July 31, 2013
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Xanga 2.0 is almost here!
Hey guys - the deadline for the Xanga 2.0 fundraiser is coming up... at midnight tonight!
The technical work around the site migration has been intense, and we've had our heads down working like crazy on the tech side of things. With the deadline imminent though, I wanted to come up for air and give everyone an update on where we are with both the Xanga 2.0 site migration and the fundraiser.
XANGA 2.0 SITE MIGRATION
Thanks to the hard work of our engineers, we've made tremendous progress in migrating our backend to WordPress!
You can see just how far we've come in the following video I just pulled together. It shows my computer screen as I browse all of the blog posts we've imported for my own blog at john.xanga.com.
We have now successfully moved over all of our user accounts into the new Xanga 2.0 system, so that each and every one of our current users will be able to sign into the new Xanga. We have also successfully imported the blogs of all of our current premium users... and are now working on importing the blog posts of people who have pledged to support our fundraiser. (If you haven't gotten an email already asking about which accounts you'd like to migrate over, you should be getting one very shortly!)
We are also migrating over every single photo that's on our servers now, which has been a ton of work. As part of that, we've been able to set up a cluster of media servers that we can use to serve photos moving forward. We'll also use these servers to serve everyone's avatars, which we are moving over as well.
There have been a huge number of technical hurdles that we've had to figure out, and it looks like we are in the final stretch! It's taking us a little longer than we had hoped, but we were also able to negotiate an extension of our current lease at our networking facility... so we have an extra month (until the end of August) to finalize this transition.
We will know more on the remaining technical issues shortly, and then we will be able to set a final date for the changeover.
FUNDRAISER
At this point, we are just a few thousand dollars short of raising $50,000! We can't thank you all enough for your incredible support and bringing us so close to our target of $60k. I have decided that if we can reach $50,000 in total pledges, then I will personally put in the next $10,000 that we need to reach our target.
I spoke to Crowdhoster and they suggested that the easiest way to achieve this would be to lower the campaign target to $50,000. They also pointed out that if we wanted to, we could enable members to continue to pledge towards the campaign in August so that more Xangans could still migrate over to Xanga 2.0. At the current rate of funding, we are on track to hit $60k before the end of August - which is great. But we'd love to get started buying a bunch of additional servers before then, so my contribution should help get things moving asap! Since we will continue to have everyone's data available in our networking facility through the end of August, leaving the campaign open for extra time made a lot of sense and we've gone ahead and enabled that.
Right now, we are at $47,770... which is just $2,230 away from our target of $50k. We still need your help to reach our campaign target of $50k, so please consider contributing today!
* https://xanga.crowdhoster.com/relaunch-xanga
Quick note: no credit cards will be charged until we hit our target of $50,000! Once we hit that target though, your credit card will be charged at the time that you make a pledge towards the campaign. Just wanted to make sure that the mechanics of the fundraiser were clear, so that there wasn't any confusion.
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Thanks to the everyone who has pledged to our campaign and who is supporting Xanga 2.0! We can't thank you enough and are excited to bring the new site to life soon!! If you'd like to join Xanga 2.0, you can sign up here:
Comments (175)
Thanks!!! This is awesome.
The extension makes me consider even harder donating to the cause...hope you guys can make it. I can't imagine my adolescence without Xanga (and since you gave us the gift of archives, I don't have to!)
I find this bits-and-pieces information very dissatisfying and this makes me not believe in pledging. First, you extend the "hardcoded" deadline, now you lower the threshold ... what's what? Clear communication is most important. I absolutely understand that you guys are deep in technical work, but then hire/appoint someone to conduct proper communication.
Sooooo close!
I thought my eyes deceived me when I refreshed the fundraiser page and the target and the "time left" changed.
@ElusiveWords - your username is on that video haha.
You are amazing!! I want to cry! I've been on here over 10 years...I was just going to transfer my account! All the better if I don't have to. I <3 it here. And <3 you for creating this/keeping it going! Phenomenal!:) Thank you!!:)
If we don't donate or pay for a year membership, what happens to our current blog? Also thank you for your VERY generous donation. I had heard a rumor of a large backer, but never imagined it to be you, so thank you!
This is wonderful!!!
It's 12:40 a.m. here in Visalia, CA and I just posted my July 31 2013 blog entry thinking it would be my last and put in an Update Archives request to make sure I got all my posts converted to WP files for setting up my Blazing Blades blog on WP myself. I have not yet received your email inquiring what account I want moved over. I will be looking for that.
cool.
You've got this!!:)
I could not be happier at this moment...
What is everyone doing up at 3:00 a.m. in the morning. I just woke up. Xangans need xanga in the middle of the night.
