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Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket
CB Updates --
CB Updates -- We Need Your Help!
Hey Chatterbox, it’s the admins. After the CB went down earlier this year, we’ve been working with the Webmaster to get the CB a shiny new upgrade. We’re in the early stages of info gathering right now, and we need your help!
Please share in the comments anything that you hope for in a new version of the CB. You can suggest brand-new features, but also include anything you really would like to stay the same. We want to consider all possibilities (even if we can't use all of your wonderful ideas) to create the best possible place for you! Comment by May 31st any new (or old!) things you might like in a fresh CB.
We can’t wait to hear from you.
--Admins
PS. An updated CB does not mean an update to our guidelines, so please know that suggestions that explicitly go against the guidelines will not be considered.
submitted by Admin, Cricket Country
(April 30, 2024 - 10:58 am)
(April 30, 2024 - 10:58 am)
Whoa! If the site migrates, the website adress is going to change along with the forum, isn't it? Then shouldn't we leave a link on the old page to redirect old CBers when they come back for the reunion? And what about all these amazing threads? I can't bear to lose any of them ;-;
(May 9, 2024 - 7:20 am)
I like that idea. All the old threads stay here and this isn't deleted but there is a note saying "look for the new page here". Then all we migrate is the active threads, and others can be migrated at request if there is a desire to make them active again.
(May 9, 2024 - 10:48 am)
Good point, it would be terrible if the old CBers couldn't find their way back for the reunion. And I absolutely can't bear to think of the pages and pages of wonderfulness that make up this website being deleted. It would be awful. Aside from the fact that all my conversations and interactions with everyone are here, and I love to reread them and remember the good old days and get re-interested in all the ideas I'd forgotten about, there are just so many truly fascinating posts here. I was reading a thread a while ago about an award ceremony - I think it was the Academy Awards or something? - and everyone had so many interesting things to say, and so many unique takes on it, and it was just really fun to read. And then there's so much amazing writing and humor and just ideas. This website is a treasure trove of things waiting to be discovered. By now it probably has more content than you could ever manage to finish reading, but that's wonderful! Pretty much every post on here should be kept.
I honestly think that at this point, the CB could be a cultural heritage website. I'm really interested in cultural heritage and museum studies and that kind of thing, and I'm pretty sure the CB would be a gold mine for that field. Let alone the fact that it shows how kids and teens have been over the last 15 years, it also holds the writing and thoughts of people who will probably end up being foremost writers and poets. Amethyst is a superb writer, and so are Artemis and pangolin and Periwinkle and CelineBurningBright and [*goes on and on and on*] It's almost certain that some of us will end up being published, recognized authors, and so our thoughts and dreams will hold great value for future generations. Imagine if William Shakespeare and J R R Tolkien had been on the CB when they were kids and had fun on Last-to-Post and made AEs and grumbled about homework. Their posts could never have been deleted. It's the same with us, I think.
The main reason, though, is that everything on here just has so much great personal value for all of us - it's the only fragments we have of dreams and laughter and interactions. We've forged such strong connections and friendships even though we can't meet irl and maybe never will, and because we're separated from each other, I think it's imperative that we at least preserve the records of our friendships.
Because of all these reasons, I have an important suggestion but I think I'll put that in a separate post because this one's getting pretty long.
(May 11, 2024 - 6:45 pm)
One of the reasons I had the idea for another section just for AEs, is because it could have profiles for the AEs. So if you came up with a new AE, or wanted to introduce your AE to someone for shipping or whatever, you could direct them to the AEs profile which would have info about that AE
(May 9, 2024 - 3:34 pm)
I mean, I honestly don't think we need a whole new section for AEs? We already have AE shipping (with the forms) and AE Diaries, so..?
(May 9, 2024 - 7:11 pm)
Yeah I guess you're right, sorry. I was just bein stupid with my random ideas.
(May 10, 2024 - 8:35 am)
Ack sorry no you weren't at all being stupid and random ideas are great sorry if I made you think otherwise! :)
(May 10, 2024 - 5:32 pm)
Popping in to add that it would be wonderful if the CB's comment box could be made more compatible with copy-pasting from documents! Anything written from google docs or Word bugs out if directly pasted into the comment box, and it's always a time-consuming task to have to correct all the glitched format problems with the 'preview' button before posting comments. Especially if the post is long, like chapters of solo writes or written picturings...
(May 10, 2024 - 9:12 am)
oh yes!! and also sometimes the format goes funny if you copy-paste from other CB posts, so it would be great if that could be fixed too!
(May 11, 2024 - 3:25 pm)
can we post videos? if not, that would be a cool update
(May 10, 2024 - 4:59 pm)
A small glitch that could be fixed could be when you copy+paste, italics and bold still stay. Also, maybe an option for strikethrough and underline? And maybe bulletpoints?
(May 10, 2024 - 10:45 pm)
All right, here's the important suggestion I mentioned.
First of all - @Admins, I have a question, because I don't quite understand what's going to happen to this website. Are you planning to leave it up but have all new activity take place on the new site? Or will this website be deleted/taken down?
If this website is going to be taken down, I have a proposal. My dad is willing to try to write a computer program for you that would enable the site to migrate without the loss of any content. He's an electronic engineer and has a lot of experience in computer programming. I was talking to him and my mom about the migration of the site, and, like me, they were very concerned about the possibility that some of its content would be lost (they've known about the CB ever since I joined and they think it's super great :) ) My dad said to tell you that if you think it would be useful, I can put you (or the people who are in charge of the site's migration and updates) in contact with him. Then the people who are in charge of the migration can tell him what they need, and he can help out by writing or helping to write the program. We hope he can be of some assistance! Please let me know if you have any questions or need any more information :)
Poinsettia, thanks to you and to your father for your concern and suggestion. As far as I know, nothing has been decided yet. We're gathering requests and suggestions all this month. I have passed your comment on to our webmaster.
Admin
(May 11, 2024 - 6:45 pm)
Oh, wow! Tell your dad a big thank you from us please! :)
working on a response to your response btw, but also I shouldn't be on here rn anyways because my Chinese school final is tomorrow ACK I'm gonna fail gotta study byee--
(May 11, 2024 - 9:52 pm)
@Admin - okay, great! Please let me know what the webmaster says :) I also just wanted to let you know that, according to my dad, the best solution would be to leave this site up and intact (except without the ability to post new comments, of course). That way, the content wouldn't have to be migrated at all; it could remain as it is for posterity, and another site could be set up for all new activity. I don't know if that's what the webmaster is planning, but I just wanted to make sure you know it's a possible solution. My dad says trying to migrate the site might be very difficult, expensive and messy. Leaving the old forum up but inactive would make a migration unnecessary and thus save everyone a lot of trouble and hard work. It would also eliminate the possibility of losing more than 15 years of content that is extremely precious and valued by everyone on the CB! All in all, it would be a perfect solution.
Anyway, I hope this was helpful :) Whatever you decide to do, I really, really, really hope we don't lose anything on the CB!
Thanks again to you and your dad. I'm passing this along, too. Our tech people are reading all comments and suggestions.
Admin
(May 12, 2024 - 5:36 pm)
I like the idea, but make sure it is on the same cricketmagkids.com website otherwise it will double the hosting costs. I think there should be a program to migrate different threads at will if one thread needs to be active again. For example, we need to migrate Random Thoughts.
(May 13, 2024 - 1:50 pm)