PianoTell has officially graduated to independent hosting!

It took some work to get here, but we're finally out of beta and now at V1. 🙂

We're on Hetzner Cloud for €3.79 per month with no contract or minimum term. That's quite some value for money, less than I typically spend for a single Matcha Green Tea Latte. So if I just halt my matcha habit, I'll be saving money. 😃

With this move, I've made a couple of tentative tweaks.

Teacher Talk is now Teachers Board. This is based on feedback that TT could mean either the tech forum or the teacher forum. Sadly, we still have no teachers here. Most teachers seem to prefer to launch their own boards or groups, but I hope this can be a welcome home for them.

Meta is now Piano | Tell — Café. This was based on the feedback that Meta was an ugly name and the suggestion to name it Pub... Café just works for teetotalers as well. 🫖

If folks like these changes, I can make them permanent.

Also, a small bonus... since we now have plenty of space on the new server, I've opened up the ability for Gold Members to upload a Profile Cover in addition to the Profile Picture.

Let me know if you find any new issues or if old bugs resurface.

Next focus is on Recital #1!

--
Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
TIME

    navindra I've opened up the ability for Gold Members to upload a Profile Cover in addition to the Profile Picture.

    What is a profile cover, which dimensions should it have, and 2 Mb seems very small?

    But otherwise, Navindra, thank you so much for Piano Tell!

    *
    ... feeling like the pianist on the Titanic ...

        navindra Meta is now Piano | Tell — Café. This was based on the feedback that Meta was an ugly name and the suggestion to name it Pub... Café just works for teetotalers as well. 🫖

        I didn't find Meta ugly at all. I found it very self explaining: topics about the forum itself.
        Café /Pub... sounds like smalltalk without a topic. Agree on Café better than Pub.
        Pub is something with beer and guiness and at 10pm the hooligans join.

            navindra
            Give me your email address. Next month fees are on me, my treat, you deserve it. As long as the fees don't go up!

                Congratulations! Thanks for all your efforts. I look forward to Recital #1!

                WieWaldi I didn't find Meta ugly at all. I found it very self explaining: topics about the forum itself.

                I think that the new café is meant to be more of an off topic forum, where people like me can show off their new crocheted piano bench cover 😝

                Formerly there was no place for those because as you said, Meta was only used to talk about one specific thing.

                At least that's how I understood it 😊

                As usual I am exaggerating. It will be fine. Whatever I'm playing - I am just trying not to massacre it completely. A bit of massacre is fine 🙂

                    Sophia I think that the new café is meant to be more of an off topic forum, where people like me can show off their new crocheted piano bench cover 😝

                    PW had an archived "Coffee Room" that was intended for off-topic discussions too. It was before my time but I understood it got a bit too rowdy and Frank just quashed it completely.

                    I'm right now unsure whether the Cafe is meant for similar off-topic discussions, or if it's more about topics relating to the "meta" of PianoTell (i.e., how should PianoTell do x, y, and z as it relates to the intended subject of pianos)? 😄

                        I personally feel like having both are useful. Meta for things about PianoTell, and Cafe for off-topic subjects.

                        Maybe the café is a little bit of both? Though I agree that some topics are probably not suitable if they really have nothing to do with music... for example politics could get ugly quickly.

                        But we have already seen some topics that are a little lost, such as the piano journey thread and the paraphernalia topic. Probably those would fit in that section?

                        I would imagine that once this forum is completely established, meta talk will subside, by then just one or two sticky posts would suffice...

                        As usual I am exaggerating. It will be fine. Whatever I'm playing - I am just trying not to massacre it completely. A bit of massacre is fine 🙂

                          Sophia I would imagine that once this forum is completely established, meta talk will subside, by then just one or two sticky posts would suffice...

                          I had that thought too. But it would be nice to have one place to find all official announcements regarding PianoTell, even if eventually they become infrequent. If the cafe really takes off, it will be harder to find those official posts in the clutter.

                          But it's a matter of taste. I think either approach can work.

                            Sophia Maybe the café is a little bit of both? Though I agree that some topics are probably not suitable if they really have nothing to do with music... for example politics could get ugly quickly.

                            Yes. This was my thought. This is a piano forum with piano and other music topics. I don't want Donald or Joe to be here. In this case it always end so
                            an argument

                              Pallas I like keeping an admin area and also having the cafe

                              Me too! Maybe a name like "Site Feedback" would be good for the admin area? I'm not thinking of a better name right now but I'm sure there is one.

                                Why invent something new like "Site Feedback"?
                                "Meta" was just fine in my opinion. Even if it sound ugly for some or unpleasant for others. I really would like to see a dedicated forum for organisational stuff. Tips and tricks. About forum rules and other serious stuff. Even if this gets less and less posts in the future, it will act as a reference book.

                                I know there are people here, wanting to have a place for smalltalk and other funny stuff. I am one of those. But I want it to have separated from the serious. The serious topics should not get spammed with small matter discussions. And I want to avoid that mods see the need to make the important threads sticky. This leads on the other hand to a hiding of the funny stuff.

                                I vote for both: Cafe and Meta