New features on the Message Board:

Note: Some of these features will not work unless you are a registered user and are logged into the board.

1. At the top of the index page, above the heading of "Last Post," there are four links. These do pretty much what they say. Click on the "View topics since last visit" link, for example, and a page will open with all new topics posted since the last time you logged into the board. These links are a handy way to check out what's new and hopefully will keep you from missing any new posts and topics.

Here's what it looks like:

2. At the bottom of the index page, there is a scrolling list of the last 10 active topics. These are the topics which have been either newly created or have most recently had additional posts made to them. If you hover your cursor over the topics, the scrolling will stop. Click on the topic title, and you'll be taken directly to the topic you've selected.

3. Posting pictures: If you don't have a website from which you can post your picture, you can now use a feature which will allow you to upload your picture and post it directly on the Message Board. The instructions for using this new feature may be found here.

4. Avatars: What the heck is an avatar? When you open a topic, you'll see a small image of Antonio beneath some users' names. That photo is called an avatar. We have uploaded an extensive selection of them for you to use. To select one, you must be a registered user. When you are logged in, click on profile and scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will see an area labeled "Avatar control panel." Click on the "show gallery" button and you'll be taken to a page where you can choose a favorite picture of Antonio display. There are currently 8 galleries, four of classic photos of Antonio and four of selected characters. You can look through them all by using the pull-down menu to select a different one, then click "Go." If you cannot find your favorite picture, let us know and we can upload one for you. Keep in mind they cannot be larger than 80 x 80 pixels, and please, no animation.

There are additional new features, but those are mostly helpful for us to maintain the board more easily. Hopefully, these changes will help us all get over losing our old boards more readily.