Oh. You ARE reading? Cool.
So, hey, you must have visited our website, OnlineItalianClub.com at some point.
You may also have signed up to our mailing list (thanks!) In which case you’ll get this article automatically as an e-mail.
First the good news
There’s some great content on our site. Lots of it. Besides articles like this one, there are over 1100 pages of content, and hundreds of interactive Italian exercises. Many people visit each day. Around 1000 pages are viewed.
It’s turned out better than I ever imagined two years ago when I started the project. I should be pleased.
And the problem is?
This is a spare-time project. My day-job is running a language school. Time is an issue for me. And money.
Today (it’s the weekend) I deleted around 500 spam users, out of a total of 3500. Actually, my teenage daughter did it, because she has more time than me (now I have to pay her).
But teenage daughters can only take you so far. Each day I have to manually screen all new user applications to prevent commercial or sexual spam in our forums. There may be twenty or more, about three-quarters of which will be spammers. It’s a pain.
Plus, our mailing software costs per user. The more of you that sign up to our mailing list, the more we pay each month. But people sign up, then don’t open the mails. You’re one of just 15%-20% who do.
What’s gonna happen
A big clean-up is on the way. My efficient 13-year old daughter will be paid another 2o dollars or so to go through the remaining 3000 or so users of this site and delete those who haven’t logged in this year.
Inactive user? Hasta la vista, baby.
Next, I’ll be doing a filter of the 1800 e-mail addresses that get sent articles like this, and cancelling the ones that haven’t opened any of the mails received in 2013.
Yo, money saved.
How you can help
There’s a chance that you love the emails but never log in to the site. Or vice versa.
If you don’t want to receive e-mails from me, please unsubscribe from the mailing list. (There’s a link at the bottom of the page that says “Unsubscribe”. Click that once. You’re done.)
I’m absolutely all right with that.
And if you’re busy, or don’t want to use the site any more, that’s cool too. Just do nothing, and Hannah will get round to deleting you. Humanely.
Farewell to the forums?
Seen the link on the site that used to say “Forums” and now says “Chat”?
Well, it seems that nobody is very interested in chatting in or about Italian with other learners from around the world.
Shame. It could have been great.
Worse, having an empty forum makes my site look bad. Like nobody wants to use it, which is absolutely not the case as we get hundreds of happy Italian-learners each day.
So, if the forum doesn’t liven up soon, it’ll be farewell to that too. Who wants to look bad?
You like to make new friends and practise your Italian (for free), right?
Do us both a favour. Head on over to the site, click the “Chat” link in the menu, and introduce yourself.
We have a teacher there each afternoon (Monday to Friday, Italian time) who will interact with you, in English or in Italian, correct your mistakes, answer your questions about grammar, culture and so on.
Her name is Federica. Go say hello, because at the moment she’s sitting there doing nothing most of the time. And because it’s fun. And because you’ll improve your Italian as a consequence. And because if you don’t participate now, you soon won’t be able to.
Oh, but hey? No Viagra links, please.
(Like/Hate this post? Leave a comment. It’d be great to hear your views)
David Kahn says
Ciao! I very much enjoy the exercises and the information. I am coming to Bologna this Wednesday and would love to meet some people to practice Italian and learn about the city.
David
Daniel says
Ciao David,
Thanks for posting. If you’re free in the afternoon on Wednesday, drop by our school and say hello. The address is Via San Giorgio, 6 40121 Bologna. Madrelingua. First floor. There’ll be someone around all afternoon….
A presto!
Daniel
John Thomson says
An excellent article Daniel
I hope that you create a new version of the site, there must be a way to export the data from the old to the new
Reading other members comments, I think an article by you to explain the best ways to use the site, navigation etc would be good
What about you starting off a topic like “suggested site inprovements” or the like
What about Federica starting off a topic like “send me your transalation problems” or the like
On a lighter note did you know that google translate translates ” a can of worms” to “ub vaso di Pandoro” one of the many examples of why we all love the Italian language
Complimenti
John
Daniel says
I’m curious. What does the Google Translate come up with for “Depending on this machine translation service will rot my brain.”
John Thomson says
Come richiesto –
A seconda di questo servizio di traduzione automatica marcisce il mio cervello.
