Is PianoWorld site down?

pianoloverus

Is the PianoWorld site down? I get this error message:
You don't have permission to access this resource.Server unable to read htaccess file, denying access to be safe

TC3

pianoloverus I get that too. Might just be a glitch, I'll check again a bit later.

TC3

pianoloverus OK, looks like it's back up.

pianoloverus

Yes, it's working for me now too.

keystring

I noticed that the entry page has a new look, though the discussions forum part looks the same. So I'm guessing it got a facelift.

TC3

keystring I noticed that too, though I didn't see if there was new content. It'd be nice if the new owners put some care into making the place worth visiting.

navindra

keystring I noticed that the entry page has a new look, though the discussions forum part looks the same. So I'm guessing it got a facelift.

Wow, that's kind of big news...

TC3 I noticed that too, though I didn't see if there was new content. It'd be nice if the new owners put some care into making the place worth visiting.

I'm very puzzled that they changed the look of it but kept almost all of Frank's old content.

pianoloverus

navindra I'm very puzzled that they changed the look of it but kept almost all of Frank's old content.

I think the look was briefly changed but now, at least when I go there, it's the same as it has always been.

TC3

That's what it looks like to me right now.

ShiroKuro

TC3 same

It looks like they changed the landing page, but nothing else. If you go from the landing page (which looks quite contemporary) to any specific forum page, it’s like going back in time….

rsl12

Interesting! VerticalScope found another place to add ads. It's mostly Frank Baxter's old content, but I'm guessing that's only until they sell the space to sponsors.

rsl12

Decided to dig around and see if anything has changed with Vertical Scope, the "new" owners of Pianoworld. I found this:

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250408906607/en/VerticalScope-Provides-Business-Update-and-Revised-2025-Outlook

Some interesting points:

Obviously they are profit-driven, but I'm surprised how forthright they are in their press releases about their goals and focus. Entirely about making money, except one buried sentence that states VS love to support niche communities. I wonder how people at PW can wait patiently for VS to improve something they clearly have no interest in improving (it's been 4 years, I think?).
VS has the same Google algorithm problems PT has been having. In one sense it seems the effect is less for them (10% loss of traffic) but with all the investor money, I guess it's a big deal for them!

TC3

rsl12 VS has the same Google algorithm problems PT has been having.

I think MPN's Keyboard Corner was having a similar issue for a while, though it seems to be better lately.

ShiroKuro

rsl12 I wonder how people at PW can wait patiently for VS to improve something they clearly have no interest in improving (it's been 4 years, I think?).

Maybe they just don't know what they're missing? Now that I get my online piano forum fix here at Piano Tell, I find the format/user experience at Piano World to be so horribly awful! I also really dislike the Facebook piano-related communities. Not because of the members, but just because it feels like total chaos and you can't have a sustained conversation about anything!

VS has the same Google algorithm problems PT has been having.

I wish we could get a little more traffic and a few more members....

Sophia

I feel the same, though I don’t use Facebook. PW was a struggle in so many ways, no need to go into details. Here, I love everything and everybody. You name it, the participants, the topics, the moderating team, the owner, the software. All perfect 💕

ShiroKuro

Sophia I love everything and everybody. You name it, the participants, the topics, the moderating team, the owner, the software. All perfect

I could not agree more!

🎶 ❤️🎶

Simonb

Seems to be down now (12:40pm in the UK), I'm getting the following messages:

"Bad Request
Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Size of a request header field exceeds server limit."

Cheers

Simonb

And still down 3 hours later...

navindra

It sounds like VerticalScope broke the recital software on PianoWorld.

https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/3676193/re-call-for-submissions-quarterly-recital-83.html#Post3676193

I expect they will fix it eventually.

We don’t have any new submissions over here. I guess not many over there remember we are still hosting recitals over here.

Simonb

Hi navindra

I just get the same error using that link (in your post).

Cheers