Barry's Blog

[Barry]

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/Banners/wacco-web_logo.gif


Hi Everybody,

I hope you are enjoying the holidays!

I'm getting a jump start on the New Year! I've restarted my blog, creating a new thread for it and renaming my original blog, to Barry's Blog - original (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?t=18685), creatively enough.

One of my upcoming New Year's resolutions is to post my blog more often, including system updates, WaccoBB.net community news and events, and my own personal musings.

Today I have a system update and a bit of community news for you:
https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/ImagesforMembers/DailyDigestonWeb.jpg1) The Daily Digest is now available on the website! (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/DailyDigest.html) This is the same digest that you have been receiving as an email, updated nightly at 6pm. So if your digest gets caught in spam, or gets mangled by your email reader, you can now get it on the website!

It will open up in its own browser window. There is a link to it on the website. For now, the digest will be available at the same URL (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/DailyDigest.html) (website address) each day. So you can click on the link on the website, or save the URL as a bookmark so you can go there directly.

2) I've launched our first WaccoBB.net Community Fundraiser (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?p=78118) for a local organization/project. This will allow our community to come together to raise a substantial amount a money for a local project. The link above will take you all the details. Please join us in making a difference!

May you have a wonderful New Year, filled with joy, prosperity and growth!

:happynewyear:
Barry

[Barry]

Hi Folks,

The system has been a bit unstable over the last few days. You may have noticed some links not working or pages not being found.

I have been working to install a system that helps WaccoBB.net be more Google-friendly so people can find us and your posts when looking for something on Google. I think it is finally working just right!

Thanks for your patience and understanding!
Barry

[Ronaldo]

Hi Barry,
A couple of days ago all of the banners were missing in the digest. Two weeks ago I was searching for an item on goggle and it showed up at the top of their listings! So you must have gotten that part right.
Keep it up.
Ron

[Barry]

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/Banners/wacco-web_logo.gif


Hi Everybody,

I hope you all are as excited and hopeful as I am on this the first day of the Obama Administration! I posted some of my thoughts about that here: https://www.waccobb.net/forums/general-community/47826-hope-virtue-president-obama.html#post79948. I hope you will share yours as well.

Here in Waccoville, we are "inaugurating" a new category, Science and Spirit (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/science-spirit/), which will host discussions and information regarding the nexus of those two topics. WaccoBB.net often gets characterized, somewhat correctly, as being a bit on the woo-woo side. This new category will try to explore some of that woo-woo stuff and bring it back down to earth with science.

It will be hosted and moderated by Julia Bystrova (aka Julfire and JuliaB (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/members/juliab.html)), who has long been fascinated by both Science and Spirit and has moderated a lively YahooGroup focused on the same topic which is now migrating to WaccoBB.net. Julia has also produced and MC'd various creative events over the years, including the recent Doomsday Caberet (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/events-classes/42572-reminder-doomsday-coming-soon.html#post70202).

You can see Julia's introduction to the new category here (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/science-spirit/47848-welcome-science-spirit-category.html). Please join me in welcoming her and the new category and please post some of your thoughts and questions there to help get it rolling!

Barry

[MsTerry]

:thumbsup:Electric blue!!!!:thumbsup:

[Barry]

:thanks: :thanks: :thanks:
Some changes are coming to the digest too...



:thumbsup:Electric blue!!!!:thumbsup:

[babaruss]

Very nice Barry
Makes me take a second look at the banners too.
Clever you !!
Russ


:thanks: :thanks: :thanks:
Some changes are coming to the digest too...

[MsTerry]

some people have their name in black
like in the I'm boycotting Whole Foods... (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/general-community/46145-im-boycotting-whole-foods-new-post.html)
Patzy changed her name to a32211?
How about Tasha ? did she post and drop out?
What do the different colors signify?




:thanks: :thanks: :thanks:
Some changes are coming to the digest too...

[Barry]

Names in black (ie Patzy and Tasha) are no longer members.


some people have their name in black
like in the I'm boycotting Whole Foods... (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/general-community/46145-im-boycotting-whole-foods-new-post.html)
Patzy changed her name to a32211?
How about Tasha ? did she post and drop out?
What do the different colors signify?

[Barry]

The WFM thread is an ongoing discussion about a very popular store. It makes sense that it has a lot of views.