I am glad this is all working out.
yay for toying with people's emotions
Excellent!
Since you're going to pay $10 000, can we put a little bit of that towards transferring me over? Only like a little. It's not much. You can do it! I know you can!
@niklj - a heads up about archives. it doesn't save blog title names. so if your want the titles of your posts you have to manually get them still. i litterally have an excell sheet because until this post i was like... 'well i need to double check to make sure all the content is there' and it mostly is. all post data, from private to public, will be in the archives, including comments- except they don't give you the title of the posts, just the dates they were posted.
so if like me, you posted poems or short stories and you used the title as a title, you need to go dirge them up for your private archive. i was literally doing exactly that, copy/pasting the titles to an excel doc (in reverse chronological order just like the archive), when i heard the news.
John, you are amazing, many thanks for the update.
this is good news john but you couldn't have brought this up sooner?
Wow how generous!!!
I assume that includes my archives. What I'm wondering now is what happens to all the things I've written, IN CASE you don't make it? I am sure you will, but still.
Most importantly will you SHUT XANGA DOWN TODAY or not? If you don't, we could all be kept updated for another while, and try to raise te money.
Based on that video, it looks like you guys did WordPress Enterprise. I had Enterprise pegged from the start, but I wasn't sure if that was the route you were going.
If that's the case, then I'm impressed. You all proved me wrong. Thanks for all the hard work.
P.S. - I haven't gotten an email yet, but I'll be on the look out.
P.P.S - Fellow Chrome user. Nice.
... or WordPress MS. Damn. Why didn't I think of that?
Thanks for placing a preview link of the new platform up.
Awesome!
Wheee!!!
Thank you.
Xanga 2.0, here we come!
Thank you!!
That's good news to hear that Xanga's on track to live on and I appreciate the site preview. Please come up for air more often though! You guys are obviously super busy, but man a lot of us were getting ready for the worse since we haven't heard much recently.
Appreciate having an opportunity to view the preview link to the new platform. Thanks!
This is wonderful news.
SO CLOSE
Thank you for not giving up！
That is amazing news!! However can you keep the site up so we can download our archives if xanga would be shut down? I don't want Xanga to be shut down especially since we are near the goal!!!!
I do have a question though... you stated "f you'd like to join Xanga 2.0, you can sign up here: * https://xanga.crowdhoster.com/relaunch-xanga" but that is the same link to the fundraiser website. So how does one actually sign up?- Do you mean that when we contribute that is our way of signing up because we decided on the one year $48 fee or the other options??
I had every confidence that the relaunch would succeed. Thank you to the whole team for your hard work and for giving up things like sleep and a social life in order to make it happen.
What a joke. You can chip in $10,000 of your hard earned money yet you're too fucking cheap to include free basic blogging? I call bullshit.
we're so close!!!!
Amazing news!!! Great work considering how it was not an easy feat. We can do it!!!
Thanks for all you do...I'd like to know if there's anyway to exclude the jerks like @secretbeerreporter from the 2.0 site migration....
add oil add oil !!!!
Thanks for your great great great effort!!!!!!
I just want my premium money back. I feel ripped off.
Dear John and the team,
I think you know who I am. I haven't pledged yet. I have a nearly 10 year old blog on Xanga and I'm a Lifetime Premium subscriber already. After seriously considering the bulk of what other hosting services are asking, $48.00/year for blogging at my present "home" is a pretty good deal.I have one question, and I'd really like an answer prior to pledging, which I would like to do before the end of the day. The annual subscription for my mammoth personal website (of which my Xanga blog is a major part) is up in September. With Xanga in fear of closing down, I've been looking for a service which will embed whatever blog platform I eventually chose right onto the site.
My question: Will Xanga 2.0 supply an app that I will be able to use to embed the blog on my new website? (I'm seriously considering wix.com as a host. They can embed blogger blogs, but without a comment generator, visitors have to click on the link to the blog entry on blogger to leave a comment.) It might be too early to ask this, but this is important for my plans. (I'd like visitors to be able to comment on my blog while on my website. More exposure for moi.)
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
I was hoping you guys would pull through! I am so excited. Although I do have a question: I am a Lifetime and True member, will I automatically be transferred over to the new site? Or do I need to make a pledge? I haven't received an email, but I don't know which email is associated to this Xanga account.
Thank you guys for putting so much hard work and effort into making this work for us! It means the world to those of us who have been writing here for years, and I would hate to see this unique community disappear.
@TheTheologiansCafe - Xanga will only be "back" when you post another damn question and get to the top of top blogs. Then I'll breathe easier.
@petitetokio - I agree.
Thank you so much for everything you're doing!!
Ha! I just gave you my first ever mini!
Oh, John and team.
