American History 1988
Chapter 65 - 61 A bit exciting...

Chapter 65: Chapter 61 A bit exciting...

"Dean, the folks at Cheap Rent Company want us to put all their ads on the first page," Simon muffled the phone’s microphone, looking at Dean, who was clacking away at the computer.

"Tell them that a four US Dollar rate can only buy that kind of ad space," Dean answered without even lifting his head.

He loved money, but he wouldn’t kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. Without users, how could they make money?

Besides, the current top ad spaces were already an additional discount. If it weren’t for Cheap Rent being the first advertiser on Price’s List, they certainly wouldn’t have received such special treatment.

In the future, if more and more employers come to place ads, those top ad spaces might even be auctioned off, which would definitely be at a different price.

Simon had barely hung up the phone and hadn’t rested for two minutes before another ring sounded.

"Dean, Bailey Company wants to advertise on the homepage of Price’s List," Simon again shielded the microphone, waiting for Dean’s decision.

"Bailey Company?" Dean had no impression of them.

"A computer retailer," Simon had already learned this on the phone.

"No, Simon," Dean shook his head, "Price’s List’s homepage will never feature ads, not now, not ever. If they want to advertise in computers, I welcome them to post under the Price’s List Communications category."

The strategy Dean had set for Price’s List was to be a simple and comprehensive free classifieds website. Its homepage would only display information relevant to the website’s content and would never have random ads.

That was Dean’s bottom line—it didn’t matter how much money was offered. If he harbored any ambitions for the future of the internet market, he had to let go of this profit.

Acting as customer service again, Simon spread his hands tiredly. "Dean, maybe it’s time for us to hire someone specifically to answer the phones. You know, I’ve been sitting here all day, haven’t even budged from this seat."

"OK~OK~" Dean assured him with a smile, "This is because we visited nearly half of Cleveland’s companies recently, that’s why we are getting so many calls. I guarantee it’ll quiet down in a couple of days. Of course, if the situation doesn’t change, perhaps I should really find a permanent office space for Price’s List."

Ding-a-ling... Dean’s speech was interrupted as the dormitory phone rang again.

Simon spread his hands with a "look at this" expression.

"I’ll take this one," said Dean, lifting the phone with an awkward but polite smile, and he greeted the caller with enthusiasm, "Hello, this is Price’s List."

"What? Dean, is that you?"

"Oh, Miss Miranda?" When Dean recognized her voice, he realized who he was speaking to.

"Wait a second, Dean, did you just say Price’s List? The one that hosts those kinds of men’s size competitions in the Seeking Companionship section? Oh, I should’ve figured it out; you all share the Price name, don’t you?"

"Miss Miranda... um... there must be some misunderstanding," Dean scratched his head, at a loss for words, while Simon watched the unfolding drama with gleeful eyes.

"Oh yes, it’s definitely a misunderstanding. That post has already been deleted, I assure you," Dean signaled Simon to quickly open the Seeking Companionship community, "The One Cleveland project? Of course, I’ve completed my part of the work. Alright, see you later..."

After hanging up, Dean hurried to check the Seeking Companionship community. "Simon, wasn’t the post for the leech size competition voted off already?"

"Yes," Simon nodded with a mischievous smile. "But another post is still there?"

"Another one?" Dean looked closely at the computer. Mother F*cker, the post for the women’s size competition was still there, and it was still topping the charts!

"Didn’t I set up an automatic deletion program? Or is there a bug?" Dean remembered someone had complained about that post, but why was it still there since he had given them the power to choose?

"Dean, that program works just fine; there’s no issue with it," Simon assured.

"Then why...?" Dean was perplexed, scrutinizing the content of the post.

"The fact is, not many people were against that post," Simon, who frequently checked the Seeking Companionship community, knew what had happened. "The guys definitely wanted it to stay, no doubt about that. As for the girls..." Simon grinned, "many of them think showcasing their figures is a form of beauty—it’s a reasonable thing to do, they have the right. It’s certainly more civilized than those organ size competitions."

Dean was speechless, "Well, okay, you make a good point. I agree!"

He respected the will of the people, and the website didn’t need to interfere in this matter.

"Simon, keep an eye on the phone for me, I need to step out," Dean said as he gathered his things, ready to take off.

"Come on, Dean~" Simon didn’t want to be on phone duty; he’d rather go out and do door-to-door sales to companies than stay in the dorm.

"I’ll bring you back some seafood barbecue from Meadville Street when I return," Dean decided to persuade Simon with food.

