Yep, I haven't posted much lately. Been pretty busy with a few things.

Firstly and most importantly, I've been moving and getting settled into a new house with my fiancee  kaboukie - We got a great new place that's HUGE and designer and in a great community with low crime and a lot of hi-tech neighbors. So I've been doing a lot of woodworking to build new furniture and desks for us to work on, built a new 7-panel flat panel harness and MAN it looks great with the panels on it! The moving and settling in are still a work in progress, but it's beginning to settle down a little now.

What my focus and attention are moving to now is a rewrite of the current StickyPaws project updating it to Mojolicious - the new Perl-based web framework that the new portions of FurBuy are written in. Since Mojo has much better separation for MVC, moving StickyPaws (and later FurBuy, I'll get to that) to it means that Kam can work on the presentation while I work on improving and adding back-end functionality. Or vice-versa as necessary. Good news is that I have login and the image gallery viewing pretty much done now, I just have all of the other, more trivial views and interaction to convert still, along with adding some new features that will be much simpler with the move to Mojo. I'm guessing that StickyPaws will remain the priority for the next few months.

Where's the FurBuy refresh/refactor then? Well, it was put on hold for a few months due to some miscommunications with various members of our team. And with school starting up again soon, we're not certain how much bandwidth Kam will have for working on a new UI. If we're lucky, she can work it into her classes as part of her class work and kill two birds with one stone. The jist is that the current Beta UI is not going to be what we move forward with - Kam will be redesigning the look and feel again from the ground up. And new pieces of functionality may be added to FurBuy using Mojo and the current look/feel in the interim. We expect more major work to get done on FurBuy around the Winter Break later this year.

For logistical reasons, we're placing the StickyPaws Beta at a higher priority than the refresh on FurBuy. We want to roll out StickyPaws (final name QED - we have some ideas and are considering coming up with more still) to start getting eyeballs and interest generated there first, which will help drive business and interest to FurBuy since the two will be integrated. This is an important step for us because we intend to show off a lot of modern web features that we hope will help guide the furry community into the next era of online connectivity and cloud networking. How exciting! =)

The new Beta segments/design is here! Check it out:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4380174/

I'm looking for a few good art-lovers who would like to help alpha test and suggest features and feedback on a new furry art project called StickyPaws.

What is StickyPaws, you ask? It's like Google Images, E621 and Hot Or Not had a sensual encounter resulting in a three-way lovechild that resulted in a fast, effective, efficient site that allows you to browse all of the latest furry art (and old stuff too) with the latest and greatest HTML5 sleek interfacing. The goals are excellent search and tagging features, custom filtering, personal rating system and a one-stop site for all furry art from all over the web.

This is a private site and private project at this time until we get to Beta stage, if you'd like to help alpha test the site I need to chat with you personally - my chat contact info is in my profile page. Thanks!

Hey guys, the FurBuy account on FA has been re-activated, so if you want the latest skinny on FurBuy updates or would like to help offer your input/feedback/comments/peanut-gallery/etc about the site, go give it a +Watch!

 furbuy

So apparently it's now a violation of FA's AUP policy to post a Visual Art (image) submission in your main gallery that is for the purposes of advertising, commission prices, streaming, YCH, auctions, etc. At least that's how it seems to be worded (you can read the AUP by clicking the Acceptable Upload Policy link in the lower-right corner of any FA page). This is assuming that your Gallery is a 'published folder' and that your Scraps is an 'unpublished folder'. I personally wasn't aware that either folder was published or unpublished, because both folders appear in Watchlist Submissions and on User Profile pages, and FA does not allow Google or other webcrawler indexing at all on the site.

Anyone who knows me can probably guess how I personally feel about the policy, but there's no point in being blatant about that for those who do NOT know.

So, any thoughts from folks about that?

FurBuy will be at FC2013 in just over a week! We will be having a large upright ad banner near the dealer's room with artwork by the lovely and talented  lizebra to show off some of the things you can buy and sell on FurBuy. We will also be hosting a FurBuy Meet 'n Greet social hour on Sunday night at the convention at 8:30pm in the Blossom Hill I room. Sadly a few of our staff were unable to make it but at least a couple of us will be there so come down and say hi or feel free to join the discussion about online auctions. This is also a great time to come talk to us about any features you'd like to see or just broach general questions or comments on your mind.

