The WebRing.com System

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) About the End of Yahoo! WebRing

This page provided some answers to some of the frequently asked questions related to the end of the Yahoo! WebRing system and the emergence of the WebRing.com system.

This page was developed in October of 2001 to assist in the transition.

Much of the information in this particular page has been superseded by subsequent changes in the WebRing.com system as it has evolved in subsequent months. Although this page is kept as a "historical record", the reader is cautioned not to rely on this information and instead to refer to more current information on this website about the WebRing.com system.

In particular, this page has been superseded by the WebRing.com System FAQ.

Summary

	This is the new logo for the WebRing.com system, implemented in their changes of Oct.2006. It distinguishes this webring system from the other systems like Ringlink, RingSurf and Bravenet. See also my articles: WebRing.com Logos and Is Webring a Trademark?

It seems that Yahoo! is exiting the webring business.

This information began developing rapidly on Friday, 12.Oct.2001.

This page attempts to capture some of the questions that are floating through the net and to provide the answers to those questions in a convenient, easy-to-understand format.

This page will be updated continually to reflect the latest information on these developments. If you have a question you would like answered (or an answer you think I should add), please email me.

See also my other page on The End of Yahoo! WebRing. This other page provides a brief background summary and easy to use instructions to migrate your Yahoo! WebRing to the WebRing.com system.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.  What is a FAQ?

FAQ is the Internet abbreviation for Frequently Asked Questions. It refers to an information page containing such questions and their answers. It is a convenient way of introducing a concept.

2.  What are the questions?

1. What is a FAQ? 
2. What are the questions? 
3. Is this the primary webring FAQ on this site? 
4. What happened? 
5. What did the email say?
6. How do I migrate from Yahoo! WebRing? 
7. After I migrate, do I need to change the JavaScript on my page(s)? 
8. But doesn't the new code support non-JavaScript browsers?
9. Can I just change the old JavaScript? 
10. How do I get the new JavaScript? 
11. Does the new directory work? 
12. How do I post a problem report? 
13. How do I see my memberships? They do not show!
14. Is there someplace I can compare the stacks?
15. How are the new stacks different?
16. Why are some navbars transparent with gray borders?
17. I did the migration but one of the navbars is missing. Now what?
18. How do I change the messages?
19. How do I get the user's site ID and site name and other stuff like that into the email message?
20. How can I customize the navbar?
21. Is anyone posting anything humorous about all of this?

3.  Is this the primary webring FAQ on this site?

No. This site has a much more extensive webring FAQ. Click here to open that FAQ in a new window. This FAQ focuses on the transition from Yahoo! WebRing to the WebRing.com system in October 2001.

4.  What happened?

On Thursday 04.Oct.2001, the Yahoo! WebRing system experienced a large and catastrophic failure. As a result of that failure, a large number of memberships were temporarily lost. The tech working on the Yahoo! WebRing system worked to restore the system and to resolve the problem. During this time the system was forced out of service. All functions that would modify user defined information (e.g., creating webrings, joining webrings, adding or deleting members, etc.) were disabled. On Friday, 12.Oct.2001, word began to spread across the net:

1. Yahoo!'s involvement in the Yahoo! WebRing system is ending.
    
2. This began 12.Apr.2001 with the shutdown of the searchable directory. Yahoo! wanted to shut down Yahoo! WebRing completely.
    
3. At that time, one of the former techs from the Original WebRing, laid off by Yahoo!, offered to step forward and take it over.
    
4. For the next six months (to the day!) that one tech worked to maintain the system independent of Yahoo!
    
5. On 12.Oct.2001 these changes were first announced. Click here to see the email.

Rather than rehash all of that here, check out my other page on all of this. It gives you some background on what happened, on where we are going, on new system features. It also provides simple, step-by-step instructions on how to migrate from the Yahoo! WebRing system to the WebRing.com. Click here to open that other page in a new window. 

5.  What did the email say?

Click here to see the email.

6.  How do I migrate from Yahoo! WebRing?

I have created a detailed set of simple, step-by-step instructions on how to migrate from the Yahoo! WebRing system to the WebRing.com. Click here to open that other page in a new window. 

7.  After I migrate, do I need to change the JavaScript on my page(s)?

Would you hate me if I said "it depends"?

