None of what was accomplished over the last 2-3 months with the site (speaking to the new software, the migration, the experts that were hired to do some of the more technically complex tasks) would have been possible without the 2013 and 2012 drives. As we continue to actively work on the site (details below), I wanted to pop in here for a moment and thank everyone who participated this year. While 2013 looks to be one of our lightest drive years (we scaled down our own push), it was sufficient to accomplish or get under way every goal I had for this transition -- so thanks all around!
I expect a major overall to our operating system, mySQL, php, Apache, and other back-end processes within the next week or two, Deety is actively working on the front end as I type this, we're going to be rebuilding the database to make the site even faster, our dedicated search engine is enroute, and we have a custom coder developing a torrent manager for us. All of that is covered, and that's a wonderful thing.
I hope all of you are happy with the evolution of the site, even as we're still sort of in the process.
For anyone who wants to get a 2013 banner before they retire in a couple months (and get some Sportsbook and Stock Trader (coming soon) currency to boot), follow this link:
http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/donate/
I've got something special in mind for the 2014 drive, when that comes around. I haven't figured out how it will work yet, but I think there will be a threshold where donors can opt to have an ad-free experience. While I work *very* hard to watch for bad ads (auto play audio, etc.), and have taken real steps since the relaunch to avoid exposure to the same (I think there has been measurable success there), I know some will find value. The trick will be figuring out the math so that a donation doesn't effectively become a loss for the site with the ads disappearing -- but I wanted to make it clear that it's something that's been rolling around loose in my skull for a while.
While there are readily available tools available to block ads (I mean I've written up lengthy posts here to do exactly that), I hope most of you are allowing them to load AND don't find them disagreeable. Registered users, for the most part, now only see ads from our partner, USA Today. The quality has, (again, for the most part), reflected the quality of that partner. It's through those ads that drives become decreasingly relevant.
Thanks for a great 2013. We launched days before the first game (which was crazy, but what are you going to do), and here we sit in our bye week, halfway through the regular season, good time to be a Buckeye *and* a BPer. There's a lot of good to come on both fronts, enjoy the ride.