Featured Site - How often updated?

[fesworks]

Add images!

maybe half banners, or those 200x40 ones.



Also, Xepher, I'm pretty busy at the moment, But if you make Xepher Ad Images, I'll set a $5 a month Ad budget for it (what I normally try to donate monthly here normally).

Also, if you sign up to host PW ads on the regular Xepher pages, you might have to e-mail the guy. people don't get approved too quickly... unless you'd wanna work something out with me since I'm already approved, I could give you my PW login and you can set up your own ads and such and you (or me or both) can keep track of money made and spent on Xepher.net.

Up to you. Just offering a variety options. Let me know if any one of these strikes any interest.

[Xepher]

I am considering making the newsbox less configurable -- more standardized would mean it would stand out more, and (hopefully) be something people can recognize between pages, possibly thinking "Oh, two of my favorite comics are on this "xepher" thing... maybe I should check it out." Because right now, unless you really read the newsbox, it looks quite different from one page to the next.

Images for the featured site are another thing I'm considering. Technology has come a ways since I first tried the newsbox thing. Javascript is a LOT more reliable across browsers now, so I may make things quite a bit more useful and interactive too.

[griever]

I think one thing that might help out in terms of recognizability is a Xepher.net logo.  Even if it's just a tiny icon and "Xepher.net" in the same font.  This could then be added as a transparent png/gif over the ad image, which users could select size in their control panel.

[dragyn]

Yeah, it could stand to be a bit more noticeable.  Probably not require it "at the top," as that'd make it feel too much like comicgenesis or Keenspot to me.  Requiring it would be good, though. 

And graphics are always good.  I think you'd do well to come up with something that says "Xepher" (maybe the pawprint thing you have on the main page?)

Well, that be my 2.73 cents.

[Databits]

Remember "web rings"?

[griever]

I remember webrings!  I used to be in several before they seemed to be replace with banner rotations.  Do people still make webrings anymore with the random, next, previous, etc. links?

[Databits]

Sadly I think the day of the webring has since left. They aren't really that popular anymore.

[jekkal]

The new 'in thing' seems to be comic collectives, like Webcomic Hotness and Blank Label.

[Xepher]

I'd like to eventually have xepher.net (or a section of xepher.net) function somewhere between a collective like Blank Label and a hosting site like keenspot (but better, of course.) Right now, I'm not doing any promotion or seeking new members until the new server gets in place and I'm confident of it's reliability. After that however, I want to actively seek out good comics. Not entirely sure how to go about that, or what it is the artists are really looking for. That is, how shared (comic specific) hosting compares to just running their own site, and things like that.

[jekkal]

I'd like to eventually have xepher.net (or a section of xepher.net) function somewhere between a collective like Blank Label and a hosting site like keenspot (but better, of course.) Right now, I'm not doing any promotion or seeking new members until the new server gets in place and I'm confident of it's reliability. After that however, I want to actively seek out good comics. Not entirely sure how to go about that, or what it is the artists are really looking for. That is, how shared (comic specific) hosting compares to just running their own site, and things like that.

At minimum, we're probably going to need to be a little flexible in regards to giving new comic artists some PHP to hit the ground running with rather than just expecting them to always roll their own.

I see Xepher becoming a Furry Blank Label (Fuzzy Label, perhaps?) but a little less stingy about who it lets in. Not by much though -- Maintaining at least a little eliteness should be key, because what attracted me to Xepher was the following:

• Almost Ad-Free Hosting
• Small Clientele List (at least compared to Comic Genesis or Drunk Duck!)
• Can't-Lose Payment system (No money owed until you start making a profit through donations)

The best way to find new artists (besides seeking them out) would be to get DMFA to do half your legwork for you. Seriously, that thing has pull.

[reinder]

I could do the other half... but only if no condition that things be furry is introduced, because I obviously  wouldn't qualify for that myself.

[fesworks]

.... why?



I mean... why purposely segrogate (sp?) comics like that? Just go "Xepher Comics" or something... Variety-a-Plenty! I know that the Application process says that something unique gets better props than carbon copy comics. so there is not a lot of strikingly similar stuff already here.


well, I strongly disagree with such an idea.

If anything, being able to have both just shows tollerance and acceptance of other types of comics. Start making groups, you'll soon have elitests (esp. when dealing with the "furry" issue... you can get UGLY debaters... on both sides).

well, those are my thoughts. Up to you Xepher, of course

[Xepher]

I don't intend to have any "furry specific" sort of criteria at any point, so no worries there. It just happens that this site started as my personal webspace, and I gave a few sites to friends and such, usually from furry-ish communities, and they brought more people, and so things here do have a bit of a furry bias because of how it grew. But it's not something I ever mean to actively select for.

Note: I don't think Jekkal meant to say it should elitist in only picking furry stuff, but that we should have minimum quality standards overall.

As for having some basic PHP/Comic framework for new people to start with if they want, I'm considering it. Not sure if it really belongs on xepher.net proper, or if that's more something that might fit in a comic-specific subsection/project though.

[fesworks]

Well, a PHP starter index page would be all that you'd need to do. for those that don't know PHP, so they don't have to come in and ask every time

[Xepher]

Well, part of my plan for the new newsbox is that it will be javascript based, not requiring people to use PHP at all.