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DPChallenge Forums >> Administrator Announcements >> Hold On To Your Hats!
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11/21/2002 06:13:25 PM · #1
For the past several months, you've had to piece together rumors and random discussions about big changes coming to the site -- affectionately termed 'DPC2'. At long last, this new version of the site is going to be a reality. On December 3rd, 2002, we'll be launching the 'new' DPChallenge.

We'd like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about what to expect, to clear up some rumors, and to otherwise pique your interest in what's going on.


Paid Membership
DPChallenge will now be offering paid membership as an addition to the current site features. I repeat -- You won't have to pay for anything you're getting now. Membership will cost $25 per year or $5 per month (USD). Membership features at the time of launch will include:

- Access to exclusive, members-only challenges.

- On-demand updates to your normally hourly-calculated scores.

- Members-only discussion in the forums.

- Ad-free site browsing.

No, we don't have banner ads lined up to assault you with, but should we need advertisements to support this ever-growing site, members won't have to see them.

We've got some really exciting features lined up for site members in the coming months in addition to those listed above. Those'll have to wait for another announcement, but I promise you're going to like them.


New Site Features
We've added tons of new stuff to the site for all users to enjoy (that is, paid members and non-paid members alike)! Here's a quick list...

- Photo Browsing Features. The new DPChallenge is all about your photography. Browse photos by a number of different criteria as well as by user-selected galleries!

- Improved Voting. The new voting gateway should make it easier for you to cast and view your votes and comments.

- Cameras Section. The new cameras section will be integrated throughout the site wherever cameras are mentioned. You'll be able to browse cameras and see photographs taken by those cameras. You'll also be able to review your camera and read other user's reviews of cameras! While you're browsing this new wealth of information....

- Comparison Shop. We've teamed up with Pricegrabber to help you find the lowest costs for your cameras, memory cards, accessories, printers, and more. On a personal note, I've used Pricegrabber for a couple years now, and I used it to find both of my digital cameras. I was elated to find out we'd be able to integrate our site with the Pricegrabber experience. Of course, you'll support our site by using our new Pricegrabber section for your online shopping.

- New Challenge Submission Rules. You wanted it, you got it -- You can now submit images with different aspect ratios. Specifically, images can be 160 to 640 pixels on either side. Filters are also now going to be allowed (applied globally).

- New User Preferences... Choose how many recent forum posts to display on your home page. Set your thumbnail browsing preferences. Filter thumbnails containing nudity. Reverse forum replies. And more..

- Poll Results. You've long wanted them... they're finally here.

And lots more... just take my word for it.


Site Performance
We took site performance into utmost consideration when building the site. In fact, the entire site is rewritten. The forums are completely rewritten and should be nice and quick now. Thumbnails and images on the site now optimized and are much quicker to load. 56k users should see the difference almost immediately.


Site Down-time
We expect the upgrade of the site on 12/3/2002 to take about 3 hours. We'll probably start the upgrade around 5pm EST.


--

Overall, we've tried to make the site much more expandable and fun to hang around on. There will be considerably more 'stuff' on the site, but we think you'll be very pleasantly surprised to see how easy it is to get around. We've done our very best to listen to what it is you wanted in the site, and we'll continue to do so.

Langdon and I have been working on this new version of the site for several months, so we hope you'll enjoy everything it has to offer. I'd also like to thank the moderators who have helped us with feedback on the new site and plenty of debugging.

Mark your calendars... The new DPChallenge is coming!

Drew & Langdon
11/21/2002 06:15:02 PM · #2
Woo!

Show me where to enter my CC details! Can't wait...

And THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the hard work...




* This message has been edited by the author on 11/21/2002 6:15:21 PM.
11/21/2002 06:20:11 PM · #3
Sitting here holding my breath.
Hope I can hold out.
:-0
Jim
11/21/2002 06:30:28 PM · #4
Dec 3rd? I'm not sure I can hold off my purchase till then... Any way I can buy through PriceGrabber and give DPC the credit earlier? I was looking at pulling the trigger on about a $1000 purchase within the next 10 days... I guess I can hold off an extra week, but if it's possible to do it earlier, let me know how :)
11/21/2002 06:45:10 PM · #5
Omigosh! Drew and Langdon, I often wonder about you two. You seem to be tireless in your pursuit of improving, and maintaining DPC! Many, many thanks to you both.
Ooooooooooooh! I'm soooooo excited and can hardly wait to open "the new package." But, wait I must! December 3rd seems so far off, I feel like a kid waiting to open a gift.
Let me also chime in and thank all the moderators for their participation in keeping things great! It's people who make this site great, and we got some great people here!
yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
11/21/2002 06:45:36 PM · #6
Can't wait to see our early Christmas present-the new DPC! Just show me where to sign up!
linda
11/21/2002 06:51:42 PM · #7
CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!
11/21/2002 07:24:05 PM · #8
Drew and Langdon have done a great job with this new site. It is fantastic. Plus Konador has worked on some of the graphics on the site as well, and I would like to thank all of them for their hard work. Also, for those who helped spot bugs and *ahem* spelling errors. :) I am also quite excited to open it up to everyone. It's gonna be a blast!
Thanks to everyone who helped work on this!!!
~Heather~
11/21/2002 07:35:00 PM · #9
How exciting! I'm also glad to see that the pricing is very reasonable... I was concerned that it would wind up being in the $10/15 a month kind of range, which I would have been very hesitant about... the $25/year is a no-brainer which should hopefully encourage many people to sign on.

