I am pleased to announce that a new message board has been created that looks very similar to the existing board, with a few changes.

Overall, the format is the same with a blue background and a running list of topics and replies, with the most recent activity at the top of the page.

The biggest change is that the board will no longer allow anonymous posts, you will need to create an account with a username and a valid email address (no one outside of the moderator will see your email address). Your username should be your first name and last initial.

I felt this was necessary to control spam and to ensure people will
* be accountable for what they post
* create posts under their actual name
* follow the board guidelines or risk being blocked from posting in the future

The good news is that once you create an account and save your password, you will no longer need to type in your name on every post and you won't need to type in the 8 digit "captcha" number at the bottom.

Also, because you will now have an account, you will be able to edit your posts if there's a typo or to add contact info, etc.

For those who only wish to read messages and never post, no hay problema! You don't need to create an account to read messages, only to create & reply.

I will be opening the new board to a few test users who need to be willing to create a login, post a few messages, and reply to some others. It doesn't matter much what you post as all messages will be deleted before we switch over permanently. The accounts created will remain so once you're registered, you'll be all set.

I'm looking for 5 to 10 people to try it and I'm hoping for a mixed group of young/old/local/expat/computer savvy & not-so-computer-savvy folks to take it for a test drive.

If you have read this far and you want to be part of the test group, please email me at LaManzMod@gmail.com and I'll send you a link to sign up.

Thanks!