Scout's Paw Tracks

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Conversion Complete

Conversion from the legacy http://www.silverblades.net domain to the http://www.gspdog.net domain has been completed.  The final two resources Photo Gallery and Forums were moved last night after a little longer testing cycle than was planned. 

I am happy to report that with a few minor open issues it is all working with more than 5,700 pages of content.  A couple of notes on remaining issues and changes.

Creating accounts various part of the site require an account to be created and not all accounts transition to other sections so here is a simple list of how they work.  You can use the same user name and password on the various sections.

Accounts

-- Front page; adding comments to the section you are currently on requires an account.  As will all registration systems here it is very straight forward and will send you an e-mail confirming your information.  Several sections perform this action to prevent web robots from coming and adding comments that are un-related to German Shorthair Pointers.

-- Links section has its own account system as well.  There have been an occassional report that a person could not log in even though they have been able to log in the day before.  While rare we have confirmed this can occur the solution is to clear your cookies if you are using IE and then relog in.  This is a browser issue with IE and has not been recreated on other browsers.

-- Top 100 GSP Webs has its own account system.  There is an issue that the site does not seem to be generating the code addition e-mail to new members.  This is confirmed we are working on the issue.  The short term solutiont he administrator does receive notification that a new account has been created and will send you an e-mail with the web code.  This is a manual work around.

-- Forums and Photo Gallery share an account system if you create an account on either it will allow you access to both.  This continues to be the direction the rest of the site will continue toward with future improvements.  It is just a matter of working with a variety of developers to make it happen.

-- Pedigree system.  Does not require an account.  This may change in the future for adding pedigrees as we are developing a web pedigree addition tool that is web based and will feed the off-line pedigree system.  This solution is 18 to 24 months from reality as I have to covert the arfrin system to one that supports PHP and mySQL while retaining the current functionality.

-- Viewing any of these tools does not require an account and all the tools are provided at no cost.  This site and features are provide because of my passion and love for this breed.  Registrations are a neccessary evil as irresponsible e-mail systems and websites in the web world would take advantage of the resources for unrelated topics and I think we all have had enough of the Diet Pill, Viagra and porn related advertisements that come through e-mail and other web resources.

Brief word on COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) registrations.  COPPA is a child protection Act effective April 21, 2000; and is built into the registration system.  While the site does not contain any adult content hence the abilty to view without registration they site does require anyone posting under the age of 13 to have approval by thier parents to create an account here before posting.  Account information can be hidden from the public though that is configurable by each individual user.  COPPA registrations require the parent to fax a copy of the registration and proof of identification to the address provide on COPPA registrations before it is activated.  Currently the website forums are not accepting any COPPA registrations simply since I have not had the opprotunity to reconfigure the fax system into the website and a majority over 99% are over the age of 13.  This was a useful system in controlling my childrens web activies when they were at home but now that they have both moved on to college I am not sure there is much of a need for it.  For more information check out this link http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/coppa.htm.

I want to thank everyone for thier patience while we made this conversion.  If you have any question or issues with the site feel free to contact me.

Regards,
J. Brown

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) 2008 Changes

German Shorthaired Pointers and sometimes refered to as German Shorthair, Shorthair, or GSP are one of the most family friendly active family members you are likely to encounter.  They are never in short supply of love, loyality and dedication for thier family members.  I was reminded of this over the last couple of weeks considering I have been on an extended vacation for the holidays. 

While I was off I had the opprotunity to work on a long running construction project in the basement and for the safety of our two boys we have child gates up to keep them out of the basement during the work.  Nails, staples, screws, wiring and loose cut pieces of dry wall may all look like fun but can be dangerous for the dogs.

As I was working during the day I can count on one thing both of my German Shorthairs will be waiting dilligently either sitting sleeping at the top of the stairs waiting for my return and will greet me as if I had been gone for a month. 

Pack mentality in German Shorthairs is very strong and having more than one Shorthair only makes it stronger.  If you have or have thought of having a Shorthair in your life this is a very important consideration.  Do you have the time to be a pack leader?  Do you want to be a pack leader? 

German Shorthairs need leadership not to be confused with punishment or discpline.  Being the leader meaning setting down the rules of the pack and being consitant with those rules.  The best example I can give of this are the baby gates.  Either of the boys could clear the baby gate without as much as a thought but they know the rules when the baby gate is up this area is off limits, when they are not up they are free to enter.

So with those thoughts keep in mind the love, kindness and dedication you have for your Shortairs will be reward for years to come.