Good luck to you all. It's been an honor and a pleasure to be associated with you guys.

:-0

I just want to add my two cents here. Alex brought me over from my original Clifford's Big Red Blog to be the co-author of this blog for the launch of Toaster just prior to the 2005 season. It has been, as Ken says, an honor and a pleasure (and a privilege) to be a part of Baseball Toaster over these last four seasons. While I'm very excited about Banter's move over to SNY, I will very much miss having my writing appear alongside that of the other Toasters here. I do hope that our readers will continue to frequent the other sites here at Toaster, and I cannot thank Ken enough for the work he has done to maintain this site and the high quality of writing that appears here.

Best of luck in everything to everyone here at Baseball Toaster.

See you all over at the new place . . .

I don't suppose you'd care to let us know the reason?

The reason for the move you mean? I was approached by several mainstream outlets this summer and found that SNY is the most ambitious of the lot and I worked out the best deal with them. I hope to include some made for the Net TV stuff with them, and they give us a platform to expand what we've always done here at Toaster.

Bookmarked.

Congrats and fond aloha. I'll check out the new digs on a daily basis.

So what'll be left here? Archives of the old stuff?

Any chance that info moves over to the new domain, or will it just be material from today forward...?

Gotta say I am going to miss The Banter at the Toaster. It's much easier to post here and I like the fairpole software. I'll still hang around Cardboard Gods.

Never too late to sell out, huh? Yeah, being associated with Was Watching says everything.

Two quick thoughts:

1) Alex Belth presents? Someone's ego needed the uplift, I guess...

2) The design there sucks. Just makes me realize further how much Ken gets it. You guys would do well to follow his lead. That site is like stepping back to 1999.

I'd love to see River Ave Blues over here. They're the best of the bunch right now.

no que la ocupes pero buena suerte y felicidades Alex y todos de Bronx Banter...

Asta la proxima.

7 Never mind, I actually went over and just answered my own question. :) I'm "Pete" in the new place, fwiw.

Congrats!

Nice pick on the Kane track, I probably would've gone with
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=OGtFSTL1Nbo

I could picture you doing the "George" walk, Emma in tow... lol

And because I like Curtis Mayfield...
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=xTY6Nbl12ek

P.s. Making people register again shows how much you value the community. To you it might be nothing. That's exactly the point. Why worry about the visitors that give you an audience? But the archives - don't forget the archives!

13 As someone who's worked on and maintained several blogs, I can assure you it's not about 'making' people register again. It's a completely different software package, fraught with all sorts of new databases.

Transferring the archives was enough of a hassle I'm sure.

I don't mind registering again, myself.

Hey Bagel Boy,
Sorry you don't like the new digs. But as 13, mentioned the re-registering had to do with the technical issues between the two sites. I feel badly for putting anyone out. To suggest that we don't value our community here is really off-the-mark. Again, sorry for the hassle but we hope it won't be too troublesome and that you still enjoy the content. If you aren't interested anymore, I understand that too and wish you well.

Mr. Belth's exquisite taste in hip hop will definitely be missed.

You don't need to miss it...it will remain intact at the new spot...lol

14

1. Output username, password, and email fields to file.
2. As admin, register each and every user.

Pain for you, perhaps. But then I'd argue the users are more important than the archives for a site that's supposed to be based on "banter". No doubt the archives took a few hours. The users deserve the same effort.

15 Seriously, "Alex Belth presents"? Is it really that hard to get a job these days?

I followed you here from All-baseball.com, I guess I can make this switch as well. I have to say, this old room has become awfully familiar, and the furniture damn comfortable. The new place sure doesn't look like home, just like...another website. I hope the banter is as good.

18 I store your passwords in an encrypted format. It's not possible to export them.

17 Right. At the Toaster I meant. As Deda once said you guys are out reaching for the bigger and the better more advanced to the letter type excessive with the pressure.

