21 Years Online!
By Uncle Ricky, updated February 18, 2017
Made a new table for the PAST HITBOUNDS, but sadly, HITBOUNDS have been so sporadic over the last couple of years (first the RIAA, then my hospital issues) so there's a lot of blank space in the database. I don't know how I'll fix this. Maybe I'll showcase stuff from 5 or 6 years ago.
21st Anniversary? No party, no cake, just the beginning of the 21st year online for REELRADIO. Registration is at an all time-low, but voluntary donations have been generous, and that's good. When I think of all those who helped build this site over the last 21 years, and how many of them have disappeared, or are known dead, it's very sobering.
Because updates were limited to once a month for the past year, we saved a lot of money. Now, I do have some insurance and licensing fees to pay in the next couple of months, but I've almost completely paid down the credit card and we're good until Summer, anyway. I am pledging to donate my time for the foreseeable future. We will stay online until we can't pay our bills.
All that matters is a "DONATE" button. REELRADIO is going FREE - just like it was in 1996. "Someone else" will pay for it, but everyone will have access to it. It's impossible to beat the thieves, and I'm sick of fighting them. And, the purpose of our non-profit organization is to make these recordings available to everyone. So, a "free" site will kill us, or make us grow. Just think, new friends, new people to comment, to add their ideas and perspectives. And since no one will be "making any money", maybe the pirates will think twice before stealing our stuff.
Coming up, a new registration system. You will need to provide a valid email address. As simple as this seems, we have subscribers who haven't done that! It may have been valid when they first signed up, but that was years ago. When or after you log in, please click MODIFY ACCOUNT, and make sure that your PRIMARY E-MAIL is correct. Thank you.
I am working on converting our exhibits to a new format. I go back to the originals for this, it's not as simple as running a software program to convert our Real Media to something else. I'm still somewhat limited physically, and it's difficult for me to reach things on high shelves or dig through piles of boxes to find some things. But if our Repository is to meet our mission, "Real Player" is going to be gone. Maybe not for all 3,538 exhibits. But many of the earlier contributions are forgotten, 'scoped and never played anyway. I'm developing a system so that the single PLAY button provided for all exhibits will work for PC or Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet. One button for all, and a built-in player for all.
There is very little that is "dynamic" about this site, because it was built so long ago. But the PLAY button goes through a common interface, a change there affects everything on the site. I wish it was that easy to make things look better! If the site was more "dynamic" it would be possible to insert advertisements. It's not practical to do that here. At any given time, a visitor to this site could be at over 3,000 different locations. It's impractical to make sure everyone sees an advertisement. For now, the site will remain advertisement-free. We don't have a large enough user base to generate any significant revenue anyway. So, your voluntary donations really are important.
As a FREE site, maybe we'll get more aircheck contributions. Just think, if Real Player and money isn't required, there are probably thousands who would love to hear the exhibits in the Repository. I know that some collectors have been unwilling to contribute because they didn't like that the site required money to listen. So, with that requirement gone, perhaps there will be new, quality airchecks coming in. A couple of nice people have promised some new things, and I look forward to sharing them with everyone.
To those of you who have continued to support REELRADIO, Thank You.