One last thing. Two actually. It's been bugging me for a while that on the front page, there is errant code (?/a) to the right of the link "More Top Blogs" and one of the rotating adverts in the upper right under the search bar claims "Start a Free Blog" with a link that goes nowhere. That is all.Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
@mlbncsga - Why is that being a jerk? Those of us who can't afford $48/year for a damn blog are getting screwed over. Those of us who are unable to afford it are getting hosed. Why shouldn't I be angry?
If it's like WordPress then I might as well use WordPress.com and it will be for free! I have loved Xanga for 11 years but I can't afford to pay to blog. I've already signed up on WordPress and also have a blog on Blogger too. Nothing will be the same as Xanga. I thank Xanga for giving me a fun place to come to where I can jot down all my experiences through life, vent frustrations I have and giving me a place where I was able to meet lots of people around the country and even in other countries who have similar interests and go through so much of the same that I go through as a mother and wife. It's been amazingly fun and a nice outlet. I will miss it! I'm sorry to see it have to make these changes but it seems a lot of other people are happy about it and willing to pay. I'm a stay-at-home mother not making my own money so it's not possible for me. Wishing you lots of luck and hoping you raise enough funds to keep this going.
::SLOW CLAP::
This is so great!! I know you'll get the the rest of the money in no time at all.....I will be looking forward to Xanga 2.0.....
Thank you!! Hope I can understand how to use the new system. One question I do have ~ several of my old posts have the text in white or cream ~ Will those convert to black? Or can I convert them after the move over?? Thank you for your answer when you have a minute ~
This is amazing!
@secretbeerreporter - there are ways as Joel and the xanga team have stated numerous times to get your blog for free...I'm sorry for calling you a jerk, I'm generally not judgmental, but I have a problem with angry people judging the community for what they can do, or will do...what business is it of yours who invests what and who are you to call someone cheap, you don't even try to figure out how to make things work out for yourself...Life isn't always a free ride...besides all that I have kids and grandkids that follow what I do here and I detest the casual use of the word fuck...did you know that it's an acronym for "Forced Unlawful Carnal Knowledge"? How disgusting, and again I apologize for calling you a jerk.
Thank you, John -- for your generosity and dedication, and for this post explaining what's happening. AND for actually making the relaunch work!
Thank you Xanga! (pats heart, and points to you)
@stepaside_loser - hahaha.... what can I say, I love videos of cute kids.
Thank You!!!
frank
It looks really good.
Will all of the URLs for our old posts remain the same?I'm assuming Google won't have to recrawl WordPress?
@mlbncsga - And I don't have the time to volunteer either, so that closes that option for me too.
And "acronym?" What a joke. Since you made that up out of thin air that would make it a "backronym," not an "acronym," and a very bad backronym at that.
Now I'm confused. When you said that all premium members' blogs have been switched over, is that just the premium members who have already paid for a new membership on the new Xanga? Or is that all current premium members? I thought I was going to lose my blog, even though I'm a lifetime member, when the switch happened since I haven't paid for a membership on 2.0. But is mine still going to be there? Or am I still going to lose my blog? Thanks for all your hard work on this!
I know you guys have been putting in a lot of hard work and I appreciate it. Still, really wish there had been more communication along the way. At this point, 90+% of Xangans have migrated away. Not sure that we can expect them to come back to Xanga 2.0. =(
Wow...I
am just so...confused. Gentlemen, I am going below decks, when someone figures
out what is going on...please report to me immediately!
Sail
on... sail on!!!
Yeah I want to know if Xanga is shutting down today or not too. I just found out about this yesterday. I requested for an archive but 12 hours later, it's still not ready. I don't know if I'll get the file before the end of today. So I would like to know if I'm still able to download my archives tomorrow.
John and Xanga Team - this is truly a valiant effort. Bought my memberships but it's amazing how close we are to the goal. Thank you for not giving up on the site. Looking forward to continuing to have a home for a lot of great memories built up over the years.
Keeping a close eye on the fundraiser page today, and if we need a few more bucks chipped in, I'm going to do it. I want to keep my xanga blog!!!
Thanks for introducing Xanga 2.0! All of you are about to experience something new online.
@secretbeerreporter -
. There's nothing that would surprise me on Xanga.
keep questioning what seems fishy to you. Perhaps, if people keep pointing it out, they'll find a way to make it work differently in the last second
@secretbeerreporter - How are getting hosed? You're just not going to get something for free anymore.
YAYYY
@whyzat - Those of us who have been on Xanga for years, wrote quality posts, and actually had some thought-provoking content but who just can't afford $48/year are sure getting screwed. Some of the best damn bloggers on this site never bought premium or anything, for one reason or another (a lot of them because they couldn't afford it). Now you're going to kick us to the curb for merely being loyal users? That's getting hosed.
