Webbi List: Review #2:
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 However, with the advent of social networking and personal blogs, the guestbook has fallen out of favor. I still have and maintain a guestbook, though I've noticed fewer and fewer postings. Besides, I get more hits and pageviews via the blog and Twitter than the guestbook.
     Despite this, most webmasters still have the ubiquitious "Sign my book!" link on their home pages. I still sign and read others' guestbooks. It's a courtesy to let the webmaster know of a job well done, and that they're assured a repeat customer. In this review I'll recommend a handful of guestbook providers. Some are a joy while a few are a pain to manage with the LBB. All guestbooks here are free unless noted.

     Alert! As of this update, Dreambook's secure login no longer works with WebTV. A possible workaround via Skweezer or other mobile search site might work, but it's a crap shoot at best. It's actually getting into Dreambook's management pages that's a challenge. Dreamhost is working on the problem, but it's more an MSNTV issue. I still recommend Dreambook, and this article remains verbatim, but for WebTV users, Dreambook is, for now, a no-go. I haven't downgraded the service as the login problems are mostly MSNTV's reluctance to accomodate its subscribers.

     DreamBook is a free service offered by Dreamhost. One account is all you need to create as many books as you want. Please note Dreambook management is a secure login – WebTV users need at least the 2.8 upgrade to access the encrypted page. Old Classic users can log in but need the latest (2.5.9) upgrade. (See note above for current login issues)

     Dreambook is very easy to manage. There are many styles and templates to choose from, but be aware that some styles are not suitable for WebTV. The "ska" is one of them – It simply won't load correctly if not at all. Once you create a new book, you can make it public or private, customize the entry fields, tailor the header and footer to meet your needs. A Dreambook may be a public book, a weblog, or a simple form-to-mail. You may also use your own images, backgrounds, graphic headers, even a sound file.
     As with most guestbooks, spam postings can be a problem. This is easily solved by making the email field required. A guestbook owner can make a signer complete a confirmation page before the post goes live. Message deletion is a snap. Troublesome posters can be banned via IP numbers.
     Dreambook has an exhaustive help section, more to canned "knowledge base." There is real time tech support via email, and most questions are answered within 24 hours.
     Since Dreambook is free, there are banner ads on the signed book. They are not that intrusive. Upon creating a new book, users must designate categories for proper ad placement.
     After trying so many not so good guestbooks, I still use Dreambook.
Rating: 8.75

     I found Smart Guestbooks while looking for an alternative to my old Hotboards books. Smartgb is fantastic but can be a challenge with the LBB. At times WebTV users, including myself, cannot post to a Smartgb book. You enter the post but click the Submit button and nothing happens. This is the only serious drawback with Smartgb.
     Smartgb's homepage is a little weird on the LBB. I had to CMD+A to highlight the text so I could read it. Once you sign in, managing the book itself is a breeze.
     Guestbook owners have complete control over how the book looks and operates. You may choose from many templates for "look and feel." Customize the entry fields, determine which fields are required, ban certain words deemed offensive (a plus for family-friendly guestbooks), make the book password-protected. You can opt for email alerts whenever someone signs your book, and you can toggle "Screen posts" if your book is plagued by spammers. Email addressses may be masked or not displayed at all. Again, a boon for you and your visitors, a pain for spambots. To prevent automated postings, you can force signers to enter confirmation characters. I used this and it's been a godsend, so much better than the old Hotboards books which kept filling up with spam posts.
     Smartgb is free. That means ads are on your book, but they are very non-intrusive. There is an upgradable plan, but why bother? If the ads aren't that intrusive or don't slow load time, upgrading to premium is not necessary. Customer service is great, with actual tech support to answer your questions via email.
Rating: 8

      Anvilbook is a relatively new guestbook provider. When doing a Google search for suitable guestbooks, I found Anvilbook. It's okay, but the books are a little on the plain side. The site itself is pretty much barebones. I did sign up for a trial run and found the book easy to configure and manage. No popups or flash ads, a plus for LBB users.
     Anvilbook has many templates to choose from, and you can tailor the book's look and feel to suit your needs. Guestbook owners can have post alerts sent to their inboxes. Troublesome posters can be banned via IP numbers. There's a bad word filter similar to Smartgb. Smilies to play with and confirmation character entry to ward off spambots.
     I still have my Anvilbook and may use it as backup whenever my Dreambook goes down or becomes non-functional with WebTV. It's not much but it works.
Rating: 7

     I had a Guestbook Depot account long time ago. The book is still around, but I don't use it. I found it hard to manage, and there was no way to keep the spambots from posting their junk. For this reason, I really don't recommend it.

     Same goes for EFreeGuestbooks. I tried this a few years ago but came away dissatisfied. The book was okay to manage and configure, but to view the book on WebTV was a pain. Too often my box froze when trying to load the guestbook. Managing the posts is difficult. Deleting or approving a post is next to impossible. Try to click a button and it doesn't work.
As with Smartgb, efreeguestbook will send email alerts every time someone posts. You can also approve which posts go live. A plus for those who hate troublesome spam posts. Still, it has too many drawbacks for WebTV users.

     GuestGear is operated through Lycos which owns Tripod and Angelfire. I decided not to use these books as they are loaded with intrusive banner ads and popups, far more than the other guestbook hosts. A couple years ago, I tried to sign a Guestgear book and couldn't. When I clicked the link "Sign my book" the page redirected but all I got was the WebTV popup "Can't use that information" and "Can't find that page." I finally got to sign the book but it took too long to load the Preview page (again, the banner ads took much of the load time). If you're thinking of getting a Guestgear book – Don't!

Rating for all three above: Thumbs way down!

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