Site news & updates

[Wellesnet]

Three years ago, we left our longtime hosting service and moved to HostGator.
We have experienced fewer outages and headaches. We have been happy with their customer service and just inked a three-year deal to continue with them.

[Dan_UK]

Ahh, I finally got here. Thanks to whoever was dealing with my emails. You've got this place on serious lockdown!
A forum I used to admin got visited by a lot of spambots but I found that changing the question every few months (the question you have to answer on joining) kept most of the bots at bay, since it seemed to take the bots quite a few months to learn the answer.

[RayKelly]

We had a serious problem with Russian-based spambots. We have also had people write to us, register for accounts
-- and never post. I do a routine analysis of pages accessed and it appears the spammers wanted to access our inactive mail server and member email lists.
So, it's true we make people jump through a few hoops to register, but the goal is to protect our readers from annoying spam or phishing emails.
That said, "Welcome Dan_UK."

[Wich2]

Efforts appreciated, Boss.

Good to have you onboard, Dan.

-Craig

[RayKelly]

Thanks.
BTW, I just renewed the web hosting agreement and domain name through the end of 2020.
Expect a continuing stream of Welles-related news for years to come.

[RayKelly]

I have been researching/ debating an upgrade of wellesnet.com from http to https.
I do not accept credit cards via the site, already pay for SiteLock and wellesnet.com is checked daily for malware. Still, it seems to be a factor in Google rankings. Plus, I am annoyed by the Not Secure label in Google Chrome.
However, I paid for a three-year agreement with HostGator last fall. An upgrade will require a new plan that will more than double my operating cost. (I have turned down paid advertising in the past and that is still the plan.)
So, it appears likely that it will remain http://wellesnet.com until September 2020, when I will price new plans.
If you have any questions about site security, please feel free to email me at contactwellesnet@gmail.com

[RayKelly]

The php has been upgraded to improve performance and improve security measures.
(Some folks apparently got a 502 Bad Gateway error during the upgrade.)
Please let me know if this causes any problems.
Thanks.

[RayKelly]

Wellesnet.com has added a SSL certificate and been upgraded from http to https
A year and a half ago, I researched upgrading, but passed because of the cost.
Well, the web host has added a free SSL certificate to my subscription and with a quick plugin it was done.
If it causes any headaches, I will disable.

[Wellesnet]

We have begun a more modern redesign of the website as Wellesnet readies for its 20th anniversary in 2021.
The font size has been increased in size.
Please feel free to share any feedback on the look.

[Wellesnet]

Italy's Forma Cinema has done a flattering profile of Wellesnet.
Check it out at https://www.formacinema.it/forma-on-lin ... lesnet-com

[Wich2]

Thanks, Bosses and fellow Worker Bees.

A go-to site, just about every day. To coin a phrase,

"IT'S TERRIFIC!"

:wink:

Take care and be well,

- Craig

[RayKelly]

All in all I have been happy with the service from our current web host and just reinked another three-year deal with them.
You can look forward to more news and features from Wellesnet, especially as we mark the website's 20th anniversary next year!

[RayKelly]

We tallied 544,224 visitors in 2020, who were responsible for 2.3 million page views and 6.8 million hits.
Our most read stories centered on the Netflix release of "Mank," particularly Joseph McBride's essay; the making of "Hopper/Welles" and rapper Logic's album "No Pressure," which utilized two 1940s radio performances by Orson Welles.

[Wellesnet]

The mobile app has undergone a minor upgrade and resdesign.

[Wellesnet]

Happy birthday to us! Wellesnet marks its 20th anniversary.
Our founder, Jeff Wilson, looks back at the start of the website.
https://www.wellesnet.com/wellesnet-jef ... ooks-back/