January's Blog

Long Distance Relationships

2011-07-19T11:27:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share with you my feelings about LDR's, or long distance relationships :) My girlfriend Leah and I have been in a LDR for the past 7 months. LDR's are purely emotional, and if you enter one, you should prepare for commitment. I know that Leah would never cheat on me, and, likewise, I would never cheat on her. I love her with my whole heart, more than anything.

-Chas

PS: I was demoted from WC a couple of months ago, and I don't miss it at all(:

Halloween Events!

2010-10-17T21:42:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! Long time no update huh? Anyways, get prepared for some awesome Halloween contests! We've had these in the planning processes for a very, very long time. Also, we may be getting a new designer soon! So, keep your eyes peeled for everything ;)

Did I mention that the DCT for the 31st will be epic and there will be prizes?

-JW

Some New Additions! (Not Profile Related! But, some of the questions are ;))

2010-06-24T10:55:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! As I'm pretty much done with the profile problem, and I set them to fix themselves by the end of today (see my other post!) So, I've moved on to some optimization :D That's fancy talk for making the site go faster. Here's what I said to the rest of the staff to debrief them!

"vBAccelerator
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=207566

Just installed this. It makes the servers go a lot faster by saving attachment images and thumbnails and album images and thumbnails onto the disk and not the database. Pretty much really helping us
"

That just makes the whole forum run faster. The next one's sorta confusing, but you guys can grab the main things out of it ;)

"Just Made a File Edit
Here we are, I have a file edit that decreases the loading time of the User CP by 600%. It used to take a 5.87 second loading time, now it takes a little less than one second. I edited the -edited out- file to replace the search for the array, to point the phrase to the correct array. Therefore decreasing the loading time.

Summary:

It used to load slower than it does now."

Go try it yourselves by clicking on the User CP ;)

Next up, we have some questions!

"do we have to remake are profiles again or will they be the same?"

Great question! Nope, the profiles will be exactly the same, as will your album images, and all of that :D

"When will the profiles be up?"

Another good question! I'd estimate about 8:00 PM tonight, but possibly sooner, possibly later ;) If there is a problem, that estimate won't be right though. But, HostGator told me that there would be no more problems :D

Januarywebkinz, signing off!

Fixed!

2010-06-23T17:12:00.001-04:00

Finally, we fixed it.

Hello,

The nameservers for webkinzcoast.com have been registered and pointed as requested. Please allow 24+ hours for the nameservers to finish propagating.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any more questions or concerns.
Thanks and have a great day !!

Ryan G.
Sales Administrator
HostGator.com / SeoHosting.com

Thank you very much Ryan G!

Don't tell anyone though! It's supposed to be a surprise when they're fixed!

Within 48 Hours!

2010-06-23T13:29:00.001-04:00

Profiles should be back up! I've been talking to a lot of HG Techs recently, and have had one post-worthy conversation! Here it is! (Read below for letter mentioned in conversation)

(12:05:16 AM) William Ho: has entered the chat.

(12:05:17 AM) William Ho: Hello, my name is William. Thank you for connecting to Hostgator Live Chat.

(12:05:21 AM) Charles: Hello sir.

(12:05:36 AM) William Ho: What instructions did you receive, Charles? Were these given by us, Hostgator?

(12:05:41 AM) Charles: Yes, sir.

(12:06:00 AM) Charles: (edited out)

(12:06:11 AM) Charles: That was the email I received.

(12:06:21 AM) William Ho: Does the bottom of the email have a ticket ID similar to ABC-1234567 ?

(12:06:27 AM) Charles: Yes, sir.

(12:06:43 AM) Charles: (Edited out by Januarywebkinz ;))

(12:07:30 AM) William Ho: Thank you very much.

(12:08:37 AM) Charles: Is there anything further I need to do after the transfer is complete, or is the site up and running with the new server?

(12:08:47 AM) Charles: We were upgrading from the Hatchlet plan to a VPS.

(12:09:05 AM) William Ho: The site is set up and running with the new server. The actual instructions in the ticket aren't necessary, as they are just a view of your website until it finishes propagation.

(12:09:23 AM) Charles: When will it finish? As an estimate, please.

