There are some new banner ads, notably one for a casino and another for About.com, and they are crashing browsers--not just mine but saw complaints on TB as well. Until they get it fixed (if they do), I'm posting stuff here.

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2001

Answers

it may be a bit spartan here, but at least we don't have to deel with the banners. Wonder if they're doing it on purpose to goose folks into paying for ad-free access?

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2001

Either that or to drive away those whose participants don't click on the damn ads. I got really frustrated--we've got snow and ice here (not much but it doesn't take much) so I'v got lots of accidents and incidents to report, I've got tons of household stuff to do and I have to futz around rebooting--aaaaaaaaaargh!

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2001

EZB is way "effed up". Could be trying to shake the trees, to loosen the bad fruit? Dunno, but it's almost not worth checking for a few days. Notice I said "almost". :)

Hi Git, hi Carl! WOOF!

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2001

Well...I for one prefer this format. I didn't really visit the Current forum, staying TB2000 instead. But if this forum stays here, I suspect that TB2000 folks will be moving in too. Its just so much easier and faster. Taz

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2001

For those who haven't checked their e-mail or put in a new e-mail address, this went out today: (Deleted because of lack of formatting)

-- Anonymous, February 24, 2001

Let's try that again.

Apparently, ezboard is generating insufficient revenue from its banner ads or has decided it's too much trouble and has proposed a no-banner pay scheme alternative, where the cost depends on the number of hits per day. We fall into the $10/month category but on occasion have fallen into the next more expensive slot.

We have noticed over the last several days a tendency for banner ads and/or the new server to jam access to the board and, being suspicious and cynical, we have to wonder if this is more than a remarkable coincidence. (It often can be remedied by hitting stop, then reload or back button.) As for the increasingly frequent "maintenance' notices, the more paranoid among us have wondered if this is merely ezboard's version of rolling blackouts to save server time when purchased capacity is near to being exceeded. Some of us have also noticed a tendency for our browsers to crash, whether we use Netscape or Explorer. It could be that ezboard has gone to a cheaper, less efficient server. In addition, there are strong rumors from all over that ezboard is about to go belly up.

Your hard-working and dedicated Currents administrators have not been sitting around, tearing hair and rending apparel. Oh, dear me, no! For one thing, we have searched the net far into the wee hours for alternative sites. So far, although we have looked at several dozen, we have found nothing to satisfy us. Ergo, Carl Lilly has opened up what we affectionately refer to as a bug-out bag forum over at the old Greenspun site, which can be accessed by clicking on the "If you have problems accessing ezboard" link at the top of every page. The password is the same. Please do bookmark this URL NOW if only because it will come in useful when ezboard goes down for "maintenance." .

Fiat, SAR and Carl have been beavering away, transferring files from Sustainable Living to the new, standby forum. We can manage without all the politics and so on, but it seems prudent to save the practical information found in Sustainable. If you go to the new site, all you will see for the moment is old Sustainable files, but they will soon sort themselves into the archives and it won't look the way it does right now. If there's anything else you might want toi preserve, feel free to cut and paste it into the new place. Carl has a thread explaining how, which you can find by clicking on New Answers.

Our fervent hope is that ezboard will sort itself out, give us a reliable site with advertising, and we can go on our merry way. Our world-weary experience tells us that ezboard will do away with advertising altogether and ask for payment from every board. After all, it's much easier to have automatic deductions made from someone's credit card than it is to go out and beat the bushes for new advertising accounts, not knowing from one month to the next what the revenues generated by the number of click-ons will be.

Going to a paying format is fraught with difficulties, not the least of which is nobody wants to put out a minimum of $120/year for BB service. Trying to collect donations wouldn't be a good idea, either. Nobody wants to be responsible for contacting people about their pledges and whose turn it is to ante up. In addition, it doesn't take an MBA to reason that once we get used to paying for this service, the price will increase. Doesn't it always? Remember when ATM service was free?

So that's where we stand at the moment. If anyone has any better ideas, please click on the "Despots R Us" link at the top of every page and send us an e-mail.

Despots R Us

-- Anonymous, February 24, 2001