RULES are a fact of life. We keep ours as simple as possible.
THIS web ring service is provided without charge by Rings @ anvilfire.com. We host* this service as well as maintain the ring. There are rules in exchange for the free use of this service. Most of these rules are to assure fairness among members of the ring.The Ringmaster "owns" the ring and can also set rules as long as they do not conflict with the rules set by anvilfire.com. The Ringmaster has the ability to edit any of the ring's records and decides who may be on the ring. Sites that do not follow the rules may be removed from the the ring immediately and without notice.
- Your site must have SOMETHING to with blacksmithing.
- We will no longer accept sites with pop-up window advertising.
- You must have the webring code fragment or graphic on your page.
- The page linked from the ring must go to your page with the code fragment.
- The code fragment must retain certain elements as determined by the Ringmaster.
- Link to The Blacksmith's Ring home OR our Ring Server
- Links to Previous, List and Next
- The ring logo or icon*
- Your site's correct ID number.
- Sites without the ring code may link to the ring or the ring's home but will not be listed on the ring. Let us know who you are and we will put you on the Friends of the Blacksmith's Ring page with link and put IT on the ring.
- NOTE: Our NEW system will serve the entire code block from our server. All that is required to call it is two lines of code as follows:
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">var BlacksmithsRingID='0'</SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" SRC="http://rings.anvilfire.net/data/smithring/smithring.js"></SCRIPT>If you know your site ID# then you may cut and paste the code above into your page. Where it says BlacksmithsRingID=0 replace the zero with your site number. This code is self centering. You may want to give it some space using a paragraph marker
<P>above and below. The size of the block is approximately that of a standard banner (468 x 60 pixels).
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NOTE: The above list does not apply to our new code block that automaticaly takes care of changes.
Logo and Code Block
Yep, I agree the old one was BIG and ugly. It was a style that was acceptable when the ring was established but the web and people's expectations have come a long way in that time. Our NEW system will serve a standard banner size graphic code block. The current design may change. However, with the code block being served from our server changes will be automatic, you will not be required to do anything when there are future changes as there have been twice this year (2000).If you like the funky old logo (it grows on you) you are welcome to use it in association with the NEW server side banner. You are on your own when it comes to the editing. Please remove all the links associated with the old logo and block. Soon they will no longer work (directing folks to Yahoo rather than the ring) or create frustrating 404 'page not found' errors.
<A HREF="http://rings.anvilfire.net/cgi-bin/prev.pl?ringid=smithring;siteid=0" TARGET="_top"><< Previous</A>
<A HREF="http://rings.anvilfire.net/cgi-bin/rand.pl?ringid=smithring;siteid=0" TARGET="_top">Random</A>
<A HREF="http://rings.anvilfire.net/cgi-bin/next.pl?ringid=smithring;siteid=0" TARGET="_top">Next >></A>
<A HREF="http://rings.anvilfire.net/cgi-bin/list.pl?ringid=smithring;siteid=0" TARGET="_top">List</A>
OPTIONS
Ring Pages: Many sites put their webring code on "Ring" pages with other rings. Some Ringmasters will not accept that type of arrangement. *I* did it that way on anvilfire and we will accept "Ring" pages with one condition. They must meet the rules above. Your link from the ring must go to that page.The solution is to have an alternate "home" page on your site with the ring code fragment(s). Setup the page with your title/logo and menus to the rest of your site. The anvilfire Web-Ring Nexus is a good frames based example. It looks a LOT like the anvilfire home page. You can also do the same with a non-frames based page.
Too much work? Or you don't know how? Then put your webring code fragment on your home page. Webrings bring traffic to your site in exchange for you creating traffic for the ring. Its a fair trade and part of the deal.
Otherwise, consider joining our Friends of The Blacksmiths Ring".
We use ring checker software that automatically checks the ring members sites looking for the proper code fragment. Luckily on The Blacksmiths Ring we have had very few "free loaders". There has been huge abuses on the web ring system that is not fair to other members. We will no let that happen here. We will maintain our ring so that it is fair to all
RINGMASTER ACTIONS
Your Listing will be changed by the Ringmaster without notice to the page that has your ring code.Your Site will be moved to the queue if it doesn't have the ring code OR the page it is on cannot be found. In most situations the the Ringmaster will write to you individually about the problem. However, this takes a lot of time and as the ring grows we may not be able to provide this level of personal attention.
Your Site will be removed from the ring if the link to it is broken and a simple search does not find your site. OR if e-mail to you about the problem bounces or is not responded to in a reasonable time. We know many of the sites on the ring and are often notified when their addresses change. We MAY correct your listing for you but it is your responsibility to maintain your site's record on the ring. That includes your sites URL and your e-mail address.
You may reapply to the ring if you have been removed for some reason. Please remember, this is a Blacksmith's ring. Sites that have nothing to do with blacksmithing will not be accepted.
Follow the rules and everyone will be happy!
ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
Web rings are setup as a private "domain" that belongs to the Ringmaster or group that sets up the ring. As such the "owner" of the ring can do as they please with it as long as they maintain it and abide by the webring rules. The owner can also destroy a ring or put it up for adoption. Webrings can be democratic or not. At this time this is not a democratic webring. We will take member recommendations into consideration. The following are the basic criteria.
- Your site must have something to do with blacksmithing. It can be a personal or business gallery site, a tool supplier, or even a medical site if it has articles specific to blacksmiths complaints.
- You must actually HAVE a web site. Sites "under construction" with no more than a title will be removed from the queue without fanfare. An e-mail address is NOT a web site.
- The ring's code fragment must be installed and easy to find.
- We will not accept new sites hosted on services with pop-up advertising windows. Everyone hates pop-up advertising. In fact we are preparing to remove ourselves from webrings hosted by services like the new webring.org that use pop-up advertising AND stop linking to pages with pop-ups.
REASONS FOR REJECTION
Blacksmith's Webring Ringmaster - anvilfire guru
- NO porn / violence: Your site must be generally acceptable to the public. This ring is rated for ALL ages.
- Sites blatantly built with components stolen from other web sites (copyright infringement) will not be accepted. You would be surprised how many sites I've visited that were built from pieces of other folks sites. We are NOT the copyright police but we will not help those stealing from our friends (and other ring members).
- Personal or Commercial reasons (hey I said its NOT democratic).
- Your site crashes standard IE or Netscape 4.0 browsers.
Bad Javascript, in-line CSS, errors in layers, oversized Flash intros and unclosed tables will prevent your page from being displayed or may crash my browser. If you are not technicaly capable of coding pages using sophisticated techniques then DON'T DO IT. We have had to reject some major sites due to bad coding.
YOUR VER. 3.0 WEBRING CODE'S RESULT WILL LOOK LIKE THIS!
YOUR OLD VER. 1.0 WEBRING CODE LOOKED LIKE THIS....
This The Blacksmith's Ring site owned by Ringmaster.
February 2003 -