(12:10:21 AM) William Ho: Normally propagation completes within 48 hours of the changes made.

(12:10:28 AM) Charles: Thank you sir.

(12:10:46 AM) William Ho: No problem at all.

(12:11:20 AM) Charles: The reason that we upgraded is because of the Security Team turning one of our files to 000. Do you think it would be possible to reverse that change to 757 now? Or should we wait until after the propagation?

(12:13:36 AM) William Ho: That change should have been made already during the transfer if I am not mistaken, though if it is still set to 000 it would need to request from the security team as unfortunately normally it is only controllable by the person who locked it (I would not be able to set it to 757).

(12:14:32 AM) Charles: How do we send a request to the security team to change it? Also, would it be advisable to change it before the propagation, or wait 48 hours?

(12:15:09 AM) William Ho: It would be acceptable to change it before propagation. Did you receive an original email from the security team when the file was changed?

(12:15:20 AM) Charles: I do not believe so.

(12:17:46 AM) William Ho: How did the file get to be 000 exactly?

(12:18:09 AM) Charles: We had a server overload on that file. It was the profiles on our vBulletin forum.

(12:19:36 AM) William Ho: Normally you would receive an email from security stating that the file itself has been modified to stop further load on the server.

(12:19:56 AM) Charles: I believe we did receive an email, but I do not know what happened to the email.

(12:20:11 AM) William Ho: Do you know which email address you received it at?

(12:20:12 AM) Charles: There is a large possibility that it was deleted.

(12:20:36 AM) Charles: Yes, (edited out by Januarywebkinz ;))

(12:21:25 AM) William Ho: It looks like the ticket was (edited out by Januarywebkinz ;)) for the last security ticket given, recommending the VPS upgrade.

(12:22:13 AM) Charles: Yes, is there any way that we could request for those file permissions to be changed back to 757?

(12:22:44 AM) William Ho: Just by replying to the email (it goes directly to our admins) you can make this request. I can resend the email to the specified address if you would like.

(12:23:06 AM) Charles: Thank you sir, could you also send it to (edited out)?

(12:23:29 AM) Charles: That is my email, while the head owner's email is (edited out). I am a technician on the site that we are speaking of.

(12:23:42 AM) William Ho: That should not be a problem.

(12:23:50 AM) Charles: Thank you sir.

(12:23:56 AM) Charles: You've been a great help!

(12:24:37 AM) William Ho: I am glad to have assisted you. The email itself may only contain the information on the VPS, however you can reply directly requesting the permissions be changed.

(12:25:09 AM) Charles: Thank you sir, so I would just reply to them asking for the permissions to be changed, and they will be?

(12:25:24 AM) William Ho: Correct.

(12:25:33 AM) Charles: Thank you, sir. Have a good day!

To whomever this may concern,

My name is Charles _________, and I would like you to change the file permissions of the "member.php" file of my site, http://webkinzcoast.com , to 757 from the 000 that the Security Team once had those permissions as. We have done all that you have requested, transferring our server to a VPS Level 3, and we have disabled the Shoutbox. I would like to thank your Tech Support for being so helpful during this brutal time, and for dispatching this email to me in order to help my site regain the use of a vital file.

Sincerely,

Charles _________, Technician of WebkinzCoast

Summary: This means that profiles will be up shortly ;)
Note: Anything that was confidential, I edited out ;) I also edited out my last name ;)

Just Talked To Some HostGator People!

2010-06-22T17:18:00.000-04:00

Profiles should be up as soon as possible! Apparently Bardia's dad didn't do enough, so I just decided to talk to some techies down at HG and get this fixed up :D Here's our convo:

(2:47:09 PM) Ricky Mo: has entered the chat.
(2:47:12 PM) Ricky Mo: Welcome to HostGator live chat, my name is Ricky.
(2:47:22 PM) Charles: We have recently purchased a VPS at my site, and have been told that the process to change all of the files will take 72 hours from Sunday. We purchased to server to get a few parts of our site back, such as Profiles on our vBulletin Forum which HG staff had set as 000. Do you think you could set those back right now? Or should we wait until after the entire process is complete?
(2:48:57 PM) Charles: Sir?
(2:49:06 PM) Ricky Mo: If its at 000 unfortunately I wouldnt be able to change that.
(2:49:14 PM) Ricky Mo: That is a security held file.
(2:49:20 PM) Charles: I understand, the security team has to change it.
(2:49:25 PM) Ricky Mo: Did the site contents get transferred or is that where you are at right now?
(2:49:43 PM) Charles: It is currently being transferred according to the Tech Support here.
(2:50:03 PM) Charles: Although, the site is still working during the transformation.
(2:51:41 PM) Ricky Mo: Ok you would have to wait for it to be transferred here.
(2:51:51 PM) Ricky Mo: You can ask security however if you wished but I am pretty sure that will be the answer.
(2:52:07 PM) Charles: How do I transfer it, or is it currently underway?
(2:52:39 PM) Ricky Mo: What is the ticket ID for this?
(2:52:45 PM) Charles: Actually, a better question would be how do I know that it is being transferred?
(2:52:49 PM) Charles: Let me go find that sir.
(2:53:28 PM) Ricky Mo: Ok Thank you.
(2:54:13 PM) Charles: (edited out just liker my last name ;) -Januarywebkinz)
(2:54:42 PM) Ricky Mo: Thank you. One moment please.
(2:55:54 PM) Ricky Mo: Have you already paid for the new level 3?
(2:56:05 PM) Charles: I believe so.
(2:56:22 PM) Ricky Mo: Great. Have you filled our transfer form out yet?
(2:57:05 PM) Charles: I speak on behalf of the Head Owner of the site, I am a technician on the site. I have access to everything, but I do not know if he has, or has not filled out that form.
(2:57:20 PM) Ricky Mo: To request a transfer from another host you would fill this out:https://secure.hostgator.com/reselle...rdedicated.php
(2:57:29 PM) Ricky Mo: There would be an email regarding this if there is.
(2:57:59 PM) Charles: We're not transferring from a different host, just upgrading from our old plan.
(3:00:04 PM) Ricky Mo: Yes there is no automated upgrade however from your current account to the new one.
(3:00:10 PM) Ricky Mo: So you have to fill these forms out.
(3:00:29 PM) Charles: I believe that we have filled those out, do we just wait after they were filled out?
(3:00:42 PM) Charles: He said he received an email stating that it would take 72 hours from Sunday.
(3:01:20 PM) Charles: And in the notice of the site you gave me, it said "it could take up to 72 hours or more before everything is completed." Which leads me to infer that he has filled out those forms.
(3:02:23 PM) Ricky Mo: Ok I need to get that ticket. Let me see if there is one opened.
(3:05:57 PM) Charles: Did you find it sir?
(3:06:27 PM) Ricky Mo: Still looking into this.
(3:06:35 PM) Charles: Thank you sir.
(3:07:25 PM) Ricky Mo: There was an email sent to you by our transfer department a few days ago regarding your VPS being pending. But we never got the response requested back.
(3:07:30 PM) Ricky Mo: I am going to open this.
(3:07:53 PM) Ricky Mo: Give me a few moments.
(3:07:58 PM) Charles: Yes sir.
(3:09:01 PM) Ricky Mo: Ok I have opened the ticket. The transfer will start now. Takes a few days to completely typically.
(3:09:21 PM) Charles: Thank you sir, so we just have to wait a bit? Are there any emails we need to respond to?
(3:10:11 PM) Ricky Mo: Not regarding this now.
(3:10:33 PM) Charles: Thank you, so the site will transfer?
(3:12:09 PM) Ricky Mo: Yes the site will transfer.
(3:12:27 PM) Charles: Immediately, or do I have to do something for it to transfer?
(3:12:45 PM) Ricky Mo: Just keep an eye on the primary email on the account.
(3:12:52 PM) Ricky Mo: Just in case we run into issues with username and passwords.
(3:12:57 PM) Charles: Yes sir, thank you!
(3:13:12 PM) Charles: Thank you for this, and for your patience.

Almost There!

2010-06-21T19:14:00.000-04:00

We're almost there everyone! Cuz' we're living on a prayer! Whoa oa! jk. But, we are almost at the "getting profiles back" zone! All that we need, is Bardia's dad to pay the five dollars to upgrade! We will not be able to use WC during that day, but, it will all be worth it very, very soon! Can't wait for this! See ya' soon guys!

