Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! As I contemplate making changes to the site and forums, I find myself spending more time trying to determine what I should start on first than actually getting anything accomplished. As such, I set up a poll for site updates and another poll for forum updates. Be sure to check out the polls and add your two cents!
I am very grateful for all the site visitors and members of the forums over the years. You are the reason I keep Messages in the Moonlight running! I have always valued input (positive and negative) from everyone who has taken the time to share their thoughts with me. Messages in the Moonlight has continued to grow and mature thanks to all of you! I love you all. I hope to be a better webmaster/administrator/editor for you. May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with all the love, joy, and gratitude you deserve.
Love and Blessings,
Evy
24 November 2011
20 November 2011
New Random Rambling
I've added a new Random Rambling to the site. This short rant is on Wiccan perspectives on sex. Searches for information about Wicca and sex come up frequently. Although this rambling is very brief, I am hoping it answers the questions of those performing the searches. A very recent personal experience made me realize just how neglected this little tidbit of information is in Wicca 101. Any (especially an adult) who has studied Wicca for even just a few short months or years should be aware that sex is considered a sacred act in Wicca. Be sure to check out the new rambling and be sure to share your thoughts!
Blessings,
Evy
Blessings,
Evy
05 November 2011
New HubPage Account
In the last post I mentioned that I started a HubPages account. Although I generally reserve this blog for the sole purpose of notifying you of updates to the site, forums, newsletter, and chat, I wanted to do a one-time posting here about the HubPages account as a sort of "shout-out" for myself.
For quite awhile I have been wanting to expand from being a voice in the Pagan community to entering into the field of interfaith relations. Personally, I believe that part of the problems we face involve celebrating differences to the exclusion of what connects us. Rather than building tolerance, it breeds segregation and prejudice. Instead, we should honor our difference while celebrating what we have in common. Unfortunately, there are just so many specifics in the world that no single person can take on every avenue and expect any level of success. So my focus is on matters of faith and religion.
To get myself started on this personal mission of mine, I need a platform. Messages in the Moonlight is my baby and I will not abandon it. However, I want to maintain it as it is (a place of learning and community for Wiccans and Pagans) rather than expand it to fit the new venture. The previous blog post explains how HubPages came into the picture and why I chose it over a few others I looked into. As time goes on the number and quality of my articles will continue to grow and mature. Please be sure to check out my articles for new thoughts and insights with the mission of promoting peace and love on the community level.
Blessings,
Evy
(This widget will continue to update as new articles are added. Check back for updates.)
For quite awhile I have been wanting to expand from being a voice in the Pagan community to entering into the field of interfaith relations. Personally, I believe that part of the problems we face involve celebrating differences to the exclusion of what connects us. Rather than building tolerance, it breeds segregation and prejudice. Instead, we should honor our difference while celebrating what we have in common. Unfortunately, there are just so many specifics in the world that no single person can take on every avenue and expect any level of success. So my focus is on matters of faith and religion.
To get myself started on this personal mission of mine, I need a platform. Messages in the Moonlight is my baby and I will not abandon it. However, I want to maintain it as it is (a place of learning and community for Wiccans and Pagans) rather than expand it to fit the new venture. The previous blog post explains how HubPages came into the picture and why I chose it over a few others I looked into. As time goes on the number and quality of my articles will continue to grow and mature. Please be sure to check out my articles for new thoughts and insights with the mission of promoting peace and love on the community level.
Blessings,
Evy
(This widget will continue to update as new articles are added. Check back for updates.)
04 November 2011
Ads on the Site. Wait, what?
Okay, okay. I know that when Geocities shut down and I had to move everything over to a new server that I said I was going paid so I wouldn't have all those annoying ads. Well... I'm unemployed and I have to find any means of income, no matter how small, to ensure the cats and dogs stay fed and we have a roof over our heads in the event funds all run out. (The Four-Footed Ones will appreciate me greatly if I at least appear to be keeping the status quo for them.)
So in getting ahead on this just to be safe, I started looking for writing opportunities. I've been wanting to start getting my voice out there and had previously considered one of the oh-so-wonderful content-farm sites. So when I saw a listing for Hubpages and the possibility of gaining a little extra on the side from doing something I was already anticipating doing for free, I figured why not. Well, the way that Hubpages works is that the authors gained income, not on a per article-basis, but based upon the ads placed on and around the hubs. Websurfers come in and read your article, they click on a Google ad or other advertisement and the earnings from there translate into a paycheck for the author.
Well I got started on my Hubpage account today and even wrote my first hub about bigotry and religion. With this accomplished, I was ready to set up all those (minimal) money making accounts. What I found was that almost all of it required an AdSense account. Of course, I never bothered to get one for Messages in the Moonlight because, well, I had no intention of using ads. So I sign up for it with the Hubpage domain. Denied. Not enough content. Boo. So then I realized I could do the ads with Messages in the Moonlight. So I did. Partial Approval. Close-Enough-Yay!
