As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Our church has recently started posting the newsletter on the website -- this is within the last couple of months.
It's not password protected.
That makes me nervous. I don't like that my email and phone number are out there for anyone to find.
It also makes me uncomfortable in terms of articles about the youth and Sunday School programs. Kids are being mentioned by full names. It didn't bother me when it was a mailed publication, but now that it's online I don't like it.
Am I being paranoid about this?
I think they could/should remove email addresses (I'm assuming you're on the vestry or something like that and that's why your email addresses are listed. If that's the case, I'd ask the church to use a very generic email address for the newsletter, like a yahoo or gmail account.)
Personally, the kid's names don't bother me much, but maybe they should shift to referring to them by first name and the initial of their last name.
No, I don't think you're being paranoid at all. The email address thing is MOSTLY a hassle (from Spam and such) but it could be an online security problem. The phone number thing is definitely an issue, particularly paired with a child's name. If it's a landline phone number that isn't private, it can easily be paired up with your home address. Even if it's a cell number it can be pulled up with more information than you would want shared.
Maybe they just haven't considered this, people like to think of the best in people, and wouldn't think anything as simple as a church newsletter as something to be concerned about. I would definitely bring up the idea of making it a password protected site.
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Disney World Trips So Far: 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015a, 2015b, 2016a (2016b in planning)
Our church has recently started posting the newsletter on the website -- this is within the last couple of months.
It's not password protected.
That makes me nervous. I don't like that my email and phone number are out there for anyone to find.
It also makes me uncomfortable in terms of articles about the youth and Sunday School programs. Kids are being mentioned by full names. It didn't bother me when it was a mailed publication, but now that it's online I don't like it.
Am I being paranoid about this?
Not being paranoid at all. Do a google search on your phone number, and you'll see the newsletter, I bet.
I recently found my unlisted home phone number easily accessibly when on a friend's advice, I did a google search for my name. I have dealt with some crazies and am not happy at all about this, especially since I pay Comcast 43./month to have it unlisted.
So no, you are not being paranoid and I would argue the church should not be publishing anyone's personal information without a written release.
not paranoid at all, the above folks cover the name and phone number part, but kids names and locations of activities should never be out there for anyone to find.
I agree - you're not paranoid and in this day and age, church newsletter or not it, the info is out there for all who wish to take the time and do something with it
No, you're right to be concerned.
The chances of someone finding that information and using it are slim - but they are there!
It's probably something the person doing the newsletter didn't even think of - and needs to be reminded of immediately. Especially using the children's names, and then publishing phone numbers.
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