Glass Chatroom Board

Hi everyone...I had to install required updates to the server. Please let me know if you notice anything out of the ordinary...thanks!

Thank you for the birthday wishes! I had a great day and finished it off with carrot cake. 🙂

Hello Everyone,

I think I fixed the birthday list glitch where it was showing a day early. Please let me know if you notice any problems in the future.

Take care,
Curt

All updates are complete. Please let me know if you notice anything that doesn't seem to be working properly.
Thanks,
Curt

Hi everyone,

I need to update this website's software. I should be finished in about 15 minutes. If you run into any problems during that time, please log out and back in again.

Thanks,
Curt

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes, and that cake looked delicious Julie!

Okay to start posting again!

My web host is asking me to do a software update. Please avoid posting for the next half hour and let me know in the coming days if anything is not working as expected. Thanks!

Good Morning! Shelly (@shellyrae37) Everything seems to be okay as far as I can tell. Are you still having a problem?

Nancy - Thank you for catching that and for notifying me.

Good Morning,

This morning I updated the Glass board to allow up to 9 links in a post. Previously the maximum number of links you could have was 4. I made the same change to the Pottery Board last night. Hopefully this will solve the problem that Shelly was was having with links. The purpose of the limitation is to weed out potential spammers, but I'll just rely on you to let me know if any spammers start posting. I also updated the underlying software, just in case there was some other issue that was causing the problems.
If this doesn't solve the issue, or if you notice and new problems, please let me know... webmaster@chatroomboard.com

Thanks,
Curt

Hi Glassies,
I would recommend that anyone who wants their birthday to show up in the right hand sidebar to please edit their member profile and update it. Click the "save changes" button even if your birthday looks correct. Something apparently happened to the birthday field during one of the many system upgrades. I apologize to anyone who's birthday was missed. A big thanks to JimL (@dorbitz) for bringing this problem to my attention!
Thanks,
Curt

Ah, I see the problem Julie. My examples are showing curly quotes, but HTML only likes straight quotes. I'll fix the examples tomorrow. That must have been caused by one of the upgrades. Thanks for letting me know about it.

Julie @wattleihavenext , the html examples in the How-To manual should still work. The code that you're using also works, but it is just being converted to HTML. I think your code is called BBCode and Wikipedia provides a good description, http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBCode

Hi Glassies,
The "Load More" link at the bottom of the page is working again.
Thanks,
Curt

Hi Glassies,

Thanks,
Curt

Don and Katie ~ "Angela" was a spammer. Sorry I didn't catch it right away.

Curt

Hi Everyone,

Thanks,
Curt

HELLO EVERYONE - I wanted to let you know that I will be doing an upgrade
to the Chat Boards tonight. Please refrain from using the board after 9pm
eastern time. When I'm done I'll post an "all clear" 🙂

Thanks,
Curt

If you are experiencing extreme slowness with the website today, you are not alone. For some people the board does not even load. I have contacted my web host and they are going to run a process that will hopefully solve these issues. They say it will take about an hour, so I appreciate your patience.
Thanks,
Curt

Well folks, I don't what the problem was, but I called my web host and they were all at a July 4th barbeque, so I got someone in the Philippines. He said he was going to run a "fix" that would take about an hour, and whatever the fix was, that seemed to solve the problem. Thanks for your patience, and thanks to Shelly and Nancy for letting me know about it. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Thank you for the birthday wishes @songbreeze @sfinds @donscns @fran2 @reen @jmart8248 @shellyrae37 @wattleihavenext. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone. Thanks for the cake Gail! We went on a tour of some beautiful gardens in town, and just finished eating cake and ice cream.

FYI...Gail is having a computer issue at the moment and will be on as soon as she can get that resolved.

Thanks for the emails letting me know there was a problem. By the time I had a chance to look at it the problem had resolved itself, so I don't know what caused it. Hopefully it was an isolated incident.

