Michael Link's Blog

Checking in on messages...

Michael Link — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:40:12 EDT

I just wanted to check in to see whether private messages were working fine for people now, or whether there are still some of you, out there, that can't send messages and get the blank page.

And if they started working for you, do you know the date and time they started working for you?

Please let me know, either way.

Also, for those of you getting the dashboard errors, you should let me know if that's the same, or fixed, as well. Because this error doesn't happen to me and I can't reproduce it, it's more difficult to fix than the message error.

Thanks. Please comment and let me know.

Conspiracy Theories

Michael Link — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:10:28 EDT

No, I'm not the Michael Link that lives in Canada (I live and work in DC), and I had nothing to do with this interview:

http://www.411mania.com/politics/columns/77975

It should go without saying that I don't live in Canada while also working at the DNC (I've never even been to Canada in my life).

I was 100% neutral in the primary, not uttering any word that could possibly even be construed as for one candidate or another. I took that responsibility very seriously because all of our candidates deserved it.

There are, in fact, more than one Michael Link. If you have questions about me, please ask.

Not Everybody?

Michael Link — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:02:24 EDT

So apparently messages are working for some people now. My latest questions, then, are ONLY for those of you who CAN send messages:

1. Were you not able to send messages before?
2. Are you always able to send messages now? If you restart your browser, and clear your cache, and log back in, can you still send messages?

Again, this is ONLY for those people who CAN send messages. Everybody else, please hold tight.

Another question

Michael Link — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:32:22 EDT

First, they're still working on messages. In fact, they're going to be doing some upgrades later (so if something happens, please be patient).

Second, only for those of you receiving an error on the Dashboard page: does the error message make reference to a failed listserv email sent to a PB group? If not, what exactly does it say?

(Please only use this thread for those of you answering the second question, so that I can read through replies easier.)

Thanks, everyone, for your patience.

PB Messaging (updated 3x)

Michael Link — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:39:40 EDT

Anybody know when PB messages stopped working? I found out about this much later than normally because usually people send me messages through PB when there's a problem.

Obviously, due to the nature of this issue, I only found out about it when I stumbled across it on the blog. Nobody could message me to let me know.

We'll try to get this taken care of as soon as possible. In the meantime, can anybody help them figure out what went wrong by letting me know when this first started happening?

UPDATE 3: Obvoiusly, it's still not fixed. When it is, I'll be sure to announce it.

Privacy

Michael Link — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:42:57 EDT

Just a friendly reminder that you shouldn't share certain personal information on PartyBuilder, such as your phone number, with people you don't know and trust in the "non-Internet world."

I post under my own name, and you're all free to do the same. But just know that you can't undo this stuff. Once you've given somebody your name or email address, you can't exactly take it back.

So just be careful about revealing too much info, as so many of you already are. Also, do not ever post personal information about other PartyBuilders.

Goodnight

Michael Link — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:25:03 EDT

I'm off for the evening (after midnight here), but I wanted to share a closing thought I had on my walk home.

The fact that there are so many people who care is proof of how much of a community PartyBuilder has become. It's proof that we've built something that people really care about. And if we can put the same kind of energy into beating Republicans up and down the ballot in November, then they're in big trouble.

The People Have Spoken

Michael Link — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:26:25 EDT

I'm referring to this post.

You know, sometimes things clearly cross a line on PartyBuilder as far as inappropriate content. Usually I discuss it with the person over private message first, remove the post, and warn them that it shouldn't happen again. In this case, I simply banned, which I also occasionally do. Usually, however, I reserve that option for more "extreme" posts.

It's not the only time that's happened, but clearly this is a valued member of the community. What I can offer, then, is a compromise.

Jackie is welcome back and can create a new account, on the condition that she/he will treat people with the same rules everyone else follows. But everyone -- please -- follow the rules of basic respect for your fellow PartyBuilder. Personal attacks like those launched earlier today are completely inappropriate.

But everyone deserves a second chance.

PB Messages

Michael Link — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:33:08 EDT

As you may have noticed, when you send a message in PartyBuilder, you get a blank page. We're working on that right now, and I'll update this post when it's fixed.

However, the message does in fact send -- even though the page is blank. If you want to make sure, just check the "sent messages" link when you're looking through your messages.

The problem only appears to be the blank page. If there are complaints about it not actually sending those messages, please let me know in the comments.

Thanks.

