shriekingviolet

Initial Impression:

A slightly sweet, but very pale floral.

 

After Wearing It:

I'm kinda iffy about florals. There are a lot of floral notes I can't stand, some I can tolerate, and very few that I truly love. So needless to say I was a bit uncertain about how much I'd like Ace of Hearts when I ordered it. I do happen to like the Lab's lotus and white rose notes, so I kept my fingers crossed and took a chance....

 

Wet and for the first half hour of wear for this Ace, I was utterly disappointed. Rather than tons of lotus goodness, I was smelling a lot of freesia (which reminds me of laundry detergent) and Bulgarian Rose, two notes I'm not fond of at all. I could smell a little lotus sweetening the background and a bit of gardenia, but mostly this was a very stiff floral scent. Prim and insufferably proper, reminding me much of my very unpopular grandmother. I was crushed!

 

Fortunately, after the freesia had screamed itself hoarse and the bulgarian rose had bored itself to death, the lotus finally came out in full strength. Ace of Hearts was suddenly a very sweet, fluid floral, all smiles and songs. The white rose and the orchid kept the lotus from smelling too sweet/bubblegum-esque. Ace of Hearts became a very cheerful and emotional blend, and a portrait of femininity that's utterly lovely. And thankfully this stage lasted until the fragrance completely faded from my skin. Made the purchase worthwhile!

 

Final Thoughts:

Totally girly floral, which SO isn't my taste, but I find it extremely charming anyway. Very apt for the Hearts suit and it totally vibrates with water energy. I think it may find a way to work itself around my normal scent prejudices and into my regular rotation.

Initial Impression:

Mmmm coconut rum

 

After Wearing It:

Wet, Elegba smelled exactly like Grog did on me while it was wet: sweet, creamy butterscotch. Boozy yes, but more candylike than anything else and very, very yummy.

 

After the strong wave of butterscotch crashed upon my senses, it quickly receded revealing the coconut underneath which popped up and dominated the fragrance. It was a gorgeously sweet coconut, falling somewhere between a dessert-type coconut smell and the coconut smell we know from suntan oil, rather than the milder, almost waxy coconut note I remember from The Star and from the opening stages of Spooky. This coconut blends with the rum and a hint of spice (clove maybe?) and becomes pure coconut rum, straight up. It makes Elegba smell like an island vacation concentrated in liquid form, and it's utterly intoxicating.

 

As the hours wear on a the sweet booziness of Elegba backs off a bit, and a smoky/woody note that could only be the tobacco emerges and starts to gain strength. In some ways in this stage, Elegba smells like air heavy with incense. Not incense blended and burned for ritual purposes, but used for ambiance. A cheap, but pleasant stick incense in a very sweet fragrance burning in a dorm room somewhere. The smell could also be compared to the smoke of scented pipe tobacco, but lighter. It's just sweet, dark and foggy. Very pleasant, hazy and muddled. Just divine!

 

Final Thoughts:

I love this. It's so delicious and fun! Great staying power too. I think this may have made it into my top ten.

Why resins with air?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I'm fairly sure that the association come from the fact that resins have been primarily used for incense since ancient times, and incense smoke has air association in magic, etc. And smoke, apart from wind, is the form of air that is easiest for us to see and identify, even if it is a product of fire.

 

And Byrdie, I've usually read that the ascendent reflects the public self and the first impressions we give, the sun represents our identity, and the moon is our emotional needs and our subconscious.

Initial Impression:

Smells like cinnamon gum, but in a good way. Spicy, but sweet too.

 

After Wearing It:

When I put this on, it definitely tingled. On my neck, it was insistant, on my wrist it was almost an itch. I'm not especially sensitive to cinnamon (which I'm pretty sure is the culprit), but occasionally I feel it as much as I smell it, though fortunately the effect always fades after a few minutes and never leaves a welt. And on the sting meter, Malkuth's not nearly as harsh as Mercury.

 

I adore the smell of this though so I don't mind a little sting! Wet this smelled of spice and syrup. Rich, thick and sweet, but not in a foody way. I don't smell the berries other have mentioned (though I suppose I could believe there might be a bit of pomegranate), it's more of a round resiny sweetness to me. Yet it's ever so slightly fresh smelling too. Maybe there's a touch of pine? Whatever it is, it adds a real complexity to the scent that's droolworthy and in a way, reminds of the oil for The World tarot card. Appropriate of course, as Malkuth is the sphere associated with the kingdom.

