Mark your calenders – the next PoP happy hour is Wed. Feb. 29th from 5-8pm at Acre 121, 14th and Irving St, NW right above the Columbia Heights metro. There’ll be lots of drink and food specials and some live music. For those who’ve been inquiring about t-shirts – I’ll bring some with me as well. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Enjoy the long weekend! We’ll be back to a regular posting schedule Tuesday. Hope everyone has a safe and fun celebration.

Photo by PoPville flickr user mosley.brian

We got a 2001 Subaru for sale.

And in the forum we have a foodie blog looking for a web developer.

Anyone having problems using the classifieds and/or Forum?

Thanks to everyone who’s written emails and tweets about the new site! While there still may be a few hiccups, I’m super psyched. Is anyone having any problems registering or commenting on the main section, forum, or classified section?

If you were registered on the old site you will receive an email with temp password for the new site. Please let me know if you don’t get one.

For those who use mobile and tablet version of PoP, stay tuned, those versions are coming soon.

Also after (if) you register, your profile pages will include the forum and classified page activity.

I’m psyched to see that the forum section has already kicked off over the weekend (you’ll need to register to participate):

Topics being discussed are Runners in bike lanes?.

and

non-owner’s car insurance in DC.

and I posted a set of keys a reader found.

I look forward to someone kicking off the classified section. Note you can upload photos of your item there.

Please let me know if anyone’s having any problems on the main site, forum, classifieds, or anywhere else.

And thanks again for all the kind words!

Finally! I know I’ve been promising this for a long time and I can’t properly express how grateful I am for your patience. In the past 5 years there have been over 18,500 posts and over 300,000 comments. There have also been thousands of photos uploaded (keep ‘em coming!) and basically the site was never built to handle that capacity. That’s why we’ve had to deal with so many frustrating tech problems including phantom commenting errors. I’m so happy to say that’s all about to change.

The reason why I’ve delayed for so long is because I have zero tech expertise myself. I also realize that the site has grown to a size where I am no longer capable of handling the tech side. So I’m happy to announce that I’ve made a partnership with a great group called BlankSlate. These are the folks who provide the tech support for the great Brooklyn blog Brownstoner. I can not think of a more perfect partner to bring more capabilities to the site. In addition to fixing all the bugs we’ve been experiencing, BlankSlate will be taking over all advertising for the site while I will retain 100% editorial control.

So what does this really mean? All the people who’ve been making suggestions for how to improve the site – I swear I haven’t been ignoring you – we’re now gonna start implementing some of these suggestions. First and foremost we are going to fix all the commenting errors. A completely new commenting system has been designed. For those who have already registered, you will receive an email asking you to update your registration for the new system. While anonymous commenting will still be permitted – registering will provide access to many new functions coming to the site. The ones that I am most excited about are the classified section, real estate section and new forum section. There will be single sign on so once you register you will be able to access all the new sections. But again, for the main site, if you feel more comfortable you need not register.

Now I also realize that not everyone likes change. And I agree. I personally hate change. But the site was simply becoming broken. I am so happy that it will finally be fixed. Also, the main site, is not really gonna change that much. It will be a bit easier to navigate but will still have the classic blog format.

Of course, whenever changes are made there will likely be some hiccups. So I ask in advance to be a bit flexible when we first roll out the upgrades. If you experience or notice any problems please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail and we will address them as soon as possible.

This weekend starting this evening access to the site may be spotty at times. The site will return live at the same address, www.princeofpetworth.com, on Monday morning. If there is breaking news at that time continue to send tips to princeofpetworth(at)gmail and I will cover it on twitter @PoPville. Thanks.

Here goes nothing!

On all days but especially today – Thank you.

I can hardly believe it but Nov. makes five years since I started up the Prince of Petworth. Not in a million years did I think the site would turn into what it has today. While I try to work my ass off, the site’s success is 90% a result of you guys. I’ve said that from the beginning. The collective knowledge of PoPville is staggering. Sure opinions differ. Sure it gets heated at times. But you guys are the most knowledgeable, helpful, opinionated, compassionate, ok not always compassionate but always passionate people in DC’s blogoshpere. There has never been a question posted that hasn’t received an answer, opinion or suggestion. And to me that is what I treasure most about the site.

Though I do also love the fact that we’ve reunited countless pets, wallets, keys, and other items with their owners.

And I love how quick we are able to share information when something crazy goes down whether it be a crime, a fire or just an odd noise.

And of course I love the fact that some folks share my appreciation for the beautiful life. The fact that so many people care about architecture, stained glass, murals, gardens, bars, restaurants and food, history, sweet city signs, pets, interesting people, the absurdity of life, and yes even doors makes me so happy. There is def. a lot to love…

While we are a very diverse group in many ways, the one commonality that we all share, and the most important, is that in our own ways we all care about our neighborhoods. Actually we more than care – we are fanatical about our neighborhoods. Though we don’t always agree and we do tackle some really tough/controversial issues, our passion is merely another indication of how much we are invested in our city.

So having said that, come drink some delicious beers with me. We will celebrate not only the five years of the founding of the site but five years of the amazing community we have created. A big thanks to DC Brau who will be fixing up some special blend cask brews for the party and of course much gratitude to Meridian Pint (11th and Park Rd, NW) for hosting. And for all who’ve been asking – I’ll bring t-shirts!

If you have a second, I’d be grateful if you took this brief survey. If not, no worries. Thanks!

Click the Button below:

I’ll be taking a bit of a breather next week so I won’t be able to get to your emails until next Sun. Sept. 11th. I’ll be sure to follow up on all your emails the following week. Monday is a holiday and on Tues. and Wed. there will be a limited schedule of pre-loaded posts but on Thursday and Friday, I’m happy to say that the Lord of Petworth, Eric Nuzum, will be back at the helm! Thanks LoP. Hope everyone has a great long 3-day weekend and I’ll see ya next Monday.

Ed. Note: I hope Operation Restore Civility remains in effect while I’m gone but I apologize if some people get caught in comment moderation or inappropriate comments get through. To be extra careful try not to leave full links with the http included because it will go to a holding folder (spam issues). But if you have a good link just start it with www. ie www.princeofpetworth.com instead of http://www.princeofpetworth.com/ Cheers!