If you are having trouble logging in, use the new link in the sidebar labeled Alternate Login Page.
Sorry this problem is taking so long to get resolved.
Thanks,
Curt

I still can't login using the fields in the sidebar but you may have better success if you use this link: http://glass.chatroomboard.com/wp-login.php
Please let me know if this helps. I can't get though to my web host right now so they're not much help.
-Curt

Some people have been having trouble logging in. I reported this to my web host and they said that they were already aware of the problem and are working to fix it. Hopefully it won't take too long, but they couldn't give me an ETA. I was one of those having trouble, but I just got in, so hopefully everyone else will be able to log in soon too.
Thanks for your patience,
-Curt

Update from Laurie (wellingtonct)...
She says hello to everyone, she's fine, her computer died in October, but she hopes to be chatting again soon.

@1citydude Tincey, the map wants you to enter it as De Berry, TX. Apparently the space and the capital B matters.

@1citydude Tincey, you and skccoast live so close to each other that your avatars are overlapping. If you zoom in on the map you will be able to see both avatars. The only solution is for one of you to move 🙂

@donscns Don, that's a good idea. I'll use your title too. Thanks.

Gail @songbreeze mentioned that you once had a map that showed where everyone lived. So I did some research and I found a plug-in that may work for you.

If you go to the Members tab you will now see a map of the U.S., and you will see my avatar located over Colorado. If you click on my avatar it will open a pop-up window identifying me. By the way, if you zoom out on the map you will see the entire world, including the avatars of anyone who lives outside of the U.S.

If you'd like your avatar to appear on the map, follow these steps:
1. Log in
2. Click on your own avatar (next to the Log Out button). This will take you to your own profile page.
3. Click the Profile link, then click the Edit link which will be displayed directly below it. In case you haven't done it in a while, this is where you go to edit your profile information.
4. Scroll to the bottom and you will find 3 new fields: Location, Latitude and Longitude, and Info.
5. Enter your City and State in the Location field. I entered Boulder, CO
6. DO NOT ENTER ANYTHING IN THE "LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE" FIELD. That field will be filled in automatically (after you Save) based upon what you enter in the Location field.
7. The Info field is also optional, but the information you enter here is what will be displayed when someone clicks on your avatar on the map. I entered my city and state again because it doesn't automatically include that information.
8. When you're done, click the Save button at the bottom of the screen.

These new fields are entirely optional, so if you don't want anyone to know where you live, then leave them blank. After all, this is a public board, so even non-members will be able to see it.

I don't have a lot of control over the way this looks or works, so if you decide that it isn't working the way it should or if you would just rather not have it on your board, please let me know.

-Curt

@donscns ...yes, I hope they fixed it this time too, but I wouldn't hold my breath 🙂

Apparently the login fix only lasted a few days. I called my web host and they're now running the same job that temporarily seemed to fix it last Friday. Another customer has reported the same problem, so they are reviewing this further to try to come up with a permanent fix. For those of you who are experiencing this issue, please let me know tomorrow if it is still happening.
Thank you for your patience.
Curt

I reported the login problem to my hosting provider and they are currently running a process that they say will take a half hour. It shouldn't impact the board while it's running, but it is a first step toward solving this problem. If anyone has problems logging in more than an hour after this post, please let me know so that I can contact my provider and let them know that their fix did not work.
Thanks, Curt.

Hi Glassies. A few of you have reported that you're having trouble logging into the board, and I also had trouble the other day. So far I've been unable to solve this, but Gail (@songbreeze) mentioned that going to the members tab to log in seems to help. I'll keep looking for a solution but in the meantime you may need to use the workaround.

Don @donscns, Jayhow turned out to be a spammer. Sorry I didn't catch it sooner.

Thank you for all of the wonderful birthday wishes. Took the day off and went to the Denver Botanic Gardens. It was a great day to tour the gardens, especially because the lilacs and peonies were blooming. When we got back to Boulder we did some fun things around town and finished out the day by playing the dice game Farkle. When my sister-in-law visited a few weeks ago from Pennsylvania she taught us how to play and we became addicted.

Curt

Hi,

Thanks,
Curt

Hi Glassies,

Thanks,
Curt

Hi Glassies...
I just wanted to give you a heads up about a possible outage in the near future due to software version changes at my web host. So if you come to the site and it's down, don't panic. I'll have it back up as quickly as possible.

Time test...don't forget to spring forward.

Sorry folks! The website was down and it took a while for my web host to figure out why. It all seems to be working okay again, so thanks for being patient.

Time test...don't forget to turn your clocks back folks.

