1 year ago today I put up my first official post on Rush is a Band. I'd created the site mainly based on my own frustration that there wasn't already a site in existence that offered an unfiltered, up-to-date Rush news feed. Every day I found myself combing literally dozens of fans sites, message boards, newsfeeds, etc. just to get my Rush news fix. I figured that since I was doing this anyways, I should offer it up for the general Rush-fan public as well. So I did. I really had no idea where it would take me but I kept at it. Eventually word got around and I was getting around 300 pageviews a day by the end of 2005. Today it's 10 times that number and growing. I really can't believe it myself. So I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the readers of Rush is a Band for visiting the site on a regular basis, spreading the word and for all your words of encouragement, appreciation and criticism (both good and bad). I also wanted to give you an idea of what's in store for the future of the site and allow you to make suggestions as to what enhancements/features you'd like to see and any ideas you have.

First off, I don't plan on making any radical changes to the site - especially the design (if you could call it that). This site is and will remain primarily a Rush and Rush-related news site where the content is king. My design is simple and unflashy because of this. I might change a font or a color scheme here and there or create a "real" header image, but that's about it. In my experience I've found that design is so subjective that it's impossible to please everyone. And sites that place more importance on style than substance are the ones I usually avoid. I just want my site to be readable and easy-to-use. If you have any suggestions as to the design while keeping these things in mind, I'd love to hear them.

I have a few weeks off around Christmas and plan on dedicating some of that time to updates on this site. A lot of the changes I have planned are "under-the-hood" type changes that won't really affect what the end user sees. But they will make things easier for me as far as posting and updating the site - which is a good thing.

One thing I really want to do is enhance/update the post comments. I don't know how far I'll get with this, but I should at least be able to start allowing users to quote other comments easily, add hyperlinks and simple html decoration - stuff like that. So far I haven't had too many problems with open/anonymous comments. I get a few offenders here and there but that's ok - and to be expected. I really want to avoid having to use some kind of registration system. Basically my policy is - express your opinion as much as you want but once it starts to degrade to personal attacks and overuse of vulgarity I'll put a stop to it. I'll either shut down commenting on the post or just delete the offending post. I don't think it's asking too much from people to follow these simple rules.

I'd also like to reorganize how all the videos are categorized on the site. It's done in a sort of half-ass way currently and stuff is hard to find. Along these lines I might add subject tags or something similar to better organize the posts and make it easier to sort out specific topics.

So those are the things that I more-than-likely will address in the near future. There are also a few "wish list" items that I may or may not get to. On the top of that list is some sort of "Rush calendar" which would list upcoming events in the world of Rush; things like tour dates, release dates, notable anniversaries, etc. I'd also like to put together some kind of audio section where you can listen to rare and unreleased Rush-related audio. I'm not sure how this might work exactly, but it'd be nice to have.

What about you guys? Anything you'd like to see? I can't guarantee anything, but I'll listen to any reasonable suggestions. I want to avoid duplicating things that are already offered on other sites too - unless there's some way you think I could add to or enhance them.

So fire away. Either leave suggestions in the comments or shoot me an email.

And thanks again guys! You've made keeping this site together a real pleasure.

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