Hey Where Did It Go? [Archive]

Roemello

5-22-04, 01:34 AM

Yeah, just keep in mind, this is only a trial to see if it helps speed up page loads and increases board performance. Personally, I haven't had any slow loading here since like the first week after we upgraded, but some others have... including Sal, so we'll see how it all goes. This is only one of many things being done to try and speed things along around here... some ya won't even (or haven't even) noticed, and some ya will (like this sig thing).

It's all for the greater good of keeping this place alive and kicking though, so bare with us :)

Pagan

5-22-04, 01:48 AM

Thanks for telling us Pal ;)

As the great Freddie Prinze used to say on "Chico & The Man"....."S'not my yob mang...." ;)

I didn't know it was being put into effect....so bite me! :lol:;)

ImSoooSure

5-22-04, 01:53 AM

I also heard that non-donating members will have a picture of Michael Jacksons mug shot as their new avatar! :p :lol: Im sooo kidding. My loading is soooo slooooow! I always have another project going during loading so I dont go nuts. :D

Shakey

5-22-04, 05:27 AM

Im sooo kidding. My loading is soooo slooooow! I always have another project going during loading so I dont go nuts. :D

I'm right there with you! I usually have two pages open and surf one while a page here is loading.

SouthernImage

5-22-04, 12:32 PM

5-22-04, 03:42 PM

To improve the speed of page-loading, signatures pics have disabled...at least until the end of the month.

Hey! By the way! I just found Sal's announcement on the new sig thing! Here it is for those interested! Should be at the top of every forum http://www.80sxchange.com/forums/announcement.php?f=61

I just read Sal's announcement a few minutes ago.

I think the disabling of sig pics will be in effect until the end of the month.

pamela*

5-22-04, 05:11 PM

sassy

5-22-04, 09:41 PM

Donation was done just waiting to know what to do next. :p

Taz

5-23-04, 01:03 AM

As the great Freddie Prinze used to say on "Chico & The Man"....."S'not my yob mang...." ;)

I didn't know it was being put into effect....so bite me! :lol:;)

Ahhhhhhh...... pizzzzzz offf wanka! :lol:

XXX

5-23-04, 02:27 AM

my question is, if we do become a supporting member.. or the sigs come back.. have they just been disabled.. or deleted completely.. in other words.. will we have to redo them completely.. ?? cause i don't remember where on earth my rump-shaker smiley came from :lol: :D

If you click on an user's profile, you can still see their signature. It just doesn't show up in their posting.

Jeez. Lotta upheaval o'er signatures. As long as I can still see and read what me babydoll writes, I'm feelin' fine :) Disable the signature viewing function and you'll be fine. There. Problem solved.

BlueMolly2001

5-23-04, 03:06 AM

XXX, but the signatures are somewhat a tradition here, because of the stalking people and all. Where else would people put their admirations towards their friends?

XXX

5-23-04, 05:43 AM

Currently stalking you :* , you :* , nooo NOT you :tsk: , you :* , and specially YOU :love:

To be honest, I used to think the signatures were a bit o' a cluttering nuisance 'cause as a newb I thought they were part of the written responses. I had to grow used to them over time and eventually I put an image in mine.

Hmmm. How do you remind your friends that you admir3 them? I honestly don't know ;)

5-23-04, 01:24 PM

If you click on an user's profile, you can still see their signature. It just doesn't show up in their posting.

I just saw my sig pic. It's safe and sound (and will return June 1st?).

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

SouthernImage

5-23-04, 01:44 PM

BlueMolly2001

5-23-04, 04:17 PM

I shouldn't bitch too much about siggys, because it could be worse. Sal and Roemy would just say, "Because people are moaning about things, we'll just shut things down and noone will be moaning anymore." So I take back what I said above about the signatures. There are more important things to get upset over like why won't anyone hire me? :cry: :lol:
I just wish everyone who posts here would become a supporting member, then Sal and Roemy could upgrade this place and add new and interesting things. It doesn't cost much. I mean where can you subscribe to a place where $40 is the cost for a whole year? I'm thinking when I renew my subscription I'm going to do the six month.

pamela*

5-23-04, 08:18 PM

just asking a simple question.. i wasn't complaining or anything..

what upheaval.. this looks like a friendly discussion to me.. :D

Lord Jay

5-23-04, 09:24 PM

I have very intention of subscribing when I get moved. It is certainly a worthy investment considering the amount of time I spend here. Also, I feel creepy about stalking people without it being listed in my sig for them too see..LOL Oh yeah,notce Pamela that I have successfully stalked you just now! :thumb:

Lord Jay :knight:

5-23-04, 10:26 PM

It's all for the greater good of keeping this place alive and kicking though, so bare with us :)

Bare? That shoud be bear.