 

As much as I adore this scent though, I was almost equally disappointed to as it doesn't have much throw. I know the Sephiroth are more than perfumes, but I adore the scent and would love to wear it, but I don't like wearing scents that I have to make an effort to smell on me. It defeats the purpose of wearing scent for me. But! as I said, I adore this smell, I'd so make the effort to work with it and find a way to make its presence more powerful on me. But as the vial I'm testing came from the sephirith circle, I'll have to wait.

 

Final Thoughts:

I will be buying a bigger bottle of this. Even if I don't find a way to give it more throw, I'd adore it in the burner both from ambiance and as a meditation aid.

Initial Impression:

Very darkly fig with a bit of date. Bittersweet but smooth.

 

After Wearing It:

Huh. I don't know what it is about Gomorrah, but I can barely smell it on me. I've worn it three times, the last two times I all but dowsed myself in it, but I could barely smell it on. There was no throw at all, and when I pressed my nose against my wrist what I *could* detect, smelled like an exaggeration or amplification of what my skin normally smells like without perfume when I'm not freshly scrubbed. And when I say that, I don't mean it smells dirty. When you hop out of the shower, you've soaped away your natural oils and the scent of clean sweat, and you smell more of your soap (even if it's just Ivory) than you do of the essence of you. And it's not like my skin naturally smells of figs or dates, it just like my skin sucked up all of the oil I applied and what was left was a very light glaze of slightly warmer, muskier skin scent. Disappointing, but in a way, it makes sense to me. Gomorrah was a city supposedly demolished because of its citizenships overindulgence in pleasures of the flesh. The essence of bare, heated flesh seems equally as appropriate as something more flamboyant and decadent.

 

Final Thoughts:

Nice in the bottle, and I suppose if I wanted a "my skin but better" scent, this would be great. But as I like bold perfume that I don't have to make an effort to smell as I wear it, Gomorrah doesn't do much for me. A real pity, because I liked the description so much I ordered a bottle unsniffed!

Initial Impression:

A mixture of white florals and inky blackness.

 

After Wearing It:

Wet and in this first hour or so of this blend, Hades is aggressively floral on me. The narcissus and stephanotis are particularly dominant, making me think of early spring. I don't much like white floral notes (yes, it's black narcissus here, butit still smells white to me), as they smell almost astringent on me and that was really apparent here. There was a darkeness lingering in the background, making Hades less about the deity than the place. At this point, Hades smelled like an illusion of Spring in the dark, depths of the underworld. It's the smell of crisp, too perfect florals, swaying in the gloom of the meticulously cared for gardens around the palace of the king of the dead. It's feminine, in an older woman kind of way. Prim and unyielding. I didn't like it much.

 

Quite fortunately, the floral phase of Hades didn't last. The darkness consumed the garden and the scent become a lovely, deep resinous blend. I could smell the slightly sticky-sweet smokiness of labdanum and the earthiness of ambergris. A bit of cypress too but it didn't carry much weight. I'm not sure what onycha, smells like so I couldn't pick it out. Overall though, Hades became very warm, dark and mysterious. Still maybe not how I would have pictured a blend inspired by the god Hades as it's very inviting. I think I still associate it more with the place in later stage than I do the god. To classical peoples, Hades was the destination of all dead, not just to the damned, and not all areas were terrible. I wouldn't equate Hades nicer phase with Elysium, but it make me think about the more comfortable aspects of an afterlife.

 

Final Thoughts:

I manage to spill half of the bottle while putting this on, which is something I've never done. It got on my clothes, it got in my bottle basket, it got on my desk. *Everywhere.* And since I wasn't at all fond of the initial phase, I didn't mourn the loss, but after getting to know it better I'm kicking myself for my clumsiness. Makes my desk smell great though!

frozenviolets-

 

I believe there once was a violet single note, but don't quote me on that, it might have been lilac.  Anyhoo, I already put my foot in my mouth by saying Kumiho was discontinued when it isn't- so the only thing you can trust me on is my good intentions!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

There was one for both violet and lilac.

Second the dark elements suggestions, and though more expensive, the tarot aces would be a good gift (or purchase if she ends up buying for herself) as well. The ace carries the purest energy of their suit, and traditionally, each suit corresponds with an element. I've tried two of them (Pentacles and Cups) and both were beautiful translations of the elements they correspond with's energy into scent.

Initial Impression:

Honeyed patchouli, evergreen trees (sap and all!) and earth.