As always, hats off to D&L for continuing to make this a better & better place to learn!
11/21/2002 07:41:05 PM · #10
$25 per year. There goes my Christmas bonus! lol Just kidding. It'll be worth it I'm sure. Looking forward to signing up! :)
11/21/2002 09:02:51 PM · #11
All I can say is WOW... this might be just what I needed to find that photographic fire I once had.... Sounds great... should be fun
11/21/2002 09:08:00 PM · #12
Thank you folks for making this an excellent--strike that----extraordinary web site! Your labor of love for photography is appreciated by us all.
11/21/2002 09:33:04 PM · #13
Thats fantastic! Really looking forward to seeing the new DPC, now I really will never get off the computer, my poor husband! Thanks to everyone who made this all possible! Quite happy to pay such a reasonable amount, I just hope we can pay with a credit card, not only pay pal or cheque, can`t do this from Japan.
11/21/2002 10:12:32 PM · #14
paypal does allow you pay with a credit card, natasha : ) . . in effect it provides 2 services: a) it's just an extra layer of security for someone who wants to buy with a credit card, and b) it makes it easier for on-line merchants to sell their products and services by handling the overhead and infrastructure of financial transactions - including credit cards - so they don't have to handle it themselves!

just go to paypal.com and open a free account with your credit card!
11/21/2002 11:23:52 PM · #15
*does happy dance* oboy, oboy, oboy.
*bows deeply* Thank you, Thank you, thank you!!!!
11/21/2002 11:49:15 PM · #16
Originally posted by magnetic9999:
paypal does allow you pay with a credit card, natasha : ) . . in effect it provides 2 services: a) it's just an extra layer of security for someone who wants to buy with a credit card, and b) it makes it easier for on-line merchants to sell their products and services by handling the overhead and infrastructure of financial transactions - including credit cards - so they don't have to handle it themselves!

just go to paypal.com and open a free account with your credit card!


I don't think its that simple Internationally.
11/22/2002 12:45:51 AM · #17
Originally posted by puppet10:
I don't think its that simple Internationally.

We have every intention for international users to be allowed to use the site, and paypal should certainly handle that. If for any reason it can't, we'll switch as needed. It is my understanding that you do not have to have a Paypal account to pay with Paypal, and I certainly hope that is the case. The actual Paypal user service is available in these countries.

Drew
11/22/2002 01:10:28 AM · #18
I'd be interested to know the answer to that as well. My boyfriend tried to pay for something with paypal from Sweden and wasn't able to. Maybe it's changed recently.
11/22/2002 01:15:35 AM · #19
From the above link it appears that PayPal can be used to PAY withno problem from both Japan and Sweden, with some limitations in receiving payments.
11/22/2002 01:20:25 AM · #20
Drew --

If you (DPC) refer folks who do not currently have PayPal accounts you may be able to reap the referral fees too; get people without (but getting) accounts to let you know what email address they want to register with and you can trigger the application from your PayPal account...
11/22/2002 01:26:14 AM · #21
I see that Palpal is not available in Mauritius. How can I pay then?Originally posted by drewmedia:
Originally posted by puppet10:
[i]I don't think its that simple Internationally.


We have every intention for international users to be allowed to use the site, and paypal should certainly handle that. If for any reason it can't, we'll switch as needed. It is my understanding that you do not have to have a Paypal account to pay with Paypal, and I certainly hope that is the case. The actual Paypal user service is available in these countries.

Drew[/i]

11/22/2002 01:38:48 AM · #22
Originally posted by Jean:
I see that Palpal is not available in Mauritius. How can I pay then?

We'll need to work something out -- perhaps a check or something in US funds. We'll deal with that shortly. If there's still discussion on PayPal issues, let's start another thread, as I don't want this one to get too long that nobody can read it.

Drew
11/22/2002 02:33:11 AM · #23
Well I have my hat glued on I think!
It's going to be great, and I can't congratulate drew and lang enough!


* This message has been edited by the author on 11/22/2002 2:34:47 AM.
11/22/2002 03:45:25 AM · #24
this is awesome .... congrats and hats off to you guys drew and langdon .. this site has teached me tons o stuff ... cant wait to see all the enhancements .... my pay pal account is all ready - heheh :)

thanks again for creating this site!! it rocks!
11/22/2002 05:33:52 AM · #25
Great News! I hope we can sort something out as South Africa is not on the Pay Pal list! Best Wishes for the new site!
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