Bare (in one sense of the word) means to remove one's clothes.

:laugh:

sassy

5-23-04, 11:35 PM

I for one like the signatures!

Just makes everything so much more personal. I can't wait to get my signature back up.

BlueMolly2001

5-24-04, 12:48 AM

pam, I'm sorry if I sounded like I was "preaching" I didn't mean that. But I was saying if more people donated money then they'd get their siggys back. :)

jen*

5-24-04, 02:51 AM

Hmmmmm, very interesting.

I've never had any trouble getting this site to load. I'm pretty sure it's not the sigs. I don't mind them being taken out after the first post in a thread.

I'm just wondering how long it will be before we have to pay to simply be a member of the Xchange.

Slayergrrl

5-24-04, 10:25 AM

XXX

5-24-04, 01:39 PM

Taking away the signatures looks to be an unpopular idea...

sassy

5-24-04, 07:58 PM

I like the sigs!!

ElectricYouth

5-25-04, 01:36 AM

Even though taking away sigs seems to help some people, from what I can see most people never had problems with pages loading. The cool thing is that the non-donating members can still see their sigs if you look in your user control panel, so they're not completely gone.

djdaffy1227

5-25-04, 10:35 AM

Long signatures annoy me. I only keep them up because I am a super mod here. I feel a few qoutes or a few stalker sigs are ok but people come on. We don't need a friggin' novel in the sigs. I don't want to read "War and peace" everytime. How about we just cut down our sigs to five or six lines.

5-25-04, 11:07 AM

Currently stalking you :* , you :* , nooo NOT you :tsk: , you :* , and specially YOU :love:

:love: Everyone knows who my stalkee/stalker is. If not, they've been living under a friggin' rock :D

[b][i]Hmmm. How do you remind your friends that you admir3 them? I honestly don't know ;)

;) II III IV :yesnod:

Sonny Crockett

5-25-04, 12:04 PM

I've never had any loading problems either. IMO signatures are a big part of this board. It's one thing if you had to be a donating member at sign up in order to get one. But I see it as kind of a punishment to take it away because someone isn't a donating member. If someone has been here for years and for finacial reasons can't donate I don't think it's right to remove thier signatures. But thats my opinion.

On Shakeys' poll, I said I would be willing to get rid of my siggy if it would benefit the greater of the people on the site. But, I'm a newbie, and I think Slayergrrl has a very good point here. The siggys are fun and get peeps attention as to what you're into, who you're into, and so on...It gives peeps a way to kind of get to know you. Some siggys look like some time,thought, and effort have been put into them. Kind of like building your reputation through your siggy.

Bottom line: Those who have been around longer should have privilege to display tenor.

Long signatures annoy me. I only keep them up because I am a super mod here. I feel a few qoutes or a few stalker sigs are ok but people come on. We don't need a friggin' novel in the sigs. I don't want to read "War and peace" everytime. How about we just cut down our sigs to five or six lines.

I like daffys' idea too. Moderation is the key ! :thumb:

BlueMolly2001

5-25-04, 12:55 PM

Rhelawen

5-25-04, 02:22 PM

One thing that bothers me, I don't see why people are balking about paying for supporting this group.
You know what? I'm not balking at all. I simply can't afford it right now, Molly. I'm still paying off some major divorce debts, and likely will be for a very long time to come. If the xchange were to switch to subscription only, I'd have to bid you all farewell. $20 may not mean much to some, but to me it means part of an electricity bill, car insurance payment, or groceries. I can barely afford my Internet bill, but it's the only luxury I allow myself. So, no, not everyone can afford a subscription. I wish I could. :(

XXX

5-25-04, 02:30 PM

Same here. I'm a university student thousands upon thousands in debt. 20 bucks can pay half a tank of gasoline to get me to work.