"Escape From New York" Sadat X and Deda Prod. by PR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NApnkl0kr0Y

18 Given that in the first line Alex typed "In November of '02, I started Bronx Banter," it should come as no surprise that Alex would preface BB with "Alex Belth presents"

20 Because the content here is security intensive?

Still, with a bit of effort (on the order it took to transfer the archives), there are other ways (e.g., give folks a simple default password and by the email they used to register). That's also a fine way to let folks know "we've moved". The easiest path is not necessarily the most ethical especially for a community centered on "banter".

More problematic, what prevents me from "stealing" an existing username? People have put a lot of effort in establishing themselves here. To start over is to ignore that effort completely.

22 Seems to me it's come to represent much more than that in the six years since. I know I've appreciated Cliff's writing more.

Good luck, even with BB being my 3rd choice on the Toaster it was a great place. You always had fresh content which only seems to happen with Josh, Jon, and Bob. Maybe we can get a Ray blog to replace you just as the Ray's team has replaced you as the Beasts of the East.

I definitely can't blame you for cashing in (something we all need to remember when we rip players for seeking out the highest bidder). In fact, I toast (pun intended) to your success. Unfortunately, however, I find the SNY platform to be among the worst out there. The best part of the Toaster was it encouraged clear and concise participation. Not only could you clearly read all posts and follow strings, but the format seemed to have an intimate appeal. SNY, however, seems like a blog assembly line.

Good luck in your new location. I'll miss the colorful but always entertaining comments. And I'll miss the writing that inspires them.

I hope to still see some of your faithful followers over at DT, we still an occasional comment on a Torre move now and then.

The look on the new site is temporary, and I'm going to be experimenting with a bunch of templates to create something that I think is really terrific. That's just going to take some time.

Anyhow, thanks again for all of the candid responses. Much appreciated for sure.

25 William, we're going to do our best to achieve that same feel over at the new site. It may take us a while to get some design issues sorted out, but in terms of content and participation, we hope you and everyone else will join us to keep this community alive and thriving. In fact, we want to hear from you guys regarding how we can make you all feel more at home over there. Email Alex or myself, or start a discussion on comments.

Just got my registration done over there. I've gotten used to the Toaster, but hey, you know it isn't as though the Yankees have won it all the past four years. Curse of the Toaster? (With all due apologies to Ken of course).

ooh, i am really terrible with change. i knew something was up when i saw the different font for this post. ugh. i'm sure i'll get used to it, at some point, though it'll probably take me the entire offseason. it's much more monumental than getting used to, say, the new mlbtraderumors, as Bronx Banter is my absolute most favorite site on the interweb! this is gonna be rough...

i echo a lot of what JL said and i've grown really comfortable here at the toaster. comfort is of the utmost paramount importance to me and i will certainly be quite uncomfy at SNY for a goodly amount of time. but it sure won't keep from reading BB multiple times per day.

it will definitely keep me from hangin' 'round the Toaster as much, but you'll have that. i've been a loyal Belth/Banter reader since the All-Baseball days. took me a coupla years to get comfy enough to start posting here. i took some time off (from commenting, not reading) this regular season for some personal issues, but am back in full force (as my back-n-forth with myself during these Yankee-less playoffs attests)...

i see there are already 2 more writers to get used to. whew, you're really piling on the changes, Alex! when it rains it pours. i do recognize Todd Drew's name...

it looks like Was Watching is over w/ the Banter now at SNY and perhaps i'll start reading that more often, we'll see. i'm glad there will be changes and experiments to the new Banter site in the imminent future.

i'm glad the large font is the same, but everything's really crunched having sidebar info on both sides. long posts look waaay longer and i'm not a good reader. i am not digging on the comment section at all, thus far, and the crazy password i wasn't able to choose for myself, was weird. ah, this is gonna be difficult!

i recently got switched to firefox and have 4 different websites that come up with my main browser. of course banter/toaster is on one of them - anyone know how i can make the switch so the new banter comes up? i'll contact my computer buddy, but i'm sure someone here knows.

