ManicNirvana.com’s main purpose is to share information about Robert Plant’s fabulous solo career. Over the past 10 years I’ve tracked how visitors use the website and gotten feedback about what fans are looking for and how they want to get their information.

The first message board was set up in June 2001. Since then technology has moved forward and made more things possible with internet-based platforms. In 2005 ManicNirvana.com was redesigned to take advantage of the WordPress blogging platform and all it had to offer. The more WordPress develops, the more I’ll be able to streamline the processes. This means more information and cool things for fans and those just now discovering Robert. While WordPress is still a “blogging” platform, it really is a great content management system (CMS) that allows great functionality with ease.

While the message board platform is a bit more interactive, it’s not as comfortable for the wide range of people who are looking for information. Many people would rather participate in a blog conversation than on a message board.

WordPress also gets the information out there faster. Items posted in the Town Hall will hit the search engines within a matter of moments, while items posted in the Plaza may take hours, days or even weeks.

The blog platform also offers the capability of signing up for RSS or Atom feeds. Many people prefer to get their news via news readers where they can read all of their subscriptions at once.

The blog platform engenders a different type of conversation that many people find more comfortable. While it still has a community feel, it’s not perceived as “chatty” and responses become expanded and in depth–more like an interactive writing project. I think Robert’s fans are smart, savvy and music oriented! The Town Hall should allow for a wider cross section of fans to feel comfortable joining in.

Overall the ManicNirvana.com site will remain simple and streamlined. It’s unlikely you’ll ever see Flash based pages or things that spring out and jump around when you put your cursor over them. The information is the important thing, and offering it in a simple manner, but with powerful functions is the goal.

Getting Registered
You must be a registered member in order to post comments to the topics. You do not have to be registered or logged in to read the posts and comments.

In order to register, click on the tab at the top of the page that says “REGISTER”. You will be presented with a screen to fill in. The sections that appear yellow are required fields. The infomation you provide will only be visible to the HiBob. Once you are registered you will be able to choose whether to use your real name or your User Name when posting comments.

Once you have registered, you will get an email with your info. In the meantime your registration will go into the approval queue. Once you have been approved, you will get another email telling you so.

Once approved, log in by clicking on the tab at the top that says “LOG IN”. You will then see your profile page. Click the “Visit Site” to go back to the Town Hall Lobby. To Log Out, click “Log out” in the bar at the top of the page.

On the profile page you can choose how you will be shown in the comments. You can choose to use your User Name or your Real Name.

Adding a Comment
If you intend to post, be sure to log in first. The log in error message may cause you to lose what you have typed.

When commenting, you will not need to fill out the name and email sections of the comment form. No matter what you type there, it will still show the information that you logged in with and specifed in your profile.

The commenting window has automatic word wrap enabled. A return is only required at the end of a paragraph. Use two returns if you want a blank line between each paragraph for easier reading.

You may include links. Typing in a URL will automatically become a clickable link. For example: http://www.manicnirvana.com will become http://www.manicnirvana.com.

You may use limited HTML markup if you are familiar with it. Excessive HTML will be removed by the moderators.

Your post will be approved by a human moderator. Read more here.

The sidebar at the right is always visible and will let you navigate in various ways.

Search is always the best way to find something specific. The search will search the entire Town Hall for your query.

Calendar shows a list of topics by day. Click on the day, and you’ll see all the posts added that day.

Categories shows how many posts are in each category. When you click on the category title, all the topics in that category will show with the newest first.

Archives shows the number of posts by month. clicking on the month will show all of the topics posted that month, newest first.

Recent Comments This section in the sidebar lets you see excerpts of the most recent comments in the Town Hall. Click on the commenter’s name to go to directly to the comment. Click the post title to go to the original post.

Informational shows a list of stand alone documents that you may find useful, like the contact form.

Tags shows a visual representation of subject matter. The bigger the word, the more posts tagged with that subject. Clicking on a word in the tag cloud will show you all the topics with that tag, newest first. No topics are tagged with “Robert Plant”, obviously, because it is assumed all the subjects will be about Robert.

