I've got you, I'm on it. in Site Updates
- March 30, 2018, 11:50 p.m.
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- Public
Hello again everyone!
WOW! What a warm welcome! And a big thanks to SM for the kind words. I’m so excited to be a part of your community.
Mood:
I wanted to reply to some of the over 360 (!) comments that I recieved on yesterday’s post as well as some of the entries I’ve seen around the site. Before I go any further though, I’d like to introduce my heretofore mysterious partner in crime.
Dan, meet ProseBox. ProseBox, meet Dan.
Dan is a talented designer, developer and musician who lives very near me here in LA. We’ve known each other since we were 3 years old, though we lost touch when we were 10 and I moved out of state. We had the completely surprising opportunity to reconnect a few years ago when I made my way out west. It turned out that we’d both somehow made our way into the tech industry, and since reconnecting he’s been involved in almost all of my side projects. He’s a blast to work with, and a very dear friend.
For now we’ve agreed that keeping me as the single point of contact for our team is probably easiest, but I’m sure you’ll see him here and there around the site as we start digging in.
Alright! Let’s go!
First and most foremost, is the dog in your profile pic Mochi? Is Mochi real? Is his fur soft?
Yes, yes and extremely
Action shot:
Why is the site still so slow??
Honestly, it’s going to take a little time for Dan and I to get up to speed and for things to start to improve. Development work is tricky, and since ProseBox was custom built from scratch there will be a lot of upfront work to understand what’s behind the curtain.
Think of it like the difference between repairing a mass-produced clock vs repairing a one-of-a-kind clock. The parts are still clock parts, but the mechanisms have their own special way of working. Luckily, the creator of the clock will be sticking around in an advisory capacity to help us understand how it works.
I’m also really happy to share that several talented members of the community have offered their time and expertise to help us out as the need arises. It’s looking good so far, and I’ll be sure to keep you all in the loop on what’s happening.
Take our money! Make the site better right now!!
I hear you, and we’re brainstorming what that could look like. Expect more on that in the coming weeks.
I said yesterday that I’m not taking on this project with ROI in mind and I meant that. I’m here because I care deeply about communities and you have something very special. But from what I’ve been hearing, I think that in the future ProseBox could not only financially support itself, but could also pay Dan and I for our time and work on improving the site. While I do have a full time dayjob, Dan is a freelancer and is willing to dedicate his time to the site as much as makes financial sense.
I’m putting together a detailed roadmap to share with you soon. I want you all to weigh in on this every step of the way to make sure it feels good.
Step one is keeping the lights on. Step two is speeding the site up and putting out any brightly burning fires. Step three is figuring out what features we work on next. Based on your wonderful feedback and my conversations with “Jen” and SM, the big three seem to be: easy photo uploads, search and an entry calendar. I’ll be more formally surveying the community (and I know how you feel about surveys) to nail that down before any work is started.
So you’re a designer. Are you going to totally redesign the site because redesigns are awesome and have you seen the new trends bro?
No way. A redesign just to make my mark isn’t my style. You all seem to be very comfortable with the way things are formatted right now and I don’t want to throw you off your grooves.
Will there be Mochi pictures in every site update?
Count on it.
<3,
-J
Last updated March 31, 2018
Deleted user ⋅ March 30, 2018
What's your favorite color?
The Thirsty Oriental ⋅ March 30, 2018
Welcome!
cheesyemoheart ⋅ March 31, 2018
Welcome!!
myownsecrets ⋅ March 31, 2018
You're awesome.
josh myownsecrets ⋅ March 31, 2018
No u
myownsecrets josh ⋅ March 31, 2018
Ha! I'm not the one rescuing our little worlds here! YOU are.
btwn bd tth ⋅ March 31, 2018
I'm here for the dog pics. The updates are just a bonus.
Thanks for stepping in to help us all out.
nthaniel btwn bd tth ⋅ April 06, 2018
lol Thar's me pal Brannon
Deleted user ⋅ March 31, 2018
Awesome :)
EchoSeven ⋅ March 31, 2018
This sounds great. Thanks again for being so awesome!
