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Out Of Hiding
Sat Jul 31 2004

Hey all,
I thought I should probably check in and let you all know that I'm still alive and all that. I've been REALLY busy on another project (as well as with work, but we don't count that) that is enabling me to do something that I've wanted to do for some time and unfortunately due to needing some sleep occasionally (though probably more occasionally than I actually allow myself lately) DD has taken something of a back seat.

There's also been a lot of stuff going on in my personal life that has meant DD hasn't really been my 'flavour of the month'. I won't be going in to too much details about all that, those that have a need to know will already know what I to what I am referring!

Anyway, Friday was a day for some decisions that seemed, at least at the moment as though they'll be very positive for DD's future. It's still quite a volatile time in my personal life and things could change in the blink of an eyelid, but at least at the moment things are looking like I might get some enthusiasm to spend some time on DD again.

The time away has enabled me to look at some other systems in quite some depth and realise a number of things that DD is really lacking these days, and to realise how '1990s' some of the ancilliary stuff (Hamipiks, HamiMail etc) really is. It's also made me look at the Plus accounts a bit deeper and there will be some changes coming up, some features and things will have to go 'Plus only' but none of that is finalized and some of it not even discussed yet, so I shan't say any more than that. Don't worry though, reading and writing diaries will still be available to non Plus users :-)

So yeah, so yeah. And stuff. And that...

There's a lot going on and I haven't forgotten you all! Please bear with me a bit while I get through some 'interesting' times and try to get back into DD development hopefully soon.

Steve.

6 Comments
  • From:
    Labyrinth (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun Aug 01 2004
    Welcome back Steve. DD has been doing great lately with no server crashes. It was noticeable though that you weren't around. Kudos to whoever held the rein while you weren't looking.

    I just wish that non-plus DD users like me won't lose the features we are enjoying right now. Instead all PLus users will enjoy added features other than the smiley icon(?) which they often say.

    More power.

    Orient:)
  • From:
    InStitches (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun Aug 01 2004
    Welcome back Steve. Sometimes it is good to step back and get a fresh perspective. Glad to have you back at the helm. :)
  • From:
    Musik (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun Aug 01 2004
    From: Labyrinth
    "I just wish that non-plus DD users like me won't lose the features we are enjoying right now. Instead all PLus users will enjoy added features other than the smiley icon(?) which they often say."


    Actually, they get a lot more than just a smiley face and a warm fuzzy feeling that their Plus account money is going to pay for the server to keep DearDiary.net alive because I suppose its fair to be blunt and say if there were no Plus Users, there would be no DearDiary.net - so basically it's the payments of 90 current Plus Users who keep the free option available to everyone, they carry load of the thousands who use the service for free.

    I guess if there were more Plus Users then there would be more incentive to work on DD functionality to improve it. Already a lot of work has been done to make DD more stable so it doesn?t crash all the time. Hours of labour is required to make these things happen.

    A friend of mine is a Plus user and he says he is able to host large numbers of his images on HamiPiks which is the major drawcard for him.

    Having said all this, I appreciate that not everyone has extra money to put into a Plus Account and no one has ever said we have to, free users still continue to get great service.

    Cheers,
    Rose
  • From:
    Eliezer (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun Aug 01 2004
    I've been a Plus user for, I guess, a few years now.

    I became a Plus user to "put the cash where the mouth is" as they say - basically, following the Shareware model that says if you try it, like it and use it, then you should donate some cash, once you've confirmed the quality of the (DD) product.

    I checked a number of diary sites when I first started looking for one, and for whatever reason, I decided that I liked DD best for my purposes.

    In particular, I liked the responsiveness of the support staff (read: Steve) to issues, feature requests, and fixes. It's that personal touch and attention that I appreciate.

    New features, huh? Hmmm.... :-)

    Eli
  • From:
    Monstergue (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun Aug 01 2004
    I hate to side with Eliezer in any way so I will just keep my mouth shut and hope he drops off the face of the Earth.

    Glad to see you back.
  • From:
    JanuaryGirl (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun Aug 01 2004
    You mean your life DOESN'T revolve around us here at DD? My gosh.. Kidding of course. Always nice to see the DD1 notify in the box though..

    Just wondering.. Is what Musik stated true? I mean would DD functionality really improve, or would you all be more concentrated to that end, if more people subscribed? I could start a grass roots campaign if that's true.. I could make a web page and everything. ::grin::