For The Love Of Port

As some of you may have noticed, the forum log in was down for a while as we fixed a few more pesky issues on the back end of the forum system.

Sorry for any inconvenience, but things should be back to normal now. Please email [email protected] if you have any log in issues or see anything that looks unusual (besides Derek).

Stewart

I see funny pink elephants and they are speaking to me in some strange British accent...ohh wait, that was just Derek at my front door

Email sent as well.

Not sure if this is by design or not Stewart, but it appears that all the names have gone from the posts (where the avatars usually are for those that have them) and also on teh main forum page of each forum, the "Author" is blank for everyone, and the "last post" field is blank for everyone that does not appear to have a "real name" as their profile name. ??

Todd

Todd,

i just noticed my name (above my avitar) has just changed to my full first and last name (from Andy V.).

At last, hopefully people must put a real name somewhere on their visible profile...makes things so much easier.

Todd,
See, like I told Derek, make sure to "take care" of Stewart and he will take care of you My name is still there.

So, Stewart, how much do I owe you this time

Damn... my shipment of Cruz Ruby got turned back... not at the Canada-US border which you'd expect, but at Stewart's front door. :Shock:

(Nameless, faceless) Todd

Yes Todd, Stewart is a bit more picky than some others here...uhhmm, Derek :twisted:

Can someone whose name no longer appears on the left side of your forum posts please test the following for me and post your reply here (I only need ONE person to do this). You might also want to memorize these instructions, as you'll probably have to navigate away from them to perform the following steps:

Go to the FTLOP Home Page (not the forum home page)
Make sure you are logged in
Click the "User Profile" link on the left nav bar
Hover over the "Edit" button at the upper left
Select "Update Your Profile"
Go to the "Contact Info" Tab

If your First Name and Last Name are already there, please let me know.
If they aren't, please enter your REAL first and last name and save the changes.
Then, go back into the forum and see if your real name now appears by your post.

Thanks
Stewart

Hi Stewart...

Did this - my first and last real names are there. I tried saving anyway, but still no dice apparently.
Maybe I can try changing a couple characters.

Todd

Will need to trouble shoot this tomorrow.

In the interim, just keep including your full real name in your posts.

Will update this thread when I have more info!

Stewart

Tried changing my name and back again... nothing.

Did you want me to try changing my username from tpettinger to Todd Pettinger? (I admit, I am partial to the username being all one word and squished together, but in the interest of troubleshooting, I could do this if you want.

Thanks,

Todd

Todd,

In the VERY near future ... meaning -- days -- not a week, a FIRM policy will be employed switching to real names instead of "user names" once and for all. I have wanted this since day one, but there have been obstacles to achieving this goal, which has never moved from my #1 priority on this website.

So please go ahead and put in your correct first and last name and be at the head of the class. Thanks!

Roy Hersh

Roy,

Although I understand the desire for real names on a forum I'm not sure that it is necessary here. I can't remember a single incidence of flaming or bad feeling, this site is civil as it is. I also like my moniker, it goes with me everywhere and helps me be recognisible to people that I know from other sites. I'm not in the least worried about using my real name but I prefer my nickname on-line.

The naming convention isn't broken so why fix it?

Alex

A suggestion:

The Author box to the left of each post includes the username, Avatar, date joined, location and number of posts. Could it also include "Real Name", being a concatination of the First Name and Surname fields in the profile. That way KillerB could keep his online identity (which I like) but we would also know his name. Everyone would be happy.

Derek

Guys,

You can put your nickname in the Signature field box that appears at the bottom of every post. Mine shows my first and last name and a little quote.

a FIRM policy will be employed switching to real names instead of "user names" once and for all. I have wanted this since day one, but there have been obstacles to achieving this goal, which has never moved from my #1 priority on this website.

Is there any part of this that is unclear?

You may certainly opt to incorporate your user name in the signature line as Andy mentioned.

Roy Hersh wrote:
Is there any part of this that is unclear?

Roy,

Your intransigence on this issue is abundently clear. Thank you for considering my proposal, which would achieve your objective, but is unfortunately suffering from NIHS

Derek

Roy,

I'm not that bothered if my name is shown real time, or as my long standing handle (on other sites I'm routinely referred to as 'UT')

But when you want to change the status quo, you must understand that it really doesn't go down well if you do it Soviet Diktat style..

..explain why, engage a little debate, re-align a little if necessary..

..and everyone is happy!

Tom

Just for the record, I have to reiterate that when Roy and I started discussing this website venture over two years ago, he asked me for two things: that we require people to use their real names on the the forum, and their real location. Trust me. We talk about it every time we have a meeting. For a litany of troublesome technology issues that have prevented me from doing the former (locations are already appearing for everyone), we are just now getting ready to implement the real name policy.

So this isn't exactly a new policy per se. In fact, a real name in the profile has always been a requirement for new registrations, it just hasn't been showing up on the front with the forum posts. It's also been widely understood among all of us that a real name is required to participate in the forum If you look back through the forum, it doesn't take long for one of the regulars to ask newbies to go in and put their real name in.

Roy and I have worked hard to keep this one of the friendliest forums on the Web. We actively monitor the threads, delete inappropriate ones (which are rare, thankfully), and have a wonderful group of you, the users, who also help police the forums and let us know if something is amiss. We also spend who knows how many hours every week keeping it up and running and creating new content. Having real names and real locations is just one more way that we can ensure that it remains the open, transparent, friendly place that it has become. So I'd like to ask that you look at this not as something that is being taken away from you, but something that will further the overall mission of this site - creating a community that uses our collective wisdom to discuss and promote our passion for Port.

I love to hear feedback on the site, and you all know that we've made changes based on your feedback. Roy and I discuss just about every suggestion that comes forth on how to make this a better site. But as the admin for the site, I have to put on my bad cop hat and say in the nicest way possible that not everything that we decide to do with the site will be up for debate or discussion about re-alignment. We aim to please, but we won't always be able to please everyone, I'm afraid. We'll do our best though to continue to develop this site and make it even better for you, our users.

Ok - taking the bad cop hat off and picking up the bottle of Port...

Just for the record, I fully support the real name an real location policy. Indeed I have often been one of those to prompt new members to disclose this information.

I hate nothing more than not knowing who I am talking to on this forum. That said, the suggestion I made earlier today not only promotes the visibility of real names and real locations but also allows members to attain continuitity between the identities the use on other sites and this forum. Everybody Wins. Nothing that I suggested in any way compromised the integrity that Roy's number 1 policy is trying to achieve.

I agree, you can't please all of the people all of the time, but you can make an effort not to displease them when they offer constructive suggestions.

Derek