So you had a paper round, big deal! I used to go potato picking starting at 5 a.m. and I slept in a hole in the road
Non voglio aprire una lattina dei vermi, eravamo troppo poveri di avere un vaso di Pandora
Daniel says
Oh man, weren’t you worried about getting run over??
Kelli Courtney says
Ciao,
I am sorry to hear that your wonderful website is having these issues…
Please remember that you send 3 e-mails per post and I only open one.
Thank you for letting us know about the forum.
Kelli
Daniel says
Ciao Kelli,
If you’re getting three e-mails, that’ll mean you’re on three different lists. In the past, we had several.
Just unsubscribe from the duplicates.
And thanks for your kind comments!
Daniel
Chris says
Ciao Daniel
I also love your site and always mean to chat but feel a bit embarrassed about my appalling grammar 🙂 I too get multiple emails but haven’t unsubscribed as I didn’t want to lose access to the list. I seemed to pick up an extra email when I bought some of your excellent coursework.
Maybe we could pay for online membership – for different levels of access rather than have the forums close.
A presto
Chris (da Australia)
Sieglind D'Arcy says
Ciao Daniel & Chris
I am with Chris on feeling embarrassed. It’s one of the challenges of the adult learner, I am aware. I don’t like feeling stupid, I want to be perfect…NOW! And yet I know that my ability to learn is linked to my tolerance to feel stupid….
Chris, I notice you are from Australia. If it happens to be Melbourne we could think about testing our Italian with each other over coffee.
And Daniel, thank you for all the work you do that keeps us engaged! I’m looking forward to spending some time at your school later this year.
Sieglind
bill edwards says
I love your site and check it out regularly.
However, I find it difficult to navigate sometimes.
Just now I went to the Forum page, had no idea if it was the one to be used in Italian or not as the Monitor has an English name. I couldn’t find where to write my question to Federica for a while, eventually found a box that I could write in (although since I was writing in Italian I would have liked to be able to view my entire comment rather than just the words in the small box) but then I couldn’t find the Submit button. I have no idea if my question was sent off or not. This has happened to me before when I’ve wanted to contribute to the Forum.
Similarly, I have found it hard sometimes on occasions to follow your emailed prompts to new exercise and keep going around in circles.
Maybe other people have similar dissiculties???
Daniel says
Thanks for your feedback, Bill. I admit, I don’t find the forum software very user friendly either. We’re evaluating a different, supposedly better, piece of software for the job, but it would mean losing all the existing comments, plus having to spend time setting it up and Learning how to use it…
Perhaps if I wrote an article with instructions (and pictures) on how to contribute there. Do you think that would be helpful?
Lee Paoli says
Ciao Daniel. Mi piace molto il sito. Purtroppo non sono un “chatty” personne. Ma in futuro provero a ciacierrare di piu. Anche correge sempre il mio italiano specialmente lo spelling.
Lee
Daniel says
Sei gentile, Lee. E ti ringrazio per il commento.
Eco una correzione per te! “chiacchiere”
Alla prossima volta!
Lee Paoli says
Grazie per lo spelling. Qualche volta le parole sembrano che vengano da un altro pianeta ( anche la concordenza del tempo).
Daniel says
Prima di abitare in Italia, ho lavorato 3 anni in Turchia. Loro parole sono VERAMENTE diverse!
Jane Barnard says
Guilty as charged! I do read your emails and sometimes download the exercises but rarely do them as it entails printing off reams of paper so that I can go through them methodically and check the answers more easily; doing it all online is just too difficult for me! And I admit not to have used the chat facility as like others am embarassed about my poor writing skills. As I live in Italy I”m aware I should be able to read and write it better but day to day I am just concentrating on understanding and being able to reply. Am in the UK at the moment but when I return I will definitely log-on to Chat. This is a really useful site and I would hate to see it disappear; thanks for all the work you have done on it so far Daniel.
Daniel says
Thanks for the kind feedback, Jane. Though I urge you not to be embarassed about your mistakes when you write in Italian.
I myself do a lot of writing in Italian (webpages, articles, mailings, and so on) but always have a native speaker go over them to correct the mistakes. It’s embarassing at first, and sometimes painful, but you get used to it.
And in the end, what counts is how effectively you communicate, don’t you think?
John Thomson says
oops I almost forgot is there an equivalent Italian government department like “exploitation of child labour” to which Hannah can appeal
John
Daniel says
Lucky to have the chance, she is! When I was her age I was hauling a heavy bag of free newspapers through the rain, not sitting at a computer eating biscuits.