We will also be announcing a new site design and major new segment being released on FurBuy at FC2013! Our new design and features are built on a newer and more modern web framework and include a number of excellent HTML5 capabilities. If this new segment launch is successful and well-liked by users, we plan to convert the existing site to this new architecture and bring the awesome new features over to the auction segment. We think you'll like what we've got planned. =)

Remember to Follow us on Twitter furbuy or Watch us on LiveJournal at http://furbuy.livejournal.com/

Just a reminder that if you'd like to chat with me or get in touch with me outside FA you can do so using any of the following:

Skype - jurannus
Twitter - urzapolariz
AIM - urzapolariz
YIM - ursapolaris
ICQ - 17700189
MSN - polaris.ursa[at]gmail.com
Gmail - polaris.ursa[at]gmail.com
Gtalk - polaris.ursa[at]gmail.com

My account access has been restored, thank you Dragoneer for removing the suspension. I will try not to be a disruption to the community in the future.

So, I just finished working on the refactors for the live site, then ran the conversion script to move usernames to the new format, then copied all of the new scripts into place, and voila - the site is now using the new remote site linking system. Hoorah, right? Well, not quite... First of all this was a fairly major refactor of a lot of small segments of code across the whole site, practically. So I need folks to be extra vigilant about finding and reporting bugs, the odds that I nipped every bud and shaved the system without nicks is not super high (even programmers make mistakes, sheesh).

The other issue is that InkBunny has some strange behavior going on when I try to validate users, such that I can't actually verify users on IB. =P So rather than taking people's word for it, the InkBunny fields are there but they will never validate successfully right now - so if you try to link to your IB username and it doesn't "take", you know why. I need to get in touch with Starling and work out a way to do this, which might involve a nifty bi-directional security code system if he's got time to work with me on it. =)

Twitter and Facebook fields are there, but not setup for validation yet, I will try to get those done... Hmmm, prolly tomorrow. In the meantime, like InkBunny, you can try to add usernames to those fields and they simply will never validate.

I would like to add a bunch of IM connections too, but I don't know if they all offer a web API or user page system for verifying that an account exists. I guess ideally it'd be nice to add AIM, YIM, MSN, Xbox Live, Skype... Does anyone even still use ICQ these days? ;D If anyone knows about web validation with any of those IM systems, please feel free to let me know!

So, what other sites would you guys like to see FurBuy link accounts to? =)

Whew, what a day! I've been elbow-deep in a fairly substantial refactor of a portion FurBuy's code for most of the day. This is basically a "I did it wrong the first time around, and it needs to be fixed to move forward" kind of issue. I've known about this problem for a few years now, but the more work I've done with FurBuy the more I've realized this is becoming more and more critical. The refactor means the site will run FASTER and MORE SMOOTHLY, but also allows us to extend some of the site features a lot farther, a lot faster, and in a more automated fashion.

Basically ya know those Remote Site Usernames we allow you to set in FurBuy? Right now all of them are HARD-CODED into the system, which is -very- bad juju. It means that in order to add any new remote site links to ANY of the sites we run, it was a code update to about a dozen major scripts and pages on the site - whatta pain in the arse! So this refactor is turning all of those into a database-driven set of tables and relationships while also optimizing the serving of that data by caching it to disk on our system (less DB hits = more speed).

What this also means is that we can now EASILY add new remote sites - YAY! =D And those of you who follow me instead of  furbuy get an advanced heads-up: we're FINALLY linking to InkBunny! In addition we're adding Facebook, Twitter and looking into various IM possibilities as well! I'm hoping to have this new system in place and all of the users' data converted to it this weekend, fingers crossed!

P.S. If you have any ideas for other sites we should add linking to, please let us know! I can't say that I'm personally the most up to date on various furry social networking sites, or even non-furry sites that people frequent, so feedback and input is appreciated. =) Thanks!

From Ayukawataur, administrator of Furbid, posted on the Furbid LJ community:

"FurBid-SF

I am not where I can check FurBid.
I do not know what her status is.
I have sent a message to my assistant admin to have him check her. But, this is a holiday and family and holiday is more important than a server. Once I know more I will update and make a decision."


