January 17, 200422 yr Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the 2004 State of the Site Address. MarlinsBaseball.com has come a long way since we last met for the 2003 Address. Posts, and Members grew exponetially. Support for the site grew tremendously. Coverage was expanded. Oh, and let us not forget records were set during the Marlins World Championship season. Changes Made During 2003 In 2003, MarlinsBaseball.com hired a co-administrator to help out the long time solo Administrator with the daily forum duties. This allowed myself to concentrate my attention more on the development of the main site and develop enhancements for this board. The user chosen was long time moderator, Adam Rabel who goes by the handle -- Das Texan. Mr. Rabel has been a dedicated member of the site for numerous years now and was selected due to his availability. Mr. Rabel was also the moderator which worked most closely with myself in the past when changes were needed on the site and/or boards. We are proud of this decision and look forward to many more years of having Mr. Rabel help this site grow even more. Also in 2003, MarlinsBaseball.com hired 3 new moderators. Hotcorner, DurableTear, and Tron (KoolianoJCubano, KJC). The selection process took a lil bit of time and was done in a vote by the veteran moderators of MarlinsBaseball.com after Mr. Rabel and myself decided it was time to have a few more people to keep control on the boards. Shortly after this, Mr. Rabel and myself assigned moderators to each forum. This allowed the moderators to continue having moderation powers in every aspect of the forum but also allowed them to concentrate their attention in a more centralized area. So far, this has worked just as we have invisioned and the site now runs smoother with less problems between users. 2003 also saw a couple of more additions. Archived news was added to the site allowing viewers to read back on Marlins news stories of the past instead of just the current top story. A 2003 Playoff section was added including box scores, recaps, and photos from each 2003 postseason game. An Administrative Assistant was hired whose job is to aid me in organizing news stories for the site and checking the site periodically for errors while also suggesting new features and sections for the site. Her handle is MarlinsGirl21. As stated above for the other changes during 2003, we are proud of all these moves as well. Economic State of the Site When I last spoke to all of you, the site was in a little bit of financial trouble. Well, trouble isn't the right word but we weren't breaking even which was disconcerting. Since then, the donations from members has allowed us to pay the monthly hosting bill and has also covered some of the losses we took in the past years. The support from the members especially during this past holiday season really inspired me to work even harder than I already worked to increase the quality of the site for all of you. I didn't make MarlinsBaseball.com to make money and chances are I will never make money off the site. It's nice to not lose money though and to everyone who helped the cause, I thank you. I couldn't do it without you and I mean that. Based on these developments, I have decided to reinvest some of the funds donated this past year into bettering the backbone of the site. Namely, the hosting company. Even though the current host has been sufficient for the time we've been on it -- there have been downtimes that lasted for longer than the MarlinsBaseball.com staff would like. Once again, we want this site operational for all of you constantly. Downtime is not what we seek. Slowdowns is not what we seek. Errors is not what we seek. That being said, I am moving the site to a new hosting company in the near future. The cost will be double what I am paying now each month but the service level should raise significantly. I don't want anyone to feel they support the site to fill my pockets as that is not the case. Your money will now be reinvested for the good of everyone. Changes Coming In 2004 As noted above, we will soon be switching to a new hosting company. This hosting company changeover will be seamless for the users. There could be a 24-72 hour window of errors as the change is made but you will not have to re-reregister and no data will be lost. Everything will seem the same to you on the new host. We are also adding more stats to the player pages in 2004. There will be updated stats thru the 2003 season on every page of course but we are also working on daily Last Game statistics as well. We can not guarantee this item being included but it is being researched and considered. There will of course be more additions to the site in 2004 besides those listed above but they are either very early in the planning stage or have not even been considered yet. Just keep in mind we are always looking to improve. Statistical Proof of Growth from 2002 - 2004 Monthly Post Statistics (August 18, 2002 to January 16, 2004) Month Post Count January 2004 14660 December 2003 26324 November 2003 21060 October 2003 30696 September 2003 19399 August 2003 19241 July 2003 30620 June 2003 21377 May 2003 7362 April 2003 6604 March 2003 4134 February 2003 4842 January 2003 4803 December 2002 3042 November 2002 1633 October 2002 1556 September 2002 2280 August 2002 1170 Monthly New Topic Statistics (August 18, 2002 to January 16, 2004) Month Post Count January 2004 675 December 2003 1463 November 2003 1071 October 2003 1446 September 2003 833 August 2003 957 July 2003 1243 June 2003 930 May 2003 470 April 2003 355 March 2003 388 February 2003 404 January 2003 369 December 2002 307 November 2002 205 October 2002 175 September 2002 274 August 2002 153 Monthly Registration Statistics (August 18, 2002 to January 17, 2004) Month Post Count January 2004 37 December 2003 61 November 2003 131 October 2003 304 September 2003 75 August 2003 53 July 2003 88 June 2003 67 May 2003 45 April 2003 40 March 2003 19 February 2003 28 January 2003 26 December 2002 27 November 2002 10 October 2002 9 September 2002 18 August 2002 52 Monthly PM Sent Statistics (August 18, 2002 to January 17, 2004) Month PM Count January 2004 303 December 2003 424 November 2003 388 October 2003 207 September 2003 258 August 2003 123 July 2003 429 June 2003 448 May 2003 57 April 2003 31 March 2003 56 February 2003 48 January 2003 40 December 2002 41 November 2002 2 October 2002 14 September 2002 10 August 2002 13 Final Word I want to take this opportunity to thank all the users of this site. Whether you support the site with your donations or you support the site with your posts and time we appreciate it. We started out small, and look how far we've came and it's all thanks to you. I applaud you all. Sincerely, Admin Walansky Webmaster of MarlinsBaseball.com
January 17, 200422 yr The majority of the time on the site is spent on fun and games we tease and we debate with each other but i really want to be serious for one moment. I want to thank Admin for making this place and keeping it going, i wasnt lucky enough to know about it from the beginning but im glad i found it when i did. I dont know what the rest of the users think but i apreciate all the work. /end praise.
