Now when I log in the site on my Samsung S10+......


  • 🩷Dollie🐰Divas🩷

    @kleasterling Indeed!! I always suspected that @FunkyJunkyGypsy was magical in many ways!!

  • The Art Factory

    @funkyjunkygypsy I'm from the Netherlands. I don't even see gray triangles or exclamation marks.
    It's just blank.

  • Twisted Gypsies

    @sammie-g Read through my suggestions in this thread and give them a try. 🙂

  • Twisted Gypsies

    @cindu12 You are more than welcome! Thrilled to have helped you. That damn app!!!

    Next up, UrStyle's Facebook page which has a "recent" post from August 20th of this year, just three weeks ago, stating:
    Maintenance window scheduled on 23th of August. We are going to fix stability issues.
    (https://www.facebook.com/urstyleofficial/)

    If one person is running UrStyle right now, of course, answering e-mail is not their priority. Keeping the website (cash register) going is. This person is likely doing the maintenance without assistance, which means it will take longer than it would otherwise. If this is the case, I am not at all surprised if this one person is rotating server operations while trying to solve all issues on all platforms; the app, the website, different operating systems, different devices, different connections to the internet, different browsers, etc.

    We had a storm a couple weeks ago and I lost power for about an hour, after which, I could not get online. It turns out that my router got fried. I ordered a new one, it came last week, and it should have taken me ten minutes to set it up and get it running. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! My guy and I are STILL sharing my PC because I'm still struggling to get my computer to recognize the new router. This is unusual for me, but the point is that I'm STILL working on it. I cannot imagine having to run servers for a website this large and complex, having no other employees on-board, and expecting it to be done in a matter of days.

    Again, the fact that we are here and many of us are able to access the site just fine suggests that UrStyle is not going down, just blipping along until everything is straightened out (including finding new investors!). Someone told me that they cannot see any images at all, including Sets, but that the ads are showing up just fine. That tells me that The Wizard of Oz; the man person working behind the scenes at UrStyle, has his or her hands full, has A LOT of responsibility, and is doing their best to get everything back to normal.

    If they are upgrading the APP, then it makes sense that the App will be faulty. I try to stay away from apps for that reason. They're temperamental, so to speak. If I can get a direct connection to a website service through a browser, I use that. But that's just me.

    Anyway, VERY happy you're back full-throttle! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💙 💜 💙

  • Twisted Gypsies

    @kleasterling I don't recall if you ever told me that. 🤪

  • Twisted Gypsies

    @cindu12 I am... ✨🧚✨

  • 🩷Dollie🐰Divas🩷

    @funkyjunkygypsy Well good to know that someone is minding the store! I don't remember anything being better since whatever fix they did on Aug 23 but not being to techy, it may have been just enough to make things a bit smoother but not as obvious.

    I am sorry you had so much trouble with your router but I have to admit that it made me feel less clueless knowing that these dear little things we call computers are tempermental with anyone, no matter how tech saavy they happen to be. But I have no doubt you will figure it out!

    I think I mentioned in my first post that it was frustrating that I couldn't see any content but the apps were there loud and clear! But now that I know what the issue was all along (having the darn app on my phone!), that could have been the reason. I do know that advertising is extremely important to these free sites and never begrudge them that but having one person responsible seems a bit harsh but I suppose they do what works for them. I do feel much better reading that you think the site is going to be just fine and fingers crossed that those new investors see the value in this site as much as we do.

    I totally agree on the app thing. I think I will stay away from it for a while. Working from the website seems more practical and much easier to navigate.

    Thank you again so so so much for everything, I really was worried for a few days that things were not looking to good and given this darn pandemic and all these underlying conditions my body is determined to have (HAHA), this is an escape that I just didn't want to lose! How forunate we all are to have you as our tech guru!!

    I hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend and again, bless your heart for everything!! 🥰😇🥰

  • 🩷Dollie🐰Divas🩷

    @funkyjunkygypsy indeed you are!!


  • Cindy, this reply is not directed at you. It merely looks like that because of hitting the reply button.

