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Newsletter - September 2009

Newsletter - September 2009

Administrator's Rants

* Great things happening. We recently purchased copyright
removal for our Community software giving us full rights over it.
In fact since 2003 our Community has been renovated and
changed so much that there is hardly any forum software out
that that looks and functions like it. Therefore International
Discussions is solely brandable to Bordeglobal.com. This move
was not cheap, but in moving to another level we thought it
was definitely necessary and about time.

* Jb added some photos to the Forum Gallery. Those of you
with Upgraded Membership will be able to see some of the
photos in the private section.

* We recently did some fine tuning to our Search code. You
will notice searches are more specific to what you are looking
for and in cases where something cannot be found there is lots
of guided help.

* Certain Skins were enhanced. You will notice there is more
'punch' when you visit certain sections.

* We intend to add even more enhancements soon. Keep active
so you can be in the know of what is new.

* Congrats to Nighthawk, the Member of the Month of August.
You can hail out Nighthawk in his Rave Thread:
Source 3


Interesting Topics
(Links below take you to the 1st page in the Topic)

Rather than go through a whole bunch I will just highlight some.
Each day an average of more than 150 Topics are updated or
added to the Community. Make sure to use the 'Hot' section to
find all the ones you may have missed.

* Never leave your children alone, ever!
Source 2

* Mormon Missionaries Jailed In Guyana - 30 Of Them!
Source 4

* Jews Don't Like Intermarriage
Source 1

* He Slapped The Child!
Source 6

See More Recent Topics:
Source 5

September Newsletter

Theme Option Faster

In the Theme selection box there is no count as to how many Members are using a certain Skin. It is not necessary to know that really, just choose a Skin you like and stay with it.

Shoutbox Removed

No one really used this feature and it was taking up a lot of queries to run it. As an example of what I mean. To load the Hot topics page takes about 11 queries to the database. The shoutbox by itself took 7 just to show one or two lines of what someone said!

So why all these changes?

You will actually notice pages load much faster now! Do not worry though, we will be bring something far better and more enticing soon, stay tuned.

Newsletter - September 2009 Feedback & FAQ News Community

Latest Posts

As a replacement to the Shoutbox you will begin to see the Latest Posts of certain Boards within various places that you visit. This allows you to see what is being said just like the Shoutbox, just in message format. There is far less queries this way and everything loads lightning fast now.

September Newsletter

Zero Replies Faster

If you tried to access the Zero Replies page recently you will notice how long it takes to load. That's because there are so many no reply Posts now that there are just too many pages to load. To limit this the Zero Replies Search will just bring up a set number of pages that changes as Threads are answered.

Updated Headers On Boards

You will notice a new kind of header on some Boards. It shows some customized links and also the latest Posts from other Boards. This will be updated from time to time and is a new system I coded to enable me to update links more often with relevant stuff.

September Newsletter

Administrator's Rants

* Renovations continue with many enhancements made to
the site. As you participate in the Community you will notice
the improvements but to be sure you can check the current
newsletter updates in the September 2009 Thread:
Source 5

* One major change is the removal of the shoutbox. It has
been replaced with a better system that actually shows the
photo of the last respondent of a Board and what they said.
For instance while looking at the 'Hot' section for the latest
Posts you will see who said what in the Rave Thread. This
enables you to interact more with others and have your post
promoted. This also exists in many of the Boards with helpful
links being provided so you can find other subject areas you
may be interested in.

* In Medieval we are currently making the Posts the actual
player 'sheet'. This way everything is available at a glance
and you will be able to edit much of it yourself taking away
the added work from the Game Master. That sould be finished
soon.


Interesting Topics
(Links below take you to the 1st page in the Topic)

* Low Self-esteem Leads To Obesity
Source 1

* Remember that guy that threw his shoe at Bush?
Source 6

* Acorn - caught red handed?
Source 7

* Health Care in the Us and Obama's Speech
Source 4

* Russian Mail Order Brides - Desperate men?
Source 9

See More Recent Topics:
Source 3

Newsletter - September 2009

More Tweaking

* Categories merged - some categories have been merged with others. This cuts down search time and also enables you to find things easier.

* Certain Boards Deleted - there is no longer a need for certain Boards so the following was deleted: Ask JB, Ask LDS_forever, and Private Boards. Threads within these Boards have been sent to either the Mature section or other relevant areas.

Newsletter September 2009

Top Menu Change

In the Top Menu you will notice two new easily accessible links: Blog and Top. Blog is obvious, but "Top" takes you to a page showing the Top Posters of Today.

Newsletter September 2009 Community News FAQ & Feedback

New Blog Interface

When you visit the Blog section you will see a brand new look that focuses on you and your Blog rather than the rest of the Community. Additionally anyone can comment on your Blog by using the link that appears in your Blog entries. Their comments will be posted in your Rave / Intro Thread.

Read My Blog

Members that have active Blogs will see a link appear in their Posts (within the Rave / Welcome Boards only) saying "Read My Blog". The link will take the viewer to the latest entry of the Member.