@under_the_carpet - I bet these fuckers had the money all along and just did this fundraiser to milk money out of its users. The whole thing was a fucking scam. If it wasn't, and their lease really DID expire on the 15th as they said it was going to, they wouldn't have extended the deadline twice AND lower the cap. Something smells awfully fishy, doesn't it?
Good luck...I am still around
@secretbeerreporter - Without the Xanga Team, you wouldn't have had a place to put those "quality posts" to begin with. I've never paid a dime in the 10 years that I've used this site, but the blogs I've written and the history that's preserved on it are worth my contribution to Xanga 2.0. Relationships require sacrifice, and if you can't sacrifice $1 a week, then end the relationship and move on. Any argument you make that comes out of enjoying the fruits of someone else's labor with no regard for their effort is weak, and makes you look weak.
If you want to call the fundraiser a scam; if you think the Xanga Team is hiding something, fine. I wasn't pleased with the lack of updated information either. But, the fact that you "don't have time to volunteer" yet you've got plenty of time to comment here and complain?
"Something smells awfully fishy, doesn't it? "
If you email support@crowdhoster.com and let them know you'd like to withdraw your contribution they will let you, if you want to, but otherwise, the deadline has been yanked back midnight tonight on the CrowdHoster page and they will be cashing in. If you're cool with that and still supportive? Awesome. Otherwise...you might want to email crowdhoster before it's too late.
And pretty much you'll have like 700 "bloggers". Pretty much everyone else has left. Good luck... Guys. You're done no matter what.
I hope it works out. I've been a Premium subscriber for several years. At this point, though, I am no working and have no extra cash to donate.
Looks like you succeeded.
I just wanted to thank you for making the archives WordPress compatible. Posts and comments imported successfully.
It's hard to leave now that I see Xanga will continue. However, I moved my main blog years ago because of some Xanga limitations. If I hadn't, I'd be thrilled about the new WordPress interface. But now I can't justify paying for my host and for Xanga. And my web host beats your new yearly price.
Anyhow. Thank you. I've been here more than 10 years. It is where I started to blog. Like so many, I met lifelong friends here.
Blessings as you move forward.
WHAT. XANGA STILL EXISTS?
OMFG
HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY
Actually my credit union deducted the $48 immediately when I pledged. I hope you received it in your account, otherwise I'm out the money and not contributing.
Thanks for all your hard work. I'll bet that years ago you never would have thought Xanga would have to be moved someday! I'm looking forward to 2.0...
@thelesserman - Uhhh, that's what ads are for. Ads on a free account would generate far more than the $48/year membership fee. Trust me, they weren't hurting for money in the least. They're nothing but a bunch of lying, scamming con artists.
As far as not having time to volunteer, I'm leaving for England for six months early September to go hop bell towers. I'll be in a different bell tower every day for six months which means I'll spend most of my time in bell towers or on public transit without internet access. How the fuck am I supposed to volunteer any of my time in that situation?
Wicked awesome. I may not be eloquent, but I'm very very pleased!
JUST DIE, XANGA. Have you at all wondered why you didn't come close to the goal at the first deadline? Or why you had to cheat again and lower the goal yourself? Because nobody likes xanga. Too bad we can't do that with a car or a house or a credit card. It's not realistic and the fact that you're forcing it when no one wants it will not end well for you. Once again you've suckered idiots into believing you. Everyone can get a free wordpress account. No one even needs you. Tons of other blogging sites are free and the paid option is less than half of what you want. You should be in prison or robbery and fraud. If you had a do whteve it takes attitude years ago you wouldn't be in this position and there would beno "emergency." But all you do is show up when you want something and disappear after.
I was up at 3 a m, just not out of bed. However didn't see this post until just now.
Thank you John. I had a gut feeling these past two months that perhaps we won't have to move out and say good buy. This is great news, I feel confident that you will be able to reach he 50K goal soon.
Please keep us updated more often.
Damn. If I had bet I'd be right again:
posted by me on edlives blog 1 day prior to this announcement:
"Did Xanga
management let us down by not doing more to appeal for funds, keeping us
updated, and giving us a preview of their Vision 2.0?
Or has John
just decided, without letting us know, that he will proceed with Xanga
2.0 regardless of the fundraiser results and so can justify his
"abandonment" of us here now knowing that it is not the end?
If I
was going to bet, I'd bet on the latter. It has always been the xanga
leadership style to proceed in more secrecy than openness. Well, we
will all know soon.."
haha!
I love it..... You guys are the best team ever.
I want to save my blog but I don't get paid until August 3rd. Help me? I don't want to lose my blog entries at all or my pictures.
