From the Desk of Devin Jeanel December 15, 2007: This is my first monthly newsletter. On November 15, when my dad and I accepted responsibility for The Starlite Cafe, I was given the opportunity of being the Managing Partner for this great site. Being Starliters ourselves, we wanted to return a little of what Starlite has given us over the years See the Announcement . In the last month, we added several large features. I am sure that you have noticed a few of them. For the sake of completeness, I will provide you a summary of the changes.

Before that, I would like to thank the members of my management team for all of their support and advice. First and foremost is my dad, CheeseMaker or Marvin. He has been swamped with his day job and has not been as visible as he would like. However he has been a great sounding board and a continuing source of good advice. The rest of the team includes

Tess
Bronze Dragon
Raivenne
Renee
Myrna D.


I would like to especially recognize Tess for being absolute fabulous during this transition. She has helped us every step of the way. Many of the changes that were done would not have been possible without her.

However, I would like to thank the whole team for their time, responsiveness and patience. When I want to do something, I tend to move fast. They have each stepped up to the plate. I appreciate all the support and experience offered through these changes. I look forward to more joys ahead.

Another group of people that I want to share with you are the people who keep the Starlite's challenges working smoothly day after day. They are often the unsung heros, but are especially important to our continued success. Let me introduce them now:

Brenda
Helena
Soft Touch


Let me switch gears a little, and give you just a little insight in our thinking. Starlite is more than a place to post poetry. It is a very complex social network of friends and family. Setting up a "Friend's List" is a step in recognizing this strength. The sign on the front door say, Bringing Poets Together Worldwide... For the Love Of It. That is exactly what we are doing.

Over the next few months, we will be sharing more and more of our vision. There are lots of features in the queue to be released in 2008. The whole idea is to give you more capability, more ways of connecting with your fellow poet, and more importantly, more ways of getting your poetry read. We know Starlite is the best poetry web site on the web. In 2008, we will take it to the next level.

Now for a summary of what HAS been done. It has been a busy month.

11/15 Site changed hands

11/25 Comment Stars repaired and fuctional for the first time since the server move

11/25 Gave poets the ability to delete comments directly.

11/25 The Posted By part of the Comment header was changed.
When a reader clicks on the commenter's name:
If commenter is a Starliter, reader goes to their home page (adjusted 11/29).
If commenter is a Non Starliter, then mail windows opens to email commenter.

11/27 Renee joined the management team and became moderator of 10 Word Challenge.

11/29 Gave Starliters their own home page.

11/30 Added a link to the screen shown after the reader has posted a comment page to allow the reader to easily read more of the current poet.

12/4 Separated the Commenter into two groups Starliters and Guests. Guests would now have a special tag in front of their name showing they have not been authenticated.

12/5 Gave Starliters the option of whether to accept comments from Guest or not per a profile setting.

12/6 Removed the Last Submitted Poem from the home page to resolve an error and allow for tighter security.

12/9 Gave Starliters the ability to request and receive friends

12/10 Closed the Poetry Bar

12/11 Placed links to Poems from New Members (<2 days) on the front page

12/12 Gave Starliters the ability to have background music on their home page

If you want to be the first to hear about new features, go to your profile and sign up for email notification from Devin's Corner. An announcement is posted for each new feature released. Devin's Corner is also a great place to give feedback and suggestions for new functionality. Well folks, that is it for this month. I wish the most happy of holidays. So long... I love you Starliters !!!

Devin Jeanel
The Starlite Cafe


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