    I've been watching this forum post since it started, and contributed what I knew. I also put in another post on Patreon based on what the few of you had said about contributing if everyone else did. There has been no reply, but it's also the weekend, so there won't necessarily be one soon.

    My opinion here, and it is just that, will simply be my opinion. It's been bothering me enough that I felt it needed to be said. I'll start with a few basic questions, ones that don't require an answer, and certainly not because anyone gets defensive about it, because some will consider that I am attacking or judging, which I am not doing. I am merely asking the question(s).

    First and foremost, if you could have stopped Polyvore from shutting down by contributing money, would you have done so? (These are rhetorical questions I am posing)

    Second, if you had a friend in need, someone who had helped you out without asking anything of you, and they needed a helping hand, would you help thinking of what you got in return or whether you were throwing away money? (Note I used the word 'friend', but I could just as easily have put in the phrase 'homeless person' or family leech, it doesn't matter in the long run)

    Third, if you'd been given a gift that meant a great deal to you, and you wanted to keep that gift rather badly, what would you do to keep it? Would you take the chance, or would you just do nothing?

    My opinion: I don't agree with the way that the troll posed their opinion to you, but they did give you something to think about, and you did miss the point. UrStyle did give us a home, and although the fashion sets are supposed to bring in business, it is obvious that it is not enough, at least at this time. The dolls and the art do nothing for this site, and let's face it, a lot of us do nothing but those kinds of sets, and many of them.
    We have inundated this site with images and sets, with no other contribution except the occasional bout of gratitude, and 2 members who support it monetarily. I am one of those members, because I swore when Polyvore shut down that if I got the chance at another site like that, I would pay to maintain it. I didn't swear to pay if everyone else did. I didn't give a thought to what everyone else did. Until now.
    They made it clear to me, and I passed it on to you, that it costs thousands of dollars to maintain the servers monthly. What happened to "every little bit helps"? Why is it that you only want to pony up if everyone else does, when the cost is so low as to not be painful?
    I find it hard to reconcile the answer to that question with your desire to keep this site, and our complaints about how it isn't working well.
    It can't work well when it is having difficulties, and we aren't helping with those difficulties, we are only waiting for them to end. How about we lend a hand without thought for what's in it for us, when what's in it for us is our home?
    You can spread the word to the others, too, by just doing an occasional set asking people to help support this home. If 200 people were giving $5 a month, that's $1000 right there. Maybe some of them would give even more.
    What it comes down to if whether you feel that this home is worth taking the chance on, and whether it's worth helping out.

  • Twisted Gypsies

    @wildcupcake I'm in disagreement about contributing. @Cindu12 has been finally able to access this site after uninstalling the App. If she had contributed money, that would have not fixed her inability to access UrStyle. Removing the App (which seems unstable) is what got her “up and running” here.

    Another friend tried all of my suggestions and found herself still unable to access UrStyle after days. I paraphrase what she told me. “I’ve tried numerous times to get onto UrStyle, and other than one five minute window, I have not been able to see any graphics or Sets. I don’t think the problem is my tablet, as I cannot see the full site on my phone either -- and my phone never had the app installed. I had my husband and my son try to access UrStyle on their own laptops. They have never been on URSTYLE before and do not have the App. They used a web browser. Neither could get on.”

    Since the common denominator seemed to be her account, which was or had been connected to the App on one of her devices, I suggested she create a new account. Immediately after doing this, she was fully and quickly able to access UrStyle through both the desktop version of the site, and the App. (If she develops problems after using her new account with the App, I will suggest she stay away from the App completely.)

    So what does this tell us... It tells us that the connection problem has to do with UrStyle's servers and even the App itself. Donating money would not have gotten her problem fixed, or any one person's individual connection issue fixed. I realize it may help them to run their servers, but since they have not indicated what the problem is and how much they need to fix that problem, throwing money at them is not something I am comfortable with. In fact, it costs much more than we'd probably donate to maintain and update servers.

    Many Users have stated that they would gladly pay for a monthly membership. That includes me. But a donation, with nothing promised or assured, as I keep my fingers crossed and hope the money I give is used the way it’s supposed to be? No thanks.