When will Xanga close down for the free users?
@battlingthebody - you can archive your posts and photos.
@Superbuds - it's already 9:10pm I'm not gonna have time to do 8-9 years worth of it now.
Thank you very much for all your work and generosity.
*Three fingered applause*
Xanga, you had to yield one way or another or capitulate. I'm glad you finally had the yaytsa to come to a decision - and this one may well save your company.
BTW, I recognize this video as straight WordPress interface. I do not see a future Xanga system yet or anything resembling Xanga outside the top bar CSS images. However, time and user interest will tell.
@battlingthebody - If you go to the save your archives, it should be ready in a few hours...maybe tomorrow morning. Then you download them to your computer. (You no longer have to be a premium member to do this.) Worth a shot. I'm unable to get my photos archived (they won't download...i think my file is too big?) but most people don't have a problem.
@battlingthebody - http://www.xanga.com/private/archives.aspx
You are awesome! Thank you!
I have been a part of Xanga for almost 9 years. I just did the math. So, I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU for your own contribution to helping us keep this community alive for as long as possible. I really wish I had the funding to support it and buy an account.
Unfortunately, I have NO free money due to cut hours & income at work, and we're saving for our first house currently. But if I'm ever able to find the spare cash to buy an account to support you guys, I sure will try. I hope Xanga keeps going strong!!
Thanks for loving us & keeping this site alive,
~*Akarui Mitsukai*~
awesome!!
Anxiously waiting the email that asks me which blogs I wanna spend my pledge on.
I think I'm going to cry.... Thank you.
Woohooooooooooooooooo!
I'm so happy and excited! I was so scared for awhile here 
haha
And I am still offering the Team my volunteering services whenever/ifever you need me for helping with 2.0, in whatever way I can.
If anyone could help me, I tried to get all of my entries to download from archives, but see nothing there. Just a message that my archives will be generated asap. Please help?
Thanks!
THANK YOU!
yay : )
Yippee!! So excited to see our new 'home'!!
Thank you so much!!
Bravo John . The future is owned by those who are courageous and take risk .You have succeeded..Thanks
Michel ( fromFrance )
IT LIVES!!
One question that has been bugging me. I just, a few months ago, gave my yearly fee of $25.00 How much more do I have give, now that the drive is over with. I would have contributed but pay checks fell odd for me. So, what's going on?
@Zoz36 -If you just a few months ago gave a yearly fee, then I could put you on my list of people who can have a sponsored year of xanga 2.0 Message me to confirm you want to be on my list of those sponsored for a year.
How much does it cost me to move my content to the new platform, let me know the amount ASAP and I'll give it to you
wow. plain and simple. We are still here. That works for me as I didn't make other sites "just in case".
(If you haven't gotten an email already asking about which accounts you'd like to migrate over, you should be getting one very shortly!)
Still anxiously waiting for that email.
@jaydedheart - check again. It takes a few hours...sometimes the next morning.
@Zoz36 - I did the same thing. We are supposed to get a credit. I'm not 100% certain what that means, but it's the most I could find out.
Thanks for the hard work. Now that I've seen some real results, I'm willing to pledge but there's no way to do so now, on the crowdhoster site, as the deadline has passed and the goal reached. So there's no way for me to join now?
If we become premium this month will our accounts and archives transfer to the new blog?
I'd love to keep my Xanga account but I'm not in the position financially to be able to donate. So I'm SOL.
Looks great! I went to make a contribution but the button is grayed out. I thought you would be taking contributions through August.
@Superbuds - Thank you so much. I see it there now : )
@jaydedheart - yay!
thank you Xanga~~~~~~~~~~~
u mean so much to us!!!!!!!!!!!!
wondering if you can answer my question way back there about whether posts with text in white or cream will convert to black text? Thank you ~ and still patiently waiting on my email ~ so afraid I have missed it somehow ???
Hi!
I would like to know how do people who don't have credit cards are supposed to pay the $48 (A year-long blogging membership at $4/month, for a total of $48) and what is the deadline for paying it, before you delete the blogs.
Thank you,
Isabel
My question is, will anyone be able to buy a membership once xanga starts up in wordpress? I would have no doubt funded this if I wasn't trying to save for a car, books for school, and gas money. I really really hope so, because I do love xanga. It helps me tremendously.
First, um, what 'amberlynnsays' in her comment above ^^^. Second, would you consider linking up secure payment service 'Paypal' to the new version of Xanga? I've used it previously, and found it to be a secure and swift method to pay for items/subs fees.
Looks like you've made it!! Congratulations!!
You really made a bunch of us pissed off. Bring back the sign up page.
Thank you!
What is the actual ETA for Xanga 2.0?