 

After Wearing It:

Wow, I'm not sure what I was expecting but this wasn't it! From the description I wasn't quite sure if I'd like it or not. Piney/Foresty scents don't always work out well for me, neither do herbs. But having worn this I'm very sad that I didn't order a second bottle! I agree with what's been said, this is very reminiscent of Samhain. The patchouli note (at least, I'm fairly certain it's patchouli) I loved in Samhain is very prevalent here. But rather than the scent of autumn leaves, you have a very beautiful green tree scent that I've smelled in Dublin in Skadi. Very green and slightly sweet, with an unusually lovely juicy quality to it that has made me a bit more openminded about green scents.

 

Wet the ripe, humid patchouli note dominates the blend. I can smell sharp suggestions of pine (or fir) lancing through the blend, carrying the smoke of burned timber with it. As it dried, I wanted to say I could smell apples or something similar to the berry note in Skadi, but I can't be sure. It added a sweetness to the arousing sweatiness of patchouli and a softness to counterbalance the jagged edge of pine. It's the scent of rampant hedonism as well as the worshipful awe of the glory of nature.

 

As Hexennacht wears on, the patchouli calms down and powders up at a bit. The fever of the oil has passed and the ritual dies down. I can smell traces of charred logs, smoke and crushed leaves underfoot. The blend stays this way until it finally fades away: an odd blend of sweet powderiness and the freshness of the great outdoors. It's an act of surrender to the power of the natural world, a celebration of being its child.

 

Final Thoughts:

I loved this. Great scent with decent throw and good staying power. It's mysterious yet delightfully open, displaying the sort of innocence you find in people who are completely uninhibited because no one has tried to teach them that they shouldn't be. I think I even like this one enough to stick it in my top 10!

It's come to my attention that someone is spreading rumors that members of the mod team are digging through people's PMs. Seeing as how I am one of only two people who have the access to even attempt to do this, I take this as a personal accusation and I cannot tell you how offended I am that anyone would either assume this or make this up. If it's an assumption and not a vicious lie, I can't believe you'd repeat to multiple people without coming to me to inquire about it first. Because it's total bullshit and completely slanderous, and to speak it as truth without investigating is completely irresponsible and a real slap in the face for what I do for you all here. And if you can't offer enough respect for that to assume I'm not doing something completely unethical without any proof in return, really just get out. I do not consider you welcome here.

 

I do not read any one's PMs and Kate doesn't read anyone's PMs. It'd be wrong of us to do so and we'd feel slimy doing so. But since it appears that there's no trust of our honor, here, let me give you further reason to accept that we're not poking around in your correspondences: to do so would not be easy to do! The board doesn't store you pms in an easy log somewhere. I can't open up a page somewhere and read your pms in the same manner that you can your own. PM information is stored in two separate tables, and your names aren't even in the same table the text of your message is. The title of the message is stored in a separate place than the actual message. I've moved literally, thousands of these table rows both times we've moved, and I can tell you, there's not much to see and it's highly unlikely you'd fall upon something "interesting" (whatever that would mean) just by browsing a table at random. You'd have to be looking for something specific in mind just to find anything, but even then it'd be a pain in the ass. I know this from when I was trying to fix the missing PM problems we had while the board was done. Ask anyone who has a lot of experience with an invision board, it's not built well for spying. So even if we were so inclined to do read your private messages (and again, we're not), it'd take more effort than it would be worth.

 

That said, I think I (or whoever else it was you were spreading unfound rumors about) am owed an apology because this claim was completely baseless and extremely offensive. And if you want to play that way, have the balls to say it to me, or don't do it here. Don't waste my server's memory with this crap.

Initial Impression:

Dusty leather, straight up.

 

After Wearing It:

Wow this scent is dead on. This scents reminds me *so* much of the smell of the leather saddles and bridles I dealt with when I took horse back riding lessons as a kid. My instructor was a family aquaintance and taught me to clean and care for the everything after we had brushed down and groomed our hourse after a ride. This smells so strongly of well worn leather, saddle soap, the oil we used to keep it supple and the strong smell of Oklahoma red dirt that was beaten into the floor of the barn and was worn deep into the grooves on the saddle. It's very different from the leather scent I remember from Loviatar and De Sade. Those scents were strong, sharp and almost astrigent. That was sleep, black leather, put on for show. *This* is broken in and well used brown leather that has soaked in all of the smells it's been exposed to in its travels. It definitely is a very western scent in that sense, it comes from the days were horses were the practical choice for transportation and people had to choose their clothes well because they had to last and last even after much abuse. It's a very masculine smell, unapologetically dirty with the smell of animals lanced through.

