October 1, 2014

  • Update

    We want to thank everyone for being there for us.  Without your involvement, we wouldn't be where we are today.

    Here are a few of the things that we've been working on over this past year:

    * We built out a new server system, and migrated thousands of websites over to the new servers
    * We fought off ongoing DDOS and brute password attacks that were slowing the site down
    * We've made further upgrades to our server setup over the past six months, to use new more powerful servers as they became available.
    * We're planning one more server upgrade later this year, to take advantage of better and cheaper server systems that have become available.

    One area where we've dropped the ball is providing updates on all of the above.  Initially we were fighting off the DDOS attacks, and didn't want to tip off our attackers on our progress.  So we focused on talking to our users one at a time, through our email support and help forums.

    But more recently, we've largely defeated the ongoing DDOS and password attacks.  The site has been up and stable, and we're gearing up to make the further upgrades mentioned above.  We'll be providing more regular updates and communication, both on this blog and also on our Facebook page.

    So we're working to communicate more regularly, and to start building the community teams that we mentioned earlier.  First up: we've asked Joel of edlives.xanga.com to serve as a community liaison.  You can reach him at his blog at edlives.xanga.com, or through Xanga's facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/xanga.  We will have a regular call with Joel to discuss feedback and ideas.

    We're also going to be working together to pull together a list of other areas where we could use help.  If any come to mind, please let us know and we'll discuss it with Joel in our next call!  And as a thank you for sticking with us, we're offering 6 months of free blog hosting to all of our paid members.  Just email Eugenia at help@xanga.net, and she'll add it the extra months to your account!

    Thank you for sticking with us over the past year.  We're looking forward to working together to build Xanga in the coming year.

Comments (42)

  • 1.5 eProps.

  • Any word on when a community comment/post frontpage or other community features will be restored?

    Wouldn't it be better to allow paid users subscriptions to remain current until the site has improved to the point where community features have been restored? By charging them for renewal before this happens, they are essentially being asked to pay to beta test a service that has less features and functionality than that of free alternatives.

  • Can i still upgrade to create post?

  • Thank you! =)

    Question- since I've had to 'rescue' my posts twice now through code smashes that obliterated formatting and vanished embedded vids, do I need to worry about this again if and when you 'upgrade' still again to better faster servers? Some of my posts on one of my blogs became nearly unreadable, yet that blog continued to show my highest traffic flow, once I installed a stat counter.

    Joel has been awesome, I'm very happy he is still around taking the brunt of the public interface. I know it's been rough.

    I'm still very much looking forward to getting a mobile app going again, internal tracking, etc. THANK YOU for not abandoning us so we wouldn't lose years of work.

    -Janika

  • OK, I'm going to e-mail Eugenia. I really really miss the Xanga community we used to have. Hope we can get it back.

  • Thank you for the update. I would like the six-month extension.

    My biggest gripe with Xanga is not having a universal inbox. I can see posts, or I can see comments, but I can't see both.

    There are several other clunky features that make it much less smooth than either Xanga I or WordPress. I am unlikely to renew my subscription unless things improve drastically very soon.

  • Do you have plans to add a page for subscribers to pay their annual subscription fees online? There is no link I have found in my account to do this. There appears to be no information how how and where to send checks to utilize credit/debit cards.

    Also how about considering payments by online direct withdrawals from checking accounts.

    Peter

  • Thank you for the long overdue update, and for the six month extension on my subscription. It's good to know that you are still working on the site. I'm hoping to see the tools that made Xanga 1.0 an interactive community --- recs, reply notifications, a front page, etc.

  • One year. One year for an update? Did it occur to you in that time to assign a liason to keep us updated? You said you kept in contact with your users. Why wait a whole damned year to ask one of them to act as a liason?
    Words can not express how disappointed I am with this.

  • Oh WOW! There IS a God it seems. I am so excited to read this post on facebook. I hope it is also on the "reading" part of the dashboard so all the xangans could see it. Thank you John.

  • So you *might* begin to bring about those additions and improvements now, after a whole year of non-communication? I'm glad we waited an entire year for this update...

    I'll accept the free six months, but there better be a heck of a lot of updates from the Team in this six months to try to convince me to buy another year. So far it's been discouraging, I'm sorry to say. And I don't know too many people feeling good enough about 2.0 to feel like buying another subscription.