as far as the switch for professional reasons, i totally understand and commend/congratulate Alex, Cliff and the others on the move. i hope it brings the incredible content in this blog to more readers - though i desperately hope the comments remain intelligent and communal and don't take on the LoHud type of responses, in number or content - and help bring Alex, Cliff, Emma & Bruce bigger and more fruitful writing projects within the world of baseball.

damn, i'm gonna miss the Banter at the Toaster. i was lookin' forward to talking to myself here tonite when King Cole secures Philly's 2nd title. my gig is early this evening, so i should catch the entire game or so...

see you all at the new place! : )

why are they using a 24-hour clock at the comments over there? jeesh, pacific time here was hard enough...

i hate change : /

Good luck all. I'll be checking in frequently.
And just by chance I'll be moving to a new casa de standuptriple in the next day or so (damn Title Co. dragging a$$). Cheers to new big-innings!

"Change equals death," Woody Allen once said. I empathize with the suddeness of this...still, hope that y'all feel strongly enough about us to hang in there through some changes.

i like that woody allen quote and agree! but, of course, i feel strongly enough about all things bronx banter to hang in there. i think that's obvious and will resonate about 100% within this community. it doesn't mean i welcome it or look forward to it, however. it'll take a lot more than this move to keep me away from the best Yankees site on the interweb! ...good try though, belth! ; )

ps - i was thinking maybe you could've prepped us with a warning a few weeks back...

Good luck Alex, Cliff, Emma et al...I'm really happy for Alex to have leveraged his success here onto a new platform, even though change is tough and there will be some transition pains along the way.

I admit that I loved the intimate feel of the Banter and remember checking the site frequently, even on my mobile phone, while taking a quick break from work on the weekends. Looks like the new place is a clear work in progress...I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

I think it's going to be harder to keep track of all the content and varied topics with so many more voices at SNY, but I hope there's just as much hip hop and tales of New York at the new joint to go along with the baseball.

For those complaining (or implying) "sellout", I think Alex is rare among bloggers for having a genuine love of nuanced and in-depth sportswriting that's been somewhat harder to find in the internet age. Even though SNY looks a bit like a standard blog vehicle at this time, I trust Alex and his colleagues can turn it into something bigger, better and more soulful. I hope, anyway.

yes, "sellout," should be the last thing coming to anybody's mind about this move. even though i don't care for change and don't handle it very well in many cases, this is obviously just "upwards and onwards" and certainly deserving for Alex & Company...

as far as the non-baseball stuff, i say let's completely do away with hip-hop and replace it with jazz and underground metal!!! : )

33
I always view it as change = life. Dead things don't change, living ones do. We've all changed over the years.

I will of course follow the Banter over to the new site, but I must say that I am a bit disappointed in the move. I know that realistically I will not come back to the Toaster very often (I have only so many blogs in me at one time), and the writing on the Toaster is tops.

Ah well.

I'm proud of you, Alex. I'm proud of Cliff, Emma, Bruce, Will and everyone here, posters and commenters alike; even if it comes as a shock to some. Change effects us in different ways, eh? But hopefully we can continue to be who we are and be one of the best communities in the 'sphere.

And Toaster, thanks. This will remain a fab place to be in my mind. Ken, I hope Fairpole becomes the industry standard, really. I feel like I actually "grew up" here as a regular commenter and a baseball fan; I was even inspired here to start my own Serious Consideration. It means a lot, and this change means a lot. Thanks for more than you know.

As for me? it's not the end, it's a new spot to Chyll... Peace! >;)

bagel boy would ask his live-in girlfriend for a 30-day notice before breaking up with him.

Congrats to the crew!

i don't care about technical site issues, just like the banter/Banter. i'll follow to the new site!

I like it here. I'll keep visiting. I don't know what I'd do without a regular dose of baseball sonnets.

Bye Ken! You rocked as a host.