[Libby]

We've just upgraded the forum to the latest and greatest version, and boy is it packed with new features! I think you guys are really going to have fun with some of these things! This post is just to highlight the new features. I won't be going into detailed instructions. This is new to all of us, and it will take some time to learn how to use these features.

User Photo Galleries

• You can now share your photos with forum members by creating your own personal photo albums.
• View a member's profile to see their photo albums.
• Privacy settings - Let the world see your photos or just your contacts (and admins).
• Create your album now!

Reciprocal Friendships

• Why settle for the Buddy List? Find out who your friends really are!
• Invite people to be your friends, and upon acceptance, your friendships will be listed on your profile.
• Start making friends now!

Public Messaging

• Most of you are well-versed in private messages that you may send to other members via the forum.
• Now you can also leave public messages for another forum member on their profile.
• Don't want to receive public messages? Just turn off 'Enable Visitor Messaging' in 'Edit Options' in your 'User CP' (control panel).

User-Created Social Groups

• Create your own social or special interest group.
• You can make group membership open, by invitation only, or moderated (for full control).
• Post messages & photos to your group page. Optionally, make these viewable only to group members!
• Create your group now!

Enhanced Profile Page

• Profile pages have a new look.
• View photo albums, friendships, group memberships and public messages.
• See who's been visiting your profile page!
• Customize the color scheme of your profile page.

Tagging

• Tagging provides another great way to find relevant threads.
• When you create a new thread, you'll have the option of assigning tags to the thread. Other members may also assign tags to existing threads.
• Tags are just descriptors. If the thread is a review of the El Fogon restaurant, you might want to add the following tags: el fogon, restaurant, review, tacos, cheap, yummy.
• Tags are viewable at the bottom of threads (if they were assigned).
• Just click on a tag, and you'll see all the threads assigned that tag.
• Eventually there will be a tag cloud at the bottom of the page. We're still working on that.
• The more people use tags, the more useful it will become!

Social Bookmarking of Threads

• If you enjoy social bookmarking, you'll notice 4 little icons at the bottom of each post.
  
• You can now bookmark to digg, del.icio.us, technorati & furl. If you like a different bookmarking system, just let me know.