January 17, 200422 yr The increase in post counts is just :wow I'm proud to be one of the originals from August 2002. Let's see how much further it goes this year :thumbup
January 17, 200422 yr Look at the difference between May and June in every category. I think Admin and MarlinsBaseball.com have just figured out when the bandwagon officially started: June 2003.
January 17, 200422 yr Well, on a serious note, it's obvious that this site is quite consuming and eventually becomes part of life itself. So Admin, thank you for making life get better and better.
January 17, 200422 yr This site rules, in all seriousness. I stumbled on it at the end of July and I don't think there's been one day I haven't been here since. The sheer amount of quality people here is off the charts. Furthermore, it's brought me much closer to the Marlins then I've ever been, as I'd always been out of the loop up here in Ohio. I thank you all for that. You're doing great work Admin (and everyone else involved), I will continue to support this site in the future. Here's to an even better 2004. :thumbup
January 17, 200422 yr This is a great site. Thank God my boy Viva Magglio found it during the NLCS, i've been hooked ever since. I mean God, I never hardly post on my white sox home site anymore :lol I feel really bad I don't donate to the site yet, but I really don't have any extra money lying around these days. Hopefully I will be able to become a donator eventually. Most of all, thanks to Admin and Adam and everybody else that keeps this place in tip top shape. I wish you guys and your site all the best of luck in the future.
January 17, 200422 yr Well I have been a marlin fan all my life and it was DEC. 16th when my cousin told me about this website and as soon as he told me I was signing up. This site is really awesome it is the best and I know it will grow throughout the years. Also it is awesome because we can say what we want about the marlins and some other topics you know express our feelings to the website in our posts and I thank God that this site exist. Thanks Admin and adam :thumbup
January 17, 200422 yr Thank YOU Admin, and DT. If there's one good thing that came out of the NLCS, it's that I found this site. You guys do a terrific job, and it's one of the best baseball sites on the Net. And as soon as I get a real job, I'll send you some dough (swear!) :cool
January 17, 200422 yr The increase in post counts is just :wow I'm proud to be one of the originals from August 2002. Let's see how much further it goes this year :thumbup i joined a month after you Great site Admin. thanks to you and adam.
January 17, 200422 yr Just want to say a BIG Thank You to Admin for putting a lot of work and time into this site and making it THE best sports/marlins/post your picture :shifty forum out there. Congrats On A Job Well Done :thumbup :cheers heres to another great year including our 3rd World Series title.
January 17, 200422 yr Thank you Admin for this great site. There is so many differing opinions I have lost count. This is the best sports forum out there and number one Marlins board. None other comes close to your quality. Congrats on another year well-done. :cool Now lets watch our first division title come to our hands and another worls series title to make us a perfect 3-3! :party :cheers
January 17, 200422 yr Admin, your the man. If not for this board might life would be completely different, I shudder to think how. This place is serious addictive, I was in Seattle checking my email and this site every chance I got. Here's to all the hours upon hours lost in such a great way :cheers
January 17, 200422 yr Thanks Admin for making this place so baller. Thanks also to the mods for running a tight-but-not-too-tight ship. You've all done a wonderful job!
January 17, 200422 yr I am addicted to this site... I blame Admin and Adam for wasting so many hours of my life during the past year and a half... Thank you... keep up the good work...
January 17, 200422 yr Thanks Admin for putting up an amazing site. The host you were on really wasnt that bad. But thank you again.
January 17, 200422 yr This is a great site. It is managed in a very professional way and this is why it will only keep on growing. Thanks Admin for your hard work and dedication. :group *Applause*
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