You may have noticed a few changes...

[Gary]

Over the holidays, the happy elves toiling behind the scenes here at the CMF have been busy doing some housecleaning, pruning, slapping on a fresh coat of paint here and there, and generally making a lot of racket while decent people were trying to sleep.

Here's what's been changed:

• We've Got Politics!
  This is a new category, similar to what we did in 2008, 2004 and all they way back in the ancient forum past of 2000 (that was a banner year, sheesh!). It's a place to discuss all things political campaign-wise: from who's running for President and Congress to the ongoing three-ring circus of the Littlefield Recall. Naturally, it's going to be a bit more of a rough-and-tumble place, with passionate opinions, so be warned before wading in that the waves are choppy and sharks may be lurking just beneath the surface.
  
  
• Chattanooga Food & Dining
  This is a re-focus on the old foodie category, to bring it more into a local focus. Tells us where you like to eat, what you think of the new (and old) restaurants in town, what you're cooking, what you plan to cook, or even where the cool places to buy specialty groceries are. Recipes are welcome, but photos of Paula Deen bathing in a vat of butter and not.
  
  
• Sports & Entertainment
  We've merged the two categories into one grab-bag place where discussion on everything from entertainment to sports to outdoor events to guns are all welcome. Photos of your humble forum host riding his bicycle down Ringgold Road dressed in lycra won't get you in official trouble, but your fellow Forumites might have words for you.
  
  
• The Share Button
  On any message thread, in the upper right-hand corner in the dark blue bar you will notice three little links: Reply, Share Topic, and Print. The first and the last are pretty obvious, but the Share Topic you might be aware of -- it allows you to share the thread in question on your Facebook page, Twitter account and other social media sites. This is a great way to let your friends and followers know about the CMF as well.
  
  
• Those little colored stars under your name
  Some of you might notice you have a seemingly random number of colored stars under your name. They are based on how many posts you have made. As for the order of them, small gold ones are for the new folks, red for the folks that have been here for a while, blue for the regular members, and green for those of us who spend way too much time here. It's a bit silly, doesn't really mean anything, but it was a feature that was available and so we thought we'd have a bit of fun.

If there are any questions, comments, new ideas, etc. -- this is the place to share them. And thanks for being part of the Chattanooga Message Forum!

[BlackFox]

Please allow slightly longer headlines if possib

[Gary]

That, unfortunately, is not something we can control. Sorry, BlackFox.

[mikeydokey]

Gary's Baaaaaack, and it's like he never even left

[Gary]

I've been hibernating.

[dabone]

small gold ones are for the new folks

Hummpph. Been a member since 2007 and it still considers me one of the new folks.




Later,
dabone

[Gary]

Hummpph. Been a member since 2007 and it still considers me one of the new folks.

You need to post more.

[JC]

If there are any questions, comments, new ideas, etc.

How about a cool user title

[Gary]

If anyone wishes a user title, please let Warkitty know - she's the Mistress of Forum Titles.

[Justin Thyme]

Yeah, but be careful what you ask for. She has the sense of humor of a djini.

[ssmynkint]

WK a jinni? Well, she certainly seems to have free will, but are you saying she is less then an angle?

[Warkitty]

I've more curves than angles

[ssmynkint]

OOps! Well of course you do, ANGEL. But I'll be you're pretty acute, too.

[raw]

Where can we discuss local Radio?
The blog that used to host local radio info hasn't been updated since October...
While I realize that certain individuals may not be legally able to post, maybe others can.
Seems like things are stirring.

[Gary]

Where can we discuss local Radio?

The old Radio/TV category that we used to have here several years ago was spun off independent of the CMF due to several very contentious threads that, in my opinion, went behind the pale.

What had happened was the category went from being a place for radio and TV people to hang out and talk about the business and turned into a place where anonymous people launched highly personal attacks on people in the business.

The CMF can, at times, be a fairly rough and tumble place, but it is not a place where constant personal attacks are welcome or tolerated. The vast majority of the people who have been booted from here (and that number is still extremely small considering how long we've been around) have fallen afoul of that very issue.

[joedog]

I think I know one person that used one of the last straws too..

[LimitedRecourse]

Use a spoon....straws take too long.

[ssmynkint]

behind the pale

The phrase is "beyond the pale" refering to the tsarist imposed pale of settlement beyond which Jews were not allowed.

[LimitedRecourse]

You will have a long and frustrating career of following behind posters who use poor grammar and spelling. Yogi Berra couldn't hold a candle to some of the sayings written here...

[vimeiro]

Good eye, ssmynknt.

[JC]

Dec 31, 2011 16:45:14 GMT -5 Justin Thyme said:

Yeah, but be careful what you ask for. She has the sense of humor of a djini.

I can take it.

If not, I'll complain until it's changed like poompay and dukey

[Gary]

The phrase is "beyond the pale"

Which is what I meant to write, buy my typing hands decided to ignore what my brain was thinking.