I had mentioned it before a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but it would be cool if the attachments column (for adding links, pictures, etc. to an entry) would slide with the page. Currently you have to scroll all the way back up to the top of the page if you want to add something, which is okay if entries are short, but a lot of us tend to be long winded and really like reaction gifs lol.
Course, it could be that how entry editing appears in the future is changed entirely! That's cool too. I'm still just super glad to be here!
MOCHI IS SUPER STINKIN' CUTE
kmh. EchoSeven ⋅ March 31, 2018
Second the scrolling attachments thingy :)
history of love kmh. ⋅ March 31, 2018
Thirding.
Parallax. history of love ⋅ March 31, 2018
Fourthing? Is that a thing?
BlueEyes418 ⋅ March 31, 2018
Look Josh, I think it's very sweet and oh-so-cute that people think that if they just throw money at ProseBox, that will fix everything. But, if you want me to invest in ProseBox, you have a sh!t load of proving to do.
And I don't take kindly to people who f*ck with my friends emotions.
I get that it's incredibly complicated to maintain a site like ProseBox. Your intro blog is playing on the emotions of thousands of people. I believe that you're sincere. But do you really, &really* understand what you're getting into?
So, seriously: do you really want this? It's too much to ask of, say, six talented people. Twenty talented people could do it, but only with undying, unwavering dedication and actual professional experience and a professional outlook.
If you decide to ditch PB, what's your exit strategy?
Thank you for stepping up, but...I'm going to be doubtful for a long time.
Good luck, Josh.
Give Mochi pets of his choice for me. I looooove dogs!
josh BlueEyes418 ⋅ March 31, 2018
I hear you, and I hope I'm able to win your trust.
Mochi says hello, and I scratched his ears on your behalf.
I've worked in tech for just under fifteen years, so I totally get what you're saying about projects being a lot larger than they initially appear. I think you'd be surprised about what a small team of people can accomplish though, even on a huge site. In one of my previous lives, I was part of a three person team that designed, prototyped, built and launched a totally custom social platform very very similar to this one in just under 60 days. In our first two months we had over 30,000 daily active users, and we never had to hire any additional help to manage that load. It was a total blast! I loved that community.
By contrast, PB is already built and has an established user base that seems to not want to change what's already here with the exception of a few minor improvements. From what I can tell there are around 400-500 daily active users. I feel pretty good about those odds, and I think you'll be surprised.
As for investing in the site, I completely understand if you don't want to do that and that's why we'll always have a free tier.
Mr. Mofo ⋅ March 31, 2018
I plan on MAYBE writing in here. (I reallly have nothing to say anymore) Could you possibly give us all a lead to the page that tells us how to post pictures and/or videos?
Are you a native of Los Angeles?
Walking Crow ⋅ March 31, 2018
Thank you and hopefully, the welcome is warmer than all the flack you must be getting for things you can't control :)
ViscousNightshade ⋅ March 31, 2018
My corporate sense is tingling and I foresee sprints in your future...
josh ViscousNightshade ⋅ March 31, 2018
Our Trello boards will be majestic
M ⋅ March 31, 2018
Thanks!
LachrymoseBeauty ⋅ March 31, 2018
Sounds great! This is one of the few sites I would be willing to pay a subscription fee for. There are a few things I'd like to see in the future, when you have the time and resources:
josh LachrymoseBeauty ⋅ March 31, 2018
Mochi will always be free
santa monica LachrymoseBeauty ⋅ April 02, 2018
I second all of these
Deleted user ⋅ March 31, 2018
Sounds very promising and thanks for explaining more to us ! Welcome to Dan ! Mochi will soon become our PB mascot !
isaidnoh ⋅ March 31, 2018
I like the dog pics for every site update :) Nice touch!
Neogy Titwhistle ⋅ March 31, 2018
I guess you've realized this but the "core" population here has been a community for up to 20 years now. We don't want "tiers" we just want a place to hang out. A stable platform is all that's needed. An anonymous (to other users) donation method may surprise you with adequacy. Yes, this is home.
josh Neogy Titwhistle ⋅ March 31, 2018
Very happy to go that direction if that's what the community prefers :)
We've been looking at something like what Metafilter does as an example:
https://login.metafilter.com/funding.mefi
All options are on the table, but the tiered approach was something that was mentioned a lot in the previous thread so I wanted to address it. I'll be sending around a survey to gauge actual interest and if it's not there we'll explore other options.