Does this mean those of us who purchased a lifetime membership years ago will be transferred to the new xanga?
Just some thoughts on fundraising and financial support... Perhaps you have already considered this, but I would like to contribute a few of my thoughts anyway...
Not everyone blogs regularly, and for the person who just posts a few times a year, a sort of personal journal if you will, they are very likely to be unwilling to pay the same price as a person who posts everyday and upload thousands of pictures. The fees should be tiered and perhaps based on gigabyte usage.
Xanga could offer a free tier for a basic blog with a few simple features and a middle priced tier for those who want to develop more elaborate sites and finally a premium tier for the serious blogger who creates large data consuming posts.
Without the free tier, there is no substantial audience base for the premium bloggers to appeal to, and thus diminishes the incentive to pay for a premium to blog. There are some very serious bloggers who will pay significantly more if their blogs are getting enough traffic.
Because of Xanga I have sold many paintings that I would have not done so otherwise, even though it was never my intention to do so. This incentive helps to justify my decision to pay for a good blogging site.
There are many authors who rely on blogs to get samples of their work out, who are willing to pay, but there are also many bloggers who simply desire to express themselves intimately with a select group of friend with whom they feel they can confide in.
Additionally, advertising is still a viable way to provide additional funding. Small banner ads, that pop up initially at the top or bottom of a page when it opens and then disappear after 10 to 15 seconds would not be overly intrusive.
There are many other ways to increase revenues, but I believe in keeping it simple and making it fun. Perhaps when the new model is up and running we could revisit this subject as a community. You could ask for some input as to possible ways in which Xanga could increase its revenues and thus decrease the need to charge fees for it's most basic users, and then select from the more practical suggestions.
So what's going on? Xanga is still the same! I thought it was going to make changes and start charging? I'm confused!
I have a question as I've not been on Xanga for a while: if I do nothing, what happens?
Good work!
Hey John/Xanga Team- I've been getting Unknown footprints on my blog for the past few weeks. What is going on?
Hi!
I would like to know how do people who
don't have credit cards are supposed to pay the $48 (A year-long
blogging membership at $4/month, for a total of $48) and what is the
deadline for paying it, before you delete the blogs.
Thank you,
Isabel
@BergerWasTaken - I think the blogs shall be deleted...
Hi! (again)
I suppose everybody at Xanga Team is too busy doing important things
but it would be nice if someone could come here and reply to our
questions and suggestions. Even to reply "we don't know yet...".
Thank you,
Isabel
Soooo....where is it?
You've GOT this!! Although I've paid for a year..hoping for a free version for servival of my other xanga friends.:) Ps. We want an update!! I've kinda gathered of late..the administative team..isn't thousands of people,right?..it's probably a small group..who aren't used to somehting huge like this. Just know, most people will be fine with inperfection. People want to probably know an update about now though. A simple "Thank you! We've got this __ funding..we're anticipatinging doing [this] and will give more info as soon as able!" That's perfect. Do it crew!!:)
My blog still looks...the same? Not like wordpress at all. Also, I've not gotten any emails about which accounts I'd like to transfer (I have four one of which is lifetime premium) so I"m still really kind of confused here..
Great!
Yay!!!
Thank you!
Are we shooting for a ta-da it's done date, or is the date setting thing kind just kind of funny by now?
Yesterday was my 20th anniversary & I got two new grandbabies & a surgery this summer, this Xanga move hardly stressed me at all from the distraction going on around me. All the same, yeah, waiting for that email about which blogs I paid for... 
One of your big contributors. Love you guys. I know you're tired. Have a cookie.
@mlbncsga - It isn't FREE. It's only FREE if your time is WORTHLESS as you have to put in time to work on Xanga as a volunteer.
This whole thing further stinks of the bullshit they have been feeding us. All the amounts, all the deadlines, all the pleading...bullshit.
WordPress is free, Blogger is free, OpenDiary is free. Screw it. I'm glad I bailed.
Hi!
I'm still waiting (since 4 August) for a reply...
I would like to know how do people who don't have credit cards are supposed to pay the $48 (A year-long blogging membership at $4/month, for a total of $48) and what is the
deadline for paying it, before you delete the blogs.
Thank you,
Isabel
August 12 and no noticeable changes to the site. Enjoying that free fifty grand, guys?
celebrating xanga is saved
in Cuba
Awesome!
OH I SEE! You have to go to Twitter to see updates about Xanga...got it.
o-0
I am totally lost on this. I don't know what is going on with my site. Have the Xanga site moved? Please let me know before I move my site. Thanks.
Is Xanga staying or going? I'm confused.
@lenybobsyouruncle - Thanks for the helpful tip (especially about the Excel sheet). Will do!
So do you have to donate in order to be transferred over? A friend of mine and I are a bit confused..
