Community overhaul - find out whats new!

We have just spent the last week overhauling the Sandskater community forums & gallery to bring it right up to date!

First thing we did is put the community on it’s own domain, so you can now find it at http://forum.sandskater.co.uk.

Then, we decided to update to the very latest forum & gallery platform, which gives you nice people some very cool interactive features to play around with.

So, let’s take a look at them in a little more depth…

1. Embedding You Tube videos into posts
   You can now embed a YouTube video into your post. All you have to do is paste the URL link to the video, and the forum software will take care of the rest when you submit your post!
2. Thread Rating
   Each thread can now be rated to show how useful it is, which helps other users see what the best threads are. At the top of each thread, you will see “Thread Rating” or “Rate Thread” dropdown menu. If you like the thread, you can give it a rating, which will be displayed on the forum page.
3. Reputation
   This one is fun, but could cause a few arguments! On all posts you will see this symbol just under where the avatar is displayed:

   If you particually enjoyed the users post (or didn’t like it so much) then click this you will be able to add to the users reputation (or take away from it!) You will be offered the chance to leave a comment too!

4. Rep Power!
   Rep Power is a combination of a users reputation, post count and length of time on the message boards. The higher the rep power, the more clout they carry when repping other people. It also serves to give other members an idea of how useful the member is!
5. Thanks Button!
   At the bottom of each post, you will see a “thanks” icon. Click this to thank the person for their post if you have found it particulary useful.

There are a tonne more features and extra functionality with the new forums, but the above points are just an overview of the most often used features.

So now let’s turn our attention too the…

All registered members can upload their own skim, surf, bodyboard and skate photos. In addition, there is a gallery for posting photos of where you have stuck your free Sandskater stickers, and also an off topic gallery.

The new community gallery has already been uploaded with all the photos from the old gallery. Thats currently over 500 photos that members have submitted.

The new gallery can be found here: http://forum.sandskater.co.uk/gallery/

Here’s some features:

1. Image Rating
   The new gallery software makes rating images easier - we even allow guests to rate images too. If you like/dislike the image, give it a rating!
2. Photo comments
   All registered members can now comment on the photos in exactly the same way they would on the forums.
3. Email Photo
   Registered members can now email the photo direct from the gallery! Access it via the “image tools” dropdown menu when you are viewing a photo!
4. Send an Ecard
   Send an e-card to your buddy’s with your own personal message board. You’ll need to be a registered member to use this feature though, and you can access it via the “image tools” dropdown menu when you are viewing a photo.

We occasionally offer exclusive discounts and offers to forum members.

So become a member of the new communtity forums now and we will give you 10% OFF all purchases at Sandskater until the end of October 2008!

New Members
If you aren’t already a member and want to sign up, go to the registration page.

Once you complete the sign up, and have verified your email address, log into the message boards, and you’ll find the coupon code in the registered members forums!

Existing Members
If you already a member, just sign into your account and visit the registered members forum to get your coupon code.

Remember, it’s free to become a member, so what ya waiting for….!