I’m switching over to an alternate hosting provider… tonight. Some notes about this process and what may happen over the next few days.

1. This site will likely disappear for as long as a few days – but it will return.
2. It is possible that a partially functional version of the site will come up first.
3. The alternate site will continue to run during this time: http://gdanmitchellphotography.blogspot.com/
4. There may also be problems with email – on a temporary basis you can use my gmail account at gdanmitchell [at] gmail.com.

Thanks for your patience, and watch for the new version of the site to begin taking shape soon.

Dan

Seen at Luminous Landscape and passed along here:

… Mike Johnston has been locked out of his blog site by rampaging anti-spam robots [but is] alive and well, so below is the latest word from Mike and how to find him…

As of about last Thursday, Blogger’s Spam-Fighting Robots… put The Online Photographer on lockdown, mistaking it for a “spam blog.” Evidently we triggered the robots’ excessively fuzzy recognition systems somehow.

Solution? There is none. You can’t get through to humans at Blogger, evidently by design (it’s a free service, after all). I’ve submitted a “review request” and now I get to…wait. And wait. Three days and counting, so far, and I’m told it could be as much as a WEEK before I’m let into the house again. In the meantime, the site will look like it’s frozen in amber, and there’s no way for me to even tell people what’s wrong.

So, to pass the time, I burned the midnight oil over the weekend and built an entirely NEW “Online Photographer,” using TypePad. Why TypePad? Because TypePad offers a little thing called “Customer Support.” Very Web 2.0.

Our new address will eventually be theonlinephotographer.com. If that doesn’t work for you right away, you may need to try http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com. The new site is looking pretty rough still, but I’m working on it. Please come over and have a look around, and let me know what you think.

When they let me in again over at Blogger, I’ll post a pointer. Until then, informing people can only be done by word of mouth. So if you can help spread the news around, please do, and many thanks. [The Luminous Landscape – What’s New]

The Online Photographer is on my regular “must read” list.

Hearing this story makes me a bit less inclined to let Blogger be my permanent host for my site when it moves – I’m getting more inclined towards using my hosting company’s WordPress and Gallery option.
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I have reestablished the membership and discussion features on the G Dan Mitchell | Photography web site. Readers may again sign up as site members. Click on the Join Now link in the sidebar. You’ll need to use a valid email address, real first and last names, respond to a confirmation email, and supply a few words about why you are joining the site. (Sorry about all those steps – just trying to find a compromise that lets the “good guys” in and discourages the spammers.) Once you complete these steps I will be able to approve your membership request.

Once I approve your membership request you will be able to click on the “discuss” link at the end of any of my posts (there is one at the end of this post) and add a comment or ask a question. You will also be able to start a new discussion topic by clicking the “\Post New Topic\” link in the sidebar.

Read more about membership on the Web Site Membership page.
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The Nocturnes Night Photography Blog has posted a note about this past weekend’s night photography adventure at Mare Island Naval Shipyard:

This past Saturday (Full Crow Moon) nearly 40 intrepid Nocturnes took to the streets of Mare Island to photograph 100-150 year-old brick buildings, massive ship-building equipment, historic mansions, etc. – all part of our annual AlumNight event.

We will be posting work from the group on Flickr in the next few days – check back here to learn the top-secret tag!

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