I thought I'd mention what a webring is and how it works.
Basically, it's just a system of links to connect websites together under a common interest.
Like how you have a Links section on your website that has links to friends websites or your favorite websites. Someone sees the link on your site, clicks it and goes to that site.
With a Webring, the links are in the form of a banner (called a navbar for navigation bar).
The banner advertises what the common interest is.
The banner contains the navigation links that take you to the next site, or the last site in the loop.
What makes it a Ring is how the website linking works.
It forms a circle, a loop.
If you go to a website that's a member of a Webring, you'll see the banner for that ring, plus the links.
If you click on the link for Next, it will take you to the next website listed in the Ring.
The next site will have the same banner, and clicking it's Next will take you to another site.
If you keep clicking Next on each website, eventually you'll end up back at the same website you started from.
You've completed the circle.
For more versatility, you can go backwards too, there's a Previous link.
Then there's a Random one which can take you to any site listed in the Ring.
And of course, a direct link to the Homepage of the Ring,
and straight to the Signup page for those who decide to join right away.
Each Webring has a Homepage where all the member sites are listed.
It's also where members go to access their ring account. :o)
That's what they do and what they're for.
In Annex's case, the common interest is Annexcafe.
So the Annexcafe Webring is a group of websites that support Annexcafe.
It helps promote Annex, and the Ring also brings attention to the member sites.
So it goes both ways.
Visitors that travel the Ring through those links will come across your website, while at the same time each site is bringing attention to Annexcafe by the Ring banner and the Annexcafe webpages that are in the Ring.
Almost any website can join the Webring, it's not just for those that are an Annexcafe member.
Say like an Honored Artist that's given permission to use their works.
They might want to join to promote their website, and their website in turn will end up promoting Annex.
Of course there has to be standards involved, like no porn sites.<g>
So websites wanting to join should fit within the Annexcafe Guidelines.
How a Webring works internally,
when someone joins it, they supply the URL of the webpage they need to put the webring banner on.
Each URL they provide gets assigned a unique ID number.
The unique ID number is what identifies the page so the Next links can work.
When someone joins, they get a code for the banner with their ID number in it.
The member needs to put that code on the same page they listed as their URL.
If they don't put the code on that page, the banner and those links can't appear on that page.
No code is a bad thing for the Ring.
Because if someone clicks on a link that takes them to that site next, there's no links to continue onto the next site. The loop becomes broken, the Ring loses it's basic function.
One of the Webring member options for sites that break the Ring is to Hibernate them.
This takes them out of the loop so the circle remains unbroken.
When a site has the banner code, it can be Active, putting it in the loop.
With the Annexcafe Webring, each member has the ability to make their site Active or put it in Hibernation.
If a site needs to be down for any reason, the owner can hibernate it so they don't break the loop.
Once the site is back, they can set it to active again.
Members can also ask a Ring Moderator to Activate or Hibernate it for them.
A Ring Moderator's job is to check the Ring to make sure sites don't break the loop.
They also need to check for compliance.
For example, if a site starts promoting porn, a mod would want to set it to Suspend or even Delete it from the Ring.
A Ring moderator can edit a member's account info.
So a Ring moderator has options available if or when they need to help members.
One thing a Ring Mod can't do is put the code on a member's website.
Unless a member provides them with their site's log in info, or if the site happens to belong to the mod, that is.<g>
Anyhoo, maybe some of this helped someone to understand it a little better, a little bit less Greek, maybe. :o))
