Some News Of Possible Interest... Options

[Grumpus]

There's been a little bit of activity going on behind the scenes here this week. Not so much here in the forums, but rather, in the directory.

New Look - New Name

After about 40 seconds of debate, we decided that the word "directory" didn't properly describe what was going on over there. It's much more than a directory of sites, it's a whole research center with the ability to mine right down to specific information, see what others might be thinking about various listings (see below), and various other things.

So, in conjunction with a bit of a redesign, we've changed the name of the site to The Cre8asite Resource Library. The new look is also a bit easier to follow even though I still may be tinkering with it from time to time. Pop on over to http://www.cre8asite.net and let us know what you think!

Help Us Get the Resource Comments System Going

Most folks don't know it because we haven't featured it, but our directory has a user comment system built into it. It allows for people to post comments and/or reviews on any of the various pages and resources that we have listed there. I've been hesitant to feature the comment system up front because if there are no comments to read, it's silly to link to them (or do any sorting by how the comments are rated). And, if there aren't any links to them, then it's hard to get people to add comments.

So, I'd like to put a call out to all people to help us get a good number of comments and reviews going for a lot of the resources we have listed there. You can add comments (and read others') by clicking on the "Details" link from the listing pages.

It's fun, it's free, and it allows your voice to be heard by billions upon billions of brain cells.

New Category - Industry News and Blogs

There's not much there yet, but I've added this new category in an effort to list a few of the great places around the web where you can get daily information and news about our whacky industry. This is one of the few areas in the directory that will accept links to non-specific resources.

You can check out the news and blogs category and add your own favorite sources. I know some of you reading this have blogs dealing with our industry, so feel free to put it in there.

Who The Hell is Peabody?

In conjunction with a few surprises we have in store (see below), we're trying to figure out just who the heck Peabody is - you know, the little ball guy you see in some of our holiday logos and on the pages over at the library. We know that the patriarch of the family, Bluebert, has some interesting plans for the future, but due to various factors, we know very little about his past. Pinkie Peabody, the one you'll see offering you little tips and advice in the library site, has offered me a little bit of inside information, but even she is being a bit secretive.

So, if you have any inside information as to just who Bluebert G. Peabody really is (or if you have info on any of the other members of the family) please let us know by resonding to this thread.

Some More Surprises

There are some other things going on that are still not ready for their premiers. That day is coming - and soon, too. I'm very excited about these new things, so keep an eye out for a new announcement in the coming days. Chances are, though, that we'll sneak it in somewhere via a link on these pages before actually announcing it and just wait for the first person to spot it. We're sneaky like that so watch for new links or other things to magically appear either here or over in the directory.

Enjoy, Have Fun, and Keep Your Eyes Open!

G.

[rustybrick]

Wow! G and Kim and Cre8asite People.

you guys did an unbelievable job!

What a resource!

I'm going to play with it a bit and try to break it. I am sure its not going to be easy to break but I'll try.


Excellent job!

[rustybrick]

Well that didn't take long.

I went to the http://www.cre8asite.net/Directory/page.asp?page=301

added a comment - the first one there. I thought I was logged in, thought it took my forum username. Maybe it should not allow you to post a comment if your not logged in. Anyway, I then tried logging in under my forum user/pass, but didn't do anything. Then i clicked on "Don't have a user name? Don't worry! You can set one up in minutes!" Set One Up link. It took me to http://www.thetruslows.com/Users/userCreate01.asp and said

Not Found
The requested URL /Users/userCreate01.asp was not found on this server.

If you know about this, then sorry for pointing it out to the public.

[Respree]

Fantastic job, guys. Love the colors, layout and content. I think you did a fine job.

I have a few constructive comments on the site for your consideration.

- Check links from this page (truslow, vigil, cre8pc)
http://www.cre8asite.net/browseCats.asp?category=10

Goes to this page; which has has a broken .gif, information appears blank
http://www.cre8asite.net/People/authors.asp?author=

- Search Box. You might want to consider relocating your search box and widing it up a bit. This article may be of interest.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020512.html
"5. Include a Search Input Box
Search is an important part of any big website. When users want to search, they typically scan the homepage looking for "the little box where I can type," so your search should be a box. Make your search box at least 25 characters wide, so it can accommodate multiple words without obscuring parts of the user's query."

- 404 Error. Seem to getting an error (404) when you try to set up an account
http://www.cre8asite.net/Users/login.asp?a...sp%3Fsite%3D154

- A to Z Guarantee.
Your search engine does not appear to be searching through Amazon zShops and Auctions (malfunction?), so I'm not sure if this link is appropriate.

