What's new

Greetings Beta Bonanzlers!

Many of you have already been harassed by our newest coolest feature, the quick-text message (I should find a prize for someone who can come up with a snappier name for that feature... where are the spinsters when you need them?). This feature allows you to send one-liners to anybody logged into the site. You use it by getting to a page where the online users are listed (such as the "People" page) and then click "quick-text this user" next to whoever you want to quick-text. You type a message, press enter, and the message recipient receives your message within 30 seconds, no matter what page of the site they're on.

It's very handy for beckoning somebody to your booth to chat with them, or asking quick questions. I really like this feature. It feels like a lot less fuss than creating an email to someone. Though it still needs quite a bit of polishing... firstly I am looking to set it up (by default) to disappear after 30 seconds, so if you don't feel like replying to someone's (i.e., the ever loquacious bharding)quick-text, you have the perfect alibi: you didn't see it, it disappeared before you noticed! I wish that some IM software had this feature so I could ignore the chatty users with less aftertaste. :)

Also wanted to update the status on the contest. So far, nobody has qualified for the game system. I am not sure that anybody has 30 items between themselves and their friends, let alone 100. That said, I maintain that it should be easy to get 100 items posted between you and your referrals, if you make it a goal. First of all, since we started tracking time to post items, the average item posting time has been less than two minutes sitewide, so if you sat down and posted 100 of your own items, you'd probably be talking less than two hours. Secondly, your friends want a way to sell their stuff easily more than they let on. They are just (rightfully) skeptical of something new until you have tried it and you can vouch for what makes the site great. All you have to do is set up your own booth, then email them and tell them you tested the water, it was great, here's why, post stuff!

I've only briefly perused the user signup referrals so far, but I'm pretty sure that nobody has qualified for Office yet, either. I don't think any one person (excluding me, woot!) has more than two referrals. Again, this prize is sitting here, begging to be won by someone proactive. I hope it will be you.

Most of the next week is going to be spent on infrastructure and bug fixing, so you probably won't see any new fancy features for awhile, but you should see some of your least favorite bugs getting ironed out. Keep your feature and bug feedback coming!