-Januarywebkinz

PS: Did you guys like the news article I did on Webkinz the other day?

I'm Back With a Vengeance!

2010-06-20T19:46:00.000-04:00

As some of you know, I was at swim camp over the past week, causing my inactivity. But, I came back today after an insanely good and insanely hard time! (Yes, I'm a competitive swimmer ;)) But, that's not the story! The story, however, is how I have added ads in today, which is our first step in getting our profiles back! I've done as much as I can, Bardia's dad just has to do some stuff for the server and what-not. So, we have just a few steps left until we all get our profiles back! Happily, ads will more than likely earn us enough money! Sadly, I put one under the navbar and one under the footer in order to get the $$$ ASAP so that we could get our profiles back ASAP! Remember to check back here daily for the recent updates!

-Januarywebkinz signing out!

PS: If you have a question about anything, send me a PM on WC titled "Blog Question!" That way I know I have permission to post it and an answer to it on the blog! It can be about anything, and you can remain anonymous :D

Just a Small Update!

2010-06-13T08:52:00.002-04:00

Well, nothing much has been going on amongst the staff and about the site. We are currently trying to persuade Bardia's dad that we need the new server, or else we'll lose all of you guys. Which, we don't want to lose all of you guys. We're thinking about switching from HostGator to a different hosting company. But, we can't find another good one. That, and Bardia's dad is saying that he may never upgrade. Now, I need to answer some of your questions;

BlackRoses asked me;

Q: "... they're not gonna start charging the members are they?"
A: Hey Rose! WC has been a free site, and it will always be a free site ;) But, we may do something like what WI did, pay twenty dollars a year and have the ads removed from your page, and then set it up so that you could use your CDs to pay for that subscription ;)

Well, that's all for today folks. I hope I gave you a little insight on what's going to happen, and what will happen. Remember to check back daily for new posts!

-Januarywebkinz

Whoa! $174 A Month Now?!

2010-06-05T20:46:00.000-04:00

Well, that's what it looks like we have to do in order to keep WC floating. I found out that the real problem wasn't ads, it was the server. We ran on a simple $5 a month, but now that's not enough. With all of our members, we need to generate way more money in order to help pay for the site. That's why we may put up ads, open up a shop, etc. This isn't just for profiles, it's to keep the whole site from getting shut down. We were gonna get a VPS server, for 19.99 a month, but, Bardia talked to HostGator on the phone today and found out that that wouldn't make a dent in the server load, and that we need a dedicated server. I hope everything will be just fine, if you guys have any ideas, please PM me asap so I can bring it up with the staff.

Our Newest Tragedy

2010-06-05T08:54:00.000-04:00

Hello members, sadly, our profiles are not working properly today! :( That's the story at least, and that's all you guys know. Well, there's a lot more to the story then what meets the eye! In the cpanel, which is what I use to control everything, usually all of the files have good little permissions, meaning they can do everything they need to do right? Correct! Now, that one file, member.php, had it's permissions revoked by HostGator (our server) and we can't do anything about it. I've tried every trick in the book in order to fix this, but, nothing's working! The only solution would be for Bardia to check his dad's email from HostGator, which I requested HostGator sends so that we can fix the site, and to reply to it stating what happened. Actually, he would forward it to me, and I would start up a live chat with another HostGator staff member, and report my ticket. That way, it would all be fixed in a matter of minutes. Long story short, Bardia's dad has to be awake for him to check the email, and we have about 2-3 hours until that happens :( So, I apologize everyone, but we won't see profile until at least noon.

Sad iPhone App Story :(

2010-06-04T17:41:00.001-04:00

Here's my sob story everyone, ya'll listening? Well, we had to take down ads due to the server inode distribution and bandwidth distribution. (NOTE: It was mainly the inodes, as bandwidth had very little to do with it. For some odd reason, the rest of the staff thinks that it's bandwidth O_o xD)

Yesterday, the site was down, due to the ads. I fixed it after about 3 hours. Thanks to Bardia who forwarded me the suspension notice and emailed our server my IP address so I would have access to the site. Well, I did have access to it, I redid some of the templates, took out a large amount of coding, replaced it with a system that would limit the queries used. (I hate to sound like it was all me that did the job done, but, it sorta was..... xD) Next, I went onto our server and had a very nice conversation with a nice tech there, and asked if I could speak to an administrator at our server (It's like a high up person of a large company) He granted my access and allowed my through. I talked to the man, he was extremely nice, and we discussed the ticket about our site. I told him how I fixed it, he asked for my age and was impressed when I told him I was just fourteen. He then unsuspended WC and everything was back to normal.