Hi!
I'm still waiting (since 4 August and then 11 August) for a reply...
I
would like to know how do people who don't have credit cards / visa / etc. are
supposed to pay the $48 (A year-long blogging membership at $4/month,
for a total of $48) and what is the deadline for paying it, before you delete the blogs.
Thank you,
Isabel
Dear Xanga Team,
Instead of bitching and complaining about how "I don't have money", "This is bullshit!", "I don't want to pay!" I will simply say it's been a good run. I don't have anything to complain about as I've been a member since 2003. My time and money are being devoted to mechanical engineering and nutritional science studies (opposite spectrums of interest I know). After bumping up our budget on food since everything is organic, 90% non-gmo, and highest of quality possible budgeting for a blog I've had since I was a wee lad (not really) is on my lowest priority. Because of this the surplus of money my gf and I are able to save up is lower. I like the bragging rights for being here so long, but it's life and things come and go (for some people they're not mature enough to realize or handle that). Maintaining a commitment to Xanga and paying for it is not on my priority list. I was never a big poster here. My friend signed me up back in 2003 and it's been an amazing run. Xanga was just a personal blog. Xanga was an outlet just like driving, racing, martial arts, working out and music. It was easy to look back and have some self-reflection to see how much you've grown as a person. It was easy to reminisce about those times you wrote about when you just clicked a few times to read old posts. Blogging I believe is still one of the best online interactions one can have with someone else. What I loved about here was yes there were arguments, but at the same time I could have a decent conversation with someone or a debate compared to...let's say Facebook *rolls eyes*. I enjoyed the free blogging and as a result I really don't see myself making a WordPress since I don't want to pay monthly because WordPress isn't Xanga...
If I find the time to blog and money I may wind up going back to Xanga. For now though all I foresee is myself being to busy taking care of myself to blog. All the blogging and blogging about things I want to do, used to do, etc, so forth I'm putting into action now at this point in my life. So with all the things I've posted on Xanga, vented out about, my plans/ambitions, my past, my present, my future, all of those things are pushing me forward now. This is what will be the most exciting time of my life and also the most challenging time and not only does it require time but money as well (hey I can't work for the culinary department at school to pay for classes so I have to save up you know units are espensive). We probably won't see each other again Xanga, maybe but if we do then it's not soon. When we do I'll have lots of stories to tell.
And for all the people who are so mad at Xanga, the fuck are you all still here go make a WordPress or a Tumblr or go back to Facebook instead of wasting time and energy bitching about something you hate so much...ON Xanga (which you hate...did I mention that?). I call bullshit that you hate it so much. Otherwise you wouldn't bother wasting your breath to bitch about something that pisses you off so bad. You act as if screaming as loud as possible will get you your way. Well guess what that Americanized form of protest does not work. It does not work and it is obviously an ineffective way to protest what you want. We saw it with the 99% protests which honestly had no direction or motivation or intent which is why when Time compared the Egypt protests to the 99% I rolled my eyes.
If you quit a job you fucking hate you wouldn't spend your time all day standing in front of the entrance and screaming vulgarities because then my friend would put you in the category of full retard and in the world of the internet everyone knows to never....ever....go full retard.
For the time being if you want to cry and tell Xanga to "Fuck off!" by all means do and waste your time. Set up camp, defecate, and scream with no effect to your "protest".
ps. lolumad?
Do I have this straight? You're turning a free platform into a paid one, people have sent you contributions for doing so, and now they're thanking you for taking their money in order to turn Xanga into a place where you'll be taking more of their money?
D**n. I don't know whether to be disgusted or impressed.
"And for all the people who are so mad at Xanga, the fuck are you all still here go make a WordPress or a Tumblr or go back to Facebook instead of wasting time and energy bitching about"
Another troll heard from. If any of you are looking for new places to blog, given the large amount of effort that many of the members of this community have put into customizing the look and feel of their own blogs, and the large number of members who have made use of their efforts when setting up their own blogs, I would strongly discourage anybody on Xanga from heading over to WordPress.com. WordPress.com forces it users to make use of one of a limited set of blog designs with only very slight tweaking allowed, custom design use being a "premium" feature, available only on paid accounts. If you're going to get a paid membership, anyway, why bother jumping ship?
Tumblr and Blogspot.com both allow one to customize the HTML for one's blog, so one could transplant a blog from Xanga to either of these hosts with very little change in that look and feel if one knows enough about coding, and I get the impression that most Xangans will. Of these two, in spite of the annoying user interface (product of an unwanted and counterproductive "upgrade" by Google), I would strongly suggest choosing Blogger (Blogspot.com), because Tumblr was purchased by Yahoo, and Yahoo's history of handling its acquisitions is not in the least way reassuring. The current company line is that Tumblr will be left alone, but that's how Yahoo handled Flickr in the beginning, and look at it now. Search for comments about the latest redesign, and you'll see what I mean.
