In the spirit of transparency and to encourage discussion, I thought I'd start posting regular site updates. Here's the first semi-annual installment:

Enhancements
I have added a number of mods to improve usability and add features, not all of which may be visible to members:

Site Theme
I had some file corruption with the previous theme but couldn't find a download for a fresh re-install, so I switched over to the current one (also by the previous theme designer, BTW) with a few tweaks of my own. In the near future, I hope to convert the template to HTML5 and CSS3.

Site Logo
Not by any means final, but I've been toying with some new logotypes for the site (It is what I do for a living, after all). These may find their way onto buttons, stickers, signs/banners and other schwag for those interested.

Event Banners
You may have noticed the occasional banner ad for local reoccurring weekly and monthly events (http://ftwem.com/forums/fort-wayne-reoccuring-events/), with a link to details on the calendar (http://ftwem.com/forums/calendar/). These free banners are meant to bring attention to and promote the local "scene", though only a few promoters have gotten on-board so far. It's not my intention to run banners all the time (or ever run paid ads), these are just meant to give regular events some well-deserved attention and promote attendance. Haven't been out in a while? Check out the current lineup of local events, all from independent promoters:

• Spiral at Cloud 9 on Wednesdays
• Tronic at O's on Thursdays
• Deep at the Dash In once-a-month on Fridays during Fall and Winter
• Unwind on the patio at CS3 on Fridays during Spring and Summer
• Plush at Babylon on Saturdays
• Second Saturdays at the Tiger Room once-a-month

Did I miss something? Send me the info or better yet add it to the calendar! Special thanks to those members who have been keeping the calendar updated.

Soundcloud BBCode
By request, a post can now contain embedded tracks and sets from Soundcloud. Read http://ftwem.com/forums/tracks/soundcloud-bbcode-now-enabled/  for more info.

Pretty URLS
Links are now 'pretty' (e.g. "/fort-wayne-reoccuring-events/" rather than "/index.php?board=2.0") for easier readability, improved search engine optimization (SEO) and better findability for content on the site. I've already started seeing a difference in Google Analytics reports from this.

Stopping Forum Spam
The site now pre-screens new member applications to prevent known-spammer accounts from joining. This has cut down significantly on bogus spam-bots from gaming the forum with comments and dummy accounts (a growing problem).

Original Content
I've posted a few articles under Production/Techniques (http://ftwem.com/forums/techniques/), since this is my area of interest and look forward to more contributions from others.

Activity
Despite how it might feel (plenty of "Why is it so dead in here?" posts but not many new topics or replies), the site stats page (http://ftwem.com/forums/stats/) seems to show steady growth since the lull from this past fall and winter, especially from non-registered visitors. Monthly page views are about double what they were from a year ago (UPDATED to be easier to read with time flowing from left to right):



My hunch is visitors are checking to see what's going on but using Facebook to network and interact. This makes sense, since that's one of the reasons people love Facebook. I'm working on an analysis of both the stats from this site and Google Analytics for insight into ways to liven things up and what direction to take the site. Feel free to send me your feedback.

Background
I took over site management in January, 2011 when Sneaky moved to Chicago (though he's still an honorary admin). As far as I'm concerned, this is a community *owned by you*, the members, and I'm more of the site's patron (e.g. managing the site and paying for hosting). For those whom I haven't met yet, I produce and perform under the name nofi (http://www.nofi.org/) and The Silent Stars (http://www.thesilentstars.com/), among others.

Thanks. Sounds like the music is flowing for you in Chicago. Glad to hear it!