Site Refresh & Upcoming Downtime

[John Alberts]

Thank you Mark!

[willie]

   OK with me   Willie

[johnb]

Thanks for all your hard work Mark which is really appreciated and keeps many of us connected to the hobby. 


Regards
John Brewer

[archigrog]

Thanks a lot, Mark!!


Claudio

[Brian]

Again a big thanks Mark, without this site it would be much more difficult to stay in touch.


I do not contribute as much now but am always keeping a eye on what's going on so again a big thanks
   

[PJDeluhery]

Thank you very very much Mark for all what you do to keep this site active, and up-to-date efficiently.


In a period where social networks attempts to superceed foums and site like IFFS, but with a lot of inconvenients, and a high culture of selfies and narcissism, and where unfortunately members are sometimes leaving the traditional but so reliable sites, your actions are very much appreciated to offer a strong competitive attraction to the current tools.


Sequential stacking of messages in chronology are at first impression attractive, but having to find out a pictre, a subject, a discussion related to a loading occurred several months or years earlier, or a list of deiscussions of pictures about a subject is becoming a nightmare on social networks.


So again thank you, as the day such communication tolls disappear, then I shall stop this hobby!

I echo Hannibal's comments. Thanks Mark for all your work to maintain this site. Whatever small inconveniences we may have while you do your work are well worth it.  I opted out of social media years ago. This is one of the very few places where sanity, courtesy and enthusiasm are maintained by a very unique group of people. 

[Hannibal]

Thank you very very much Mark for all what you do to keep this site active, and up-to-date efficiently.


In a period where social networks attempts to superceed foums and site like IFFS, but with a lot of inconvenients, and a high culture of selfies and narcissism, and where unfortunately members are sometimes leaving the traditional but so reliable sites, your actions are very much appreciated to offer a strong competitive attraction to the current tools.


Sequential stacking of messages in chronology are at first impression attractive, but having to find out a pictre, a subject, a discussion related to a loading occurred several months or years earlier, or a list of deiscussions of pictures about a subject is becoming a nightmare on social networks.


So again thank you, as the day such communication tolls disappear, then I shall stop this hobby!

[marko]

Just a bit of forewarning to folks.....

December is normally a bit slower for my job and I normally try to do some maintenance on this site during that time.  This site runs on a scripting language called PHP on which we run an a somewhat older version.  Our ISP no longer supports the current version and I have been paying a small fee for them to continue to run it.  Upgrading to a current - supported version - was a slog given there is a large amount of change but, I am nearly there so an update is imminent.

So sometime in the next several weeks I will be taking the site offline for a short period of time and moving it over.  You will find some visual changes, and some minor functional changes to the site.   However, t will run much faster and set us up for the near future.  I will be moving everyone's data, pictures and messages along with the move and I think the practical changes are not significant.

I am anticipating a short bout of down time - a couple of hours - as I stage it and get things moved and I will let folks know ahead of time.

Hopefully everyone is beginning to get into the swing of the Holidays, I am looking forward to the traditional Christmas Cards featuring flats and some winter themed figures coming shortly as well.  (I have a few skaters of my own to post actually...)


mark