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June 12, 2007 by Betsy Bird

The Plot Thickens

June 12, 2007 by Betsy Bird   12 comments

Dear Diary,

Day One:

In the jungles of School Library Journal’s website our first day passed without incident.  Granted, there were some truly frightening incidents but my faithful IT guides got us through the worst of it in one piece.  I’ve already lost some dear friends along the way, I’m afraid.  Colonel Blogroll was the first to go.  Next went the brave Lady Sitemeter and her valet/lover/ballboy Technorati Jr.  And certainly we’ve seen no sign thus far of the elusive RSS Feed we came to find but I have faith that our quarry will be in our midst any day now.  For now, the rains have come.  I must leave you again.

Day Two:

The RSS Feed mocks me.  It has not appeared and I can’t imagine how much longer we can continue without it.  Sometimes at night when my dreams come again I can almost hear it snickering in the dark.  Mocking me.  We thought we were out of the worst of it, but certain factors have come to our attention.  A particularly vexing ad banner has been shadowing us for a day now.  It’s difficult to sleep knowing that that beast follows our every move.  Indeed, my guide has mentioned nothing of its presence, but I can feel its hot sticky breath on the back of my neck wherever it is I may go.  My companions have also drawn my attention to my appearance.  "What’s wrong with your neck?," they ask.  I feign ignorance, but there’s no denying that my neck looks odd these days.  Photographs taken of me (particularly photographs of the head shot variety) appear to show either my chin resting on an odd brassy hand or my neck swollen to great glandular proportions.  How do I tell people that in such photos I am, in fact, resting my head on the statue of a duck?  Perhaps something must be done.  Tonight, we feast upon some supportive comments and in the morning, the RSS Feed will be closer still.  I must teach myself patience and continue the hunt.

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. . . . diary trails off here . . .

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. eisha says

    June 12, 2007 at 2:48 am

    Hey, this banner ad is really sinister! I’m scared for you, Fuse.

    Good luck and godspeed in your hunt for the elusive RSS beast.

  2. Fuse #8 says

    June 12, 2007 at 6:23 am

    I’ve picked up her scent today. If the rain holds off we should be able to get a visual on her. Fingers crossed.

  3. anonymous, of course! says

    June 12, 2007 at 6:41 am

    hey, fuse
    i thought i remembered you saying that you never found the ads here at slj annoying. really? you aren’t irritated by stupid bar that slides across the text announcing, whether you care or not that something “Will keep many a reader up nights for just one more chapter” ??? annoys the heck out of me.

    squeak

  4. The Meetoo says

    June 12, 2007 at 7:09 am

    Good Lord, the scrolling bar of Will keep is A to the nnoying.

  5. aargh says

    June 12, 2007 at 8:43 am

    The expletive deleted banner just won’t go away. You click close the ad and it’s still there.

    Can’t SLJ figure out a way to just have the ad be at the side! Banish the banner.

  6. Fuse #8 says

    June 12, 2007 at 8:48 am

    If it’s any comfort, I can’t get rid of it either. It follows me around just as closely as it follows you. Hence this post I JUST WROTE about how it keeps breathing down my neck. When I said I didn’t find the ads annoying I never could have dreamed up this insidious moving banner. Nefarious.

  7. Adam says

    June 12, 2007 at 2:06 pm

    I’ve been trying to put my finger on it, and I think the banner ad in question is like the web equivalent of being hounded as you walk down the street by a man who keeps trying to hand you the same flyer for a dress sale.
    None of this is your fault, of course. But I’m hoping that someone at SLJ is reading these comments, and will think twice about taking this kind of ad money again.

  8. Roger Sutton says

    June 12, 2007 at 2:22 pm

    Okay, SLJ, I want the best for Miss Fuse, but I ain’t readin’ or linkin’ to this blog so long as it has stalker ads scrolling up and down and making the whole page jiggle like jello.

  9. Elizabeth Fama says

    June 12, 2007 at 2:57 pm

    Ach, growing pains.

    The site is just not pretty and warm and YOU enough yet, Betsy.

    And if anyone at SLJ is listening, the jello bar ad is making me dizzy. Where’s the civilized “x” to make it go away?

    Sigh.

  10. SHEILA RUTH says

    June 12, 2007 at 4:40 pm

    Too funny, Fuse. Love the diary. Hopefully someone from SLJ is paying attention!

  11. your neighborhood librarian says

    June 12, 2007 at 5:34 pm

    Here for you. Banner or no. Just sayin.

    Still hate it. Also just sayin.

  12. jessmonster says

    June 14, 2007 at 11:15 am

    I want to strangle the floating ad. Ads to the side, I can ignore.

    I’m bemoaning the lack of RSS feed. I have a terrible time remembering to check blogs if I’m not allowed to add them to my bloglines.

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