  • I was migrated over to wordpress but lost my blog due to not my account expiring. I had no idea it was and cannot figure out how to renew it. I don't mind paying as I was paying. Will I be able to extend my "xanga prime" on wordpress?
    Thanks!
    Cassi
    queenie

  • Thank you for this update -- and for the extra 6 months (I've sent Eugenia my request)!

  • I'm already receiving several suggestions and comments - with many rather positive. Keep the regular updates coming... looking forward to our next call.

  • Thank you for this update. Please, PLEASE communicate more regularly. It's the single thing you can do to make people stay. Looking forward to the changes.

  • yay I'm still here and getting used to here.

  • 19 hours since this was posted, according to the list I read the posts through. Two comments...mine being the second.

    I can remember when a 19 hour old post was 3000+ comments. I think the lack of remarks is indicative of how things are now.

    I also appreciate the update, though I feel it is a long, long, long time coming.

    The extra 6 months is a nice thing to do, though having to request it seems bound to create jam ups in email...strange when it'd seem simpler just to add 6 months to every account across the board.

    This all just seems very strange to me...distancing yourselves from the 'paying' customer you'd like to keep or gain, is not always a great idea. The personal side of Xanga was one part that made it different than the other sites...we could feel like we were heard by the "real" people at Xanga...now...not so much. A letdown, though Joel seems a nice guy, it's not the same having a 'go between' who has no real power to change or fix anything...unlike speaking to one of the actual team.

    As for my suggestion...get the page graphics in better order. Free WordPress allows for more/better customizations than we have...I can't even have a decent banner on my site! Depressing!

  • Go Xanga! Woot!

  • After a year if silence I don't think there's more than a handful of people left to read this or to accept your offer. Regarding the latter, it is kind of insulting that you want us to send an email and beg for a handout rather than automatically extending everyone's subscription. Honestly though, I really no longer have any interest in being part of the Xanga Community. I've grown accustomed to wordpress.com and Xangans I used to enjoy reading are either over there or at Blog Spot or Live Journal.

  • I'm so glad to hear all of this! I was wondering if the xanga team was still out there somewhere. I will be e-mailing eugenia ASAP! Thanks for the update! I left my 2 cents on Joel's post...

  • T_T

  • what does this mean?

  • When can I have my Xanga back?

  • funny that there are no comments.

  • I will formalize my request for the extension. Right now, the connection is not working.

  • HII

  • I tried to send a request, but it would not deliver. Help!
    Love Jaynebug

  • I can't get Xanga.net to open. sigh. user error most likely, but I would like to accept that additional 6months. please. thank you.

  • i don't understand this. I just want to post my own personal blog.. why can't i do it without the complications and headaches. I don't understand archives and word press... what are you trying to get me to do?

  • thanks so much, good to hear from you!

  • @Lyne- did you email me at help@xanga.net? I've received a ton of requests for the 6 month extension.

  • I've seen a little chatter about subs ending at the end of this month. Good to see something has been going on around here.

  • I need to retrieve my xanga blog from years ago and am having a difficult time doing this. Is there anyone who can help break this down for me?

  • I notice that John's page is gone. Deserted the sinking ship eh?

  • How can I rescue my xanga and appear as the past

  • Thank you so much for talking to us ~ it just helps so much to KNOW what is going on! Thanks for all you do ~ please keep us posted more often. Looking forward to better things! :)

  • Well holy shit, you guys finally speak.

    Seeing as how this post is over a month old and has only 32 comments on it, I think you can see how your silence has affected the community.

    Define "regular updates." Because again, as this post is roughly five weeks old and there has been nothing else posted since, I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and call bullshit.

    Prove me wrong, Xanga Team. Show me you can live up to at least one of your promises. Otherwise, take your free six months and shove them where the sun doesn't shine.

  • I believed in Xanga. I had an active blog since March 17, 2003. I gave over $500 to the campaign to keep it afloat. I feel cheated. It's not so much the money (that can be replaced) but the loss of trust in a brand that was near and dear to my heart. When I lost my Xanga it was like losing a friend. It was the last place I found where one could interact with people as they were, unlike Facebook and MySpace where people were more in the business of image-making.

  • I can't even look at my blog so, um? Help?

  • Appreciate the efforts.

    I just miss the community we had and the folks we could find and follow. Its left me a bit frustrated.

  • Love the facebook xanga page, gave it a huge like.

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