 

Final Thoughts:

This scent is marvelous in the way it captures an idea, truly masterful. Not sure if I'll keep it though as it's waaay too masculine for me and I don't think I'd use it as a room scent. Glad I got to try it though. Dead Man's Hand is something you have to experience to truly appreciate how well Beth does what she does!

Initial Impression:
Dry dusty dirt. Light, fine stuff that scatters itself across pavement.

After Wearing It:
While this was very dry in the bottle, Graveyard Dirt bloomed into something really moist on my skin. This is the smell of potting soil, of flower beds after a spring shower. I smell something like pine too, though it's not too prominent, which makes me thinking of walking through a wooded area of a part in the damper period of spring. It's oddly clean in it's body, though it very much smells like dirt. This isn't the grime the pastes itself onto your deck or that covers your legs after rolling around outdoors. This is earth in its prime habitat. It's well tilled earth, full of minerals, moist and ready to sustain life. There's a suggestion of the beautiful potential that rich earth has, stuff that could nurture any seed to sprout and blossom. It's really just lovely in the way it carries the balance of clean and dirty, infused with an undeniable freshness. Sort of ironic (to me at least) that the name of the oil is graveyard dirt, because this scent screams pure life to me.

Final Thoughts:
I didn't expect to like this, but I really, really do. I'm not sure if I'll wear it much, but I'm so glad I got to try it. It's truly a treasure.

Initial Impression:

Smells like a perfume counter. If I were to associate just one smell with the idea of perfume, this would be it.

 

After Wearing It:

Smelling this wet on my skin, I'm very much remind playing around in my grandmother's bathroom with her perfume collection. My love of perfume was found there and I always spent time sniffing there since my mom wasn't much of a perfume gal and she had only a bottle of Charlie at home. But my paternal grandmother loved perfume, wild costume jewelry, and makeup so I loved spending time playing in her room while the adults talked (and fortunately, she was only too happy to allow me). I don't remember what particular perfumes she had, but they were all heavy floral oriental scents. High on the jasmine & musk, which I definitely can smell here. I feel like I can smell some some perfumer's alcohol here sure, though I'm not sure where that'd come from.

 

As time wore on, the musk softened and the stiffer floral notes folded back to reveal a berry scent. Not quite sure what it is exactly, I don't think it's plum but it may be. The berry note is warmed by musk and spice. It sort of reminds me of an older, far less innocent version of Bathsheba. Where Bathsheba was a sensuous, but obviously young and somewhat innocent beauty, The Living Flame is her scheming, hardener mother. She's learned the sacrifices you've got to make in life to come on top, the games she has to play, and that you can't make an omelet about breaking some eggs. There's something cynical about her, and perhaps even slightly wicked and cruel. She certainly has a hot fire burning within her, but her passion isn't for love and loved ones, but for her own brand of victory. She's cunning, loves to win and only plays for her own team.

 

The Living Flame lasts for a long time, has a decent amount of throw and while it sweetens a bit, never loses its edge with me. Fascinating blend.

 

Final Thoughts:

This definitely wasn't what I was expecting from the description but I like it all the same. The images it evokes for me are very odd though. The feelings I get from this in its early stages are very much opposed to the tough woman images I got later. My grandmother, who was so clearly evoked while the oil was wet, was one of the kindest, most generous women I've known, so it was strange that this scent morphed into a Wicked Queen from Snow White sort of scent. But it did it seemlessly. Interesting is definitely the word that keeps popping up when I try to describe this blend. It's puzzle, for sure.

Initial Impression:

So sweet it's cavity inducing, with just a touch of salt playing underneath.

