# Very Important ehMac Announcement



## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Hello to all my beloved ehMacians.  I have an important announcement regarding another chapter in ehMac's 10+ year history. 

Today, ehMac.ca and Macworld Canada (ITWorld Canada) have mutually and amicably agreed to go our separate ways. I wish to publicly thank ITWorld Canada and the people working there for the opportunity to work together and I wish them all the best. It was a great learning and life-lesson experience for me and I met some really nice people along the way. 

The plan is, on Wednesday evening, September 2nd at approximately 8:00 PM EST, ehMac.ca will be moving to a new server under my full control. For those interested, the specs of the server will be:

- Dual Xeon E5504 QuadCore (Gainstown) Processors (8 Processors in total)
- The server will be running Linux (Majority of vBulletin forum developers are working with and plugins etc.. are tested with)
- Three 15,000 RPM 73GB SCSI drives operating on a Level 5 Hardware RAID
- One 120GB Backup drive
- One 120GB Offsite Backup
- 8GB of RAM

Site is going to be hosted at a top web-hosting provider with 100% network uptime and if there are any hardware problems, can have entire server replaced in under 30 minutes with 24/7 monitoring. 

That takes care of the hardware and network. 

For the software running ehMac (Primarily vBulletin forum software), I have contracted out a vBulletin developer. He is a Canadian living in BC who has years of experience running large vBulletin based sites much larger than ehMac. He is contracted out to actually work for some of the software companies whose software runs ehMac. He is on a monthly retainer with ehMac to make sure things are running smoothly and fix issues on a moments notice. He will also be assisting with future improvements to ehMac. 

His first primary task this week will be moving the site over to the new server as it is and get that running with as little downtime as possible. 

The 2nd primary task will be to quickly look at all aspects of how ehMac is running and make sure everything is running smoothly and to address any problems we've been having. To see if there are any database errors, or optimization or whatever that's needed to make sure we're not getting any strange and annoying behaviour on the forum. (Software-wise that is, can't say we'll get rid of all strange bahaviour on ehMac  )

Aside from that, I will just say that I am very much looking forward to _truly_ being the "Mayor" of ehMac again and spending more time on the boards.


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

Sounds great Mr. Mayor. Good luck.


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## macdoodle (Jul 12, 2009)

sounds like you are on top of all the 'stuff' (techno jargon) that means nada to me...
Well most of it anyway 

I am certain this will be a positive move.... any special reason for the division?
(If it's none of my business that's fine)

I am sure as 'full' Mayor, you will have more input... helps keep us all 'worthy'.

I don't post much but I do read a lot, when I can, and find lots of help on many things.

Thanks for this site, as an (older):lmao: newbie, it is a comfort to be able to see how proficient so many of you are....

Assuming congratulations are in order for this move.... CONGRATULATIONS!! :clap:


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Whew!!!...That's a relief...Had me scared for a minute there,
I was beginning to think this BBS was going to be shelved like poor old M.A.G.I.C. was.

Glad we are still here.


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## KC4 (Feb 2, 2009)

Onward and Upward Mr. Mayor...:clap:


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

macdoodle said:


> I am certain this will be a positive move...


I think it is for ehMac. 

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of Apple and Steve Jobs, as well as Pixar. I ran across a couple of interesting articles. 

*Steve Jobs on "Dealing with Roadblocks"*

*Lasseter preaches fail-safe philosophy*

Onward and upward! :clap:


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Yes, Excelsior, Mr. Mayor. Kudos.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

Seems like just yesterday that the partnership was announced... in reflecting on the past few months and my visits to MacWorldCanada, I can't recall actually entering the site after my first visit. Every day, my auto-tabs in Safari would open, the front page would pop up, the business of the content didn't draw my eye, and I would just close it off. The "feature" articles changed infrequently. No reason to jump in... I suspect EhMac won't suffer from this separation....


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## (( p g )) (Aug 17, 2002)

Gratz, Mr. Mayor!


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## fellfromtree (May 18, 2005)

Another new logo contest?


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Having known this for quite some time it comes as no surprise, but it certainly is a positive move to regain one's independence. I have always enjoyed and supported ehMac and will continue to do so in the future.

