Or to put it differently, it’s time for VirtualR’s third anniversary! Those of you who have already been around for the second or first anniversary know that this is usually them time when important changes at VirtualR are introduced. But before we get to that, I want to take a short look back..
I`m still amazed what this site has become in the past three years, from having less than 2000 visitors in all of July 2007 VirtualR has grown to serve over 600.000 readers around the globe each month!
That kind of growth has led to substantial changes behind the scenes too. From running on a 10??? webspace package three years ago, VirtualR has expanded to dedicated servers, the last move (and hopefully last for quite a while) was completed back in May. One thing hasn’t changed though as this site is basically still a one-man operation. The past three years have been a marvelous experience and I??m trying hard to improve my skills to handle further growth.
That being said, this is the perfect time to thank everyone without whom this site couldn’t exist. I thank all of you who keep me up to date on news stories I might have missed otherwise, send me suggestions or criticism and who are patient if something doesn’t work as it should. I want to thank the more than 5000 commenters who keep the community portion of this site alive & well and of course everyone who keeps on checking back on a regular basis.
Finally, I want to thank both my advertising partners and all the people who have opened their wallets and made a donation. Keeping VirtualR on track requires a substantial revenue stream and the site wouldn’t be able to exist without you!
All-new comment interface – Please read below!
As promised above, the anniversary does not just consist of lots of kind words but brings some substantial changes too. Starting with this very item, VirtualR comes with a brand new comment interface that will make discussion on VirtualR easier, cleaner and more fun.
Since the old system was flawed in many ways, I??ve made the switch to a professional-grade system that brings the comfort of big discussion boards to VirtualR. The new comment section comes with lots of new features such as the ability to post attachments & videos, user profiles,??live-updates without refreshing and much more.
Most importantly, the new system allows the community to take an active role in fighting trolling and other unwanted behaviour by removing unwanted postings by flagging them. I know that trolling has become somewhat of an issue here but I simply don’t have the time to be around 24/7, the new feature should give you, the commenters, enough power to fight these issues yourselves.
The new interface works a little different than the old one, so make sure to check out the comment guide here to get started.
Most importantly, your old VirtualR log-in data is no longer valid! You don’t have to sign-up for a new account though as the new system allows you to log-in using existing accounts from Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Friendfeed or Google. Alternatively, I??ve also decided to allow guest comments again.
Please take a few minutes to check out the new interface and leave your first comment below. I know that many of you don’t like change, please give the new system some time to grow on you though…I??m sure everybody will see the advantages of the new system quickly!
If you find a bug, please make sure to report it below. In related news, I??ve also fixed the issue with the advertising banners and the image viewer the users of Google Chrome had.
I hope you enjoy the new features and stick around for the many upcoming anniversaries that are yet to come!
