Hello from Harvey - site admin

[Harvey]

Hi, I'm Harvey, and I'm the site admin for KindleBoards.

That means I manage the structure of the forum (boards and sub-boards), and take care of the site's security, database backups, and other hosting-related items. I started the site because: I love books, I love gadgets in general, and I am intrigued by both the promise and the reality of Amazon's Kindle. I also enjoy the technical back-end work involved in operating a website.

In my day job, I'm a program manager for a portfolio of software development projects.

On the personal side, I live in Washington State, am married to Carrie, and have three daughters. One is 18 and in college, and the other two are 11-year-olds (twins) in 6th grade. I like to run, dabble in woodwork, and snowboard at our local hill Mt Baker.

I also like to write, and have one published gadget book ("Zune For Dummies" from Wiley Inc.). For those of you who are Zune owners, check out my Zune enthusiast site, http://www.zunerama.com, which has been one of the top Zune websites for the past couple of years.

Also, I want to acknowledge Leslie ("MaineWriter") who has really created this Kindle community here. Thanks, Leslie!


P.S. I have two member names - "Harvey", which is the one I generally use, and "admin", which is the one I use when making backups or forum changes. I answer to either one.  

[RovingSoul]

Ha, I live in Washington as well! Tri-Cities, Richland to be exact, and I go to college at WSU Tri-Cities. Your daughter isn't a Dawg, is she?

[pidgeon92]

"top" Zune sites? What do you have like 8 members? 

[Harvey]

ouch I just got zinged!!

Fortunately, one of the prerequisites for operating a Zune site is to have a sense of humor.

That, and a sense of enduring optimism.

[pidgeon92]

Microsoft will get it right at some point... I mean, look at how far they've come with Vista  .....

[Betsy the Quilter]

Oh, ya'll leave poor Harvey alone!!!!  Someone needs to support the Zune...

 

Betsy

[Harvey]

Mark my words, at some point in the not too distant future, iPod-Zune will be a Pepsi-Coke type of decision for consumers.

...I did say something about enduring optimism, right?

[KCFoggin]

I said my hello yesterday but I did want to thank you for starting this Forum.  I am sort of the type that approaches new gadgets with trepidation but once I start fiddling, nothing stops me   I am on staff at a World-wide birding/nature forum for the last 6 years so I know the time and work it takes to keep a site going. 

I was pleasantly surprised out just how wonderful and helpful this site will be for my new gadget.  Thanks again.

[Harvey]

^ That is very kind, and I especially appreciate that coming from an experienced forum staffer. Thank you!

I have to pause here again to thank Leslie, who created this community seemingly out of thin air. Magic!

[Leslie]

I have to pause here again to thank Leslie, who created this community seemingly out of thin air. Magic!

Ah, thank you Harvey. That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a while. Thank you. But then again...magic happens. LOL.
 And after the magic is the hard work and energy to keep this place going but guess what? It is all good and it is all fun. Thanks to everyone for their support!

L

[vg]

Hi Harvey - thanks again for starting this wonderful site!  I just have a quick question.  Someone sent me a pm, and I think I sent the reply to them correctly, but can't find a "sent" box on my message page to make sure.  Is there a way for me to check?  It was a really nice note and I don't want them to think I was rude and ignored it.  Thanks!

[Angela]

Hey Harvey. I got this following message about 4 minutes ago and had trouble getting back to the forum:

Template Parse Error!
It seems something has gone sour on the forum with the template system. This problem should only be temporary, so please come back later and try again. If you continue to see this message, please contact the administrator.

You can also try refreshing this page.

If this does come up again and I can't connect to KB, how do I contact the administrator??

[Harvey]

Ah, you got caught in a 60-second window where I had uploaded some problematic website code.

Normally when that happens, I'm the culprit and can immediately back out whatever incorrect change I made.

If, though, the site is ever down for a while, you can email me at harvey@kindleboards.com. Those emails come through to my iPhone so it's pretty rare that I don't check it regularly.