So to be a good girl (and not just a content-farm-author-whore), I am putting ads up on the site. I am keeping them as little annoying as possible and only putting them up on certain pages. Over the coming months I'll probably play around with where they appear on the site, so bear with me! The income that is earned through ads clicked on the site will go towards the budget for Messages in the Moonlight to ensure I can keep my "internet baby," as I call her, alive. Once all is set up and going well (and contains more than just one lonely article) on my Hubpage, any income earned from links clicked on my article pages will go toward food and shelter for my fur-babies and me.
Blessings,
Evy
So in getting ahead on this just to be safe, I started looking for writing opportunities. I've been wanting to start getting my voice out there and had previously considered one of the oh-so-wonderful content-farm sites. So when I saw a listing for Hubpages and the possibility of gaining a little extra on the side from doing something I was already anticipating doing for free, I figured why not. Well, the way that Hubpages works is that the authors gained income, not on a per article-basis, but based upon the ads placed on and around the hubs. Websurfers come in and read your article, they click on a Google ad or other advertisement and the earnings from there translate into a paycheck for the author.
Well I got started on my Hubpage account today and even wrote my first hub about bigotry and religion. With this accomplished, I was ready to set up all those (minimal) money making accounts. What I found was that almost all of it required an AdSense account. Of course, I never bothered to get one for Messages in the Moonlight because, well, I had no intention of using ads. So I sign up for it with the Hubpage domain. Denied. Not enough content. Boo. So then I realized I could do the ads with Messages in the Moonlight. So I did. Partial Approval. Close-Enough-Yay!
So to be a good girl (and not just a content-farm-author-whore), I am putting ads up on the site. I am keeping them as little annoying as possible and only putting them up on certain pages. Over the coming months I'll probably play around with where they appear on the site, so bear with me! The income that is earned through ads clicked on the site will go towards the budget for Messages in the Moonlight to ensure I can keep my "internet baby," as I call her, alive. Once all is set up and going well (and contains more than just one lonely article) on my Hubpage, any income earned from links clicked on my article pages will go toward food and shelter for my fur-babies and me.
Blessings,
Evy
28 October 2011
Maintenance Complete & Feedback
The maintenance at the site is now complete! Ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated once I decided to clean up some of the HTML tags and spelling while I was at it. Everything should be back in good order. If you come across any broken images or links (or if anything else looks out of place) be sure to let me know so I can fix it right away!
Also, I thought I'd take the time to get some feedback on the site. The current layout and theme has been in place for six years. I'm considering giving the site a new face-lift. Personally, I like the current style (meaning I would simply have a new theme with the same navigation and layout in place). However, this site is not just about me! I would love to hear input from others so that I can look into other options for a future aesthetic change. Be sure to reply here, at the forums, or send me an email! I'd love to hear from all of you!
Blessings,
Evy
Also, I thought I'd take the time to get some feedback on the site. The current layout and theme has been in place for six years. I'm considering giving the site a new face-lift. Personally, I like the current style (meaning I would simply have a new theme with the same navigation and layout in place). However, this site is not just about me! I would love to hear input from others so that I can look into other options for a future aesthetic change. Be sure to reply here, at the forums, or send me an email! I'd love to hear from all of you!
Blessings,
Evy
Updates - Website May Look Messy
I'll be shifting around some files on the site today. This is mostly for the purpose of better organization as well as to make the precess easier the next time the site goes through a face-lift. As such, the website will look kind of "ick" during this phase. What I mean by this is that images may temporarily not load making the site not so pretty until everything is shifted. This could take up to a couple hours or more, so please bear with me!
Blessings,
Evy
Blessings,
Evy
25 October 2011
New Chat Schedule & Calendar Dates
The current chat schedule consists of Wednesday evenings from 6pm to 8pm MST. Please join us in the chat during this time-frame! If you would like to see more flexibility and options in the chat, please add your input to the chat schedule poll!
The forum calendar has finally been updated! The calendar used to be regularly updated from 2003 to 2008. After a three year gap, the calendar will not accurately reflect dates for the Sabbats, Esbats, members' birthdays (automatically added), Newsletter Submission reminders, the chat schedule, and Clean-Up reminders. You'll also be happy to know that when you click on "view all events" that you will no longer see every single event ever added. I've deleted all past events starting in 2003 and will continue to do so as time passes or until the feature allows options to view only upcoming events. The Sabbats and Esbats for the remainder of 2011 and 2012 have been added as well as the upcoming newsletter submission deadline and the chat schedule through to the end of November (changes pending additional input). All events for the current month appear in the Info center on the main page of the forum.
Blessings,
Evy
The forum calendar has finally been updated! The calendar used to be regularly updated from 2003 to 2008. After a three year gap, the calendar will not accurately reflect dates for the Sabbats, Esbats, members' birthdays (automatically added), Newsletter Submission reminders, the chat schedule, and Clean-Up reminders. You'll also be happy to know that when you click on "view all events" that you will no longer see every single event ever added. I've deleted all past events starting in 2003 and will continue to do so as time passes or until the feature allows options to view only upcoming events. The Sabbats and Esbats for the remainder of 2011 and 2012 have been added as well as the upcoming newsletter submission deadline and the chat schedule through to the end of November (changes pending additional input). All events for the current month appear in the Info center on the main page of the forum.
Blessings,
Evy
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