Return of the Ed-I

It has been a very long time since I last wrote a blog for you, and for that I apologise. I also apologise for the particularly geeky Star Wars reference in the title of this blog.

Over the past few months it has become strikingly apparent that the Answerbank is made out of twigs and mulch, powered by a potato with a wide range of wires protruding out of it. Well, that might be a little over the top, but AB has certainly not been working properly recently - the problem is that every time we clean it up it breaks after a couple of months.

This has been a constant headache for both you and us here at AB Towers. You want things to work properly, and we want them to work properly for you, but no matter what we tried, the problem, like a malignant tumour, still remained.

As of yesterday afternoon our team has attempted another fix that has greatly improved the speed of AB. We cannot guarantee it will stay like this, but until AB 2.0 is released it�s the best we can do.

Now, on to AB 2.0! As with many things IT there have been delays at almost every corner, but this is for the overall benefit of you, the end user. As we have stumbled during the production of the new AB we have managed to iron out and improve upon bugs in previous models, meaning that when the product gets to you it won�t be broken.

So, as this old dinosaur (�the Answerbank, not me) has slowly plodded its final steps to the ancient graveyard of websites, I�d like to thank you all for your patience and understanding. I would also like to say thank you to the Spare Ed, who in my work-addled absence, has kept an eye on AB and has done a sterling job keeping things running smoothly.

We hope to write a blog in a regular fashion from now on as the work load slowly reduces and AB 2.0 is finally wheeled out. As for a release date, we�re keeping very tight-lipped about it, but it will be very soon. I, along with the Spare Ed, will also be taking much more of an active role within the AB community � I still read many posts, the one on the, �Trustan 40� found here was particularly hilarious. Good work!

Once again before I go, thank you for your patience of late � you will be greatly rewarded for it, I promise!

I will now hand over to the Spare Ed, complete with flack jacket and UN escort, on the Answerbank frontlines. The �War on Trolls� rages on, lets hope the bloodshed ends soon�

Ed

...Thanks very much to the Big Editor... As I deal with the main brunt of the user and abuser base I thought it might be best to explain our policy on banning, as well as some of the automatic functions we fight with on the current iteration of AB. With regards to what has become known as �block banning� by some users: This is an automatic feature of The Answerbank which automatically removes a post from the site when ten or more users report it. This removal is not permanent in any way � it merely places the thread at the top of the moderator pile.

We also get a lot of emails declaring �I am in the dungeon, yet I have done nothing wrong!� There are two answers for this:

1. You have over-posted: if you have over-posted it is suggested that you put the kettle on. Our system attempts to protect the site from spam by �suspending� user accounts is it appears that they are spamming. We will generally get to the suspended user pile after those which have been reported.

2. You have done something wrong: If you have engaged in abusive behaviour, advertised or been generally naughty � you will be banned.

For those who persistently abuse � you will persistently be banned. If you are persistently banned you should consider leaving The Answerbank.

As to the war on trolls: I believe we are winning, although it is an endless fight. Generally from our end we simply do a kind of etymological hunt for nasties.

We do however rely on users pressing the report button. If you do not report it we do not see it. We cannot scour every inch of AB for baddies � you must support your online community by reporting those who ruin your experience!

In short: The Spare Ed Needs You!

Shortly, we will be open for discussion in AB Suggestions � if you have any questions you may direct them at us on the thread there.

Thank you for your time,

The Spare Ed