 

After Wearing It:

Wow this is a great blend. I love sweet, foody scents and this is certainly a gem of one. It smells of fair food, all that lovely stuff that you look forward to getting when fair time comes close. Cotton candy and fried dough (like funnel cakes!) jump out at me most, though every now and then I'll catch hints of butter and salt too. I'm not sure if I'm imagining it or not, but I'm almost sure i can smell just a bit of dust and smoke in this too, which really makes Midway smell authentic. If I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, I could easily believe I was standing in our fairgrounds in late September. I can feel the last of summer's warmth lacing through the fragrance, the smell of the dusty concrete beneath my feet, the smoke from the trailer kitchens and the overwhelming smell of everything made to be tempting, deep fried. It inspires the sort of ravenous indecision I always experience at the fair, of having dreamed of this food for weeks and then not knowing what to buy. So I get the cheesedogs? Roasted corn? Funnel Cake? One of those giant turkey legs that look and smell so good but disappoint me every time? (so hard to resist the call of those....) Will I finally get the nerve to try the deep fried oreos/snickers bar/twinkies or will I just hang around that stand and see if I can watch someone else eat them? The choices seem endless, but money is limited and I know my stomach can only be abused so much! Goddammit is there really more than 4 months left until the state fair? Wearing Midway makes me want it all now!

 

Midway has a lot of throw to it. I put it on right before work and I could smell it all through my shift without having to sniff my wrist or do any deep breathing. I was easily able to carry a cloud of sweetness with me wherever I went for at least 4 or 5 hours. Now at nine hours, there's not much through, but the scent can still be smelled clearly if I sniff my wrist. Which IMO, is pretty good staying power!

 

Final Thoughts:

Can't wait for this to come out. I'm going to want several bottles of it for wear and to try making wax tarts with!

Regan smells really similar on me, both are floral vanilla blends, though Regan seems a little less warm and complex.

 

Might give it a try though if you haven't already.

Initial Impression:

Very sweet, mild butterscotch note mottled with mint and crisp white flowers.

 

After Wearing It:

As I smeared this on, I was about knocked out by the rich, wet scent of butterscotch. The scent was so strong it feels solid. And then it rapidly started to fade, and before I knew what was happening it was gone. Which kind of disappointed me, because I love foody scents! In its place was a soft, fresh floral edged in mint, which was nice but I was bummed about the loss of the butterscotch and didn't give it much love.... for long that is.

 

Soft as it was on me, Chaste Moon was very charming and very arresting. About an hour after I sort of wrote it off as not very me, I was utterly enamoured by it. It's such a pretty scent, and though it's floral, it doesn't smell like perfume at all. It's more of an environment smell. It's very fresh and clean, soft and full of light. I can smell familiar floral notes that I've picked out in other lunar blends, but they just smell better here floating in this light creamy palette and touched with mint. This is that pleasant baby smell without the powder, that pleasant fragrance of freshly washed soft skin. It's youthful innocence, and yes, very chaste. Wearing it, I kept getting images of laying on soft grass on a pretty day, eating ice cream from a cone, or being buried in pile of laundry fresh from the dryer. It doesn't smell like these things, but it represents them. It's the smell of simple pleasures being richly enjoyed.

 

After a while the flowers faded away and Chaste Moon smelled of sweet cream laced with a very light coconut note and mint. It smelled similar to Snow White but even lighter and fuzzier and has more of a fresh air quality to it. Considering how light it is, I'm amazed at its longevity. The scent is never very strong, but it lasts and has good throw. And after 9 hours, my nose still catches it from time to time even when it's not pressed against my wrist.

 

Final Thoughts:

I really love this. Not my usual style, but I'm so mourning only buying one bottle of this. I really want to make it into a room or linen spray so my sheets can smell like this, yet I want to hoard it too! Damn!

Initial Impression:

Soft, pink sweet pea, laced with sage floating in white musk.

 

After Wearing It:

Wet, Aeval smells very strongly of sweet pea. Very soft, sweet and hopelessly girly. There's something so young smelling about sweet pea. It makes me think of tea sets, bow adorned mary janes, and the charming paradox of little girls playing together, pretending to be older yet in doing so underscore their youth. I love this about sweat pea.

 

As the blend dries and acclimates itself to my skin, the sage comes out giving this youthful floral a dusty edge. Herbal notes, sage in particular, always make me think of things that have been shut away for a while. Maybe it's because our herb cabinet at home is stocked, but so underused (we have decades old tins of basil, nutmeg, etc.) that everything seems so old that it might have belonged to other people or to another time. The sage here definitely smells like that, and mixed with the sweet pea it creates an odd juxtaposition of youth and great age. This seems very fitting for any scent created for the faery folk, who are often depicted very young looking even if they are very old. But for some reason it doesn't just smell like eternal youth, but like a facade or glamour. A being who projects youth and beauty to entice and enchant, but is more gnarled underneath.

