UPCOMING EVENTS FEATURE IS BROKEN PLEAS FIX.

I have a serious event that needs to be posted. We're less than a week and a half away from it, and I can NOT post the event in the upcoming events feature. I've been trying for nearly a month to post, and it will not work. It keeps coughing up a "problems in the ether" error.

I've had to post the gig announcement in the general forums.

PLEASE FIX THIS SERIOUS PROBLEM.

Thanks.

Thomas,

I think that Jason is away for a bit, that is why it is not fixed...

@Amethyste. Ah, ok.

And it's still broken....

Yes, Jason wrote that he had actually ways too much to do with his day job and that he could not care about TW for a few weeks. Unfortunately I have no access to the source code (out of that, I don't speak Microsoft "aspx", I'm an old-school PHP-worker) and thus cannot fix it.

I personally don't consider the "Events" category as too "vital", it's for sure a "nice to have" for the adepts of self-promotion, but as long as the forums work we can exchange. That is the most important.

@Thierry. Hi. I'm sorry you view the events feature as an "unimportant" way to self-promote.

As a professional musician, I and others who make our living with the theremin view it quite differently. We view it as an important asset for announcing gigs for which we are being paid, and to which many people are expected to purchase admission to. I NEVER use that feature for announcing the odd coffee-shop, or open-mic gig, or busking, ect. It's just as important to professionals thereminists as these forums perhaps more as it's one of the first things visitors see when landing on thereminworld.

Thomas,

Having often got really Pi**ed off with Thierry for comments he has made, and expressed this at times, I have come to realise that it almost (LOL ;-) always comes down to a language misunderstanding..

Thierrys english is exceptionally good - often above the level of many for whom english is a first language.. BUT.. his choice of words, even though perhaps "correct", can sometimes be offensive..

The problem is that he can be blissfully unaware, and unable to see that what he has said could be interpreted as offensive by a native english speaker... A remember being highly offended (and taken aback) when he use the word "Animosity" in one exchange with me - To me, in the context, it was outrageous and offensive..

Thierry was obviously mystified by my reaction - And after painful exchanges and analysis, it turned out that, to Thierry, "animosity" and "excentricity" were nearly synonyms -

I strongly suspect that some similar misunderstanding is occurring here.

Apart from this, Jason has posted a message to the forum explaining his situation - He is obviously under stress and havin work / family healt problems etc..

None of us has any "rights" to any service provided by TW - It is Jason's work and dedication which has kept this site operational for our free use.. Yes, loss of features does cause difficulty.. But at least the site is still operational -

Even if it was to crash entirely though, and Jason was not able or interested in fixing it at this time - had personal priorities which took precidence - That would be his right, and we may be upset - but we would just need to excercise patience and understanding, and wish Jason well.

And Jason, if perchance you did read this.. I wish you well, and I know that everyone here at TW does.. It is too easy to take someone for granted, and not realise their enormous effort and contribution until, for whatever reason, they are absent.

Fred.

@FredM: Fair point. Thank you. I shall keep this in mind.

@Thierry: My apologies for any misinterpretation of your intended message. :)

I wonder whether, while "Upcoming events" is broken, perhaps brief announcements with a link to the relevant posting on a forum, could be placed on the front page?

All it would take is one line "UPCOMING EVENT: Thomas Grillo plays at... [More]" on the home page - perhaps people wanting their event publicised in this way could email a moderator (am I correct in thinking this means Thierry ? ;-) and request it.

In fact, one wouldnt even need a full line per event - Just a sticky "Upcoming event" announcement, with a few words for each event linking to a forum posting detailing the event.. Something like this:

UPCOMING EVENTS: Thomas Grillo Theremin Concert 21 June   ;    Theremin Summer Academy    ;    Hands-Off 2013

Just a suggestion - Personally I rarely look at the home page, and I dont have the job of implementing anything on the site, so I am badly placed to make any comments on this..

Fred.

@FredM. That would certainly work in the interim. :)