Thanks for welcoming me into your home :)
Neogy Titwhistle josh ⋅ March 31, 2018
Yeah, that funding deal looks viable. The original OD had a 'free' option and a 'paid' option. The difference being no ads anywhere if 'paid'. The ads were really annoying. And then later Bruce added a 'lifetime' option for $100. This was to recover from "The Great Hack". I can't remember how much the other options were. I had the 'lifetime' sub. See how that worked out?
Have you read the wiki on Open Diary?
josh Neogy Titwhistle ⋅ March 31, 2018
I've heard the stories from "Jen" and a few others about the OD history and the terrible "lifetime" option and subsequent shutdown. It's all terrible, and I'm going to do my best to be sensitive to the rough history you've all gone through as we have further conversations about what strategy could work best.
I'll check out the wiki, thanks for the tip.
nthaniel Neogy Titwhistle ⋅ April 06, 2018
I'm in my 15th year as a migrated OD patron. It was great while it lasted, but I'm used to PB now, and I hope it can stay around without DRASTIC changes. I wouldn't mind other options, like the WYSIWYG editor OD had or the ability to add our own backgrounds, but those would just be "homey" to me! :)
It is comforting to see so many who have been part of the same group for so long still all in one spot, even though I don't think you and I, in particular, knew each other, Neogy Titwhistle. I'm just blabbering on; not a lot of point to it. I'm just glad to be here and see and SAY how much our community has always meant to us.
Witchy Woman ⋅ March 31, 2018
Fantastic explanation on coding!
I love how simple our home is. There are times if like to be able to post images and such but the mobile site is quite limited.
I have no problem being patient as you all find your footing and learn to speak the same language.
We love PB and are quite excited and nervous for our future. As long as you don't destroy it by turning it into something it wasnt meant to be, I think we can handle a little change overall.
Have a great night.
Shattered ⋅ March 31, 2018
Glad to see you taking such an interest in the community! Will you be posting more personal things now that we’ve sucked you in?
Sherlock and Tea ⋅ March 31, 2018
That last pic of Mochi with the natural background is just wonderful.
S
Teflon Superhero ⋅ March 31, 2018
That last photo of Mochi makes me think he lives in a VAAAAAAAN DOWN BY THE RIIIIIIIIVERRR!
nthaniel Teflon Superhero ⋅ April 06, 2018
I'll be dipped! I didn't know you were on here! Add me if you like!!!! And if you remember me.
m.i.a. ⋅ March 31, 2018
I like that you have a Lt. Dan. :)
Nin ⋅ March 31, 2018
I loves the Mochi!! I want to scratch him and hug him and pet the baby.
Also...You are ok, too. 😉
Welcome, Dan!!
browneyes ⋅ March 31, 2018
Welcome and thanks for maintaining this website. The dog is adorable!
Marg ⋅ March 31, 2018
Just keeps getting better and better Josh! Although I got slightly confused with the introduction of Dan - I thought it was our Dan and that you guys had been friends for years! So now that my brain cell is working - welcome Dan😊
•kitkat• ⋅ March 31, 2018
Welcome! Thank you for helping keep this place alive!
thesunnyabyss ⋅ March 31, 2018
Thank you so much, I hope when you are caught up you can help me figure out why I can't post photos anymore, again thank you for saving this site, it means so much to so many, have a fabulous day!!!
thesunnyabyss ⋅ March 31, 2018
ps, great song choice and love Mochi, so would Dash my little furry friend,
Vivienne ⋅ March 31, 2018
Mochi is super cute!
Exhumed By Scrying Eyes ⋅ March 31, 2018
I appreciate the frequent updates, it's great to follow along with the progress. One site feature I'd like to see implemented at some point is formatting (being able to post with indentations and so forth or be able to c/p a formatted piece without the site altering it). I don't know the challenges involved with something like that, but at some point it'd be a nice feature to add.
