Attn. AT&T Users

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:20:44 -0500 - dho

We\'ve been having some problems reaching AT&T\'s mail servers. This affects any user with an account hosted on an AT&T service (such as SBC Global, Bell South, and possibly others). For some reason, AT&T has marked our IP in their mail rejection list, so any mails that have been attempted for delivery within the past 3 or 4 days haven\'t gotten through. I\'ve sent in a request to have the DNSBL entry removed, and received the response:

The mail-server IP address(es) associated with your request will removed from the block list within 24-48 hours from the date of this notification. AT&T, Bellsouth, SBC and any affiliates do NOT intentionally block legitimate mail in the course of our anti-spam initiatives and regret any inconvenience this may have caused. If the IP that was recently blocked begins to exhibit the characteristics of a compromised network object or is compromised by an offender of Acceptable Use Policies, the IP address will be blocked again.

Considering our mail server doesn\'t relay and that we have no online contact forms on our website, I find the listing rather weird, especially since we don\'t appear on any other block list. I received this email yesterday, but it seems we\'re still getting bounces. Hopefully everything will be fixed by tomorrow morning.

Help Us Improve SocialGamer

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:00:45 -0500 - dho

We\'d like your feedback and suggestions. ScoreHero recently created a user suggestions forum where users can vote on new features for the website. I thought this was such a great idea, that I decided to do the same for SocialGamer. I\'ve pre-populated the site with a few open projects we have. Feel free to suggest your own and vote on them.

Your votes will directly influence the timeframe in which these features are added and the priority of these features. Additionally, if there are things you\'d like to see on the site that we haven\'t thought of, that\'s the only way we\'ll know them!

With that said, to participate, simply go to http://socialgamer.uservoice.com/ to add your suggestions and vote!

Justin.TV Support Now Available

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:08:37 -0500 - dho

Happy Valentine\'s Day!

It was not straightforward, but it works. Justin.TV support has been successfully added to SocialGamer. If you prefer to stream with Justin.TV, you can now choose them as your stream provider in your account settings, and things should Just Work!

In other news, we\'re aware of several issues with the new chat client. It\'s blatantly ugly, is hard to see with the stream, and some other stuff. We will be releasing a pop-up chat client that supports multiple streams at some point in the not too distant future, but this may take some work. If you\'re familiar with jQuery and CSS, let us know, because it\'s not a particularly easy project; we could definitely use the help.

There are potentially other quirks with the site -- if you run into anything critical, please email us at staff at(@) socialgamer dot(.) net.

SocialGamer.net Beta 2

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:02:00 -0500 - dho

We've put in a lot of time and energy to expand the scope and functionality of SocialGamer. The result is this new website: socialgamer.netbeta2. We've attempted to improve the functionality of the site in many ways: we added new features, improved usability, and grabbed a new layout.

The biggest change is the least noticable. The entire site architecture was reworked. I created a PHP MVC framework that allows us to easily manage site content, as well as add new features to the site. While this is by far the largest change for us, there are several major changes that affect users as well.

  • Most features of the site require you to log in. Streampages are still accessible for users who are not logged in, but users who are not lo gged in will not be able to chat.
  • Profile pages have been created. These function similarly to profile pages of other popular social networking sites.
  • Messaging features are introduced. You can send messages to your friends on SocialGamer. The messages are available both via the web site, and via the SocialGamer chat interface.
  • You can now affiliate with other members: join or create groups to discuss your interests and let people know who your friends are!
  • Upload photos! Every user gets their own photo album to share with the world.
  • Create your own events! If you are planning an infinite setlist, party, or otherwise, just schedule an event. Looking for something to do o n a given day? Check out the event calendar, which gives you a breakdown of what's going on.
  • Account management has been made infinitely easier. All pages share the same layout, and pretty much every page is no more than two or thre e clicks away.
  • Video hosting. Users who donate regularly may host videos on SocialGamer.
  • Forums have been ditched in favor of profile boards and group messaging.

We hope you will enjoy these changes. As always, if you have any questions suggestions, or complaints, you may contact us via email: staff at(@) socialgamer dot(.) net.