[Angela]

Thanks Harvey! I will add you to my address book.

[Jeff]

Harvey,

The traffic has gotten so heavy on your board that by the time I type an answer to something I’ve read, everything else that I found interesting has been pushed down and off the list of recent topics. Admittedly, I’m a slow thinker and typist so perhaps this isn’t a problem for anyone else. However, if there’s any modicum of agreement to this post, would you please consider expanding the recent posts window?

It might be important to mention here that can collapse categories to create more screen real-estate.

Thanks,


Jeff

[kindle mom]

hi harvey! i just sent a note to leslie on another thread, but wanted to say hi. we live on opposite coasts, but we do have some things in common. i love to run also, actually i'm training for my 2nd marathon in january. i, too, have twins (8 kids total), one son 14, daughters 12, 10, 10, 7, 5, 3, 3), so you know how that goes..this site is amazing. i followed leslie over from the amazon boards and love it here. the people are friendly, helpful, and fun!! i do more reading than posting, but i'm sure in time, i'll chime in with the rest of the gang. thanks for the wonderful site. it's a pleasure...

[Harvey]

Hello kindle mom!
  I ran my first (and only, so far) marathon a few years ago in Vancouver.
  Aren't twins great!?
  It's great that you're here! Thanks for your kind comments about the site. (It's all Leslie's doing, I'm just trying to keep up with her!!)
- Harvey

[Betsy the Quilter]

Harvey,

The traffic has gotten so heavy on your board that by the time I type an answer to something I’ve read, everything else that I found interesting has been pushed down and off the list of recent topics. Admittedly, I’m a slow thinker and typist so perhaps this isn’t a problem for anyone else. However, if there’s any modicum of agreement to this post, would you please consider expanding the recent posts window?

It might be important to mention here that can collapse categories to create more screen real-estate.

Thanks,

Jeff

I use the "new" function a lot, the "unread posts since last visit" and "new replies to your posts".

Betsy

[Harvey]

Harvey,

The traffic has gotten so heavy on your board that by the time I type an answer to something I’ve read, everything else that I found interesting has been pushed down and off the list of recent topics. Admittedly, I’m a slow thinker and typist so perhaps this isn’t a problem for anyone else. However, if there’s any modicum of agreement to this post, would you please consider expanding the recent posts window?

It might be important to mention here that can collapse categories to create more screen real-estate.

Thanks,


Jeff

I'm (puff) trying (puff! puff!) to keep up with all these new posts, too!!

I just increased the Recent Posts display from 25 to 40. (For others: this is displayed towards the bottom of the forum's main page, aka the "board index".)

I tend to use that feature quite a bit, too - - it's what usually drives where I go next when exploring the boards.

At this point the forum performance is really responsive, so I don't think there's any downside to increasing that.

[Jeff]

Looks great. Thanks.

[Marci]

Hi, Harvey -

I think you have a wonderful site & I certainly do appreciate all the hard work you put into maintaining these boards and making them better and user-friendly.

I'm with another member who suggested donations for upkeep and server upgrade purposes.  There will be supporters!

Cheers,

Marci

[Harvey]

Thanks for those kind words, Marci. Welcome to our forums!

[Anju No. 469]

Thank you Harvey for KindleBoards, and for putting together the harem - oops team - you have, they are truly wonderful.  I'm glad you finally got your kindle, so now you can understand the rest of us crazies better.

[Harvey]

I won't know if I have it for sure until Christmas morning... but I am hopeful. Great to have you here, Anju!!

[B-Kay 1325]

Hi Harvey,

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question but I'm going to anyway.  I received a tag to put 25 things about myself yesterday on KindleBoards but was unable to do so at that time.  I came here tonight to answer and I don't see the thread and no longer have the tag.  I don't know how this works and hope you can explain.  It sounded like fun and I enjoyed reading the entries that have already been posted.  I don't have a facebook account and have never visited that site.  Please let me know how this thread works and if there is a way to view it even if you have not been tagged.

Thanks!