Good luck with your new venture Mr. Mayor.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

fellfromtree said:


> Another new logo contest?


I like the current logo and word-mark actually. It might just have a bit more white space soon.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

SINC said:


> I have always enjoyed and supported ehMac and will continue to do so in the future.


Thanks very much SINC and to everyone who will continue to support ehMac.

I still have a vision for what I want ehMac to fully be, and we'll get there.


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

ehMax said:


> I like the current logo and word-mark actually. It might just have a bit more white space soon.


Tell me about it! God, that was the hardest part..where do I stick another item with the word Canada and a maple leaf into the logo.


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## Atroz (Aug 7, 2005)

This is good news. Never really cared for the MacWorld linkage and their limited content. 

ehMac is a community, it needs some money to operate ( and I've paid for a subscription in the past), but I didn't like the implications of an ad-only supported site having links to my community. Gets hard to trust the motives of any poster.


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## rgray (Feb 15, 2005)

Congratulations, your honour. I wasn't much of a fan of the linkage with MacWorld. I think their purposes differ too much from (what I perceive to be) the purposes of ehMac. Independence has its own rewards. I have been a Sponsoring Member and would do so again for an independent ehMac. You have a 'good thing' here with ehMac and should be rightfully proud.

:clap:


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

Glad to hear about the separation; I much prefer ehMac as the indie operation!

Also, the new server sounds great. Out of curiosity, what is it running on now?


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## darkscot (Nov 13, 2003)

rgray said:


> Congratulations, your honour. I wasn't much of a fan of the linkage with MacWorld. I think their purposes differ too much from (what I perceive to be) the purposes of ehMac. Independence has its own rewards. I have been a Sponsoring Member and would do so again for an independent ehMac. You have a 'good thing' here with ehMac and should be rightfully proud.
> 
> :clap:


ditto


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## Jarooda (Jul 18, 2006)

Keep it up ehMax!!

Only site I visit EVERYDAY!!!!

btw, Macworld Canada who?!?! lol


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## An Old Soul (Apr 24, 2006)

Awesome - onwards and upwards, all.


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## dibenga (Oct 30, 2001)

Wow Macworld Canada (ITWorld Canada) see ya, you made no discernible difference nor impact to me whatsoever.


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## bshell (Oct 4, 2007)

Dear ehMax, congratulations. I have a few questions, some of which I hope you can answer, and I'm sure many of us would like to hear the answers:
1. Are you ever going to tell us the story of a) how you decided to join Macworld Canada, and b) why you are ending the relationship?
2. Correct me if I'm wrong, but ever since the "merger" I had the impression that there was less amazing topics on ehMac than before. Am I wrong? Do we have any data that can demonstrate this? Were some topics being "edited out" by Macworld? Basically, was the content of the site compromised due to the partnership?
3. I had the sense that traffic went down, or activity or whatever you want to call it, during the period of the merger. The site seemed more exciting and vibrant before the merger. Is this true? This question is quite similar to 2 and could possibly be answered with some site stats data.


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## duosonic (Jan 7, 2004)

The partnership with macworld didn't impact me much - I checked the site out a few times, but wasn't grabbed into it the way I am on ehmac … I am happy to support ehmac.ca in any way I can, and would be happy to subscribe again like I did before. This is mya "home" site which I visit several times each day, and whatever advances it is fine by me.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

I appreciate the positive comments about ehMac. Let's please keep this thread positive about moving forward to a new chapter. 

I am a professional, I don't burn bridges and I have no bridges to burn. The people at ITWorld have also been very professional and courteous, so no need for speculation or conspiracy theories.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

Cheers John! 

One of the best communities on the web IMHO.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

rgray said:


> Congratulations, your honour. I wasn't much of a fan of the linkage with MacWorld. I think their purposes differ too much from (what I perceive to be) the purposes of ehMac. Independence has its own rewards. I have been a Sponsoring Member and would do so again for an independent ehMac. You have a 'good thing' here with ehMac and should be rightfully proud.


100% Agreed!


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

ehmac -is- the 'mac world' on it's own, with a valuable community.