ValJ

5-25-04, 03:09 PM

I'm with you, Rhel & XXX. I couldn't really afford a donation, either. I maxed out a credit card to give one. I don't expect anyone else to do that, and I probably won't be able to donate again when my $20 is gone because I'm barely keeping my head above water here. If I didn't pay my cable and internet bills for a full year with my income tax return, I wouldn't have those luxuries, either. :shrug:

And I don't think it's anyone else's business why we can't afford to give more, or simply don't want to. My personal affairs are mine alone unless I decide to share them with you, and I don't have to explain anything to anybody. ;)

With that being said, I don't see why everyone can't scale back a little bit for the betterment of the board. I've never had a long sig, and I cut it back even more. Maybe if you could limit yourself to two or three lines, Sal could keep them on for everyone. Everyone is well liked here, you don't need to have a list of twenty people and 3 images in your sig. Why not just your closest friends and one image? Then, use your member profile to fill us in on how many cookies you eat a week, if we care to read it. ;)

I like looking at other's sigs, but if yours goes over 4 or 5 lines, I don't read it anyway. If I wanted to know your life story and the name of everyone you ever talked to on the Xchange, you have a bio in your profile you could be filling in for me to read. I hope Sal does turn the sigs back on, and I hope he puts a limit on every sig, donating member or not. :)

Just because some of us can't afford DSL or Cable, doesn't mean we don't deserve to enjoy the site as much as anyone else. If it isn't giving you problems, GREAT! I hope your luck continues. Show a little empathy to those of us who already have to wait a while and are tired of waiting twice as long. :lol:

So, that's my 10 cents, my 2 cents is free, as Eminem says. :lol:

BlueMolly2001

5-25-04, 03:21 PM

Val, a lot of people, I've noticed have their signatures vertically. Why not put your signatures horizontal? I know it may not "look good", but it does save space. And why not change your sigs once in a while? That's what I do.

KimJoy69

5-25-04, 03:26 PM

I've tried and tried and tried to get my sig to be more horizontal than vertical... but for some reason, it won't do it. It is a lot of wasted space.

5-25-04, 03:38 PM

Sonny Crockett

5-25-04, 03:55 PM

Same here. I'm a university student thousands upon thousands in debt. 20 bucks can pay half a tank of gasoline to get me to work.

I heard that , brother ! With the hiked gas prices, $20 might get me quarter of a tank :lol:

BlueMolly2001

5-25-04, 03:55 PM

PG, you can send Sal a check or Western Union money order. That's what I did. :)

ValJ

5-25-04, 04:07 PM

My signature IS horizontal, Molly. I have my page set up so the avatars are at the top instead of on the side. On my page, your sig is horizontal whether you intend it to be or not. But I'd take even the two lines I have out if it helped the rest of the board, so why can't some other's drop 2 or 12 from theirs?

Kim, I mean this as no offense to you, since you are by no means the only person with a sig the size of an 8 X 10, but you could cut about 12 lines out of your sig by removing the bird pic, taking the three smileys off the bottom of your sig, putting "35" and "Yay" on the same line, and putting your favorite quotes in the Bio section of your profile. That would reduce your sig to about 15 lines on my page, and still give us a sense of who you are. ;) It shows you are a Wiccan (star & eyes, eyes also promote a sense of mysteriousness) that you're crazy about Pagan, and that something (also mysterious) is happening for you in 35 days that you're excited about. :)

15 lines is still too long to me, but to the site it means freeing up enough space for 2 others to have something of a sig even if they can't donate, and quicker loading for those of us who are having problems.

If we can't give everyone the same sig size, why not give donating members 10 lines and non-donating 5 lines? The added space could be an added perk of donating, much like the added PMs. And much like the added PMs, I won't use the extra space so the site stays as hassle free as possible - for everyone.

Roemello

5-25-04, 04:10 PM

Just an FYI... this sig thing has nothing to do with any attempt to boost donations. Sal himself has had trouble with page loading as have others here, so to make the site easier to use for everyone, he took this step to see if it improves things.

