Overhaul

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I'm cleaning out Dragonfayth. Yesterday I just finished implementing a new IP-logging spam prevention measure, and I've already put in a block against Anonymous reviews altogether, and Challenge spam. I've deleted all the spam from the database that I could find (challenges, reviews, etc.) and I sincerely apologize to any members who were inundated with emails from "me" (my email address acts like the Dragonfayth bot that sends out notifications; if you have a spam filter on your email, it may have started blocking my address based on the spam reviews that kept coming in from my address) that had all that spam in it. If ANYONE ever receives ANY kind of spam at Dragonfayth, please let me know immediately so I can take care of it.

On the list for updates to finish:
* Update the character page (more images needed; if someone could check out the Characters page and tell me if I'm MISSING any character profiles at all, that would be much appreciated)
* Update the Help page with Dragonfayth-specific problems
* Update the Submission rules page
* Update the Story Types mod
* Re-add the Poll mod
* Re-add the Featured Author/Story mod(s)
* Re-add the LJ and FFnet Profile Links mod(s)

If anyone can think of any others, from skins to mods available from the eFiction site, let me know.

betasquad has been SO dead afaik, so I will be killing the phpBB forums for that. There's no sense in having a disorganized database, after all. Next up for cleaning up the database would be giving WikiFic its own database, and doing the same for any other PHP/database scripts I have running (like Enth3 for BEA). I'll see what I can do without making an utter mess of my domain(s). Also, since I have regular 'Net, I should update the main layout and such soon.

That's all I can think of at the moment... I need to post one more (completely OT to this and bordering on fangirly) thing, and then I think I'll take a nap.

Already thinking of Christmas

Every time I've tried to arrange some online gifting for Christmas, it hasn't always panned out well. This year I've got a new Winter challenge over at Dragonfayth, and maybe some people will be nice and we can do a fic or fanart gift exchange.

But for those of you who
a) want some souvenir from Japan as a present (I obviously can't guarantee shipment by Christmas, unless you tell me NOW and I can find it SOON)
b) like giving material, tangible gifts as opposed to online gift credit, or files of some sort
or c) are just really, really nice people...
WOULD YOU GET ME ONE OF THESE!?
( The bestest present in the whole wide world! )

"These" are these adorable colored thumb drives, and you can even get them CUSTOM LASER-ENGRAVED! (If you can't tell, I think that's one of the coolest features. Am I superficial or what?) They have them in pink, black, blue, gray (think charcoal colored), and silver. Being 'Azurite' I could totally go for a blue one. :D

And they're cheap! ($20.99 for 1 GB!) And I'm actually in need of a larger thumb/flash/portable/whatever you call it drive, anyway, because I was one of those poor suckers who bought a flash drive when they first came out, and I paid over $40 for a 128 MB one. It was just fine when it came to school work and things like that, because documents and other such files never get that big. But when I had to do computer-to-computer transfers, or if I wanted to work on a massive project like a Photoshop document or an entire website when I wasn't at home, it became a pain in the neck NOT to have a larger thumb drive. Plus, when I exchange files with my friends, a larger thumb drive makes it easier to store more, and stay more organized.

If anyone gets me one of these (engraved with whatever you please ^_~ the custom engraving IS free, after all), I will either get you one of your color/engraving choice, or b) get you a present from Japan. :)

And matter of fact, I think these make great gifts in general, too. I mean, first you have colors to choose from, which is always nice considering how many boring black or gray thumb drives are out there (though black and gray are two of the color choices, the casing seems to be "shiny," so it's not the same sort of "flat" color as I see on many thumb drives).

Second, FREE custom engraving. Nothing says "I honestly thought of YOU when I got this" than an engraving tailored to the recipient.

And third, they're cheap! Unlike all the other technology products coming out this holiday season, this one is actually affordable enough to get for MANY people, so it won't put a serious dent in your pocket.

Fourth is that it can be a gift for just about anyone-- friends, family, students, workers, whoever. USB drives are just one of those multi-purpose, multi-person kind of gifts.

Here's the tech specs, for those who are wary or simply wanna know:
-Available in 512 MB, 1GB, 2GB or *4* GB
-Prices range from $14.99 to $89.99
-Custom colors of pink, silver, black, gray, or blue for all size drives
-Compatible with PCs and Macs
-Hi-Speed (2.0) USB and Standard USB (1.1) compatible
-Plug-and-Play with PCs using Windows Me, 2000, or XP (no drivers!)
-Transfers files up to 480 Mb/second
-Security software included for you Windows users
-No additional power needed (gets its power from the USB port)
-Small enough to be convenient, but not forgettable (1.7cm L x 6.7 cm W x .6 cm H)
-Made of durable aluminum, so your data won't get damaged easily
-FREE LASER ENGRAVING!!!!

I know I want one, don't you?