automatically open up URLs (which would be the GAs).
Now, to view a Powerpoint slide show, you don't have to actually have Powerpoint. That's obviously the best experience, but you can view a PP slide show for free with Powerpoint Online, which is totally free. The only caveat is that technically you need a Microsoft account to use Powerpoint Online (they don't have the offline powerpoint viewer app any more). The majority of people (probably 90%) already have a Microsoft account, because they're likely running Windows 10 (and if you're a paranoiac and running a local-only account and missing out on all of those cool web things that Win10 does really well, I'm surprised that you're willing to sign up for SG 😅😜) or have an old hotmail account or a current outlook.com account...or heck, an XBox account should also be their Microsoft account. But technically, you're not supposed to require that anyone signs up for anything for a GA.
So here's where it's dicey. I'm not requiring anyone to sign up for anything for the GAs, but the medium I want to use to give people access to the GAs could require them to sign up for something in order to be able to use Powerpoint Online (there is also a free app on Android, BTW [no signup needed]...not sure if it's free for iOS). I mean, honestly, everyone should have a freaking Microsoft account...free OneDrive space, and blah blah blah. It's kind of like everyone is expected to have a Google account for Google docs and Youtube.
I guess what I'm asking is that do you think that there are many people who would really raise a stink about this? I've tested a sample file and what I want to do works perfectly with Powerpoint, and I even tested it in Powerpoint online in two different browsers...flawless. If the consensus is that we think that there are enough nitpickers out there that will whine about this, then does anyone have a suggestion for another technology that can achieve the same thing? I don't mean create slides...there are lots of those apps out there, and most of them suck. I mean interactivity with hidden hot spots. I guess I could dust off an old copy of Visual Studio and throw together an old school VB app that people could download, but that's a lot more trouble and I'd rather it just run in a web browser rather than have an exe to deal with.
Thoughts?
EDIT:
Help me test this! Can a couple of people (preferably without MS accounts, or at least not logged in to them) open up this "junk" PP show and tell me if it works for you without needing to sign in or sign up for anything? Thanks!!Ok, I've had a couple of folks test this, and the Powerpoint show format works without having to log in to anything or sign up for anything! So, I think we're good to go. I'm going to start putting this together (it will probably take me a while) in between work stuff today. I'll probably have the GA event fired up in the next 48 hours. Thanks again to everyone who helped test!
just testing
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