 

It takes ages for the tonka bean to come out, which is a shame because I do love tonka. When it finally makes its appearance it dominates what is then a very soft, translucent scent that clings to the wrist, trying hard not to fade away. The musk never really asserts itself, it's the scenery of play of Aeval rather than an actor itself. It gives the perfume a soft focus, misty quality that seems appropriate for a fairy queen.

 

Final Thoughts:

Overall I really like this. It's feminine and young but doesn't smell too young to be worn by an adult. It's a springtime floral for someone like me who's often wary of florals. My only quibble is that it doesn't last as long as some of my usual fragrances, but the staying power isn't so shabby I have to reapply every two hours. I'm glad I bought a bottle of this!

Initial Impression:

Warm amber, a waxy vanilla and a hint of clove.

 

After Wearing It:

Wet this is incredibly reminiscent of O. It's the same amber note, very warm, velvety and round. There's a sweetness in the background as well as a powdery clove scent that I recognize as carnation. It's a less sexual version of O with spice.

 

As it dries, Hod smells like a very warm, powdery amber. It radiates warmth yet clings close to the skin, like a tight but powderful aura. Very golden and thick, it glows but it a low one. Like the light from a crackling fire reflecting off well polished wood panels, rather than the blaze of the sun. It's the fire of knowledge that burns in secret, only providing illumination to the privileged, to the initiated. To those who have paid their dues. To me its very evocative of those who find knowledge the ultimate intoxicant, seductive beyond description, and who would give their most priceless possessions to be privy to secrets. It's the scent of the sacrifice given to drink from the well of wisdom. It's warm, secretive and feels like it's something that's life-giving.

 

In the last phase of the scent, Hod morphs into something very comforting. Still very warm, but in the most nuturing way. It actually reminds me a lot of forbidden fruit in that it feels a bit cookie-ish, but not overtly so, and fortunately doesn't have any of the disturbing vibes I felt with Forbidden Fruit (which felt like kiddie porn bottled to me). It's a lightly spiced amber that's sweetened with vanilla, that together smell faintly of gingerbread or of those really yummy pink iced animal cookies that I loved in grade school, but without the hard sugar edge of the pink ice. It's foody, but not aggressively so. It's just warm, sweey and comforting and I'm absolutely in love with it. This stage stays until Hod is all but a memory on my skin. Ab-Fab it is!

 

Final Thoughts:

SO GLAD I bought a bottle of this unsniffed! At first I wasn't sure if I needed it since I had O and they smelled similar, but now I know I do. I definitely do. This scent didn't last quite as long as amber scents usually do on my skin (it was gone after 8 hours, while some I can still smell the next morning), but that's fine as I'm happy to reapply and have a 10 ml anyway so there's no reason not to! This is going to be a favorite for me!

As some of you have already found (as I released it very early this morning), there's a new skin option available to you guys. Belladonnastrap encouraged me to use some of her Alice tarot scans to create another forum design, which I did over the weekend and is now here for all of you to enjoy! I have a few other ideas (and scans) for new designs that will hopefully come to fruition in the next month. Sarah is also working on two skins, one of which (I think) she should finish later this week. I'll let you know when it's ready to be used.

 

Enjoy!

After much unexpected (but unfortunately unavoidable) downtime, the forums have returned! Hopefully *knocks on wood* this will be the last time for a long time we'll have to move.

 

Anyway, as I announced on the LJ, there was a problem moving the pms so you'll find all of your inboxes empty. I have all of them saved in the database, but for some reason the board software won't recognize that they're there. So while I haven't quite given up on getting them restored, I'm not sure how to fix it, so you're better off assuming they won't return in the immediate future.

 

ETA April 4, 12:58 am: Everyone should have the messages from their inbox folders (though they're no longer sorted into whatever folders you may have set them up in). The messages in your sent and drafts folders are unfortunately still gone.

 

And as we just moved, I'm sure there's a bug or too here or there. If you think something's missing or find something not working, please PM me (rather than starting a topic) and let me know. I'll be working on tweaking some of the settings to get things back the way they should be and it'd just be better for me to communicate issues that way.

 

Also, Sarah (one of our mods) made a new skin for the board that you can check out if you scroll to the bottom and select the skin marked "Mata Hari."

 

Welcome back everyone one!

Just a notice, but I'm going to be out of town from Tuesday morning to Saturday evening. I'm going to be visiting my brother and a few old friends in New Orleans with my family and won't likely have internet access during this time. If you need something from me, go ahead and ask so I can take care of it before I leave. If you need something while I'm gone, of course, any member of the mod team will do their best to address whatever issue you may have.

