Spritely Years
by John Sprinzel
We're happy to announce that autographed copies of "Spritely Years" are now available to SpriteSpot.com members! More information on John, his "Sprinzel Sprites" and his book can be found on our "John Sprinzel" page on SpriteSpot, as well as in our SpriteSpot Wiki.
John's book "Spritely Years" is available for $65 US (with shipping included to US locations).
To order now using PayPal, simply click the button below:
SpriteSpot.com Wiki Now Available!
We're happy to announce our latest addition to SpriteSpot.com--our very own "wiki".
Check it out: OUR NEW WIKI
If you're wondering what the heck a wiki is, well it's essentially an online encyclopedia that anyone can edit (some of you might already be familiar with wikipedia). What this means is that each of us can contribute what we know, and (over time) the wiki will grow to become a "Spridget Reference Manual".
Check out our wiki for some more hints, as well as the wiki thread in our forums.
New Forums Now Available!
Good news! I've got our new server built, and now partially configured. Have the forums converted (what a project) to version 3 of the phpBB software, and will work on moving over the remainder of the site as I have time. Until then, we'll actually be running on 2 servers simultaneously (but hopefully not for too long)--forums on the new server--everything else on the old server. (One caveat--don't set any bookmarks, as those will be changing as things move around.)
Check it out: OUR NEW FORUMS
Today's update: Now have the phots up and running (I think) on the new server (along with a small upgrade). Please let me know if you notice any inconsistencies.
Thanks for continuing to support SpriteSpot as we work through our new upgrades.
2008 SpriteSpot.com Photo Calendar NOW AVAILABLE
Just letting everyone know our 2008 Photo Calendar is now available from our "SpriteSpot Products & Goodies" link from the main menu on the left, or you can use the following link to go directly to the calendar order page:
SpriteSpot.com 2008 Photo Calendar
Images (of course) come form our "Photos Gallery". Thanks to everyone who contributed photos--there are some really nice shots in this year's calendar. Please click on the link and take a peek--I think you'll agree it's quite a collection!
NEW FORUM - 50th Anniversary Events
Just letting everyone know we've got a new forum: "50th Anniversary Events"! With the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Sprite's introduction in 1958 there are a number of different shows and celebrations that are planned. Please use this forum to find and discuss the best event, meet up with friends, post photos, etc.
NOTE: If you're an organizer of any 50th Anniversary events, please contact me directly (dan@spritespot.com). I'd like to create some official web pages (accessible from the main menu) with links and registration information for those members who might be interested.
NEW USERS MUST NOW BE MANUALLY VALIDATED!
In an effort to keep our spammers at bay, no new users will be allowed to register at SpriteSpot without sending me an email. I'm hoping that this will keep phony users off the board. So, please register on the forums, and then send me at email (to admin@spritespot.com) and let me know the username you've chosen for your SpriteSpot log-in (I do not need your password). I'll validate you at my earliest opportunity.
If you do not send me an email, then your account will not be validated, and you won't be able to post to our forums (you'll as always be able to browse and read without registering). As we're receiving TONS of fake account requests each day, I'm simply going to delete those users who've been unwilling to identify themselves via email.
Unfortunately, this means a LOT of time and effort for me, and frankly it may take me some time to validate new users. (I'm sorry). Please be patient, and I'm going to hope to turn on self-validations at some point in the future.
Thanks for your understanding. More info/discussions on the situation in the forums when I get some time.
NEW USERS PLEASE READ
We continue to have a rash of "spam" users registering on the forums. These are folks who register solely for the purposes of posting messages advertising products or websites totally unrelated to Sprites & Midgets.
Despite quite a few programming modifications to the board designed to stop automated registrations, our board remains vulnerable to "real people" registering. Most of the time, the registrations are relatively easy to spot (with bogus names, or obviously fake email addresses) but sometimes it's difficult...so in order to help the easy identification of bogus users, please try and adhere to the following rules when registering:
- Pick a username that "makes sense"...either a name (JohnSmith) or a handle (SpriteJohn59) that would "fit" the spirit of our community.
- Make sure you register with a "real" email address (i.e. yahoo, gmail, hotmail, comcast or the like). Please avoid 3rd party services (like mailinator, or the like). If you have your own website and URL (i.e. dan@spritespot.com) then PLEASE be sure that the website is up and running--if it's not, it's a "red flag" that it's a spam site.
- Best would be to have your SpriteSpot username be the same as your email name (i.e. "PaulSmith@gmail.com" for your email, and "PaulSmith" for your SpriteSpot ID). Quite a few of our members have registered this way, and it makes it easy to identify "real" members this way.
- Finally (and MOST IMPORTANTLY) please post on the forums--even if it's just a "Hi--I'm John, and I've got a 1960 Bugeye" or "I'm Paul and I'm interested in maybe buying a Midget" or "Hi, I'm George and I'm just curious as to what this site is about" or even "I'm Ringo and I play the drums." -- Pretty much ANYTHING so that I can see that you're posting and it's a "real person".
Thanks--I'm hoping that a few simple guidelines like this will help minimize the amount of spam and spam users on the site. While it's likely it'll be an ongoing problem, I'm hopeful we'll be able to keep them to a minimum using these techniques.
phpBB Version 3 on the horizon!
There is a new version of our forum software (phpBB) that is undergoing final testing. When that becomes available, we'll likely migrate to the new version (and the new look, and new features). Stay tuned!
I'm hopeful this will not only provide a welcome update to our site, but a few more security patches as well to help fight the spammers.
Help spread the word about SpriteSpot.com!
Quite a few members have asked about business cards that they can print and hand out at car shows and other events to try and help spread the word about SpriteSpot.com. Well here they are (in PDF format)!
Keep a few in your glove box (or door pockets) and be prepared the next time you see a Spridget on the road!
These are formatted for Avery 8371. You can buy pre-perforated card stock (from Staples, or OfficeMax or the like) and print them on your ink jet or laser printer (or if you prefer, print them on regular paper and cut them with a scissors). The file contains front and back versions (so you can print "double-sided" if supported by your printer).
Simple "right-click" the link below, and select "Save target as..." to save a copy of the PDF file to your computer:
SpriteSpot.com Business Cards (Avery 8371)
On more caveat--When you print, be sure that you have "Page Scaling" set to "None" when the print dialog box opens--otherwise your Adobe software may try and resize the file when it prints, and the alignment on any pre-perforated card stock may be off.
This may be a bit different depending on what software and/or printers you have installed, but just check to be sure the Page Scaling is turned off if you have any printing alignment issues. If you have any troubles, please email me
As always, thanks for your patience, and for your continued support of SpriteSpot.com!