    This website is not a friend or family member. The Users are, but not UrStyle.com. UrStyle is a business. Comparing it to a person in need is 'apples and oranges'.

    This website is also not a gift, even if it feels that way. It’s a lure. We come here and create art and hopefully, we use in our art (and purchase) the products that their advertisers have provided images of and information about. But our buying products is not what UrStyle is after. It's the free viral advertising....

    Many of us post our Sets to Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media, including blogs and websites. We basically advertise for the advertisers by doing that. Therefore, if UrStyle wants to keep things running, they need both their advertising accounts active and their User accounts active. (They should be paying US for spreading UrStyle all over the internet!)

    If you read the Terms of Service (https://urstyle.fashion/terms_of_service) it states:
    "You understand that any items you import, and sets you create on the Website will be made available to the public. Further, you hereby grant us, our affiliates, and our partners a worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free, nonexclusive, sublicensable license to use, reproduce, create derivative works of, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, transfer, transmit, distribute, and publish the sets you have created using the Website."

    This means that we have agreed to let them profit from our creations. We are free labor for them.

    The UrStyle Terms of Service further states:
    Content redistribution: "You may display images of sets from the Website on other websites for non-commercial use, provided that you do so with the embed code provided by URSTYLE. You may not alter the embed code in any ways. You may not distribute any content from the Website without written consent from URSTYLE otherwise. Images on the Website are intellectual property of copyright owner and may not be used for commercial use without permission from the owner. Additionally, if you want to make commercial use of the URSTYLE Service, you must enter into an agreement with URSTYLE to do so in advance."

    Hmm... They encourage distribution of our Sets, as long as WE do not make money for the artwork we've created, as WE are not the owner of the work. They are. We are simply creators with no legal rights to our creations -- even if we created all the graphics we'd used to design something. We can distribute our creations, but we cannot sell them or use them in any commercial way. To do that, we must get "permission from the owner" (UrStyle) and enter into a legal agreement (contract) with them, which almost certainly means we'll either need to pay UrStyle for the rights to use our own creations commercially, or we'll have to share a portion of those commercial earnings with UrStyle.

    Yes! It's true. UrStyle encourage us to share our Sets all over the internet, yet takes ownership of those Sets, telling each of us that, by simply using their website, you "automatically grant us, our affiliates, and our partners a worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free, nonexclusive, sublicensable license to use, reproduce, create derivative works of, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, transfer, transmit, distribute, and publish the sets you have created using the Website."
    That doesn't sound like a gift to me!

    UrStyle is a harmless trap, just as Facebook is, just as Pinterest is, just as other social media is. We play for free while the provider profits. They profit from both their paying advertisers and from the activity of their Users.

    The kind of Sets, such as Doll Sets, that you, @WildCupcake, feel do nothing for this site actually advertise Fashion/Clothing and often beauty products. The Art Sets may or may not benefit UrStyle in a significant way, but even if they are just a lure to attract Users in hopes that many of those Users will go on to create Home and Fashion Sets, UrStyle provides the Art Set option, so there must be a financial reason behind it.

    When you point out that we have “inundated this site with images and sets, with no other contribution except the occasional bout of gratitude”… I believe you unknowingly contradict yourself. That fact that we HAVE inundated this site with images and sets IS a contribution, a HUGE one. UrStyle wouldn’t create a Clipper Tool and the Upload Items Feature if they didn’t want us bringing them products from companies they may not have approached for advertising. It certainly makes approaching a non-participating company much easier if UrStyle can show them that Users are uploading their products to this site.

    I suspect that UrStyle is trying to make adjustments and because they are short-handed (mostly due to Covid, I’m told) updates are happening at a slower-than-usual pace. Donating to their staff’s paycheck is pretty much all we’d be doing, in my opinion, as they’re going to need a lot more than donations if they can no longer afford to keep their servers running -- which leads me to question if they're changing servers to save money and if THIS is why there are connection issues. For someone to create a new account and suddenly have full, uninterrupted access to the website when their “real” account will not connect, well, this suggests to me that their original account is connected to a server that may be one of those that UrStyle is trying to repair/upgrade or replace.

