State of the Haven 2009
Well, another year has passed and the Haven is stronger than ever!
This year, we combated an attack by hackers quickly and efficiently, having the site back online within 36 hours of the initial attack. We rolled out custom software to make Caption Trading and Links Navigation simpler and more user friendly thanks to Bren, Dementia, and Courtney. We saw the beginning of a new baby in Cassandra's Coliseum and a continuation of the Save the Work Project that included the work of Donnie, to which we are currently the only site I'm aware of authorized to post his entire collection.
Several improvements for the site are currently under development, most of which will replace software I only ever tolerated. As the work is still ongoing, I'll only state now that these projects will only make the site more user friendly, more stable, and less likely to be hacked.
The following are the site statistics as of 1 pm PDT on October 2, 2009:
Member Statistics
Total Members: 3702
Total Registered: 16100
Average Registrations per Day: 14.73
Forum Stats
Total Posts: 199177
Total Topics: 24956
Total Boards: 405
Average Posts per Day: 187.05
Average Topics per Day: 23.34
Gallery Stats
Image: 81420
Albums: 4186
Categories: 236
Comments: 18375
Library Stats
Caption Contest September/October 2009 Update!
It's time to vote for your favorite Caption in the September 2009 Caption Contest!
If you're a member of the site, you can vote! You do not have to have gallery access, nor do you need to have made an entry. Please check it out and vote for your 3 favorites! The poll will be open for 10 days.
Also, it's time to enter the October 2009 Caption Contest! Come be part of the fun!
Rachel's Toolbox 2.0
After months of work from several Haven members, Rachel's Toolbox has gotten a major face lift. Many of you recall the first version she put together. It was just some basics for GIMP and Paintbrush, but it gave many of us a start and a creative outlet. The new toolbox features tutorials on how to use Aviary, Comic Life, Gimp V2.1, Gimp v2.6, Paintbrush, Paint.net, Photoshop, and Power Point.
Check it out with the link in the main menu!
Everyone on the planet can now find some way to make a caption. Some of these programs are freeware so you could start making yourself a captioned picture right now! A very special thanks goes out to the following for their contributions to making this a success. Thank you all very much for the time and effort you put into this.
Courtney, Jackie Blue, Zakiszak, Steffie, Josie Chung, Dementia, and naturally the one who made this all possible, Rachel.
Announcing Haven Links 2.0
Due to our recent hacking, We've pushed up the release on an upgrade we had in development the last few months. Butwho could describe it better than the lead developer herself, Dementia?
" ... simple to use and understand (I thought) ... minimalistiic (which is what i like).... "
Or how about our programming leader, Courtney?
" ... it is an extensible and dynamic link application that can expand and adapt as the need arises... and it's one of Dee's crowning acheievments.... "
So have a look at our brand new toy as we upgrade and restore an old feature with a little new flair! You'll find it listed under 'Links' on the menu!
Vote now for the July Caption Contest!
It's time to vote for your favorite Caption in the July 2009 Caption Contest!
The voting poll was posted a little later than normal. I left a cheerleader in charge while I was on vacation and she got distracted by a shiny object. There was a great turn out this month, 34 entries! If you're a member of the site, you can vote! You do not have to have gallery access, nor do you need to have made an entry. Please check it out and vote for your 3 favorites! The poll will be open for 10 days.
If you haven't seen them yet, take a peek at the awards for the June contest. These get posted in the awards section of the winner's profile. This part of the Haven is temporarily down due to the recent technical issues [death to those who messed things up, karma will get you], but it will be restored shortly...and you know you want one of those cool pictures in your file.
Also, it's time to enter the August 2009 Caption Contest! Come be part of the fun!