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In keeping with the new pattern of quarterly update threads, here are the updates so far for Q1 2013. Also, Luke wouldn't stop bugging me to actually announce things, which I always forget to do. SoccerShouts Diet To better focus our efforts on active areas, the Kit Bag was shifted back to being a subforum of the Training & Equipment board. The Italian and Around the World discussion boards were wiped and all posts moved to a shared Other Teams and Leagues board. The Prime skin was also dropped. This affected exactly 0 members and no one was using it. A new skin is currently being worked on with a hopeful release date by the end of the month. Latest topics are still shown on the sidebar, but latest posts have been dropped. For similar but expanded functionality, just use the View New Content link at the top of all pages. Trim your links One of the newer features added was a Shorten URL link added to the top of all pages. Clicking that link will allow you to make a short link out of the current page you are viewing, or any link of your choosing. A number of shortening services are available, such as bit.ly and tinyURL. Sometime this quarter we also have plans to launch our own branded service which will be added to that menu. Ads Just a small change to the ads so far in that logged in members will no longer see the ad that jumps around on the board index. In the near future, I have plans to test adding a block size ad within the first post of a topic but again this will be limited to guest viewers only. As always, Premium subscribers see no ads at all. Post Points Posts are awarded for creating new threads and replies. Creating a popular topic also rewards you, as you get points on replies to threads you create as well. Currently points are broken down as follows: New Topic: 1 point Replies to discussion threads: 0.5 points Replies in video threads: 0.05 points Points awarded to topic creator for replies: 0.5 points Some boards have slightly different point values, such as a large bonus for creating an Intro thread, and Word games which does not award points. These points can be used as an alternative to spending money to get a premium subscription. In the Points Store, you can get a month of Premium for 200 points. The system has only been in place for a week and some members already have 25+ points, so nothing impossible. Certainly not as the site grows and more posting takes place. Other Thoughts A huge thanks to Luke for a very generous donation this month. This money is being used for the new skin, getting the URL service started, and a well funded ad campaign to help promote the site.