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## Kleles (Jul 21, 2009)

Mr. Mayor of ehMac,

I lurked on ehMac for about a year before I made the switch back to Mac. Seeing this community supported my decision to switch, along with many other factors, of course. Once I got my Mac I felt liberated, with no hard feelings for Windows machines or users (hence my lack of understanding/appreciation of Windows denigration--in the end we are all computing).

I, a newbie, and, I'm sure, all the others support your decision and look forward to great stuff!


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## The G3 Man (Oct 7, 2008)

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just what i wanted  Thank You Mr. Mayor! I agree with what someone else said - Was content being edited??? rgray + 1 MILLION!

AWESOME!!!!!

Morgan


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Yep - *The peripatetic ehMac - Quest for the Perfect Server...*










good stuff


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

The G3 Man said:


> Was content being edited???


No.


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

Hope the transition goes smoothly.


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## bsenka (Jan 27, 2009)

This is a good move.

I've got nothing against Macworld Canada, but they really didn't add anything to the content on this site. If anything, they benefited far more from ehmac as far as substance goes.


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## Glorusty (Sep 26, 2006)

Glad for ehMac and everyone! Congratulations Mayor ehMax!:clap:


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

I'm a little disappointed with the responses in this thread (apart from bsenka) regarding MW Canada.

I checked out their site regularly and wished they had more fresh content more often, but what they DO have is often quite interesting. More importantly, it is CANADIAN-MADE and CANADIAN-ORIENTED. Not recycled US material so lazily imported that even the prices aren't adjusted like so much other tech material up here.

EhMac is great with or without MW Canada, but MacWorld Canada it seems to me could use more support from Canadian Mac users. With the attitudes I've seen in this thread, I'm assuming one more worthwhile Canadian publication is going to bite the dust before too long. To me, that would be a real shame.


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Does it mean we have to vote to change the logo again?


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## Fox (Oct 4, 2002)

I hadn't really noticed the MacWorld link before, so I went over to look at their site. They did have some things of interest, including an article on iPod disk, which I only recently heard about.


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## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

Did you contract out the vB developer from within the ehMac community?


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## ertman (Jan 15, 2008)

I also have checked out the macworld canada website from time to time, but I found that the content was updated, not so much enough, but rather inconsistently.

Because of their inconsistent output, I think they would have been better off with a little more streamlined interface, with more of a focus on their latest/biggest story.

However I do wish them the best.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

I hope the logo changes - I hate the rump-attack location of the text that was adopted during the contest.

I never knew what MacWorldCanada was, and any time I happened to "check it out", I never saw anything about Macs or Mac applications or whatever - at least anything that is cool, or that I'd want to read or anything.

A new server would be great. I, and many others, had a huge problem with the Windoze based garbage that was entirely inadequate. I am looking forward to being hooked back up to something decent and Open Source - seeing that Open Source, not crass proprietary antiques like Windoze, is the ultimate future of computing. Not only that, it would be nice to be able to post something between 3:20-4:10pm without beachballing the posting window...


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

"Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning"


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## macintosh doctor (Mar 23, 2009)

ehMax said:


> I think it is for ehMac.
> 
> As many of you know, I'm a big fan of Apple and Steve Jobs, as well as Pixar. I ran across a couple of interesting articles.
> 
> ...


so when is the new logo contest? ( again )
i am sure you have another Fujitsu up for grabs?
can not wait


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

Congrats Mr. Mayor!!! Does this mean we will loose the contextually based advertising banners? If so that would be great, I personally find them to be rather chessie and would welcome their disappearance. (If not I understand, everybody has to make a living.  )

I, like chas_m, have absolutely nothing against MacWorld Canada, but that being said I personally didn't find that they added anything to my experience on ehMac. It is the community and the interaction here that I appreciate.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

chas_m said:


> I'm a little disappointed with the responses in this thread (apart from bsenka) regarding MW Canada.(SNIP) More importantly, it is CANADIAN-MADE and CANADIAN-ORIENTED....(SNIP)... but MacWorld Canada it seems to me could use more support from Canadian Mac users.


MW Canada's future success or failure is entirely determinant upon its ability to deliver compelling content. Without ehMac as a lead-in, I suspect they'll take a bit of a hit on readership. EhMac will be fine without MWC. The reverse may not be the case. 