Gail, @songbreeze, and anyone else who has run into the JPEG file extension issue, fixing the file extension is not too hard to do.

Here are the steps:
1. Open My Computer and find your JPEG file.
2. Right-click on the filename and then select "Rename" from the pop-up window
3. You should now be able to edit the file name. Change the file extension from JPEG to jpg, and then hit your enter key when you are done. For example, if the file name was UL39239.JPEG, it should now be UL39239.jpg

Beware of using large files like the ones that come straight from your camera. You're better off resizing one of those to a size that is appropriate for the web before you try to upload it. I would choose a size somewhere between 600 and 800 pixels wide. If you're not sure how to resize a picture, then let TinyPic do it for you (see How To Post a Picture Link)
I hope this made sense, but if you need me to clarify anything, please let me know.

Thanks Reen, and Don for the birthday wishes. Gail and Don, I forgot to remove my birthday from all of the boards when I was done testing, oops, so that's why you didn't see my birthday on the Glass board. Since the cat is out of the proverbial bag, I may as well add it to all of the boards.

Thank you Char, Oklahomasong_Gail, Fran2, NancyJean, Amber, Julie, IreneM, and Marson for the birthday wishes. Gail @songbreeze, enjoyed the cake 🙂 I had a really nice day, went to a silly French movie that kept us laughing the whole time. Then home for cake and ice cream.

Hi Glassies,

I'm aware that the board is loading very slowly today. I've spoken with my web host and they're looking into it. Please hang in there.

fyi...I removed the spammer who was showing up in the Birthday List....sorry about that!

Hi Glassies…

So basically, the new site is just a way to attract attention and to be found.
I’m open to questions and suggestions. Please send me an email if you'd like to participate as an "author" on the site. Also, if someone could come up with a list of glass-related keywords and keyphrases, that would be very helpful.

Hi Glassies...

I've had several requests to make the ”Post Message” button bold since it's a little hard to see. I just finished making that change, so if you don't see a difference you may need to hit the refresh icon at the top of your browser.

I realize that you have a birthday list on your "Welcome" link, but I’ve also added a birthday feature to the chatroom.

On your profile page you can add your birth date (no year necessary). On your birthday it will show your avatar in the sidebar and wish you a Happy Birthday…and hopefully others will too.

Hi Glassies...

Thank you for the wonderful glass images. It was difficult to choose from all of the beautiful pieces.
To see the new header image you may need to clear your cache or restart your browser. I was able to refresh the image by holding down the shift key and clicking Refresh Messages.
I have enough great pics left that I can rotate headers from time to time. Feel free to continue to send me images.

Hi Glassies...

I noticed the discussion about how other glass-lovers will find this website, and it's certainly a valid question. I currently have the search engines blocked for privacy reasons. The thing about search engines is that they can work a little too well. Everything you put in your posts becomes available to everyone else on the internet, and let's face it, not everyone out there has the best of intentions. Spammers discover websites like this and decide it's a great place to advertise all of the same stuff that sometimes slips through your email spam filters. Also, I doubt that you really want the world to know that you're going on vacation next week, or anything else that you would consider somewhat personal? Right now this website is kind of set up like a house that has the front door hanging open. Anyone can come in, but we don't have signs posted all over town advertising that fact. So how do like-minded people find your front door? One way is to post links to the glass board in strategic locations, such as the eBay category specific discussion boards. Dave's suggestion about setting up a search engine friendly web page with a link to this website is also a good compromise because it doesn't expose your posts but still points people in the right direction.

If you decide you really want to open up the board to search engines, just let me know and I'll do it for you.

Hi Glassies.
You've sent me lots of great pics, so I may have to create several banners and rotate them. I should have the new banner up in a day or three. So if you have any more pics you'd like to submit, you still have time.

Hi Glassies!

Now that I have a little time, I would like to change your chatroom's header to reflect the beautiful glass pieces you sell and collect.

So I'd be willing to swap out the insulators with some nice glass pieces of
your choosing. Just send me an email with images or links to images of your
favorite pieces and I'll choose a few and add them to the header. I'd
prefer that it be a straight-on shot of the item, and it would be best if
it was on a white background. If you all come to a group decision on the
best images, then of course I would respect your choices.