Anyways, thank you guys for chillaxing while it was down! You guys are the best members ever!

-Januarywebkinz

PS: Sorry I didn't do this update yesterday, I was busy fixing it in the cPanel xD

iPhone App Updates!

2010-06-02T15:21:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Well, I've recently downloaded a 2.38 GB file that contains everything I need to know about the new iPhone App. This is going to be months of work, but, hey, you guys are worth it :D I'm sorta excited about making this, about learning all of this new info, but at the same time I'm a bit depressed. I'm learning a few brand new scripting languages, which are pretty much the exact same about learning to speak different languages. As I'm inexperienced with what I'm trying to do, I'll set it up in a real world scenario for you guys;

Let's say that I need to speak English, French, and Spanish fluently. I know how to speak English fluently (that's the mild HTML in the App) I know some Spanish, but I'm a little bad at it (That would be the C and C++) But, I don't know French at all! (That would be everything else) Also, I'd need to know a bit of Japanese.

How about we take that scenario, and give me a deadline in which to do this. Overall, it's going to be hard work, but, it'll all be worth it once I see all of your smiling, happy faces xD

Now, let's talk about some of the features this App will have! Or at least what Bardia wants me to include.

Here was a message I got by him after asking what the App needed to contain:
"Tab for the forums, a tab for the messages, a tab for the news

And the forums be loginable and postable.

And moderation too.

ACP maybe?"

I'm trying to do all of that, but I completely doubt I'll ever be able to add in the ACP when it comes to that modification :/ Oh well! At least you guys'll still be able to use it frequently :D

Again, remember to check back here daily for the most recent news about WC, and my tech work :D See ya again soon!

-Januarywebkinz

Our Ads Are Insane O_o

2010-06-01T15:43:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! As you know, WebkinzCoast has been having a little ad frenzy in order to get this iPhone app. I've been doing a little research into the xcode, and it's very complicated stuff O_o Oh well! I'll get learnin' and we'll be able to do this :D Very soon actually, as the ads yesterday reeled in over 1/10th of what we need in order to complete the App! Thanks a lot everyone :D I can't wait to get started, and remember to check back here if you ever need any assistance, and check here daily for all the new info before anyone else knows about it :D

-Januarywebkinz

Just Finished Setting Up The Ads :(

2010-05-31T12:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I know that must of you guys want to know my ad progress. Truth is, I just finished setting them up :D -has party- What we have here is a Google Custom Search in the navbar, at the footer there are two ads that alternate from wide to square lol. We're only doing this so we can make a WebkinzCoast iPhone app. So far, we've made about 1 one-thousandth of that goal. Which shows that the ads will probably be up for a few more months, but, once we're nearing that goal, I'll tell you guys approximately when the ads will come down and our freedom re-established! -amazing superhero background music- In some other editions, we're making it so that you have to check a checkbox before you can post on an old thread! Hopefully, it'll work perfectly. First, I'll just have to get the rest of the staff to read my memo to all of them and for all of them to vote :D I may install it first and test it some on my secret skin no one else can see. Muwahahahahahahaha! Although, I'll probably post some screenshots of it in that skin. Remember, check back here everyday for new information you can't find anywhere else!

-Januarywebkinz

Ads Are Here, But Do Not Fear!

2010-05-31T10:30:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Sadly, we have installed one ad here at WebkinzCoast. :( But, I will be designing the ad to fit the perfect measurements of our wonderful site! That way, it won't appear so..... Weird. All of the money earned goes to creating a WebkinzCoast iPhone Application, so you can access WC from your iPhone with extreme ease! Well, I'll talk to all of you guys later!

-Januarywebkinz

On An Unrelated Note.....

