Welcome back to DU3! We have updates!

[EarlG]

This discussion thread was locked by Skinner (a host of the Announcements group).

If this is your first visit to DU3 Preview you might want to check out the thread "What's new in DU3 (updated Feb 16 2011)" (http://www.du3preview.com/10136), which explains the main differences between the new message board software here at DU3Preview.com and the old software at DemocraticUnderground.com. But for those of you who have visited before, this thread contains a list of changes we've made since the last preview a few weeks ago.

Once again, please be aware that since this software is still under development a number of features that you currently enjoy on DU are not available on DU3 Preview at this time, but rest assured they will be included in the final release. Also be aware that this is a public preview of discussion forum software that is currently under development. This is not a finished product; visitors should expect to encounter bugs, broken links, unfinished features, or other issues typical of software under development.

[font face="arial" size="4"]What's new since the last preview[/font]

Avatars and signature lines

Avatars and signature lines are now available and can be selected and edited from your My Profile page. Just click the My Profile link which can be found at the top right of every page. (Please note that it is not possible to upload your own avatar just yet, but that functionality will be included in the final version.)

Emoticons

Emoticons are now working on DU3 Preview -- and we've added some new ones. For a full list of emoticons and their codes, click here: http://www.du3preview.com/emoticons/index.html (please note that the list of emoticons currently opens on a new page -- the emoticons list will be better integrated in the final version of the software).

Wide format

There is now a Wide format version of DU3, which removes the left-hand navigation bar on many pages and stretches the site layout to fit the full width of your monitor. The Wide format is a little closer to the original DU layout. You can change formats at any time from the Preferences section of your My Account page. Just click the My Account link which can be found at the top right of every page.

Mobile format

For smartphone users there is now a Mobile format available. This is a radically different format which is optimized for smartphones and other mobile devices -- but you can still use Mobile format in your computer's web browser if you like. You can select Mobile format at any time from the Preferences section of your My Account page. Just click the My Account link which can be found at the top right of every page. (Please note that while Mobile format is currently working, it's not fully functional yet. In particular, we have not yet programmed functionality to automatically detect when you are visiting from a mobile device -- for now, you must manually choose the Mobile mobile version from your My Account page.)

My Posts

My Posts is now available -- just click the My Posts tab at the top of any page. The new DU3 My Posts page is different from the old DU version. Here are the main changes:

* The new "Replies to me" column lists the exact number of direct replies to your post.
* If there are replies, you can click the little arrow to show the title and poster of the replies, right there on the My Posts page.
* When there are new replies, the arrow turns yellow. (Click the "Mark as read" button to reset icons to white.)
* Posts now kick to the top of the page when there are new replies, just like in a regular forum.
* The page can be sorted either by the time that you posted, or by the time that someone replies.
* We no longer have a 48 hour time limit on the My Posts page. The new time limit is... infinity!

That's it for now -- we hope you enjoy the new updates, and please excuse any bugs you may come across. We are still working hard on getting this whole thing together.