Everyone does the “Ch- Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes” headline when they’re about to do something wacky to their site. Unoriginal bastards must have never heard of Mötley Crüe. As you may have already heard from the gossipy Andy Dolan, change is coming to HJE. Sometime this summer (probably in July), HJE is going to join the Chicago Now network. You might recognize it as the new home of David Kaplan. Yes, that’s terrible. But it’s also the home of some good stuff, including Len and Bob’s blog (Have you noticed they changed their e-mail address to a Chicago Now suffix?). I figured I owe you an explanation as to why I’m making the switch, and to let you know what this means to you. Actually, I don’t think I owe you anything, but here it is, anyhow.

REASONS FOR THE SWITCH:

  1. No more coding. Have you guys been wondering why I got rid of the HJE banner after I upgraded to the new site?





    Well, I didn’t want to, but every time I put it back at the top of the site, it screws up the formatting for the entire rest of the site. Quite frankly, I had absolutely no idea what “CSS” was until I started this site, and I’ve learned this crap as I’ve gone along. This would be a good time to profusely thank domer.mq, Pre, Thrillho, and my good friend Alex for helping me out with the nuts and bolts of the site. Thanks, guys. By transferring to Chicago Now, I don’t have to worry about coding, and I can focus more on content. Yay?
  2. No more GoDaddy reliance. Chicago Now has their own servers, which means I won’t have to rely on the occasionally dodgy GoDaddy to provide you with your daily fill of HJE. Moreover, I believe I’ll no longer have to use a Flickr account for the site’s pictures to cut down on loading time, which is excellent.
  3. Money. AND THERE IT IS. Seriously, though. I’m not even talking about money from ads, but I won’t have to pay for my server space anymore. That will make J-Kerm less likely to get mad if I write something about how our anniversary is stupid.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME, MR. SELFISH READER?

  1. Is the content going to change? No. Absolutely not. In fact, I’m going to bail at the first whiff of censorship. I’ve been assured that I can write what I want to write. Quite frankly, HJE would not have been asked to join the network if the content was unacceptable, so I don’t anticipate any problems.
  2. Whither the Shoutbox? Don’t worry. The Shoutbox will survive. I’m not completely sure yet whether or not it will be the exact same format (quite frankly, I’m hoping Chicago Now invents their own Shoutbox; HINT HINT), but it will be there in some form.
  3. Do I need a new login name? Yes. Sorry. And, unfortunately, you do have to log in to make comments. That’s disappointing, but you will only have to have one screen name that will work at any of the Chicago Now blogs. If you want to make sure that no one beats you to some of the greats, like “Mark Giangreco Roman Wrestler,” you can go to Chicago Now RIGHT NOW and register your name before someone else does.
  4. What will HJE look like? Click around on the other blogs. Picture those with an HJE banner on the top and with content that doesn’t make you mad.
  5. Do I have to update my bookmark and RSS feed? You will NOT have to update your bookmark if you don’t want to. I am keeping the HJE domain for my greedy self and in case I want to return to my little home. That domain name WILL, however, redirect to a Chicago Now address, so if you want to update your bookmark to that address, go for it. You WILL need to update your RSS feed once we transfer over. I will remind you of that fact when we’re closer to the transfer.

Okay, that’s all I can think of right now. If you have more questions about the transfer, I’ll answer them as best I can in the comments section. Feel free to call me a sellout. Your tears are delicious wine to me. Seriously, though, you guys are a terrific community, and I really hope a little bit of change for the better doesn’t offend anyone too much.

-Kerm