First, a little background. The existing JavaScript calls the Yahoo! WebRing system to deliver navbars. The people at the WebRing.com believe that Yahoo! will cooperate and that, sometime in the future, the link will automatically forward to the WebRing.com system and that you might not need any changes at all.

On the other hand, if your WebRing.com system ID is different to the old Yahoo! ID, then you will need to get the new code.

Still, the official recommendation is to wait if you can. Based on what I know today, I support that recommendation. Don't change the code unless you absolutely have to.

8.  But doesn't the new code support non-JavaScript browsers?

Sort of. The new standard code includes extra code to support browsers that do not support JavaScript. It isn't that the new code supports non-Javascript browsers, but rather that, along with the new code, you are also provided extra code to handle that circumstance.

But, you do not need to replace the existing code to use this extracode. And this new code is very easy to construct. I have created a special help page to explain this new code and let you customize it to your own needs.

Just click here to go to my page explaining this special code.

9.  Can I just change the old JavaScript?

Yes. That will also work.

But, again, it is not necessary at this time.

You can just leave the old code.

And if you want, you can add support for non-JavaScript enabled browsers by adding the code I describe on this page.

To make changes to the old code, change references to "webring.yahoo.com" to just be "webring.com". Also, if you chose a WebRing.com system ID different to your Yahoo! ID, you should also change the ID in the code.

10.  How do I get the new JavaScript?

1. Go to dir.webring.com
    
2. Log in.
    
3. Click on "My Rings".
    
4. Click on "View Ring Sites".
    
5. Click on the "Site Title" for the webring you want the JavaScript for.
    
6. Click on "Get Navigation Code".
    
7. Copy the Navigation Code of that page. I recommend that you:
    
   1. Click anywhere in the Navigation Code with your mouse.
       
   2. Type Ctrl-A to select all the Navigation Code.
       
   3. Type Ctrl-C to copy all the selected code to your clipboard.
       
8. You can now paste this Navigation Code onto your web page.

11.  Does the new directory work?

Yes. But it can take time for the migrated webring to update the directory on the WebRing.com system. My suggestion is to give it 48 hours. If you do not see it after 48 hours, you should post a problem report.

12.  How do I post a problem report?

The best way, right now, is to go to a Yahoo! Club run by Andreas. The technician is monitoring this club. Be sure to read the club rules. Andreas is strict. It is not a discussion club. It is not for comments. It is only to post problems and questions. Click here to go to that club in a new window.

13.  How do I see my memberships? They do not show!

In the WebRing.com system, when you click on "My Rings", it first shows you the information on the webrings that you "own" as the ringmaster. It also gives you three links on the left hand side of the page:

• View Rings
• View Ring Sites
• View Web Sites

The View Rings link is the default. It shows the webrings that you "own" as the ringmaster. Think of this link as View Rings I Own

The View Ring Sites link shows your webring memberships. Think of this link as View Ring Memberships.

The third one, View Web Sites, shows each individual registered page that you have. Think of this link as View Registered URLs.

View Rings (View Rings I Own)

This section shows the webrings that you own  If you click on the name of the webring, you will go to the webring hub page. If you click on the link titled "Manage" you will go to the Manage Members page.

View Ring Sites (View Ring Memberships)

This section shows the webrings that you belong to. It is very similar to the "List All My Rings" page of the Yahoo! WebRing system. If you click on the name of the webring, you will go to the webring hub page. If you click on the "Site Title" you will go to the page to change your registered information. And the third column, "Status/Options" tells whether you are a member or are pending membership.

View Web Sites (View Registered URLs)

This section shows the URLs you have registered for webrings. Each registered URL creates a unique "U Number". The "Title" column shows the U Number and the registered URL. The "Order SSNB" link takes you to a page that lets you change the order of the navbars that appear in the stack for that registered URL and U Number. The "List Sites" link in the far right column takes you to a page that is exactly like the View Ring Sites (View Ring Memberships) page, except that it only shows memberships for the particular registered URL.

14.  Is there someplace I can compare the stacks?

No. There was briefly, but that is no longer possible.

15.  How are the new stacks different?

Here are some of the differences:

1. The navbars are substantially larger (wider). There appears to be no functional reason for it. It is a result of the specification of the navbar stack shell (that gray banner).
    
