Dear Verandah Members and Guests:
The XML and HTML coding for the new Verandah are now complete.
Modifications to the chat engine to enable support for an expanded number of suites remains the only piece of unfinished business that must be accomplished prior to "roll out."
Many of you have noticed the new links grid that appears at the top of the site's static pages. The code for this page has been incorporated in all of the pages that are housed on the Philadelphia server and will be on all pages in the new site. In addition, short-cut links to the most commonly visited areas will be incorporated into the "Say it!" box on all chat pages.
While not all of the links in the grid are currently active, the following two have been brought on-line in the past week:
The latest addition to the new site is a members' "Control Room." This room will likely become the one that you will bookmark for entrance to the new site. It serves as a single location for members to alter the characteristics of their chat and their nicknames. Changes made in the Control Room will take effect throughout the site and will persist across both servers. The Control Room will be activated when the new site is on line.
Our new fee structure is posted on the "How to Join Us" page and will take effect when the new site is brought on line. All chatters who are not lifetime members, or who are currently unpaid, will need to reregister at the new site and will have "Guest" status there. If you have questions regarding your present payment status please e-mail ADMIN.
In addition to our regular Verandah Chat rooms. Several "special interest" rooms are being added to the site. These rooms are sponsored by paid advertisers and are linked directly from various commercial pages on the Web. Chatters at these pages will have guest status at the Verandah. Of course, Verandah members are welcome to chat at these pages if the subject matter interests them. The current sponsorships are for a page on professional bowling and for a page on Scrabble® and related word games. We are presently seeking sponsors for a page focussing on the up-coming Olympic games in Australia and the U.S. All special interest rooms will be accessible from the new site directory.
Within the next few days we will be establishing a self-registering listserv for persons interested in receiving direct updates regarding the Verandah. This list will be configured so that you may subscribe or unsubscribe to it directly from your Web browser. An announcement will be made here and broadcast on the Verandah when the listserv becomes active. To register visit:
NOTICE TO CURRENT MEMBERS: To be included in the new Verandah Gallery, please e-mail ADMIN a jpg, gif, Tiff or png file or provide a Web address for us to link to.
Lastly, to ensure that our Member confidential e-mail forwarding is properly updated for the new site. Please confirm with ADMIN the address that you want "yourusername"@minopher.net.au to resolve to.
Please note that the two static front page URLs for the Verandah are:
http://www.workingnet.com/Verandah/
and
http://dragon.minopher.net.au/interaction$/chat/
Peace and health,
Chris and Pat