crasstalk

33 posts

Donate Or We’ll Kill This Dog

You may have noticed that there is now a PayPal donation button on the sidebar of every post. Yes, we’re now accepting donations to help keep the site up and running. I don’t really enjoy begging for money, but we’re going to need some sort of operating fund to keep the site going strong and I made the decision that, for now at least, this is preferable to putting ads on the site.

We’re currently using a hosting company’s very basic “unlimited bandwidth” account. The problem is that “unlimited bandwidth”  is more like “bandwidth is unlimited until you start using too much of our server resources and we force you to move to a dedicated server.”

The site has not had any downtime yet but I think the writing on the wall is that we will have to go with a dedicated server at some point. That’ll cost us in the range of $50 to $150 per month.

We need a plan for the future. With that in mind, I’m going to set aside all donated money for site improvements only. The first priority for the fund would be to pay for server/hosting upgrades. After that, we’ll consider using any extra money for paying a developer to design a custom theme for us or possibly to develop a custom commenting system.

What can I do?

Donate a few bucks. We’re not asking for a lot of money. Even if it’s only $5, we can use the money to directly improve the Crasstalk experience. Your donation is extremely safe and secure and your personal information will be kept 100% private.

Thanks,

The Management

P.S. If you own a web server and would be willing to donate bandwidth to Crasstalk, let me know via jfurfari-at-gmail. If you’re a professional web designer, we could also use your help!

Where Are We Going, And What’s With The Handbasket?

We’re here because we’re smart and funny and lovable. All of us. We like talking about issues of the day, books and movies, and bitching about our spouses or lack thereof. We give each other advice and support. We post pictures of hot guys and gals, posh rooms and clothes, incredible shoes and cars. There’s a recipe exchange. Can’t find a backsplash tile? Post a picture of it and someone will track down the manufacturer. What should you wear to a summer wedding? Post your budget and preferred hemline and I bet you’ll have it narrowed down to three by lunch. How to deal with a bitchy coworker? Everything from going to HR to toxic tahini will be suggested. Did your kitty die? The Rainbow Bridge ends right here. (PS – when you’re ready, rescue another kitty from a shelter, k?)

If Crasstalk was a party, it would be A-list. Not because we exclude others, but because we include them. Yes, most of us are liberals from a social standpoint, at least. But a rational conservative wouldn’t be given the side-eye. Just no bigotry, plz.

Being told that we are worthless to
Gawker, despite the fact that we have enriched everyone that works there both monetarily and intellectually, had to hurt a little. I know I was offended. But there’s some satisfaction:

We know that Gawker will now be a place more akin to a zoo because we aren’t there. Congratulations, Nick! You said we made this place a ghetto and were peasants. Now you have feces-flinging angermonkeys instead. Hold onto your banana, and good luck posting another Peyser hit piece.

I will never ever again have to deconstruct a moronic post made by a whingy-whiny above-the-law social misfit who got a well-deserved speeding ticket and therefore thinks all cops are bad. Also, my efforts to educate people about how to behave during a road stop to reduce the likelihood of getting a summons will now only be given to people who deserve it. Though you all probably know this already.

We won’t be limited by comment boxes.

Creativity will be encouraged.

We can actually do something about trolls rather than trying to shame them.

No more Cheetos and Black Swans and Spartacus ads slowing pages as they load.

And best of all, we won’t be lining the pockets of people who treat us with contempt.

Welcome.

Motorcycle Pr0n… because I can

When I created Crasstalk, I wanted to give everyone a chance to write their own posts. There are no rules here, no themes and no limits on what Crasstalkers can write about. So here’s the deal…. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take a few minutes and write a post. Don’t worry about whether you’re boring other people. If you take the time to write about subjects that interest you… you probably won’t. Continue reading