Greetings.
Settle in, grab a cup of grog and a honey cake - this could be a lengthy one.
Last week I said I had a large announcement coming. I really did, I still do. This announcement became eclipsed by a larger situation and now I find myself owing you an announcement and coming to you to make an appeal to your charitable sides. Tis a conundrum.
BlogsOfRoleplay.com remains free and will continue to remain free. My big announcement was that I had gone ahead and purchased an unlimited personal edition of MT 3.1 and was going to expand this place. A contest shall be held for the right domain name to go with blogsofroleplay.com and there the MT 3.1 will go. Bloggers old and new will have the choice of MT version when they sign up and everything will remain free and as is.
That was my announcement. It still is and I'm still thrilled about it but now I must come to you all as a tired and frustrated muse.
As you all know, the server this domain lives on is one I rent from a major company who up until now has been fine with their service and product. (It is now) four days ago I noticed a major issue with the control panel for the server when I did a routine upgrade. Nothing I did but major. A significant module in the control panel disappeared completely.
Although I run BoRCom as a labour of love I do have a commercial hosting site with paying customers, none of whom were pleased. Four nights ago, the moment the problem occurred, I opened a trouble ticket with the company I contract the server with.
For the past four days I have not left my home. I have used an entire month's worth of peak minutes calling long distance (they have no 800 number to help keep cost low). I have sat by the phone waiting for callbacks that never come. I have spoken to every level of support from secretaries to 'senior supervisors.'
What has gone on is my ticket has been closed three times without the problem being resolved. I have been hung up on. I have had to submit to them links with reference to the problem from the authors of the program. I have been run in circles and jerked every which way and it has become evident they have no intention of fixing the problem. Blame goes from host to theme authors to script writers and no one is to be held accountable.
This is unacceptable to me. Unacceptable to me for my free domains as well as my commercial ones. I cannot have open situations and complete unwillingness to offer support.
I have researched other contractors and have found one that offers both the machine and the support. It is a better and faster machine and would allow me to improve on all I offer.
Setting up a new server is not an easy thing to do. It is not something I want to do or look forward to doing. It involves setting up the new machine and making sure all is well and then hoping for a smooth transfer.
And it involves cost. There is a large setup fee that quite honestly, I cannot afford to cover alone. I wish I could, I wish I didn't have to bring any of this to you all but here I am.
This is where I swallow my pride and with all humility ask those of you who can to please contribute a doubloon or two to the new server. There is no set amount, any doubloon given is a doubloon closer to the goal and a doubloon that will be deeply appreciated.
All doubloons received will go directly to the cost of the new server, last thing I would do is cheat with the kindness of others.
Sadly, I have nothing to offer in return for your donations except a stray virgin elf daughter of a crew member and my eternal gratitude. This site will continue to run free of charge and catch and please, I don't want anyone to feel any sense of obligation to donate.
Thank you for your time..
Strega
And a happy October to you all!
Time for the monthly update for the three people who actually check this thing.... Never thee mind, it's the start of Fall and things continue to happen for the better.
Once more, my apologies to those of you who had to wait a disturbingly long time for your blog to be created (Tzoli). I've had some strange ailment for the past month and it knocked me on my musing arse. I think I'm recovering though so hopefully there will be no more extended waits.
Now for news.
One: The October Blog of the month goes to Deceit of the Amaranth. A long-time preferred read of the Muse, this blog has a subtle yet elegant look and the content is superb. This is one classy blog and we recommend it for some quality reading.
Two: The October website of the month is not one of ours but it's quite the useful site. If more members would submit URLs to their sites or their game sites that would add to the choices I have but for now we recommend Movablestyle. He has some quality templates for MT 2 and 3 as well as hints and tips I've found useful. Good bookmark site for anyone attempting intimacy with MT.
Three: The primary focus for the month of October is the main index page. I've never really liked the look and the links aren't active, it just doesn't do the site justice. I've been puttering with a few designs and at some point this month the main index to the site will reappear in its new form, I hope you all find it suitable.
Four: The lone bit of unpleasantness for this month. I've said this before, I'll say it again. No one except myself should be able to create new weblogs, no one should have this option upon login. So far Zarika has been the only one to come and tell me she had this option checked. As I was doing routine maintenance work on the site yesterday I noticed a large group of posters with the ability to create new blogs. I have gone through every single author in the system and removed this option from everyone and issued a warning to the primary author of this particular blog. If you log in and see the Create New Weblog option on your screen, please send me an email and let me know. I've never had to put much worry into the security of this place and if it becomes an issue that needs my time, I'm afraid I don't have it to give. I am a staff of one.
Five: Muse or no muse, I am a mere mortal and I make mistakes. Yesterday I discovered a glitch I had done with Rylian's blog and the blog wasn't updating on the blogroll. If you see an error in spelling or setup, please email me and let me fix it. I don't mind, I want things to work as they are meant to here and my apologies to Rylian.
Six: A re-reminder to our new bloggers. If you would like another free place to stick your game or site's banner, please email it to me and we do this for you because we love you.
Seven: The following blogs were removed from the system for sitting unposted in from creation for three months:
Nieni (authored by nieni)
The Realm of Leyer (authored by shadowstar)
Threefold (authored by kalienne)
I also have some major news planned for this place. It's so big I can't include it in this entry, it needs one of its own. I'll probably enlighten you all tonight but I think it's a really good thing and ... nah, it's a really great thing.
So that's enough for the moment, I'll include my monthly cheesy plea now to sign the bloody guestbook and wish you all a glorious Autumn. You'll be hearing from the Muse again soon.
Blog on!