here's a dead horse i feel like i've been kicking around occasionally on RTH.

(and here's the dead horse:) mod, as i've asked in the past: where's that RTH Kiosk page, where bands can post digital flyers and notices for their gigs?

I've posted this on the list and in the "All Star Jam" as well. Please forgive me for the re-post, but i'm on a search for the appropriate RTH blog thread for this material:

the photon band are playing at JohnnyBrendas on friday night (june 22d). please come!!!

i keep asking because i really think it's a great idea, and also because whenever the photon band has a gig, i want to let RTH'ers know, and I feel like there's no appropriate place to post about it. I'll post it on the list, but it would be nice to be able to post the flyer on this blog, too.

so forgive me for hi-jacking this thread (too):

we're playing with a band from new england called verona downs. i really like their songs.

http://www.myspace.com/veronadownsmusic

and we're also playing with the yarrows, from philadelphia. their new album (out on empyrean soon) is also quite good.

http://www.myspace.com/theyarrows

in other news, our digi-ep (called "get down here in the stratosphere") of outtakes from our forthcoming album will finally REALLY be available on all digital media outlets known to man (including i-Tunes) on July 3rd.

the song called "stratosphere" on our myspace page

http://www.myspace.com/photonband

is from the digi-ep.

The album (called "back down to earth") will REALLY REALLY be available on September 11th.

the song called "where did the love go" is from the forthcoming full length.

come to our gig!!!! we promise to provide plenty of critical fodder for RTH'ers....

we play songs from ALL eras of the photon band's...ermmm...storied existence.

Book it, Dan-o.

Art

Townsman Art, I understand The Photon Band is playing on June 22 at Johnny Brenda's. Is that so? Someone said you're playing with Verona Downs and The Yarrows, true? And what's this about a digi-ep that's going to be available on all digital media outlets on July 3rd? Will it really be available on all media outlets, even the almighty iTunes? I mean, will people be able to use the iTunes link on the RTH page to access your digi-ep, thereby profitting not just The Photon Band but also helping to maintain the upkeep on Rock Town Hall? That would be boss!

By the way, is there a MySpace page for The Photon Band, and is the song "Stratosphere" available for download on it? Will this and other new songs ever be available on a physical CD release? If so, may I suggest a September 11 release date? If I were you, I'd call it Back Down to Earth.

Looking forward to hearing more about this gig and others in the appropriate spots for free-form information. At the present time, I don't know that a catch-all area specifically for promoting gigs and Epluribus' record sales would do anything but encourage robot-like spam from folks who don't take the time to join in on everyday discussions at RTH. For those of you who do, it's no problem to find an All-Star Jam in which you can do your promoting. Also, if you've got new CDs coming out, please feel free to suggest that I or another Townsperson write them up as their own posts. No joke. Anyone doing anything of note should feel free to strut their stuff among friends. Thanks.

dear mod, thanks for your response.

all your smartypants questions were answered in the post above yours. and fyi, as i note above, i DID previously post this on an all-star jam, along with the kiosk question. but since the question didn't get a response from you, i didn't think you saw it.

i don't recall receiving an answer with you regarding the "virtual kiosk" question, which is why i asked again. i suppose from your tone that you did answer, so forgive me.

is that really the reason you won't do it? spam? i doubt it. but i'm a novice on many internet-related matters. if that's the reason, then so be it.

still, we can't post flyers in an all-star jam, can we? or will the photobucket code actually show the image once posted?

thanks also for the writeup opportunity. i'd be grateful. maybe when it comes out, charlie would like to polish what he wrote to me. or maybe ed? regardless, whoever would like to do so shouldn't hold back. i have no objections to the harshest form of criticism, seriiously...i'm highly self-critical...by the same token, nobody should feel obligated if they're not comfortable.

thanks again for the response, mod.

Hey Art,

I did not mean to strike a tone other than "tongue in cheek." I did answer your question once before, but maybe I didn't understand a key part of it that JUST NOW I think I get: You want to be able to post graphic flyers promoting shows, like people do on MySpace? To tell the truth, I'm not sure if you're able to post graphics into the Comments section. I don't know how The Back Office does it, but he's the almighty, all powerful Back Office. He holds powers that not even your humble Moderator holds. If he's still around, he can let you know if it's doable or not. If not, why don't you send me your e-flyers, and I'd be happy to post them on the Main Stage as "decorative," informative posts of their own. That IS the part of your question I had not previously understood, right?

my comment about your tone was also written while my tongue was in my cheek. no problems.

yeah, i was thinking of a page where images could be posted by logged in members only.

maybe for convenient maintenance, there could be a "time bomb" module for members to fill out on the same page that asks for the image code. it could have blanks that say "post from: m/d/y" and "until: m/d/y", and then a blank spot for the photobucket image code.

i think if some people with bands knew that they could do that, they might be more frequent visitors to RTH.

then again, perhaps it's not necessary, or desirable to you. and maybe trollyvox and i would be the only people posting on there!

but yeah, that's what i'd had in mind...

i wouldn't want a flyer for one of our shows just posted on main stage....probably for the same reason that this isn't where we should be discussing this. it's not really a main stage "kindofa thing" is it?

