Des-Lab
08-24-2008, 07:33 AM
Hello fellow tapers. It's Sunday and I thought I'd post this weeks update a little early. Here's what's going on with the site.
First is the ongoing issue of E-mail registration. I continue to see, at least several times a day, failed registration attempts. This is no doubt because many would-be members are still attempting to register using Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail e-mail addresses, despite me having blocked those domains now three weeks ago.
UPDATE: This policy has been repealed on a temporary conditional basis. See below.
It presents something of a moral quandary to me: On one hand, it pains me to see that many potential members fall by the wayside and not end up as active members. The fact that there is that much [growing] interest in TapeHeads is hard NOT to get excited about.
But then the other side of me says: "Look. I've posted the new requirements in three consecutive weekly updates. There is also a message at the top of every single forum also detailing this. If these people are either too lazy to read it and/or inattentive to follow that very simple directive, then that's probably someone I don't even want on the site in the first place." So it's not as though this is some obscure requirement that one needs to dig deep for. One would think that if you were trying to register here and couldn't, that the message at the top of every single forum containing the title "Joining TapeHeads.Net" might provide some sort of clue as to why. After all, the site does remain open to casual viewing to anyone who happens to visit the site.
ADMIN COMMENT: This part still concerns me. As prominently as I posted the prior messages and some people were apparently not seeing them.
I'm still pretty firm in my belief that I made the right choice. It keeps spammers and a lot of other potential troublemakers out.
Next issue on todays agenda is the new Polls And Votes forum. It's not a new forum per se, but rather, a re-name of an old one. It occupies the spot of the former Foamers Corner section. After doing some looking over the site, I came to realize that there was a lot of overlap between that board and the Gallery forum in that both are basically the place to show images, pictures, systems, etc. So I moved all of the contents of "Foamers" into The Gallery and then renamed that section.
"Polls And Votes" is the section of the site I have set aside for you to ask the "What's the best....and "what's your favorite...." types of questions that are so common on these types of websites. You can also create polls, take votes, etc. Ask away and have fun in there. The only thing I ask is that you please limit any surveys you post in there to just audio related. The poll functionality has been enabled on this site since Day 1. Just no one up until now has ever used it. Perhaps because maybe no one was sure on where or how to use that feature. So now you know.
And lastly is Site Donations. Although I am not actively seeking it nor demanding or insisting on it, anyone who would like to contribute to the site financially is certainly welcome to do so. By now many of you have probably noticed the icon link in the upper left hand side of the page above the forum directory. It goes straight to PayPal, which in turn is linked to the site. So if any of you enjoy the site and respect it enough to contribute (in any amount), it would of course be appreciated. Indeed, one person has made a $100 anonymous donation. I do not know who it is; the e-mail address it came from is not a match to any registered user in the member directory. I did send an e-mail back thanking him for the donation. And to please identify himself so that he can receive proper credit. However, if he wishes to remain anonymous, that's certainly his right too. But if you are reading this, please be assured that it was noticed and very much appreciated.
I guess that's about it for this week. Enjoy yourselves and we'll see you in the forums. Take care and thank you as always.
Matt "Des-Lab"
Sunday, August 24 2008
UPDATE: After much discussion both on and off the main boards, I will enact a compromise. I have, at least for now, lifted the bans on Yahoo, GMail, and Hotmail domains for site registration. However, the tradeoff is that until further notice, all memberships must be approved by me first. You will NOT be able to post immediately after completing registration. I will examine each individual application, ping it, and probably send a further verification e-mail that must be answered in order for your membership to be approved and activated.
This is a new site and I am open to suggestions. This is my compromise for now. However, as owner of the site, I do reserve the right to either maintain restricted membership, reinstate all domain blocks, or remove them as I see fit. I need to find the delicate balance of allowing anyone who wants access to the site without compromising it and allowing others to spam it.
Let's see how this goes.
First is the ongoing issue of E-mail registration. I continue to see, at least several times a day, failed registration attempts. This is no doubt because many would-be members are still attempting to register using Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail e-mail addresses, despite me having blocked those domains now three weeks ago.
UPDATE: This policy has been repealed on a temporary conditional basis. See below.
It presents something of a moral quandary to me: On one hand, it pains me to see that many potential members fall by the wayside and not end up as active members. The fact that there is that much [growing] interest in TapeHeads is hard NOT to get excited about.
But then the other side of me says: "Look. I've posted the new requirements in three consecutive weekly updates. There is also a message at the top of every single forum also detailing this. If these people are either too lazy to read it and/or inattentive to follow that very simple directive, then that's probably someone I don't even want on the site in the first place." So it's not as though this is some obscure requirement that one needs to dig deep for. One would think that if you were trying to register here and couldn't, that the message at the top of every single forum containing the title "Joining TapeHeads.Net" might provide some sort of clue as to why. After all, the site does remain open to casual viewing to anyone who happens to visit the site.
ADMIN COMMENT: This part still concerns me. As prominently as I posted the prior messages and some people were apparently not seeing them.
I'm still pretty firm in my belief that I made the right choice. It keeps spammers and a lot of other potential troublemakers out.
Next issue on todays agenda is the new Polls And Votes forum. It's not a new forum per se, but rather, a re-name of an old one. It occupies the spot of the former Foamers Corner section. After doing some looking over the site, I came to realize that there was a lot of overlap between that board and the Gallery forum in that both are basically the place to show images, pictures, systems, etc. So I moved all of the contents of "Foamers" into The Gallery and then renamed that section.
"Polls And Votes" is the section of the site I have set aside for you to ask the "What's the best....and "what's your favorite...." types of questions that are so common on these types of websites. You can also create polls, take votes, etc. Ask away and have fun in there. The only thing I ask is that you please limit any surveys you post in there to just audio related. The poll functionality has been enabled on this site since Day 1. Just no one up until now has ever used it. Perhaps because maybe no one was sure on where or how to use that feature. So now you know.
And lastly is Site Donations. Although I am not actively seeking it nor demanding or insisting on it, anyone who would like to contribute to the site financially is certainly welcome to do so. By now many of you have probably noticed the icon link in the upper left hand side of the page above the forum directory. It goes straight to PayPal, which in turn is linked to the site. So if any of you enjoy the site and respect it enough to contribute (in any amount), it would of course be appreciated. Indeed, one person has made a $100 anonymous donation. I do not know who it is; the e-mail address it came from is not a match to any registered user in the member directory. I did send an e-mail back thanking him for the donation. And to please identify himself so that he can receive proper credit. However, if he wishes to remain anonymous, that's certainly his right too. But if you are reading this, please be assured that it was noticed and very much appreciated.
I guess that's about it for this week. Enjoy yourselves and we'll see you in the forums. Take care and thank you as always.
Matt "Des-Lab"
Sunday, August 24 2008
UPDATE: After much discussion both on and off the main boards, I will enact a compromise. I have, at least for now, lifted the bans on Yahoo, GMail, and Hotmail domains for site registration. However, the tradeoff is that until further notice, all memberships must be approved by me first. You will NOT be able to post immediately after completing registration. I will examine each individual application, ping it, and probably send a further verification e-mail that must be answered in order for your membership to be approved and activated.
This is a new site and I am open to suggestions. This is my compromise for now. However, as owner of the site, I do reserve the right to either maintain restricted membership, reinstate all domain blocks, or remove them as I see fit. I need to find the delicate balance of allowing anyone who wants access to the site without compromising it and allowing others to spam it.
Let's see how this goes.