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Name: Townhall Techie
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Happy B-Day: America, Townhall.com, and Me!

So not only is tomorrow Independence Day, its the one-year anniversary of Townhall.com's relaunch... A year ago tomorrow for me was the stuff that nightmares are made of (imagine staying up for 42 hours straight trying to get a site that is massively overloaded to run properly). But, overall, it has been a pretty good year for us.

Also, Friday is my birthday, so if anyone wants to send me an iPhone, my email address is chris.bower@townhall.com. :)
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New Feature: Townhall Video

Don't know if you noticed the new box on the front page or the new menu item, but we have just introduced a Video section to Townhall.com. Soon we'll give you the ability to embed your favorite Townhall videos directly into your blog.

Let us know what you think!
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Want to work for Townhall?

Townhall.com is hiring an experienced C#/ASP.NET developer willing to relocate to Richmond, VA. If you or anyone you know wants the chance to work for the best conservative news & opinion site on the web, please send me an email: chris.bower [at] townhall.com.

Requirements:
2+ Years C#/ASP.NET
Excellent SQL2k5 Knowledge/experience
Self-starter, quick learner
This individual will report to the Team Lead for Townhall.com and day-to-day activities will include maintenance of Townhall.com, as well as development of new portal sites in the Townhall umbrella.
This is a permanent position, no contract-to-hire please. Interviewing immediately.

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Site Maintenance Complete

We succesfully upgraded our database backend to SQL 2005 this morning. I think everyone should see some vastly improved performance on the site.
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Still Around

Just wanted to let you all know that yes, I am still around. It has been a busy few weeks for me. I got married 2 weeks ago, then spent a wonderful 7 nights in Negril, Jamaica with my beautiful bride. Then of course I've been swamped with work since making it back to Virginia in one piece.

I'll try to post soon about new things we're working on, but it may be a little bit. The development staff here in Richmond is relocating to a new building next week, so things will be a bit hectic.

Also, to those of you who commented about some technical issues you've been having, I have made sure that Josue Sierra is aware of it, and he should be in touch with you shortly.
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John Ashcroft's New Book - Townhall.com Exclusive

While you're bouncing around the site today, be sure to take a gander at a Townhall.com exlusive: A sneak peak at a chapter from John Ashcroft's new book "Never Again: The Moral Imperative For Toughness"
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20 Days Till My Wedding

Woohooo... I'm getting married to this amazing woman in 20 days. I find it amazing how much God has blessed me.

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Why I Love Working For Townhall

A post from RightWingKafir:

It has become obvious to me that I’d misjudged Townhall.  My first impression was, although agreeable, not quite right.  In fact, one could argue, that I was wrong.

What I’d joined was a small community of conservative thinkers, coming together to share ideas and maybe sign a petition or two…  Then I ‘met’ some of you.

It is undeniable that many of America’s greatest treasures can be found right here.  From Sunny’s hard-hitting cynicism to Cate’s eloquent apologetics.  But that’s only the beginning.

I’ve learned so much in such a short time thanks to Townhall.  Here is where you can find everything:  from Rubberduck’s soft-spoken wisdom to Jimmy Carter’s (hey, no link!) stinging, rapid-fire, precision logic.  (luv ya Jimmy)  And Flagwaver’s passion and knowledge are a Godsend.  And by no means can we leave out the insight that Christian is always blessing us with.

Then, of course, there is Shades.  To him I owe many thanks.  It was after reading some of his posts that I became enamored with the whole blog thing.  And it was through him that I discovered Townhall.

Blessing upon blessing.  The icing on the cake, so to speak, is that there are still so many more Townhaller’s to meet.  I look forward to it and hope to meet you all.  I will count myself blessed for it.

Yes, now I see that I was wrong.  Townhall is much more than the sum of its parts.  Townhall is a synergy of conservative power.  Hat’s off to its founders.  Well done.  Very well done, indeed.  (but can we get a preview button or a spill cheker)  ;o)

So as I sit here, pleasantly re-living the discussions and debates we’ve had, I wonder too, what’s the next step?  There’s more power here than a thousand nuclear warheads.  If we just put our minds (and hearts) to it.  What will we do with this power?  Those of you who know me, know that I love my president and that I will ALWAYS vote to the RIGHT, but, can we do more?  Hmmm…

Never have I met a group of people more passionate and capable.  I thank you for what you’ve taught me, and ask that you continue to do so.  I will do my part. 

