I have so many reactions to the events that transpired today, both here and at Capitol Hill Blue's Reader Rant, and I wanted to share them with all of you.
First and foremost, thank you one and all from the bottom of my heart for making the pilgrimage to this web site when you could have so easily chosen to go elsewhere. I am deeply honored. I am also saddened. One of my best friends on the 'net - Towanda - felt compelled to resign from her position as Administrator at Reader Rant over a fundamental difference in philosophy between Doug Thompson - Reader Rant's owner - and herself. It was a position she filled ably and with unrelenting committment. I won't comment on the issues that separated Towanda and Doug, except to say that her departure is Reader Rant's great loss.
It is also our great gain. Towanda has held the position of Administrator here for some time. But until the recent spike in hits prompted by today's events, it was something she could do more or less part time while she ran the show over at Reader Rant. She has agreed to continue on as Administrator here and to make this her home. I am both flattered and grateful.
Other Reader Rant moderators resigned their positions today as well. This has been a painful time for all of us, and in fairness to Doug Thompson - for him also. Earlier this evening, after much deliberation, I tendered my own resignation as a Reader Rant moderator. I felt that, with the upswing in traffic here which was a direct result of the events at CHB, it was no longer appropriate for me to have access to moderator privileges there. I asked Doug to restore me to regular member status. I posted a brief farewell note on the public forum explaining my decision to which Doug replied very graciously - inviting me to drop in once in a while and post. I will probably do so now and again for old time's sake, but this site, of which I am after all the owner, will be my posting home on the 'net from now on.
What does the future hold for AnnoyedMan.com? Some of that depends on whether today's flurry of posts is just a spike, or a trend. I most sincerely hope it is a trend. I can't tell you all how pleased I am to see you posting here. I am a guy who loves to host big barbecues, and that is what this feels like to me. A big bunch of my friends have decided to hang out here and sample the goods. I couldn't be happier.
But, the increase in traffic - blessing that it is - also brings along some issues which will eventually have to be addressed. I mention them, not to discourage anybody, but simply to let you know what kinds of changes might become necessary down the road.
Probably most important to me personally (in my wallet) is bandwidth usage. My very good and long time friend CokeDrinker5 (whom you might have seen skulking around these parts) is also my web host. He charges me a very favorable rate - probably much less than he charges most of his customers - based on my monthly bandwidth usage. (Even so, I'm sure his regular rates are very reasonable in case any of you are looking for a reliable web host.) For now, we are well within my montly allotment of bandwidth without my having to pay an increase in hosting rates. However, at some point (Please God, let it happen!), my bandwidth usage will justify a rate increase. There will eventually come a time when I can no longer afford to support this site strictly out of my own pocket. When that happens, I will be looking at options like selling ad space, etc., to earn a little offsetting revenue. Trust me. I HATE those flashing, bouncing, obnoxious ads like you can find on so many sites. They offend my sensibilities as a designer. But, they may become a necessary evil.
Other changes for the near future include an overall redesign of the site's look. A preview of what it might look like can be seen here. I have other things to complete on my regular pages. I want to finish my page on weight loss. I need to finsh the FAQ page and the Site Search page (which involves monkeying with a complex script that CokeDrinker5 wrote). I have other family photos I want to upload and add to my "Phamily Photos" page. I have some ideas about adding fun sections to the forum area, but I don't want to discuss those publicly until I've had the opportunity to get Towanda's opinions.
I want to always have an "open door" policy with all of you - keeping in mind that forum related issues should be taken up with Towanda, need2no, and the moderators. I trust their judgement implicitly in these things. But if you have questions related to this website as a whole, or just want to chat me up, you can reach me through the u2u feature on this forum. I'm usually available throughout the day. You can also use the contact form on found on the site's main menu. That will generate an email to me directly.
Lastly, spread the word. Tell your friends. All are welcome who are willing to observe common rules of civility and common sense. It will be obvious from other things that I have written that I am a fairly conservative guy, but I enjoy reading other points of view. More than likely, I won't get involved in too many debates. But I do enjoy reading them, so have at it.
God bless you all,
The Annoyed Man
