For the past few months, I've been working on a new arcade to replace the old one. I'm proud to announce that I've finally finished it and have added it here. I have converted all scores and other data to the new arcade.

If you spot and bugs or errors, please report them here.

I've added some new things to the board:

-I've added a Star Wars Events calendar, which I will post Star Wars-related events (like new releases). The calendar is located here
-I've added social site links. Whenever you fill in your username on various social sites (like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc...) a link to that profile will appear. You can edit your site here
-Fixed the bug with the ICQ IM icon linking to a broken page. It now links to the person's ICQ.com profile.
-I've shifted some permissions:

• Usernames can now be changed at 10 posts. You must still wait 48 hours between changes.
• Undo Thread Rating and Undo Vote are now 100 Club abilities.
• Users under 10 posts can not play games in the Arcade (due to spam bots playing).
• Users under 10 posts can only store 10 PM messages and cannot track sent PMs.
  

Since it's a new year, I've made a few changes to the board:

-A Bank has been added. The bank allows you to create a saving account where you can deposit your credits and earn interest on them. The bank currently pays a 2% interest rate every 30 days. Accounts are also charged a 1/2 credit maintenance fee every 90 days. Anyone over 10 posts can open an account.
-Quick reply is now advanced, with the ability to add emoticons and BBcodes with ease. This has been requested many times.
-A return to top button on posts, just like the one that existed on the old Invision Power Board board. Please note the icon for Blue Sand theme isn't finished, so a temporary one is in place. Other themes have a normal icon.
-Upcoming calendar events are now shown on the index.
-You can now undo your thread rating. If you've rated a thread, a link to delete that rating will appear next to the rating stars. This is available to anyone over 10 posts.
-A "courtesy edit time" now exists. If you edit a post within 60 seconds from when you originally posted that post, the edited by legend won't appear. Any edit changes are still logged.
-A 6 hour time limit now exists for users under 10 posts. This is a safely measure to stop spam bots from editing old posts. All users over 10 posts remain unlimited.
-Instant Messenger icons now appear on a user's posts if they have any IM fields filled in.
-The Spoiler BBcode has been updated with a new design, like so:

I have updated the board to the newest version of MyBB (1.6). With this update comes some new features but most importantly a new theme.

Some of the new features include:

• PM searching- You can now search though your private messages.
• Undo poll vote- You may now delete your vote(s) in a poll if you have previously voted. This ability is available to anyone who has over 10 posts.
• New video BBcode- MyBB now has a new video code that allows you to post videos from 7 different video sites (YouTube, Dailymotion, Google Videos, Metacafe, MySpace Video, Vimeo and Yahoo Videos). A button is available in the posting toolbar.
• Buddy-only PMs- You many now choose to only receive PMs from users on your buddy list. Set in options.
  

Yes, I'm here to tell you that I've sold the site to an investor in Tehran for a boatload of money. I'm sure you'll all like him.

Feel free to ask any questions here.

I have finally upgraded the Credit to the new one I've been working on for the past few months.

The credit rates are still the same as specified here along with these new rates:
-5 Credits for a new attachment
-2 Credits for referring a new user
-1 Credit for rating a thread (thread can't be your own)
-5 Credits for sending a PM (PMs to yourself don't count)
-5 Credits for a new Calendar Event
-2 Credits to download an attachment (if you're the owner of the attachment, you don't have to pay). This fee is bypassed if you're a mod, admin or a 100 club member.
-You will lose 5 Credits per warning percentage if you receive a warning (for instance if you get a 10% warn, you will lose 50 Credits).

Other changes include a new donation system (called transfers now) and a new fine system (available to mods and admins only). You also have a new history form available by clicking your credit number (mods and admins can view anyone's history).

Please note this system isn't 100% bug-free, so they may be a few bugs (though they should only be limited to my end).

You might've notice some changes I've been making to the site for the past month. I figured I'd formally announce them:

-Ten new games in the Arcade (Autobahn, Blow Up, Colosseum Blackjack, Connect 4, Yahtzee!, Super Slot Slingo, Scrabble Blast, Pyramid Solitaire, Mini Golf 3 and Space Invaders).
-I've brought MyAwards back but there might be some display problems (currently they're jammed into the space between the Credits and MyMood and I can't move them to the end).
-I've converted the Plug Your Forum to a more general Web Design/Chat, which will allow you to discuss more general website stuff (you may still advertise there if you wish).
-Added a Science forum, where you can discuss science-related subjects. All science discussions have been moved there from The Cantina.
-Did some upgrading of the site which patched some annoying bugs (the bug that made your birthday required is now fixed).
-Added three new BBcodes, a border one (inspired by the one in ZetaBoards), an Acronym one, which allows for the posting of an acronym/abbreviation with a hover over and a notice one, which allows for a notice to stand out.

An example of border code: This text is bordered

The code to use it is:

This is an important notice. Thank you.

Because it might come up in the future, I figured I'd make a note on this subject. Many boards in the past have been destroyed because they were cracked.

Most boards and user accounts are cracked into because the owner of the account had an easy password that was easy to guess. To prevent this, your password should be at least 12 characters long, not be a dictionary word, all numbers, or a simple keyboard pattern like "qwertyuiop". Make sure you use a different password on different boards. NEVER use the same password on different boards, especially if you're a staff/moderator on any other sites.

Make sure you protect your account's e-mail address, especially if it's registered on a site like Yahoo!, MSN Hotmail, GMX or Google Gmail. Someone can crack your password on you e-mail account and use password recovery to obtain your password. Also protect your email recovery information, make sure it's not easily guessable or info that can found online.

Also you should scan your computer for keyloggers, someone could've slip one in when you downloaded something.

A good password should contain: lowercase letters, UPPERCASE LETTERS, Numbers, Punctuation signs and other keyboard symbols (!@#$%^&*,.;`~-_+=()[]{}), or special ALT characters (§∂ªº¶®øߥ)

Just remember:

• 'password' is a bad password
• '12345' is a bad password
• 'qwerty' is a bad password
• 'dge7{]QYEqie13' is a good password
• 's8hbdfs9D£˝∂ƒ©'fd[':LD;'sfhj∂¬' is a really good password
  

I've activated a program called Askimet to hopefully control any future spam on this board that maybe posted by spam bots. This program identifies and hides spam posts and will ban anyone who posts more than 3 spam messages it can identify.

If a spam post does get through, please report it by using the Report button on the post and we'll deal with it ASAP.

And let me take the time to tell you that if you do spot a spam post, DON'T EVER CLICK ON ANY LINK IN THAT POST. They might be scams and they might put viruses and key loggers on your computer. If you get a spam PM be sure to forward it to me so I may deal with them.

If you have any questions, please post them here.

I think it's becoming obvious that I'm neglecting this site for awhile.

I'm hoping to get back into the loop again. So here's some updates:

-As requested, I've added the 10 Yeti Sports games to the Arcade.
-I've added two new themes, called Afresh Leaf and Dig. Be sure to check them out (User CP -> Edit Options -> Board Style).
-I've removed that annoying Social Bookmark box. No one was using it anyway.
-I've restored the MyMood. Be sure to specified your mood.
-Onto that Store I promised. Yeah, I haven't been too crazy about adding it. I might some day in the future. But as it stands now, don't expect it.

Other than that, I got noting new to say, other than the fact I'll be going around and promoting this site on other forum in the coming week.