Mr. saturnismine:

There are several ways that we can help you evangelize. Firstly I can post graphics within comments if you give me a heads up. Secondly, and even better, we live to serve fellow Townsmen, and we'd be glad to actually post it on the Main Stage, again with some advance notice. Mr. Moderator can help with that.

You can also upload a virtual flyer and link to it as well. I, and Mr. Moderator, can both turn comment links into actual links. Kinda like turning water into wine.

Wish I could catch the show but I'll be in Nova Scotia to catch the total eclipse.

Thank you for your attention.

dear mr. back office,

thanks for your response, too.

two things:

1. the options you offer are nice. but is there some reason why what i'm suggesting is a no-can-do? check my post right above yours for the specifics of my suggestion.

if the answer is "no", just say so. as i say, the alternatives are nice, but it just seems like what i'm suggesting shouldn't be that hard to do.


2. also as i say above, i wouldn't want one of my gig flyers to be main-stage content. it's not really appropriate for the main stage.

in fact, all along, the suggestion which i've re-posted above has been based on the notion that currently, there really is no appropriate place on the rth blog for gig flyers. even all-star jams come with a youtube that dictates content.

on the old list, however, it WAS natural for people in bands to evangelize.

i thought since the movement from list to blog was in part to add a visual element, that it would logically follow that there would be a place for the kind of thing i'm suggesting.

thanks again....

Mr. saturnismine:

Short answer- no. Long answer- maybe.

As powerful as The Back Office is, we have no "coders" on staff. The blog is essentially a highly customized template. To do what you're saying would be super fantastic and possible some day but not soon.

We have in the past put up "Happenings in The Hall" or something like that on the Main Stage as just an FYI of various Townspeople's outside goings-on so I don't think it inappropriate at all. In fact I think it makes it feel even more like a community.

I do though recognize that a day may come when not everyone's request could be fulfilled but by then we'll hire some freshly minted MIT kid to set something up like you've proposed.

gotcha, back office.

i kowtow to your technical expertise as well as your prompt, informative responses.

hopefully, the next time the photon band has a gig (late august), i'll remember this exchange and i won't have to put you through this again.

check the nixon's head homepage for a flyer....

One final thing to keep in mind with all this discussion of allowing/enabling the free posting of gig flyers: MySpace already allows for this, and it works fine there, on that nearly content-free vehicle for promotion and scoping out the cleavage of 22-year-old brown-eyed art school chicks. RTH is about content, discussion, humor, etc. This public version gets a lot of visitors who won't be able to make anyone's local show, as great as that show might be. As contributing members of the RTH community, we'll make sure to find a way to get the word out, but I would recommend against opening up the spamwaves to anonymous wannabe bands with members who've never posted a fun thought here. Thanks.

Mr. Mod --

I just wanna indulge in a little givin' with the one hand, while takin' away with the other. First, the givin':

- You are absolutely right on the money in your refusal to create a "digital bulletin board" or whatever for folks -- well-intentioned, fine, upstanding, non-spamming folks though they may be. I won't bother to regurgitate what you wrote in my own words -- your words in your last post were right ON.

Now, the takin' away part:

- Can something be done about the blog software's tendency to substitute question marks for quotation marks? Townsman Rick's *excellent* RTH Mad Lib post was almost (but not quite) ruined by this problem -- all 'cause he chose to compose in a separate word processing thingamajig, then import into the RTH system. I know you treasure well thought-out contributions, and those take time -- usually meaning folks prefer to compose them offline, then post after they've had time to gestate. This question mark problem is a major buzzkill!

Can something be done about the blog software's tendency to substitute question marks for quotation marks?

Short answer- no. Long answer- yes, but its up to you.

If you create a post in an alternate program, there are underlying format codes that won't translate. However if you save it/or write it as "text only" or use a text editior to create it, then these formating things won't occur.

Thanks for your attention.

if there's no way to prevent spammers, then i, too, am against a kiosk.

i can absolutely understand why both of you feel the way you do.

and part of the reason i continue to post on this subject is because of the title of the thread (kick...kick....).

I pasted my bit into the comment window, hit "Preview" (several times, in fact, as I made changes), and it looked fine at all times - and it still looks fine on my computer now. Is that normal?

Either way, I will take your advice, The Back Office.