Sorry I don’t have a “website” link. I no longer have one here at Xanga, and I don’t bother to log in anymore (my username was kamikaze_zealot) as i’m trying to get that now comment-only account deleted since I’ve fully moved over to tumblr and typepad.
Anyway, the actual comment – I still peruse the blogs available on xanga 2.0 from time to time, which is how I came across your’s. It’s hard to do, honestly – I have to find them through Google search. This is another major problem Xanga 2.0 has – people who want or have had their accounts deleted are STILL able to be found via a Google search (go ahead and google my old username. all that’ll come up is the stuff from the supposedly non-defunct xanga help page) showing a breach in privacy. As for the scammers, here’s how they’re slipping through – the same exact way I am able to send you this comment. At the bottom of each post, there’s a section for people who don’t have an account to comment. Input a name, an e-mail, and a website. Then fill in the comment. The website link highlights the name, another reason i didn’t want to put in a website link. Didn’t want you thinking I’m another scammer.
Looking at the pricing of a wordpress site, honestly you get a better deal, with the web traffic and the perks to make it worth it. Xanga’s html coding posting style harkens back to its ancient days where you had a box that looked a bit like your typical notepad entry box and hope to hell you know html to do cool stuff like bold and italics. The xanga team blog hasn’t been updated in ages, most people who paid for their new xanga 2.0 blog can’t even post because they haven’t been “switched over” yet. i have noticed a trend, however. blogs that at Xanga’s height used to basically take complete control over the “Top Blogs” slots (thetheologinscafe and saintvi for example) were the first to get priority switch over, which is why we could see them first. these users probably don’t have a clue why or how they got priority, but it’s just a hypothesis of mine based on observation. as for others, with messed up archives like your’s – i genuinely think are glitches.
there’s one other observation i’d like to share about the fundraiser itself, which made me decide at the last minute NOT to donate a single cent (i was waiting for my payday to come around, and when this happened i realized i needed new work uniforms more than a xanga blog) – originally it was a goal of $60,000 right? with a very strict deadline. well, it became apparent rather quickly that they were NOT going to make the deadline, as many users were abandoning ship and others (like myself) were sitting back to see how the chips were going to fall. so suddenly, after absolutely NO updates about the fundraiser, nor how things are going or how to get hold of one’s archives, there’s a change in the fundraiser.
it was lowered to $50,000 and the date extended. this…. felt fishy. at least to me, but then again, i figured they probably realized they weren’t going to make it, and had started a backup plan.
this, unfortunately, was not the case. this is the pivotal piece of information that made me change my mind – when the goal was lowered by $10,000 and the deadline extended… there was a statement made that someone (might have been john, might have been someone else. i’ll have to go scrounge around to find the info again) had suddenly and almost miraculously got their hands on the additional $10,000 needed to make up the difference if only the fundraiser made $50,000.
THIS was super fishy. firstly because right from the start xanga was holding out it’s hands claiming there was absolutely NO POSSIBLE WAY they could get a single cent without the users chipping in. they claimed they were absolutely broke and were in a desperate situation, which is why they were appealing to (what was left of) the xanga community. (why they didn’t file chapter 11, which would have bought them more time on their bills and cleared some of the debt i’m sure they had accrued away, as well as stalling the supposed eviction from their at the time location for a while longer so that they COULD get the money they needed is beyond me. most businesses worth their salt who reach this point would have started the process before or when the shit hit the fan.)
when news of this mysterious $10,000 came out, i tucked my debit card right back into my wallet, shoved my wallet in a drawer, and called shenanigans on Xanga. at that point, it felt like 100% scam. especially when news of the lifetime users payments and premium user accounts NOT being honored.
frankly, the smartest thing xanga could have done was file chapter 11 bankruptcy as it would have given them the time they needed to actually do things the right way, and the legal backing to keep dissatisfied PAID users off their back for a while until they get their stuff straightened out and working again.
whether you approve this comment or not is your deal. just thought i’d pop my two cents and give off some observations to you, since you seem like one of the few people left who aren’t doing the whole “omg xanga 2.0 is the best thing evar and xanga is the bestest blog there is!” sort of thing.
but yeah, if you have a blog elsewhere, you’re better off going there. even the xanga help page hasn’t gotten people help since this 2.0 shitstorm started. even the people who want to stay and figure out how to make stuff work or find out what’s going on. the most common response i’ve seen thus far there is “please be patient. we are working as best as we can to make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone.”