Update: The “new comment system”, after giving it an honest try for a handful of days, just does not seem to fit our needs. Therefore, we’ve replaced it with one that matches the former system – only better! Comments are once again ordered oldest on top to newest on the bottom. They are once again numbered, and do not thread with replies. The smileys have been upgraded, and comments have been made editable by the original poster. You can click “Add a video comment” to post YouTube videos directly to your comments, and you can even choose to record a video of your own straight to your comment. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns with the “new” (not so new) system.”

Dear Friends,

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we’ve brought a new look and some new features to Galactic Messages. I’d like to take a moment to go over them with you, and explain the new features you’re able to use with them.

First and foremost, we’ve switched to a slightly different layout. With this new layout, we can now share pictures with you on each of our posts. It also allows us to keep important messages such as this one at the top of the page, so that they don’t fade away into the background before everyone has a chance to read them. It also splits our most common categories into different featured sections, allowing you to find what you’re looking for right away.

We’ve also upgraded the way comments are left. With the new comment system, you’re able to see comments left in real-time, making it easier to hold conversations with others who are online. You’re also able to embed YouTube videos that you’d like to share with the community,use emoticons (smileys) to accentuate your posts, and even upload photos from your own computer to share with everyone. Comments are now streamed newest to oldest, so that the most recent comments appear on top. Replies to things that have been said are now “attached” to the post they’re replying to, making it easier to keep track of who is talking to who.

For any of you who have Facebook, Twitter, or many of the other popular social networks, you have the option to let the comments gadget post an update to those accounts of yours. This is not automatic, and has to be selected for every post or comment thread, so you can rest assured you won’t be auto-posting updates and comments to posts that you don’t necessarily want to broadcast, for whatever reason.

While there isn’t an “edit” function with this new setup, you do have the option to delete a previous comment of yours. Keep in mind this will also delete any responses directly to that comment.

The new comment system also allows you to set up a “mini profile”, though I’ve set the settings *NOT* to require this. The mini profile allows you to link to your own sites, and your own profiles at other sites such as Facebook.

You can now attach JPEGs to each comment (up to 2MB per file). Images are automatically thumbnailed with an editable caption for each.vYou can upload custom avatars. Images are automatically thumbnailed for use next to comments, etc. Also, Avatars from social networks are automatically pulled in when you log in using social networks (such as Facebook avatar, Twitter avatar, etc). Gravatars are supported (from Gravatar.com), so have fun customizing how you want to “look” here on Galactic Messages!

Using the RSS Feature, you can also “subscribe” to any comment, making it easier (through an email update) to follow along with conversations that you’re actively a part of. Please note I am still testing this particular feature, so for the time being, do not count on this part being completely reliable. If anyone wants to share their experience with this feature, please feel free to do so either by commenting here, or by emailing me at admin@galacticmessages.com.

On that note, please also feel free to share any thoughts, concerns, or questions regarding the new look of the site, and the new comments system. If you’d like to read more on the comments system that we’re using, please visit http://js-kit.com/

Beyond the look and feel of the pages, there is now a new category – Community Contributions! Simply register by visiting the link in the sidebar to the right, and you’ll be able to log in and submit your posts. Please note, new posts will be held until approved by a moderator. This is *not* to control content, but simply to reduce the amount of spam that gets through us, to the site. Rest assured, we won’t change your content.

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