Thank you again for the update!
Lepetit pumpkinesque ⋅ March 31, 2018
The calendar feature and a way to import our old diaries would make me do Kermit the frog arms forever!!!!!!6
Lepetit pumpkinesque ⋅ March 31, 2018
Also hi Josh, Dan and Mochi!!!!!
Oiseau ⋅ March 31, 2018
Welcome, New Dan! (Don't worry, simple mind, I won't start referring to you as Old Dan.)
I don't think anyone would call me an optimist, but I must say I have a really good feeling about you guys and am downright excited to see the direction in which you take this place. Like others have said, communication is key. After what happened with Bruce, it was something we really appreciated from simple mind, and it looks like it's one of your strengths as well. Mochi pics ain't hurtin' ya none either. 😉
Leanne 🌈 ⋅ March 31, 2018
Dude to be able to edit our comments that would be awesome.
Your puppy is adorables .... we have a greyhound ... Dogs rock.
Comfortably Numb Leanne 🌈 ⋅ April 02, 2018
Yeah, I'd like to second the request for an "edit comments" feature. I'm a great editor --- but only after I've hit "submit" or "post"! ;)
Ad Astra Per Alas Porci ⋅ March 31, 2018
Another feature that is missed (and I don’t know if it’s possible here), was grouping the friends list. Controlling further who read what in my friends list. Like if I checked Group A, Group A only would be able to read my entry. If I checked Group A and B they both could. It was an old OD feature that I super miss. It didn’t even come back when the site did, and I was super sad. It was helpful in the sense of “oh these friend like to read my poems, while these friend prefer to read my day-to-day.
Also welcome again, and
Hello, Mochi Overlord!!
Parallax. Ad Astra Per Alas Porci ⋅ March 31, 2018
Oh my god, yes! This! I had forgotten all about it, and now that you've mentioned it I miss it.
x
Meeks ⋅ March 31, 2018
Welcome josh, Mochi and Dan.
My wish list is short for Prosebox: Keep it simple, easy and clean looking.
ConnieK ⋅ March 31, 2018
Welcome, you, welcome, Dan, welcome Mochi. I like the place. No complaints.
Narrator ⋅ March 31, 2018
Huzzah! On multiple counts!
Deleted user ⋅ March 31, 2018
Thank the Gods! I'm happy you're here, I hope you stay for a long time and maintain stability for this "home". #loveyoulongtime
Telstar ⋅ March 31, 2018
Enjoy your honeymoon period, Josh.
This bunch can turn on you like a pack of wild dogs.................
Thanks for taking over PB, and good luck!
raeven ⋅ March 31, 2018
Thank you!.. and take the money. Otherwise, you will burn the fuck out. I've offered my services in the past for free because of a cause, and I ended up resentful because it took so much time and the more I offered, the more people expected and demanded.
crystalrose ⋅ March 31, 2018
Cute Mochi :) Good luck, and yeah don't make too many changes :)
summertime sadness. ⋅ March 31, 2018
All hail Mochi, Adventure Dog Extraordinaire!
Rivercity ⋅ March 31, 2018
Glad you're here.
Gilraent ⋅ March 31, 2018
lol I couldn't leave a comment on the last entry.
I totally understand the site being slow. It happens. I do get annoyed because I'm human, but hey. That's life.
It's nice to meet Mochi! Cute smol doggo :)
Complete Mommy ⋅ March 31, 2018
Complete Mommy ⋅ March 31, 2018
Welcome! Thank you for keeping our beloved PB alive! It means a lot! I am very excited to see the changes in PB! Thank you so VERY much!
Jeanine ⋅ April 01, 2018
Ok, FINE, you sold me.
MadSeason ⋅ April 01, 2018
Welcome and thank you.
Emm ⋅ April 01, 2018
Thank you so much fir working this out. Even though I rarely share here (phobia ow whatever) I come here. Every day. Several times a day. THIS community is all the family I have and I really need them right now.
