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Hopefully the new forum software is working out well for everyone, I'm certainly finding it much better.
There are a few features that are worth highlighting:
- Gallery - upload and share local photos - please note there is a size limit (0.5MB) for each photo!
- Calendar - add and share events happening in the local area
- Blogs - create a blog on the site, or contribute to the shared blogs.
As part of that aim, I'm experimenting with pulling in, by rss, key news and events from the local area from other sources to share on the site (rather as Google News does), to add to any content contributed by forum members. Hopefully this will be a useful way of raising the profile of local events, activities and news, as well as providing a platform for opinion and discussion - without detracting in any way from other local web sites.
Likewise, other local sites as well as residents are free to pull rss feeds from the forum, blogs, and calendars on this site. I've done this on my personal website. If anyone wants a specific RSS feed, I can set up custom ones.
Let me know what you think - it's your forum, and I, along with all those who wish to be involved in running it, will try to drive it forward in the way that you want.
Of course, all this improvement has come at some cost, so I am activating the long-planned proposal to allow sponsorship by local businesses (assuming they now come forward!). You can sign up online via the 'subscriptions' tab. In the meantime, the site is showing a few unobtrusive google ads in the hope of recovering a small proportion of the costs as people occasionally click on them. The alternative was to ask local bodies for funding, which I did not wish to do as any funds awarded would then not be available for another cause. I hope you don't mind.
Please provide feedback (positive or negative) and suggestions. I will do my best to pursue them all.
Regards,
Matt
