Ok, I’m answering a lot of the same questions over and over, so Imma deal with ’em here.
Q: Can you email me and let me know about any changes or cancellations?
A: Nope. I have eight websites and around 3500 displays and hundreds of thousands of users. And there’s just me on this end. I simply can’t keep up with that. I am going to TRY to do a once a week (or so) email mailing list, but I can’t email out every update or cancellation as soon as they come in – I just can’t. And it probably won’t be ready for July 4th this year, because it has to be coded so that people get the right fireworks they signed up for, but I can still start collecting email addresses. You can sign up for the mailing list and we’ll see how it goes.
Q: Pretty please? I won’t tell anyone.
A: No, I’m sorry. Not having to answer questions individually is most of why I started doing this website in the first place.
Q: I’m ticked off about something that did or didn’t happen at a particular event; who do I talk to about that?
A: Talk to whomever put the event on, not me. I just list them. I have no say in where or when they are, if they’re canceled or not, the entertainment, the parking, the cost to get in – NONE of it. I just list them.
Q: The listing for my event is wrong / my event is private and I don’t want it listed on your site!
A: Okay, all you have to do is ask. Politely would be nice too; I’m not in some conspiracy to ruin your life. All the information I post here is either publicly available to everyone with an internet connection or else it’s been sent to me directly. If you want something corrected or your event taken down, I am happy to oblige, but you’ll get a lot faster action if you don’t call me names or threaten me with lawsuits (both of which happens every year). If it’s wrong information, it’s an honest mistake and I apologize in advance and will correct it as soon as I know of it. If you don’t want your private function listed, then you might revisit why it’s up on the internet in the first place, and/or request your visitors that they don’t submit it to me.
Q: My event isn’t listed, or isn’t updated for this year! Why??
A: Also not a conspiracy – I might not have found it yet (like I said – I have eight sites) or I might not have been able to confirm it. Because fireworks displays are big budget items, I can’t just assume that they’re gonna happen every year – I have to confirm it, because some communities run out of funds. I check websites, I call, I send email, I troll for Facebook page listings, but a lot of times I just plain can’t find the information, so it doesn’t go up here, because as you may have inferred, if I get something wrong, I get hate mail. I am always MORE than grateful if you fill out the display submission form.
Q: I need to know about the entertainment / vendor booths / wrist band costs / etc etc – can you find out for me?
A: All the information I have is listed on the site, if you need to know more because you want to participate in the event in some way, then you’ll have to contact the event itself. I don’t even have time to email back and tell you I can’t help you anymore, I get so many requests.
Q: Can I republish these listings? They’re all just public information anyway.
A: You are welcome to republish them, as long as you give credit (preferably with a link) back to this site. Yes, they are public information, but there is something called compilation copyright, and let’s be frank – *I* did all the work here (and it’s a heck of a lot of work) and no small amount of expense either. I have a republishing policy, and I think it’s eminently fair. You can read it here.
Q: Who are you and why are you doing this?!?
A: You can read somewhat about it here. Mostly I’m a crazy person who really likes fireworks.
Q: Can you publish all the fireworks on one page / send me your complete database? I could use it for a project or my business.
A: No. I put literally thousands of hours into my sites and databases (as does my partner) and it’s meant for people to find their local fireworks displays, not as a business opportunity for someone else.
Q: I was using the site before, but I can’t access it – get a message about the default index page?
A: I have a firewall that prevents scrapers from coming and grabbing the entire site for their own purposes (believe me, that sort of thing happens a LOT on the web) So if you see that message, that means that rightly or wrongly my firewall identified your IP number as acting suspiciously. You can contact me with your IP number and I’ll look it up, but if you just got done copying 300 pages off the site, don’t expect me to restore it.
Q: You sure seem to have a lot of attitude.
A: Well yea and I’m sorry. But in 2012 during the drought when I was uploading cancellations like crazy and meanwhile getting complaining emails by the hundreds every thirty seconds, to the point where I couldn’t even get to see any fireworks myself, I almost threw in the towel. So if I seem a little spikey about it, I’m sorry. Most of what’s written here won’t apply to 99% of you. (But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t known for having some attitude)
Q: I’m press. Do you do interviews?
A: I’ll do an email or phone interview, or even a radio call in. Not interested in video or having my picture distributed. I’m happy to talk about the site all day long. Not so happy to talk about me personally, but thanks for asking.
Q: Okay one last time, are you SURE you won’t email me with all the updates and cancellations?
A: Seriously. Dude. Dude – SERIOUSLY!
Meg