Anaiss ⋅ April 01, 2018
Sounds great. I love that you are helping us get to know you, too. I heart you!
mcbee ⋅ April 01, 2018
Welcome and good luck. From all the comments, you are probably seeing we are a tough group. I would LOVE a way to just insert picture without all the steps we have to take now, and when I insert that picture I would like to see it in the draft so I know it "took". I also don't want to pull from facebook or another site, just from my computer but that would be a cherry on top. I have virtually stopped posting pictures since OD because I am technically challenged (or maybe a little lazy...or maybe always in a a rush) and find it to be too many steps. I remember just copying and pasting into OD....the good old days. Either way, I'm happy to just keep reading old favorites, so thank you for that.
love, squeezebox. ⋅ April 01, 2018
I'm here for the Mochi pics. Because as long as there's Mochi pics that means Prosebox is still here!
ѽ - Master Revenant - ѽ ⋅ April 01, 2018
ok, i really don't know if you'll actually get this 120th comment...uhm i think that's the number...anyway i hate to do this, but a quick suggestion. i'm an "eccentric curmudgeon" or so says some folks and some family members, etc...so, as such, i have to add my unwanted penny in on this.
two suggestions and then i'll shut up and just be one of the community.
one is...the spot where we write our entries...what about allowing a selection of fonts, many other sites have a selection of fonts, even the really basic sites, that have no real design to them. fonts would be a great addition.
also how about a way that friends can communicate in a private fashion, other than doing a "private comment". the comment section should be just for comments about the entry and not a place for personal communications, which sometimes can become intense discussions between friends. i can't rip off a list of other sites that allow that, other than the one i used to be on for almost 13 years. i would name it, but it seems a bit coincidental that every time i do, somehow i am found out by ghosts from there, which i don't want.
just a couple of suggestions, agreeable that change will come slowly, and i accept that. you seem to be pretty open to our thoughts and suggestions, so i figured "why not?" and let you have these two.
also, truly, good luck with all of what you want to accomplish here and i will say it both for myself and my friends: we are wholly happy that you were around to save PB...since we could never find a place like it anywhere else on the Internet.
Deleted user ⋅ April 02, 2018
You nailed it right on the head... this community is much bigger than just this website. Looking forward to writing here for the foreseeable future. Thanks for everything Josh and Dan.
precious butterflies ⋅ April 02, 2018
Aawwwe, cuuuuuute! :) Welcome!
& thank y'all!
WomanOfSteele ⋅ April 02, 2018
I've been gone for a bit but came back in time to see there's some change going on here. A little scary as we all pour our hearts and souls into our little pieces of prosebox, but I'm glad to see there's someone willing to step up who appears to grasp our emotional attachment to this place! Thank you and welcome!
Deleted user ⋅ April 02, 2018
I'm afraid to start writing here because I afraid the site will shut down. What does everyone think?
pandora ⋅ April 02, 2018
The entry calendar is super duper awesome. Thanks! And I look forward to the Mochi updates!
Now, is that a hard C sound in Mochi, or ch like cheese?
josh pandora ⋅ April 02, 2018
He prefers Mow-chee(se)
LotusButterfly ⋅ April 03, 2018
OMG, Mochi <3
colour of water ⋅ April 04, 2018
Oh yay! I'm glad the site will remain mostly the same, I do like the layout. Thank you SO MUCH for keeping this boat afloat :)
Justlovely ⋅ April 04, 2018
love it.
Jane Says ⋅ April 04, 2018
Hey dude, welcome. And good luck! Ha!
Des ⋅ April 04, 2018
Cute pooch!
switchy ⋅ April 14, 2018
This actually made me tear up, thank you ! 🤗😍
Honestleigh ⋅ April 15, 2018
So. A fun thing would be a photo of Mochi in which we come up with the caption. Example the last photo up there could be. ... it's a dog eat dog world out there. Good thing I'm in here.
Mr. Mofo ⋅ April 29, 2018
Hey, Mr. Josh, is there any chance of you getting some cool advertisements on here? Something we would all like to click on which would help the site and tell us the latest bargains at Menards?
MageB ⋅ May 06, 2018
Hi Dan, Josh, and Mochi, Yes, this old OD crowd likes it here, and we hope you do too. Good luck.