Keeping Track of Conversations

You can subscribe to RSS feeds for both comments and posts. Most current browsers are feed capable and you might see an orange feed icon in the address bar when you land on the Town Hall. Click that and it will step you through the process of subscribing to feeds in your preferred reader.

The sidebar has a recent comments section where you can see excerpts of the most recent comments in the Town Hall.

Membership has its privileges. Currently there is a members-only area which contains content that can only be viewed with a password. This area is not indexed in the search engines or linked on the website.

In order to get a password for the members’ area, use the Contact Form (see the sidebar) to send me an email. I’ll send you the information for obtaining your Members’ Area password. You must have been a member of the Town Hall for at least 3 months in order to get a password. If you have signed up from the old Plaza and have a password already, it will still work if you signed up before November 10, 2008.

More members-only areas may be added in the future. In that case one username/password will work for all of the members only areas.

Logging in Issues
If you have trouble logging into the members only area, remember these items:

Some browsers may ask you to log in twice. Once this is done you won’t have to log in again until you close your browser.

When typing your username/password, make sure num lock and capslock are OFF. Also make sure the username is typed exactly as sent to you (including spacing and capitalization)

Occasionally, the site does become unavailable due to heavy traffic, server maintenance or other computery issues. Wait a bit and try again.

If you have followed all these methods and still are unable to log in, drop me an email and let me know the problem, what browser you are using, what time you had the problem (and what time zone you’re in), and your user name. I will try to get it resolved within 24 hours.

For more Information
See my blog entry on time issues if you find 24 hours to be excessive. ;)

Netiquette: Etiquette practiced or advocated in electronic communication over a computer network.

There are certain accepted forms of behavior practiced on the internet. (I don’t make this stuff up–Google netiquette and you’ll find the standard documents.) Following some of these guidelines in any discussion will keep people from labeling you a “newbie” Below are a few of the main points of netiquette, along with some ManicNirvana.com specific conventions.

ALL CAPS
In the internet, all caps means shouting. We can hear you just fine. Also from a readability standpoint all caps is more difficult to read and annoys people. So use upper and lower case, even in your subject lines.

Read the Conversation
Don’t just immediately reply to the original post without reading the whole conversation. Your point may already have been made or your question asked and answered. Just adding “ditto” or “me too!” doesn’t add anything to the discussion.

Consider the Group
The most important rule of netiquette is “Think before you post”. (Another good rule might be “Don’t drink and post”, but that’s a whole other issue…) If what you intend to post will not make a positive contribution to the subject, don’t post it. Personal messages to one or two individuals should not be posted to the group. For example “Hey Joe, I found a recipe for fried alligator for you” would certainly not be approved by the Town Hall Moderators.

English, yes. Chat speak, lolspeak, no
These may be cute and interesting in casual conversation but the purpose here is to discuss Robert’s music in a manner that all the readers are conversant with. The purpose here is to allow people to find out more about Robert’s music. It’s worth the effort to write in standard English. ManicNirvana.com is conducted entirely in English. If you require a site in another language, an internet search will find you one. Heck, you can probably find one in lolspeak.

Why Comments Might Not be Approved
Here are some reasons why a comment might not be approved:

Spam, Advertising: No advertising will be allowed except by prior arrangement with the HiBob. Ads aren’t likely to be approved unless they are for something like a Robert-endorsed charity. And of course nobody likes spam. Unless maybe fried. Or in a good plate of spam, spam, sausage and spam.

Grousing and Complaining: If you’re just grousing and complaining about the way things are run, or grousing and complaining because Robert isn’t doing the kind of thing YOU happen to like right now, it’s not really constructive. This topic explains more.

Off Topic, Off Tone: Sort of obvious. If your comment has nothing to do with the topic at hand, or nothing to do with Robert then off it goes. If it is contrary to what the board is all about (again, read the SSS&Q category) then off it goes.

Ditto, Me Too, Couldn’t have said it better, Well said: A post containing one of these phrases and nothing else just won’t get by.

What the Moderators Will and Won’t Do
There are some things the Moderators might do to make a comment more readable. Some things they won’t do, and as a result it might keep your comment from being posted.