In closing, (geez, it’s about time) I’d like to thank two very special friends. (shame on you, ya thought I was gonna leave ya out, dincha?)  To Sheila, who welcomed me to Townhall and has taught me much on loyalty.  (I love my president!)  And last, but definitely not least, to  Sandra, for far too many things to mention.  (Viva Bush)

Thank you and Godspeed.


I just saw this post, and allow me to say that as the lead developer for Townhall.com, reading posts like this reminds me of how great it is to do my job. A lot of people have jobs that are just 'work', but for me, my team, and all of us who work behind the scenes at Townhall, this is a job that matters. Enabling people who share the same or similar values as I do to come together and share ideas and opinions, as well as take action leaves you with such a great feeling at the end of the day.

Thanks RightWingKafir for reminding me of what an honor it is to work here. While we have had our share of problems (mostly due to unexpectedly doubling our traffic from the previous incarnation of Townhall) and this job has caused me a great deal of stress, in the end it is well worth it.
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Townhall.com Blogatorium

Some of you may have noticed a subtle change on the site today: We have re-branded the Your Opinion section of the site into Your Blogs, and added a new feature. We now list short blurbs from all of Your Blogs in a single, easy-to-use place. In addition, we have added a Top-Ten blogs, that show the 10 most-viewed blogs on the site. Let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoy.
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Townhall Media Player - Firefox

Good news folks: I'm putting the finishing touches on the flash-based media player which will allow non-IE users to listen to audio from our Talk Radio Online section. It should go live tonight.
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Townhall.com Podcasting Questions

Josue has put together a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions about Podcasting on Townhall:

QUESTIONS:

  1. How do I set up podcasts?
  2. I am able to see the file I would like to listen to in ITunes, but it is grey and there is no length listed.
  3. How can I see the dates for different shows, or what’s coming up on a particular show?
  4. It is only downloading the 10 most-recent files from each show. Can I go farther back than that?
  5. Am I able to update (add/delete shows) after I have created my podcast?
  6. When I click “Listen Now” it says that my preference is “Windows Media - High”, is there a way to change this?
  7. Can I just download the file in MP3 format myself? I don’t have ITunes, and I would like to play them with another player.
  8. Is there a way to fast-forward, pause, or rewind the “Listen Now” window?
  9. Ok. All that is good, but I can't figure out iTunes. How do I set up my podcast in iTunes?
  10. All that is good, but I'm having trouble logging in in the first place. My account doesn't seem to work, and I can't get to my personalized podcast feed.
If you've ever had any of these questions, be sure to check out his answers here.

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Blog Directory

Ok folks. I just finished reworking the blog directory. Hopefully it will be easier to find blogs in there now.

Let me know what you think.
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Coming Soon, to a Townhall.com near you!

Ok, more site updates going out tonight. Some of the highlights include:
  • You will be able to select a different template for your blog than the one you initially chose.
  • You will be able to register a SiteMeter code for use on your Townhall blog, which will cause a SiteMeter graphic to appear in your blog template for traffic tracking.
  • Comments now appear in date-ascending order by default, but can be changed.
  • Comments will now appear instantly after posting.
  • URLs included in comments will be auto-hyperlinked. (But please don't attempt to manually include HTML)
  • Fixed URLs in Your Blogs.
  • Fixed Blog Roll URLs in Your Blogs.
  • Trackbacks should now be completely functional.
The patch will be going live around 9PM EST. I'll update this post once it is complete.

Update:
Alright, there was a little snag, but the new code base is live now. Enjoy!
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New Features

After much demand (I think our interns had received over 400 emails from users), we have implemented font size settings on Townhall columns.

Also, trackbacks are nearly working. Jim is putting the final touches on them tomorrow, but we've already started to see a few coming in.
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Site Updates

Ok, a new code base was deployed this evening to fix a bunch of bugs, and hopefully improve performance of the site for those using IE. We're still working on tweaking it more to make it faster in IE, but if you're frustrated by the speed of the site in the mean time, I suggest trying Firefox. We also switched to a new ad server tonight to assist with speed issues.

Oh, and comments should be working on all user blog templates now.
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