2018: What A Year!
You might remember that we upgraded our forum software (again) in late 2017. But it was 2018 when we really started making some progress with feature requests, bug fixes, and software refinement. That upgrade also included a design refresh -- but that was mostly intended to be temporary.
The "temporary" design refresh lasted for over a year. But now we've finally launched?ÿour permanent design, which should last for several years. We've also refreshed the logo a bit for a more professional look.
We have exciting plans for 2019. You'll be glad to know that the forum software that we launched just over a year ago is working out well. It's still a work in progress though, so you'll continue to see refinements and improvements throughout the year. Other new features will be launched this year and we're getting pretty excited about that.
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New Year. New RPLS Today.
If you take a look at the new?ÿRPLS Today website, you'll see that it has changed significantly since last year. As mentioned above, the previous design was mostly intended as a placeholder until we could implement something better.
The new design presents the website in more of a magazine style. Our upcoming features will fit nicely within this style, so stay tuned to see what we do with it. We've improved and enhanced the navigation system to be a little bit easier to use on mobile devices and we removed the orange menu bar due to the feedback we've received from many of our users.
We've also removed the use of Google Web Fonts, which has made a huge difference in page load speeds. To further quicken load times, we've implemented many other behind-the-scenes processes to reduce external references and make better use of server resources. Tests show that our pages load up to 50% faster than before.
Lastly, the logo has received a?ÿrefresh as well, making it more professional. Yes, we mean business.
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New News. Who Knew?
In addition to updating the overall design of RPLS Today, we've put some special care into improving the news system. You may have already noticed the masonry-style news grid near the top of the home page -- but we've gone several steps further by vastly improving the News landing page as well as all the subsequent article pages.
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New Advertising Options, Too.
We've created a "Vendor Showcase" forum in our Community Forums marketplace. This gives our advertisers another option to share information about their products and/or services, with the freedom to create their own special posts. Registered RPLS Today members can then ask questions and discuss each post, just like any other thread.
We've also created a new package deal on our Advertise page, to encourage new or existing?ÿadvertisers to support RPLS Today.
Even if you're not an advertiser, we encourage you to tell your favorite vendors about these opportunities! We're happy to give you a piece of the action. Just make sure they tell us you sent 'em and we'll work something out. 🙂
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2019: Bring It On!
We're working on some really cool stuff for RPLS Today, much of which will be launched sometime in 2019. One thing is for sure: the updated forum software and overall format are here to stay. But we will continue to refine and improve the website to better suit you and us.
In fact, we have a pretty big package of improvements coming up within the next four to six weeks. These improvements are mostly based on feedback provided by you plus a few things that follow industry standards. Keep an eye out for our announcement in the forums.
But, most of all, we're thankful for a great 2018 and awesome folks like you. We can't wait to see what's in store for 2019! Please feel free to respond directly to this post or send me a private message --?ÿI'd love to hear from you personally.
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Stay safe, Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year!
Wendell T. Harness, Founder
Editor, Web Developer, Janitor & Chief Bottle Washer
I like it!
Looking forward to a prosperous New Year ??????????
Just a comment. Those who CONTRIBUTE the least, tend to complain the most.
When did you last contribute?
(I'm passing the hat here).
Nate
Just a comment. Those who CONTRIBUTE the least, tend to complain the most.
When did you last contribute?
(I'm passing the hat here).
Nate
Oh, I get it Nate.
$ ?? contribute ?? $
good idea. ?ÿSee link below.
Better yet, Be a Patron and contribute monthly!
You guys are far too kind, but I truly appreciate it. 🙂
After all the behind-the-scenes drama (of which some are aware, others not so much) for the first several years, the end of 2017 marked a new chapter without the drama. I will admit that much of the big changes in 2017 were somewhat compulsive due to the situation and my desire to move away from it. The overall theme design was put together rather quickly -- it functioned, but it was not the vision in my head. 2017 was a year of reflection and decisions were made regarding how RPLS Today would move forward, if it would move forward at all.
Throughout 2018, I was able to calm down a bit and think things through -- I now have a very detailed roadmap of where I want to take RPLS Today, and the new design is one of the first steps. Plus I'm really happy with my choice of forum software, and 2018 gave me the opportunity to figure that out. I like where we're going and I'm finally feeling the same feeling about RPLS Today that I did about BeerLeg in 2010 when we launched. There was one big business decision that I made in late 2010 that negatively (but temporarily) changed the course and basically screwed everything up for several years -- I'm SO happy to have that fun, positive feeling again and I'm excited about what we can achieve by our 10 year anniversary.
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I like orange.
will update my browser later................lol
I like orange.
hahaha so do I. So I kept it, just not all the way across the menu bar. 🙂
Like the look, had a little trouble logging in, may have been fat fingering it. ?ÿ
Happy New Year! ?ÿWe have a tremendous group gathered here ???!
If you saw the countless hours, days, weeks, months, etc... that he has put into this site behind the scenes, then you would see just how devoted he is to this site and to you guys. He does this AND works full time, plus more! Some days I have seen him work on this site for 16+ hours straight.?ÿ ?????ÿ
I do feed him and coffee him during this time. ?????ÿ
I apologize for my limited participation over the past 3+ years. My parents deaths REALLY knocked the wind out of my sails. Both of us, actually.?ÿ It has taken a while to feel like a human being again. With that being said, I will be around more often now to grace you with my moderating presence. ?????ÿ
Many thanks go out to you guys for keeping us alive and supporting this site. It's because of you, that we do what we do. ????
If you saw the countless hours, days, weeks, months, etc... that he has put into this site behind the scenes, then you would see just how devoted he is to this site and to you guys. He does this AND works full time, plus more! Some days I have seen him work on this site for 16+ hours straight.?ÿ ?????ÿ
I do feed him and coffee him during this time. ?????ÿ
I apologize for my limited participation over the past 3+ years. My parents deaths REALLY knocked the wind out of my sails. Both of us, actually.?ÿ It has taken a while to feel like a human being again. With that being said, I will be around more often now to grace you with my moderating presence. ?????ÿ
Many thanks go out to you guys for keeping us alive and supporting this site. It's because of you, that we do what we do. ????
?ÿ
YIPPEE!! 2019 is gonna R O C K !
