Its All About Oldskool Weekly Email (26th December 2010) (End Of Year Special)

**China-Rising** · 26th December 2010

Welcome to this week’s IAAO (special end of year addition) email.

As 2010 comes to a close and we say hello to 2011, it’s time to reflect on the year we are saying goodbye to and a sneaky peak of what the year ahead will bring to all members (and observers) of IAAO.

By the start of 2010, IAAO had been on-line for close to 10 months and plans were in place for the 1st anniversary celebrations of the site. A few people were involved in the planning and preparation of this event in Birmingham. From those that were designing flyers, to those that were offering their time to DJ at the event and with that the phone calls and conversations to some of the legends of the oldskool days to play at the event. The final line-up was announced and the flyers were printed. The venue was booked and everyone (who was attending) was looking forward to being at this most special event.

There was one standout contribution in all this from one particular IAAO member, and that was Swipezster. Yes he may have a hairdresser’s car, a dodgy haircut and bad taste in Trainers, but he was the main guy in this event and kept everything (and everyone) together. There were tears, tantrums, let downs and lots of stress, but he held everything together and put on an event to be very proud of. My hat goes off to him for doing all that off his own back and he was a true star when it was all over. Stu, I salute you. A big thank you also goes out to the others who made this possible and away from the “just talking about it” stage. You know who you are and I personally thank you for giving up your time to make it happen. March 6th 2010 will be a date forever remembered.

During the next few months I was spending a little less time on IAAO due to me studying for my English teaching qualification (I passed BTW and I’m now an English teacher) but something hit us half way through the year that changed the face of IAAO forever.

I started to get a few emails and text messages to say the site was down. It was also the case with IAAT. Both sites were gone. What we first thought was a simple case of the server being down; it turned out it was a bit more serious than that. The sites simply didn’t exist. The server eventually came back online after a couple of weeks, but all the files that make up the sites were gone. I did have a back-up, but it was nearly a year old and would mean losing around 17’000 posts, including lots of members who hadn’t joined at that particular point.

I made a decision then to take IAAO to the next level. Since opening the site I had been thinking of using the Vbulletin software instead of the FREE phpbb forum software which we were used to using on IAAO and IAAT. The software costs a lot of money, but I felt we had outgrown the current software and it was time to make the site much more professional in terms of look, feel and overall perception.

So I got my wallet out and purchased the software (for both IAAO and IAAT) and we opened a blank IAAO. I was starting to give up hope that we would ever get the site back with all the posts and users. So to start again was devastating. But, for a few days the members persevered and got on with it.

Then, I got word that the old forum was back from the dead, fully intact and ready to go. I had to make a tough decision in going back to the old software and site, or carrying on with the new site and somehow incorporating all the posts and members into the new one. I went with the second choice. So the site was closed again while all this was done and I was happy to report that it went perfectly. Although there was a lot of confusion, especially as everyone had to reset their passwords (that took months to get through to people, in fact I still get the odd email now asking why the passwords don’t work)

Slowly but surely members started getting use to the new site and software. There were a few weeks of questions, moans and bitching, but it was expected. We lost a few members along the way, I’m not really sure why, but I guess being off-line for a few weeks will do that to any site.

I would like to thank those that did stick with us and tried their best to discover what this advanced software could/can do. I would also like to thank those who did send emails and PM’s asking me not to worry too much and they were just scared of change (that always makes me laugh…god bless you pureoldskoolers)

While all this was going on there were other problems to deal with, namely the speed of the site. It was going at a snail’s pace a lot of time and some folks put this down to the new software. I actually found it funny how certain people used this as some sort of ammunition for their own (short lived) gains, when quite clearly they didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. It was actually a server problem and after many emails to the hosting company, they turned round and told me that they were stopping their hosting business to concentrate on other projects and I would need to find a new host for IAAO and IAAT.

So, out popped the wallet again and IAAO moved to a new host. IAAT I decided to put on the back burner for a while until I got back from China in October.

We shut the site one more time to make the move and after a few days we were back up and running one more time. The site was faster and fewer complaints happened and more or less slowed to a stop. We still have a couple of slowdowns every now and again, but that is just part and parcel of hosting companies you pay to have your site on their servers.

We were always friends with Renegade Radio, but this year that friendship went to a new level. Quite a few of IAAO members started to play on the station. The Curly & Swipezster show proved to be very popular and new boy Dodders got his own show and that is proving to be another popular show. We put a RR stream on the front page of the site which has proved to be a winner for most (except Mac users who can’t see it…sorry guys) and I’m happy to say we now have a fantastic relationship with the Renegade crew. So a quick mention goes out to Puffa, Livvy, Patch and the rest of the RR gang for their support and long may it continue. What does the future hold for IAAO and RR? Only time will tell

So here we are now at the end of a very eventful 2010 for IAAO.

Have we had 100’s of new sets added to the forum? Have we had 1000’s of new tracks added to the forum? Well, I’m not really sure. Yes, we’ve had sets and singles added over the last year, yes we’ve had some new labels added for you to get your teeth stuck into, but it’s not the bee all and end all of IAAO. While it’s good to see stuff being added, the real achievement of the site this year is that it’s grown into a very respectable and friendly community. It’s grown into a place where folks come to have a chat and a laugh and talk about what they are up to. In a lot of cases, this is what the site represents for a lot of people. It’s not about member numbers; it’s not about how many sets or singles we have, it’s not about post counts. It’s about the friendships which are formed, it’s about the laughs people have. I think IAAO has achieved this and is not in pureoldskoolers shadow any longer.

Before ending this email and giving some details of what is to come next year, I do have a few shouts to make, so bear with me:

First of all msprim and having her back on the site. She finally managed to escape from Waards cellar and is posting once again. You were missed msprim and it’s great to have you back. To Swipezster for everything he has done this year with the meet-up and a few other things. To Renegade Genius and Danril for being part of the team and in many cases the voices of reason (Kerls, we miss you). A massive shout and big respect to Vinyljunkie for sending me discs with all the exclusive, never before released sets and a few other bits and pieces. To Dodders for the erm….stuff he sent me. To all the regular members and posters who keep the site fresh every day and continue to make me laugh. Last but not least, Bazfalty for his continued support and love and the rest of the OOS members who nominated me for Admin of the year. It’s an honour to be nominated and thought of in such a way. It’s nice to know I’m forever in your thoughts.

So, what does 2011 have in store for IAAO? Well I’m sad to report that the Apple App I mentioned a couple of months ago will not be making an appearance any time soon. It’s all due to cost. After further investigation, it would initially cost around £180 up-front for the app to be branded and available to us and then a further £80 a year to keep it maintained and available. As there are only about 1% of users who would use this mobile app, it’s not feasible to use for a very small section of members.

The radio button will make an appearance sometime next year. I have it on my test forum but there are a few bugs which need to be ironed out before putting it on a live forum.

The lurkers and inactive users’ mod will also be installed sometime next year. This is the one which will automatically put users in these groups if they do not post or have been inactive for a certain amount of time.

A new theme will be added to the forum, I know a few of you liked the Xmas one, so something new will be coming at some point in the next year. The same goes for a proper banner for the forum.

Its-all-about-house will go live sometime within the first half of 2011, although this isn’t a 100% guarantee and further down the line, its-all-about-techno will come on the scene.
So, after spending over £700 on IAAO and IAAT this year, there is only one thing left to say…

Have a great 2011.

China