This is how important the admin of that site thinks your business is. It's so important that they can't spare a moment even during the holiday to make a simple check of the status of their COMPANY to make sure it's up and available to it's customers. Yes it's the holidays and yes we all have family obligations - but when you run an internet business, you also have obligations to it. You're free to dodge those obligations or make excuses, but your reputation and business also get to suffer for it. Furbid's already slipping off the radar, this is a rather disappointing push towards the cliff.

http://jurann.livejournal.com/173190.html

In regards to YiffyLeaks et al. I want people's opinions in my journal.

I wrote up more about this in my LJ (SFW):
http://jurann.livejournal.com/172942.html

Please take a look and help out our fuzzy little friends! Thanks. =)

Hey guys, I run a furry-ish guild on The Scryers, Horde side, called Primal Scream. We're a fairly casual guild on an RP/PvE realm looking for more furry folks to join us in leveling, sharing crafting mats, helping each other out, and just having fun. We don't have any plans to get into raiding right now, just build the membership and see where things go. The Scryers is a low-mid pop realm, so never any queues or over-crowding in places, and being on an RP server means folks are a lot more mature in general. So if you're interested in joining us, gimme a PM here on FA or get ahold of me on IMs, my contact info's in my profile page. =)

 furbuy

I just posted a really important journal, so if you have any interest in the fate of www.FurBuy.com please go watch that FA user and have a look at the most recent journal. We really need to rally support for the site soon or I'm afraid we're not going to be able to keep it up. C'mon guys, I know we can do this.

... for sale on FurBuy right now. Heh, really wishing I had more money to kick around. But best of luck to the sellers and I hope that more of you go check out what's for sale on FurBuy these days and drop in some bids!

www.furbuy.com

Is it just me, or have there been a TON of Error 503's on FA lately? Also, has the site been super slow for anyone else in the last few days? Doesn't matter what time of day or night FA's been uber sluggish for me. I just want to make sure this isn't something I've been going through alone...

Fantastic. Well, it's the end of: constructive criticism, unconstructive criticism, constructive trolls, unconstructive trolls, any useful but controversial comments, useful arguments (sometimes called debate or discussion) and people having fun in anyone's threads but their own. Wow. FA may as well have just REMOVED the commenting capability altogether.

Comment if you'd like to be hidden.

So I see an ad on FA for some place called "The Furry Den" and I decide I should keep up with what the fandom's doing and check this site out, maybe it will be the new Furnation! I land on the main page and oh, it looks like another forum site, no big deal. Then I see that the head mod for the site has the icon of Demicouer's character making a weird face in the water with the text "guys.... i think there's a faggot in the pool" on it. Lotsa intarweb lolz in that pic, huh?

NO YOU FUCKING RETARD, IT'S OFFENSIVE AND MORONIC AND YOU'RE THE MAIN MOD OF A SITE AND USING IT TO REPRESENT YOURSELF. It's a plagiarized piece of art with a VERY sophomoric and homophobic piece of text on it. Your site just lost 100% of any credibility with me. WTF were you thinking?

Apparently is has come to my attention that I am an asshole. Thanks to everyone who's pointed that out lately, I honestly wasn't aware that being snarky and loud by itself without hurting anyone made someone an asshole, but it seems I'm wrong due to overwhelming social pressure stating otherwise. Also apparently my ability to have fun and be jocular (I love that word) as an individual somehow rubs-off as injuring FurBuy's reputation because I am the current Community Lead - despite the fact that I've been around far longer than FurBuy and happen to have my own opinions about a whole assortment of things which bear zero impact on how FurBuy is operated and how well it stands alone as a business and hobby website. And I stress hobby, myself and my staff are all volunteers and we built and operate FurBuy at a pretty significant loss - not only do we invest a lot of hard work and effort into maintaining, improving and managing the site, but we all pitch in financially to some extent to make it happen and keep it running.

Which leads me to this point: I am not a PR person and don't want to be the Community Lead for FurBuy. I am not the positive face of furry fandom, I am simply a senior software engineer who happens to love furry art enough to buy it and continue improving the leading site for buying it. What FurBuy needs is a good Community Lead to be the public face of the site and handle PR and communications with users and managing accounts. The position requires daily attention to the site, checking e-mail 2-3 times a day, coming up with ideas and promotions for the site, and managing an advertising strategy. Probably a good hour or two each day. I am currently in this role in ADDITION to doing the accounting and filing for the company (a Partnership based LLC) as well as being the senior/lead engineer on the site as well. The parent company does have a profit model for the partners, and you would be required to sign papers to become a partner member of the company in order to take this position. Someone taking over the role would free up a lot more time for me to work on feature additions, improvements and additional security for the site.

