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The next major update of Cleveland Swings is almost complete. The overall look of the forum still needs to be tweaked (too much dark red and mustard), and the smilies used by our private message system need to be changed over. That's a 3 hour project for another day (soon).

Here's a rundown of important changes/differences with the new software.

• A number of people had their login names changed because of special characters. If you can't log in, you probably have a new name! Here is a list of the new usernames:
  • charming-and-vicious
  • jesse-and-ellie
  • sweet-and-lowdown
  • dancin aviatrix
  • Lil Laura
  • Swingin Bibliophile
  • it dont mean a thing (not to be confused with "dont mean a thing", who is a different user and wasn't changed)
  • the_cats_meow
  • Shimmey Baby
• All of the posts from the old forum have been moved to the new forum, but there are some formatting issues with some of the older posts. Users should be able to edit their own posts, but let me know if there is a major issue with a (newer) post that you need fixed.

• Forum signatures were also moved over, but there are some pretty big issues with the translation. I recommend checking/fixing your signature.

• There is a new menu on the left called "Your Profile". It will show when you log in, and contains links to your profile and private messages. Profile information (aside from username and password) did not survive the move. You'll have to upload your avatar again, and fill in any additional profile data you want.

• The birthday list is back! You can set your birthday in your profile, and it will show on the front page.

• Private Messages DID NOT survive the move. Everyone has a clean private message inbox. If you need to, you can still access your old private messages. Click on the "Private Messages" menu item, then click on the "Old Archive" item that will appear under it. It will take you to our old forum software, where you can log in and access your messages. I'll keep the archive up until the end of the summer.

Once these changes settle in, we'll start to tackle topics like Facebook and Twitter integration. Exciting times are ahead!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns with the new software. This is a big change for the website, and issues are bound to creep up.

Discuss the change here