As for the small fry, the lesser known companies, don't even look at them. Ask one of your friends what an "acquihire" is, if you'd like to know why.
As for WordPress.org - it is shareware. If one is going to be paying to blog, anyway, why not get a site of one's own, download the WordPress.org software, oneself, and run one's blog off of one's own site, with one's own domain name, and never have to worry about the TOS or some PITA pushing that flagging button, ever again? Install IntenseDebate on the blog, and you'll have the beginnings of a social networking capability, far fewer headaches and drama, for not much more than Xanga would probably end up charging you, anyway. Something to think about.
I really wasn't all that impressed with the cleverness of the staff at Xanga. Unless the users are a lot slower than I thought they were, and a lot easier to take advantage of, I would guess that this is the beginning of the end for this company. Sad, really, because there was a way of avoiding bankruptcy for this company and other companies like it, and when you think about the matter, this is so obvious. The solution is so incredibly simple, how could they not see it?
@KageOokami - Nice comment. I agree
I STILL have yet to receive any emails about migrating my accounts over to Xanga 2.0. ;o/ Isn't Xanga shutting down by the end of this month?
I haven't heard about paying my pledge yet. Can I contact you by e-mail john@xanga.com ?
I am in Korea (the Asian one, not Corea, Maine) and would have to wire the money to you. I need your bank's routing number (it is on your checks, just before the account number) and also its name and street address, city and ZIP code. I hope you read this.Sincerely, Silvia Wilson
When does the new site go live, please? ~ L
I was in Vietnam and I do
not listen to understand English.
I want you to
write Support "Use the system's Xanga
feature". Thanks to the Google language
translator that we can understand. Thank you very much.
BinhMinh2
Tôi là người Việt Nam và
tôi không nghe hiểu tiếng Anh. Tôi muốn bạn viết Hỗ trợ "Sử dụng hệ thống
các tính năng của Xanga". Nhờ vào trình dich ngôn ngữ của Google mà chúng
tôi có thể hiểu được. Cám ơn rất nhiều.
BinhMinh2
((( O people Say No God But Allah, Achieve Eternal Salvation )))
" Laa ilaaha illallah " (There is none worthy of worship except Allah.)
( I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger )
( Introduction to Islam )
http://www.blogger.com/profile/00783655376697060967
....,,,...
Xanga team - you seriously do not post enough. It takes 5 minutes to reassure us all. I understand this is a massive undertaking. Massive. However I have not even received an email yet asking which to sites I pledged for. Obviously this is one. Give us an update, people! peace
Is there an update?? What is happening??
It's interesting to see how xanga 2.0 will look =)
I would like to know how people who don't have credit cards / visa / etc...how we can
pay the $48? And what is the deadline for paying it, before you delete the blogs?
Thank you!
@adamswomanback - Pay a pre-paid credit card or visa gift card. You can pick one up at most Wal-greens, CVS, or local grocery store.
@thelesserman - Thank you so much for answering my question!
I didn't know if Xanga would accept those cards.
At this point the word "thieves" is beginning to seem appropriate.
So, trying to weed through this all, the new Xanga will be wordpress, but more of a walled community, and will cost each person 48.00/year to host their account. If we don't pay the 48.00 then we can still join so that we can read and follow for free, but we can not have our blog hosted.
I like that it moves the whole community together, but I use wordpress for various sites and due to my 90/yr package can have unlimited sites of any sort, wordpress included, at no additional charge. OR if I wanted to not bother to self host, could go to wordpress.com and pay 25/year for my own site with them. 48/yr seems really steep unless their will be alot of really great features found here and no where else.
Oh, updates on FB too https://www.facebook.com/xanga/posts/10151685481439262
This is how it goes:
Your ACCOUNT will migrate to 2.0 but your blog will not. You will be able to subscribe, friend and connect and comment with others on the platform, but 'just' won't be able to blog. If you were already a premium member, your blog will transfer over, you just won't be able to use it unless you pay the 48 (50+ Can for me) dollars for the year.
feeling disappointed.
I thought I was signed up, but have not recieved an email yet...
Hello,
I am one of the premium Xanga contributors, however, I am having an issue. My mother, CynaraJane just told me to check my mail for xanga's transition email form, and I discovered that the email I had listed on my xanga account was out of date and I no longer have access to it, I have updated my email information on my account, would it be possible to resend that email to the account that I now have listed? Thank you so much. I no longer have access to the email address that the form was originally sent to, and your assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,Catlin Crawford
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