    I can only speak for myself when I say that: Should a paid membership to this website be offered, there would be 'Terms of Service' for that, which would include what Members can expect from their membership. Since I can expect nothing from a donation to a business that appears to be in trouble, as so many businesses are right now (not to a friend in need or to a homeless person), than expecting me to donate money when this business already gets so much from me, is unreasonable. (#sorrynotsorry? 🤪)

  • Poetry In Motion (Art Group)

    @funkyjunkygypsy @WildCupcake Totally agree with FJG, I would be prepared to pay a subscription but the terms of service would need to change and there would need to be an assurance that the website was maintained by IT (and if this is deemed as entitlement by Wayfarer, so be it 🙂 ). Urstyle was created as a business by it's founders as a service (per Terms of Service) and never has there been any requirement for members to pay for this service, apart from being pawns in their advertising system. Even though many of us have donated funds through Patreon in the past and unfortunately once bitten, twice shy.

  • 🩷Dollie🐰Divas🩷

    @funkyjunkygypsy I definately agree with all you said and am glad you could put into words all I was thinking in my head.

    Interestingly enough, I got this "reply" from Urstyle this morning, but kind of felt there was a little bit of an attitude behind it, could be just me but I tend to read between the lines and this just seemed like, "well the site and app are working just fine so not sure what your problem is!" Just my interpretation, but wanted to share to see what anyone else thought?

    |-Hello Cindy! I am sorry you’re haveing issues using our site. Are these ongoing issues or happening from time to time? Both site and app seems to be working right now.-|

  • Twisted Gypsies

    @cindu12 At least you got a response, and it came AFTER you realized that your phone settings were preventing the connection. It wasn't UrStyle per se, but likely their app.

    I don't take the response as having an attitude. There's a language barrier on their end to some extent, yet they did apologize for your having issues. They also asked if those issues are constant or intermittent. Asking questions helps them to determine what may be going wrong. If they weren't wanting to be helpful, they wouldn't have answered at all.

    In addition, they noted that both the website and the app SEEM to be working fine... They are understaffed and I'm thinking that the person who answered you is not a technical person, but someone giving general replies to all the e-mails they're getting. Maybe it's somebody's wife just being asked to help out!

    I think it's a good sign that they did reply to you, asked about your issue frequency, and indicated that both the App and the website SEEM to be working fine. If they are non-technical and only recently reading the many emails waiting in the UrStyle Inbox, how are they really going to know if the servers are having issues or not? I'm sure they'll be giving an overall report to whoever's tweaking the site functions and/or doing maintenance /upgrades.

    You may simply be frazzled from all the frustration of the last few days. Take a deep breath, my friend, and make a doll that represents the frustration you've been feeling, or one of the UrStyle IT tech as you imagine them to be, or even one as the angry poster from a couple days ago. Make yourself laugh!

    ❣ 😆 ❣


  • @funkyjunkygypsy

    I did not ask rhetorical questions or state my opinion to be condescended to, be lectured, have things "explained" to me, or to be told where I've erred.

    I merely asked them to give people something to think about. The fact that you felt the need to tear them apart is telling. If you want to sway people to your way of thinking that badly, have at it.

    No one has said that anyone has to give money. I've merely tried to point out that giving $5.00 a month is not a lot of money to give for a business that has given us a playground that we needed so badly. As for your "throwing money at them", making $5 sound like hundreds is in your best interests apparently. And a donation is just that, a donation. No one has asked for your firstborn.

    As for contradicting myself, I can tell you that I don't bring products here, I bring edited images. I don't benefit this business in any way except to donate. I don't need you to correct me.

    Lastly, you effectively called me unreasonable, when again, all I did was put my opinion out there, and state that it was my opinion, and that I was not judging. I'm still not judging. What everyone chooses to do is their business. I merely wanted them to see it from a different perspective. If they didn't, so be it.

    Asking people to think about something is not unreasonable. Insulting them for giving an opinion that is not harmful is.

  • 🩷Dollie🐰Divas🩷

    @funkyjunkygypsy Thanks dear, I do tend to over think things at times so I always appreciate a different perspective.