 

And as I'd prefer not come home to a jammed inbox, if you need something from me that you can't go to another mod to, I'd appreciate it if you can wait until I get home to drop me a note!

 

Every have a great Saint Pattie's Day while I'm away. Those of you whose cell phones I have will definitely be receiving a drunken text message from me on that day!

Should also note, there have been several cases where the original image was work safe but the image was replaced with something less appropriate at the image's source by someone other than the member who posted it. This happens either due to the member direct linking a picture when they shouldn't have or their hosting account was altered without their permission. If you dostore images on a private domain (i.e. not a free host like photobucket) that isn't your own, be careful and keep an eye on what you post. Even if you trust the person hosting you, you may not be able to trust the other people they host.

 

</end PSA>

It didn't occur to me that I'd ever have to spell this out, but it appears that I do so I'm going to say it here. It is not acceptable to put any member of the mod team on your block list for PM communications. Moderators need to be able to contact you for administrative purposes, and to block them is to become an obstruction to their job here. To make a mod go through another mod or admin to get in touch with you when they have a legitimate need to get a message through to you is not okay.

 

I went through the contact table in the database today and changed any records I found (not that there were many at all) where a regular member had a mod on their block list. Those affect can consider this announcement their verbal warning. In the future, blocks against mods will removed and the membered will be admonished by pm. If that member is ever found blocking a mod in the future, they risk receiving a temporary suspension from accessing the board.

 

The block feature in the software is designed to block harassment should it ever occur. I find it unlikely that one of my mod staff will merit this feature be used against them, but should it happen, you should bring it to the attention of another mod or admin and if need be, we will ask said mod to refrain from contacting you for any other reason apart from doing their job.

 

That said, I should also advise against putting a mod on ignore for similar reasons, though doing so won't merit punishment because you can still access posts of people you ignore and I couldn't assume that you weren't still making an effort to keep current on board policies, etc. simply because the mod is on ignore. It's still not a good idea though.

 

Sorry about the terse announcement, but I feel pretty strongly about this and think it's very important. Allowing the mod staff to perform their duties is part of being a member here, as you wouldn't have a board to post on if I didn't have the help I do to run the board.

Hey everyone, since we're in our new location all of the onsite links to be found in posts and signatures are bound to be broken. Everyone who has onsite links in their sigs (ex. links to their wishlists) are advised to take the time to change the link. You can just erase the "http://phoenix.joylandpark.org/" of the url and replace it with "http://www.bpal.org/"

 

Additionally, I will be granting reward points to people who help us out fixing the links in the rest of the forum. For every posts with onsite links you change (i.e. if you go through your old posts and change links) or for every post with a broken url you report, you will receive 2 reward points. Just send me a PM with the urls of the posts you edited or hit the report button for posts that aren't yours. It'd be helpful also, to consolidate your PM notifications to me as much as you can so my box doesn't explode.

 

Also, if you notice anything else that appears to be broken or missing, let me know!

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

ETA: I ended up reloading the post database entirely so all posts should be current (ie, if you've edited old posts in the last month, your changes should show up) so I don't need you to PM me to let me know if you've changed something since 01/03 after all.

Sorry for the short notice, but as I'm sure you've all noticed the board has been as slow as molasses the last few nights and I'm as sick of it as I'm sure you all are. Kate and I discovered that the company that was moving the board for me half did the job, neglecting to close the board off when they saved the data to upload in another location and so we've got to move all of the posts, membership records, PMs, etc. that have been made since the 3rd of January. Horrific yes, but not nearly as bad as the year's worth of stuff I tried to move mid December so it should be more manageable and be able to get done over the course of a few days. *knocks on wood* Sure I could ask them to do it for me, but as they did such a craptacular job already and took so long to do it, I think we'll be better off on our own.

 

So the board will be closing for the weekend as of tomorrow morning (perhaps around 10-11-ish CST? That's about 5 or 6 pm in the UK I think...) and will hopefully be back up in the beginning part of next week. Again I apologize for the short notice and will completely understand if you are unable to back up swaps, etc. in time before the board shuts down. I'll post an address tomorrow where you can email me a note to have me retrieve something if it's absolutely necessary. I'll also need anyone who may have edited an old post from before Jan 3 to let me know so I can make sure the edited copy gets transferred.

 

Thanks in advance for your patience and understanding! Pray for me!