"Don’t forget the beer~" Simon gave up the struggle.

Giving an OK gesture, Dean headed out the door and downstairs.

Actually, Price’s List didn’t require much manual operation now, as account registration was automatically reviewed by the system, and the hot news was carried over from other BBS forums by the spider program he had written.

Now Dean and his team only needed to do basic daily maintenance. Of course, if Ophelia and the others wanted to experience the work of a news editor, that wouldn’t be a problem. Users of Price’s List weren’t too picky; a general overview of the news was sufficient.

Exiting the dormitory area near Finn Tower, Dean walked through the campus and finally saw a hint of new greenery. March brought warmer weather, and the snow that had piled up for months had disappeared.

Another noticeable change was the students’ winter clothing, which was gradually becoming thinner. Especially the girls, who had now donned light sweaters and spring dresses.

It was the season of revival once again, and Dean strolled leisurely toward the student activity center.

When he arrived at Miranda’s office, Dean casually knocked on the doorframe and, without waiting for an invitation, made himself at home by walking in.

"Miss Miranda, I rushed over as soon as I received your call." Wow~ today’s stockings are light gray, Dean thought as he respectfully saluted those long legs.

"Hey~ Dean, what are your eyes looking at?" Miranda crossed her legs, her gaze becoming dangerous.

"Err... some beautiful things always inadvertently draw the attention. Of course, if this has offended you, I am willing to apologize," Dean earnestly explained his earlier gaze to Miranda.

"Aha, I wouldn’t have guessed, Dean, you’re a gentleman," Miranda said with a laugh, her arms crossed as she gazed at him.

"Of course, I have the utmost respect for you, Miss Miranda."

"If you’d move your gaze from my legs while saying that, I might believe you."

"Come on, I’m trying to divert my attention. But you can’t always rely on having a pair of beautiful legs and keep swaying them in front of me, it’s too much of a test, Miranda." Dean suspected that this Yale girl was doing it on purpose, so he timely lodged his protest.

"Alright, let’s get down to business." Seeing that Dean had finally yielded, Miranda proudly retracted her legs. Last time this guy dared to joke about her publicly on the Case campus. If she didn’t teach him a lesson, where would her authority as a teacher be?

"Great, I can finally show off my work," said Dean as he put down his backpack, ready to take out his hard drive.

"Let’s start with Price’s List first."

"What?" Dean looked up in surprise, "Miranda, you’re referring to the One Cleveland project when you talk about serious matters, right?"

"I believe that as the person in charge of the student activity center, I have a duty to review student-developed service websites for our community to ensure they do not violate any rules," Miranda explained seriously.

Dean was stunned, then laughed as he straightened up, "I really had no idea that the student activity center had this power."

"At least I have an obligation to provide a healthy learning environment for the students, and regarding the website... I believe I can offer you some appropriate suggestions..." Miranda’s voice faltered slightly, but she eventually mustered the courage to straighten her back.

"Fine," Dean considered it for a moment and didn’t refuse, since there were two versions of Price’s List: a complete version on American Net and a censored version on NSF Net, even though the latter had far fewer users.

Nevertheless, Price’s List on NSF Net did take up the school’s public resources, so flattering Miranda seemed appropriate. Just in case her sense of responsibility burst forth and she reported the issue to the school, potentially getting his website taken down.

"So where do we start?" Dean opened Price’s List on NSF Net on her computer and looked at Miranda with a relaxed expression.

This version of Price’s List was so proper that none of the content on the page involved any sensitive information, and even the advertisements were absent. However, for this reason, its user base was lacking.

Miranda scrolled the mouse a couple of times, looking at Dean curiously, "Why is there no ’Looking for Love in the Opposite Sex’ community?"

"What?!" Dean nearly threw out his back. Miss Miranda, is that the serious matter you were referring to?

"Come on, for the healthy environment of the students, of course, I have to properly critique it," Miranda said with conviction.

Dean’s face turned a bit odd. Only after triple-checking that Miranda wasn’t joking did he realize this Yale girl’s sense of justice was somewhat adorable.

"Miranda, the Price’s List that is before you now, is specifically aimed at the student community. I assure you, there isn’t a shred of unethical content on it," Dean wasn’t lying; this indeed was the student-friendly censored version.

"Dean," Miranda looked at him with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, "I’ve looked through the ’Looking for Love in the Opposite Sex’ community, I even left a message on the post with the highest ranking."

Dean shivered, the highest-ranking post? He glanced at Miranda’s ample curves, dumbstruck.

This... was a bit thrilling...

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