WON’T fix ALL CAPS
WON’T fix chatspeak
WILL check links for accuracy
WILL fix and pretty up links if necessary
MIGHT remove an inflammatory or derogatory statement if the remainder of the post is informative.
MIGHT fix grammar if necessary for clarity.

Think of the Town Hall as a magazine and the Moderators as the editors.

A few people inquired about helping defray the costs of running ManicNirvana.com so your HiBob put a few methods in place.

All donations to ManicNirvana.com are greatly appreciated, and it gives the HiBob a warm fuzzy feeling to know that people like the place enough to contribute to it. Thanks again and again to those who have already contributed, and thanks in advance to those who do in the future.

Where your Money Goes

All funds donated to ManicNirvana.com go directly to supporting the website. Your HiBob runs and maintains the site as a labor of love and certainly doesn’t expect to make money from it (though the idea of making a living sitting around noodling with Robert Plant pics is QUITE appealing).

Manicnirvana.com costs $150 per year to maintain. This includes domain fees, hosting and bandwidth fees, and add-on software that sometimes costs a small amount. The add-on software generally serves to make the site safer and easier to use. But I try to go with free software whenever possible.

The Donation Portals

These donation methods can all be found in the Emporium.

Good old Fashioned Cash Donations
You can use PayPal to offer cash donations using your credit card, PayPal balance, direct debit from your bank account, or an electronic check. Just use this convenient button:

Amazon Affiliate Program
I’ve set up an affiliate program with amazon.com. Any of the cds, books or videos that you buy using the links in the Store generates a commission for ManicNirvana.com –usually between 4 and 6 percent of the item’s price. Also, if you use the search box on the store page to go to Amazon, ANYTHING you purchase in that session will generate a commission. So if you’re going to buy something on Amazon anyway, just start there and Manic Nirvana reaps a benefit.

Manic Gear
You can purchase Manic shirts, mugs and other assorted items in the Gear store. Manic Nirvana makes 25% on each item. So a $3 item would generate about 50 cents.

Other Donation Methods

Cash, checks, money orders
I will take cash, checks or money orders from registered members. I’m not set up to accept foreign currency, but checks drawn on US banks in US dollars work out just fine. Send me an email if you’d like to donate this way and I’ll send you an address.

Partial Funding
The HiBob has some CafePress stores that have nothing to do with ManicNirvana.com, but some of the money made there does go for ManicNirvana.com related things. The rest of the profits go to feed the HiBob’s collecting habit (and sometimes just to feed the HiBob). So check out Funsey Town, Hip To Who? and Dip and Chip. Buying these products help out, but not ALL of the profits from these stores go to ManicNirvana.com.

The official position of this website is: ManicNirvana.com will not indulge or trade in rumor and speculation presented as fact concerning Robert Plant. This has always been true here, but now it’s spelled out.

Unlike other boards or websites you may have seen, ManicNirvana.com will not take at face value news reports offered third-, fourth-, or fifth-hand. There are plenty of “facts” out there presented by someone who once dated a guy who delivered something to Robert three years ago. Here at ManicNirvana.com I check facts as meticulously as possible. I use archives, direct printed quotes from Robert, and actual first-hand reports. Second- and third-hand reports from “people in the know” don’t count as fact. We’re not the National Enquirer. If you happen to know the “person in the know” and want to reveal the source privately feel free to email me. Otherwise the item will be treated as rumor.

Guests are welcome to send in news items, but they will not be taken on face value and will be checked. When presenting a bit of news, actual names of the person quoted or the publication and date that it appeared in will be asked for. If the news item is something you witnessed yourself, you will be asked to provide the date and place that it happened.

Obviously this position applies to news items and Robert-related information. The “Tall Cool One” category is designed for pondering and wondering and hopefully isn’t being used as an informational standard.

Rules of Order

1. NO talk of Religion
   
2. NO talk of Magic or mysticism
   
3. NO talk of the Occult, wizardry, shamanism, voodooism, paganism, wicca or any other alternate ways of being
   
4. NO talk of politics
   
5. NO disparaging comments about race, sexual orientation, religion.
   
6. NO flaming or harshness against your fellow dwellers or other message boards.
   
7. NO maligning of Robert, wild speculations about any dangerous habits Robert may have or musings about what dire illness you think he’s suffering from this week.
   