PB Message Question

Michael Link — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:35:29 EDT

I just got a call from somebody saying that when they sent a message through PartyBuilder, it wasn't saving with their "sent" messages (there's a tab for it). Is anybody else having this problem, or just her? It's fine for me. Thanks, all.

Who can organize this?

Michael Link — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:21:54 EDT

So instead of going after the "supply" of double-posts, it makes sense to target the "demand" by making sure that posts people write don't get lost in the crowd. One way to do that, which I suggested in my last post, was to organize a PB Rescue feature here that the community puts together -- say, once or twice a day.

This post is dedicated to finding people who can actually make it happen.

A quick note

Michael Link — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:46:43 EDT

I think I'm going to start deleting double-posts when I see them. While I understand that sometimes your posts get pushed off the main blog page too quickly, the double-posts only make things worse by causing one more post to go off the page.

However, I'd like your thoughts on this, first.

UPDATE: One issue is that people sometimes write great posts that people not online at the time might miss. So maybe the solution is for us to start a "Diary Rescue" that takes good posts and adds them all into one post, which would hopefully get recommended.

It'd need to be not just by people who support one candidate, so it would have stuff in favor of both of them. Otherwise, we'll have competing diary rescues which diminishes it.

Thoughts on that? Then we wouldn't have as great a need for duplicate posts as we currently have.

Who Owns Pencils?

Michael Link — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:53:29 EDT

I mentioned in the Open Thread a story that "technology problems will force the government to count all of the nation's 300 million residents the old-fashioned way in the 2010 census�"with paper and pencil."

And I wondered, who still uses pencils? Do you even own one? I don't, and haven't since college. Even then, I only used them for exams that required them. Sometimes I use a pen, but that's about it.

But maybe I'm just out-of-touch? Or Maybe this is a generational thing?

(Sorry for the random post.)

UPDATE: Just found this article from 1999: "Lawson predicts a backlash will one day make a PC passe. 'It'll be out as a status symbol,' she said. 'And pencils will be in vogue.'"

And this, from a pencil maker: ""The pencil is seeing a resurgence with groups who are growing tired of the e-mail and faxes," said Kristen Gehrig, product manager for Sanford Inc., Bellwood, Ill., which produces Eberhard-Faber pencils."

Changes

Michael Link — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:36:45 EDT

Many have advocated, in private messages to me, that I take a more active role in moderating PartyBuilder given some of the differences that have arisen. There have been arguments, I've argued, but I've been hesitant to ban anybody who isn't clearly crossing the line.

I've done it -- I've had to, on occasion. And I think everybody agrees it's necessary from time to time. Usually I prefer to send messages privately.

Now I no longer have to step in, thanks to a new feature from the makers of PartyBuilder. I'll detail it on the flip.

Spamming

Michael Link — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:29:06 EST

It's not just spamming when it's a used car loan, or refinancing. I'm kind of preaching to those of you who don't only do things correctly, but who are also the ones negatively affected by the one or two people that do not.

But still. Maybe as an admin here I just need to say it for the couple of people who don't know: no, it's not cool to copy and paste stuff over and over again. No matter who, or what, it's in support of.

I deleted some posts (some of which used characters that made the entire thing unreadable), but I didn't ban anybody for it. I also sent a note privately. I'm hoping everybody continues to largely self-moderate.

Car Loan?

Michael Link — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:51:32 EST

The car loans person, as you know has been spamming PartyBuilder, but I just wanted everybody to know that I'm trying to get in contact with the person responsible for the website.

I've already sent an email and have taken some steps to speak with the person on the phone (information that isn't on their website). Still awaiting a callback on that front.

Thanks to those who have alerted me to it by sending me a private message.

Who Voted Today?

Michael Link — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:23:59 EST

And if you did, tell your election day story. Was turnout high? Did they have enough ballots? Everything run smoothly?

Possible downtime

Michael Link — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:08:14 EST

It's possible there might be a few minutes of downtime later today -- just wanted to give everybody a heads-up in case it happens. So IF that happens, hopefully that will be resolved quickly and you can come back in several minutes.

Sorry for the downtime

Michael Link — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:35:47 EST

Tubes (momentarily) got clogged. Our Tech Dept got us back!

Liveblogging the caucus

Michael Link — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:29:09 EST

Just wanted to make sure everybody sticks around PartyBuilder tonight to talk about the caucus results when they come in.

Somebody, I'm sure, will have a single, neutral thread for everybody to comment in.

And for caucus results themselves, last night Mark T tipped us off to this website from the Iowa Democratic Party. Google also has a really cool mashup that will display the live results as they come in tonight.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up.