SacFlyer

Guess I didn't fully explain what I can't access. I CAN get to a page with the old Bidding for Travel heading, and can get from there to a page for Priceline bidding (and to pages for other sites). However, I CANNOT find the lists of previous successful bids that I use to help me identify the available hotels and the proper range for bidding (the main function of Bidding for Travel, in my experience.) And I cannot access the lists of hotels by star level and city area, or the hotel reviews (where available).

Anyone else experience this?

B1

At EZ Board Sheryl was the only one who could post in "Administrator Announcements". Well, today "SolLSiegel" was able to post in that formerly inpenetrable forum - what was posted was on the order of "how do I give you money?" But nonetheless, with the door open, the fools will be rushing in.
*Supplemental - Alas, the fools will not be rushing in. The rules are back and "SolLSiegel"'s post has been placed in the BFT dustbin. The section is no longer open to the Rest of Us and there remains the "information" in that forum that is out of date. Sigh.

RobertTheTraveler

Ditto. I was able to login but all I see is the banner and the right hand advertising column. And a big light blue space of nothing. Used both IE6 and OPERA browsers.

essxjay

Having no problems myself using Firefox ... either on my MacBook or desktop PC.

Romelle

I've been able to get on to biddingfortravel lately. Using an iMac, OS X 10.5.2, Safari and Comcast.

I know there are some other tech issues right now that seem to be browser specific. Something about bbcode (whatever that is?) - not an issue with IE7 or Foxfire, but an issue with IE6 and maybe others. Although of course I guess somebody that couldn't get on at all wouldn't be talking there? (Slaps forehead).

Sheryl hasn't actually answered any requests yet though. Seems to be just sorting through the new Yuku conversion and posting general administrative stuff. Arzee also is posting a bit.

Romelle

BEAV

Did EZboard's switch to Yuku, and the resulting technical glitches force Sheryl's return to properly guide people how to adjust their settings in order to access (post) on BFT? Or is it merely coincidence she's returned after 18 months absence.......

Romelle

Sheryl is actively working request posts now.

Lots of the general guideline/rules/etc. text has been edited and reworded, but I haven't seen any major conceptual changes.

If I had to guess, I'd say her return and Yuku happening at the same time is more coincidence. The technical glitches seem pretty minor. Though who knows what went on behind the scenes? But she still could have worked at sorting out some technical issues without actually posting things on the board.

Romelle

Non-NonRev

The Hotwire bidding link incorporate into the Administratrix's signature is new - I guess that HW is no longer vendor-non-grata on BFT

humanoid94

Seriously, though, I always thought she was posting under another name. Old Sheryl biggest problem was that she wanted to run a database instead of a community.

Romelle

My thought during the absence of almost all of the moderators and the administrator was we were an experiment by some sociology PHD candidate. Sort of like where young kids are isolated on some island, and are watched to see how long it is before they devolve into savageness and total anarchy. Interestingly enough, although the board didn't stay as rigidly neat and disciplined as it was before, I thought it bumped along pretty well.

A lot of traffic volume was lost since people didn't get the quicker response Sheryl supplied, and the hotel lists were a continuing problem. But it seemed there was minimal off-topic and almost no flaming. And it seemed to settle down to a still workable level of volume.

On another note, is anyone still having the problems of getting on, but not being able to see the bidding history and hotel lists? If you would like, I would post the symptoms over in biddingfortravel, or PM them to Arrzee?? Up to you. Just let me know.

Romelle

MikeyC

Here is to hoping that the data increases and that we all travel more cheaply.

B1

Sheryl is responding to every successsful bid posted on BFT with reminders to use the income-generating link, either as a "thank you" or a "in the future please use" - a practice that had even been imitated by some of the volunteers. Those posts are quite gracious. In addition, you know it's really her because when a person reports what may be an over-bid because they simply guessed at the price, there is quick reply telling them that they are using the wrong approach.

Tokyorich

Sheryl, welcome back. Your board has helped to make my last three vacations fantastic. Saved me a ton of money and increased the quality of my hotel rooms.^^^

suranyi

You know, I think this really hits at the source of the animosity between Sheryl and her detractors. They expect to be able to use her website like any other message board -- that is, for conversations with some information added. She, on the other hand, expects it to be used essentially for data entry. And like all databases, it requires a strict format.

Ed

Non-NonRev

So why, then, does the BFT Administratrix undermine her "strict database" format by openly and actively offering bidding advice? It would seem to me that her desire for revenue trumps her desire for rigid formats (and there's essentially nothing wrong with that, but there's no need to engage in hagiography)......

Frankly, to most knowlegeable users, it makes no difference if the BFT Administratrix chooses to actively participate on BFT, or not. She herself seems to do limited travel, and almost all of the data in the aformentioned database comes from others. I personally wish her good health and access to lots of good sushi - and if she's toning down the previous mean-spirited handling of newbies on her board (the source of much of the criticism aimed at her in the past), then more power to her.