2010-05-30T13:25:00.003-04:00

Here's a video of my dog smiling :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIgRjY7CnMU I just added it in there today, and I hope all of you guys like it :D My mom was the one talking and giving her the treats, I just stood there and filmed it xD

Some New Things We're Debating

2010-05-30T12:02:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! We're getting one ad :( Happily, that add is just going to be on the footer, it will not be inappropriate, and it will be towards a good cause! We'll get ninety-nine dollars, hopefully, and then we'll be able to make a WebkinzCoast iPhone application! This means that we'll have a contest for a real prize, possibly even software for the iPhone ;)

Another thing that we'll be adding would be to see all of the User's Visitor Messages and a new way to handle Reported stuff. There's a whole bunch of new stuff that we're adding! I can't wait for it!

-Januarywebkinz

Looking At Some Mods Today....

2010-05-30T09:09:00.003-04:00

At the vbulletin site. Please PM me what you feel we should have, and I'll look for a mod, template edit, file edit, anything that I need to find to make your stay at WC better! Just PM me if you have an idea for a modification. (Like something that will help the site.) I found a few cool mods, like vBulletin Moods, which I may ask the rest of the staff for their approval on that. All I know is that it's insanely cool :D Or maybe the Status mod, where you can actually set a facebook-like status under your usertitle.

- Until my next post! Januarywebkinz

WebkinzCoast iPhone App!

2010-05-30T08:56:00.003-04:00

Today, the staff voted on whether or not they'll allow Bardia to create an iPhone/iTouch app for WebkinzCoast to be released in the Apple Store. This App would be a free one. I'm offering my assistance to Bardia, but, I don't have the money needed to purchase the Xcode, which is what Bardia is working with in designing this app. It's really a cool idea! Oh, and thanks for coming to the blog! Find out what the staff is talking about before you guys get word of it from a thread here ;)

-Januarywebkinz

Hey Everyone!

2010-05-30T08:45:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have to edit almost everything as well O_o Just wanted to let you know that I'm going to start posting what I do on WC here. It's going to be like a daily thing, what modifications I install, sometimes how many people come to WC in that day, etc.

-See ya soon!

Staff Journal #3!

2009-11-18T06:57:00.003-05:00

Well, last night I added in a brand new feature that would let you be able to click on a picture, and then you could go to the next picture. In other news, we have now allowed users to post their first names, no matter their age, so if you post your first name, you will not receive an infraction nor will you be receiving a banning (: I made the DCT for today, so go check it out!
-Januarywebkinz

Staff Journal #2!

2009-11-16T15:57:00.002-05:00

Well, I made many minor changes to the site yesterday, including one which made all of the threads crash due to the fact the thread was unsupported. It was fixed in a matter of seconds, but I apologize if it happened to you in a crucial moment. Also, I have added an improvement, or it was meant as such, so that you can now see all of the options when you try to quote a post, this also removed the fact that you saw an image when clicking on the quote button. This also happens, with new threads, and the staff is voting currently on whether or not it should be kept, or tossed away (: Please let me know your opinions!

Staff Journal #1!

2009-11-15T08:20:00.002-05:00

Well, this is my very first staff journal! I will discuss what has happened in staff for the past day, as much as I am allowed to discuss (: I installed a new feature into the site for Moderators and Admins that allows us to fix your signatures and your profile pictures, ban you, unban you, and much more directly from your post. This way, if you need someone to add something to your signature, we can just click your name, and select that. It is under the Private Message, View User Profile, etc options.
The staff has also voted to change the censored words from **** to little dots. (I can't type them on my computer.)

We are taking many of your ideas into consideration, so please continue to offer up these wonderful ideas!

Blog Customizations

2009-11-14T11:23:00.001-05:00

I hope you all like what I've done with the blog! I've customized it too match the upcoming holiday, which is Thanksgiving! It took me a while, but I finally got it to a state I believe that both the staff, and you will love! I have tried to make it a color scheme, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to customize everything ;) Please comment this and tell me if you like my blog everyone, this is Januarywebkinz signing out!

PS: I forgot to give you a little staff entry for the day. I have been trying to add in a special little holiday script on a certain skin, I tried, and failed though :/ I will fix it by Christmas, hopefully, but please remember to stay tuned!