Can anyone help me out?

[Unjapanese]

:? :? I've been going through an ordeal for almost 5 months since a silly idea first crossed my mind to apply for the JREF Award. The chronology is like this:
May - I tried to submit my application 3, 4 times, to no avail. Each time, I encountered an "Internal Server Error."
May - I tried to contact someone at JREF. But each time I tried to send out my query I came across the same error message.
July - I tried to apply another couple of times. My application was rejected in the same way but this time my mail asking for help somehow got through.
July - A gentleman who called himself Thomas L. Puller got back to me to say that the site was currently being redesigned and for that reason some sections might not be fully functional.
July - Mr. Puller gave me an additional tip to the effect that I was not really eligible to apply until I open my self-introduction thread, which I complied weeks afterward.
Sept. 5 - I successfully submitted my application.
Sept. 5 - Webmaster acknowledged the receipt of my application, adding that it might take them up to two weeks to review my blog.
Sept. 22 - In the absence of a notice about the result of their site evaluation, I sent out a reminder.
Oct. 2 - Still not having heard a single word from JREF, I sent out a second reminder, carefully avoiding sounding too pushy.
Oct. 10 - To date not a single word has been heard .

If some of you have had the same experience, please give me a tip. Perhaps I've been wasting my time because the award is just a joke in the first place, or my website (http://www.tokyofreepress.com/) is too serious a blog for JREF.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

I Guess Some Things Just Take Time ??

We started talking JREF t-shirts in March of 2004; still waiting with baited breath? Maybe Santa will get us what we want for Xmas 2005?

Frank

:?

 

[Unjapanese]

Thanks, Frank.
I thought we Japanese were the slowest people in the world.

 

[RockLee]

Just try to PM him about it, think the man doesn't have that much time lately :? Anyways, keep trying !

 

[Unjapanese]

Just try to PM him about it, think the man doesn't have that much time lately :? Anyways, keep trying !

Thanks, RockLee. It didn't occur to me to PM him.

 

[Kara_Nari]

Whats the award?
First thing I've heard about it... watch out, I might be your strong competition

 

[Mike Cash]

1. Thomas also has what is known as a "real-life"
2. If you're dissatisfied, I feel confident he will refund your JREF membership fees.

 

[Tsuyoiko]

What is the JRef Award???

 

[Unjapanese]

Long time no hear, Tsuyoiko

What is the JRef Award???

This URL tells what it is.
https://jref.com/awards/
I don't know, though, if it's a monetary award or just a recognition.
Whatever is the prize, I'm now quickly losing interest in it. Having spent more than four decades in the business world, I have developed a strong disliking for an open-ended way of doing things, for better or for worse. Everybody is busy working on his/her own business. Doing nothing is much better than doing something half-heartedly.

 

[Unjapanese]

1. Thomas also has what is known as a "real-life"
2. If you're dissatisfied, I feel confident he will refund your JREF membership fees.

1. I have my real life, too.
2. I haven't paid a cent when joining JREF. Maybe that is the problem.

 

[Unjapanese]

Whats the award?
First thing I've heard about it... watch out, I might be your strong competition

Why don't you go ahead and apply? I have no intention to compete against you. Actually I'll quit the game.

 

[Mike Cash]

1. I have my real life, too.
2. I haven't paid a cent when joining JREF. Maybe that is the problem.

After four decades in the business world, you should be familiar with the axiom "You get what you pay for".

A corollary of that is "You can't b*tch about not getting what you're not paying for".

 

[Unjapanese]

After four decades in the business world, you should be familiar with the axiom "You get what you pay for".

A corollary of that is "You can't b*tch about not getting what you're not paying for".

As a former CFO, I have nothing against your axiom as such. But has anyone around here explicitly specified:
1) How many bucks I have to pay and
2) In exchange what value will be delivered, and by when?
Educate me on this, then I will have been convinced.

 

[Mike Cash]

Let's look at it:

:? :? I've been going through an ordeal for almost 5 months since a silly idea first crossed my mind to apply for the JREF Award. The chronology is like this:
May - I tried to submit my application 3, 4 times, to no avail. Each time, I encountered an "Internal Server Error."

May - I tried to contact someone at JREF. But each time I tried to send out my query I came across the same error message.

So May doesn't count, since contact wasn't made. The strain must have been horrendous, though, since you laid off the entire month of June.

July - I tried to apply another couple of times. My application was rejected in the same way but this time my mail asking for help somehow got through.
July - A gentleman who called himself Thomas L. Puller got back to me to say that the site was currently being redesigned and for that reason some sections might not be fully functional.
July - Mr. Puller gave me an additional tip to the effect that I was not really eligible to apply until I open my self-introduction thread, which I complied weeks afterward.

How important are we to think this really is to you when, once contact was made, you waited "weeks" to take the next step? How important should the site owner think it is to you when viewed in that light?

Sept. 5 - I successfully submitted my application.
Sept. 5 - Webmaster acknowledged the receipt of my application, adding that it might take them up to two weeks to review my blog.
Sept. 22 - In the absence of a notice about the result of their site evaluation, I sent out a reminder.
Oct. 2 - Still not having heard a single word from JREF, I sent out a second reminder, carefully avoiding sounding too pushy.
Oct. 10 - To date not a single word has been heard .

So we're actually only looking at a period from September 5th to October 10th here. Two weeks, give-r-take, beyond what you were told to expect to wait. I believe you yourself introduced a delay considerably longer than that according to your own chronology.

If some of you have had the same experience, please give me a tip. Perhaps I've been wasting my time because the award is just a joke in the first place, or my website (http://www.tokyofreepress.com/) is too serious a blog for JREF.

You've put too much into this to start saying the grapes were sour anyway, don't you think? As for whether your blog is too serious for JREF.....I have no opinion. Not one as high as your own, anyway. And that's what really counts.

 

[Unjapanese]

Although I don't really see what you are getting at by your analysis of the chronology, I can tell you mine is not a sour-grape story. Why should I tell one? And as for waiting weeks, of course there were two reasons: 1) I couldn't afford the time to deal solely with JREF all the time and 2) I wanted to avoid looking pushy.

Maybe you are saying JREF's reaction, or lack of it, was justifiable. I have no problem with that view. Everybody thinks his/her deed can be justified. Believe me, I am not interested in accusing anyone of doing something unjustifiable or unforgivable. I was just wondering someone around here might give me tips to have JREF expedite the site evaluation process. And several people gave me valid tips. That is that.

 

[Mike Cash]

If you work that hard to get the award and then say the award is a joke anyway, that is a perfect example of a sour grapes attitude. Or are you not familiar with the fable?

 

[Unjapanese]

If you work that hard to get the award and then say the award is a joke anyway, that is a perfect example of a sour grapes attitude. Or are you not familiar with the fable?

If I interpret the Aesop's fable correctly, mine is not a sour-grapes story at all. If someone at JREF had come back and advised me that I failed to win the award (which was not the case), only then my complaint would have fallen on that category.

But actually I couldn't care less because I am not interested in labeling people, or being labeled by them, in any way. I'm me.

 

[Mandylion]

I think everyone has made their point -

unjapanese - if you are still interested, try posting in the Support Requests area with a more specific heading than "can anyone help me" - Thank you.