It's official, Makestation has now been around for roughly eight months as 2013 comes to a close. In a short time span, we've had one major forum software conversion and not one, but four full theme overhauls, but have grown nicely as a community, thanks to our ever dedicated members here.

As the community has grown, it has become clear that neither SMF nor MyBB have really been able to fully meet our needs (although most will agree that MyBB has been great and has been quite customizable as well, making it a huge step above the old SMF days). In light of some of the feature requests as well as the growing community, I am now considering paid software for the community that would be much more powerful and bring back some coveted features such as user blogs, a new knowledgebase, better CMS-integration, and more.

Most likely, we'd be upgrading to Invision Power Board. It is significantly more expensive than Xenforo, but it has more of the features we would need, so I think it would be worth the additional expenses. Xenforo, however, isn't completely out of consideration. It's a good forum software option as well, although overall Invision Power Board seems more suited to the needs of the community and is more similar to what users are already used to. In either case, as with the last conversion, all users, posts, etc... will be converted seamlessly, so there won't be too many headaches with any conversion.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on the idea? Anyone have any feedback, questions, or suggestions? Be sure to vote in the poll!

P.S. we'll probably be bringing on some new moderators, or potentially even administrators for the next major site upgrade. I may throw in some competitions as well. Stay tuned!

(Unsure of where this would go.)

This game is based off of another game of its type found here (registration required). The original game is a simulation of a 19th-century settlement in the Oregon Country; However, instead of that, the settlement is in an unknown world, and was brought to this world by Alien Space Bats. Don't ask me where new people come from! Otherwise, though, the setting is more or less the same, with the technology level at 1848 and moving into the modern day and (possibly) beyond. I'll quote the rules from the original thread to give you a good idea of how to and how not to play:

Quote:Rules:
1. Be fairly plausible. I don't want to see things like Airstrips and Highways until the technology can match that.
2. Claim before a turn. You have a full day to post your turn. You can claim one period of grace worth twelve hours. After that, you lose the claim.
3. Buildings and structures have black outlines. Natural things do not.
4. You must include the city info form as well as the map with each turn.
5. Users can claim up to three non-consecutive years at a time. They may not post until the year prior to their turn is done.

Note that like me, you don't have to be a great artist or designer for this. simple shapes and forms with the appropriate zoning type will do just fine.

I was doing some research on some of the fees required, the tax policies, etc... of the new "Affordable Care Act," and to be honest, I'm still not impressed. I think the concept of overhauling healthcare in and of itself has potential, but as it stands now, Obamacare is a hot mess. According to healthcare.gov, an uninsured individual will have to pay a $695/year fine. For those who are in the working poor who are lucky to make $15,000/year on minimum wage jobs, this isn't a small fine. Not only that, but their website remains badly messed up and is nearly impossible to use after you actually start the registration process, or at least it is right now as I'm trying to use it. When they start threatening severe fines for not getting health insurance and then make it difficult to obtain health insurance, many people end up getting screwed over by the already overly complicated system.

To be honest, I don't really consider myself a supporter at this point. What is your opinion?

What OS does your VPS or dedicated server run? Why does it?

Mine has Ubuntu Server 13.10. While I don't like the choices Canonical has made with Ubuntu recently, they make a nice server OS (widely used, software somewhat up-to-date, plus I love Upstart cause it's so much easier to code with than initscripts.)

They seem pretty unprofessional at first glance, but there is always a certain feel about forums on free hosts that is a bit harder to replicate on paid hosting, at least in my experience. I personally like the simplicity of free forum hosting, although I of course strongly recommend being selective about which hosts you choose to consider.

Anyway, is free forum hosting something you have ever considered? If so, why?

Personally, I love applebees. Their food has really improved a lot over the past few years.

What is your opinion?

Most people in America generally celebrate Christmas. Personally, I am among those as well, although I do have to admit that the over-commercialization of it does get a bit old after a while.

Anyway, what is your stance on Christmas? Do you celebrate it?

Personally, I'm not too much of a sports guy, beyond watching a few big football games and keeping up with some college football.

Do you consider yourself a sports fan?

What do you think about the brony fandom? Are you for or against it?

Here's what a brony is according to Whatisabrony.com:

Quote:A brony is a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic that is outside the target demographic of little girls. First impressions might be that bronies are creepy or gay, however that's a typical misconception. Most bronies are friendly teenagers and young adults that simply aren't afraid to admit that they enjoy a show that is innocent, colorful, and funny.

The latest rendition of My Little Pony is much different than the previous generations most people associate the title with. This show has a fresh, modern look, and tells fun stories that people of all ages can enjoy. Not to mention the show is amazingly well-made and showcases a massive amount of talent ranging from voice artists, to writers, to music composers, and much more.

What began as a simple internet meme has turned into a massive global fanbase. This website was created with the hope that it would answer any questions you may have, as well as help settle any confusion as to what exactly bronies are.

So, who's going out for this black friday?

Personally, I probably will take a look and see if anything catches my eye, but I won't be getting up at 3AM just to catch deal.