Erica Ansley says
I really appreciate your website and the opportunities that you provide to practise communicating in Italian as well as just learning the grammar of the language, but like others who have commented, I haven’t always found time to really exploit the possibilities you offer. I will certainly try harder, as it would be a shame to lose these valuable learning aids.
Daniel says
Thanks Erica. That’s kind of you. Time is the enemy, isn’t it?
Have you tried putting aside just a few minutes each day to work towards your goals, whatever they are? I find that worked well for me, once I got into the habit of it.
Ulrike Bernauer says
Ciao Daniel,
grazie per essere onesto. Per me la situazione è simile a quella di Erica e Lee Paoli: non sono una “chatty” persona e qualche volta non ho avuto abbastanza tempo per leggere tutto, per spendere molto tempo sul sito. Ma voglio dire che il sito mi piace molto e spero sempre di aver piu tempo per la lingua italiana.
Saluti,
Ulrike
Daniel says
Grazie per il commento, Ulrike. Lo apprezzo molto. Spero che, adesso che hai iniziato, troverai la forza e il tempo per continuare a contribuire. Vedi? E’ MOLTO più divertente così!
Alla prossima volta.
Ruth Stephens says
Inspired by others I am breaking the habit of the lifetime of this site to give my excuses for not participating in the forum! Basically it is just laziness – I am always put off if I have to log in to anything. But it was easy when I finally – back to the wall – was pushed into it. I really enjoy the articles and the comments of others – in English and in Italian – and I now realise two other things that I have been using as excuses: that you really don’t have to worry if your written Italian isn’t perfect and that anyone can be a chatty person. So I hope to comment again, next time in Italian (a post this long would have taken me 20 minutes in imperfect Italian!)
Daniel says
But it would have been 20 minutes well spent, no??
Maria Andryushechkina says
Hello,
My name is Maria. and i really need to say that your club is amazing. I am Russian, but from my early childhood i really adore Italy and everything coonected. I don’t speak Italian yet, but now i am active learner and your site is very helpfull for me. THANK YOU
Hope that in nearest future i can connect with you in clear italian language)
Daniel says
Benvenuta Maria. Speriamo di risentirci presto!
Daniel
marcelllinka says
Ciao Daniel,
grazie mille per il tuo articolo. (please correct me, if spelling is not ok).
Until now I didn’t dare to write in italian. Io preferisco leggere.
I regularly read your e-mails, but I’m lazy to be active italian user.
I’m happy, when I understand something sometimes,but I hope it will get beter.
A presto.
Daniel says
L’hai provato, Marcelllinka! E’ un inizio…
La prossima volta, scrivi solo in italiano, va bene??
Donald Georgie says
Ciao Daniel,
Mi dispiace molto di non aver’ scritto niente da troppo tempo, ma sono stato ammalato di sciatalgia severa, mal di cuore e malattia polmonare tutto insieme fin da gennaio. La guarigione è stata molto lenta. Dovevo prendere tante medicine; però le cose stanno migliorando adesso, grazie a Dio.
Mille grazie per il tuo messaggio, l’ho trovato molto interessante e provo il mio meglio di partecipare d’ora in poi.
Tanti auguri,
Donald
Daniel says
Sei messo male, Donald! Mi dispiace. Spero che ti senti meglio al più presto possibile. E ci sentiamo nel forum, va bene?
Dot Read says
Hi Daniel,
Just come back from the Dolomites (amazing!) and read your post. Sorry, I am a sporadic reader and very occasional contributor as, like others, I’m wary of writing in Italian as I’m still at a basic level. But you have a great site, full of useful stuff, so I will try to do better!
I am in the process of setting up a local Italian “Language Café ” , and will definitely tell the “students” about the Madrelingua site / school. (Not many takers as yet.) Also, I will be coming to the school for a week later in the year.
I hope the Forums keep going.
Dot
Kelli Courtney says
Ciao,
Mi dispiace. I cannot figure out how or where to type in the forum. It seemed as if I clicked on everything.
Daniel says
Hi Kelli,
Sorry you’re having problems. Next week I’m planning a “how to post in the forums” post, with pictures and everything. So watch this space. We’ll get you sorted out!
Daniel