No one should ever feel any pressure to donate to the site... those who can, do and it's very much appreciated. Those who can't, can't... it's cool and doesn't make one any less a valued member of the community. The only reason sigs were kept for donating members is because they help with the costs of the site... just a measure of appreciation on Sal's part as he noted in the announcement he made.

Recker

5-25-04, 09:25 PM

One thing that bothers me, I don't see why people are balking about paying for supporting this group. It doesn't cost much. It's cheaper than other places I've been too. I mean usually in some places you pay $20 for a month, and for $20 you get six months. I'm sorry, but I think everyone can afford subscription, but this is my opinion. :)

Putting pressure on other members to support the site is going to make people feel that they are looked down upon if they don't. It will chase some members away, which I'm sure nobody wants.

As well as people's financial situations, one must also take into consideration exchange rates when it comes to overseas members. For instance, when you convert American dollars to NZ dollars, the cost is a lot higher.

I will be supporting the site very soon because I have got a lot out of the place and want it to get better and better. And Sal's hard earned money is going towards all this and no one can expect him to finance it all himself when he is not making a profit. But no one should be made to feel bad if they can't afford to pay even a small amount. I have had to live on a low budget myself in the past and know what it's like.

sassy

5-25-04, 10:10 PM

I for one don't come on the site for people signatures. They are funny to read but this site is more then the signatures.

After awhile we know who you like.. and who you lust for.. it is obvious.

I don't see putting more then 6 lines to tell us who you lust for this week.

jen*

5-25-04, 11:31 PM

Putting pressure on other members to support the site is going to make people feel that they are looked down upon if they don't. It will chase some members away, which I'm sure nobody wants.

I will be supporting the site very soon because I have got a lot out of the place and want it to get better and better. And Sal's hard earned money is going towards all this and no one can expect him to finance it all himself when he is not making a profit. But no one should be made to feel bad if they can't afford to pay even a small amount. I have had to live on a low budget myself in the past and know what it's like.

I agree entirely with what you've said here, Recker. It's not that I don't have the money to support the Xchange. I supported another board financially (which came back to bite me in the ass) but that's another story. I certainly don't mind helping out here. I'm not going to be forced into it. Many of the comments in the first couple of pages of this thread seemed to be pushing people to contribute. If Sal needs my money to keep the Xchange going, I'm going to help him out. He needs only ask. But as I understand it, the contributions here are voluntary. So, those of you who keep pushing....I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't.

Jasper

5-26-04, 01:11 AM

Well, everybody should know by now that they can put unlimited things in their BIO and if people REALLY wanted to know every last detail in your life they could simply look there.

Personally, I dont care who is stalking who, who is how old, who thinks this band or that actress is great, or anything else except what you type into a response. (and sometimes I dont even feel like i really care about that! LOL!)

Nobody has made a push for donations. Nobody has even hinted that it will become mandatory. Nobody said you were a tool for not donating.

The thing is, the OWNER thought that his page load time was too long. HE wanted to be able to surf around and have it not take seventeen years to do so. HE suggested we eliminate it on a trial basis, to see how it effected load times for all parties. And, when it comes right down to it, if HE doesnt feel it is condusive to have people's life stories at the bottom of every post, he is more than within his rights to just say NO MORE SIGNATURES.
Even if it doesnt speed YOUR personal viewing and loading up, it does save HIM on bandwidth. Since HE is paying out of pocket for all of this site, all the bells and whistles that have been installed, and all of the upkeep, then to sit and complain about it is pretty selfish and not considering that you are getting a terrific community of friends for absolutely NO MONEY OUT OF YOUR POCKET. The ones that have donated money to help support the site have done it, because they realise what a sacrifice Sal makes and are all appreciative. (this isnt a guilt trip, its a simple statement) The fact that he isnt even able to be on much, since he is working so many hours (partly to help pay for the site) should say something.
Personally, I dont care either way, since I checked the "dont show signatures" and "Dont show avatars" buttons, and it loads just fine for me. But, if it helps make the place better, and helps make it more economical, (meaning more upgrades, when they become available) then perhaps eliminating some or all of your signature might be the unselfish thing to do.