Hi Glassies! Hope you're all doing well.
I’ve added instructions to the How-To Manual for updating your profile, and also for viewing another member’s profile. The member profile is where you can find the link to someone's eBay auctions. Both sets of instructions are at the very bottom of the How-To page.
As always, if you have any questions for me, send me an email.

Dear Glass Board Members,

I am very sorry for the loss of your friend.

~Curt

Hi all...just a few updates...

I'm working on some new chat boards since eBay announced that the eBay chat boards will be disappearing by the middle of this month. I brought up the new pottery board yesterday, so pop over and visit, and join if you'd like. http://pottery.chatroomboard.com

I added some fields to your profile that might be helpful to others: eBay ME page URL, eBay Auctions URL, and About Me. Edit your profile to complete the fields. The eBay URLs may be helpful to the other members who can see them by viewing your profile. I don't have time to add instructions to the How To Manual for this right now, but I'm sure you'll all have it figured out in no time.

I think perhaps I haven't been completely clear about what the term "no business" really means. It doesn't mean you can't talk shop, in fact that is encouraged. It just means that you can't use the board for selling. Does that make sense?
And of course you are not restricted from referring to Amazon, eBay, or and other site by its actual name, as long as there isn't anything said that would get us in trouble with that site. I don't fancy any lawsuits.

...just dropping from the rafters to let you know that posts never go away, so it's unlimited.

Some of the html examples were displaying curly quotes instead of straight quotes so if you used copy/paste and wondered why some of the examples weren't working as advertised, that was the reason. The examples have been fixed.
Thanks to Jessie for bringing this to my attention. (@jessie)

@wattleihavenext ...there is a way to turn off email notifications and that information is not in the manual...yet. Click on your linked name (right above the logout button), then click Settings, then Notifications. You'll see four email notification settings listed. Just change them from yes to no, then click Save Changes.

@songbreeze ...Gail, you mentioned that you wished you had made your login ID oklahomasong. I may be able to change that but I'll need to experiment first with one of my test accounts, and I'll let you know.

Hi all, just checking in. Noticed the question about the number of posts and think you'll be happily surprised to find out that there is no limit. The most recent 100 posts display initially, and when you get to the bottom of the list you will see a "Load More" link which will load the 100 posts before that, and so on and so on.

@songbreeze ...oklahomasong_Gail, one way you might be able to determine between "Susans" is by clicking their avatar or linked name in one of their posts. This will take you to their activity page where at the top next to their "display name" you can also see their @username, a.k.a their Login ID. That is the name you should be using when you use the @mention feature, and in this case it also shows that Susan is @whodat111. I've been encouraging people to include their "username" somewhere in their "display name" so that it's easier for others to identify them. For example, if you want to go by Joe on this board, but your eBay username was plummer1234, you could set your display name to, Joe (plummer1234). On eBay only your username showed and you didn't have the option of using a display name.
Hope this helps.

@suzy ...if there is anything I can add to the login instructions to make it easier, please let me know. I'm amazed that so far no one has contacted me for help with their registration. I won't be able to monitor the board as often as I should tomorrow, so if you have a question and I don't get back with you right away, be assured that I will respond eventually. I should mention that some email providers are very agressive at filtering spam and they throw out good mail along with the bad, so if you have trouble getting your confirmation email you might want to try a different email address. I've never had anyone report problems with gmail or yahoo mail, so you might want to try one of those.
Goodnight.

The Glass Chatroom Board is now officially open! Use the "create an account" link (upper-right) to get started. Refer to the first section in the "How To" Manual for step-by-step instructions.

In the near future I may change the header image to better reflect the types of glassware that you sell, but for now I suppose it will do.

There is lots of room in the sidebar, so if you have any glass-related links that you think others would find useful, please let me know.

The url is not the easiest to remember, so I highly recommend that you bookmark it or send yourself an email with the link. While you don't need to be logged in to view the posts, you do have to log in to post and to take advantage of the "Message" feature. If you plan to be a regular on this site, then I highly recommend that you read the "How To" Manual. Please read the Guidelines for the rules of conduct and especially read the section on "flagging" posts.

I'm open to suggestions for improving the site, so send them along.

Everything is going well so far. Please don’t register or post until you see an entry from me that says it’s okay to do so…hopefully by Thursday morning.