A few board operational updates

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Posted By: leon

I want to give a quick update on a few things we are working on with respect to the board.

Steve Verkman made a good suggestion about having the thread, or at least post, concerning the US Mail, and the processes it takes to get something from point A to point B, as a permanent fixture on the board. For the last few days Brian and I have been discussing a new area of the board. It will contain threads (I will most likely lock them, as they are ancient anyway) that have been the most informational. To do this we might have to come up with a new design for the top of the board, though I am leaning towards not doing a whole new look. Regardless of any of that the way the board is structured, technically, will remain the same. The same way threads are all together and the most recent post goes to the top will stay the same. The Buy/Sell/Trade area will remain the same and the other forums will remain the same, operationally speaking. I feel they have done well and while there are always opinions of doing things differently, they have worked fine for about the last 2 1/2 yrs. I know the BST has been debated, but if we can remember to let them go to about 60-70 posts, it would make that area better. I don't see an overwhelming need to change at this point (other than hopefully letting them go a little longer).

The banner ads are here to stay. With that being said we are going to have a banner to advertise the static banner ad in the upper right (it will be in that spot). It will be in orange and rather loud. It won't be flashing, buzzing, or doing other weird stuff you see from some other sites. Since there are ads there is no reason not to promote them. Many companies have found they are a great place to advertise and the comments I get about them, from advertisers and members alike, are overwhelmingly positive. I know of many valuable submissions that auction houses have acquired due to the ads. I know of many instances where board members have told me they didn't remember something until they saw the ad. They work and it's a fact. We get over 9,000 unique IP's every month on this board.....(we have data to back up the claim)....I believe there could be about 20% of those folks that use computers at home and work but there are definitely over 6000 different people a month (conservatively) that look at this board. Thanks to everyone for making this such a popular place. I know of no other place on the internet like it and am proud to moderate it. Brian and I are always thinking of ways to make it better too. best regards