    Not that it matters, but this was from FB so your theory on who actually answered and given the language barrier is most accurate!

    I am doll making but am making things I enjoy and am putting this situation away!

    Your a good friend...🥰

  • 🩷Dollie🐰Divas🩷

    @wildcupcake I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinion and although you did say your statements were rethorical I don't think you can be surprised that the response that you received wasn't just her opinion as well.

    I don't think she was attacking you but rather addressing your statements and I have to agree that I don't believe we owe Urstyle anything. This is a service that is provided that we have all signed up for and for which they clearly explain that they own all content, so technically we just rent our time from them, in my opinion.

    The one point I do disagree with is that thinking that $5 is not too much to ask. I think we should keep in mind that $5 to some people may as well be $500. I live alone, have one income, and live in one of the most expensive areas in the whole country, so $5 to me every month would have to be taken from somewhere else and although that may seem frugal or cheap to others, it is my reality and just as I completely respect your opinion and everyone else's, assuming people can do somthing just because you are in a position to is somewhat shortsighted.

    I hope nothing I have said offends you as that is certainly not my intention, I just wanted to offer you a different perspective.

    Have a pleasant rest of you day!

  • Twisted Gypsies

    @wildcupcake Ms. Cupcake,
    You got it all wrong. I was not lecturing to you. I was simply disagreeing with the idea of donating money to a business and explaining my point-of-view. Usually, when someone expresses disagreement, an explanation is expected. I disagreed. I explained. My reply was to you because you asked us to consider donating, but my explanation was for all who read my reply, offering the reasons for my disagreement about it.

    My statement regarding contradictions was: “I believe you unknowingly contradict yourself.” I did not state that you did contradict yourself, but that I believe you have done so without realizing. I explained that, too.

    As for the word “unreasonable”, that was pertaining to UrStyle asking for donations, not anything you said.

    So chill! No reason to be defense or to take offense. I was just putting in my three cents -- which I know used to be worth two, but I’m accounting for inflation. 🙃

  • Twisted Gypsies

    @cindu12 I think we all over-think things at times, especially when frustrated. Can't wait to see what you create!


  • I merely wanted people to see a different perspective. I asked some questions and asked people to consider them.

    UrStyle isn't asking for donations, I asked people to consider it. UrStyle didn't ask for anything.

    I am now irritated as all hell, because something so simple got turned into something so ridiculously complicated.

    If every one of you decided not to donate, that's your choice. I am not responsible for you and your choices. I accomplished what I set out to do, which was to get you to think about it. That was all I wanted.

    So can you please stop addressing me about it and go back to whatever? Trust me, it's for the best.

  • Twisted Gypsies

    @wildcupcake said in Now when I log in the site on my Samsung S10+......:

    UrStyle isn't asking for donations, I asked people to consider it. UrStyle didn't ask for anything.

    Actually, UrStyle IS asking for donations. https://www.patreon.com/join/urstyle

    And yes, you did accomplish what you set out to do and I did consider what you asked people to consider. I also gave you what I feel is a respectful reply. If you read it aloud, with a calm, friendly voice, I think you'll "feel" it as it was intended. So much gets lost without facial expressions, tone of voice, and other nuances that would more correctly convey the written word.

    It's okay to disagree with one another. A disagreement is not a personal attack. It's a discussion. You've made it clear that a discussion is not what you wanted, nor did you want a reply. I guess Upvotes and Downvotes is all you would find acceptable, or is that not okay too? (I'm serious.)

    I came from another angle in that, if I'd asked people to consider certain points, I'd be interested in their perspective after having considered them. Whether or not they agreed with me wouldn't affect my interest in understanding their point-of-view, which leads me to ask: Would you be so irritated if I'd agreed with you? Would you have told me that you feel that I shouldn't have replied to your post because all you wanted was for people to think about the points you made?

    As someone I consider one of my UrStyle friends, I would expect you to know that nothing I said to you was meant to be negatively personal. I believe you misunderstood my reply, and that your reaction to it is due to your misunderstanding of it. Straightening that out, in my opinion, is for the best and I hope I have done that. 💙

ACTIVE URSTYLERS

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