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Hi there!

While trying to install said forums I stumbled upon this problem. The files were completely uploaded to my webspace, then I went to the [...]install.php and filled out the form like this.

But all I got for a response was this.

Can anybody tell me exactly what went wrong? The asked folder already exists in my 'forums'-path so that shouldn't be a problem.

I'm at a loss here. ^^; I had similar problems with the forums software I tried to install before that (phpBB 3.0) since I know that software from earlier, but after that didn't work out I tried it with smf since Xepher advised for it.

Thank in advance.

Hi there, everybody!

My name's Rebekka and I am a German woman at the age of 22 that's very interested in reading webcomics. My fascination in it started about... I don't now... maybe two years ago? A friend of mine introduced me to El Goonish Shive and Megatokyo and it was just too hilarious to not read it. ^^; Up to now it has become quite the routine for me to keep track of the about 20 webcomics I read, of which some are hosted on Xepher.net.

I myself am a good drawer (at least that's what my friends keep telling me) and always scrabble away at my own characters and the stories I made over the years. It always helps me keep track of how much they changed over time, which is very important to me. Anyone who has ever developed characters knows that they tend to somehow and illogically come to life and do things their creator not really has any control over. oO;

As of late I have played with the thought of finally getting one of my stories out of my head and into the public. I just couldn't stop drawing it, trying to fix the plotholes still left and getting a fixed appearance for my characters, which used to change a lot since I was never really satisfied with the way they came out.... ^^;

But at last I have reached a point where I am satisfied with their appearance, and the plotholes can wait. ^^ So I thought 'Why not try?' and went searching for a fitting environment to post my comics at. The obvious thing for a German to do in that case would be to look for a German page, but, alas!, there are none that I would approve of. Of course there's Animexx.de where you can host your doujinshi or whatever, but you canNOT decide on the appearance of the comic itself. There is but one layout you can use, the handling is not my thing and you don't really have an overview on what comics are there and what you might like. There are WAY too many children scrabbling away boring stuff but try and go for interesting titles and such...

To make it short: I feel too old for that page.

So I had to look for other means of hosting my story, so I thought 'Why not check all the webcomics I read?' This made me end up with either ComicGenesis or Xepher as options. ComicGenesis seemed a bit impersonal to me, the application form there outright confuses me, so not good.

That left Xepher. Well, not really 'left' since I preferred it from the start but... left it. ^^; Xepher seems like a nice and tolerant platform, you can speak directly to the person owning the page. Plus, the content I've seen here so far seemed of good quality to me.

[ Whew, what a long intro... oO; ]

So... why should you admit me to your platform? I'll quote and aswer your instructions for applications so that I won't miss anything important. ; )

Make sure you've read all site info. [...]

-> Check.

Next, I suggest you read through some of the previous applications, to get a feel for how the process works, and what I'm looking for.

-> Check. I think I would fit in.

First, I need the username you hope to get.

-> That would be Sheera. I haven't yet decided on a title for my comic, but since you said that it might take a while before one is permitted an account I think I have enough time to come up with a decent one until then.

Next, I need your email.

-> RebekkaOhlms (at) googlemail (dot) com

Next, a site description. Tell me what you plan to do, what your site will contain or be about. Include any thing else you want to mention, or that you think I should know.

-> As I stated before I intend to do a webcomic.

It is a story situated in a medieval Japan-like country with a mild fantasy touch (which will occur around the middle or end of the story). The story is about a young swordsman (the ronin-type) who gets hired as a bodyguard for a count's daughter. If I try to describe it more it will only end in a lot of spoilers, but if you insist I'll do that. But ONLY if you insist. ; )

Now, the main part of the application. Basically, what you're trying to do is convince me that you're going to provide something interesting and creative to the world.

-> My drawing style is quite nice even though its not perfect. I'm im school right now (adult education) so I cannot upload any samples, but I will do so later. I will post here what is supposed to be the opening panel and maybe some of my other scribbles. But I have to warn you! Most of them are done on checkered paper (I scribble mostly in school, thus the lack of white paper art :/ ). The comic itself, however, will of course be done on white paper. I am kind of a perfectionist, so I'll do my best and still be not completely satisfied with it, but I try to get over that. ^^;

One way, and probably the best, is to provide me with a URL to your current website.

I have no website, nor have I ever had one. My boyfriend has one and will help me create one since I'm new to HTML. As for art, please see above.

I intend to have the website as simple as possible, at least at the beginning. I will post the comic bilingual, German and English, and still have to figure out a way to do that in the most convenient way for the readers. I imagined something like flag-buttons, that change the language of the page without sending the reader to the starting page, but I don't know if that is possible with plain HTML...

What I have in mind is a dark blue background, some nice buttons set off in a lighter blue, and a logo at the top of the page, along with a menu.

Of course, some people are just starting out their creative careers, and don't really have much to show as of yet. Because of this, I'm going to allow a third option I call "The Challenge." This one is based on the old Phase 1 application system. Basically, it works like this: You let me know you want to go by the challenge method, and I'll start asking you questions.

YYYYYYYYYYYep. So I guess there's no other way for me but take that last method, so go on and ask. ^^

Ask all you like, I try to answer.

As for the 'foreign language'-thingie: You might have noticed that I'm quite good at written English. But I must insist on me posting the Comic in German as well, since A) some friends of mine who don't speak English as well (or none at all) are very interested in reading it, and B) I wrote the story in my native language, which would be German. It is just so much easier for me to do it in German and then simply translate the speechbubbles. Also, this gives me the opportunity to switch to the other language if someone uses code or secret speech. [ <- this is a spoiler and ought to be ignored xD ]

Sooo... It's about 15:30 around here, I'll go and add my art samples asap, which will probably be around 21:00 (and I am far too lazy to start calculating time zones now, sorry 'bout that ^^; )

I look forward to your initial response to all my babbling and hope it will be somewhat positive.

See you then,

Sheera (aka Rebekka)