Your post also went out in the Daily Digest. It may have gotten more attention in the Pets category.

Patzy & Tasha left WaccoBB.net by their own choices.




Barry,

When I put out the announcement of the Rescuer's Resource Guide for Farm Animals at Risk in Sonoma County I got a total of 22 looks. No responses.

But the post about WFM got 588 looks. Wuzzup with this?

Were Patzy & Tasha removed for some reason associated with the WFM post? This just seems really odd.

Best,

Dian

[Barry]

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/Banners/wacco-web_logo.gif


Hey Everybody,

I've been doing a bit of tuning on the digest lately. A fair bit of it was strictly internal to make the code more manageable, smaller and faster. One result is that most of you should be receiving the digest earlier. Hopefully it will be able to be viewed in a narrower window more often. The table of contents is in a bit bigger font, and as you may have noticed, the underlines are gone from the links. I also freshened up the color of the message headers. Oh, and the https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/orangebuttons/CategorySummary.jpg button, that was recently out of order, is working again, and it once again takes you back to the category you were looking at in the header!

The banner ads from our local sponsors are now scattered only in front of categories with at least 3 threads. I think that it less distracting than when it was in front of every category, as well as more attractive than when they were just stacked above and below the table of contents.

Let me know what you think in the Feedback Category (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/feedback/), especially if anything doesn't seem quite right. Now is also a good time for any suggestions on how to improve the digest since I'm very familiar with the code at this point. If its good, quick and easy, I'll implement it right away!

To celebrate the new design (and save me a few phone calls :wink:) I'm offering 20% off the standard banner rates for first time sponsors through the end of the month! You can see the standard rates and testimonials to their effectiveness in our new media kit (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb-net-faq/10521-sponsorship-banners-waccobb-net.html).

And speaking of local sponsors, I want to highlight a current discussion (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/general-community/49048-support-local-economy-shopping-chain-stores.html#post82595) about Buying Local. That seems like a no brainer, until you stop to think "what is local?". A local farmer selling their produce at a local farmers market is 100% local, but after that it gets fuzzy. What about buying local products at a non-locally owned store (Whole Foods)? Or as the thread suggests, what about locally owned franchises (i.e. "chain stores")? Please share your thoughts with us!

Also, check out my latest Barry's Pick: https://www.waccobb.net/forums/events-classes/49146-barrys-picks-sweat-your-prayers-feet-beat.html

Thanks for your ongoing support!

Barry

[Barry]

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that the Daily Digest is now available online as well at:

WaccoBB daily digest (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/DailyDigest.html)

That link is updated everyday at 6pm. You can also get to it from the a link on the left side of the website. This is a "standard" digest that does not reflect your customized categories and subscriptions.

[Barry]

Hey Everybody!

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/ImagesforMembers/sharethisbutton.jpgI've recently added the ShareThis button (https://sharethis.com/) on the top of all threads on the website. When you click this button, a menu will open up with links to major social media sites (such as https://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:br8jGCxwdV4ViM:https://boris.chipin.com/images/favicons/icon.facebook.png FaceBook) and blog sites (such as https://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:Qa2UYj3WT8Om2M:https://www.talkmarket.com/img/embedicon/wordpress-icon.jpg WordPress) and https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/ImagesforMembers/twitter_logo.png.

So if you find something interesting on WaccoBB.net, or want to share your post with other systems, just click the ShareThis Button!

[Barry]

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/Banners/wacco-web_logo.gif


Hi Everybody!

I've just fixed the Ignore function which suppresses posts from users you'd rather not see. In the past individual emails from ignored users would still be received. That has been fixed so that you will now not get these messages.

I've also upgraded the Buddy list, which is the opposite of the Ignore list. In the past, all this would do is highlight your buddies in the list of online users if they were currently online. I've upgraded this to also send you an individual email whenever any of your buddies post something in any category. This is in addition to including their post(s) in your daily digest subject to your category subscriptions (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb-net-faq/394-how-select-categories-emails-daily-digest.html).

You can see more about the Ignore list here: https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb-net-faq/19804-how-can-i-ignore-posts-user.html

The buddy list interface works the same way.

So if you want to know when someone in particular posts, add them to your Buddy List!

Barry

[MsTerry]

Hi Everybody!


