The offseason is finally here and I wanted to take a moment to address a few issues.
The first is a quick note that the email address has changed on the blog. You can now reach me at tarheelfanblog@gmail.com. I no longer check the old email address so if you need to reach me, this is the address to use.
Secondly a quick review of some of the new features.
1. Comment editing: You can edit your comment within five minutes of posting it. This was not showing up without the reload and I found a fix for that so you should see the button to edit your comment just in case you do violence against the King's English.
2. Share This: There is a button under every post that you can use to connect to various social networking sites and allows you to email a link of the post to a friend.
3. Advertising: I am using Google Ads which has worked fairly well. There are a handful of odd/inappropriate ads the pop up from time to time, especially for other teams. I am able to filter certain things out so if you notice something then email me and let me know. I do not always see the ads because they tend to change every time I bring the site up. And in case you are wondering, the ads revenue is based on impressions and clicks with a lot of weight given to the clicks. I am also open to individual advertisers contacting me directly if anyone wants to advertise on the blog.
Now concerning some other odds and ends.
1. User and Comments: To my knowledge the account creation and moderation process has gone well. I think I have been able to approve new comments in an expedient manner. There have been a handful of password issues but nothing serious and if you do run into that please email me.
2. Spam Filter: If you include a hyperlink in your comment the spam filter seems to be catching it. I am unsure why this is since I set the threshold to stop comments containing two or more hyperlinks but for some reason it is hanging up on just one. So if you run into this, shoot me an email since I tend to check the filter less frequently than the new comment moderation queue.
3. Avatars: I did mention prior to the upgrade that I would have avatars on the blog. I ran into issues with that and if I have time in the next few weeks I will work on that again to see if I can make it so everyone has a picture with their display name.
And finally, I would like to note how well the blog has been doing from a growth standpoint. I continue to be amazed at how the hit count is consistently rising. With a week left in June THF has already had 10,000 more hits than it did for the whole month of June in 2007. The growth of the blog has generally had that double or triple the previous year trend to it.
This blog began as an expression of my opinions and love for UNC athletics, especially basketball. As it has grown, others have come along to express their opinions and love in the comments section creating an online community. So as we get ready in a little over two months to embark on another football season followed by what could be the most anticipated basketball season in Chapel Hill in some time I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, the readers, for making this blog what it is. I will continue to give you analysis and opinions that most certainly will be slanted in favor of UNC but hopefully honest and realistic ones at the same time.
Thanks for stopping by.