8. NO conversations about Robert’s private life or family. These things are of no concern to us.
   
9. NO Robert vs anything debates. The Robert vs Zeppelin has been done to death. This is a Robert-centric board and such comparisons are out of place.
   
10. NO advertising unless it’s Robert-related items, or by special permission from the HiBob.

BONUS RULE: NO making the HiBob be a hard ass, it only makes her cranky.

The first five are usually what cause discussion unpleasantness.

What the heck is all this about a wooden spoon?!
The wooden spoon image got started in the early days, based on a story about a grandmother smacking people on the shoulder with a wooden spoon when they got unruly. So the HiBob brandishes the wooden spoon when she moderates topics. It’s just a funny. If you find this offensive in some way, your humor tank is low…

The Town Hall is heavily moderated to keep discussion from swinging wildly off-topic and degenerating into a chat-fest that has nothing to do with the subject which is “Robert Plant: Solo Artist”.

Unfortunately, heavy moderation is necessary because many “adults” can’t act like adults or feel that they are exempt from any sort of rules. A board without rules, sadly, turns into a place with little or no material about the subject. This is very frustrating for people who come looking for information and news.

If you don’t like the way the material is moderated or don’t like what the FAQ documents have to say, then this is not the place for you. If having to follow rules makes you upset, then perhaps you have issues better dealt with by a professional.

I don’t like Rules, What’s your Problem?

I haven’t got a problem. I have rules. I’m sorry if rules don’t fit into your daily routine, but that’s the way it is. I suggest not reading the website at all. If the temptation is too great, drop me a line and I can gladly block the site for you personally so you won’t be tempted. ;)

You might want to check out this blog entry for more insight, and reading the rest of the SSS&Q topics to see WHY the rules are in place.

And whining about the ManicNirvana.com on other websites is tacky. Just like sending snotty emails with bogus return addresses.

ManicNirvana.com is Robert-centric. This means all solo Robert, all the time. If you want to discuss Jimmy, Jonesy or other bands or genres not related to Robert’s solo career, there are other boards more suited to you. If you feel that the Zeppelin years were Robert’s best years, then you are likely to be disappointed here. If you absolutely cannot live without discussing Led Zeppelin, then there are literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of websites, message boards, blogs and communities that focus on that subject and those might be more your style.

Though topics may degenerate into discussions about blues or influences from time to time, but they usually start out being Robert-specific. ManicNirvana.com isn’t a coffee-klatsch chat group. Personal trials and tribulations have no place here.

ManicNirvana.com is ALWAYS pro-Robert, with a positive outlook. It looks to the immortal words of Thumper for guidance when considering a posts: “If you can’t say nothin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.” There is too much negativity and spitefulness on the internet already. It will not be present here. Our premise is touting the Glory that is Rob by discussing his music, his influences and his public projects.

ManicNirvana.com was created out of respect and admiration for an enduring music legend. We are first fans of his music and artistry. Many of us became fans before we even set eyes on the man. We never lose sight of the fact that Robert Plant is a talented musician who has touched many lives.

All Robert Solo

The ManicNirvana.com motto might be: Discussing Robert Plant, solo artist (1981-Present). ManicNirvana.com is the ONLY fansite concentrated ENTIRELY on Robert’s solo endeavors. If you would like further confirmation about what “solo” means in regard to Robert’s career, look at the Nine Lives package. You will find the albums that Robert includes in his solo efforts up to 2005.

It is certainly possible to view Robert as an artist completely separate from Led Zeppelin (which was only about 11 years of his more than 40 years in the music business). He had a music career before he joined Zeppelin, and he’s had a 26+ year solo career after Zeppelin. He is now eligible to be inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist.

If you feel that everything Robert does must be compared to Zeppelin, then you are in the wrong place. If you feel that the Zeppelin years were Robert’s best years, then you are in the wrong place. However, if you feel that Robert has produced some great work on his own as a solo artist, then you are absolutely in the RIGHT place.

If you are looking for reliable news about Led Zeppelin topics, try Tight But Loose.