The "Canadian-made and Canadian-oriented" content... I must have missed that... perhaps hidden amongst the overly busy pages... If you go back to the thread posted by EhMax when the partnership began, looking for our particular interests that MWC might take up for future content, I wonder how much of what we wanted to see actually materialized?

IN any case. EhMac as a community is strong. Only John knows the economics of the site - hopefully the Google Ads brings in some spare change... but as one of became a sponsoring member, I'd happily do it again to keep this community ticking along. And in an era of the "free web" - that's saying something. We're loyal citizens!


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## bhil (Oct 30, 2004)

With or without MacWorld, as long as ehMac is still here, that's all that matters. Hope it all continues to work out well for you Mr. Mayor!


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## Guest (Sep 1, 2009)

Break a leg with the move!


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## jamesB (Jan 28, 2007)

How long is that large page width notice telling me to "Click here" going to pollute my page format?

jb.


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## ErnstNL (Apr 12, 2003)

All I know is that this has always been a well managed forum. I trust Mr. Mayor. 
As long as ehMac stay online- I'll be there too.


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Does moving to a new server mean that a link to ehMac will stop working in the future?
I have an ehMac icon link in a sig on another site. (Modern Vespa)


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## Peter (Nov 9, 2002)

*It is what it is.*

Not too sure why it did not work out, but I am all for control of one's endeavours. 
You obviously should be running Ehmac and I certainly enjoy using it. I and my wife and son are Mac lovers and have been for some time and it has been great to discover Ehmac and to search out problems that one encounters from time to time.
The hardware setup sounds really solid and I look forward to checking in regularly to tap people's brains for Mac problem-solving.

The announcement, I believe, is a very good move for Ehmac.

All the very best Mr. Mayor.


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## Dreambird (Jan 24, 2006)

Kudos, Mr. Mayor! :clap:

I wish you the best of everything moving forward and anticipate ehMac will only become better!


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## jwhiz (Dec 27, 2007)

*Moving*

Cool specs!

Linux on Mac, Mac on Linux...cool cool cool.


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

ehMax said:


> Hello to all my beloved ehMacians.  I have an important announcement regarding another chapter in ehMac's 10+ year history.
> 
> Today, ehMac.ca and Macworld Canada (ITWorld Canada) have mutually and amicably agreed to go our separate ways. ...
> 
> ...


Man, just go boating for a day + and almost miss the BIG announcement. ;-)

I was intrigued with the choice of drives: ie: Three 15,000 RPM 73GB SCSI drives operating on a Level 5 Hardware RAID. 
Man, are they sitting on dry ice or nitrogen cooled!!!??? Certainly should be FAST!!!

Anyway, congratulations and good luck even if my old seldom used ehmac account refused to work and I had to register again earlier this year as a new member.

An excellent Mac support site thanks to you.

Patrick Mead-Robins
Mac Solutions
250-652-1860
-----------------------------


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

G-Mo said:


> Did you contract out the vB developer from within the ehMac community?


No. I located the developer through sites devoted to vBulletin. I'd be very surprised if we had a experienced vBulletin developer on ehMac.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

screature said:


> Congrats Mr. Mayor!!! Does this mean we will loose the contextually based advertising banners? If so that would be great, I personally find them to be rather chessie and would welcome their disappearance. (If not I understand, everybody has to make a living.  )
> 
> I, like chas_m, have absolutely nothing against MacWorld Canada, but that being said I personally didn't find that they added anything to my experience on ehMac. It is the community and the interaction here that I appreciate.


We will continue to have Google Adsense ads on ehMac. 

An idea I am contemplating is having 3 tiers on ehMac:

1. Not registered on ehMac - Quite a few ads
2. Free registration on ehMac - Only a few ads
3. Premium Membership - No ads (Plus other perks)

Main focus right now though is to just get site moved, and all bugs worked out and site running solid.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

jamesB said:


> How long is that large page width notice telling me to "Click here" going to pollute my page format?
> 
> jb.