I've just fixed the Ignore function which suppresses posts from users you'd rather not see. In the past individual emails from ignored users would still be received. That has been fixed so that you will now not get these messages.
Barry

When are you going to start listing how many times a posts has been ignored?:wink:
And of course how many people everybody has on their ignore list. You could post right under the gratitude tally. It would give a more accurate picture of a person! :thumbsup:
And then you don't have to send private emails telling people not to respond to certain popular people :thumbsup:

[Barry]

Hi Everybody,

Avatars are small images that show up on your posts on the website, along with your usename, just like your profile picture on Facebook.

My intention is that WaccoBB.net helps build "in person" community as well as online community. So my hope is that you will be brave enough to include your photo as your avatar so we get a sense of who you are (and we can say hi when standing next to each other on line) but you are also welcome to use any other small graphic.

I'd love to see more or our members use avatars. You can upload one here (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/profile.php?do=editavatar). I just changed the Digest to include avatars as well as making the usernames a link to the member's profile, as it is on the website.

In Community,
Barry

[MsTerry]

Now, if there are any older gentlemen that want to look at my avatar, can I charge them a small fee for doing so?



Hi Everybody,

Avatars are small images that show up on your posts on the website, along with your usename, just like your profile picture on Facebook.

My intention is that WaccoBB.net helps build "in person" community as well as online community. So my hope is that you will be brave enough to include your photo as your avatar so we get a sense of who you are (and we can say hi when standing next to each other on line) but you are also welcome to use any other small graphic.

I'd love to see more or our members use avatars. You can upload one here (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/profile.php?do=editavatar). I just changed the Digest to include avatars as well as making the usernames a link to the member's profile, as it is on the website.

In Community,
Barry

[babaruss]

Ms Terry please put your reading glasses back on..he said avatar not 'underwear' !!
In either case, can this old gentleman pay a small fee to not look ?
Babaruss


Now, if there are any older gentlemen that want to look at my avatar, can I charge them a small fee for doing so?

[MsTerry]

If you promise you won't look at my avatar, I won't look at yours! :heart:


Ms Terry please put your reading glasses back on..he said avatar not 'underwear' !!
In either case, can this old gentleman pay a small fee to not look ?
Babaruss

[pbrinton]

All this talk about avatars! Has nobody considered the implications of Member Links? I much prefer to decide for myself who links to mine.

Patrick


If you promise you won't look at my avatar, I won't look at yours! :heart:

[MsTerry]

Good point!
Any member inserting an avatar should remain a personal decision.

All this talk about avatars! Has nobody considered the implications of Member Links? I much prefer to decide for myself who links to mine.

Patrick

[Barry]

Hey Everybody!
I hope you all enjoyed a lovely weekend here in Sonoma County! :sun:

I while back I added a new https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/orangebuttons/email.gif button which allows you to email an individual post to yourself or any other email address (not necessary on WaccoBB.net).

I'm wondering if many people are confused by this versus https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/orangebuttons/custom_reply_privately.gif . Would it be better if said "Send to..." or "Email to..."?

Also, there is a very active thread (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccotalk/50592-warning-sebastopol-police-targeting-hopmonk-customers.html) about several reports of the Sebastopol Police stopping many people as the drive away from the Hopmonk Tavern. The discussion includes topics individual rights, profiling, DUI, and safety. It's a worthy (if long) read, with many thoughtful posts, along with a tolerable amount of chatter and snark (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=snark). You can find it here: https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccotalk/50592-warning-sebastopol-police-targeting-hopmonk-customers.html

[Barry]

Hi Everybody,

Thank you for all your sweet notes of support! My father passed suddenly which was quite a shock to our family, even though he was 86. It is still unfolding for us. I have been heartened by the wonderful community around my parents in LeisureWorld (surely one of largest "intentional communities"). I trust that they will help my mother make this difficult transition along with my family's support.

On the Wacco front, the digest stopped working last week. It's an unusual problem that isn't easily replicated or traceable. I tried changing some more things on Tuesday afternoon and managed to send out Monday's digest. I don't know if this will be a stable fix or not.

Barry

[Barry]

I know that some of you are receiving multiple emails of posts. I tried to fix this yesterday and apparently something is still wrong.

I'm going to visit my Mom through Wednesday so I'll have limited work time available in the meantime, so please by patient.