BlueMolly2001

5-26-04, 01:29 AM

Am I the only one who thinks signatures are an intrical part of this group? I do think people could slim them down a bit (and I know I'm not the only one who is the only one who thinks this way). I personally like the signatures and I would be very sad to see them go away. But that's just me.

Tinajo

5-26-04, 01:51 AM

Hey Jasper.. your post at the bottom of page 4 ... WAY TO GO! Damn boy! If I could have said it better, I would have a follow up post.. but you nailed it!

Note to the next posters... go back and read Jaspers post on page 4... it will save you the time of posting something else! LOL

BlueMolly2001

5-26-04, 03:04 AM

***rewriting what I meant to say******

After rereading what Jasper said, I sort of agree. I love the signatures, but maybe there should be a place in our profiles to tell who we're stalking and who we like on the MB. It's sad that people want to get rid of the signatures, but something should go in it's place. I don't want to stop being Lord Jay's stalkee. :knight: But I don't want to be selfish to Sal either, he did put a lot of hard work into this place. :thumb:

Pagan

5-26-04, 07:45 AM

Amen Brother Jasper....that's all I have to say.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming, this week's episode of the "Bitch & Moan Club" ;)

RetroMan

5-26-04, 09:54 AM

I also heard that non-donating members will have a picture of Michael Jacksons mug shot as their new avatar! :p :lol:

That is the funniest post I have read all week! I had to go to the toilet after reading that Lisa! that killed me! :lol: :laugh:

Tydestra

5-26-04, 10:39 AM

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming, this week's episode of the "Bitch & Moan Club" ;)

:lol::laugh::lol: The main actresses works her role perfectly

sassy

5-26-04, 06:22 PM

Does anyone notice that the LL is gone? Or am I tripping again :P

BlueMolly2001

5-26-04, 06:30 PM

Milani, the LL is still here, or at least when I logged on it was. :confused:

Taz

5-26-04, 06:36 PM

Does anyone notice that the LL is gone? Or am I tripping again :P

You're trippin' Baby... ;) :lol:

Not Man

5-26-04, 07:45 PM

Very well said Jasper! :thumb: Now let's just drop it :)

Sal Collaziano

5-27-04, 11:45 PM

Hey all. Just trying to clarify that this isn't an attempt to get more donations. I agree that it's not right to "take away" signatures for those who do not become supporting members. Unfortunately, there's no way for this system to allow some people a small signature and others a large one. Roem and I (I think - and mostly Roem :p) are going to be looking into this. In a perfect world (we're keeping our fingers crossed), we'll be able to keep small signatures for everybody - while allowing larger signatures for supporters.

The whole fact of the matter is, we need to reduce some of the bandwidth each page-load is commanding. Here's what's important to me:

1. Keeping the site online
2. Keeping the page-loads FAST, even for dialup users
3. Keeping the site FREE for everyone

I made this latest decision too fast - I know. But, I was moving out of state and feared having the site go down while I was days away from restarting the server. Unfortunately, it DID go down - but I was informed via PDA and got things running again remotely. That was a first and I didn't even know if I could do it until it happened. At any cost, had I not disabled signatures, we likely would have been down more than once. Bandwidth is becoming an issue and I'm looking for ways to keep this place online 24 hours a day / 7 days a week.

I do pay for this site out of my own pocket and our supporting members really do help me out. They keep the site free for everyone else who can't help me. It's totally 100% cool if you don't donate. You'll never HAVE to donate to be a member. That's a promise. I promise that the server will be over-loaded and the site will be shut-down before I ask guests and registered members to pay to access 80sxchange.com.

That being said (get out the violins), I'm having some financial trouble at the moment. My foot has been broken for about 9 weeks now. I'll probably be getting surgery if things don't change soon. That being said, I've moved to Florida and I don't have a job - I need to keep my foot elevated for the better part of the day - so, I'm not going to find a job any time soon. Thankfully, I'm on disability - though that only pays me about 25% of my normal salary. Unfortunately, a large portion of that is paying for my health insurance since I no longer have a job. This broken foot really came at a bad time.

To close-off here, just keep in mind that I feel it's more important to keep the site running smoothly without signatures rather than allow them and 'hope' everything is okay. I think we'll all (well, those of us who are addicted) sleep better at night knowing the site is up and running - regardless of whether signatures are intact or not...