Until server move tomorrow evening.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

dolawren said:


> Does moving to a new server mean that a link to ehMac will stop working in the future?
> I have an ehMac icon link in a sig on another site. (Modern Vespa)


Links will remain exactly the same. (Thanks very much for links to ehMac!)


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Thanks *VERY* much for all the kind words.  

I've said it many times, it's the members that have, do, and always will make up ehMac: *Canada's Mac Community*.


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## spudmac (Aug 23, 2002)

ehMax said:


> Thanks *VERY* much for all the kind words.
> 
> I've said it many times, it's the members that have, do, and always will make up ehMac: *Canada's Mac Community*.



Aw shucks Mr. Mayor, you're making us all feel warm and fuzzy.... wait - that might be something I ate . Congratulations on the decision and as many have said, I look forward to the next chapter of ehMac.

spudmac


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

ehMax said:


> No. I located the developer through sites devoted to vBulletin. I'd be very surprised if we had a experienced vBulletin developer on ehMac.


you would surprised who lurks in these halls. I wouldn't label myself a 'vbulletin developer' per se, but I actually have terminal open right now pulling a database backup to do a full server move on a clients vb installation. php/mySql developers often work in many different frameworks, there are so many.


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## Lichen Software (Jul 23, 2004)

*All the best*

I'm sorry that whatever synergies were expected from this partnership did not materialize. On the other hand, it appears that all concerned went on about their business in a constructive fashion. So congratulations are in order.

I should have put this into the Quotes thread:

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

I do do believe Mr Mayor that "You Are Experienced."

I am really looking forward to the next iteration of "EhMac World" - My favourite site "EVER"


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Can we get rid of my name in giant caps asking me to read this on every page? I did days ago now and it is becoming annoying.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

SINC said:


> Can we get rid of my name in giant caps asking me to read this on every page? I did days ago now and it is becoming annoying.


I've set it to only show up once per visit.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

ehMax said:


> I've set it to only show up once per visit.


Thank you sir!


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

I pretty much agree with all the comments here.

The only thing I don't understand - why is this a "Very Important ehMac Announcement"

Seems more of a non-event to me - severing the relationship with MacWorld, not moving to a different server.

Although, as far as the server is concerned and the technical operation of this site - it's miles better than most other forums I visit even with the current setup.

I have my fingers crossed that the move goes smoothly.


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## overkill (May 15, 2005)

Good luck on the move Mr. Mayor!


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Just a reminder... ehMac will be closed momentarily at 8:00 PM EST for maintenance as we move to our new server. We will try to keep downtime as minimal as possible.


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## rgray (Feb 15, 2005)

TTFN, as they say.. Hope all goes well with the swap over. Catch you on the flip side...


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

rgray said:


> TTFN, as they say.. Hope all goes well with the swap over. Catch you on the flip side...


I'll try reverse psychology this time.... The transfer will probably go really lousy, will probably take 2 or 3 days, we'll most likely have tons of bugs and the site might not even transfer properly.  

We'll try to post as many updates as possible. 

The transfer will probably happen quite quickly, but it's always the DNS updating that can take up 24-48 hours. We'll try to make it clear so that you know which server you are logging onto when you visit the site.


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

If things go poorly - we should have a plan. 

See you in the ehMac ichat room.

Hopefully it will not be necessary.


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## macdoodle (Jul 12, 2009)

Just so you know, I received a notice that aga sent an email to this thread.... it is now Sept 11th and I have nothing since the posting of ottawa man Sept 2nd. I am stuck on page 7
the other threads are now working properly, they were doing the same thing at first, is there something I can
do to rectify this problem?

thanks for any help


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

macdoodle said:


> Just so you know, I received a notice that aga sent an email to this thread.... it is now Sept 11th and I have nothing since the posting of ottawa man Sept 2nd. I am stuck on page 7
> the other threads are now working properly, they were doing the same thing at first, is there something I can
> do to rectify this problem?
> 
> thanks for any help


aga's post was inappropriate and removed. The last post before that was Sept 2nd. All is ok.


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## macdoodle (Jul 12, 2009)

Thanks... good to know I am not going crackers...


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

Mayor - Why don't you just lock this thread?
It no longer serves any useful purpose.

[Edit ehMax - Good idea  ]


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