2. The navbars do not display the ID of the RingMaster. (They did for a while, but that changed. Some that were created when they did, still do and will continue to until "altered".)
    
3. The navbars run together. There is no spacing between the navbars.
    
4. The navbars include a tiny band of "transparency"between the outer color band and the inner color bar.
    
5. There is also the substantial possibility, that because the navbars use less code per navbar, that the size of the "Maximum Stack" has grown. The "Maximum Stack" refers to the maximum number of navbars that can appear in one stack. In the Yahoo! WebRing system it was 168.

16.  Why are some navbars transparent with gray borders?

Those are webrings that haven't been migrated yet. If they are not eventually migrated, they will "go away".

17.  I did the migration but one of the navbars is missing. Now what?

This seems to be happening as the result of temporary database glitches. Here is a fix that seems to work most of the time:

1. Go to http://dir.webring.com
    
2. Log in with your Webring ID (like your Yahoo! ID, only different)
    
3. Click on "My Rings" (upper right of page)
    
4. Click on View Web Sites (upper left of page)
    
5. Find the line (if you have more than one) that is for the page containing that particular Webring navbar stack
    
6. Click on "Order SSNB"
    
7. Check the list to see if the "missing" webring appears. If it does, continue to the next step. If it does not, this solution will probably not fix it.
    
8. Without doing anything else, just click on "Apply Changes".
    
9. Check it out. That should fix it.

18.  How do I change the messages?

The WebRing.com system has four messages you can change:

1. Approval
2. Rejection
3. Suspension
4. Reactivation

To change a message you must do what triggers the message. One way to do that is to use a "dummy" application. Here are the steps:

1. Submit a dummy application to your own webring. Just put "garbage" in for the URL, name and description. They don't matter.
    
2. Approve the dummy application. As you approve it, change the email message and set it as the default.
    
3. Suspend the dummy site. As you suspend it, change the email message and set it as the default.
    
4. Reactivate the dummy site. As you reactivate it, change the email message and and set it as the default.
    
5. Delete the dummy site. As you delete it, change the email message and set it as the default.

When you are done, the dummy site is gone, and you have changed all the messages.

If you decide to do this, be sure to read the next question/answer. It explains how to keep the "variable data" like the site ID, ring ID, etc.

19.  How do I get the user's site ID and site name and other stuff like that into the email message?

The default notices from the WebRing.com system include lots of individual data. For example, they include:

• Webring Name
• Webring ID
• URL of the Webring Hub Page
• URL for the member to edit his/her site
• Member's Site Name
• Member's Site ID
• Member's Site URL

The problem is that when ringmasters change those emails they "lose" that information.

I believe that every ringmaster should put it back.

The system uses "variable names". If you insert these variable names (the two dashes, the name and the two more dashes) the system will substitute the values before sending the email.

You can just copy the information below and put it into your email and it will correct this problem.

Webring Name: --title--
Webring ID: --siteyid--
Webring Hub Page: --nurl--?ring=--ringid--
To Edit Your Site: --murl--?ring=--ringid--&id=--id--&edit

Site Name: --sitetitle--
Site ID: --id--
Site URL: --siteurl--

20.  How can I customize the navbar?

You can customize it to just about anything you want. I have an entire page to tell you how to do it.

If all you need is a quick reference to the system variables, I've included them below.

Border Color Specified Through The Web Page: --navolcolor--
Example Use: bordercolor="--navolcolor--"

Background Color Specified Through the Web Page: --navbgcolor--
Example Use: bgcolor="--navbgcolor--"

Uploaded Navbar Logo: --navbarlogourl--
Example Use: <img src="--navbarlogourl--" . . .

Blank GIF available for spacing: http://img.webring.com/blank.gif
Example Use:
<img src="http://img.webring.com/blank.gif" width="1" height="1"
alt="." border="0">

Base URL for Hub and Join: --nurl--
Base URL for Navigation: --gurl--
Member's Ring ID: ++id++
Example Use:
[ <a href="--nurl--?ring=--ringid--&id=++id++&hub">Join</a>
| <a href="--nurl--?ring=--ringid--&id=++id++&hub">List</a>
| <a href="--gurl--?ring=--ringid--&id=++id++&random">Random</a>
| <a href="--gurl--?ring=--ringid--&id=++id++&prev">Prev</a>
| <a href="--gurl--?ring=--ringid--&id=++id++&next">Next</a>]

Site ID of the RingMaster's Home Page: --rmsite--

RingMaster Email Address: --mail--
RingMaster Name: --name--
Example Use: <a href="mailto:--mail--">--name--</a>

RingMaster ID: --ringmaster--
Example Use: <a href="mailto:--mail--">--ringmaster--</a>

Note: These examples may not the "best" practical examples; they omit features you may wish to use. They have been "simplified" for presentation.

