This is the July edition of the Maelstrom News, where we take a look back at what happened at the board in the last month...
We start with an important announcement, which wed like everyone to read please!
After a lot of discussion and consideration, we have decided to make a minor change to the way our membership access the board, by turning on a feature that restricts viewing of the site to registered ezboard members only. This should not affect any of our current members, as you need to be logged in to your ezboard account anyway if you want to post or reply this is just a minor extension to that process!
What it means to you it just means that you need to be logged in to your account whenever you visit The Maelstrom. When you access the board, if you are not logged in, then youll get a standard ezboard prompt asking you to log in before you view. For any new visitors who dont have an ezboard account, they will have to register one before gaining access (which as you know, is a simple (and free!) process). This is NOT membership by approval and there will be no screening or application process; all members, new and old, will remain welcome to read, post, and share at The Maelstrom.
Why are we doing it? Purely for practical and financial reasons! The Maelstrom is a Gold board, which means no pop-up ads or other forms of advertising for our members. Were happy to provide this ad-free service, but there is a cost, and that cost has been increasing year on year. Ezboard calculates how much to charge based on our total page views per year, but it is increased by the number of page views from non-ezsupporters. If you are an ezsupporter and you are not logged into your account, ezboard counts that as a non-supporter page view, which adds up over the course of the year. So, its just a way to cut our overheads a little. Were confident that it should not affect your access to the site. (Note: if you havent subscribed to ezsupporter, there are a range of benefits which include being anonymous in whos online, if thats what you prefer!)
If anyone has any questions or concerns about this upcoming change, please don't hesitate to contact soulsease or Just a Mona Lisa by email, ezboard message, or at The Maelstrom.
OK, on to other news
Writing News: Congratulations to heartsong7 (Sue), winner of the June Picture Competition with One Day on the Nile! Not to be outdone by Chanticleer last month, Sue also won the May 6 Words contest with Buried very well done! Many thanks to all who participate/vote it really is appreciated! This month, theres a new Picture and 6 Words challenge in The Eddies, an Anti 6 Words, a Form Challenge (Ballade), and a BRAND NEW Picture contest in Into The Depthsso please, try them all out!
Art News: The Free theme challenge in the Illustrators Isle pulled in some lovely pictures, so many thanks to all who posted. This months theme is Hidden Beauty...should make for some great responses!
Lies, Damned Lies, & Statistics: There are now 612 registered memberswouldnt it be great if all of you were posting with us actively!! Since we kicked the site off five years ago, weve seen a grand total of 2,345,000 page views, and 141,000 posts! Once again, our thanks to you all...without you, wed not be here!
As always, if you have suggestions, comments or criticisms of The Maelstrom, please let any of the staff know either via email or by dropping a note into The Babbling Brook forum. The Maelstrom exists for you, our members, and we will do our best to accommodate you, if possible. If you like us, tell your friends, and if you don't, please tell us!
The Maelstrom Crew
We start with an important announcement, which wed like everyone to read please!
After a lot of discussion and consideration, we have decided to make a minor change to the way our membership access the board, by turning on a feature that restricts viewing of the site to registered ezboard members only. This should not affect any of our current members, as you need to be logged in to your ezboard account anyway if you want to post or reply this is just a minor extension to that process!
What it means to you it just means that you need to be logged in to your account whenever you visit The Maelstrom. When you access the board, if you are not logged in, then youll get a standard ezboard prompt asking you to log in before you view. For any new visitors who dont have an ezboard account, they will have to register one before gaining access (which as you know, is a simple (and free!) process). This is NOT membership by approval and there will be no screening or application process; all members, new and old, will remain welcome to read, post, and share at The Maelstrom.
Why are we doing it? Purely for practical and financial reasons! The Maelstrom is a Gold board, which means no pop-up ads or other forms of advertising for our members. Were happy to provide this ad-free service, but there is a cost, and that cost has been increasing year on year. Ezboard calculates how much to charge based on our total page views per year, but it is increased by the number of page views from non-ezsupporters. If you are an ezsupporter and you are not logged into your account, ezboard counts that as a non-supporter page view, which adds up over the course of the year. So, its just a way to cut our overheads a little. Were confident that it should not affect your access to the site. (Note: if you havent subscribed to ezsupporter, there are a range of benefits which include being anonymous in whos online, if thats what you prefer!)
If anyone has any questions or concerns about this upcoming change, please don't hesitate to contact soulsease or Just a Mona Lisa by email, ezboard message, or at The Maelstrom.
OK, on to other news
Writing News: Congratulations to heartsong7 (Sue), winner of the June Picture Competition with One Day on the Nile! Not to be outdone by Chanticleer last month, Sue also won the May 6 Words contest with Buried very well done! Many thanks to all who participate/vote it really is appreciated! This month, theres a new Picture and 6 Words challenge in The Eddies, an Anti 6 Words, a Form Challenge (Ballade), and a BRAND NEW Picture contest in Into The Depthsso please, try them all out!
Art News: The Free theme challenge in the Illustrators Isle pulled in some lovely pictures, so many thanks to all who posted. This months theme is Hidden Beauty...should make for some great responses!
Lies, Damned Lies, & Statistics: There are now 612 registered memberswouldnt it be great if all of you were posting with us actively!! Since we kicked the site off five years ago, weve seen a grand total of 2,345,000 page views, and 141,000 posts! Once again, our thanks to you all...without you, wed not be here!
As always, if you have suggestions, comments or criticisms of The Maelstrom, please let any of the staff know either via email or by dropping a note into The Babbling Brook forum. The Maelstrom exists for you, our members, and we will do our best to accommodate you, if possible. If you like us, tell your friends, and if you don't, please tell us!
The Maelstrom Crew
