Lakers,

A belated Happy New Year and a welcome to those who have just joined the list! 
This month's newsletter has some small but important updates regarding the 
dream.

Before I begin, let me note--as always--if you have any responses, suggestions, 
comments, or issues you wish addressed, please email them to me at 
eva@lostlakes.net. Let me know if you do or do not want your name mentioned, 
should your email be referenced in subsequent newsletters.

On to the news:

In This Issue
=============
I   - New Staff Appointments
II  - Dream Workflow Goals
III - More Surprises Coming
IV  - lostlakes.net Services
V   - Conclusion

I - New Staff Appointments
==========================
One of the reasons the newsletter is occuring very late this month, is due to 
some new staff appointments. In the past few weeks I have added the following 
positions to the Taneest list:

Roy Seigfried
-------------
Roy has been welcomed back to Lost Lakes as a Taneest, with the added job of 
Cartographer. In this position I have given Roy the authority to maintain the 
dream as you see it today. This involves fixing item placement, broken DS, odd 
sounds, etc. While I will oversee his plans and work, Roy has my permission to 
develop a small team of trusted furres to help him make these changes, should 
he find himself in need.

If anyone is interested in assisting Roy with these changes, or has any errors 
to report, please contact me.

Toast
-----
Toast, a long time contributor to the dream, has been added as Taneest. As well 
as assuming the normal duties of Taneest, I have asked her and Taneest Ras 
Qulec to assist me with the drastic and new changes I have outlined in prior 
emails. Both her dedication and artistic ability are attributes I respect, and 
I look forward to working with her.

I hope, and expect, I can speak for all of the Lakes when I welcome Toast, and 
wish her well in this position.

To view the full staff list, and the members' respective jobs, please visit 
http://staff.lostlakes.net.

II - Dream Workflow Goals
=========================
As Section I touched upon, my new staff appointments also come with new job 
responsibilities. I've been spending the month of January trying to create a 
workflow for those of us working on the dream. Last month's newsletter made it 
clear that I understood that I needed help to get this work completed, and the 
organization I've done this month is to try to mobilize that change.

The goal is simple: Roy and his team will maintain the dream as is--making 
tweaks and changes to the map while working towards an ideal of one map for all 
patches. Toast, Ras and I will then work independently of that development, 
making tweaks and changes that we will then integrate piecewise into Roy's 
dream. With a new system of dream archiving, this will allow us to test big 
changes and alter, or remove, them completely based on response.

While this sounds like a comprehensive plan, we still need help from members! 
If you were not registered for it, please revisit Newsletter 001 (available on 
http://lostlakes.net/) to read what kind of help we are looking for, moving 
forward.

III - More Surprises Coming
===========================
The delay in this newsletter can also be attributed to new surprises I've been 
organizing for our dream. From an new skin that will test your notions of what 
Furcadia can do, to updated, grittier patch items, there is a lot coming our 
way in the next couple of months. Some of it may succeed, some of it may not. 
Regardless, I am looking forward to it all and the feedback that will come with 
it.


IV - lostlakes.net Services
===========================
I have posted this in the past, but to repeat:
For those of you interested, lostlakes.net is open for any of the following 
services:

i   - Email (you@lostlakes.net)
ii  - Email Redirection (you@lostlakes.net -> your email)
iii - Page hosting (you.lostlakes.net)
iv  - Page redirection (you.lostlakes.net -> your site)
v   - Jabber Accounts (you@lostlakes.net)

V - Conclusion
================
I must give extreme thanks to everyone who has helped me this past month. 
Criticisms, comments, questions and volunteering have all helped rekindle the 
flame inside me. I'd be willing to bet this is true, too, for many of our 
members--new and old. It feels wonderful to be working, and playing, in the 
Lakes again.

Life is becoming more hectic and "real" for a lot of us, and we flicker in and 
out of existence in Furcadia. Rightfully so, it falls behind priority. But it 
is my hope that, in the down times, when you do flicker back in for a 
moment...the dream will still be there...as vibrant and alive as it ever was.

Sincerest,
Eva 3000
Rah, Lost Lakes
http://lostlakes.net
furc://lostlakes