We are Getting Closer

[Tex]

The following is a post I put up over on our FB page. I wanted to let you guys know what all is happening. It is taking longer than I would have liked, but this stuff takes a lot of time and money. We will most likely keep this site up and running until the other one is completed. If possible, we are going to try and populate the new forum with some of the existing content from this one. The layout and section headers will likely be quite a bit different that what we currently have and there will be quite a few of the current sections completely scrapped and no longer used.

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Guys, I've been on the phone with Chris a couple times already today and I have also spoken with our website developer. I know things don't seem to be going very fast, but we are making progress. These things just take time and money. Lots of both. I wanted to drop in and give everyone an update on what all we are looking at doing and hopefully get a little bit of feedback as well.

The website is going to be set up like an online magazine. There will be a discussion forum, podcast/video section, chatroom, magazine section, store to buy merchandise, widgets, and links to contributor pages.

The online magazine section will likely be set up with the same sections and headers as the forum will have. Remember me saying the other night, we will be encouraging member content here. If you create a good forum discussion, we will take that post and reconfigure it into a blog/magazine article. You will get full credit for it, and it will be moved to the main page of the website. That main page will be the hub where everything starts. We plan on having snippets of several articles on the main page and when a new article is linked, the bottom piece will then move into the appropriate category in the magazine. The plan is to keep fresh new content rolling through on a constant basis.

We are looking at having useful widgets on the main page as well. Things like weather for your area, Farmers Almanac Calendar, Silver/Gold tickers and whatever else we can think of.

There are discussions about taking an existing comms website and forum and merging that into this new project as well. If that happens, there will be a couple onsite elmers to help with questions.

Chris and I have been talking about weekly photo contests for people to post their prepping and survival related pictures. Not kids and pets, but photographs of you actually taking part in prepping, survival or self-sufficiency type activities.

There will even be a "Members Only" section. We haven't decided what all will be included in this section yet, but there has been much discussion on what could be added to give a little extra bang. Having a live chatroom is one aspect that Chris has mentioned several times, so that will be built in. We've had one before and it has led to several memorable conversations.

We want to hear your thoughts and ideas as well. Let us know what you are thinking, or what you would like to see included. There will be sections for news, current events and general conversation. Our plan is to copy content from the site and post to our different FB pages with a link, so that we can direct people over there. That site will be private property, which means we can have a classified section and actually advertise guns or parts. If you have ideas for forum sections, let us know what they are. There are also some writers lined up ready to start entertaining us in the Story Section.

Seriously, give us some feedback.

Thanks,
tex

[kickstand]

Cool, thanks for the update. If I can help with anything, just let me know.

[olfart]

I'm pleased to see we're doing something other than on Farcebook. Farcebook is a monumental waste of time and energy in my opinion, which is why I closed my account there many years ago.

Thank you for your efforts.

[Tex]

I'm pleased to see we're doing something other than on Farcebook. Farcebook is a monumental waste of time and energy in my opinion, which is why I closed my account there many years ago.

Thank you for your efforts.

That depends which side of the desk you're sitting on. We are actually going to be trying to change the flow of the tide, but the simple facts are, Facebook is where the people are. And when you are trying to reach the masses, some would say we'd be better off staying over there rather than opting for a rebuild here. We have some other plans in mind though and the fact that this is private property has its allure.

Tex

[olfart]

That depends which side of the desk you're sitting on. We are actually going to be trying to change the flow of the tide, but the simple facts are, Facebook is where the people are. And when you are trying to reach the masses, some would say we'd be better off staying over there rather than opting for a rebuild here. We have some other plans in mind though and the fact that this is private property has its allure.

Tex

I understand that, but the allure of Farcebook's crowds is drawing you from the folks who brung you to the dance in the first place. That's why some feelings are hurt. Many of us here have left Farcebook and feel left out. That's why I'm glad to see you developing a new web page for the non-Farcebook devotees. Keep up the good work.

[Tex]

We have been looking into different options and have decided to build a completely new site, rather than try to refurbish this one. The technology on this site is fairly old and outdated and there are many new options available that we intend to utilize. We will still have an actual forum and chatroom, but they will be extra features surrounding the online magazine format we are going for.

Tex

[AussieDarren]

I'm on both but much prefer forums to face book for real talking. Thanks for the update Tex