So, anyone interested?

You may not have known:

Q: Does FurBuy have an 'official' account on FurAffinity?
A: Check out and watch  furbuy today for the latest news and updates.

Q: Does FurBuy offer Contributing Memberships with upgraded account features?
A: They are only $18/yr and come loaded with great benefits for sellers! Plus it helps us keep the site up for you! Learn how to contribute at http://www.furbuy.com/docs/membership.shtml

Q: Does FurBuy have a LiveJournal community?
A: Yes indeedy, it's at: http://community.livejournal.com/furbuy/

Q: Does FurBuy offer advertising services?
A: You betcha, we host ad banners for very affordable rates with excellent tracking features! Find out more at http://www.furbuy.com/docs/adbanners.shtml

Now some questions for YOU to answer:

Q: If FurBuy offered a storefront for you to sell fixed price items and commissions with set quantities and shopping cart and order fulfillment services, would you use it? As a buyer or seller?

Q: If FurBuy offered a robust commission tracking system, including commission detail forms and the ability to track commissions not just purchased on FurBuy, would you be interested in using it?

Q: Are you interested in seeing more cross-site integration with sites like FurAffinity, ArtSpots, AnthroStar, InkBunny and others?

Q: Are you interested in FurBuy running contests to generate more activity and interest in the site? If so, what kind of prizes would you like to see?

Q: Are you interested in forums on FurBuy, and if so why?

Q: Are there any other features you'd like to see FurBuy add to make the site more compelling or relevant to you, or to make sales/purchases easier for you?

Thanks for your time, your feedback is extremely important to us and we carefully read each and every response we get. =)

Wowzers! FurBuy is really kicking butt right now, with over 360 live public auctions. =) Thank you all so much to those who have been making it so successful!

If you're not watching it yet, also be sure to put the FA account  furbuy in your watch list for news and updates.

Please also remember that FurBuy operates from donations and we have been badly under-funded the last few months. We offer Contributing Memberships and Ad Banners in return for meager donations, so please help us out and help your friends by donating a little money to help keep it running! You can find more information on the site at the top of any page:

www.furbuy.com

Thanks again everyone. =) It's been a wild 11 years, and we just keep getting stronger and better!

Well, this is rather sad: FurBuy has had zero income for over 2 months now, and isn't even running ANY ad banners at present. I've had to pay for the last 2 months of service ($400 each month) out of my own pocket, and my income is FAR less than it was when I lived in Seattle, on top of a higher cost of living in California.

PLEASE if you know anyone that could use some affordable ad banner space, send them to www.furbuy.com and have them sign-up for some, we really need every little bit of help we can get to keep the site running. Also, if you are a regular user of the system, please consider donating to get a contributing membership on the site as it helps keep things moving along.

Partially due to this and due to changes in my finances and some unexpected costs after moving, I will not be able to make it to AC this month. Have fun to all of those are going, and if you could do me a huge favor, please spread the word about FurBuy and our ad banners and contributing memberships. Thanks!

~ Jurann

So I'm looking to move to the Silicon Valley soon, someplace between say San Jose and San Mateo. But before I can do that, I need to line-up a job first. So, I am wondering if anyone who's watching me here is in the area or has contacts in the area that could help offer any advice or leads to recruiters, headhunters, game companies or the like who might be looking for a talented software engineer of over 12 years. Thanks in advance! =)

Whew! I just spent 14 hours en route from San Jose to Redmond, whatta trip! I was able to drive the entire thing myself, but thanks to my co-pilot and FC roommate Trailblazer for helping keep me awake and thinking. =) I'm super dizzy and fatigued as one might expect after such an ordeal, but once again FC this year was more than worth it. =) It was great to see so many old friends, reconnect with folks I haven't talked to in years, and make a bunch of new friends too. =D If I missed anyone there, I'm sorry! Things were pretty busy and I was really enjoying myself and just relaxing, using it as a social con this year instead of work and business and yadda. I may or may not post a con report, hehehe. Just wanted to let folks know I'm home safe and sound. =)