Network Update 8.01 (September, 2016)

[Andrew 82]

The New Team of Weapons and Tactics is pleased to announce the new list of updates, improvements, and various changes that have taken place throughout the year, but more recently, in the past few months. As time progresses and we remain an active community, we intend to continue gradual updates and changes to help gradually improve the organization and our network. These updates, we hereby will refer to as "Network Updates". Long story short, the New Team of Weapons and Tactics Network has undergone many revisions since our (unofficial) launch in 2012, and even many more since our official launch in 2008. Counting from our unofficial launch in 2012, the network underwent 8 major updates before it got to where it is today.

 

 

 

 

The New Team of Weapons and Tactics Network will, from now on, be referred to explicitly by version number, wherever and whenever appropriate. At the time of this update, we are on version 8.01. As we apply updates to the network, we increase the version by one each time (i.e.: 8.02, 8.03, 8.04, ... and so on) and will typically make an announcement regarding the update per our usual tradition, detailing the primary changes and updates that we feel are of importance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Network Update 8.01 (September 2016) - Information & Changelog

 

 

 

New Content

 

 

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  The new website design has been finalized and is available in two different variants:
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  New Team of Weapons and Tactics Network 8.x Responsive, the default theme, which scales the contents of the site based on the device used. The site layout is adjusted automatically for mobile devices and users utilizing browsers with a narrow viewpoint.
   
  
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  New Team of Weapons and Tactics Network 8.x, the stactic, non-responsive version of the theme, that does not scale the content or otherwise alter the layout of the site for mobile devices and the like. Mobile users who prefer the "desktop versions" of websites may wish to use this variant of the theme.
   
  

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The new website theme is accompanied with several customization options, including background customization and color customization. Background and color choices are limited to the selection available.

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  Users can change the background by clicking the portrait icon, and selecting the background of their choice. Plain white and plain black backgrounds are available for those who prefer a lighter or darker background, and several other backgrounds are available for choosing.
   
  
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  Users can change their preferred colors by clicking the paintbrush icon, and selecting the applicable Primary and Secondary colors of their choice.
   
  

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All-new Support Center available, with the following:

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  Knowledge Base, for official guides written by New Team of Weapons and Tactics staff.
   
  
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  Support, for private, one-on-one support with New Team of Weapons and Tactics staff.
   
  
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  Network & Cloud Services Status Center, for a live view of the status of all New Team of Weapons and Tactics services.
   
  
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  Network Terms & Policies, with a comprehensive list of the terms and policies for various New Team of Weapons and Tactics services.
   
  

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All-new Store now available. Your personal details, such as your name, account credits, billing address, and shipping address information can all be found and edited by visiting the appropriate links under the "My Details" section(s) of the store. Not all products or services require a purchase that involves any non-zero monetary value; that is, plenty of services and/or products where applicable are (and will be) free. The New Team of Weapons and Tactics Store may be used as a hub for various services that we currently offer, to provide for simpler administration and management as a whole.

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  Various network memberships will (soon) be able to be viewed or upgraded to, to aid in support for the funding of the network as a whole.
   
  
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  Licenses for various software can be purchased or acquired.
   
  
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  Various other products and/or services may be added in the future.
   
  

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The all-new Advertisement Exemption Service, an affordable subscription-based service that allows users to exempt themselves from advertisements on our network, has been released. The monthly cost for this service is $1.99 USD. Renewals can be made monthly, tri-monthly, semi-annually, or annually. Tri-monthly, semi-annually, and annually rates are discounted 10%, 25%, and 50%, respectively.

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  As a token of our gratitude, this service is free for all staff of the New Team of Weapons and Tactics Network, including administrators, moderators, and other staff.
   
  
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  Now through October 1, 2016, all users can get 25% off a purchase of the Advertisement Exemption Service. Use coupon code "NOADS-092016" (without quotes) at checkout to apply your discount. Offer begins 9/1/2016 and ends 10/1/2016.
   
  

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Updates & Changes

 

 

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  The Network Sidebar has been moved to the right-side of all applicable pages.
   
  
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  The Online User List has been restricted to availability among network staff and members of the New Team of Weapons and Tactics.
   
  
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  Our error pages have now been redesigned. The new design is inspired by Grand Theft Auto Online's infamous alert screens.
   
  
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  Various changes have been made to how posts appear:
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  Author avatars have been increased in size from 100px to 150px.
   
  
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  Various other changes.
   
  

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Improvements have been made to the network's Anti-Tampering System, particularly against software that facilitates the obstruction of advertisement presentation. Please note that the New Team of Weapons and Tactics makes it a priority to make the site friendly, clean, and uncluttered. Advertisements are explicitly and strategically placed in locations around the site so that obstruction is minimal. Advertisements are in-place in attempt to aid the New Team of Weapons and Tactics with financial support to keep the network and cloud services running.

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  Those who wish to be exempt from advertisement presentations (ads) may acquire the Advertisement Exemption Service. The monthly cost for this service is $1.99 USD. Renewals can be made monthly, tri-monthly, semi-annually, or annually. Tri-monthly, semi-annually, and annually rates are discounted 10%, 25%, and 50%, respectively.
   
  
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  As staff members of the network assist in maintaining and managing the network in one way or another, the Advertisement Exemption Service is available to them free of charge.
   
  

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The network has been updated to utilize more friendly URI's where applicable.

 

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The former "Management Center" has been renamed to the "Administrative Center". The Administrative Center is still a work in progress.

 

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Icons are in the process of being added to various forum sections and updated, where applicable. Games and services, where applicable, are planned to use their traditional icons as they appear when installed to a PC.

 

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The Ban Appeal System has been overhauled; appeals are no longer public and voted upon by the community and are instead, done in-private, via New Team of Weapons and Tactics Support. As such, all former existing forums and sections dedicated to ban appeals have been deprecated.

 

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In effort to reduce public defamation, network bans are no longer considered public information and such information is only visible to network staff. As such, users who are banned are no longer marked with any special or otherwise indicative markings. This policy does not directly apply to any applicable staff members, who may be instead marked as "Retired" or as a "Former Staff Member", for sake of organization security.

 

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The groups system has been overhauled with various updates and modifications to help promote readability and keep up the cleanliness of the site.

 

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Colored & formatted groups have now been completely removed. Previously, groups were colored based on position and/or department. Human Resources groups were green, Information Technology groups were red, and so forth. Rather than continue the tradition and potentially introduce further confusion and promote a potentially "messy" system, we have decided to remove the color system to prevent getting into a situation like many other popular sites that may appear "crazy" or "confusing" due to using too many colors for usernames and the like. All groups will appear in a color that fits appropriately based on the theme, and staff groups appear in bold.

 

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Groups have all been renamed appropriately and with singular names to indicate a title, that appears cleanly under a user's display name adjacent their posts and content in the community. Additionally, the "Members" group, a standard user group that holds registered users, has been renamed to "Users" to prevent potential confusion with members of the New Team of Weapons and Tactics.

 

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Group images for all staff-based groups have all been standardized into a single group image, that states "Staff".

 

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