21.  Is anyone posting anything humorous about all of this?

Sure. Here is one:

• The Yahoo! WebRing Plumber

What Else?

See also my other page on The End of Yahoo! WebRing. This other page provides a brief background summary and easy to use instructions to migrate your Yahoo! WebRing to the WebRing.com system.

A Personal Note:
If You Want to Delete Your Webring

If you are considering deleting your WebRing.com webring, please do not delete it. Instead, please contact me . I would be pleased to adopt it from you. I will personally work with you to make that transition smooth and painless.

I'm sorry. While I have long adopted webrings in the WebRing.com system, because of the Oct.2006 changes, I am no longer doing that.

However, please note that "deleting" your webring is a fruitless exercise. The system will just restore it and place it up for adoption.

Webring News and Announcements

WebRing.com Changes Big Time ---  It was October 2001 that WebRing.com came into existence following the end of Yahoo! Webring. Now, 5 years later, WebRing.com is changing again. Moving from primarily a free service to primarily a paid service, the system is undergoing massive change. Stay tuned.

Ringlink Activity  ---  While Ringlink has not released a new version since Version 3.2 on 21.Feb.2005, the system seems to be getting a lot of activity. Many people are discovering this great webring system and moving their webrings here. If you don't know about Ringlink, definitely check out this great webring system. I personally recommend it.

WoW  ---  The World of Webrings features the World of Webrings discussion list. It offers a forum for both webring owners (ringmasters) and webring members to discuss the latest hot topics about all webrings, including WebRing.com, Ringlink , Alt-Webring, RingSurf, Bravenet and others. If you belong to any webring in any webring service, you should join this list.

RingSurf Passes 3 Year Anniversary  ---  It was 3 years ago, on 16.Aug.2003 when the WoW list list noted that RingSurf's domain name registration had changed. Then the new owner came forward. A RingSurf Feature List was developed and debated. Then, on Thanksgiving day, 27.Nov.2003 the new owner posted on the WoW list that the new RingSurf is up! If you haven't checked it out lately, see what has happened in the last three years.

Article About Webrings  ---  Check out this excellent Salon.com article about the history of Yahoo! and WebRing.com: The Strange Saga of Yahoo and Webring . For some, it will bring back memories. For others, it will explain the history. Now, I wonder if they will update it to talk about the latest WebRing.com changes.

Articles About the WebRing.com System

Webring Sections and Subsections

The Webring Section is a large section of my website. I have divided it into four major "subsections".

• General Information
• The WebRing.com System
• Webrings I Own and Belong To
• The Wazillion Navbars Project

Each "subsection" has it's own special "logo".

As you travel in the various subsections you will find, near the bottom of each page, links to pages within that subsection and also links to the other subsections. To go to any subsection, just click on the "logo" or on the text link for that subsection.

Webrings: General Information

This subsection includes general information about webrings. Webrings can be hosted by a variety of different services. This section deals with the overall concepts and issues, not with any one particular "brand" of webring.

It includes my Webring FAQ, links to articles about webrings, and general help information. Click here or on the graphic.

The Wazillion Navbars Project

This subsection is a historical section about the Yahoo! WebRing system. It was begun during the early days of problems with the Yahoo! WebRing system in September 2000.

It ended when the Yahoo! WebRing system spun off into the independent WebRing.com system in October 2001. I maintain it for the historical record. Click here or on the graphic.

Webrings I Own and Belong To

This subsection shows all the webrings I own and links to all the webrings to which I belong. This includes webrings in Ringlink, RingSurf, Bravenet and the WebRing.com system as well.

If you are looking to join one of my webrings, this is a good place to start. If you wonder about the webrings I belong to, this is the place to go. Click here or on the graphic.

Last updated:
18:15, Thu, 27.Mar.2008