- Link Consistency. All your links appear underlined, with the exception of your top nav.( Shop : Cre8asite Forums : User List : What's New Log In : Create User ID ), which have mouseovers. For consistency, you might want to consider underlining them. To me it was obvious they were links, but to other newbies, it may not.

- Couldn't find any info on Blueberry either. I asked the OrangeGuy (don't know his name), but he didn't say anything either. I could be wrong, but I suspect it is because he has no mouth. Perhaps if we go here and ask their long lost cousin, they may have some information for us. 8)
http://www.m-ms.com/

Keep up the great work!

[cre8pc]

Barry,

We're still testing things too, so all feedback is welcome!

Kim

[Grumpus]

Cool. Bugs!!!!!

Hammering 'em out now. Barry - yours are now already fixed. Thanks!

Respree:

Authors: Thanks. Will look into that one when I get done with this post. (I'm thinkin' it's because those pages were submitted before another bug was fixed a while back...)

Search Box: Thanks. We're still workin' on a few of those layout things. Will make sure this is on the consideration list, too!

404 Error: Fixed. Thanks!

A to Z: It has "Marketplace" items on it. zShops and Auctions aren't on it, but the A to Z still works for marketplace stuff. (Note though that Amazon appears to have changed something in their feed so some of the marketplace stuff is not working. Grrrrr. :mad: Will muscle through that hopefully this weekend, there are a lot of things I need to do in the store, actually...)

Links: Yup. Had noticed that this morning. Before we had it a bit different. Will fix that on the stylesheet shortly.

Bluebert: Yeah, he's a mystery, huh?

Thanks guys for the reports! They are greatly appreciated!

G.

[cre8pc]

Also want to mention that Bill Slawski is a major contributor to the build of the Directory. It's been an extra project some of the moderators and Admins here and Stock have been working on for a long while and their devotion really shows.

I mostly watch in awe of them.

Kim

[Grumpus]

Yup. Lots of folks have put a lot of time and effort into contributing to the place over the past year. The site search stuff was written by Andy (where the heck has he been lately, anyway????), ILoveJackDaniels has put in some time with some programming help and interconnectivity stuff. (Such as, even though you need to set up a separate account over there, your USERNAME from here is reserved for you over there and vice versa).

You can also see who's put in the time and energy as contributers, as well by looking at the Most Active Members list.

There are a lot of things that make this directory stand out, in my mind. I won't go into all of them, but little things like linking directly to a specific answer to a specific question rather than the front page of a site that might have your answer. And, of course, there's the ability to go through and see your submission status and see why your site was rejected or what changes were made to the description you chose. And so on.

This has been a great lot of fun and, hopefully, we can generate some big interest in the place over the coming weeks and months and turn it into something really great!

G.

[rustybrick]

The fix worked for me, Kim - you have two comments from me on your blog.

[cre8pc]

After just writing in my blog about how smart older women are, I PM'd Barry to ask him what blog he was just talking about.

Suffice it to say that I just figured it out (he is referring to the comments on my blog, that he made in the Cre8asite Directory, silly!)

:shock:

And thank you Barry, for the sweet things you said!

Kim

[Jonathan]

I have had a butch and it looks good in there you lot.

I have moaned about you doing some updating for which I won't apologise because you have done it now and it looks better and feels a lot more comfortable in there.

Okay well i'm not sold on Peabody yet because there is a ramshackle estate near me call the Peabody but i'm sure he/she will grow on me lol.

In my mind Peabody has been nicknamed black eye pea.

A request?. Bring our Peabody alive by making s/he blink and where appropriate make s/he wink :scatter:

Bring him/her to life man, you will love it if you do it, I promise. Dare i say it after being here a year or so?..... trust me on this one.

Don't time fly eh lol?

[Adrian]

Dare i say it after being here a year or so?.

Jonathan
Member
 

Joined: 21 Mar 2003

A year tomorrow, should we throw you kind of party Jon? heh

As for Peabody, yup, bringing him to life is a good idea, I think you'll like some of the stuff happening that will probably do just that

[Jonathan]

lol, hey Adrian, the last birthday i had my poota went to Brighton via the midnight train to Georgia.

You throw a party for me here and the Cre8asite will prolly be pulling the wrong straw and you'll all go kerplunk and lose yer marbles lol.

I appreciate the sentiment, i really do. It's the thought that counts and you thought of it. Thats more than good enough for me sir.

Peace.